The Four Faces Of Rath

Four Faces, One Heart

Chapter 71

LXXI

Maria clung to Michael's arm and smiled as they left the C'prysta, unquestionably the dressiest --and the most expensive-- place for a night out on Antar. The C'prysta had the best food of the galaxy's best food. It was ten stars out of five and as gourmet as it was possible to get. But it was also a place to dance the night away and listen to great music performed live by Antar's most popular bands and singers. Michael and Maria had been to the C'prysta a few times, but not very recently. The fact is… family restaurants like Var'nat's Kires-Ryym and the CrashDown had become their eat-out locales du jour. Nowadays, "get-out-and-get-away" usually meant taking the kids out for a family outing; and there was no denying that Michael and Maria loved and cherished every family moment together. But tonight was a different kind of night. Tonight had been a real "GET-OUT-AND-GET-AWAY" night to cap off a really, really "GET-OUT-AND-GET-AWAY" day.

Maria breathed the night air in deeply, with great satisfaction, and leaned her head on Michael's arm, lifting her eyes to look into his… "It's been a long time since we got all dressed up like this, Michael… I'm glad we did this. It was a wonderful evening."

Michael looked at Maria and smiled. Her eyes seemed to dance under the Antarian moonlight, and her face had a radiant glow.

"A great day deserves a great evening, Maria. I thought you'd like it."

"I loved it!" Maria reached up to give Michael a kiss. Then she looked into his eyes and smiled… "I love YOU."

"I love you, too," Michael said, with immense sincerity. He remembered a time when those words had been very hard for him to say. Michael knew better than anyone how far he had come since coming to Antar… and how much farther still he had come since he and Max had brought Maria and Liz to Antar. The two years they had spent on Antar without Maria and Liz had had a profound effect on both of them. Michael never wanted to be without Maria again, and in some strange way, he felt that those three words were the key to making that wish come true.

"How were your Golden Sea pink-ringed shrimp?"

"The jarlagos-droozeen were great," Maria sighed, "So was the Grelligo soup… and the Corvian brandy."

"Oh, yeah, well, that… Corvian brandy's like liquid gold. It should be good!" Michael looked at Maria and grinned. "But it WAS good, wasn't it!"

"Worth every kyrin."

Michael nodded. "You know, I don't think I ever saw anyone fix grelliats like that. I really liked them."

"I noticed…" Maria patted Michael on the stomach. "I'll see if I can duplicate their recipe."

"Really?"

Maria shrugged. "Yeah, why not! If they can do it, I can do it."

Michael and Maria reached the end of the C'prysta's arbored walkway and crossed over a small boardwalk bridge that led to the edge of the Golden Sea. There, they removed their shoes and continued walking along the beach under the full moons.

"Daneela Varel sang great, didn't she, Michael?"

Michael nodded. "Yeah. I still think she sounds like Dido."

Maria laughed then thought about it. "Yeah, I guess she does… kind of."

"Max and I were talking about that once… a long time ago… when we went to save you and Liz after the earth was destroyed in the other timeline… about how she sounded like Dido. Daneela's older now, but she still sounds great."

"Yeah… she does," Maria agreed, "I love the mellow, romantic edge she gives to her songs."

Michael nodded. "And Var Juma… don't you think Var Juma sounded like Ivy? Remember 'Edge Of The Ocean?'"

Maria looked at the Golden Sea and looked back at Michael, smiling. "Any reason you'd think of that song right now, Michael? Edge Of The Ocean?"

Michael shrugged, playfully kicking a gentle wave that rushed up over his feet… "Coincidence."

Maria smiled. "Yeah, I see the resemblance in the voices… and the styles. I loved the music, Michael… but you know what made tonight really special?"

"What?"

"You."

Michael stopped and looked at Maria then wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. After several minutes, they resumed walking again, each with an arm around the other.

"You made it special for me, too, Maria. I even liked dancing with you."

