DISCLAIMER: Roswell's not mine…Buffy's not mine…Angel's not mine…heck, the song I use in this part isn't mine either. It's "Our Song" by Hoobastank. But, hey, Cortenia and Celeste are totally my creation…okay, fine, I may have stolen Cortenia.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, everybody! I think exams fried my brains, 'cause I actually wrote a part with Liz Parker in it for more than five minutes. Odd. I surprise myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please review.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

June 19th 2002

My name is Liz Parker and exactly 2 years and 9 months ago, I died. Exactly two and three-quarter years ago, to the day, I was healed by an alien, one of eleven survivors of the famous Roswell Crash in 1947. And for the past two and half years, I've been living a life that most people would hardly believe existed. In all that time our little group has experienced joy, pain, fear and betrayal. We lost one of our own, granted an unwanted member, to the other side. You've been there, you've seen it. Or at least I've documented every stage of that life. Except this last year. Here's where it gets even more unbelievable.

Maria is a vampire slayer. One of the only three in the world. It's her calling, her destiny, to kill these beasts and rid the world of evil. With that came the Scooby Gang. Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Spike. Together, they trained us into a virtually unstoppable mini army.

They say there's no rest for the wicked. Before now I never knew how true that was, because just a few months after getting rid of who I thought was our biggest threat, we found out about a prophecy. One who comes from the light to bring darkness. Khivar. It was prophesised thousands of years ago that Khivar would come to Earth and Michael and Maria were destined to fight him. It seems Max and I aren't the only ones written in the stars. They are The Chosen. Together with their protectors, and their loyal friends, they fought and we won. We sent Khivar scurrying back to Antar with his tail hanging between his legs. But it came with a price.

Maria.

I thought I knew pain when we thought Alex had died and it was our fault for trusting that bitch, Tess. But nothing, nothing could prepare me for seeing my best friend lying dead in her lover's arms as he sobbed above her broken and bloodied bones.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rath was the first up the hill. At first, he didn't see anything, but then he heard it. The gut wrenching sobs. Looking across he saw a body, much like his own, kneeling in front of something, back shaking with grief. The others came up beside him, all looking in the same direction he was. 

Liz gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth as her jaw dropped in shock and tears of grief made their way down her cheeks.

"Oh my god," Isabel mumbled. "Max, do something."

Max slowly walked over to the rocking figure and put a hand on his shoulder. Michael didn't even acknowledge his presence.

"Michael..." Max didn't know what else to say.

Michael's head snapped up suddenly, as if he just noticed someone there.

"Max!" He grabbed Max's hand and pulled him down to his level. "Heal her. You can heal her, right? You have to." Michael stared into the eyes of his best friend. "Please."

Pulling the arrow out of her flesh, Max laid his hand on her chest and concentrated on repairing the hole, restarting her heart and reviving the dead. Slowly he released his power.

And nothing happened.

With a sigh, he opened his eyes, shaking his head at Michael. She was already dead.

"No. Nonono, you have to try harder, Max." Michael looked around frantically. "Zan? What about you? Rath? Anybody?"

Both Rath and Zan dropped to their knees and held their hands above her still body, not wanting to give Michael false hope, but not wanting to give up without trying. Still, nothing happened. Her chest remained still, and her eyes remained open, staring blankly at the sky above.

Shaking his head, Rath dropped his hand to his side. Looking at her expressionless face, he gently closed her eyes and put an arm around his brother.

"She's gone," he murmured. "Come on."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I thought I knew fear when we figured out that the aliens that we'd grown to love were about to leave the planet with a murderer. I thought I knew fear when Max got captured by Pierce and the Special Unit. I thought I knew fear when I was shot in the middle of the Crashdown and knew I was going to die.

But now I know. Fear is worse when caused by the ones you thought you could trust the most. Your friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where is he?" he spat.

"I don't know," she said, snidely.

Michael cocked his head to one side, and she levitated at least a foot above the ground. She gasped as her feet dangled in the air.

"Where is he? Where would Khivar go?" he growled.

"I won't betray him. He will rule the planets, and he will kill you and the rest."

"Not a good time to be loyal, Lonnie," said Zan as he saw the glow in Michael's eyes grow brighter.

"Why? He won't kill me. He don't have it in 'im."

Michael squinted at her, then turned away. Lonnie smiled smugly at him, behind his back, only to frown as she felt a burning sensation that started in the pit of her stomach and spread to the rest of her body.

The Scooby gang watched in amazement as Lonnie's body started shaking uncontrollably. Lonnie screamed as her body exploded from the inside, pieces of flesh flying in every direction as her cells scattered into the night air.

Michael had already turned to Tess, red eyes glaring at her slight form. With a slight gesture of his head, her body lifted off the ground.

"Where is he?"

"I- I don't know."

He raised his hand, palm outstretched, as if he was going to blast her. Tess flinched closed her eyes in preparation for the blast. She cracked one eye open when the blast never came. He was still staring straight at her. When she opened her eyes to look back at him, he closed his hand a bit. Tess grabbed at her throat, gasping for breath as he pressed down on her oesophagus, cutting of her air supply.

