Part 7
Roswell, New Mexico
Kyle groaned, pulling his pillow over his head as the pounding began. "Go away." He muttered.
The pounding continued. It was accompanied by an insistent ringing noise. "Oh for..." Kyle threw his pillow aside, glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was just before 1 AM.
He had just managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning for a good two hours, mulling over Tess and why she suddenly seemed to hate him again. It hadn't helped that he had ended up wishing that Liz was still there to be his sounding board - which had resulted in actual tears, which had resulted in a temper tantrum. He could still see all of his various sports trophies piled in the corner of the room where he had thrown them in a complete rage a couple of hours before. There was even a hole in the wall where his football MVP trophy had smashed into it particularly hard.
He had felt a lot better after blowing off all that steam. He realized that he hadn't really cried since he was ten years old, since the day his mother had left he and his dad high and dry. This sucked ten times worse. At least his mother was still alive somewhere.
Liz was gone forever.
It took Kyle a minute after waking to realize that someone was at the door downstairs. His dad had been called into work around ten to sort out some big-wig having been pulled over for a DUI, so Kyle was going to have to be the one to answer the door. He stumbled through the dark house, scratching his head in annoyance.
Flipping on the porch light he was surprised to see Isabel Evans standing there, her hands cupped up against the window, her dark eyes peering in at him. Alex was standing behind her, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other in his gangly way.
"What's going on?" Kyle demanded the minute he threw open the door. He knew that it had to be something bad to actually bring Isabel to his house in the middle of the night.
His heart was in his throat. Had something happened to Tess?
"Is your dad here Kyle?" Isabel asked, her voice hoarse. Kyle realized for the first time that she was completely strung out.
"He's at the station." Kyle replied, narrowing his eyes. "I repeat - what's going on?"
Isabel seemed to collapse into Alex. "It's okay Izzy." Alex stroked her blonde hair comfortingly. "Maria and Jenny will find him there."
"WHAT'S GOING ON!!!" Kyle practically yelled. Both Isabel and Alex jumped, stared at him.
"Liz is alive." Isabel told him without preamble. Kyle felt his eyes widen, put his hand up against the door-jamb for support.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I just found her on the dream plain - Tarsus kidnapped her. She's on Illyria." Isabel replied. "Max told us all along that she was still alive and none of us believed him. He went after her Kyle. He's all alone. He's going to get killed and he's going to strand us here so that we can't help...oh God..." Isabel started to cry. Alex pulled her into his arms.
"Why would he do that?" Kyle demanded. "Is he a complete moron?" He paused, felt a flash of complete annoyance. "Oh wait - I forgot - his mightiness NEVER asks for help."
"But he DID!" Isabel replied, managing to get a hold of herself. "He kept trying to get us to believe him and we wouldn't. He had no choice."
"We practically told him he was insane." Alex told Kyle, sounding ashamed. "Tess was the only one who believed him."
"TESS!" Kyle exclaimed. "Does she know about this?" She was going to be so worried. Kyle knew how she felt about Max. He might not like it but he didn't want her hurt in that way.
Isabel's eyes seemed to become even wider. "Oh God! Michael never told me if she came home when I talked to him a few minutes ago." She stared at Alex. "I bet she went with Max."
Kyle closed his eyes briefly, felt the pain, quickly pushed it aside. Tess was following that imbecile Max onto a planet full of danger. He had to try and stop them - if only to protect the girl he loved. He didn't care if she didn't love him back. He preferred her alive and in love with someone else to being dead and his. "I'm assuming they're going to take the portal in England?" He demanded. Isabel licked her lips, nodded.
"I assume so. We wanted your dad to put out an APB for Max at all the airports so that they would catch him either here, in Miami, or in London. I already tried to dreamwalk him, but not only is he awake, he's blocking me." She lowered her voice, sounded sad. "He's getting WAY too good at doing that."
"Has anyone gone to the airport?" Kyle asked. Alex nodded.
"Michael."
Kyle nodded resolutely. "We need to catch them. Maria's gone to the station?" When Isabel nodded again, Kyle hurried back towards his room. "Just let me get dressed."
He was back moments later, having pulled on jeans, a white t-shirt and his letterman's jacket. He grabbed the keys to the mustang off of the kitchen table. Isabel and Alex were still standing on the porch, staring at him. They both looked shocked that he was taking such initiative. He didn't blame them. He was only beginning to realize what a completely selfish bastard he had been for the last few months.
This wasn't just about he and Tess. He had had a responsibility to all of these people. They were his friends and he had basically abandoned them like a spoiled little boy, just because the girl he liked liked someone else.
"You guys stay here and wait for my dad." Kyle ordered. "Isabel why don't you keep trying to use your mind stuff to get a hold of his mightiness and I'll go help Michael at the airport."
He was out the door and peeling out of the driveway a moment later.
Alex and Isabel just stared after him. Alex looked at Isabel. "Who was that masked man?" He asked, sounding mystified.
