Title: The Dark Apology
Author: Maea MacDermod
Email: maeve_aislinn@yahoo.com; feedback is like a drug to me! Please,
feed the monkey!
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: "Any society that needs disclaimers has
too many lawyers." - Erik Pepke (but just in case... Don't sue me,
please!)
Spoilers: So anything including and prior to Heart of Mine is fair game.
Summary: This story is my thoughts for the episode
after Heart of Mine... I'm an unspoiled Roswellian, so it's all speculation
based on CYN's preview.
Category: General
Distribution: Want it? Take it... just let me know!
*** "Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart - the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous admit no destiny."
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803-73) ***
"Nicolas!" I exclaimed, the air whooshing out of my lungs.
He stood there, the appearance of a young, innocent boy, though his expression proved he was so much more than that. A sanctimonious leer was pasted on his lips.
"Surprise." He raised his hard and suddenly I was shackled. "I think we need to spend more time together, Miss Parker." He circled me like a predator would his prey, my skin crawling as I could almost feel his hungry eyes on my body.
"I'll scream..." I warned.
"Oh... my dear... we both know that if you do, people will die - starting with your blonde friend with the lips... Maria, is it? Oh, that girl would give my husk a run for its money," he said wistfully, then got back to business. "And I wouldn't stop there. Next will be your parents - Jeff and Nancy... then the diligent Sheriff Valenti and son... and what about your fourth grade science teacher... Mr. Eversole? He was your favorite, wasn't he? I'd kill him too, just for fun. So you see, Liz... can I call you Liz?"
"Go to Hell!" I growled.
"Ah... cute. Anyway, Liz... I think you're smarter than the average slack- jawed human... too smart to even think about screaming." Nicolas continued, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. I shuddered at the nearness of the alien. "So let's go somewhere a little more private so we can get in some good girl talk, mm'kay?"
I obediently followed him out the same door Isabel exited from just a few minutes earlier, and we climbed into a waiting car. As I settled into the spacious back seat of the black sedan, Nicolas caressed the nape of my neck, and that was my last conscious memory of the ride.
ACROSS TOWN
Maria finished the last coat of passion pink nail polish on her now perfectly manicured toes, just as her cell phone rang.
"Thank God I did my fingers first..." she mumbled as she stretched to get the singing Nokia. "DeLuca's House of Nails?"
"Maria - It's Max, uh. future Max."
"Hey! What's up-" she started cheerfully, then faltered. "Why are you calling here? What's wrong?"
His voice had the same similarities as young Max when he was tense. "Nicolas has Liz..."
Maria could feel her heart begin to race. "This is not good, Max! What are-"
"You need to get me - the younger me... Have him go to the old Reservation Bingo hall just outside of town. I followed them there."
"What are you going to do?"
He paused. "What can I do? Nicolas can't know I'm here, and if the younger me sees me-"
"Here's an idea, Max... Kill Nicolas. Then it won't matter what the hell he sees. If anything happens to Liz-"
"I won't let it. Just get young Max out here, Maria... and Maria - if something goes wrong... there's something at the Tumbleweed Inn room 12 that I need you to take care of, okay?"
"What is it?"
"Just promise me!"
"I promise."
There were no goodbyes, no encouraging words. Future Max simply cut the phone off.
Maria quickly dialed the Evans' house, and was dismayed at hearing a busy signal. "Who in this day and age doesn't have call waiting!?" She crossed the room and pushed her feet into a pair of tennis shoes, feeling her freshly painted nails smear over the inside of the canvas. "Oh, you owe me big time for this..." she spoke aloud, to no one in particular.
***
I awoke in a musty warehouse styled building, propped in an old wooden chair and chained to a ceiling support, my arms stretched uncomfortably above my head. My head felt groggy, the effects of the Skin knockout lingering behind.
"Finally..." an all too familiar voice spoke to the left of me, and I turned my head towards the source of the voice. "I thought you were going to miss out on all the fun."
"What do you want from me?" I hated the weakness in my tone, hated feeling helpless.
"What do I want? It's more what I need." Nicolas circled the chair I was sitting on, and then kicked it out from under me, forcing me to stand upright quickly. "I need information, Liz. I need to know where the Granolith is... and I need to know what's so special about little Lizzie Parker."
"What do you mean?" I was struggling to stand, pain shooting in my arms.
He smirked. "My plan was flawless - Divide and conquer. Take away the unity of the Royal Four and destroy them. But they had their human cohorts... the king had you... so I had to up the ante a bit. Utilize some good old fashioned mind control."
"You've been mind warping us all?" I endeavored to grasp what he was telling me. Isabel was right all along... something was wrong.
"Feeling overwhelmed?" The boy-leader lifted my chin with his finger. "Confused? Manipulated... puppet-like?"
"Evil Bastard!" I spat in his face, jerking my head away from his contact.
"Oh," he smiled, "It's nice to see you recognize talent. Don't Parker. Don't feel all those things... all those useless human emotions. You haven't been controlled like the rest."
"What?"
"You haven't been... we couldn't... however you want to phrase it." Nicolas reached out again, this time to caress my cheek, and when I attempted once more to pull away, he grasped my face with both hands, forcing me to meet his eyes... his evil black eyes with no soul. I can't believe I never noticed that in Copper Summit.