"Mich-Michael, please," she pleaded.

"This is not Michael. There is no Michael. He died with Maria," he growled. "This is Deimon. Now, where is that bastard?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Deimon. A ghost from the past. The distant past. Two lifetimes ago for Michael. No longer was he the sweet little boy that Michael described from his visions who wanted nothing more than to be with his mother. No, this was the face of half of one that could not, would not, accept that someone, let alone his own flesh and blood, would dare kill the love of his life. Deimon was a force not to be messed with.

I know I've always thought that Michael was intimidating, bordering on scary. But that was before I knew him. The real him. But Deimon…he was the first time I realised how dangerous Michael could be.

But things got better. Michael somehow brought Maria back from the dead, perhaps a side effect of the connection they got from the prophecy, and Deimon had left the building. But that didn't mean his memory didn't live on. Michael remembers every single moment of his few minutes in control of his body and feels guilty for it every day. It took him months to even stay alone in the same room with Isabel, and up to now he can barely look her in the eyes. Max tried to convince him that it wasn't him and that it was Lonnie that died, not Isabel, but nothing helped. He still felt guilty. Maria told me that he's still haunted by the look in her eyes the moment he lifted her off the ground with his powers, and the sounds of her screams as she exploded. It sounded like Isabel, and he felt horrible.

We finally told our parents the truth, the whole truth. They were shocked that night as the story unfolded, but they weren't the only ones.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well, since the whole story is out, I think we should all go home and get some rest," Max announced. There were some mumbled agreements around the room. It was five o'clock in the morning.

"The whole story's not out," Serena stated quietly from her space on Oz's lap. She took a deep breath, preparing to drop the bomb. Oz gently rubbed her back in silent support as she brought her hands to her face, taking out her contacts to reveal a pair of piercing grey eyes. "There's something I haven't told you…about myself, something I didn't realise until tonight."

"What is it?" asked Willow.

"It's about Khivar." She paused again, bracing herself for their reaction. "I think…I think he's my father."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was shocked to say the least, I mean all this time she was helping us, fighting with us, and she was related to the enemy…though, technically, so was Michael.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel shook her head in disbelief. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I thought I heard you say Khivar was your father."

"I-I did. He is. I remember him, sort of. I remember that we hated him. I remember that he never treated our mother well. I remember the day he left…"

"We? What-who's we?" Maria asked.

"Me and Lindsay. My twin brother."

The whole room sat there in shocked silence as Serena curled up further on Oz's lap.

"So, where is your brother now?" Liz asked.

"I don't know. Last I heard from him, he was on the run. He'd broken contract with the law firm he was working on and he was pretty sure they were gonna kill him."

Cordelia frowned in realisation. "Wait. No no no no. Lindsay? Please tell me it's not Lindsay McDonald. Wolfram and Hart?" At Serena's nod, she let out an exasperated snort of laughter. "Great. This is getting ridiculous, I mean, is there anybody here who's not related to Khivar?"

 Angel studied her face. "I guess I do see the resemblance, now that you mention it."

"How could this happen?" Max asked.

"Do I really need to explain the logistics of it? My mom and Khivar obviously had sex at some point in the seventies. She told me they met at a bar in New York. She was drunk and he was buying, the rest was history."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That was one revelation that completely caught me by surprise. I mean, I never would have guessed it. Then again, I never would have guessed that my best friend was quarter alien.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I didn't know, all right? I didn't know it was him until I saw him. He was only around off and on for the first seven years of my life and even then he never bothered with me. The only one he cared about was Lindsay. Once, he even took him away for two whole months. I don't know where he took him or what he did to him, but Lindsay didn't move or say a word or even blink for about three months. Then, he just cried. Kept talking about the lady. Hurting the lady who took Grandma Lith."

"The Granoltih?"

"Probably." She shrugged. "That was the last straw. My mother had had enough of his crap. I mean, he'd leave for months on end and when he came back, it was only for a few weeks. Even when he was around, he wasn't there. He'd ignore us and spend all his time with Lindsay and some other boy. I think he called him…"

"Nicholas?"

"Yeah, that. I wasn't even alive to him, and that last time my mother kicked him out, he was dead to me and he left her to almost the same fate." Serena paused to wipe at the tears that were forming in her eyes. Oz rocked her back and forth, his arms around her, whispering soothingly in her ear.

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to," he said softly, kissing her forehead.

"No, I can do this." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It was after Lindsay's break from silence. My father had told her that it was a family trait on his side that boys stayed silent for three years of their lives. And she believed him, because, really, she shouldn't expect less seeing as he was an alien."

"She knew?"

"Yeah, but that's a funny story for another time." She smiled wistfully of a memory technically not her own, but described perfectly and in vivid colour by her mother. "While he was out doing whatever it is he did, she packed up all his things and left 'em out on the front lawn. When he got back, he was furious. She was sitting in the living room waiting for him to get back. She knew he wasn't gonna take this well, so she made us promise to stay upstairs no matter what we heard. They were screaming at each other for a good hour before…before the first punch was thrown."