Isabel shrugged. "Whoever he was, I hope he sticks around." She grabbed Alex's hand, pulled him through the Valenti's front door. "If this whole debacle has taught me one thing its that we ALL need each other. We were wrong not to believe Max but HE was wrong to take off like this. And if he brought Tess with him? They're both in a lot of trouble Alex. They're going to be taken the minute they go through the Ring. The Dernians control it now." She paused, felt tears well up in her eyes again. "We HAVE to stop them."
"We will Izzy. He's not going to be able to get a flight to Miami at this time of night anyway. Michael and Kyle will catch them at the airport." Alex told her. Isabel could hear the doubt in his voice though. It was the same doubt that was swirling through her own mind - tinged with panic.
Because they both knew that, when it came to Liz Parker, nothing was going to stop Max from doing what had to be done.
****************************************
Max forced himself to refrain from pounding his fist on the airline counter in frustration. "You're sure that there are no flights before six?" He asked one last time.
The airline rep snapped her gum, yawned. "I'm sure sir." She said. He could hear the annoyance in her voice. As Max turned away he could hear her muttering to herself. "NORMAL people don't want to take a plane at two o'clock in the morning."
Normal people.
Well, he had never tried to pretend that he was normal. If he was normal none of this would be happening.
Liz would be safe.
Max sighed heavily, glanced at his watch. It was just after two. He wished now that he hadn't left that note sitting on his bed. If Izzy found it before he was able to get on the plane they would try and stop him.
He refused to be stopped.
He wouldn't even know if she did find it. He had shut down his mind, refusing to allow her access. He knew that the first thing she would do was try and contact him on the dream plain or, rather, because he was awake, telepathically. Isabel's control of her mind had increased greatly over the past year. She WOULD be able to reach him.
But he wasn't going to allow it. He was just as strong as she was, if not stronger.
He refused to be stopped.
Max swung his backpack over his shoulder, made his way to a bench nearby. He knew it was unlikely that he would be able to sit still. He would be watching the door constantly, hoping to hell that no one showed up to drag him home, or at the very least to try and guilt him into coming back.
He had made up his mind. He was doing this alone. He had determined that he was going to take care of Tarsus once and for all, making the planet safe for Jennetta's triumphant return. Tarsus was the only thing standing in the way of the reunion of Illyria and Dernia.
Max knew this for one main reason. It was he, after all, who had led the Dernians the last time he was on his planet. He knew them - knew them inside and out. Without Tarsus, they would lose their way. The emotionless Dernians could not survive without a leader telling them what to do.
Max would become that leader and he would order them to follow Jennetta. It would be as simple as that.
Now he just had to get there. What had he been thinking leaving in the middle of the night? Of course there were no flights...
They were going to try and stop him. He just knew it.
And it was then that he heard it. "....ride to Albuquerque?"
He perked up. Was someone flying to Albuquerque? If he could at least get of Roswell, he'd be half-way there. They'd never find him in Albuquerque.
"I'm leaving in twenty minutes." Max heard a voice saying. "The tower has given me leave."
Max swallowed, followed the voice. He could see a young man nearby, talking to another airline rep. "Sounds good." She was saying. "Just let me get my bag. It will be good to be home earlier than I expected."
And suddenly Max realized that he had FINALLY had a stroke of good luck. He knew that girl.
Her name was Tina Mathers and she had sat in front of him in English during his sophomore year. She was a year older than him but as West Roswell didn't have Advanced Placement for all of their courses, sometimes the more gifted students took the next year's course, which was how Max had ended up in Eleventh Grade English - right behind Tina Mathers who, Max reddened at the memory, had once told him that she wanted to jump his bones.
The girl was anything but shy.
He had heard that she had become a flight attendant.
"Tina?" Max approached her.
She turned to stare at him wearily. She looked like she had been on her feet for five years, but her face brightened with recognition. "Max Evans!"
"Yeah. How are you?"
And so it was arranged. She was getting a lift back to Albuquerque on a small charter flown by a friend of hers. She had agreed almost instantly that he could come too. He could tell by the look on her face that she knew about Liz, thought that he just needed to get away. He wondered if that's why she had been here - for Liz's funeral. Max knew that Tina and Liz had done a few projects together at school.
But Tina didn't say anything, just smiled willingly when he asked for her help.
It looked like things were going to be okay. Max went to wait near the gate, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other.
He almost made it too....
He could see Tina coming towards him, her friend the pilot in the lead. It was the person behind Tina that almost gave Max a heart attack.
It was Michael - and he looked pissed.
He was stalking along, his head down, glancing up every few feet to stare at the random people in the airport at this hour.
Max looked around frantically. There was nowhere to hide. Michael was going to see him any second and he was going to end up in a gigantic yelling match in the middle of the Roswell Airport. Tina and her friend were going to leave without him.
Max sighed resignedly as Michael approached. His best friend's gaze flew past him, paused...
And Michael kept on walking.
Max blinked.
He followed Michael's retreating figure with his eyes, tensed again when he saw Michael stop to talk to someone. It was Kyle Valenti, who was staring around the airport, an irritated expression on HIS face.
