(Undisclosed Area)

Alex's voice took on an adolescent squeak as he reacted to the news Ava brought, "What? Everyone thinks I'm dead? How does something like this keep happening to me? Do I have something stamped on my forehead?"

Tess held Alex's hand, "Well, once Max and the others come for us, I'm sure that we can come up with a good story for your miraculous come-back. So, Kivar replaced Alex with a Skin? If he replaced him with a Skin, why did he bother to 'kill' Alex? He could've been a valuable spy."

Ava shrunk even further down, hiding her head, "It was part of a plot…I'm sorry Tess." Tears streamed down Ava's face, "They used me, made me pretend to be you."

Tess, groaning, pulled herself up so that she could reach her 'twin'. "I figured as much when they brought you here. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

Ava pulled her head up, wiped at her tears, and then showed them both the band around her wrist. "Yeah, they hurt me. If I didn't do what they wanted, they'd zap me with this. I can't do anything to them, because it prevents me from using my powers as well."

"Well, what did they want you to do? I mean, this can't possibly get any worse than it is," Alex asked sarcastically. He stood up and started pacing the small room. "What did they do now?" He swung around, eyes wide and fearful, "They didn't hurt Isabel? Did they? Or any of the others? Liz? Maria? Everyone's alright, right?"

"No—No, everyone is physically fine. It's just that—they, they think that Tess murdered you and took off with the Granolith. They made me mind warp Kyle as the witness, and then trick Max and the others into thinking that you're a murder." Ava hid her head again as she covered her face with her arms, sobs racking her body. "I'm so sorry."

Alex sat back down on the ground, angry, yet unable to watch a girl cry without trying to comfort her. He put an arm around Ava's shaking shoulders. "In a nutshell, I'd say the chances for a rescue any time soon just dropped down to zero. No one is going to be looking for a dead man and if it were me, I wouldn't look for a cold-blooded murderer either."

Tess leaned back so that she was lying on the ground again. Her voice was barely a whisper as she tried to remain conscious. "Don't lose hope, Alex, Ava. Max will find us. I know that he will." Then she slipped, eyes closed, into blessed sleep.

Ava, her breathing hitching her words, "I hope so too. But I really don't think he'll come, not after what I did; what I said to him, Alex." He looked at her, motioning with his hand for her to continue. "I told him that Tess had gotten pregnant in order to force the four of us to go home. And that I was planning on giving them and the Granolith to Kivar. And—and, Max—he—he almost killed me, thinking that I was Tess. He wanted to kill me, but I stopped him by telling him that he'd kill the baby. He's not coming for us. He thinks that Tess is on Antar."

Lifting her head up, she stopped crying, "They made me do that. You have to believe me. They said that if I didn't, they'd kill you and Tess. I made Max hate her, but," whispering, "Kivar doesn't have the Granolith. I had it, you know--the Granolith, but I put it back. Back in Max, Isabel, and Michael's hands; they have it and as long as they have it, they have the power. Kivar can't kill us until he has it and Max is dead. The people will never accept him as King until then."

"So, all we need to do is find a way out of here. Damn it, I wish Tess was stronger…Are you sure that you can't get that bracelet off?"

"I tried, Alex, but every time I try, it just zaps me." She held out her wrist to him, "maybe you can try."

He stared at her, judging her, "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sure, Alex. I trust you. Anyway, it's worth a try, right?" She gave a quiet, small smile as she moved closer for him to reach.

As he took her wrist in his hand to begin studying the band, he told her, "Yeah, it's worth a try. Better than sitting here waiting for Kivar to kill us." As he fiddled with things, he always liked to chat, "So, you're home planet is called 'Antar'? That's a cool name for a planet. What's it like there, do you remember…"

Roswell, NM. Hotel outside of town.

Isabel lie on the bed, gasping for breath, sweat pouring off of her, "I can't…I can't reach her. I can't even find her, Max." She sat up, resting against the pillows. "How am I going to find her?"

Michael and Max sat next to the bed as Maria and the Sheriff made everyone lunch. Max wiped her brow with a wet cloth, "You can find her Is. You found me, remember." Max tried to be positive, he knew that it was straining on Isabel to keep trying, but he had to find Tess; had to find his son.

Isabel was reaching her limit on positive thinking, "Yeah, Max. I found you, you're my brother. I know you, I'm connected to you. She's a stranger."

Max shot back, "I know I'm your brother, Isabel. That makes her your sister!"

"Where the hell did that come from Max?!" Isabel shouted, her cheeks becoming flushed as she prepared to fight her brother.

"HEY! That's enough. It's not going to help anyone if you start fighting each other, right? Is, you know Max is on-edge right now, so just give him a break." Michael interrupted from his side of the bed. "We're doing something wrong. I mean, like Max said, you reached him to warn him in New York… I got it! What if all of us connect? We already now that we're stronger together than we are apart, so what if we help you?"

Max looked at him with new hope, "It's worth a try, right, Is?" Giving his sister what she called the 'puppy dog' eyes, he pleaded silently with her to give it another try.

Isabel shook her head, but agreed to try again, exasperated with her brother. "Once more, okay? We'll try this one more time. I can't do this anymore, I'm getting a migraine. Alright, Max?" He nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Alright," she leaned back against the pillows so that she was relaxed, "Michael, I need your hand now." She waited until she felt his warm hand in hers, "Max? Alright, I need you to focus on Tess with me. Don't think of anyone other than Tess."

