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 Forty – Three – I'm a Betazoid?

Kyle paused slightly as the walked passed General Kobodi, but Liz used every last bit of strength she possessed to almost drag him out of the room.

"Come on Valenti, work with me here," she hissed under her breath.

"I can feel the anger pouring off of him," Kyle said. It's coming off of him in waves; hot angry red waves of energy. He's pissed, really, really pissed."

"Great, Counselor Troi, can we save this for later, please?" Liz asked. "Kyle, I want you to focus on some of your Buddha stuff, be a tree growing in the woods or something. Stop paying attention to what I'm thinking or feeling, and get your ass in gear and walk!"

Liz's words were enough to cause Kyle to block out as much external stimuli as possible and to start putting some weight on his legs. He kept his eyes shut tightly, and allowed Liz to guide him down to the hidden room. Outside the door, he stopped and looked at Liz, his eyes filled with pain.

"I don't think I can go in there," he whispered. "Isabel is so upset, and she's trying to hold it in, and keep it from Alex. She needs to let him know what's upsetting her. The more she tries to keep it in, the more she's hurting herself, and him."

"And you, from the sounds of it," said Liz, softly. "Well, I'm not leaving you out here. How about if we get you in there, and take you right through to the tunnel. Maybe if you're not in the room with them, and can just sit, and meditate or something, and we can figure out something to help you."

"I'll try," said Kyle, "But Liz, I have to tell you, I'm scared as hell to walk in there."

"You'll be okay," said Liz, trying to keep her voice on and calm even pitch. Just keep your eyes shut and think flowing water, or blowing breeze, or whatever, okay?"

"Love the way you sum up my religious beliefs, Liz," Kyle said, with a grin that was a pale imitation of his usual open smile.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, Buddha and lets get moving," said Liz. She opened the door to their room and rushed Kyle through and directly into the tunnel. Max jumped up, wordlessly, and ran to Kyle's other side, and helped Liz half lead, half carry him.

"Liz, what's wrong with him?" Ava asked, worriedly trailing along behind them.

"I'll explain everything in a second," said Liz. "But right now, you need to get out of here, and keep everyone out of the tunnel."

"Liz, he's my husband, I need to stay with him," Ava said, her voice agitated.

"And right now, he needs you to be away from him, Ava," Liz said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Right now, Kyle needs quiet, and he needs for all of us to stay calm, and not get worked up emotionally. I promise, I'll be out in a minute to explain everything."

Ava left reluctantly and Max and Liz got Kyle settled against the smooth dirt walls of the tunnel.

"Okay, Valenti, you're a leaf, floating down a babbling brook, got it?" said Liz. "I'll be back to check on you in a bit. Max come on, Kyle doesn't need us here right now."

Her friends verbally assaulted Liz when she and Max exited the tunnel and rejoined the group in the hidden room. Demands to know what was wrong filled the room.

"Shut up, all of you," Liz said, trying to maintain a calm even tone. "Everyone needs to sit down, and try their damnedest to remain calm while I try and explain this."

Liz waited until everyone had sat down, and she herself went to sit beside Ava, and take her hand and squeeze it gently.

"Kyle's okay," Liz said. "But for some reason, he's developed a power that puts him in tune with people's emotions."

"Kind of like Deanna Troi on Next Generation," said Alex and Michael simultaneously.

"Exactly like that, I guess. Kyle said he can block them out pretty much, but when he's around us, it's harder for him to do. I think, too, if someone is suppressing emotion, or trying to contain it, he feels it pretty strong, because we walked past General Kobodi, and Kyle kept saying he could feel waves of anger pouring off the guy, but if you looked at him, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world."

"How can we fix it?" Ava asked. "Max, can you heal it?"

"I don't think so, Ava," Max said, gently. "It's not like there is anything wrong with him. We're going to have to find another way to deal with it."

"Yeah, well, I've got a lot on my mind, so maybe I'd better just get out of here, then," said Isabel, standing up.

"Isabel, what happened to your face?" Liz asked, momentarily distracted by the changes in Isabel's appearance.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Isabel said. "I just decided I wanted a new look, that's all.

"That's not all," Kyle gasped, leaning against the entrance to the tunnel. "Something happened today, and it's tearing you apart. Unless you want it to tear me apart, you'd better tell everyone what's going on."

"No! I don't want to talk about it," Isabel said, vehemently.

"Isabel," Alex said, softly, putting his arm around her. "You have to. It's obvious that you're upset about something, and Kyle can feel it too. You shouldn't keep it all bottled up inside."

"I, I saw Kivar today," Isabel blurted out in a rush.

"Did he recognize you?" Max asked, his face a worried mask.

"No, I don't think so, but there's something else. He had someone with him, today. It, it was me!"

