[u]Part 30[/u]
"I think we're slowing down," Alex said into the silence that had fallen over the truck in which he, Will, Kate and the unconscious Isabel and Jack were being transported. It was pitch black again, Will having let the blue light from his hand die after they had understood that they weren't really going to be able to do anything for Isabel or Jack until they knew exactly what had been done to them.
This didn't mean that they hadn't managed to come up with a very weak plan. Alex knew instinctively that the friends he had left behind at the Crashdown were no longer there. He and the two new aliens had been gone for too long. There was no way that Max and Michael had managed to stay where they were for this long. They were both likely going insane with worry over Isabel by now. Which was also what Alex knew their enemies wanted.
[I]We have Zan and Rowena exactly where we want them.[/I]
Well, wherever [I]that[/I] was, the goal of the trio in the truck was to get Max and Liz as far away from there as quickly as possible.
They had to somehow get word to Max and Liz that they were in mortal danger and there was only one person who could do it. Kate, with her teleporting gift, was their only hope of getting to Alex's friends and keeping them away from wherever it was they were headed.
Unfortunately, Alex had learned when he had come up with the plan, Kate couldn't safely teleport from a moving vehicle. It was too risky. Any abrupt stop or jolt while she was focused on her "leap," as she called the process, could throw her concentration totally out of whack, in turn jeopardizing her life.
"She might lose control of her molecules," Will had explained. "And if that happens."
Alex grimaced. "Let me guess. Losing molecules means losing Kate."
"Basically," Will agreed.
"I can try," Kate argued. "It [I]is[/I] possible."
"No," Alex said firmly. "I." He had paused, blinked, then modified that. "[I]We[/I] can't risk you. It's better to wait and have it done safely then to screw up the only chance we have."
He could still feel the heat that had risen into his cheeks at his slip of the tongue, one that he didn't quite understand. Here he was sitting with Isabel Evans's head in his lap, his concern for his friend deep, but his worry for a girl he had only known for two days felt infinitely more real and immediate.
What the heck was happening to him?
Even now his stomach was twisted in knots at the thought that something might happen to Kate while she was gone. He much preferred having her right in front of him so that he knew she was safe. He couldn't even begin to analyze why this was so important to him. All he knew was that it was.
"I'm ready," she said now, her voice soft.
"Don't do anything stupid Katie," Will ordered. "I mean it." He sounded gruff, but Alex could hear the underlying fear and frustration in the young king's tone. He absolutely hated sending his sister out there alone. Alex didn't blame him one bit. Look where splitting up had gotten Jack and Isabel.
An image of Kate lying as lifeless as Isabel popped into his brain, sending a shiver down his spine. He immediately thrust it aside.
"Yes sir," Kate replied sarcastically. Even though he couldn't see her face in the darkness, Alex could tell from her voice that she was frightened. She had no idea where she was going. She could be teleporting herself right into the middle of an even bigger mess. They were relatively safe in the back of this truck after all. At least for the moment.
Alex heard movement close to him, realized that Kate was inching past him towards a more open part of the truck. She was stumbling slightly with the motion of the vehicle, which was still moving at a fairly rapid clip over much bumpier terrain. They were quite obviously nearing their destination though. It was almost time.
He felt her shoulder brush his, reached out abruptly, almost against his will and stopped her.
"What?" She asked, after a long moment of silence.
His voice seemed stuck in his throat, but he finally cleared it and managed to stutter, "Be careful." He grimaced, shaking his head in annoyance.
"I will," she whispered. She fell against him slightly as the truck finally ground to a halt. He felt the brush of her soft curls against his neck and then nothing.
She was gone, as though she had never existed at all.
And just in time too. Because an instant later the back doors to the truck were wrenched open. Alex squinted, his eyes expecting to be blinded by the late afternoon sunlight. He gradually opened them wide again when he realized it wasn't going to happen. A very dull glow entered the truck, but nothing major.
"Grant, nice to see you out and about buddy," Alex said, more annoyed than scared at the sight of Grant Sorenson climbing into the back of the truck. He looked over at Will. "I so knew this guy was bad news from the first moment I laid eyes on him."
Grant merely smirked, setting Alex's blood to a boil. "Can't help it if Isabel digs older men kid."
"Right. That alien mojo must make you really attractive to all the chicks." Alex knew he was being ridiculous but it was much better to be pissed off than scared. Of course, with Kate gone and Isabel unconscious, there really wasn't anyone around to impress. Like he cared what Will thought.