And then Max knew.
Tess.
And suddenly there she was, standing at his elbow, her blue eyes serious. "Don't even tell me I'm not coming with you." She told him frostily, without preamble. "There is no way that you are going alone and clearly you need me."
She had mind-warped them. Michael was going to be EVEN more pissed.
"It's too dangerous..." Max began, about to shake his head. Tess raised an eyebrow.
"What did I just say?"
Max sighed, then grinned with relief. He had tried. He admitted to himself that he hadn't really wanted to be totally alone in this. Tess had been supportive from the beginning. He could trust her. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to Tina."
"I hope you know this is really stupid." Tess told him as they boarded the plane several minutes later.
"So then why are you coming with me?" Max asked, refusing to acknowledge that she was probably right.
"Because I'm just as big an idiot as you are." She told him sighing. "If we can get rid of Tarsus, maybe I can be with Kyle." She said quietly. "He'll be safe then."
"He was here." Max told her unnecessarily. Tess nodded sadly.
"He won't give up. I see that now. And you know what? I don't want him to. Which means I need to help you."
"Thank you." Max returned, pleased that at least someone believed in him enough to support him, even if she did sort of have ulterior motives. At least her ulterior motives were close enough to his own to make it okay.
They were going to keep their loved ones safe by getting rid of the one threat left.
"Don't thank me until Tarsus is just a bad memory we can pretend was a nightmare." Tess replied.
And that was going to be soon Max thought firmly. Very soon.
Part 8
They met at the Valentis. Isabel and Alex were already there of course, Isabel having had no luck trying to contact Max telepathically. Kyle and Michael joined them there after their useless trip to the airport and Maria and Jennetta had come back with the Sheriff.
Jennetta watched Michael pace, the expression on his face enraged. "I just cannot believe how irresponsible Max is! I mean, didn't he learn his lesson last time? Tarsus BRAINWASHED him last time he refused help. And to bring Tess along with him..."
Isabel interjected angrily. She had become Max's biggest champion since her dream talk with Liz. Jennetta imagined it had to do with her guilt over not believing their brother in the first place. "You're one to talk Michael! I seem to recall many an occasion where you didn't exactly ask for permission before you did something, or does YOUR memory need refreshing?" She began to tick numbers off on her fingers. "One: stealing that key from the Sheriff. Two: hijacking Maria to Marathon. Three: stealing the orb and going to talk to Topolsky AFTER we had agreed that we wouldn't..."
"Stop yelling at him!" Maria shrieked, her hands over her ears. "Can't you two EVER have a conversation without it turning into a battle royal?"
Alex stood up, his hands raised. "ENOUGH!" He yelled. The entire group shut up, staring at him. Jennetta had never heard Alex raise his voice, let alone with a tone like that. "This is wasting time. Michael, clearly Max had his reasons. We might not agree with them, but get over it." He said firmly. "Iz, I know you're upset, but its time to move on. You can apologize to Max when we track him down. THAT'S what we need to think about right now. We have to figure out how we're going to fix this."
Jennetta smiled slightly to herself. She had always liked Alex. She remembered how he used to make her giggle with his jokes before she had gone into the pod. She had quickly learned since emerging again that his humorous approach to life masked a good deal of common sense and a backbone of steel. She admired the way he was able to calm Isabel down with just a gentle touch. He would have made a good peace negotiator - he was always calm AND fair.
Michael raked his hands through his spiky hair in frustration, nodded. "I'm sorry." He grumbled to Isabel. She pursed her lips, nodded.
"Me too." To Jennetta's ears neither of them sounded particularly sorry though.
But then that was Michael and Isabel. They were closer to siblings than friends, sparking off of each other quickly but just as quickly pretending it had never happened. That apology had been to make Alex happy, nothing more.
It had not taken Jennetta long to analyze how all of these relationships worked. She NEEDED to analyze them. She NEEDED them.
She needed Isabel's passion and her fire and her vulnerability. Jennetta understood that Isabel was not her biggest fan. She was jealous of Jennetta's relationship with Jaxon -er Max, she was TRYING to think of them all by their Earth names since those were the ones they favoured- and Isabel also resented that they had to deal with the Illyrian issue at all. If it hadn't been for Jennetta, they might not have to. They could have reveled in Max's return, tried to forget about their war-torn planet. Jennetta didn't blame Isabel - understood it. Her sister was scared, scared that she was going to lose everything she loved.
Michael, her father, on the other hand was the complete opposite. While he had accepted his humanity by admitting his love for Jennetta's mother, he was still driven by his need to secure his planet, so that he could LIVE the way he wanted to, happily with Maria, guilt-free. Jennetta knew that Michael could never be happy with the knowledge that his home planet was still in turmoil. He wasn't pleased by the fact that it was HER job to solve the problem, but he had begun to accept it. With that acceptance came the determination that they would succeed. He would not rest until she sat on the throne. They had been the victims of destiny once again and again they would have to make the best of it.
Or so Michael thought. He was very pragmatic that way. He was exactly who Jennetta needed.
