Part 29

The Citadel, Illyria

"I'm telling you Tess. Something's not right here." Max heard Kyle's complaint as he entered the chamber where he had asked his two friends to wait for him. "Why did Max just throw us in here and then leave? I think they're brainwashing him again."

"Kyle, you need to calm down." They still hadn't noticed his arrival. Tess moved towards Kyle, stroking his arms lightly when she reached him. "Max will explain everything when he gets back."

"Which I plan to do right now." Max interjected loudly. He could hear the courtiers gathered behind him beginning to mutter amongst themselves at the sight of Tess and Kyle in such close proximity. Since they were still playing along with the charade that Tess was his wife, he didn't blame them. That was a situation that was going to have to be rectified as quickly as possible, but it was just too complicated to try and explain it to his people right now. They didn't know about Liz, they didn't even know that Max and Tess had been killed and reborn on another planet, gone for over fifty years. The very idea of trying to get people to accept that everything had changed gave him a headache.

They had much more important things to deal with at the moment - like getting Liz back. As always, her safety was his first order of business.

It still amazed Max how quickly the tables could turn when it came to politics. The day before he had been languishing in a dungeon with his lunatic mother. Now he was back in firm control of his own people, as well as being in command of a large contingent of Dernians who, tired of Tarsus's erratic behavior, which in no way matched the Dernian need for order and lack of emotion, had joined the Illyrian Cause.

It was all a little convoluted and complicated, but it was also damn satisfying.

When Max had been liberated from his cell by the group of rogue Dernians, he had been shocked. But when their ringleader had stepped forward, he had understood.

It was the young soldier he had met in the Ring several days before. The one who had been named [I]Jaxon[/I] in his honour. Apparently meeting him had been enough for young Jaxon to change his allegiances.

Being a king was very strange. He, Max, had done nothing other than exist and in so doing, he inspired loyalty, betrayal and intrigue. It was a responsibility he did not enjoy, one he looked forward to handing over to Jennetta when the time came.

Because, the truth was, all Max Evans, Jaxon Falconer, every part of him, cared about was Liz Parker.

"Kyle, Tess, this is Jaxon." Max ushered the young rebel forward. He bowed towards Tess, eyed Kyle suspiciously. Max tried to hide his grin. "He has never been cleansed and now he never will be. The Dernians you saw earlier have joined our side. In fact, they were the ones who freed me."

"And your mother?" Tess asked. "Where is she anyway?"

"She's safe." Max replied evenly. "I have a lot to tell you guys. Basically, here's the rundown." He moved forward, took Tess by the hand. He ignored the fact that Kyle was glaring at him. Kyle still seemed on the verge of some sort of emotional breakdown, but Max had to focus on what really mattered right now. Tess was going to be horrified by what he had to tell her about Nasedo.

It took him longer than he expected to fill them in. Because, the truth was, he now knew a lot more than he had even before he had been liberated from the dungeon.

It had been confirmed that not only had Tarsus taken Liz, his mother had spoken the truth when she had told him that Tarsus and Nasedo were one and the same.

"The Ring is still being held by soldiers loyal to Nasedo." Max continued. Both Tess and Kyle were staring at him. Kyle's mouth was now closed from having fallen open in shock, but Tess still looked a little ill. "That is to be our next order of business - opening it again. The planet can't be made ready for Jenny's arrival until the Ring is back to being neutral ground."

"What about Liz?" Kyle demanded.

"I'm taking a small force of Royal Guards after them." Max replied firmly. "You and Tess will stay with the Army and prepare them for the assault on the Ring. And you're also going to keep an eye on my mother. I don't trust her - at all." He didn't elaborate, although both Tess and Kyle looked shocked by his statement. But he didn't want to go into what she had done right now. It was going to take too long and he needed to find Liz.

Max frowned slightly as he noticed that Tess was swaying slightly on her feet. "Tess, are you okay?"

"I just don't understand Max. I thought Nasedo was genetically programmed to obey you. Why would he do this?" Tears were filling her blue eyes, because no matter how horrid of one, the shapeshifter [I]had[/I] been like a father to her for many years.

"That's a question that I can't answer Tess." Max told her, reaching out and pulling her against his chest, stroking her blonde hair comfortingly. "I still don't understand why he took Liz at all. I don't really understand any of this. All I know is what [I]is[/I] and what I can change. I can find Liz. We can take back the Ring. And that's what we're going to do."

He knew he sounded more confident than he felt. Because, the truth was, Max didn't think anything was really going to change until they found out what Nasedo's motivation was in all of this.

His thought process kept bringing him back to one answer.

Ren. Max's brother. Nasedo's son.

Until they understood what Ren's purpose was, what his role was in all of this, they were never going to be able to figure anything out.

It did not make Max happy to remember that Ren was presently on Earth in the company of all he held nearest and dearest apart from the two people in front of him and Liz. Especially because he didn't know whose side Ren was on.

In his gut, Max felt that he could trust the young shapeshifter. The way he had looked after Jennetta from the moment he had followed she and Max to Earth…it was not the work of a man who intended to harm her or any of her friends. Hadn't Ren saved her once from Nasedo after all? When she was a baby?

But, until he knew for sure, Max would worry.

Not for the first time, Max wished that he knew exactly what was happening on Earth. Were his friends just sitting around waiting for them to come back?

But Max knew that it could never be that simple. He knew exactly what [I]he[/I] would be doing in their situation - he would be doing everything in his power to bring them back.