Maria giggled. "I know you don't usually like to dance, Michael, but you did seem to be having a good time."

"I was."

"You sure it wasn't the Corvian brandy?"

Michael laughed. "No… it was you… it was you. The brandy was good, but only you can make me dance."

Maria giggled again then smiled. She knew that there was great truth in that simple statement.

As if to punctuate what he had said, Michael took Maria's hands and began to dance with her on the beach, in the moonlight, as the gentle waves of the Golden Sea swished in and out over their bare feet. The rivulets of water flowing back out under their feet moved the sand beneath them, tickling Maria's toes. She laughed… then she let herself go with the moment, enjoying the chance to truly lose herself with Michael… It was all so freeing! Together they spun and leapt, they swayed and dipped, they laughed… and completely let go… but mostly, they held each other tight, swayed to the music in their heads, and kissed as though there were no tomorrow…

And somewhere in the night, someone else watched…

"What do you think?"

"He looks like he's enjoying himself."

"I told you he'd be fine."

"Well, I like to see things for myself, old man. No offense, but it's how I've survived. And I want to make sure that he does, too. He's kind of… you know… me… in a way."

The old man smiled and nodded. "So… does this arrangement suit you, Rath?"

Rath sighed and nodded… "I'm grateful to you, Drax… and to the Noogies, too, for setting up a special timeline for Zan and Ava and me to live on in… I just don't want to mess things up for him… for Michael… in his timeline. I mean, him being me and all."

The Drax-ta-kiya looked at Durj'ori beside him and smiled, which was as close as he ever came to laughing.

"It's Nogi's… Nogi-K'ya," Durj'ori said. "And you're welcome. Michael altered your timeline when he was there. Granted, it was our fault, actually, but that's not important now… Anyway, we had the option of putting it back like it was and leaving it that way or splitting off the altered line into a separate timeline. In view of the… fate that awaited you all in your original timeline, we thought you would not object to this arrangement."

Rath shook his head and looked at Zan, and Zan shook his head in agreement… "Ava and I are happy… as long as it does not affect them in their time."

Durj'ori smiled proudly. "You don't know how many Nogi-K'ya worked on this without any rest for the last year to make sure that that would be the case… and to get it done while you are still alive. Your kind has such a desperately short lifespan."

"It was shorter in the timeline Kivar was in," Zan said.

"So now nobody gets knocked off by Kivar… 'cause Kivar won't be in our timeline?" Rath asked.

"It's not as simple as that," Durj'ori said. "What happened in the other timeline will still happen… but you were split off from that timeline right before it happens. In that timeline, you still die, but here you live on. And Michael and Max are still created from your DNA and Zan's… from that timeline."

"Don't ask him to explain it further," the Drax-ta-kiya said, "Neither you nor I will live long enough to hear the entire explanation."

"Sadly, that is true," Durj'ori agreed.

"This guy, Michael… Tell me about him," Rath said, "I mean… I know he's me… or he's made from me… but he's different, too… and yet, he's not. I like him… He can be a serious warrior and protect his kingdom… like me… when he needs to be. But he has an artist's soul…"

"Also like you, I have heard," the Drax-ta-kiya said.

Rath shrugged slightly. "Not many know that. Only my closest friends… of which there are very few."

"It's not a crime, Rath."

"It would make me look weak if it were widely known."

"Like Michael?"

"No. I didn't say that Michael was… I see what you mean. But Michael… it's all in the package. It's who he is."

"Is that bad?"

Rath shook his head. "Michael is what he is… a warrior and an artist… a true and faithful friend… and… and something more. I can't quite put my finger on it. When you look at me, you see a man of one face, at least outwardly. I am loyal and faithful and a warrior, too, but they are all seen through this one face… the face of the warrior. Michael is much more complex. He has three… maybe four… yes, four faces. And he has learned to separate and cultivate each of these… aspects… of his life… as something to be cherished. There is the warrior-protector, the creator or artist, the faithful and true friend, and something else… very important. I think… it is something about him and his lady, Maria… Even when he's not with her… he still is. There is this… something… defining… between them."