His diatribe continued. "You see, there's something about you that resists us... a natural wall to our powers, and I don't like that. I had my best people working on you and they failed. My plan was still the same - divide and conquer... but the means just had to be altered."
Still holding my head, he tapped one index finger against my temple, blocking out my vision of him and replacing it with a street scene. Alex and Isabel - the same scenario that has been plaguing me for nearly a week.
Nicolas's voice droned on over the laughter of the teens. "You see, Liz, we've been watching you for a long time - all of you. I watched as Vilondra became closer to your little friend... and his protective tendencies did not go unnoticed. The boy lived in the fantasy world that the hero got the girl... but in this case the hero ended up dead, didn't he?"
More of the scene played on. The assassin stepping out from the shadows, Isabel writhing in pain, Alex pushing her out of the way. It was almost exactly as I imagined it happened; only this time I felt it. I experienced every excruciating moment of agony as Alex died at the hands of the Skin. Every second of his death replayed through my own nerve pain receptors, and I could not contain my screams.
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO! NNNNUUUUHHHH-" red flashed behind my closed eyes, as it felt like my heart exploded. "OH GOD - OH GOD!" I whimpered, slumping forward, my arms still chained above. I opened my eyes and found Nicolas crouching at face level.
"God can't help you now, Liz."
It was a struggle to draw the air in my lungs. "I don't understand... what... what does all this have to do with me?"
"You're smarter than this - I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet. You were too strong. We could control everyone, except you and when they came near you, we even lost our influence of the others. You were the key to the whole plan. Divide you from the Royals and it would just be a matter of time before we could overtake them..."
"So you killed Alex to distance me from the others?" The revelation came to me, but I was too numb to process it. "You murdered my friend?"
"Genius, huh?" The teen boy grinned, an expression of smugness overtaking his features. "With the chasm separating you all, Max did the deed with his Queen and the engineered alien illness that Lonnie implanted in Tess was activated... but what I don't understand is how you knew to heal her. Yet another enigma with your name attached. So go ahead... tell me all you know."
My legs strengthened and I was once more able to support my body upright. "I'll die before I tell you anything."
"Of course you're going to die, Liz... but I can decide the level of torture you will go through before you do... the more you tell, the less it will hurt." He raised his hand, palm out, two fingers together. "Boy Scout promise."
I averted my gaze and focused on a far wall. "No? Too hard of a question? Let's start with something easier, then. Where's the Granolith?" Nicolas's outstretched hand clutched the top of my head, and I could feel him try to shuffle through my memories.
FLASH: Kindergarten in my cupcake dress: "My God! That's one hideous dress."
FLASH: Grandma Claudia bandaging a scrape on my knee after I fell off my first bike: "Claudia Parker was your grandmother? Loved her research on the Navajo's. Totally wrong, but great storytelling of a looney old bag."
FLASH: Sean DeLuca and I sliding at the bowling alley on prom night: "You do realize it's for the best you have no real feelings for that boy. He's not good for you... not strong enough."
His snide commentaries about my life's memories were making it hard for me to continue my fight.
FLASH: Alex on the pavement.
FLASH: Max being tortured by Pierce.
Nicolas adjusted his grip on my skull. "The Granolith, dammit! I'm getting impatient." His invasion into my memories intensified.
"STOP IT! AHHHHH!! AHHHHH!!" The pain was amplified as I tried to throw the more meaningless details of my life at him.
Suddenly, the alien's contact with me with ripped away. I opened my bleary, tear-filled eyes to a sight I never expected to see. Future Max held the young boy at bay on the grimy warehouse floor.
"You. Stay. Away. From. My. Wife." He said through clenched teeth.
A burst of energy from Nicolas sent the future hybrid hurtling through the air.
"Max!" I called out, in concern.
"Well, I'll be - the big, bad King actually taught our old Granolith a new trick... very clever. Let me guess - needed a lot of help from the little woman?"
Max backed away, warily assessing his surroundings. "You know, little boy... you're awfully concerned about my being king. Throne envy? Tough life at home being the court jester?" A surge of power came at Max, but he placed a shield in its way to protect himself.
"I'll have you know, your Lowness, that I was a valued member of Kivar's cabinet! His trusted second."
"Hmmm - okay... so this is all a cruel joke then, Nicky? Getting sent to Earth for fifty plus years in the body of a child?"
From my vantage point, I could practically see the anger emanating from the young boy. "SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!" He fired another bolt at his tormentor, but this time the shield deflected it instead of absorbed it. The red glow of energy struck its original source, wounding Nicolas. My shackles dissolved and I dropped to the floor, finally free.
I gasped as I hit the floor, the sudden release of pressure to my arms a welcome sensation. I glanced up from my hunched position on the ground to meet Future Max's eyes. There was such genuine concern in them that it almost took my breath away. "Finish this..." I mouthed to him, and Max nodded, understanding what I meant. He focused back on his foe.
"NICOLAS!" Max's voice boomed. "Just accept it, you're hurt now. There's no way you can win!"
My eyes searched the darkened warehouse, but I had lost track of the skin in the shadows. From the expression on Max's face, he had the same problem.
Suddenly, the young boy jumped onto Max's back, wrapping his arm around the elder man's neck. "Not so mouthy anymore, Max, are we?" My love gasped for air. "I wanted the joy of killing you on our planet, but Kivar pulled rank. I was stuck dispatching your bungling second... there was really no skill involved in that. No challenge. This will be so much sweeter..." Max fell to his knees.