"He hit her?" Liz asked. It shouldn't have been much of a shock. This was Khivar, the man that killed his own sister just to take her throne.

"Not that first time. I know she doesn't sound it, but my mom was a tough woman. She didn't just take crap from anybody. No, that first punch…that was hers. I can still remember his scream. She always did know where to aim." She smirked wickedly. The guys winced in sympathy as they imagined where that was. "He was no stranger to that kind of pain. She kicked him there twice in a row when she told him about us." She shook her head grinning. "A word of advice, guys? Do not ask the mother of your child if it's yours. They're words of death. Learn from my father's mistakes." She sobered. "But this time, she wasn't carrying the heir to his thrones, so he didn't hold back. By the time he left, she was just a bloody heap on the floor. That's how we found her."

"Did she…?"

"No. She's still kicking. Lindsay bought her a condo in Florida last year. She loves it there. No, one of the neighbours must have heard all the screaming and crying and called the cops."

"That's terrible," Mrs. Evans commented.

"She was in a coma for a week. The first thing she saw when she woke up was his eyes, our eyes staring back at her. She freaked out. I'll never forget the look on her face. The fear and contempt. Not something you want to see your own mother look at you with. The doctor made us leave to keep her stress level to a minimum so as to prevent a relapse. We didn't get to see her for another week, but by then, the damage was done."

"Her father, Riverdog, was taking care of us at the time. When she was released, we came straight here. To Roswell. The house and everything in it that even had any kind of reference to Kyden McDonald were sold or destroyed. We never saw him again. My mother, she never resented or regretted us, but our eyes. They hurt too much. She could barely make herself look into them. We can barely stand to look at ourselves in the mirror. That's why I wear these." She showed them the dark brown contacts. "Lindsay's are blue…or they were last time I saw him."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We never did find Lindsay. Serena tried every place she knew him to go, and every friend she knew him to have. Isabel even tried to dreamwalk him, but it was like he'd just dropped off the face of the Earth. Serena probably wouldn't want to hear this, but it's better that way. From what Angel told us, he wasn't a very nice guy. Sure, he did good once and a while, but it's his nature to be evil. I mean, look at his father.  I would rather Serena had a dead brother than have someone else trying to hurt Max. I'm glad that Wolfram and Hart got him before he could even attempt to take Max's throne away from him.

Three days later, Sean Deluca returned from a court hearing in Albuquerque. That's when Maria's grandmother cornered him to finally tell him the truth about his origins. You would expect him to freak out, I mean, his grandmother was an alien, but he just laughed and said that he always wondered how he could pick locks so well and yet couldn't teach anybody else how to do it. 

For two months after that, all we did was train for the impending war, because one defeat would not keep Khivar away forever. I thought that there could never be anyone more controlling than Isabel at Christmas time. I was wrong. Kaylanna Dehlookhar jumped on our backs the first chance she got, training us like the ruthless army general she was. She said she learned from the master himself. I somehow have a hard time believing that Michael or Rath could be such a stickler for perfection. It shows that it is scientifically impossible to completely remake the same person twice, or three times in this case.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Come on! My grandmother can shoot better than that!"

It was December 4th and while everyone else on Earth was out busy shopping, decorating their houses and wrapping Christmas presents, the Scooby Gang was out in the desert being controlled by a new kind of Nazi: The Army Nazi. The last battle made the war more real to them. Khivar was over-confident and therefore underestimated their power. He wouldn't again, and he certainly wouldn't come back to fight them face-to-face. No. This time he would want the fight to be on his turf. And Kaylanna Dehlookhar had no doubt in her mind that he would have no problem with destroying an innocent planet in an attempt to get rid of them. The Granolith was too good a prize to give up that easily.

"'Anna, your grandmother is dead!" Rath called.

"See? That's how much you suck." Rath rolled his eyes and went back to target practice.

Kaylanna shook her head at him. Back on Antar, she admired his skill as a General, from afar anyway. From what she'd heard from the soldiers, he was the best out there. It was from stories of him, and stories from him that she learned how to lead an army. It was how she became the commander of her own troops. She was sad to say that she thought he was softening up a tad in his old…young…whatever age.

"Gimme a break. I haven't handled a gun in fifty five years," he complained as he got a bull's eye for the 15th time in a row.

"Stop making excuses, general. You're still taking too much time to aim. If I was your enemy, you'd be dead by now."

"I still say it'd be easier if we just blasted 'em," Michael said.

"Think about it, Michael. If you just got your ass kicked, would you want to return to the scene of the crime? No. If…when this war goes down, it's sure as hell gonna be on Antar where you'll probably have no powers and he'll have all the resources. We have to be prepared."

"When did you become such a dictator?"

"When my best friend was burned alive at the stake right in front of my eyes and I knew that it was my fault."

"What?" Rath put down his gun and looked at her. "How could it possibly be your fault?"

"It's my fault you met Nikaid. It's my fault that he knows you so well. If I didn't introduce the two of you…maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"How? What are you talking about? Khivar would have still come after us. You know that," Rath reasoned.

