Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. I'm simply borrowing them until the Season 2 DVD's get released.

Tomorrow's Yet to Come

Chapter Twenty – I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore.

Jim Valenti drove down the road at a breakneck speed, and turned into his driveway, a plume of dust exploding behind him. He slammed on the brakes, inches from the front porch, climbed out of the truck and ran inside.

"Wake up!" he shouted. "Kyle, Liz, Max, Michael, Ava, get your asses out here right now. "Maria, Isabel, Alex, move it, now. We have a serious situation in town."

One by one, the podsters staggered out of the two bedrooms, and the study, and Zan climbed up of off of the sofa.

"What's going on, Sheriff?" Zan asked. Jim merely glared at him, still angry at Zan's deception, and waited for the others to enter the room.

"What's up, Dad?" asked Kyle, standing in the doorway to his room, rubbing his hand through his hair. Ava ducked under his arm, and stood in front of husband. Jim looked around to make sure that everyone was awake enough to grasp his news.

"There was a murder in town last night," he said. "I found the body myself. I'm sorry, guys, but the victim had a silver handprint on his chest."

The room exploded in sound as everybody talked at once. The noise escalated until Maria let out a piercing whistle, bringing the room to a sudden silence.

"It's good for cabs," she said when she realized everyone was staring at her.

"Where did you find the body?" asked Michael.

"Outside the CrashDown," said Jim, looking at Liz.

"Is it, it's not?" she whispered.

"No, Liz, sweetie, it wasn't one of your parents, but it was Jose. I'm sorry," said Jim. Liz whimpered, and Max wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. He looked over her head at Michael. His expression was stoic, and he held Maria tightly.

"When did it happen, Dad?" questioned Kyle. "Do they have any idea of a time of death, or is it too early?"

"Actually, we do have a pretty good idea," said Jim. "Jose was scheduled to open today,"

"So he would have arrived around 5:00 a.m.," said Liz, softly.

"That's right," said Jim. "I called his wife, Consuela, and she confirmed that Jose left at his regular time. I did a drive by of the back alley at 4:45, and there wasn't anything there. I hit it again, at 5:30, and I saw the body."

"What made you go back there, Jim?" Alex asked. "You don't normally do that, do you?"

"I've been keeping a watch on the CrashDown, your parents house, and the Evans house ever since I got those packages you all shipped here. I had Hansen take over for me when I went out to Colorado."

"I can't believe this," said Liz. "First Fred, now Jose. How many other people are going to die because of us?"

"I suppose it's pointless to ask if anybody saw anything?" asked Isabel.

"No, but something else happened last night that you should know about. Last night, there was someone in town with a picture of Max and Liz, asking if anybody had seen them recently."

"That's it, we're out of here," said Max. "Everyone get dressed. We all have backpacks, right?" He looked around the room, and everyone nodded. "Okay, fifteen minutes, and we leave. Jim, can you cram us all into your SUV? I don't want to leave any cars behind."

"Leave cars behind where?" Zan asked.

"Oh shit," said Kyle. "What do we do with Mr. Armani over there?"

"He's coming with us," said Max. "He's in danger too."

"He's in danger!" shouted Kyle. "How do we know he didn't do it?"

"This is bullshit!" shouted Zan. "I didn't do anything. I was asleep on that relic that passes as a couch."

"Kyle, calm down," said Max. "I got up around 5:00 to get a glass of milk. Zan was there."

"Don't do me any freaking favors," said Zan. "Screw you, screw the whole freaking lot of you. I'm leaving."

"You can't, Zan," Ava said. "You heard Max, we're all in danger. It isn't safe for you to go off on your own."

"I'm leaving, Ava, and if you're smart, you'll go with me. You don't belong with that jerk. You're too good for him."

Kyle flew across the room, and threw himself at Zan, knocking him to the floor. He began to punch him, violently, breaking his nose and giving him a black eye before Michael, and the sheriff managed to pull him off.

"Kyle, man, stop it!" shouted Michael. "We do not have time for this crap. Go get changed; Ava, go with him. You heard Max, we have fifteen minutes, and you just wasted three of them."