Because what some of them had not yet come to understand was that Jennetta WANTED her destiny to be fulfilled. She wanted to save her planet, she wanted to be queen.
And there was one reason that she wanted it.
She wanted it so that her loved ones wouldn't have to be responsible anymore.
If Jennetta let destiny run its course Max and Liz could be together, as they were meant to be; Michael and Maria could be together as they WANTED to be. Mirana could be Isabel, Kyle and Tess could stop acting like complete idiots and admit they loved each other.
And Alex...
Well, Jennetta wasn't sure exactly what Alex wanted. But whatever it was, she wanted him to have it.
Because a small little part of her heart had begun to admit that he was her favourite. He represented everything that was good about humanity. He made her proud to call herself half-human. He was the best and brightest this world had to offer.
Of course she loved her parents, she loved Jaxon, she felt sisterly towards Mirana - even if Mirana didn't always feel the same way - but she liked Alex because of who HE was, not because of some previous relationship.
She liked Kyle and Liz too, but Alex was her favourite. No question about it.
And at this moment he was showing why.
"So, as I see it." Alex continued. "We have two things that need to be done."
"Two?" Maria asked. "I only see one. We need to catch up with Tess and Max and yell at them. A lot."
"And possibly pummel King Max..." Jennetta heard Kyle mutter.
Alex sighed. "Well, yes, that IS number one." He admitted. He looked at Kyle. "Not what YOU said, but what Maria said. Anyway, number two is JUST as important. What happens if we don't catch them in time?"
Isabel sat down wearily. "Nothing happens. We have to sit here and do nothing. There is no way to open that damn portal without Max."
Alex raised his hand in protest. "Okay, could we for ONE minute please try and remember what Max has been telling us ALL along. There IS another way through." He pointed at Michael. "Did you or did you NOT see Tarsus in that flash?"
"I did." Michael replied.
"And he got here somehow." Alex finished. "And we need to figure out HOW..."
"We could ask Ren..." Maria suggested.
"Yeah, he's been a ton of help so far." Alex replied sarcastically, shaking his head. "It's time for us to attack that library with a vengeance. The answer HAS to be there somewhere."
"But what about Max and Tess?" Kyle demanded. "We're not just going to let them go?"
"Of course not." Alex sighed again. Jennetta didn't blame him. Everyone seemed to be particularly dense tonight. The explanation might lay in the fact that it was three thirty in the morning. Jennetta was exhausted too. "Half of us will follow them to England." He glanced at his watch. "And we had better go now. We need to be on the first plane out of Roswell this morning."
"So who stays and who goes?" Kyle interjected. "I'm going." He added quickly. Jennetta saw the Sheriff eye his son.
"If Kyle goes, I go." He said, speaking up for the first time. Jennetta looked at him. She didn't know the Sheriff well, understood from her mother that they were trying to keep him out of things as much as possible, trying to protect him.
He didn't look like he needed protecting to Jennetta. In fact, he looked quite ticked off at the moment. He did not seem to appreciate that he had been out of the loop for so long.
"What about your job?" Kyle demanded. "Dad, you can't."
"I can and I will." Kyle's father replied, raising an eyebrow. "Just because the lot of you kids seem to think I am incapable of really helping you, doesn't mean I'm not going to try." He stared at Kyle. "And I think that you and I have a little catching up to do in certain departments."
Jennetta saw Kyle pale, smothered a smile. If anyone was a confused soul it was poor Kyle. Tess had him so tied up in knots he could barely think straight. Losing Liz on top of that had almost been the end of him. He needed his dad.
"Obviously Isabel and I should go to England." Michael was saying. "We've been before and if anyone can open the portal, Izzy can."
Alex was nodding. "I agree. And Jennetta has to stay here. She and Ren are the only ones who can read Illyrian."
Jennetta saw her mother exchange a loaded glance with her father. "I'll stay here too." Maria supplied. Jennetta knew it was because neither of them wanted to leave her alone. She smiled to herself again.
"I'll stay too." Alex decided. "Maybe I can create some sort of translation program...to make it easier."
"Are you trying to tell me that you're going to move a computer system into the library?" Michael demanded, smirking. "Typical Whitman!" Jennetta frowned. She didn't like the way the others treated Alex sometimes - like they were humoring him. She knew that her father was just teasing Alex, but it annoyed her.
Didn't they understand that he was one of their greatest strengths?
Alex didn't seem to mind though. He just grinned. "No alien hocus pocus for me." He glanced at his watch again. "And alien hocus pocus ain't going to get you guys to England any faster. You need to get there NOW."
The Sheriff moved off to call into the station. Kyle hurried off to his bedroom to pack while the other four made their way to the door. "We'll see you in half an hour." Michael yelled in the general direction of Kyle's departure.
Jennetta closed her eyes briefly. FINALLY! They were working as a team. She opened her eyes to the sight of Maria holding out her hand for her. "Let's go Jenny."
"Coming."
Maybe everything WOULD work out.
Or maybe not.