"Yeah, but he wouldn't have inside information on the General. With Nikaid's knowledge of who you were, what you were like, your ways in general," she said, shaking her head. "It was easy for him to guess what you'd do, how you'd create your strategies, and counteract."

"Kaylanna…"

"And to top it off, I'm the one that drove Nikaid to the other side. He did it to spite you, to spite me. It's my fault."

"How do you know he wouldn't have chosen that side anyway? You don't. Half the population hated Zan. They would have betrayed him anyway. Nikaid wasn't the only one who could give information on me. It could've been any one of my soldiers. It's not your fault, 'Anna," Rath said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever. Forget it, we still have training to do."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Slayer Mansion became our very own POW camp with our first captive being that evil hell beast Tess Harding.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where is Khivar?"

Tess squinted into the bright light as she was questioned for the third hour straight. It was hard to believe that just days ago she'd had hundreds of servants at her feet and a whole planet at her mercy. Now, she was restricted to the cramped quarters of a dining room chair with only the ropes that bound her as company. She missed her power. She missed her freedom. Most of all, she missed her son. She tugged at the ropes around her wrists. It was impossible. There was no knot she could undo. That bastard, Michael, made sure of that. He sealed the two ends of the rope with his powers and, on top of that, he and Rath worked together to make it denser so that she couldn't break through. Courtney apparently had some of the power inhibitor that Nicholas used on Rath and Michael so of course, she didn't have her powers anyway. However, whenever she was being interrogated, they sent her double to make sure she wasn't trying to mindwarp them. She had to admit they ran a tight operation.

"I still think would be more effective if we just tortured her," Wesley said.

Tess rolled her eyes. It was the only hitch in their little organisation. They had the two old British guys playing Good cop/Bad cop and it was not working at all. If anything, the good cop looked more intimidating than the bad cop and the bad cop was just about boring her to death with the same threats over and over again. She could see Ava smirking at them through the whole thing, which killed any lingering effects it even vaguely had.

"Tess, will ya just tell 'em?" Ava said. She was clearly very amused.

"No. I won't give Khivar up."

Wesley sprang up and grabbed her by the shirt collar, bringing his face close to hers. "You will tell us, and you'll do it now!" He shouted menacingly…or as menacingly as Wesley could shout. Tess sighed. This was going to be a long day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took a full week to get anything out of her. I suppose the pressure finally got to her. I don't understand how someone like her could possibly have been a Queen in a former life if she couldn't take a little bit of pressure.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael glared down at the small blonde sitting in front of him, her head bent. Her once vibrant curls were hanging limply around her dirty face. Giving her a bath hadn't been high on their list of priorities. She shrunk under his regard, well as much as she could while tied to a chair. He sat with his arms crossed over his chest, not saying a word or moving a muscle.

Tess looked from the floor, to the ceiling, to the back wall, then back to the floor. Anywhere but his eyes. She was afraid of what she would see there. That same red glow that marked the change of personality. Deimon, he'd called himself. He was her worst fear. She'd seen what he could do. She saw what happened to Lonnie, what almost happened to her. She didn't want to die here, in this basement, her son light-years away, with Khivar. With that thought, she made her decision.

"Please," she croaked. Michael raised an eyebrow. "Please. Let me go."

"Why? So you can kill Liz? Or Kyle? Or Maria? Want to try for Alex again?"

"No, I…please."

"Give me one good reason why I should."

"Zan. I have to get back to him."

His brows furrowed. "Zan?" Max's dupe? What did he have to do with Tess?

"My son. I have to get him."

"How do I know there really is a  'son'? You could have been making the whole thing up in the first place."

"I'm not. Michael, he's there all alone. I've been here a week. He's been alone for a day and a half without me or Lonnie to take care of him. Who will take care of him?"

Michael still looked unconvinced. Just then, Max came down the stairs.

"Max, please. Tell him. You felt him. I have to go to him," Tess pleaded. Max glared at her.

"Are you going to talk?"

"Yes. Yes, I'll do it, okay? Just please. Let me go back home to Zan."

Max's face softened. "Is that his name? Zan?"

Tess smiled. "Zanther Kyle Harding Xalere."

"Xalere?"

"That was our last name…before…"

Max nodded. "Where's Khivar?"

"I-I don't know. H-he could have went back to Antar. Maybe Carnath."

"How? We didn't see a ship," Max said.

"He didn't need a ship. He opened a portal."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Turns out there are easier ways to get back to Antar. Apparently, Khivar found a hidden chamber in the royal archives of Carnath. In it, he found four books. The first was filled with practically gibberish. None of the words had any vowels, which made them hard to pronounce, and it wasn't in any known language so it wasn't easily translatable. The next was the book of the Wolf, as shown by the picture of the wolf on the front. It spoke of old prophecies from every world, every dimension imaginable. Prophecies of good, prophesies of evil and prophesies of neither, just the ramblings of an ancient people. Near the end, though, there was a passage no more understandable than the first book. The third was the book of the Ram, again, shown by the goat on the front. It contained stories of evil beings and creatures of power from each planet and dimension. This one also had an unintelligible passage in it. The final book was the book of the Deer, which Wesley later told us was, in fact, a Hart. It was the key to reading the other three. It was written in ancient Carnasian, but Khivar, obviously being one of the few remaining Carnasian royals, and thus one of the few people who could even read that language was able to decipher it. It held the key to the final passage of the book of Ram, which was a key to the book of Wolf, which was the final key to translating the first book, the Book of Destinations. It was in that book that Khivar mastered one of the mysteries of the universe. Wormholes. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The whole Scooby Gang was gathered in the basement around the small blonde alien that was bound to a dining room chair.