Which was only bound to put them all in even more danger.

"The detachment is ready for your orders your highness."

Max blinked, forced himself to concentrate on what he [I]could[/I] control.

Liz.

He was going to find her. He would not rest until he had.

And this whole damn planet could go to hell for all he cared until he did.

"I'll be in touch." Max told Tess. "Use Hamor. You can trust him. I'll be back in time for the attack. And, whatever you do, keep my mother locked up."

"But Max!" Tess called after him. "Why? What did she do?"

"It doesn't matter. Just trust me." Max called over his shoulder as he allowed the Dernian rebels to lead him towards the transport.

Liz.

He could not focus on anything else until he had her back.

They belonged together. Everything was wrong when they were apart. [I]He[/I] was wrong - off somehow.

He had to find her.

Until he did, everything else could wait.

************************************************************

[b]Illyrian Safe-House, near Salisbury, England - Three days later[/b]

Tomorrow. By the end of tomorrow, Alex Charles Whitman, would be on another planet.

They had tried to convince him that he should stay behind, that he was endangering his health by going, but he refused to listen to any of them.

There was no way he was letting Isabel escape him that easily.

Because, as the days passed, as he became more aware of what was going on around him, as he began to notice the tension that seemed to hang in the air, he began to realize that he had missed something while he had been sleeping.

Something big.

Every time he tried to ask one of them what was going on, they changed the subject. It was getting supremely frustrating.

He did know that there was something seriously wrong with Isabel though. He had seen her a grand total of three times since he had woken up.

The first time he had been half-asleep. He had felt her lips lightly brush his forehead and by the time he had opened his eyes fully, she was gone.

The second time she had sat with him for half an hour, chatting inanely, telling him how proud she was of him for finding a way to open the portal. She had not let him get a word in edge-wise, not that he had tried very hard. He had still been exhausted, desperately trying to get his strength up so that he would be fit when they went through the portal.

The third time was when she had come to tell him that she wanted him to stay behind.

"I just think it will be safer Alex." She had said quietly. He had frowned when he had seen how tensely she held herself, how she could not meet his eyes.

"It's [I]never[/I] been safe Izzy." Alex had replied. "What's so different now?"

She had not answered. He had felt his heart contract when her dark eyes had filled with tears. "Nothing's changed Alex. Not between us. But I just feel like you need to stay here. Please. I just [I]know[/I] you're going to get hurt if you come."

Now Alex was not a person who liked to force himself into situations where he was not wanted. But this was just strange. He had never pushed Isabel, had always known that trying to make her give up her independence would result in losing her, but asking this of him…

It was just too much.

"I'm going Isabel." He had told her firmly. He had seen her close her eyes in resignation.

"Fine. But I can't be held responsible for what happens there Alex." She had snapped, suddenly sounding furious. She had jumped to her feet, her spine rigid with annoyance.

"Isabel!" Alex had called after her. "ISABEL!"

He had wanted to go after her, had wanted to demand that she tell him what the hell was wrong with her - because there most certainly was something wrong. This was [I]not[/I] the Isabel Evans who had left Roswell three weeks before. This was not the Isabel who had told him that she loved him, that he was her strength, that he was what grounded her, kept her sane.

But when he tried to follow her, his weakened legs had folded beneath him and he had ended up flat on his butt on the floor. His nurse had [I]not[/I] been pleased with him and he had given up.

Michael and Maria were no help either. They talked about inconsequential things when they came to see him and he didn't want to burden them with his personal problems. They had more than enough of their own after all.

Jennetta was preparing to take the throne when she arrived on Illyria.

It was Jenny herself who came to tell him so. In fact, she was now sitting beside his bed, telling him some of what he had missed in the past couple of days.

"Jemma still seems a little unsure whether to believe us that I'm the Chosen One." Michael and Maria's daughter was confiding as Alex tuned back in to what she was saying. "But she's telling me what to expect anyway. I have to go to the Citadel to be crowned and then I have to return to the Ring to be judged."

Alex frowned slightly. "But I thought both the Ring and the Citadel were under Dernian control. They're not just going to let you waltz in there are they?"

Jennetta sighed. "No." There was a long pause, and then. "I really don't know [I]what[/I] to expect Alex. If I am the Chosen One, I'll be accepted by both sides. But I don't know how any of its going to play out. All I know is that I have to go back."

"What does Ren say?" Alex asked, curious as to why the grumpy shapeshifter was even letting Jennetta speak to him. It seemed to be his mission in life to keep them apart, even though he had to know that Jenny only had a crush on him and that Alex had absolutely no interest in her.

Come to think of it, Alex reflected, Jennetta's crush seemed to have disappeared while he had been sleeping away the better part of four days. She no longer blushed in his presence and she was speaking to him differently now - like they were friends and she didn't want anything more than that from him.

And, suddenly, it all became clear as tears filled Jennetta's eyes at the mention of Ren. "He's still unconscious." She whispered. Alex stared at her, not understanding what she was telling him. "The doctors…they don't think he's going to wake up. He needs to be back on Illyria to regenerate. But it might even be too late for that. By the time we get him there, he might not be able to revive himself." And, much to Alex's consternation, she laid her head on her arms on his bedside and cried. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him Alex."

Alex reached out, gently stroked her dark head, grief for the future queen bringing tears to his own eyes.

Jennetta was in love with her bodyguard. Alex didn't know how he knew this, but he knew it was true. The whole crush on Alex had been a defense mechanism - a way to avoid her real feelings - feelings she had only allowed herself to recognize when she was in danger of losing him.