Roswell, New Mexico
Kyle groaned, pulling his pillow over his head as the pounding began. "Go away." He muttered.
The pounding continued. It was accompanied by an insistent ringing noise. "Oh for..." Kyle threw his pillow aside, glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was just before 1 AM.
He had just managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning for a good two hours, mulling over Tess and why she suddenly seemed to hate him again. It hadn't helped that he had ended up wishing that Liz was still there to be his sounding board - which had resulted in actual tears, which had resulted in a temper tantrum. He could still see all of his various sports trophies piled in the corner of the room where he had thrown them in a complete rage a couple of hours before. There was even a hole in the wall where his football MVP trophy had smashed into it particularly hard.
He had felt a lot better after blowing off all that steam. He realized that he hadn't really cried since he was ten years old, since the day his mother had left he and his dad high and dry. This sucked ten times worse. At least his mother was still alive somewhere.
Liz was gone forever.
It took Kyle a minute after waking to realize that someone was at the door downstairs. His dad had been called into work around ten to sort out some big-wig having been pulled over for a DUI, so Kyle was going to have to be the one to answer the door. He stumbled through the dark house, scratching his head in annoyance.
Flipping on the porch light he was surprised to see Isabel Evans standing there, her hands cupped up against the window, her dark eyes peering in at him. Alex was standing behind her, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other in his gangly way.
"What's going on?" Kyle demanded the minute he threw open the door. He knew that it had to be something bad to actually bring Isabel to his house in the middle of the night.
His heart was in his throat. Had something happened to Tess?
"Is your dad here Kyle?" Isabel asked, her voice hoarse. Kyle realized for the first time that she was completely strung out.
"He's at the station." Kyle replied, narrowing his eyes. "I repeat - what's going on?"
Isabel seemed to collapse into Alex. "It's okay Izzy." Alex stroked her blonde hair comfortingly. "Maria and Jenny will find him there."
"WHAT'S GOING ON!!!" Kyle practically yelled. Both Isabel and Alex jumped, stared at him.
"Liz is alive." Isabel told him without preamble. Kyle felt his eyes widen, put his hand up against the door-jamb for support.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I just found her on the dream plain - Tarsus kidnapped her. She's on Illyria." Isabel replied. "Max told us all along that she was still alive and none of us believed him. He went after her Kyle. He's all alone. He's going to get killed and he's going to strand us here so that we can't help...oh God..." Isabel started to cry. Alex pulled her into his arms.
"Why would he do that?" Kyle demanded. "Is he a complete moron?" He paused, felt a flash of complete annoyance. "Oh wait - I forgot - his mightiness NEVER asks for help."
"But he DID!" Isabel replied, managing to get a hold of herself. "He kept trying to get us to believe him and we wouldn't. He had no choice."
"We practically told him he was insane." Alex told Kyle, sounding ashamed. "Tess was the only one who believed him."
"TESS!" Kyle exclaimed. "Does she know about this?" She was going to be so worried. Kyle knew how she felt about Max. He might not like it but he didn't want her hurt in that way.
Isabel's eyes seemed to become even wider. "Oh God! Michael never told me if she came home when I talked to him a few minutes ago." She stared at Alex. "I bet she went with Max."
Kyle closed his eyes briefly, felt the pain, quickly pushed it aside. Tess was following that imbecile Max onto a planet full of danger. He had to try and stop them - if only to protect the girl he loved. He didn't care if she didn't love him back. He preferred her alive and in love with someone else to being dead and his. "I'm assuming they're going to take the portal in England?" He demanded. Isabel licked her lips, nodded.
"I assume so. We wanted your dad to put out an APB for Max at all the airports so that they would catch him either here, in Miami, or in London. I already tried to dreamwalk him, but not only is he awake, he's blocking me." She lowered her voice, sounded sad. "He's getting WAY too good at doing that."
"Has anyone gone to the airport?" Kyle asked. Alex nodded.
"Michael."
Kyle nodded resolutely. "We need to catch them. Maria's gone to the station?" When Isabel nodded again, Kyle hurried back towards his room. "Just let me get dressed."
He was back moments later, having pulled on jeans, a white t-shirt and his letterman's jacket. He grabbed the keys to the mustang off of the kitchen table. Isabel and Alex were still standing on the porch, staring at him. They both looked shocked that he was taking such initiative. He didn't blame them. He was only beginning to realize what a completely selfish bastard he had been for the last few months.
This wasn't just about he and Tess. He had had a responsibility to all of these people. They were his friends and he had basically abandoned them like a spoiled little boy, just because the girl he liked liked someone else.
"You guys stay here and wait for my dad." Kyle ordered. "Isabel why don't you keep trying to use your mind stuff to get a hold of his mightiness and I'll go help Michael at the airport."
He was out the door and peeling out of the driveway a moment later.
Alex and Isabel just stared after him. Alex looked at Isabel. "Who was that masked man?" He asked, sounding mystified.