"A-And this book, it contains spells that open portals to other worlds?" Giles asked in amazement, absentmindedly cleaning his glasses.

"It's like the spell we used to travel to Pylea. Perhaps it is a version of the same book. There were books of Wolf, Ram and Hart in their holy temple which leads me to believe that there may be a copy on every world," Wesley said in his usual understated, but very excited way. He blushed a little at his next confession. "I, uh, still have that book back at the hotel. It, ah, must have slipped my mind to return it to the library."

"Ah, yes. Well. I suppose if it's for a good cause," Giles said. Wesley smiled and nodded.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. If I ever get like that, kindly stake me."

They ignored him.

"Fred said they weren't spells, but coordinates…" Angel trailed off as he remembered where Fred was now, in fact, who she really was.

"But we couldn't control where we went, though," Cordelia reminded them.

"You didn't have the key," Tess explained. "Without it, there's no way you could know where you're going."

"So, the portal probably took us to where it was supposed to, but we wouldn't know because we didn't know how to read the book," Gunn surmised.

"Exactly."

"Once again, Wolfram and Hart paves the way for evil," Cordelia said in irritation. Angel Inc. nodded in agreement.

"So if we found this book, the book of Hart, we could go back home?" Michael asked, slightly excited. He may have given up the chance to go home to be with Maria, and he may have found a home here on Earth, but that didn't mean that his boyhood dreams had relinquished their hold on his mind.

Maria was slightly hurt by his comment. She still had her connection with Michael and knew that he didn't want to leave her, per se. Heck, Antar was technically her home, too. That didn't mean she didn't still have some insecurities. Michael, sensing her thoughts, squeezed her hand in his, before turning back to Tess.

"No. You need all three. It won't make sense otherwise," Tess insisted, pulling at her ropes. "Now, please, let me go? I have to get back to my son." Her blue eyes pleaded with the thirty odd people in the room. Max was about to untie her, when Michael stopped him.

"Wait a minute. How are you gonna get back?"

Tess sighed. She was hoping they wouldn't think about it and just let her leave because she had no doubt in her mind that Max would come bounding in like a great raving imbecile and try to take her son away from her, getting him killed in the process.

"A portal."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That was one of the happiest moments of my life, because Max gave up a free ride home to be with me. He didn't even consider leaving the planet for a son he never met, because the fact of the matter is, I mean more to him than anything Tess could ever offer. We share heart, mind and soul, and all she ever had was body, and she had to use her powers to get it.

Michael still made her give us the spell, though, so that they could go home when they were ready. Sometimes I feel so sorry for Maria that Michael isn't more like Max. It's so insensitive of him to be looking for ways home when she's standing right there. He's basically telling her that he wants to leave her. It's not right.

Speaking of great moments, the highlight of my very existence came that Valentine's Day. February 14th, 2002, was a day I will remember forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria walked into the Crashdown, practically bouncing on her toes as she searched the sea of faces for the two most important people in her life. Michael and Liz. Finally, she spotted Michael's sweaty form sitting in a booth with Rath and Faith, stealing fries from his brother's plate.

"Dude, get your own," Faith said, munching on a burger, not ashamed by the fact that it was actually Rath's burger. Michael stuck out his tongue at her before picking up more fries in spite.

Rath pulled the plate closer to himself, covering it with his arms. "What, do I look like a caterer to you? Both of you get your own."

Faith pouted at him, then put on a sly smile trying to seduce him into sharing. Michael glared at her. That was unfair! She was pulling a card that he couldn't use. That was illegal usage of his brother's libido to get food. Faith smirked in triumph as Rath handed her some of his fries.

"Traitor. You gonna pick some girl over your own flesh and blood?" Michael whined. Rath just shrugged and went back to what remained of his meal.

Maria laughed at their antics as she slid into the booth next to Michael. He instantly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close, making his irritation at Rath's behaviour known before pulling her in for a long sucking kiss for comfort.

"Hello! People tryin' to eat here!" Rath exclaimed, tossing a fry at Michael's head. Michael waved a choice finger at him, continuing his passionate kiss with Maria only partly out of spite. Sucking on his bottom lip, Maria pulled away, grinning excitedly like an idiot.

"What's up, chick? That grin's blinding people in Texas," Faith said.

"I just found out, it's so great! Like, the best thing ever!" she babbled excitedly.

"What is?" Michael laughed.

"You know that gig we have tomorrow with The Whits?"

They nodded. How could they not know it? She had been going on about it for ages. They were playing at Club ET on Valentine's Day and there would no doubt be a huge crowd. Sure, they'd played there before, but this was the first time they were headlining it. The original headliners pulled out at the last minute giving the owners no choice but to give the opening act their spot. The Whits were more than happy to oblige.