"It will be all right Jenny." Alex tried to comfort her, sitting up and gently pulling her up to rest against his chest. "Think about it. Do you really think Ren would have taken such good care of you if he was just going to up and leave you? He's too stubborn to die."

"I just have a horrible feeling Alex - like we screwed up royally somewhere, that everything is spinning completely out of our control." Jennetta sobbed. Alex grimaced to himself at her language. Ren would kill her if he heard it. She sounded exactly like Michael. "Everything is such a mess. First you and Ren, and then my mother and father not speaking to each other, and Mirana is acting so strangely…"

Alex narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why aren't Maria and Michael speaking?" He asked quietly. He had seen the tension in Maria's frame when Michael's name had come up during their brief conversations, but had just attributed it to worries over Jennetta.

"I don't know." Jennetta sighed heavily. "I just wish they would fix whatever it is, because they're both miserable."

"I'll talk to Maria." Alex promised quietly. Darn tooting he was going to talk to Maria. Not only that, he was going to [I]make[/I] his best friend tell him what was going on if he had to sit on her to do it. He had not used that method since they were both ten, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Thank you Alex." Jennetta was still curled up on the bed beside him, her head resting on his shoulder.

They lay in companionable silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

Alex liked it he realized. It reminded him of the old days with Maria and Liz, when he helped them fix all their problems, before Michael and Max had come along to take over the male shoulder to cry on duties.

Of course, what happened next made Alex realize that Jennetta on his bed, in his arms, probably did [I]not[/I] look as innocent as it was.

The expression that appeared on Isabel's face when she came through his door two minutes later more than told him so.

"Oh!" She stopped abruptly, taking in the sight before her in two seconds flat. Alex sat up so quickly, his head was instantly spinning. He closed his eyes, trying to focus.

Focus told him one thing. This was [I]bad[/I]. Very, very bad.

He managed to force his eyes open in time to hear her say, "Am I…" There was a long pause and then Isabel's face hardened. "I guess I [I]am[/I] interrupting." She turned on her heel, her blonde hair flying as she left abruptly.

"Isabel!" Alex called after her. He struggled to get off the bed, felt Jennetta helping him up. "Oh crap!" He muttered, as he wobbled into his slippers and hurried into the hallway after her.

The corridor was completely empty.

Alex slouched against the door-frame of his hospital room, suddenly indescribably weary.

Something had just irretrievably shifted.

And, suddenly, Alex knew exactly what Jennetta had meant when she had said that she felt like events were spiraling out of her control.

Because, he somehow knew, without even a shadow of a doubt, that he had just lost Isabel Evans. He didn't understand why or how, but he knew it was true.

She was gone.

[u]Part 30[/u]

"Did anyone see you come in here?"

"No." She sighed as his lips came down on hers. After several minutes with little to no conversation, Maria finally pulled back, leaned her head against his chest. She could feel his heart beating unevenly under her. It made her smile slightly, but didn't help to banish the feeling of panic that was beginning to take up semi-permanent residence in her stomach. "Oh God. Michael, this is horrible."

"I know." He stroked her back lightly, sending a shiver down her spine. "But it's only until we figure out what's going on with Izzy." He paused. Maria heard the catch in his voice as he admitted, "I really think she's losing it Maria."

She sighed again, tightened her arms around him, trying to give comfort where none was forthcoming.

When Michael had first told her that he had kissed Isabel, she had been absolutely furious. She had responded in her typical manner, ranting and raving, calling him every name in the book - in short, freaking out. It was only after that she remembered that he had [I]asked[/I] her to react that way.

It had stopped her mania in it's tracks. Maria had sat down abruptly on the bed and had stared at him. Michael had been leaning against the wall of their shared bedroom by this point, simply watching her, a relieved expression on his face. "What's going on?" She had demanded.

"Isabel is going crazy." He had replied shortly. "For a while, I was too. But it's over now."

And he had told her everything - about the shared visions, about Isabel's attempt to convince him that they belonged together (creeping Maria out completely, flashes of when Tess had first come to town and had almost demolished Max and Liz's relationship filtering through her mind), about how his strange urge to be with Isabel had completely disappeared as soon as he was back in Maria's presence.

It was then that she had remembered the strange way Isabel had looked to her when she had been sitting at Alex's bedside - like she had not been Isabel at all. There had been someone else in there…

And now she knew. Mirana, Princess of Illyria. Michael's wife. His bonded mate…in other words, his [I]soul[/I] mate.

She shook her head, cleared it of that last concern. It wasn't the time for jealousy. Michael had assured her that he had no feelings for Isabel…and she [I]mostly[/I] believed him. "I still don't know if this is a good idea Michael," Maria sighed, trying to act as though there was not more behind her concern. "Pretending that we're not together anymore. It's really upsetting Jenny. She hasn't said anything, but I can tell it is. And she's going through enough."

"It's the only thing I can think of." Michael pulled away, scrubbed his hands wearily across his face. "If I can stay connected with Isabel, even a little bit, I can maybe try and figure out what's going on with her. I'm [I]sure[/I] that someone, or something, is doing this to her." There was a long pause and then he asked suspiciously, "What else is Jenny dealing with?"

Maria bit her lip. She wasn't sure whether she should fill Michael in on her suspicions or not. She was sure that he was going to freak out and it was the last thing they needed right now after all.