As I watched helplessly, Nicolas drew a short dagger and prepared to plunge it into Max's back. Quickly, I pushed myself upright, and charged at the two of them. I struck the duo with all my might, forcing them to separate. The Skin was thrown to one side into the chair I was sitting on earlier and shattered it, while Max was knocked behind a pile of wooden crates.
Nicolas roared, and angrily charged at me... his evil eyes full of murderous intent, but he was never able to connect with me. Another body intersected the boy, and for a moment I expected it to be Future Max, but it was not. Present Max rolled to the side, springing to his feet to prepare for Nicolas's next attack.
"Oh! To think that I can kill you both is like a pure dream to me!" he exclaimed.
Though Max did not understand the reference, he assumed that I was the other part of 'both'. "You will not touch her!"
The room lit up as the two enemies fired energy blasts at each other. Fear trembled through my body each time Nicolas's shots surged towards Max, but the younger King was holding his own just as well as the older one was.
Speaking of Future Max, where is he? I took my attention from the battle in front of me and strained to search the shadows near where he fell. I was able to see a faint outline of his prone body behind a stack of wooden crates, and wondered if I should risk going to check on him. Then, to my horror, a stray blast strafed to that area and shards of wood rained down onto him, burying him in the debris. My heart raced, panicked as I thought of how injured Future Max could be, but a glance back to the battle told me that present Max needed me more.
Nicolas stood over him, a smug expression crossing his face, and his outstretched palm only inches from Max's head. "This victory is going to be so sweet! I'll get you all out of my way and then there will be no one to stand in the way Kivar's soldiers. And then I will finally be able to go home!" The boy grabbed Max's skull roughly, trying to make a connection, the intense pain making the hybrid scream. "Just let it go, Maxy... Tell me about the Granolith and I might go easy on your woman." Max still resisted. "Fine... This is what I plan on doing to Liz after I kill you..." From the pained expression on his face, I assume that the Skin was implanting visions from his own head into Max's.
"AHHHH! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!" he shrieked.
The boy stood hunched over Max, concentrating with his eyes closed. "Oh YEAH! That's gonna be fun for me... And then... Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark on her perfect skin..."
I couldn't stand to hear Max in so much pain... Oh God... I still love him. After all this, and all the hate in my heart from Alex's death, I still love Max. This revelation was dizzying and combined with the moans from my love, I thought I might pass out. 'NO! Be strong, Parker!' I mumbled under my breath.
Glancing to my side, I saw salvation. The broken, splintered back of the chair I was propped in earlier was within arms reach. Gathering my strength, I grabbed it.
Max now had tears streaming involuntarily from behind his closed eyes. "Give up yet, Your Highness?" Nicolas mocked. "I need the Granolith. Just tell me and Liz will die easy..."
There was a moment of complete silence in the warehouse, but then Max's eyelids snapped open revealing his intense chocolaty eyes and a satisfied grin broke on his lips. "NO! She won't..."
Confusion at his prisoner's change in attitude was clear on Nicolas' face and I took the opportunity to put my plan in action. "Wha-"
Before he could finish his thought, I swung the heavy chair piece at Nicolas and hit him firmly in the lower back. He turned to me dread filling his eyes. "YOU BITCH!" Then he exploded into a million pieces of dust.
"It's nice to see you recognize talent, Nicolas..." I said, echoing his earlier words.
Max struggled to his feet and rushed to my side. "Liz... Liz..."
I broke down, "He killed Alex because of me... because I couldn't be mindwarped. This is all my fault..."
"No! Don't think that. He was a monster... you can't be responsible. You're *not* responsible!"
"All this time I've blamed you. I'm sorry..." I brushed my fingers against his wet cheeks, and realized that the moisture was not all from tears. He had a small gash in his forehead that was bleeding. "You're hurt..." My hands tingled and I felt the impulse to touch the cut. It healed instantly.
"How?" he asked, amazed.
"I don't..." then I remembered. Future Max! I started searching around the area. "Where is he? WHERE?"
"Liz? He's gone... you killed him," he answered thinking I meant Nicolas.
I ran to the pile of crates where I saw him last and began tossing pieces aside, not caring that my hands were getting cut. Now they just matched my raw wrists. I finally saw the floor and Future Max was gone. Did he disappear? I had to find out.
The younger Max was at my side trying to understand. "Liz? What's wrong? You're hurting yourself... stop!" He grabbed my hands.
"There's somewhere I have to go, Max," I said, staring into his eyes.
Without hesitation, "I'll drive you."
"I need to go alone. I'm sorry... but I promise to tell you everything when I get back. I promise."
He handed me the keys to his Jeep. "Michael and Isabel are on the way. They can take me home."
"Max..." Tell him! Tell him you love him! I couldn't, not yet.
"I know..."
One last look at him and I ran from the warehouse to the waiting Jeep outside. I had to get to the motel to see if he was still there.
***
He opened the door before I even knocked, his appearance ragged and disheveled. Almost in the same spot as younger Max, there was a gash in his forehead.
I rushed into his waiting arms, secure in their warmth. "I want to go with you. Where ever you go, I want to be there."
Max raised my chin, "You're needed here. He needs you."
"But I want to be with you both. I want to watch my daughter grow."