"Candy?"

Rath looked at the Drax-ta-kiya, and the old man smiled and held out his hand with something in it.

"What is that?"

"Something I obtained on the planet Michael grew up on. It's called candy."

Rath took one of the little pellets and looked at it. Then he tasted it. "It tastes like Xa'fa."

"They call it chocolate," the Drax-ta-kiya said. "I think it is the same thing."

"What does the little symbol on it mean?"

The Drax-ta-kiya shook his head. "It is a W… or an M… depending on the way you hold it."

"There's only one problem with it," Rath said, savoring and then swallowing the pellet. "It makes you want more."

"It does, doesn't it," the Drax-ta-kiya agreed, putting another one into his own mouth then handing Rath several more. "It does indeed."

-------Epilogue-------

As the sun's first rays crept over the Golden Sea, Michael rolled over and looked at Maria lying beside him in the sand. The gentle waves moved in and out around them, and Maria smiled and put her arms around Michael and kissed him passionately.

"My mother warned me about guys like you, Michael Guerin."

"I guess it's a good thing she's not here then, huh?"

Maria giggled. "Yeah. Or she might see me do this…" Maria kissed Michael on the lips gently… "or this…" She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hand over his chest.

"The sun's coming up," Michael said, looking around worriedly. "People will be showing up at the beach soon."

Maria put a pout on her lips, but even Michael could tell that it was feigned. Her eyes still danced with the memories of the past twenty-four hours.

Michael smiled and rolled over on top of Maria, wrapping her in his arms, then rolled over again with her on top of him.

"Now this is closer to what I had in mind," Maria said, lifting her head and gazing into Michael's eyes adoringly, as another wave swept up the beach underneath them, playing with Michael's hair. Both Michael and Maria were thoroughly soaked, but neither of them seemed to care.

"Do you think Max and Liz went straight home after the C'prysta," Maria asked.

Michael laughed. "I haven't thought about it. I don't know. They were still dancing when we left. They probably danced all night then went home."

Maria nodded. "Mmm… yeah… probably. You're a lot more fun."

Michael laughed again. "Liz and Max might disagree with you there, Ree. But for the record, you could be right."

"Of course I'm right. I picked you to live my life with, didn't I?"

"Yeah… you got me… for better or for worse. You know, Maria, I was wondering… about this shapeshifting thing, you know… do you think we ought to mention it to the kids?"

"GOOD LORD, NO!" Maria exclaimed, then she began to laugh. "Zorel and Jayyd would badger us to death to change them so they could do it, too! That's all I need is for Zorel and Jayyd to fly away whenever they want to! I mean… we've already got Kryys with his… 'special gift' popping in and out without warning. Maybe we could tell Zorel and Jayyd when they're, oh, I don't know, married and about thirty? Until then, let's just keep this as our own little secret, okay? I've got a feeling Kryys knows already, but he'll keep our secret… if we ask him to."

Michael nodded. "That's pretty much what I was thinking.

Michael stood up and brushed the sand off of his back and legs. Then he picked Maria up in his arms. She put both of her arms around Michael's neck and gazed into his eyes dreamily. "Did I ever tell you I love you, Spaceboy?"

Michael smiled and nodded. "Let's go home, Maria. The kids will be over at your mom's till noon. I think there's a hot bath at home with our names on it just calling to us."

Maria grinned… and then nodded. "I hear it!"

"Oh, and Ree… in case you haven't heard me say it recently, I love you, too."

Michael carried Maria back to the little boardwalk bridge, where they found their shoes, right where they had left them. Then they walked across the bridge… and back to the everyday lives they knew and loved… together.

As the Antarian sun rose over the Golden Sea, it glinted off of a Fan-Ji IV hovercar quietly leaving the parking lot of the C'prysta… heading for the countryside.

---The End---