"You're not making sense, Isabel," Maria said. "If you were there, how could you be with him."

"I'm telling you," Isabel said, her voice filled with agitation. "He's claiming to be married to Queen Vilondra. I saw her, and she looked exactly like me! I'm pretty positive I have a good idea of what I look like, Maria!"

Liz looked over at Kyle, and watched as the pain on his face eased as Isabel confessed what was bothering her. She slipped away from the group and walked over to where he leaned against the wall.

"You okay?" she asked, softly.

"Yeah. Once Isabel got that out, it was like a tremendous pressure was lifted off of me. I mean, everyone in this room has things their worried about, and I can feel it, but nothing was as powerful as the emotions Isabel was trying to contain. Liz, I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. It's hard."

"Come on over here and sit down," Liz said, leading Kyle to a chair. "Maybe Che'koth has some idea of what we can do to help you."

Kyle sat wearily in the chair, and Ava came over and perched carefully on its arm and began to stroke Kyle's head. The others joined them and began to discuss Isabel's revelation, struggling to keep their emotions in check, and talk in calm, measured tones.

"Who do you think it is?" Zan asked. "Could it possibly be Lonnie?"

"No way," said Alex, stroking Isabel's hair. "She was about as dead as you could possibly be when we put her in the Granolith. And," he added, "She had been dead for a few hours before that happened. He couldn't have resurrected her. Antar doesn't have that type of technology."

"What did she say, Isabel?" Max asked. "Did she talk to you at all?"

"That was the creepy thing, she didn't say a word," said Isabel. "She just trailed along behind Kivar like an adoring puppy or something. She never said a thing."

"We need to talk to Che'koth," Max said. "Anybody have any idea of how to get in contact with him?"

"We don't have to," said Maria, her face suffused with color. "He's meeting me here later tonight."

"What?" exploded Michael. "Why?"

"Because we're working on something, Space Boy, that's why. Do you have a problem with that?"

"I do if you're working on something that's going to put you in danger," said Michael.

"Well, it's not," Maria said defiantly. "You don't have to worry about me, Michael Guerin. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not worried about you," said Michael with small grin, trying to diffuse the situation. "I'm more concerned about the after effects of Hurricane Maria on poor Che'koth.

"I'm surviving just fine, General," said Che'koth from the tunnel passageway. "But all of you seem to be in great distress. How may I help?"

Alex and Isabel began to tell Che'koth about the Isabel clone that was parading around the palace, while Liz and Ava tried to bring Kyle's dilemma to his attention. The noise level grew louder and louder until a piercing whistle filled the air.

"Cool it, all of you!" shouted Zan. "Give the man a chance to think, and to hear you. Isabel, you have the freak factor, but I think we need to address Kyle's situation first. He's suffering from physical pain, yours is only mental."

"Listen to Zan going all king like," Maria whispered to Michael. "It's almost like having Max in stereo. Oh wait, it is exactly like having Max in stereo."

"Che'koth, what's wrong with Kyle?" Ava asked. "He's feeling all these emotions from other people."

"Interesting," said Che'koth. "Kyle, do you remember when we talked about the power surge that happened when you memories were being supplemented?"

"Yeah," said Kyle. "Something I so wish had never happened."

"Well, apparently I was wrong, the power surge didn't cause the extra memories, your powers caused the power surge. Empathic powers do sometimes occur, but not often. It seems as though this was a power you were going to develop, and the supplemental memory speeded the process. Had it occurred naturally, you would have learned how to cope, and suppress the pain you are feeling. You haven't been given that chance, but I think, if you search your memories, you will find the techniques are stored. You only need to work on them. We will talk more later, but now, let me hear what is bothering Isabel."

At the sound of her name, Isabel got up and began to pace nervously around the room. She related her experience in the Royal Palace, and the shock she felt at seeing another replica of herself walking around.

"This news is quite alarming," Che'koth admitted. "We had all heard the news that Kivar claimed to have wed Vilondra, but I wasn't concerned because I knew it wasn't possible."

"Well, I saw her, me, I mean her," said a clearly confused Isabel. "She was there, plain the nose on our face. Who is she, Che'koth? Is it Lonnie, did she survive somehow?"

"I'm not sure, Princess," Che'koth admitted. "The matter bears some looking in to. I'll get on it right away. Maria," he added, turning towards the other girl. "I'm afraid this will delay the next stage of your plan, is that alright with you?"

"Of course," said Maria, though her face clearly showed her disappointment.

"All right Maria, spill it!" said Michael. "What plan, what's going on? Che'koth, what's going on?"

"You did not know?" Che'koth asked. "Your wife led me to believe you, what was the phrase she used, oh yes, you had her back on this one."