"The best thing you can do is stay with him. The future is changing. Remember what I told you last time?"
"The future is to be determined," I said, allowing myself to be led into the room.
"Right... you don't know what will happen, or won't if you leave." We both gazed at Gracie sleeping on the bed. "She could still be in your future."
I touched his forehead, healing the blood encrusted cut. "Max is my future. I know it, but if I'm with him the world will end. It's so wrong."
"Things are changing as we speak," he took my hands and covered the bloody palms with his own intending to heal them.
I pulled away. "No. I want to remember this."
He looked at me sternly. "Liz."
Sighing, I submitted, and allowed him to stop the blood flow. "I'm going to leave your wrists for him."
I was shocked. "But if he heals me, he'll know everything!"
Max brushed his lips tenderly over mine, "Maybe it's time for him to know."
"Can I... can I stay with you tonight?" I asked hesitantly. "I want one last night with my family."
Without speaking, Max lifted me into his arms and gently laid me on the bed next to my daughter, and he spooned up next to me. I was in heaven. Gracie then cuddled up next to me as well. I drifted off to a deep sleep almost immediately.
***
Across town, Max sat on the dirty floor waiting for the rest of the group. He didn't have to wait long.
Maria rushed in ahead of Michael and Isabel, panic flashing in her deep eyes. "Where is she?" She glanced around the room, her gaze resting on the pile of ash near the leader's feet. "Max? Tell me she's okay!"
"She's fine." He blinked motioning towards the heap in front of him, "This is Nicolas. Liz killed him."
All three breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is she, Maxwell?" Michael questioned, raising his eyebrows and wrapping a comforting arm around his girlfriend.
The young King shrugged. "I don't know. She started freaking out about something and then ran off saying she'd tell me everything soon. I gave her the Jeep, and I couldn't follow.
"Where could she have gone?"
"Like I said, Iz... I don't know!" He answered exasperated.
The aliens turned to Maria.
"Why do you assume *I* know where she is?" No response, they just continued to stare. "FINE!! She's probably at the Tumbleweed... room 12, but if anyone asks, I didn't tell you!"
The questions poured from the other teens.
"How do you know?"
"What's Liz doing there?"
"Who else would ask?"
She simply made the motion of locking her full lips with an imaginary key. Max looked intently at her for a moment, and then spoke, his tone urgent.
"Take me there."
***
When I awoke, the room was dark and empty. Leaning over to the light, I snapped it on, my eyes pained in the sudden glaring light. A note sat on the pillow where Future Max rested, a dent still marking the place where his head laid, the scrawling handwriting as familiar to me as my own.
::Dear Liz,
There are so many things I wanted to tell you... how much I love you, how much being your husband meant to me... how thankful I am to you for giving me Gracie. I am grateful for everything that you've meant to me. It's obvious now that we are not going to fade away again... that we're meant to live in this world. Gracie is being given another chance at a life; I can only hope that this time it will be more normal than the last. My biggest regret is that she will not know her mother, only what I can tell her about the bravest, most beautiful woman I ever met.
Your role now is to make this world a safe place for her and I have all the faith that you will. You have the strength of a thousand warriors. That is something that will never stop to amaze me.
Remember that in all the years that will pass from now, I will think of you every moment... and if one day we meet again, I will love you a hundred fold more then than I do now, if that is even possible.
You are my everything...
For all eternity,
Max::
Knowing he was gone was hard... but knowing he was out there somewhere was worse. I began to gather my things when a knock at the door startled me. I rushed over and pulled the door open swiftly. Present Max stood, stunned and unmoving on the other side.
He met my eyes, and I watched a single tear streak down his cheek, and that broke me. I fell into his arms.
"I love you, Liz. I do... nothing that happened with Tess can change that." Max kissed my forehead. "I love you!"
I stepped back for a moment. "Why?" I questioned. "Why do you love me? You're not supposed to."
"Do you remember in Freshman English... when Mrs. Mathis used to make us read the quotes all the time?" I nodded somberly. "I remember on your day you got up in front of the class and read one, and it really hit me. Do you remember it?"
I thought a moment. "No," I said sadly. "I wish I could."
"It's okay. I'll remember it for the both of us. 'The heart has it reasons, of which reason knows nothing.'"
"Blaise Pascal... I remember now. I loved that quote."
He smiled lightly. "I don't know why I love you, and I don't want to know. I just do, and that's enough for me."
I allowed him to gather me into his arms once more. "Will you love me forever?" I asked, pressing my ear to his chest, comfortable in listening to his heartbeat.
"For all eternity, Liz... All eternity." This time he backed away from me, the break in contact hurting me. "I'll wait for you in the Jeep... when you're ready to come home, I'll be waiting."
Turning to survey the room, I noticed a bit of purple fuzz sticking out from under Gracie's pillow... a slight tug on the object uncovered the faded old teddy she slept with every night. A secret smile crossed my lips, knowing she left this treasure for me. Stuck to it's right paw was a crayon drawing of my daughter's family. Me, Max, her, Alex, Isabel, Michael and Maria... all in a row... all with big smiles. Even in a child who survived the end of the world, happiness still dwelled. Maybe the future won't be so bleak after all.
I stuffed the bear, Max's note and Gracie's drawing into my coat pockets and ran out to the Jeep where my soul mate sat patiently, waiting. A grin broke out on his face as I fell across his lap. "You are my home, Max! I love you... for all eternity."