Kyle left the room, rubbing his hand. Ava looked at Zan, standing next to Michael, blood dripping down his face, and walked into the bedroom after Kyle, and slammed the door.

"Look, we don't have time for any of your shit," Michael said to Zan. "Now get your stuff together, because we're leaving, and you're coming with us."

"What, you think you can make me?" demanded Zan.

"Yeah," said Michael, menacingly, grabbing Zan by the shirt. "Because like it or not, you're not 'da man anymore. Being 'da man nearly got you killed. Get off your freaking attitude trip and stay alive." He released Zan, and followed Maria and Liz into the bedroom they had all shared. Max looked at Zan, and shook his head.

"Zan, we're not them, we're not like Rath and Lonnie. We're a team, we work together, and we help each other. We do not try and hurt each other. Kyle was out of line, but look at where he's coming from for just a minute. He was with Liz, and he lost her to an alien, to me. Now he's with Ava, and you show up. You and Ava have a history already, and he's afraid that history is going to repeat itself."

"Yeah, well he son of a bitch ought to have more faith in Ava," said Zan.

"He has more faith in her than you'll ever know," said Max. "He's been through a lot in the past week, and he just found out someone he knows has been murdered. He's not dealing well, so get over it. Now get ready, because we're leaving in a few minutes, and I'll drag you out of here myself if I have to."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Zan. "Why worry about me?"

"Because you're one of us now," said Max.

Jim said his goodbyes to the group outside the pod chamber. He hugged each one of them and told them to be safe. He looked at Kyle and Ava, and he hugged them both again, unashamedly wiping a tear from his eye.

"Don't worry, Dad," said Kyle. "We'll be back."

"We will," said Ava, hugging Jim, tightly. "You're a great dad. I'm not ready to give that up.

"Be careful," said Jim. "All of you be careful."

Liz stepped away from the others and held a package out to Jim. "Tell our parents what happened," she said. "Tell them everything. They won't believe you, but please tell them. Give this to my parents please. It's my journal. Ask them to share it with Maria's mom, and Max's parents, and Alex's as well. They need to know. They deserve to know." She hugged Jim, and stood back next to her husband.

Jim smiled, and whispered "Godspeed," and climbed down the path to where he had left his vehicle. They waited until he was out of sight, and Max activated the door, and the stepped inside the cool interior of the pod chamber.

"What is this place?" asked Zan before he saw the pods. "Oh, so that's what they look like. Our protector destroyed ours after we came out. So, why are we here, anyhow?"

"Follow me," said Max. He led the way into the chamber, which housed the Granolith. As soon as they entered the chamber, it began to hum. It began to glow, from deep inside. At its base was a deep purple light, and as it climbed up the chamber, the color changed. At the pinnacle, a bright glowing silver light emerged. The eight podsters arranged themselves around the Granolith in a double foursquare pattern. Zan stood by, unsure of what he should do, until Max reached out and pulled him into his corner of the square. The light spilled out and filled the room, and Che'koth appeared.

"Majesty," he said bowing low to Max. "And Majesty," he added someone confused at the appearance of Zan.

"We'll explain later," said Max. "There isn't time now." He quickly explained everything that had occurred in California, and the death of Jose in Roswell."

"This is not good, your Majesty," said Che'koth.

"No shit," said Max, "And don't call me that."

"There has been talk on Antar, about a group of soldiers being sent to Earth by Kivar, to hunt you down."

"How?" asked Max. "I thought they needed the Granolith to travel back and forth."

"At one time, yes, but our technology has changed, and the Granolith is no longer necessary for that purpose."

Max started to ask another question, when he heard a noise in the outer chamber. He spun around in time to see a woman with short blond hair come running into the Granolith chamber. She pointed her hand at Max, and shot a bolt of energy at him. Max through up a shield, and at the same time, Zan fired his own bolt of energy at the woman, causing her to fall to the ground.

The silver light of the Granolith turned a fiery red, and shot out and enveloped them all. The room seemed to spin and shake, and suddenly, they all found themselves on the ground in a strange room. Max stood up, and helped Liz to her feet and looked around. Across the room, a door opened and Che'koth walked in.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," said Alex.