But he had the right to know. Especially if he was going to have to help her deal with Jennetta's emotional fall-out if what Maria most feared really happened.

Because, with every passing hour, Ren's chances of waking up were becoming more slim. Maria had been sitting with the shapeshifter when the doctor had last examined him. She had seen the way he had tried to hide his frown, but she had [I]known[/I].

If Ren didn't return to Illyria soon, he was as good as dead. And it was unlikely that Jennetta would recover from the blow.

"Jenetta is in love with Ren." She blurted it so suddenly, she literally saw Michael flinch. "I…I think that it's been destined from the very beginning Michael. Just the way they [I]are[/I] with each other…"

Michael continued to stare at her, dumb-founded. "What the hell are you talking about Maria?" He finally yelled. She grimaced, quickly moved towards him, throwing her hand against his mouth.

"SHHHHH! Someone's going to come in here if you don't shut up!" She hissed.

Michael instantly lowered his voice, but he did not stop talking. "Don't talk to me about destiny Maria!" He insisted quietly, urgently. "That's what got me into this whole mess with Izzy. My daughter is not going to fall into that trap." He scowled. "She is going to love [I]who[/I] she wants, [I]when[/I] she wants."

Maria smiled sadly. "But the thing is Michael, destiny's okay when it's what you want."

Michael continued to glower, but he appeared to be thinking about this. Finally he shrugged. "Okay, say you're right. Give me evidence here. I want to know [I]how[/I] you know that Jenny feels this way, and [I]why[/I] you think it's [I]destined[/I]." He said the last word disdainfully, as though it was painful to him.

"Well, first of all, there's the constant bickering." Maria held up her hand and started ticking off on her fingers. "Remind you of anyone you know?" She asked, nudging him lightly in the ribs.

"Or maybe she just [I]hates[/I] him, which the evidence would seem to support." Michael rebutted, his arms now crossed over his chest mutinously.

Maria frowned. "Okay, well there's the fact that she no longer has a crush on Alex. And I know this because she told me so."

"WHAT? When [I]did[/I] she have a crush on Alex?" Michael demanded. He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up on end. "I was only gone for three weeks Maria! And she's only been out of the pod for around four! That's insane!"

"Wouldn't you Michael? If you were new to our group, wouldn't you pick Alex? He's the nicest, the most safe after all. And she couldn't exactly have a crush on either you or Max." She wrinkled her nose. "She needed something that made her feel secure - normal - and Alex was it. But I think she was really avoiding the way she felt about Ren."

"Whom she has [I]also[/I] only known for about four weeks!" Michael raged back.

"But Michael, they're the [I]same[/I]." Maria argued back. "He understands her. I think that's why he makes her so mad. And I [I]know[/I] he loves [I]her[/I]."

"Why?"

"Because of the way he is with her. She's all he sees, all the time Michael. Ever since she came out of the pod, it's only been about her. Even when she was [I]in[/I] the pod." She smiled slightly. "I almost think that's the reason he saved her from Tarsus in the first place, back on Illyria. Because he [I]knew[/I], even then, that she was [I]his[/I]."

"Okay, you have officially gone off your rocker." Michael replied, shaking his head. "I don't buy all this soulmate mumbo-jumbo. That's the line Isabel's been feeding me and it's bull."

Maria felt a pang run through her heart at the news that Michael didn't consider [I]her[/I] to be his soulmate, swallowed hard. But she'd always known it, known he loved her, but not in that [I]way[/I]. Not in the way Max loved Liz, or she [I]knew[/I] Ren loved her daughter. Not even in the way Tristandor had loved Mirana in that other life, if the story Michael had told her was true.

She had stopped listening to him at his insensitive words, but realized that he was [I]still[/I] talking. "….choose who I love! And I love you." She felt her heart lift again. "I don't believe that loving someone in a past life means you [I]have[/I] to be with someone in this one. You cannot tell me that just because you made a great pair once upon a time, that's necessarily true in the here and now. I mean, look at me and Isabel. We would kill each other in a week. She's not for me. But just because she [I]once[/I] was, she seems to think she is! It's bull! And it's the same with Jenny and Ren. They barely know each other."

Maria reached out, stroked his arm, trying to calm him down. "But I don't think that matters Michael. She's barely left his side since we got here - only to plan for opening the portal and to see Alex a couple of times."

"No." Michael snapped.

"Yes Michael."

"Well, then I want you to talk her out of it. The guy has no emotions for God's sake! I'm not letting my daughter end up with some emotionless freak! One who's going to have to be purged anyway, if Jemma has her way." Michael shook his head. "I'm telling you Maria. It will be better if he just fades away now."

"Don't say that!" Maria exclaimed.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Fine. I don't mean that. He's okay, for an emotionless freak." Maria scowled at him. "And none of this even remotely suggests to me that they're destined for each other," he continued, ignoring her expression completely.

"Think about it Michael. The Chosen one was to be of mixed race. I think we should ask Jemma for the exact wording of the prophecy, but if Jenny and Ren marry and have kids, their children will be human, Dernian [I]and[/I] Illyrian! All three brought together to bind us all."

"So you don't think Jenny is the Chosen One at all." Michael blinked. "But, if that's true, then there is no way to end what's happening on Illyria right now. Only the Chosen One can do that."

"Did anyone ever tell us that it was the Chosen One who [I]ended[/I] the war?" Maria asked, surprised at how logically she was thinking these days. "All we've been told is that the Chosen One's coming will herald a new golden age on Illyria. That doesn't mean that he or she has to cause it."