After a lengthy kiss, I finally settled into my seat as he started the engine, and we roared off towards Roswell... towards the rest of our lives. and all I could wonder was: What would Tess think about all this?
*** "Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart - the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous admit no destiny."
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803-73) ***
"Nicolas!" I exclaimed, the air whooshing out of my lungs.
He stood there, the appearance of a young, innocent boy, though his expression proved he was so much more than that. A sanctimonious leer was pasted on his lips.
"Surprise." He raised his hard and suddenly I was shackled. "I think we need to spend more time together, Miss Parker." He circled me like a predator would his prey, my skin crawling as I could almost feel his hungry eyes on my body.
"I'll scream..." I warned.
"Oh... my dear... we both know that if you do, people will die - starting with your blonde friend with the lips... Maria, is it? Oh, that girl would give my husk a run for its money," he said wistfully, then got back to business. "And I wouldn't stop there. Next will be your parents - Jeff and Nancy... then the diligent Sheriff Valenti and son... and what about your fourth grade science teacher... Mr. Eversole? He was your favorite, wasn't he? I'd kill him too, just for fun. So you see, Liz... can I call you Liz?"
"Go to Hell!" I growled.
"Ah... cute. Anyway, Liz... I think you're smarter than the average slack- jawed human... too smart to even think about screaming." Nicolas continued, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. I shuddered at the nearness of the alien. "So let's go somewhere a little more private so we can get in some good girl talk, mm'kay?"
I obediently followed him out the same door Isabel exited from just a few minutes earlier, and we climbed into a waiting car. As I settled into the spacious back seat of the black sedan, Nicolas caressed the nape of my neck, and that was my last conscious memory of the ride.
ACROSS TOWN
Maria finished the last coat of passion pink nail polish on her now perfectly manicured toes, just as her cell phone rang.
"Thank God I did my fingers first..." she mumbled as she stretched to get the singing Nokia. "DeLuca's House of Nails?"
"Maria - It's Max, uh. future Max."
"Hey! What's up-" she started cheerfully, then faltered. "Why are you calling here? What's wrong?"
His voice had the same similarities as young Max when he was tense. "Nicolas has Liz..."
Maria could feel her heart begin to race. "This is not good, Max! What are-"
"You need to get me - the younger me... Have him go to the old Reservation Bingo hall just outside of town. I followed them there."
"What are you going to do?"
He paused. "What can I do? Nicolas can't know I'm here, and if the younger me sees me-"
"Here's an idea, Max... Kill Nicolas. Then it won't matter what the hell he sees. If anything happens to Liz-"
"I won't let it. Just get young Max out here, Maria... and Maria - if something goes wrong... there's something at the Tumbleweed Inn room 12 that I need you to take care of, okay?"
"What is it?"
"Just promise me!"
"I promise."
There were no goodbyes, no encouraging words. Future Max simply cut the phone off.
Maria quickly dialed the Evans' house, and was dismayed at hearing a busy signal. "Who in this day and age doesn't have call waiting!?" She crossed the room and pushed her feet into a pair of tennis shoes, feeling her freshly painted nails smear over the inside of the canvas. "Oh, you owe me big time for this..." she spoke aloud, to no one in particular.
***
I awoke in a musty warehouse styled building, propped in an old wooden chair and chained to a ceiling support, my arms stretched uncomfortably above my head. My head felt groggy, the effects of the Skin knockout lingering behind.
"Finally..." an all too familiar voice spoke to the left of me, and I turned my head towards the source of the voice. "I thought you were going to miss out on all the fun."
"What do you want from me?" I hated the weakness in my tone, hated feeling helpless.
"What do I want? It's more what I need." Nicolas circled the chair I was sitting on, and then kicked it out from under me, forcing me to stand upright quickly. "I need information, Liz. I need to know where the Granolith is... and I need to know what's so special about little Lizzie Parker."
"What do you mean?" I was struggling to stand, pain shooting in my arms.
He smirked. "My plan was flawless - Divide and conquer. Take away the unity of the Royal Four and destroy them. But they had their human cohorts... the king had you... so I had to up the ante a bit. Utilize some good old fashioned mind control."
"You've been mind warping us all?" I endeavored to grasp what he was telling me. Isabel was right all along... something was wrong.
"Feeling overwhelmed?" The boy-leader lifted my chin with his finger. "Confused? Manipulated... puppet-like?"
"Evil Bastard!" I spat in his face, jerking my head away from his contact.
"Oh," he smiled, "It's nice to see you recognize talent. Don't Parker. Don't feel all those things... all those useless human emotions. You haven't been controlled like the rest."
"What?"
"You haven't been... we couldn't... however you want to phrase it." Nicolas reached out again, this time to caress my cheek, and when I attempted once more to pull away, he grasped my face with both hands, forcing me to meet his eyes... his evil black eyes with no soul. I can't believe I never noticed that in Copper Summit.
His diatribe continued. "You see, there's something about you that resists us... a natural wall to our powers, and I don't like that. I had my best people working on you and they failed. My plan was still the same - divide and conquer... but the means just had to be altered."
Still holding my head, he tapped one index finger against my temple, blocking out my vision of him and replacing it with a street scene. Alex and Isabel - the same scenario that has been plaguing me for nearly a week.