"Well, I just heard the news. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I found out anyway," she went on, leaning forward as if sharing a big conspiracy. "There's gonna be a talent scout from Island Records there," she squealed. "Do you realise what that means? We could get discovered! And get a contract, and studio time, and make a record and be on MTV…" She listed the possibilities on her fingers, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Freakin' A! That's great, kid!" Faith exclaimed, punching her on the shoulder, before reaching over to give her a hug over the table. "Don't forget us little people who helped you slay vamps back in the day."

"So, Maria," Rath said, sliding in the booth next to her, squishing Michael in the corner. "My bestest buddy, you know, you're my favourite girl. There's this sweet black convertible I saw the other day. I'm thinkin' birthday present."

"For me?"

"Naw! For me! You're the one with talent scouts and record companies." He batted his eyelashes at her and she smacked him in the arm, giggling.

"You don't have a birthday."

"We can make one! When's a good time? How 'bout July? Just in time for cruisin' down to Miami."

Maria rolled her eyes at him and shoved him out of the booth, unable to hold back her laughter long enough to scowl at him. She turned to Michael who still hadn't said anything.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked. There was this funny look on his face that she just couldn't place. Without saying a word, he pulled her into a mind-blowing kiss. Maria moaned into his mouth as his lips attacked hers and their connection opened up. She could feel what he was feeling and it was a mixture of surprise, happiness, love and…pride. He was proud of her. Although she hadn't really done anything yet, he was proud of the very effort she was making to follow her dreams. They were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hey, Guerin! If you're done giving the whole restaurant a peep show, think ya could give us a little help here?" Jose called from the kitchen window.

Michael pulled away from Maria, giving her dozens of light kisses on the way there. They rested their foreheads against each other, both panting for breath. "I'll see you later?" Michael asked softly. She nodded. With one last kiss, he pushed her out of the booth, then slid out and headed back to the Crashdown kitchen. Maria just stared after him, bemused.

"Damn, girl," Faith exclaimed. She turned to Rath. "How come you don't kiss me like that, G?" she asked, shoving him.

"Please. I got mad skills. That punk ain't got nothing on me. I just don't give it up front like that. I ain't no ho. Rath lovin' don't come cheap."

"Uh-huh?" Faith nibbled on his ear a little, blatantly groping him.

He groaned. "Catch ya later, Maria," he said, hastily pulling Faith out of the booth. Faith laughed as she was dragged out of the restaurant and down the street to Rath's apartment.

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

"Ohmygodohmygodohmyfreakinggod," Maria mumbled wringing her hands as she paced backstage. The place was packed, she was nervous as hell and she was pretty sure she was about to throw up at any given moment.

Across the room, Alex, Marco, Nicky and Oz sat watching the lead singer of their band have a panic attack. After the performance at Xander and Anya's wedding, they'd decided that Oz would be a great addition to The Whits. He was great on the guitar, and his experience with The Dingoes Ate My Baby helped them land a lot more gigs with better pay. He was a godsend.

"Dude…she's not gonna flake out on us, is she?" Nicky asked.

"No. I have faith in Maria. She'll pull through," Alex said. 'I hope.'

Oz closed his eyes and started taking really slow, really deep breaths. Cracking open one eye, he looked at his arm. His hair was looking a wee bit thicker than usual.

"Uh, Alex?" He gestured to his arm.

"Oh, crap!" Alex pulled Oz to the side, looking around to make sure the others didn't notice.

"Can't you do something? A chant? A dance? Rum and coke?"

"I just need you to calm Maria down or something, 'cause I don't think a werewolf on the rampage would be a very good show…well, it would, but nobody would live to spread the word." He patted Alex on the back. "I'm gonna go outside for a while. See what you can do, huh?" With that, he walked out the door.

"Maria, you need to calm down, Oz is turning," Alex whispered to his hyperventilating friend.

"Oh God. This is my fault. And I'm gonna choke, and ruin the show, and puke on the audience and…oh god."

"Where's your cedar oil?" When she didn't answer, he dug around in her purse 'til he found it. "Breathe."  She took a deep breath, taking in the soothing scent of the cedar and relaxed. "That better?" She nodded. "Keep smelling it. I'm gonna go check on Oz."

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

It was halfway through The Whits' performance and they were a big hit. Some people were dancing on the floor in the middle of the club; others were jumping in front of the stage, watching the show from up close, and a few strange people were moshing, which was weird since none of their songs were hard enough to warrant it. The whole of the Pod section of the Scooby gang, namely Michael, Max, Liz, Isabel, Rath, Faith, Zan, Ava, and Kyle, and a few others, namely Serena, Dawn, and Connor were all out there to support their friends in the band.

Angel Inc. had eventually left Roswell and went back to L.A., but Connor had insisted on staying. He liked it here. The people were nice, they didn't treat him as if he was a baby, and they didn't look at him like they expected him to come to his senses and give them a hug. It also didn't hurt that Dawn was there, too. Angel, not about to deny his son anything agreed, though reluctantly. As of January 2002, Connor Angel was enrolled in West Roswell High and living in the Slayer mansion.

