Part 6: Preparation
Ariel, David, Brian, and Kara sat at a cozy booth in Senor Chow's, waiting for their dinners to arrive. Ariel was curious about Brian and Kara, and she wanted to know more about their lives before coming to Roswell.
"So, where are you guys from originally? I mean, I know you said you moved around a lot and have lived all over the country, but where did you live first?" Ariel asked. Somehow, she would not be surprised if they happened to be from Pennsylvania, like she and David were.
"Pennsylvania," Kara confirmed Ariel's hunch. "We lived in Philadelphia for about two years before we moved to Texas. After that, we never spent more than a year or two in one place."
Ariel and David shared a look of astonishment that Brian and Kara were originally from Pennsylvania. Add another item to the list of things the four of them had in common. "God, that must've been tough, always having to leave your friends and start all over again in a new place," Ariel commented. Although it had been so hard to say goodbye to their friends back home, at least Ariel and David had the consolation of having friends they'd grown up with all along since kindergarten.
"It was tough," Brian agreed. "But we pretty much kept others at a distance and never really got to know people that well. People at school were more acquaintances than friends."
"Brian, you did that," Kara corrected. Kara had made a number of friends over the years and didn't keep people at as much a distance as others did. But it was also true that she never truly let others get to know her until they'd found Ariel and David.
David grinned. The two of them sounded just like he and Ariel. "So you guys lived in Philly? We grew up about half an hour south of the city."
"Really? That's cool," Kara smiled. She and Brian shared a look of astonishment this time, both wondering how it was that Ariel and David could have lived so close, and yet Caleb never found them.
Ariel almost could sense Brian and Kara's question. Why would their father have been looking for us, she wondered. It didn't make any sense. Ariel opened her mouth to ask, but David stopped her with a subtle shake of his head. David could see that Ariel had picked up on a thought from Brian and/or Kara and would have revealed her abilities, maybe too soon, if she asked about it. So Ariel quickly covered her expression of confusion and kept silent.
"What is it?" Brian asked Ariel. He knew that she had picked up on the thought. Soon, he would explain everything to David and Ariel. But not yet. He couldn't resist trying to get her to talk about her abilities, though. That would be the first step.
"Nothing," Ariel answered with a smile. Brian and Kara grinned at each other, knowing full well that Ariel had shown her abilities. Soon enough, the four of them would be able to talk about the secret that they all shared.
Ariel caught the grin and asked playfully, "What?"
"Nothing," Brian replied. Both he and Ariel laughed.
"Ok, I deserved that," Ariel admitted.
"Yes, you did," Brian agreed with an impish grin, and tickled Ariel.
"Hey!" Ariel protested, laughing even harder and tickling him in return. Brian caught her hands and pulled her close to him. Ariel looked up into his eyes, and in that moment, both of them could feel the electricity flowing between them. Their laughter quieted, and they simply gazed at each other for a long moment. Without thinking about what he was doing, Brian reached up to caress her cheek. It was a gesture that somehow felt completely natural and familiar to them both. Ariel instinctively responded in kind.
Watching their siblings together, David and Kara smiled at each other. David put his arm around Kara, and Kara snuggled up against him. "I'm so glad that we found each other," Kara commented with a light, contented sigh. The four of them together this way was everything she'd dreamed of her whole life.
"Me, too," David answered, resting his head against Kara's.
"Me, too," Brian and Ariel echoed as they finally noticed David and Kara watching them. The four of them smiled happily, knowing deep inside that this was how things were meant to be.
Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the interrogation of Ariel. The group was still at Alex's discussing the details of the plan. Max and Liz sat side by side on Alex's bed. Alex stood leaning against his desk, his arms wrapped around Isabel. Michael and Maria sat on the floor, with Maria leaning against Michael. Tess and Kyle sat together comfortably on a large chair built for two.
"OK, we'll use the alien device Brody has to disable Ariel's powers if she tries to use them against us," Max said, beginning the process of brainstorming with the group about the supplies and plan contingencies.
"We should attack her and weaken her from the start so she can't use her powers against us," Michael declared. He didn't want to give that girl a chance to hurt them.
"Michael, what if she isn't an enemy? We don't want her and her friends to become enemies. The whole point of this is to find out the truth about who they are and why they came to Roswell, not to make them hate us," Maria spoke up.
"We have to make sure that all of us are safe. That's our first priority," Max addressed the group. "If that means that we have to use our powers against her, then so be it, but only if it becomes necessary."
"When we're interrogating her, I want to dreamwalk her so we'll know if she's telling the truth," Isabel told Max, who nodded in agreement.
"Good idea, Iz."
"What are we going to do to keep her there? Tie her up?" Maria asked.
"I think my dad has some handcuffs we could use from his days as Sheriff," Kyle suggested.
Tess gave Kyle an interested and curious glance, thinking of other, more fun uses of those handcuffs. Something more along the lines of Buddha Boy and lamp trimming. "Noted," Tess commented with a sly grin. Kyle immediately picked up on Tess's ideas and returned the grin.
Isabel rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Get a room," she teased them playfully, seeing the sexual tension between Tess and Kyle. Actually, she thought the two of them were cute together. "But seriously, what's the plan if Ariel figures out what we're trying to do before we get her into the UFO Center?" The question popped into Isabel's head, and she brought it up so that they would all have a plan in mind ahead of time.
The group considered the question silently for a moment. Then Liz had an idea. "Tess can mindwarp her into going with us." Tess nodded in agreement, her mind already forming several possibilities as to what kind of mindwarp to use to get Ariel inside the UFO Center.
"It sounds like we have a plan," Alex said, feeling satisfied with what the group was accomplishing. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll call Ariel to set it up," Liz volunteered. She dialed Ariel's home phone number...