Nicolas's voice droned on over the laughter of the teens. "You see, Liz, we've been watching you for a long time - all of you. I watched as Vilondra became closer to your little friend... and his protective tendencies did not go unnoticed. The boy lived in the fantasy world that the hero got the girl... but in this case the hero ended up dead, didn't he?"
More of the scene played on. The assassin stepping out from the shadows, Isabel writhing in pain, Alex pushing her out of the way. It was almost exactly as I imagined it happened; only this time I felt it. I experienced every excruciating moment of agony as Alex died at the hands of the Skin. Every second of his death replayed through my own nerve pain receptors, and I could not contain my screams.
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO! NNNNUUUUHHHH-" red flashed behind my closed eyes, as it felt like my heart exploded. "OH GOD - OH GOD!" I whimpered, slumping forward, my arms still chained above. I opened my eyes and found Nicolas crouching at face level.
"God can't help you now, Liz."
It was a struggle to draw the air in my lungs. "I don't understand... what... what does all this have to do with me?"
"You're smarter than this - I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet. You were too strong. We could control everyone, except you and when they came near you, we even lost our influence of the others. You were the key to the whole plan. Divide you from the Royals and it would just be a matter of time before we could overtake them..."
"So you killed Alex to distance me from the others?" The revelation came to me, but I was too numb to process it. "You murdered my friend?"
"Genius, huh?" The teen boy grinned, an expression of smugness overtaking his features. "With the chasm separating you all, Max did the deed with his Queen and the engineered alien illness that Lonnie implanted in Tess was activated... but what I don't understand is how you knew to heal her. Yet another enigma with your name attached. So go ahead... tell me all you know."
My legs strengthened and I was once more able to support my body upright. "I'll die before I tell you anything."
"Of course you're going to die, Liz... but I can decide the level of torture you will go through before you do... the more you tell, the less it will hurt." He raised his hand, palm out, two fingers together. "Boy Scout promise."
I averted my gaze and focused on a far wall. "No? Too hard of a question? Let's start with something easier, then. Where's the Granolith?" Nicolas's outstretched hand clutched the top of my head, and I could feel him try to shuffle through my memories.
FLASH: Kindergarten in my cupcake dress: "My God! That's one hideous dress."
FLASH: Grandma Claudia bandaging a scrape on my knee after I fell off my first bike: "Claudia Parker was your grandmother? Loved her research on the Navajo's. Totally wrong, but great storytelling of a looney old bag."
FLASH: Sean DeLuca and I sliding at the bowling alley on prom night: "You do realize it's for the best you have no real feelings for that boy. He's not good for you... not strong enough."
His snide commentaries about my life's memories were making it hard for me to continue my fight.
FLASH: Alex on the pavement.
FLASH: Max being tortured by Pierce.
Nicolas adjusted his grip on my skull. "The Granolith, dammit! I'm getting impatient." His invasion into my memories intensified.
"STOP IT! AHHHHH!! AHHHHH!!" The pain was amplified as I tried to throw the more meaningless details of my life at him.
Suddenly, the alien's contact with me with ripped away. I opened my bleary, tear-filled eyes to a sight I never expected to see. Future Max held the young boy at bay on the grimy warehouse floor.
"You. Stay. Away. From. My. Wife." He said through clenched teeth.
A burst of energy from Nicolas sent the future hybrid hurtling through the air.
"Max!" I called out, in concern.
"Well, I'll be - the big, bad King actually taught our old Granolith a new trick... very clever. Let me guess - needed a lot of help from the little woman?"
Max backed away, warily assessing his surroundings. "You know, little boy... you're awfully concerned about my being king. Throne envy? Tough life at home being the court jester?" A surge of power came at Max, but he placed a shield in its way to protect himself.
"I'll have you know, your Lowness, that I was a valued member of Kivar's cabinet! His trusted second."
"Hmmm - okay... so this is all a cruel joke then, Nicky? Getting sent to Earth for fifty plus years in the body of a child?"
From my vantage point, I could practically see the anger emanating from the young boy. "SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!" He fired another bolt at his tormentor, but this time the shield deflected it instead of absorbed it. The red glow of energy struck its original source, wounding Nicolas. My shackles dissolved and I dropped to the floor, finally free.
I gasped as I hit the floor, the sudden release of pressure to my arms a welcome sensation. I glanced up from my hunched position on the ground to meet Future Max's eyes. There was such genuine concern in them that it almost took my breath away. "Finish this..." I mouthed to him, and Max nodded, understanding what I meant. He focused back on his foe.
"NICOLAS!" Max's voice boomed. "Just accept it, you're hurt now. There's no way you can win!"
My eyes searched the darkened warehouse, but I had lost track of the skin in the shadows. From the expression on Max's face, he had the same problem.
Suddenly, the young boy jumped onto Max's back, wrapping his arm around the elder man's neck. "Not so mouthy anymore, Max, are we?" My love gasped for air. "I wanted the joy of killing you on our planet, but Kivar pulled rank. I was stuck dispatching your bungling second... there was really no skill involved in that. No challenge. This will be so much sweeter..." Max fell to his knees.
As I watched helplessly, Nicolas drew a short dagger and prepared to plunge it into Max's back. Quickly, I pushed myself upright, and charged at the two of them. I struck the duo with all my might, forcing them to separate. The Skin was thrown to one side into the chair I was sitting on earlier and shattered it, while Max was knocked behind a pile of wooden crates.