"But [I]Ren[/I] told us himself that she was the one!" But Maria could see that he was only playing devil's advocate now. In fact, she could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

Maria knew exactly what he was thinking too. Because it was exactly what [I]she[/I] had started thinking the minute all of this had started to occur to her.

If Jennetta [I]wasn't[/I] the Chosen One…then why did she have to leave Earth at all?

He was thinking that they could keep their daughter.

But Maria knew it wasn't as simple as that. "And who told Ren? He never said. I don't think he even knows. I think he's just guessing. He's always known she was important - to him in particular - and maybe he jumped to conclusions."

"This is all too much Maria." Michael was shaking his head again. "I really cannot think about my daughter linked romantically with [I]anyone[/I] right now. What we need to worry about is making sure that we open the portal on time tonight and that I figure out who's messing with Izzy's mind."

Maria frowned. "Michael, if Jenny decides that she wants to be with Ren, you're going to have to accept it you know."

"Not if he never wakes up." Michael muttered.

"Michael!"

"Sorry! I don't mean it, but this is awful!" He sighed, reaching out and pulling her against him. "We didn't even get to raise her and already she's in love? It's ludicrous!"

"I know." Maria replied softly. "But we have to accept what we can't change. We have to concentrate on what we [I]can[/I]. Like Isabel." She pulled back, looked up at him, swallowed hard. "I want you to do it right now Michael. Tell her that you want to be with her. See what happens."

He stared down at her, concern back on his face. "It's going to be really hard on you." He didn't ask, just stated straight out.

"It'll be okay." Maria told him as he kissed her gently on the forehead. "It's worth it. I love Isabel. I don't want her lost in that other person. It's not [I]her[/I]. Not anymore. And Alex needs her too."

"I love you." Michael whispered, kissing her lightly. "I know you were upset that I said I don't believe in soulmates." He added. She felt him stroke her back lightly as she jerked in surprise.

How on Earth had he known that?

"I don't believe in soulmates because I believe in [I]us[I]," he continued. "I don't think we're [I]meant[/I] to be with anyone. I think we [I]choose[/I] to be with someone. And isn't that better? And I choose [I]you[/I] Maria."

With that, he kissed her once more, lightly, on the lips and left, leaving Maria staring after him, her eyes gleaming with tears.

[u]The Citadel - Illyria[/u]

"I really think this is a bad idea." Kyle muttered. He had told her so several times, but she continued to ignore him as he followed her down the winding staircase into the dungeons. "Normally, I would be all for going against his Highness's royal commands…"

Tess sighed, rolling her eyes. She didn't understand why Kyle still felt such antipathy towards Max. He knew now that it was him she loved. But he had been acting weird ever since she and Max had pretended to the courtiers that they were still happily married.

She didn't know what else she could do to reassure him and, truthfully, right now, it was the last thing she needed to worry about. She had had a bad feeling all morning - ever since Max had left with the rebel Dernians as a matter of fact. Something was not right there. It made little to no sense that so many Dernians would just change sides so easily. She wasn't sure why Max trusted them so readily, but he [I]needed[/I] to believe that they were going to take him to Liz.

Tess had learned well over the last two years that unless Liz was safe, Max was anything but careful. He was reckless, throwing himself and others into danger to keep her safe. It had happened when he had originally healed her, it had happened when Nasedo had kidnapped her so long ago, and it had happened when he had left everyone behind to return to Illyria to prove to them all that she still lived.

Tess should never have let him go. They should have waited for the Illyrians to take firm control of the Citadel before the King left.

But they hadn't.

[I]She[/I] hadn't. She had allowed herself to be thrust back into the role that everyone expected her to play - the waifish little no-nothing queen she had been in her past life.

But that was over. She was no longer that girl. She was scared and she was going to do something about it. For Max, for Liz, for the Illyrians, and especially for Kyle.

The Dernians and Illyrians were all beginning to look at him in a way that made her supremely uncomfortable. It was as thought, now that the King and Queen had been reunited, what use was there for Queen Sabrya's human bodyguard?

Somehow she knew that his life was in danger - especially as the courtiers suspicions about she and Kyle became more founded. Because he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her, no matter how many times she told him to, for his own sake.

Even now his hand was resting lightly on the small of her back as he followed closely behind her down the narrow stairs. And she couldn't help but love it.

But it was putting their lives in danger. Queens did [I]not[/I] allow anyone besides their husbands to touch them like that. And her [I]husband[/I] was not there to protect them.

If her fears were justified, he might not ever be there again.

She needed to find out if she was right. While they still had a chance to go after Max and help him. Before it was too late.

Sabrya of Dernia might have been content to sit on her butt and let Jaxon, Mirana and Tristandor take care of everything. But she was no longer Sabrya.

She was Tess Harding and she wanted answers. And she was not going to wait for Max to return.

There was only one place to turn.

Which was why Kyle was presently giving her a hard time.

"He expressly said to leave his mother alone." Kyle continued softly from behind her.

"I know he did." She replied. "But we have no choice." She shook her head. "I still can't believe I just let Max waltz off like that Kyle! What the heck was I thinking?"

"He wasn't exactly in the mood to take no for an answer." Kyle snorted. "He seemed pretty comfortable playing King Jaxon you know. It was really annoying."

"Everything Max does annoys you." Tess returned impatiently. "And at least when Max was acting like the King they were all listening to him. They don't listen to [I]me[/I] at all."