Taking a few deep breaths, Isabel slipped into a dream-state. She traveled through time, through space. Feeling Michael and Max beside her, she fell deeper, hunting for a specific mind; Tess's mind. Just floating. The real world didn't exist anymore; it might have taken an eternity, but they found her mind, her dream.

It was cloudy, as all dreams are. Voices echoed off invisible walls as they spoke. The air had a different quality; it was cleaner than any other air they'd ever breathed.

They were at a beach, but everything was different. The sand was white…the rocks around it a blue-purple color, and the water itself—crimson red. They heard the sounds of laughter coming from the water as they saw two young men splashing around. Near them, a young woman swam, giggling at their antics without either of them noticing her.

"Oh, my god, Max. Where are we?" Isabel gasped out.

Michael shook his head, "I don't know, Is, but it—seems familiar, ya know?"

Max spoke, his eyes wide, "I know this. This is where I first saw her; my queen…" His voice trailed off as his lips formed a large smile, the first real one since Tess had betrayed them. "This is Dimaras Rock."

As they neared the beach, they recognized the two young men to be Max and Brody. The young woman, of course, Tess. Max, dream Max, finally noticed Tess once she'd crawled onto the rock to sun-bathe. You could see how shy he was to approach her, even when Brody would push him near her. She'd shyly smile at them, wishing that they would talk to her.

Soon, though, the sweet dream turned into a nightmare. The sky turned dark almost in an instant; the water, which was calm and warm, turned turbulent and hard. Waves the size of buildings washed away the beach, taking Max and Brody with it. Tess's screams shattered the calm beauty as she cried out for her love.

The scene changed as the beach became a white room. A room full of men who were torturing Max, who was strapped to a bed. A man, dressed in black, stood in the front of the room, just watching. He was in charge. -Max shook his head at the memories of Agent Pierce's torture.- It was different though, because Michael and Isabel were strapped down near him as well. The sounds of screaming were the only thing heard in the room. The man in charge kissed Isabel's cheek before he ordered one of his men to drive a knife through her heart. On the other side of her, a boy—Nicholas?—stabbed Michael multiple times. Finally, Max was killed by the Man himself, a smile on his face while he did it.

Another flash, a new scene. Tess, a baby in her arms, cried out as the men ripped the baby from her and gave it to the man overseeing their torture. The Man took the baby away, giving it to a woman who looked exactly like Tess, except for the purple hair. The Tess look-a-like was crying, saying 'no'. The man pressed something on his watch, making the woman cry out and do as she was told.

Michael caught on, "Isn't that Ava? Why Ava? I mean, I haven't even thought of our duplicates for months."

Max had enough of this strange dream, "Isabel, can she hear us? Can we talk to her?"

"Yes. We can talk to her, but she might not want to hear us."

Max got closer to Tess, "Tess, Tess! It's Max! Can you hear me?" He kneeled down in front of her.

Tess, who had been crying hysterically and screaming, finally noticed him. "Max? You're really here? You found me?" She reached up to touch his face. "I knew that you would come. I told Alex and Ava that you would, but they wouldn't believe me. Please, help us Max."

Max pulled away from her hand, "Alex and Ava? What? Where are you, Tess?"

Tess stood, "Alex is alive, Max. Kivar used Ava to mind warp you into thinking that I killed him. Kivar has got us now. He wants the Granolith and the baby. He has us, but he doesn't have the Granolith. Whatever happens, Max, don't give it to him. He'll kill you." Again, the scene changed to a graveyard…headstones with all of their names on them. "He'll kill us all."

Isabel gasped, "Alex is alive? No, you're lying! He isn't alive. We saw him! He's dead!"

Tess walked over to her, her body becoming translucent, "I don't have much time left…but I promise you, he's alive and with me."

Michael grabbed hold of Isabel before she could say anything, "I believe you. I don't know why, but I do. Now, where are you?"

She stepped back, leaning against the white walls. "I'm here. The white room. Please hurry…" She faded into the wall, disappearing.

Flash.

They all gasped for breath as they were thrown back into their own minds. Looking extremely worried, Maria and Sheriff Valenti sat besides them. Maria held Michael's hand tightly as they blinked from the blinding white flash.

Maria rubbed Michael's back as he pulled himself up, "Are you alright? Did you reach her this time?" Michael's face was a chalky white. Leaning his head against his girlfriend's he took in another couple of deep breaths before he told both of them what they had seen.

Sheriff Valenti wiped his face, huff a little, "Do you believe her, Max? I mean, you did visit her in a dream. Maybe she's confused or dreaming that she didn't kill Alex."

Max looked unsure and undecided, "I don't know. I want to believe her, but… I don't know. She says she's in the white room…She could be trying to get us captured."

Isabel stood next to her brother, arms crossed over her chest, "I can't believe that you'd even consider going to the white room Max! After what happened to you there. She's lying! You know Alex is dead…you tried to heal him, remember?"

Max turned so that he faced his sister. "I know, Isabel! But I couldn't feel anything. No flash, no nothing, he was dead! But what if, Issy? What if he is still alive and that—body was a Skin or something?"

She turned away from him in a huff, "No! No, Max! You're wrong! Alex's dead. She's lying to us. Trying to torture me."

Maria spoke up, "Well, I don't think that we can just leave it at that, Isabel. If there's the slightest chance that he's still alive…" she trailed off.

Valenti turned to Michael, "You've been extremely quiet about this whole thing, Michael. What do you think?" They all stopped to stare at their friend, who looked deep in thought.

Michael blinked a few times, licked his lips, "I think—Tess was telling the truth. That dream that we visited, I don't think that was all a dream. I think it was the past."

To Be Continued…again.

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