Isabel shrugged. "Whoever he was, I hope he sticks around." She grabbed Alex's hand, pulled him through the Valenti's front door. "If this whole debacle has taught me one thing its that we ALL need each other. We were wrong not to believe Max but HE was wrong to take off like this. And if he brought Tess with him? They're both in a lot of trouble Alex. They're going to be taken the minute they go through the Ring. The Dernians control it now." She paused, felt tears well up in her eyes again. "We HAVE to stop them."
"We will Izzy. He's not going to be able to get a flight to Miami at this time of night anyway. Michael and Kyle will catch them at the airport." Alex told her. Isabel could hear the doubt in his voice though. It was the same doubt that was swirling through her own mind - tinged with panic.
Because they both knew that, when it came to Liz Parker, nothing was going to stop Max from doing what had to be done.
****************************************
Max forced himself to refrain from pounding his fist on the airline counter in frustration. "You're sure that there are no flights before six?" He asked one last time.
The airline rep snapped her gum, yawned. "I'm sure sir." She said. He could hear the annoyance in her voice. As Max turned away he could hear her muttering to herself. "NORMAL people don't want to take a plane at two o'clock in the morning."
Normal people.
Well, he had never tried to pretend that he was normal. If he was normal none of this would be happening.
Liz would be safe.
Max sighed heavily, glanced at his watch. It was just after two. He wished now that he hadn't left that note sitting on his bed. If Izzy found it before he was able to get on the plane they would try and stop him.
He refused to be stopped.
He wouldn't even know if she did find it. He had shut down his mind, refusing to allow her access. He knew that the first thing she would do was try and contact him on the dream plain or, rather, because he was awake, telepathically. Isabel's control of her mind had increased greatly over the past year. She WOULD be able to reach him.
But he wasn't going to allow it. He was just as strong as she was, if not stronger.
He refused to be stopped.
Max swung his backpack over his shoulder, made his way to a bench nearby. He knew it was unlikely that he would be able to sit still. He would be watching the door constantly, hoping to hell that no one showed up to drag him home, or at the very least to try and guilt him into coming back.
He had made up his mind. He was doing this alone. He had determined that he was going to take care of Tarsus once and for all, making the planet safe for Jennetta's triumphant return. Tarsus was the only thing standing in the way of the reunion of Illyria and Dernia.
Max knew this for one main reason. It was he, after all, who had led the Dernians the last time he was on his planet. He knew them - knew them inside and out. Without Tarsus, they would lose their way. The emotionless Dernians could not survive without a leader telling them what to do.
Max would become that leader and he would order them to follow Jennetta. It would be as simple as that.
Now he just had to get there. What had he been thinking leaving in the middle of the night? Of course there were no flights...
They were going to try and stop him. He just knew it.
And it was then that he heard it. "....ride to Albuquerque?"
He perked up. Was someone flying to Albuquerque? If he could at least get of Roswell, he'd be half-way there. They'd never find him in Albuquerque.
"I'm leaving in twenty minutes." Max heard a voice saying. "The tower has given me leave."
Max swallowed, followed the voice. He could see a young man nearby, talking to another airline rep. "Sounds good." She was saying. "Just let me get my bag. It will be good to be home earlier than I expected."
And suddenly Max realized that he had FINALLY had a stroke of good luck. He knew that girl.
Her name was Tina Mathers and she had sat in front of him in English during his sophomore year. She was a year older than him but as West Roswell didn't have Advanced Placement for all of their courses, sometimes the more gifted students took the next year's course, which was how Max had ended up in Eleventh Grade English - right behind Tina Mathers who, Max reddened at the memory, had once told him that she wanted to jump his bones.
The girl was anything but shy.
He had heard that she had become a flight attendant.
"Tina?" Max approached her.
She turned to stare at him wearily. She looked like she had been on her feet for five years, but her face brightened with recognition. "Max Evans!"
"Yeah. How are you?"
And so it was arranged. She was getting a lift back to Albuquerque on a small charter flown by a friend of hers. She had agreed almost instantly that he could come too. He could tell by the look on her face that she knew about Liz, thought that he just needed to get away. He wondered if that's why she had been here - for Liz's funeral. Max knew that Tina and Liz had done a few projects together at school.
But Tina didn't say anything, just smiled willingly when he asked for her help.
It looked like things were going to be okay. Max went to wait near the gate, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other.
He almost made it too....
He could see Tina coming towards him, her friend the pilot in the lead. It was the person behind Tina that almost gave Max a heart attack.
It was Michael - and he looked pissed.
He was stalking along, his head down, glancing up every few feet to stare at the random people in the airport at this hour.
Max looked around frantically. There was nowhere to hide. Michael was going to see him any second and he was going to end up in a gigantic yelling match in the middle of the Roswell Airport. Tina and her friend were going to leave without him.
Max sighed resignedly as Michael approached. His best friend's gaze flew past him, paused...
And Michael kept on walking.
Max blinked.
He followed Michael's retreating figure with his eyes, tensed again when he saw Michael stop to talk to someone. It was Kyle Valenti, who was staring around the airport, an irritated expression on HIS face.