Nicolas roared, and angrily charged at me... his evil eyes full of murderous intent, but he was never able to connect with me. Another body intersected the boy, and for a moment I expected it to be Future Max, but it was not. Present Max rolled to the side, springing to his feet to prepare for Nicolas's next attack.
"Oh! To think that I can kill you both is like a pure dream to me!" he exclaimed.
Though Max did not understand the reference, he assumed that I was the other part of 'both'. "You will not touch her!"
The room lit up as the two enemies fired energy blasts at each other. Fear trembled through my body each time Nicolas's shots surged towards Max, but the younger King was holding his own just as well as the older one was.
Speaking of Future Max, where is he? I took my attention from the battle in front of me and strained to search the shadows near where he fell. I was able to see a faint outline of his prone body behind a stack of wooden crates, and wondered if I should risk going to check on him. Then, to my horror, a stray blast strafed to that area and shards of wood rained down onto him, burying him in the debris. My heart raced, panicked as I thought of how injured Future Max could be, but a glance back to the battle told me that present Max needed me more.
Nicolas stood over him, a smug expression crossing his face, and his outstretched palm only inches from Max's head. "This victory is going to be so sweet! I'll get you all out of my way and then there will be no one to stand in the way Kivar's soldiers. And then I will finally be able to go home!" The boy grabbed Max's skull roughly, trying to make a connection, the intense pain making the hybrid scream. "Just let it go, Maxy... Tell me about the Granolith and I might go easy on your woman." Max still resisted. "Fine... This is what I plan on doing to Liz after I kill you..." From the pained expression on his face, I assume that the Skin was implanting visions from his own head into Max's.
"AHHHH! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!" he shrieked.
The boy stood hunched over Max, concentrating with his eyes closed. "Oh YEAH! That's gonna be fun for me... And then... Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark on her perfect skin..."
I couldn't stand to hear Max in so much pain... Oh God... I still love him. After all this, and all the hate in my heart from Alex's death, I still love Max. This revelation was dizzying and combined with the moans from my love, I thought I might pass out. 'NO! Be strong, Parker!' I mumbled under my breath.
Glancing to my side, I saw salvation. The broken, splintered back of the chair I was propped in earlier was within arms reach. Gathering my strength, I grabbed it.
Max now had tears streaming involuntarily from behind his closed eyes. "Give up yet, Your Highness?" Nicolas mocked. "I need the Granolith. Just tell me and Liz will die easy..."
There was a moment of complete silence in the warehouse, but then Max's eyelids snapped open revealing his intense chocolaty eyes and a satisfied grin broke on his lips. "NO! She won't..."
Confusion at his prisoner's change in attitude was clear on Nicolas' face and I took the opportunity to put my plan in action. "Wha-"
Before he could finish his thought, I swung the heavy chair piece at Nicolas and hit him firmly in the lower back. He turned to me dread filling his eyes. "YOU BITCH!" Then he exploded into a million pieces of dust.
"It's nice to see you recognize talent, Nicolas..." I said, echoing his earlier words.
Max struggled to his feet and rushed to my side. "Liz... Liz..."
I broke down, "He killed Alex because of me... because I couldn't be mindwarped. This is all my fault..."
"No! Don't think that. He was a monster... you can't be responsible. You're *not* responsible!"
"All this time I've blamed you. I'm sorry..." I brushed my fingers against his wet cheeks, and realized that the moisture was not all from tears. He had a small gash in his forehead that was bleeding. "You're hurt..." My hands tingled and I felt the impulse to touch the cut. It healed instantly.
"How?" he asked, amazed.
"I don't..." then I remembered. Future Max! I started searching around the area. "Where is he? WHERE?"
"Liz? He's gone... you killed him," he answered thinking I meant Nicolas.
I ran to the pile of crates where I saw him last and began tossing pieces aside, not caring that my hands were getting cut. Now they just matched my raw wrists. I finally saw the floor and Future Max was gone. Did he disappear? I had to find out.
The younger Max was at my side trying to understand. "Liz? What's wrong? You're hurting yourself... stop!" He grabbed my hands.
"There's somewhere I have to go, Max," I said, staring into his eyes.
Without hesitation, "I'll drive you."
"I need to go alone. I'm sorry... but I promise to tell you everything when I get back. I promise."
He handed me the keys to his Jeep. "Michael and Isabel are on the way. They can take me home."
"Max..." Tell him! Tell him you love him! I couldn't, not yet.
"I know..."
One last look at him and I ran from the warehouse to the waiting Jeep outside. I had to get to the motel to see if he was still there.
***
He opened the door before I even knocked, his appearance ragged and disheveled. Almost in the same spot as younger Max, there was a gash in his forehead.
I rushed into his waiting arms, secure in their warmth. "I want to go with you. Where ever you go, I want to be there."
Max raised my chin, "You're needed here. He needs you."
"But I want to be with you both. I want to watch my daughter grow."
"The best thing you can do is stay with him. The future is changing. Remember what I told you last time?"
"The future is to be determined," I said, allowing myself to be led into the room.
"Right... you don't know what will happen, or won't if you leave." We both gazed at Gracie sleeping on the bed. "She could still be in your future."