Michael, Serena, Isabel, Max and Liz were all sitting at a table on the far side of the room, watching their friends away from the crowd.

"Don't they look great?" Isabel asked, smiling at her boyfriend who was jumping around on stage with his band.

Michael grunted and glared at a group of guys who were standing a little too close to Maria for his liking.

"Danny is so much happier now that he's playing in a band again," Serena commented as Oz launched into a squealing guitar solo. "This is a great song!"

Isabel nodded, looking over to her brother and Liz who had yet to say anything. Max kept sticking his hand in his pocket, then pulling it out, then looking at Liz, then sticking it there again. He looked demented and Liz looked worried. Knowing what her brother was planning, she decided to help him out.

"I wanna dance!" Isabel said, pulling Michael and Serena up. "Michael, you're taking us."

"What? But I don't want to…"

"Come on," Isabel ordered, dragging him onto the dance floor.

"Hey, guys! We're The Whits!" Maria yelled from the stage as the song ended. She paused as the crowd screamed. She laughed. "You guys are a great crowd!" There was another round of "Woos" and "Yeahs" in the audience. "But, you know, good things come to an end, right? We have just one more song for you. Wanna hear it?" They cheered. "This is one I wrote with Alex, that's this geek here with the bass." She pointed at him and he did a silly bow. "It's dedicated some very special people who are here tonight. You know who you are." She searched the crowd for Michael and winked at him. "This is called 'Our Song'."

Nicky started with a soft guitar riff and Maria started swaying to the beat. Eight bars later, she came in with the bass and drums.

For some reason
we've had the same dreams and acted on our love
and now look where we are  

Oz came in on lead guitar playing a sort of echo to what she was singing.

And the times when we don't get along
have only made us strong
I know we all will say
it was worth the pain  

Nicky turned on the distortion on his guitar and began playing driving rock chords as Oz continued to play a different riff over the whole mix. The crowd started jumping to the beat as Maria started belting out the chorus.

"Max, are you okay?" Liz asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'm uh, I'm fine." He held her hands in his.


When we'll all be gathered around
knowing the love we gave's not a waste
you know they will know it's true
that when the day when we'll all be gathered around comes
and I know it's not far away I hope
we will know  

Michael stood directly in front of Maria in the crowd, lost in another world as brown eyes met green and held them. It was the same for Alex and Isabel, and Oz and Serena.

Nicky went back to the soft riff of the verse and Oz stopped playing.

And still today I wonder how it all became like this
as if drawn by unseen force
we arrived
in one specific place
for all our dreams to chase
and though we did not show
I think we all did know 

"Max, you've been fidgeting all night. What's wrong?" Liz asked, worry apparent in her big, brown eyes. Max looked away, took a deep breath then cleared his throat.

"Liz, since the first moment I saw you, I loved you and I feel like the luckiest half-human on the planet because you love me back. You're pure...you're-you're true... and...you're real. And right now that seems like the only thing that's important. I want to be with you Liz...forever." He pulled out the object he had hidden in the depths of his pocket. A red velvet box. Liz gasped as he opened the box and she saw the simple gold band with the small diamond in the middle. "Liz Parker, will you marry me?"

When we'll all be gathered around
knowing the love we gave's not a waste
you know they will know it's true
that when the day when we'll all be gathered around comes
and I know it's not far away I hope
we will know  

Connor and Dawn were in the middle of the fray on the dance-floor, dancing as close to each other as they could manage without letting the other know how they felt. Suddenly, Connor bent down and snatched Dawn's lips up in a passionate kiss. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to try it. She didn't protest as she wrapped her arms around his neck and responded to his kiss whole-heartedly.

When things
got rough
we still
found a way
and now our time is today  

Oz turned his volume all the way up and launched into a huge solo, showing off his skills. Maria started singing over him.


When we'll all be gathered around
knowing the love we gave's not a waste
you know they will know it's true
that when the day when we'll all be gathered around comes
and I know it's not far away I hope
we will know

When things
got rough
we still
found a way 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I can't even believe it. Max Evans proposed to me, Liz Parker. I'm engaged to a genetically engineered clone of a dead king from another planet. Well, it sounds ridiculous when you put it that way, but this is what I've wanted ever since the day Max healed me at the Crashdown and I saw into his soul. Of course, our parents protested. They thought we were too young, and my mom and dad still weren't happy about the fact that Max isn't exactly human. But we don't care, because we love each other and that's all that matters. Nothing will ever keep us apart again.

Liz put down her pen and glanced at the diamond ring she donned on her left hand, then glanced up at Max who was concentrating on the road ahead as he drove them to their destination.

"Are we almost there yet?" she asked.

"Just another ten minutes, honey," he said sweetly.

Isabel made a gagging noise from the back seat. "Please. If you guys keep this up I am definitely going to be sick."

Liz turned in her seat to stick her tongue out at her future sister-in-law before settling back down to finish writing in her journal.