And I can't keep you safe. The thought ran through her mind like a refrain, making her heart pound unevenly, as it did every time she thought it.

"They're idiots." Kyle told her. "Throw them all in the dungeons."

She smiled softly, turned around, joined him on the step above, gently put her hands on both sides of his face and pulled his lips down to hers for a kiss. "You are insane," she whispered softly. "It's not as simple as that." It took her a full minute for her to realize that she had just broken her own rules.

"I thought this was a nono." Kyle murmured softly, pulling her more tightly against him in the narrow space. She sighed as he pushed her hair aside and moments later she felt his lips on her ear. She felt her heart beginning to thunder in her chest as he rained kissed down the side of her neck.

"It is." Tess sighed again. "For now."

She disentangled herself from his arms and hurried down the remaining stairs. She knew he was close on her heels.

"I hate this place." He muttered to no one in particular. Tess wasn't even sure if he meant for her to hear him, but she grimaced.

He was close to the edge. He was on the verge of doing something supremely stupid and if she didn't control herself, she was going to [I]push[/I] him to do it.

Tess thrust her concerns about Kyle aside for a moment as they finally emerged at the bottom of the staircase into a wide room. A guard dressed in Dernian red stood at attention beside one of the several doors lining the open space.

She saw the guard's eyes widen at the sight of them. "Your Highness?" He sounded dumbfounded, like it went against everything he knew to see his Queen standing before him in the dungeon of all places. Tess mentally rolled her eyes.

"I want to speak with the prisoner." She raised her chin, trying to convey that there was to be no opposition. She [I]was[/I] the queen after all. If they expected her to act like Sabrya of Dernia, then she expected them to obey her too.

"The King ordered that she was not to see anyone." The guard looked at her askance, like he could not quite believe that she was asking him to go against a direct order.

"He didn't mean me of course." She replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "I must see to my mother-in-law's comfort."

The guard frowned slightly. "I think perhaps I had better speak to Hamor about this." He told her, looking torn.

"Are you denying your queen's request?" Tess felt Kyle move up to stand beside her. She turned to stare at him, almost burst out laughing when he swept the cape he so hated behind him with an imperious gesture that looked entirely too much like the actions of the majority of the Illyrians.

"No." The guard blinked. "I am simply following my king's orders."

"When the king is gone from the Citadel, the queen speaks for him." Kyle replied disdainfully. "She wishes to visit her mother-in-law. She has not asked you to let Queen Milena go."

There was a long pause. "Well…"

"NOW!" Kyle yelled in his best captain of the football team voice. Even Tess jumped.

The guard flinched and moved to comply. The door swung open moments later.

Tess hid her grin as she passed the unfortunate guard and made her way into the cell.

She glanced around curiously. She was not surprised to see that the small room was comfortably appointed, with a small bed pushed against one wall and gentle lumoglobes burning steadily. Max might not trust his mother but he did not want her treated badly it appeared.

But the chains dangling from the wall nearby dispelled the illusion that this was anything other than a prison cell.

She took in the sight of the beautiful woman seated on a small stool near the table. She looked exactly as she had in the destiny message which had played for Tess and the others so long ago.

Milena rose gracefully, a gentle smile lighting her features. "Sabrya! How good to see you my dear!"

"Careful." She heard Kyle mutter urgently from beside her.

"Hello." Tess replied quietly. She gestured towards Kyle. "This is Kyle Valenti."

"Welcome Kyle. Liz told me much of you when she and I spent so much time together." Milena smiled again. She looked beyond them. "Has Jaxon relented then? Am I to be released?" She asked hopefully. Tess saw the disappointment that crossed her face when she realized that Max was not with them.

"No." Tess felt terrible. How could this woman be any sort of threat to them? Why had Max not told her what she had done? "Max isn't here. Tarsus took Liz. He's gone after her."

A shadow flitted across Milena's face. "I see." She paused, then forced another smile. "So you are here for a visit? That is very kind of you."

Tess swallowed. "I'm here to find out why Max has you locked up here. I need to know. I think he is in danger and I am worried about him." She blurted.

"You do not know?" Milena frowned.

"Know what?" Kyle demanded from beside her.

Tess felt her heart stop as tears filled Milena's beautiful dark eyes. "He is insane children."

"What do you mean?" She breathed, horrified.

"He has been strong up until now, but his cleansing has finally caught up with him." Milena replied sadly. "He was cleansed, was he not?"

Tess flinched. She knew that Max had spent time in a cleansing pod on Earth, back during that fateful camping trip in Fraser Woods during their junior year. Tess had not witnessed it herself, but she had definitely heard about it from the others. Unlike Michael though, Max had never suffered any ill effects from it. In fact, he had seemed to emerge from the pod stronger than he ever had been before.

"Yes." She whispered.

"My son is strong, but he could not fight the ill effects forever." Milena sighed. "It has caught up with him, that cleansing. Jaxon is very much insane."

"How do you know this for sure?" Kyle asked, sounding suspicious. "He seemed perfectly normal to me." He paused. "Well as normal as Evans ever is." He added. Tess elbowed him soundly.

"Meaning what?" Milena asked.

"All he cared about was Liz - going after her." Tess explained. "That's all Max ever cares about."

"Which only proves my point." Max's mother shook her head. "He is fixated on that poor girl. All the cleansed eventually obsess over something. It takes control of their minds until it drives them crazy."

"Are you saying that loving Liz is driving Max bonkers?" Kyle snorted. "That's ridiculous."