Ariel, David, Brian, and Kara sat at a cozy booth in Senor Chow's, waiting for their dinners to arrive. Ariel was curious about Brian and Kara, and she wanted to know more about their lives before coming to Roswell.
"So, where are you guys from originally? I mean, I know you said you moved around a lot and have lived all over the country, but where did you live first?" Ariel asked. Somehow, she would not be surprised if they happened to be from Pennsylvania, like she and David were.
"Pennsylvania," Kara confirmed Ariel's hunch. "We lived in Philadelphia for about two years before we moved to Texas. After that, we never spent more than a year or two in one place."
Ariel and David shared a look of astonishment that Brian and Kara were originally from Pennsylvania. Add another item to the list of things the four of them had in common. "God, that must've been tough, always having to leave your friends and start all over again in a new place," Ariel commented. Although it had been so hard to say goodbye to their friends back home, at least Ariel and David had the consolation of having friends they'd grown up with all along since kindergarten.
"It was tough," Brian agreed. "But we pretty much kept others at a distance and never really got to know people that well. People at school were more acquaintances than friends."
"Brian, you did that," Kara corrected. Kara had made a number of friends over the years and didn't keep people at as much a distance as others did. But it was also true that she never truly let others get to know her until they'd found Ariel and David.
David grinned. The two of them sounded just like he and Ariel. "So you guys lived in Philly? We grew up about half an hour south of the city."
"Really? That's cool," Kara smiled. She and Brian shared a look of astonishment this time, both wondering how it was that Ariel and David could have lived so close, and yet Caleb never found them.
Ariel almost could sense Brian and Kara's question. Why would their father have been looking for us, she wondered. It didn't make any sense. Ariel opened her mouth to ask, but David stopped her with a subtle shake of his head. David could see that Ariel had picked up on a thought from Brian and/or Kara and would have revealed her abilities, maybe too soon, if she asked about it. So Ariel quickly covered her expression of confusion and kept silent.
"What is it?" Brian asked Ariel. He knew that she had picked up on the thought. Soon, he would explain everything to David and Ariel. But not yet. He couldn't resist trying to get her to talk about her abilities, though. That would be the first step.
"Nothing," Ariel answered with a smile. Brian and Kara grinned at each other, knowing full well that Ariel had shown her abilities. Soon enough, the four of them would be able to talk about the secret that they all shared.
Ariel caught the grin and asked playfully, "What?"
"Nothing," Brian replied. Both he and Ariel laughed.
"Ok, I deserved that," Ariel admitted.
"Yes, you did," Brian agreed with an impish grin, and tickled Ariel.
"Hey!" Ariel protested, laughing even harder and tickling him in return. Brian caught her hands and pulled her close to him. Ariel looked up into his eyes, and in that moment, both of them could feel the electricity flowing between them. Their laughter quieted, and they simply gazed at each other for a long moment. Without thinking about what he was doing, Brian reached up to caress her cheek. It was a gesture that somehow felt completely natural and familiar to them both. Ariel instinctively responded in kind.
Watching their siblings together, David and Kara smiled at each other. David put his arm around Kara, and Kara snuggled up against him. "I'm so glad that we found each other," Kara commented with a light, contented sigh. The four of them together this way was everything she'd dreamed of her whole life.
"Me, too," David answered, resting his head against Kara's.
"Me, too," Brian and Ariel echoed as they finally noticed David and Kara watching them. The four of them smiled happily, knowing deep inside that this was how things were meant to be.
Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the interrogation of Ariel. The group was still at Alex's discussing the details of the plan. Max and Liz sat side by side on Alex's bed. Alex stood leaning against his desk, his arms wrapped around Isabel. Michael and Maria sat on the floor, with Maria leaning against Michael. Tess and Kyle sat together comfortably on a large chair built for two.
"OK, we'll use the alien device Brody has to disable Ariel's powers if she tries to use them against us," Max said, beginning the process of brainstorming with the group about the supplies and plan contingencies.
"We should attack her and weaken her from the start so she can't use her powers against us," Michael declared. He didn't want to give that girl a chance to hurt them.
"Michael, what if she isn't an enemy? We don't want her and her friends to become enemies. The whole point of this is to find out the truth about who they are and why they came to Roswell, not to make them hate us," Maria spoke up.
"We have to make sure that all of us are safe. That's our first priority," Max addressed the group. "If that means that we have to use our powers against her, then so be it, but only if it becomes necessary."
"When we're interrogating her, I want to dreamwalk her so we'll know if she's telling the truth," Isabel told Max, who nodded in agreement.
"Good idea, Iz."
"What are we going to do to keep her there? Tie her up?" Maria asked.
"I think my dad has some handcuffs we could use from his days as Sheriff," Kyle suggested.
Tess gave Kyle an interested and curious glance, thinking of other, more fun uses of those handcuffs. Something more along the lines of Buddha Boy and lamp trimming. "Noted," Tess commented with a sly grin. Kyle immediately picked up on Tess's ideas and returned the grin.
Isabel rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Get a room," she teased them playfully, seeing the sexual tension between Tess and Kyle. Actually, she thought the two of them were cute together. "But seriously, what's the plan if Ariel figures out what we're trying to do before we get her into the UFO Center?" The question popped into Isabel's head, and she brought it up so that they would all have a plan in mind ahead of time.
The group considered the question silently for a moment. Then Liz had an idea. "Tess can mindwarp her into going with us." Tess nodded in agreement, her mind already forming several possibilities as to what kind of mindwarp to use to get Ariel inside the UFO Center.
"It sounds like we have a plan," Alex said, feeling satisfied with what the group was accomplishing. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll call Ariel to set it up," Liz volunteered. She dialed Ariel's home phone number...