Graduation. For everyone, I think, it elicits thoughts about the future that every teenager manages to ignore through their years of high school. In fact, most people don't know where they're going to be in the next ten minutes let alone the next ten years.

Not for us, though. We knew exactly where we were going after graduation. We were going to fight a war on another planet to help free two worlds from the enslavement of Khivar's tyrannical rule. We knew that the moment Alex, Willow and Serena finally cracked the code of the Book of Destinations. Who needs three books with translation keys when you have three computer geeks to make a decoding program to read it for you? Serena, who was also really good at physics, spent some time at Angel's hotel trying to decipher the writings Fred left on her wall, trying to figure out how the spells worked. She sort of figured it out, but it sounded like gibberish to the rest of us, no matter how well she explained it. Even I couldn't figure it out. I guess high school biology is no match for University level physics.

That's what leads us to this point. It's June 19th, the day after graduation, and we're headed off to end a fight that's been going on for way too long. We're going to another planet to wage a war against the greatest evil we will ever meet. Khivar.

Liz closed her journal and looked up as the jeep pulled up behind the Jetta in front of the Pod Chamber. Soon after five more cars pulled up beside them: the Slayer minivan, Angel's black convertible, The Whitmans' family car, and the Evans' family car. Everyone came to say goodbye.

The Pod Squad led their family and friends to the place where it all started. Waving a hand over a slab of rock, a silver handprint appeared, and Max Evans rested his hand on it, opening a door made of solid rock. One by one, they all ducked into the cave. It was a little cramped, but nobody cared. This was the last time they would all be together, at least for now. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"Wow," Diane said, touching one of the pods gently. "This is where you were born?"

"Yeah, that's my pod," Max answered. "Michael's is next to mine and Isabel's is under his."

"We have to go into the Granolith Chamber," Willow said, finally breaking the silence. "The portal will open easier 'cause there's probably a lot of supernatural energy there."

Max nodded. "Let's go," he said, bending down to crawl through Isabel's pod.

"What are you doing?" Cortenia asked, confused.

"Going into the Granolith Chamber," Max said slowly.

"Why don't you just open the door?" she asked, waving a hand over the far wall. A silver handprint appeared, much like the one on the front door. She pressed her palm firmly against it and concentrated. With a slight glow of her hand, the cave began to rumble and the wall that held the pods rose to reveal the Granolith Chamber.

"Duh, Max, really," Kaylanna said, walking into the chamber followed closely by her sister.

"That was there all the time?" Isabel exclaimed. "Do you know how many outfits I've ruined from crawling in and out of that hole?"

Willow walked to the centre of the room and closed her eyes, her senses singing at the feel of the power that once was there. She opened the Book of Destinations and quickly found the page she wanted. The spell to send her friends back to Antar. She turned to look at each of them. "Are you ready?" They nodded. She read. "dnghnmtr fwqplkv mcbdfrthgyjklz."

Before her, a swirling vortex of blue, purple, red, silver and a tinge of yellow formed, starting as a tiny ball and growing until it was about six feet in diameter. The wormhole created a wind that whipped across their faces mercilessly.

"I'll go through first and make sure everything is safe," Kaylanna offered, stepping through the portal.

Doing a quick round, Oz gave a quick hug to everybody in the Scooby Gang before stepping through the portal with Serena. Zan and Ava gave the Evans and Valentis quick goodbyes before joining them on the other side.

"I guess this is it," Max said, quietly. He walked over to his parents and gave each of them a hug before stepping back to stand next to Liz. Isabel choked on a sob as she wrapped her arms around her mother for the last time. The two cried in each other's arms for a few seconds before they were joined by Phillip Evans. Liz was also in a group hug situation with her parents. Finally they pulled away and joined Max on the side before joining hands and stepping through the portal.

Amy Deluca hugged and kissed her mother goodbye. Cortenia was barely out of the way before Maria ran into her mother's arms and squeezed her for all she was worth, trying to memorise everything about her before she had to leave.

"I'll be waiting here for you sweetie," Amy whispered in her ear, before letting her go. Maria nodded, wiping her face, before clinging to Michael. "You take care of my little girl." Michael nodded as they stepped through the portal, Cortenia in their wake.

The Whitmans produced two small gift-wrapped boxes for their two children. Alex was leaving them again and Faith was leaving before they even got to know her fully. With a kiss on each forehead, they said their quiet goodbyes and sent their kids on their way. Alex stepped through the portal to find Isabel as Faith stopped in front of Buffy.

"Sure you don't wanna come kick some alien ass, B?"

"I'm sure. Besides, somebody's got to stay here and keep up the slayer legacy." She smiled and pulled her into a hug.

Faith joined Rath and together they walked through the portal.

"Bye, dad," Kyle said, exchanging a manly hug with Jim. "Hey, when we get back, maybe we could go fishing."

Jim laughed, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. "We will, son. We will."

Kyle kissed Amy on the cheek, then stepped through the wormhole.

There was silence in the cave as the last person stepped through and the vortex closed. And Amy collapsed in tears as she realised what they all had to come to terms with.

They were gone…and they were never coming back.

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

The End

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