Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine. A lot of stuff in the beginning is taken from End of the World. God knows THAT'S not mine. Anything that makes sense and makes it all better, now that's mine. Seriously, Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Love Changes Everything

Chapter Sixty-One – SOS

The eight of them entered the pod chamber, and climbed back into the chamber that hid the Granolith. Wordlessly, they moved into their four square pattern and looked at the Granolith. They were not disappointed. The Granolith began to glow, and filled the room with light, and a soft humming sound filled the room. After several minutes, Che'koth's image appeared before them.

"Greetings, My Liege," said Che'koth, bowing down before Max.

"Will you get over that royalty stuff," said Max. "We have a lot of questions, and we need answers."

"Certainly, Your Highness."

"Look, just call me Max. I'm nobody's king."

"As you wish, Max. What questions may I answer for you?"

"Me first," Maria said. "I came here yesterday, because I had some questions. Why couldn't I contact you to answer them?"

"The Granolith is programmed to be activated when it senses the signals of all of you," replied Che'koth.

"Can that be changed?" asked Michael. "There may be times where we need you, but we can't all be here."

"Certainly, we can modify the programming to activate when only one, or all of you are here."

"Great," said Max. "That makes all of us feel a bit more secure."

"I have a question," said Liz. "What's wrong with me?"

"Could you be more specific, Your Majesty? A biological scan done by the Granolith when you came in showed no abnormalities."

"What is inside of me? I mean, I know it's a baby, but is it human, or is it going to look," her voice trailed off.

"The child is human," Che'koth replied. "It will have human physical characteristics."

"Thank God," Liz whispered. "One more question, if you please. How is this pregnancy affecting my body? I mean, will the baby grow and develop like a traditional Earth pregnancy, and will my body experience the same changes?"

"Yes, this baby will develop in the way that is normal here on Earth. You should begin, I believe the word is showing, any time. You must work to develop your masking talents if you wish to keep your condition hidden."

"Masking?" asked Max, puzzled. "Oh, you mean mind warping. Can Liz do that?"

"You all have the same abilities," said Che'koth. "Some are more developed than others, but the potential is there."

"What nobody is asking," interrupted Isabelle, "Is about Liz's insane, psycho mood swings. Are those normal too?"

"Mood swings?" questioned Che'koth.

"Yeah, you know, happy one second evil bitch monster of death the next," Maria said.

"No, actually, it isn't at all normal," said Che'koth. "The traditional illnesses associated with pregnancy are no longer a part of our world. They have been eliminated due to evolution. And while they are a part of this world, any symptoms you experience should not be as severe as that of a typical Earth pregnancy."

"What about after we left Michael's apartment?" asked Kyle. "We all felt a change happen in our bodies, but the others didn't. Could that have something to do with it?"

"Explain!" demanded Che'koth, sharply. "What change are you referring too?"

Kyle, Maria, Liz and Alex each took turns trying to explain the changes their bodies felt when they left Michael's apartment. When they finished, Che'koth questioned Max, Isabelle, Ava and Michael.

"And you say none of you, none at all, felt the changes the others spoke of?" he queried.

"No, none of us," said Max. "But one other peculiar thing did occur. Liz almost put Michael's door through the wall when she opened it."

"That's right," said Liz. "I forgot about that. Actually, I didn't," she amended. "I just didn't think it was important."

"Everything is important, Your Majesty," chastised Che'koth. "You cannot leave out any detail, no matter how insignificant."

"Well, then, maybe I should say something," said Ava. "When I blew up the lamp, that wasn't what I was going for. I just wanted to use my powers to lift it up and bang it on the table to get everyone's attention."

The Granolith began to hum, and a red light flashed, filling the room with a brief, yet eerie glow.

"Look in the Granolith," commanded Che'koth. "Do you see something?"

"Yes," said Max. There is something floating inside."

"Reach up and take it," said Che'koth. "In it you will find four bejginm. Each one of the Royal Four must carry one on their person at all time."

"What is a bejginm?" asked Max.

"Take them out of the Granolith, Majesty," said Che'koth, and then I shall explain.

Max reached up into the Granolith and removed the package. On it was the same symbol that was on the communicator orbs. Max passed his hand over the symbol, and the package glowed with a purple silver light before it opened. Inside, he found four objects that were similar to wristwatches.

"Take them, and wear them," said Che'koth. "They will scan for a device called a duch'makah that is used to amplify powers. "If such a device is found, the bejginm will deactivate it."

"You think someone is using this duch'makah?" asked Alex.

"Yes, I do," said Che'koth. "That is what you felt. Or rather, what was causing what you called the Queen's mood swings, and the amplification in powers. We can only surmise that while your physiology is changing and evolving, you have still not evolved enough to NOT be disturbed by the energy emitted by the duch'makah. We use them frequently on Antar to help amplify our powers, so our systems are used to the energy. In time, your bodies will also adapt to the energy they emit, but right now, they are causing you physical discomfit."

"So, you're telling me, that Tess, or Rath and Lonnie planted these duch'makah things around?" asked Max. "Why? I mean, if they amplify powers wouldn't they amplify ours as well?"

"Yes, but since you didn't know about their existence before now," explained Che'koth, "You wouldn't know to consciously use them. Tess, on the other hand, was probably using them to amplify her masking ability."

"Right," said Max. "That makes sense. But now that we know that they are here, can't we use them to amplify our powers to work against Tess?"

"You can," said Che'koth. "And that is where the bejginm will help you. They will block the effect of the duch'makah on you, as long as you wear them."

"But what about us?" asked Kyle. "Shouldn't we have them, too?"

"If you need them, come back, and we will send more down," said Che'koth. "I think, however, that since you can physically feel the effects of the duch'makah, you will also be able to block it without the aid of the bejginm."

"There is one thing that none of you have thought of," said Liz. "Where did Tess get these duch'makah thingys?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Che'koth. "There is a possibility that one of the protectors brought them when you fled Antar."

"Or, she's working with someone else," said Max, his voice hard with the sharp edge of anger.

They all looked at one another, and each of them could feel their stomachs sinking at the thought of another enemy to fight.

"And if she has these duch'makah's," Max continued. "What else does she have to use against us?"