Tess didn't know what to think, but the certainty in Kyle's voice reinforced her gut instinct - this woman was a liar. And Max must have known it.

What had she been thinking? She wasn't going to get any answers here.

"Children, you must allow me to leave here." Milena exclaimed. "I am the only one who can help him."

"Unlikely." Kyle crossed his arms. "Let's go Tess. We're wasting our time here."

But Tess continued to stare at Milena. She watched her face melt in despair. "I am leaving." The woman suddenly exclaimed, throwing herself towards the cell door. "I am not going to let him betray me like this! He will not betray my son!"

The cell door had been firmly closed behind them. Milena pounded her fists against it uselessly. Tess and Kyle exchanged a look. "I think this one's the crazy one." Kyle whispered, his eyes wide.

Tess grimaced, moved over to the door, knelt beside Milena, who had crumpled to the floor sobbing. She gently pushed the grey-blonde hair back off the older woman's face. "It will be all right."

Milena looked directly into her eyes. "You were always a sweet child Sabbie." She closed her own eyes, sighed heavily, sending a spasm down her frame. "Why could Jaxon not have chosen you? If Liz Parker had never existed, none of this would be happening."

Tess felt her blood run cold. "What do you mean?"

"If Jaxon had not chosen Liz, Laren never would have chosen her either. He never would have betrayed our son. [I]Our[/I] son must be king. Not hers."

"Tess…" Kyle was calling to her. "She's making no sense now. She's crazy. She doesn't even know what she's talking about."

"Kyle, I think this is important." Tess replied. "Your son [I]is[/I] king." She told Milena gently. "Jaxon [I]is[/I] the king."

"Not Jaxon. Ren. My baby." Milena sobbed, buried her face in Tess's lap. Tess stroked her hair, but whipped her head around to stare at Kyle, who looked like had just been punched in the gut. "All I wanted was for my babies to come home to me - all of them. I betrayed my own family to see my child on the throne. I wanted all of my children with me. I just want things back to the way they used to be. But Jaxon chose Liz and it changed everything. Because Laren chose her too."

Tess' hand paused. This was the second time Milena had mentioned Laren - or Nasedo - Tess's murdered father figure. "Laren chose Liz? For what? He's dead." Nasedo had been dead for close to two years now. Kyle was right. Milena was confusing everything in her clearly broken mind.

"He [I]just[/I] chose her." Milena sat up, grasped Tess by the shoulders. "Why will no one believe me? He lives. Laren lives and he is going to steal the throne from [I]our[/I] child. He is going to have a child with Jaxon's bride and he is going to take the throne for his own."

The light shining from the older woman's eyes was not crazy. In fact, she looked so sane, it sent a shiver down Tess's spine.

"And I am not going to allow it." Milena climbed to her feet, hauling Tess up after her. "Which is why you must get me out of here."

Tess narrowed her eyes, exchanged another look with Kyle, who shook his head firmly. "No Tess."

Milena looked over at him, smiled slightly. "You are wise not to trust me young man. I have been lost for a very long time. But I have finally woken up. He must be destroyed. Once and for all." She turned back to Tess, who was clenching her fists at her side in indecision. "He is going to kill Jaxon."

"Why did you tell us that Max was insane?" Tess asked, still unsure.

"He must be. There is no other explanation for his fixation on that girl." Milena replied seriously.

"He loves her." Tess told her simply. "Surely you can understand that."

"Love [I]is[/I] insanity." Milena looked away. "I have betrayed my entire family because of it." She turned back to Tess, grasped her hands tightly. "I must make amends. I must. Help me, please."

Tess exchanged another look with Kyle. He just stared at her, clearly unsure which was the best way to proceed.

And so Tess went with her heart. She smiled at the other woman. "I will."

***********************************************************************

Liz sat on the cold ground, her knees pulled tightly to her chest. It was the darkest part of the night now, the chill infiltrating her bones severely, without even the weak sunlight to warm her.

She watched Nasedo warily as the shapeshifter moved around on the other side of the cave. He had to go to sleep sometime, giving her the chance to escape. But he seemed impossible to tire, seemed not to need sleep like other beings.

She had fallen into a restless slumber several hours before, despite herself, had woken only moments ago, freezing. She wasn't sure if Nasedo even knew that she was awake, but he hadn't looked in her direction since she had jerked back to consciousness.

He had not tried to touch her again - not since he had kissed her so ruthlessly almost a day ago now.

She had pulled away from him desperately then, literally feeling bile rising in her throat.

That he could so confuse love for whatever horrible thing he felt for her…it had made her literally sick to her stomach.

She hated him to the very core of her being.

And yet the flashes had continued to come, even after she had pulled away. The flashes that had told her that this was [I]Max[/I] - even though she knew he wasn't.

"How are you doing that?" She had asked, after she had stopped gagging. "You have [I]his[/I] memories."

He had winked at her, not looking the least bit offended that his touch so repulsed her. "Magic." With that, he had grabbed her by the wrist and had hauled her another few miles to the cave in which they now found themselves.

As she watched him, she wondered if she could ever be certain of anything again. She had been [I] so[/I] sure that he was Max, the flashes having told her so. Now she knew nothing.

"Why are we still here?" Liz raised her voice, caught his attention. He stopped whatever it was he was doing and turned to look at her.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." He moved towards her. "It is time to prepare to go back my sweet."

She flinched at the term of endearment. "Go back?"

