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.

Chapter Seventy-Two – Farewell Bob – Rust in Pieces

"Do we have to do this?" Max whispered to the Sheriff and Michael. "I love my Jeep."

"You don't have any choice, Max," said Jim Valenti. "Tess really has to think that you're going to Antar. You're the one who concocted the cover story about all you going over the edge in the Jeep. Besides, according to Kyle, all of you have enough money hidden away to buy a fleet of Jeeps."

"Yeah, but," began Max.

"No buts, Maxwell," Michael said, his voice firm. "The Jeep goes." Michael held out his hand, in the direction of the Jeep, and shot a burst of energy towards it. The Jeep began to roll towards the rim of the canyon, slowly at first, but gaining speed. It flew off the edge, and Michael shot another burst of energy at it, causing it to explode into flames.

"Max, are you sure this is the only way?" Isabelle whispered to Max.

"Yes, I'm sure," Max whispered back. "And even if I wasn't, it wouldn't matter. The Jeep's gone now."

"Max, will you forget about the stupid Jeep!" snapped Isabelle. "This is the most dangerous phase of your stupid plan, don't you realize that!"

"Isabelle, will you calm down," Max whispered in an angry tone. "Tess is going to suspect something."

"Tess! She's busy playing invalid for Sheriff Valenti," Isabelle said contemptuously.

Max turned and hugged his sister. "Don't worry Isabelle, everything's going to be fine."

"How can you say that?" she demanded. "I haven't heard from Alex in hours. Something could be wrong."

"Alex is fine, Isabelle," said Max. "I promise you that."

"How can you say that," she sobbed. "You don't know that."

"Actually, I do," said Max. He turned Isabelle slightly, and pointed to where Alex and Maria were hiding behind an outcropping of rocks. "They showed up a few minutes ago. Now come on. We have to make this last performance for Tess very convincing."

Max and Isabelle turned and began to walk towards Michael who had retreated slightly when Max and Isabelle had begun to argue.

"Are we ready?" Michael said softly.

"As we'll ever be," said Max. "Maria's over there with Alex, so I'm going to bring Tess home, and hook up with the four of you later."

"Where are Kyle and Ava?" asked Isabelle.

"They're with Liz. We didn't know what Rath and Lonnie might pull, so they figured it might be safer to stay with her."

"Let's do this," said Isabelle, suddenly purposeful again. "I want this over so I can get on with my life!"

Alex and Maria watched while the Sheriff led Tess to his car. Max took one last look over his shoulder at the area that hid Alex and Maria before he climbed into the truck beside Tess. Michael and Isabelle watched in silence as the truck started and headed off down the dark road.

As soon as the taillights faded from view, Maria came rushing out, pulling Alex along behind her.

"Did it work?" Maria cried as she fell into Michael's arms. "Did she believe it?"

"Yeah, she did," said Michael, looking closely at her. "Maria, are you okay?"

"No, she's not, and neither am I for that matter," said Alex. "But we don't have time for that right now. We have to turn the two of you into Lonnie and Rath, and get you back to the Tumbleweed before Tess gets there."

"Turn us into Lonnie and Rath?" asked Isabelle. "Why?"

"Because they're dead, and chances are, Tess is going to head right over there as soon as she can get away from Max and the Sheriff," explained Alex.

"What? How?" stammered Isabelle.

"We killed them," said Maria. "But not before we learned some very interesting information. Come on, get in the Jetta, we have to hurry. Kyle is on his way over to the Tumbleweed to get rid of the bodies. He may need some help."

"I thought Kyle and Ava were staying with Liz?" said Michael.

"They were, and Ava still is," explained Alex. "We figured we might need some back up, so we called Kyle. He said he'd get his dad to help him get rid of, um, dispose of," he stopped.

"The BODIES!" shouted Maria. "Just say it Alex, the bodies. We killed to people tonight, and that's never going to go away, so you might as well get used to it."

"Maria, calm down!" shouted Michael, pulling her close to him. "Don't freak now. You need to focus. Let's sort this out. You two killed Lonnie and Rath, and now Jim and Kyle are supposed to go in and do clean up?"

"Yeah," said Maria. "Tess came and told them they were going home, provided they could kill you and Isabelle before tomorrow."

"Call Kyle and stop him," commanded Michael. "When Tess gets there, she's going to expect to see Lonnie and Rath, but she's also going to want proof that Isabelle and I are dead. We have to get over there, and turn those two into us, and us into them."

"Damn," said Alex, as they raced towards the Jetta "I never even thought of that. Where the hell was my mind?"

"You were busy wrapping your mind around that very important information we overheard," Maria said, looking at him pointedly.

"What? Oh, wait, that's right. Isabelle, I have to tell you what we overheard."

Michael threw the Jetta into gear and sped off into the night, while Alex explained to Isabelle.

"So Vilondra didn't betray her world, it was Tess," finished Alex. "Tess came up with that fractured fairy tale to help drive a wedge between you, Max and Michael. She probably figured that if she drove you apart, it would be easier for her to work her way in closer to Max and comfort him."

"Over Liz's dead body," laughed Maria, darkly. "But then again, that's one of the things we are trying to prevent, isn't it?"

"Among other things," said Michael softly. "Call Kyle, will you and stop him before he gets to the Tumbleweed. Tell him to get his ass back to Ava and Liz, and not to leave her side until he hears from me or Max."

Maria shot him an angry look, but picked up the cell phone and placed the call, as the Jetta sped off towards Roswell.