I touched his forehead, healing the blood encrusted cut. "Max is my future. I know it, but if I'm with him the world will end. It's so wrong."
"Things are changing as we speak," he took my hands and covered the bloody palms with his own intending to heal them.
I pulled away. "No. I want to remember this."
He looked at me sternly. "Liz."
Sighing, I submitted, and allowed him to stop the blood flow. "I'm going to leave your wrists for him."
I was shocked. "But if he heals me, he'll know everything!"
Max brushed his lips tenderly over mine, "Maybe it's time for him to know."
"Can I... can I stay with you tonight?" I asked hesitantly. "I want one last night with my family."
Without speaking, Max lifted me into his arms and gently laid me on the bed next to my daughter, and he spooned up next to me. I was in heaven. Gracie then cuddled up next to me as well. I drifted off to a deep sleep almost immediately.
***
Across town, Max sat on the dirty floor waiting for the rest of the group. He didn't have to wait long.
Maria rushed in ahead of Michael and Isabel, panic flashing in her deep eyes. "Where is she?" She glanced around the room, her gaze resting on the pile of ash near the leader's feet. "Max? Tell me she's okay!"
"She's fine." He blinked motioning towards the heap in front of him, "This is Nicolas. Liz killed him."
All three breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is she, Maxwell?" Michael questioned, raising his eyebrows and wrapping a comforting arm around his girlfriend.
The young King shrugged. "I don't know. She started freaking out about something and then ran off saying she'd tell me everything soon. I gave her the Jeep, and I couldn't follow.
"Where could she have gone?"
"Like I said, Iz... I don't know!" He answered exasperated.
The aliens turned to Maria.
"Why do you assume *I* know where she is?" No response, they just continued to stare. "FINE!! She's probably at the Tumbleweed... room 12, but if anyone asks, I didn't tell you!"
The questions poured from the other teens.
"How do you know?"
"What's Liz doing there?"
"Who else would ask?"
She simply made the motion of locking her full lips with an imaginary key. Max looked intently at her for a moment, and then spoke, his tone urgent.
"Take me there."
***
When I awoke, the room was dark and empty. Leaning over to the light, I snapped it on, my eyes pained in the sudden glaring light. A note sat on the pillow where Future Max rested, a dent still marking the place where his head laid, the scrawling handwriting as familiar to me as my own.
::Dear Liz,
There are so many things I wanted to tell you... how much I love you, how much being your husband meant to me... how thankful I am to you for giving me Gracie. I am grateful for everything that you've meant to me. It's obvious now that we are not going to fade away again... that we're meant to live in this world. Gracie is being given another chance at a life; I can only hope that this time it will be more normal than the last. My biggest regret is that she will not know her mother, only what I can tell her about the bravest, most beautiful woman I ever met.
Your role now is to make this world a safe place for her and I have all the faith that you will. You have the strength of a thousand warriors. That is something that will never stop to amaze me.
Remember that in all the years that will pass from now, I will think of you every moment... and if one day we meet again, I will love you a hundred fold more then than I do now, if that is even possible.
You are my everything...
For all eternity,
Max::
Knowing he was gone was hard... but knowing he was out there somewhere was worse. I began to gather my things when a knock at the door startled me. I rushed over and pulled the door open swiftly. Present Max stood, stunned and unmoving on the other side.
He met my eyes, and I watched a single tear streak down his cheek, and that broke me. I fell into his arms.
"I love you, Liz. I do... nothing that happened with Tess can change that." Max kissed my forehead. "I love you!"
I stepped back for a moment. "Why?" I questioned. "Why do you love me? You're not supposed to."
"Do you remember in Freshman English... when Mrs. Mathis used to make us read the quotes all the time?" I nodded somberly. "I remember on your day you got up in front of the class and read one, and it really hit me. Do you remember it?"
I thought a moment. "No," I said sadly. "I wish I could."
"It's okay. I'll remember it for the both of us. 'The heart has it reasons, of which reason knows nothing.'"
"Blaise Pascal... I remember now. I loved that quote."
He smiled lightly. "I don't know why I love you, and I don't want to know. I just do, and that's enough for me."
I allowed him to gather me into his arms once more. "Will you love me forever?" I asked, pressing my ear to his chest, comfortable in listening to his heartbeat.
"For all eternity, Liz... All eternity." This time he backed away from me, the break in contact hurting me. "I'll wait for you in the Jeep... when you're ready to come home, I'll be waiting."
Turning to survey the room, I noticed a bit of purple fuzz sticking out from under Gracie's pillow... a slight tug on the object uncovered the faded old teddy she slept with every night. A secret smile crossed my lips, knowing she left this treasure for me. Stuck to it's right paw was a crayon drawing of my daughter's family. Me, Max, her, Alex, Isabel, Michael and Maria... all in a row... all with big smiles. Even in a child who survived the end of the world, happiness still dwelled. Maybe the future won't be so bleak after all.
I stuffed the bear, Max's note and Gracie's drawing into my coat pockets and ran out to the Jeep where my soul mate sat patiently, waiting. A grin broke out on his face as I fell across his lap. "You are my home, Max! I love you... for all eternity."
After a lengthy kiss, I finally settled into my seat as he started the engine, and we roared off towards Roswell... towards the rest of our lives. and all I could wonder was: What would Tess think about all this?