"To Earth." Nasedo grinned at her, his face Max's, making her heart skip a beat despite herself. She buried her own face against her knees, refusing to look at him.

She felt his hand lightly caress her head. She swallowed, tried not to move. There was no point after all. She could not escape him. "How?" She whispered, her heart screaming for Max.

"The usual way of course. Through a portal." She felt him leave her personal space again. "Through the portal Danala's father and I managed to create - well, he was dead by the time we finally succeeded, but that is neither here nor there." He had returned back to the other side of the cave, picked up an orb that sat on the ground.

Liz raised her eyes, interested despite herself. "How is that possible? I thought only the Blue Prince and the White Lady could open the portal."

"That's true. But we have harnessed the essence of the True Heirs." Nasedo replied, tossing the orb in his hand upwards casually, catching it lightly. "Andrina was fairly easy to get to. Gordian was a little more difficult to convince. But we succeeded in the end."

Liz pressed her lips together at the image of Max's father, the late king, tortured in order to gain control of one of his birthrights.

"So you were sent to the Citadel on purpose." Liz stated. "You pretended that you had turned against the Dernians and you made my grandmother fall in love with you and then you betrayed them all."

Nasedo tilted his head in acknowledgment. "I was one of the few Dernians who had not been cleansed at an early age. It was a tradition in my family to wait until the day of marriage to do so." He shrugged. "Silly custom, but it made me invaluable to old Lazar. He needed a mole and I was the one. The Illyrians would never have accepted a cleansed Dernian in their court. Lazar needed control of Earth, especially since we knew that Gordian was planning to send Andrina to make a treaty to marry his heir to an Earthling." He tossed the orb into the air again. "And the only way to control Earth is to have a way to get there."

"Did you never love Andrina at all then?" Liz asked, a pang of sadness for that innocent girl her grandmother had been running through her. "You used her and then you tossed her aside."

Nasedo smiled slightly. "The irony in that statement my dear little queen is that I never had a chance to use her. She fell in love with me yes, but I never really controlled her until the very end."

"What do you mean?"

"Andrina had lost all faith in me by the time we finally found each other on Earth." Nasedo replied. "I know she said something to that affect in the journal she left to you."

"Yes. She didn't tell you where Max and the others were because she didn't trust you anymore." Liz knew that her pride in her beloved grandmother was ringing in her voice, but she didn't care.

Because if Claudia had managed to resist this monster, even having loved him, she, Liz could defeat him.

Hope was slowly flowering in her heart as he continued to speak, completely oblivious to the way his words were affecting her.

"Well, it was only in the end that she came under my power again." Nasedo sighed. "In the hospital, right before she died. Did you never wonder why the doctors didn't question her alien make-up?"

Liz frowned. "Actually, I did." And then she understood. "You were there."

"Yes. Even then sweet Liz, before any of you were at all aware of my existence. Jaxon's healing of you in the Crashdown was a dead giveaway. I knew that I had found them, had been back in Roswell for a few weeks before your grandmother returned. I didn't reveal myself to them immediately though - I had to be absolutely sure you understand. And I had to deal with Andrina. But for once, luck was on my side. Her body gave out on her before I could do anything to her. I shapeshifted into the form of the doctor who was charged with her case and ran the whole show after that."

"And that's when you stole her ability to open the portal." Liz finished.

"It was dormant of course, her brother long since dead, but she still possessed it."

"So you've had the power to jump back and forth between Illyria and Earth almost since the beginning."

He nodded. "It was why Jaxon, Mirana and Tristandor had such difficulty tracking me down when they were looking for me. I was back here for a while, dealing with Danala." He grinned at her again. "And now, are we done with your questions? Because it is almost time my sweet."

"Almost time?" Liz climbed to her feet, her heart beginning to thunder in her chest. If they left now, she lost. She knew that she had the strength to resist him, but if she was torn so far away from Max, it would all be in vain. "Why are we going back there anyway?"

"To make it more believable when I take over Jaxon's life." Nasedo replied. "I have to convince them all."

Liz stared at him. "Are you a fool? I'll just tell them that you're [I]not[/I] Max!"

"You won't. Because I will be the only one left. And I think that you would rather have some of your alien king than none at all. He's like a drug to you Liz Parker. I know it and it will be to my advantage. I think you'll probably even learn to love me in time."

Liz just shook her head. "You must be joking. You're [I]not[/I] Max. You can't replace him. Love doesn't work like that. Just because you look like him, I'm not going to just [I]be[/I] with you!"

His plan was the most ludicrous Liz had ever heard. Did he really think that she would just toss Max over for him because they looked alike, because he had Max's memories?

"And you'll never be the only one left." Liz continued. "Because Max is alive, somewhere, and I will never rest until I find him."

"Oh ye of little faith." Nasedo laughed. "You don't have to find him sweet. He's on his way to find [I]you[/I] as we speak. Indeed, he should be here any minute."

For the first time, in a long time, he shocked her into silence.

Which made her completely open to the voice that suddenly penetrated her thoughts. [I]Liz![/I]

It was Max. The [I]real[/I] Max. She knew it was. She felt her heart stop beating.

Because the expression of pleasure on Nasedo's face, [I]Max's[/I] face down to the very last detail, told her that this was [I]not[/I] a good thing. "He's calling for you already, isn't he?" He surmised, clearly understanding her astonishment.

He [I]wanted[/I] Max to find them. The final pieces of his plan were falling into place.

And she still didn't know how to stop him.