And then Max knew.
Tess.
And suddenly there she was, standing at his elbow, her blue eyes serious. "Don't even tell me I'm not coming with you." She told him frostily, without preamble. "There is no way that you are going alone and clearly you need me."
She had mind-warped them. Michael was going to be EVEN more pissed.
"It's too dangerous..." Max began, about to shake his head. Tess raised an eyebrow.
"What did I just say?"
Max sighed, then grinned with relief. He had tried. He admitted to himself that he hadn't really wanted to be totally alone in this. Tess had been supportive from the beginning. He could trust her. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to Tina."
"I hope you know this is really stupid." Tess told him as they boarded the plane several minutes later.
"So then why are you coming with me?" Max asked, refusing to acknowledge that she was probably right.
"Because I'm just as big an idiot as you are." She told him sighing. "If we can get rid of Tarsus, maybe I can be with Kyle." She said quietly. "He'll be safe then."
"He was here." Max told her unnecessarily. Tess nodded sadly.
"He won't give up. I see that now. And you know what? I don't want him to. Which means I need to help you."
"Thank you." Max returned, pleased that at least someone believed in him enough to support him, even if she did sort of have ulterior motives. At least her ulterior motives were close enough to his own to make it okay.
They were going to keep their loved ones safe by getting rid of the one threat left.
"Don't thank me until Tarsus is just a bad memory we can pretend was a nightmare." Tess replied.
And that was going to be soon Max thought firmly. Very soon.
Part 8
They met at the Valentis. Isabel and Alex were already there of course, Isabel having had no luck trying to contact Max telepathically. Kyle and Michael joined them there after their useless trip to the airport and Maria and Jennetta had come back with the Sheriff.
Jennetta watched Michael pace, the expression on his face enraged. "I just cannot believe how irresponsible Max is! I mean, didn't he learn his lesson last time? Tarsus BRAINWASHED him last time he refused help. And to bring Tess along with him..."
Isabel interjected angrily. She had become Max's biggest champion since her dream talk with Liz. Jennetta imagined it had to do with her guilt over not believing their brother in the first place. "You're one to talk Michael! I seem to recall many an occasion where you didn't exactly ask for permission before you did something, or does YOUR memory need refreshing?" She began to tick numbers off on her fingers. "One: stealing that key from the Sheriff. Two: hijacking Maria to Marathon. Three: stealing the orb and going to talk to Topolsky AFTER we had agreed that we wouldn't..."
"Stop yelling at him!" Maria shrieked, her hands over her ears. "Can't you two EVER have a conversation without it turning into a battle royal?"
Alex stood up, his hands raised. "ENOUGH!" He yelled. The entire group shut up, staring at him. Jennetta had never heard Alex raise his voice, let alone with a tone like that. "This is wasting time. Michael, clearly Max had his reasons. We might not agree with them, but get over it." He said firmly. "Iz, I know you're upset, but its time to move on. You can apologize to Max when we track him down. THAT'S what we need to think about right now. We have to figure out how we're going to fix this."
Jennetta smiled slightly to herself. She had always liked Alex. She remembered how he used to make her giggle with his jokes before she had gone into the pod. She had quickly learned since emerging again that his humorous approach to life masked a good deal of common sense and a backbone of steel. She admired the way he was able to calm Isabel down with just a gentle touch. He would have made a good peace negotiator - he was always calm AND fair.
Michael raked his hands through his spiky hair in frustration, nodded. "I'm sorry." He grumbled to Isabel. She pursed her lips, nodded.
"Me too." To Jennetta's ears neither of them sounded particularly sorry though.
But then that was Michael and Isabel. They were closer to siblings than friends, sparking off of each other quickly but just as quickly pretending it had never happened. That apology had been to make Alex happy, nothing more.
It had not taken Jennetta long to analyze how all of these relationships worked. She NEEDED to analyze them. She NEEDED them.
She needed Isabel's passion and her fire and her vulnerability. Jennetta understood that Isabel was not her biggest fan. She was jealous of Jennetta's relationship with Jaxon -er Max, she was TRYING to think of them all by their Earth names since those were the ones they favoured- and Isabel also resented that they had to deal with the Illyrian issue at all. If it hadn't been for Jennetta, they might not have to. They could have reveled in Max's return, tried to forget about their war-torn planet. Jennetta didn't blame Isabel - understood it. Her sister was scared, scared that she was going to lose everything she loved.
Michael, her father, on the other hand was the complete opposite. While he had accepted his humanity by admitting his love for Jennetta's mother, he was still driven by his need to secure his planet, so that he could LIVE the way he wanted to, happily with Maria, guilt-free. Jennetta knew that Michael could never be happy with the knowledge that his home planet was still in turmoil. He wasn't pleased by the fact that it was HER job to solve the problem, but he had begun to accept it. With that acceptance came the determination that they would succeed. He would not rest until she sat on the throne. They had been the victims of destiny once again and again they would have to make the best of it.
Or so Michael thought. He was very pragmatic that way. He was exactly who Jennetta needed.
Because what some of them had not yet come to understand was that Jennetta WANTED her destiny to be fulfilled. She wanted to save her planet, she wanted to be queen.
And there was one reason that she wanted it.
She wanted it so that her loved ones wouldn't have to be responsible anymore.
If Jennetta let destiny run its course Max and Liz could be together, as they were meant to be; Michael and Maria could be together as they WANTED to be. Mirana could be Isabel, Kyle and Tess could stop acting like complete idiots and admit they loved each other.
And Alex...
Well, Jennetta wasn't sure exactly what Alex wanted. But whatever it was, she wanted him to have it.
Because a small little part of her heart had begun to admit that he was her favourite. He represented everything that was good about humanity. He made her proud to call herself half-human. He was the best and brightest this world had to offer.
Of course she loved her parents, she loved Jaxon, she felt sisterly towards Mirana - even if Mirana didn't always feel the same way - but she liked Alex because of who HE was, not because of some previous relationship.
She liked Kyle and Liz too, but Alex was her favourite. No question about it.
And at this moment he was showing why.
"So, as I see it." Alex continued. "We have two things that need to be done."
"Two?" Maria asked. "I only see one. We need to catch up with Tess and Max and yell at them. A lot."
"And possibly pummel King Max..." Jennetta heard Kyle mutter.
Alex sighed. "Well, yes, that IS number one." He admitted. He looked at Kyle. "Not what YOU said, but what Maria said. Anyway, number two is JUST as important. What happens if we don't catch them in time?"
Isabel sat down wearily. "Nothing happens. We have to sit here and do nothing. There is no way to open that damn portal without Max."
Alex raised his hand in protest. "Okay, could we for ONE minute please try and remember what Max has been telling us ALL along. There IS another way through." He pointed at Michael. "Did you or did you NOT see Tarsus in that flash?"
"I did." Michael replied.
"And he got here somehow." Alex finished. "And we need to figure out HOW..."
"We could ask Ren..." Maria suggested.
"Yeah, he's been a ton of help so far." Alex replied sarcastically, shaking his head. "It's time for us to attack that library with a vengeance. The answer HAS to be there somewhere."
"But what about Max and Tess?" Kyle demanded. "We're not just going to let them go?"
"Of course not." Alex sighed again. Jennetta didn't blame him. Everyone seemed to be particularly dense tonight. The explanation might lay in the fact that it was three thirty in the morning. Jennetta was exhausted too. "Half of us will follow them to England." He glanced at his watch. "And we had better go now. We need to be on the first plane out of Roswell this morning."
"So who stays and who goes?" Kyle interjected. "I'm going." He added quickly. Jennetta saw the Sheriff eye his son.
"If Kyle goes, I go." He said, speaking up for the first time. Jennetta looked at him. She didn't know the Sheriff well, understood from her mother that they were trying to keep him out of things as much as possible, trying to protect him.
He didn't look like he needed protecting to Jennetta. In fact, he looked quite ticked off at the moment. He did not seem to appreciate that he had been out of the loop for so long.
"What about your job?" Kyle demanded. "Dad, you can't."
"I can and I will." Kyle's father replied, raising an eyebrow. "Just because the lot of you kids seem to think I am incapable of really helping you, doesn't mean I'm not going to try." He stared at Kyle. "And I think that you and I have a little catching up to do in certain departments."
Jennetta saw Kyle pale, smothered a smile. If anyone was a confused soul it was poor Kyle. Tess had him so tied up in knots he could barely think straight. Losing Liz on top of that had almost been the end of him. He needed his dad.
"Obviously Isabel and I should go to England." Michael was saying. "We've been before and if anyone can open the portal, Izzy can."
Alex was nodding. "I agree. And Jennetta has to stay here. She and Ren are the only ones who can read Illyrian."
Jennetta saw her mother exchange a loaded glance with her father. "I'll stay here too." Maria supplied. Jennetta knew it was because neither of them wanted to leave her alone. She smiled to herself again.
"I'll stay too." Alex decided. "Maybe I can create some sort of translation program...to make it easier."
"Are you trying to tell me that you're going to move a computer system into the library?" Michael demanded, smirking. "Typical Whitman!" Jennetta frowned. She didn't like the way the others treated Alex sometimes - like they were humoring him. She knew that her father was just teasing Alex, but it annoyed her.
Didn't they understand that he was one of their greatest strengths?
Alex didn't seem to mind though. He just grinned. "No alien hocus pocus for me." He glanced at his watch again. "And alien hocus pocus ain't going to get you guys to England any faster. You need to get there NOW."
The Sheriff moved off to call into the station. Kyle hurried off to his bedroom to pack while the other four made their way to the door. "We'll see you in half an hour." Michael yelled in the general direction of Kyle's departure.
Jennetta closed her eyes briefly. FINALLY! They were working as a team. She opened her eyes to the sight of Maria holding out her hand for her. "Let's go Jenny."
"Coming."
Maybe everything WOULD work out.
Or maybe not.