[I]Admit it Whitman,[/I] the annoying voice in the back of his mind taunted. [I]You're petrified.[/I]
[I]Smart people get scared,[/I] Alex retorted. [I]Smart people know when they are about to die horrible, alien-related deaths, perhaps involving probes and other instruments I'd rather not reflect too long about.[/I]
"Where's your sister?" Grant was saying to Will as Alex shook his head, ridding it of his split personality for the moment.
"Gone," Will snapped.
"Gone?" Another voice demanded.
Alex turned his head, did a double-take, then stared. "Oh crap." [I]Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.[/I]
"Who are you?" Will asked. "And what the hell do you want with us?"
The person Alex knew he could not be seeing ignored Kate's brother though, throwing Grant aside like a rag doll. "What kind of idiot are you?" He roared. "You let her wake up? She's a teleporter. She's gone straight to Zan and she knows about Tess."
"She was unconscious when I threw them all in here," Grant whined from where he lay on the floor. "And no one told me she could do that. How was I supposed to know?"
"I am going insane. Clearly, I [I]am[/I] insane," Alex muttered to himself.
"What's wrong?" Will asked.
"Don't you know who that is?" Alex demanded. "Well, of course you don't. Because you've never seen him. That's [I]Nasedo[/I]. He also goes by Ed Harding - at least in this form."
"I thought Nasedo was dead," Will replied, his voice slightly raised. "I thought their guardian was [I]dead![/I]"
"Apparently not," Alex retorted. "Because that's him. Which, of course, only makes sense because Tess is a traitorous little backstabber." He sighed, glanced at Nasedo, who had stopped yelling at Grant and was eyeing Alex in a way that was making him entirely uncomfortable. "Hi Mr. Harding," he said weakly. He didn't quite know what else to say. And, well, his mother had always told him that, when in doubt, be polite.
"Why is this human still alive?" Nasedo demanded.
"No one told me to kill him. I follow orders, but I'm not a murderer. If you want him dead, you have to tell me these things," Grant replied peevishly, getting up and moving towards Alex. Alex stared at him as he advanced, wondered why his body wasn't moving in the opposite direction. Of course, the fact that Isabel's head was still in his lap might have been one reason. The other being that all pretense of not being scared out of his mind was now completely gone. He was frozen with fear. Great.
"Leave him alone." Will was now on his feet, had moved between Grant and Alex. "I don't know who the hell you think you are and what the hell you think you're doing, but he has nothing to do with any of this. Let him go."
"Not possible your highness," Nasedo said firmly. "We will not be leaving any remnants of our little Earthly adventure behind and that includes any humans you've come into contact with."
"You say that as though our time here will soon be over," Will said.
"In a manner of speaking," Nasedo told him. "You'll be dead and we'll be gone. It will be as though none of us were ever even here. These idiot humans can't handle the truth, so we'll let them continue to exist in their little fantasy of being alone in the universe by ridding this planet of all evidence to the contrary." He turned his fathomless gaze on Alex again. "Including witnesses."
[/I]Ack! Say something! Say anything to make this psycho realize that keeping you alive it in his best interests.[/I]
For a long moment, his mind was a complete blank. And, then, Alex was surprised to hear himself say, "So you've decided not to destroy my entire planet this time then." Nasedo looked at him again, one eyebrow raised. "Thanks for that," he finished lamely. [I]Shut up[/I]! The little voice said. [I]Just shut up and pretend you're not here. Talking was a bad plan.[/I]
Nasedo's gaze was narrowing though. He seemed interested. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh just the fact that in some alternate timeline a bunch of aliens destroyed the Earth fourteen years from now," Alex replied. "But carry on. Forget I said anything."
He grimaced as Nasedo continued to stare at him, his expression unreadable. "Who told you this?"
"What do you care?" Alex snapped. "If you're leaving, it's not going to happen, so what does it matter?"
"I want to hear this story," Nasedo responded firmly. He looked at Grant. "He can live. For now. Get them all out of here." With that, the shapeshifter turned on his heel and left the vehicle.
Alex heaved a sigh of relief, having no idea how he had just managed to preserve his sorry hide for at least a little while longer, but pleased nonetheless.
Now all he and Will had to do was figure out exactly what was going on here and how to make sure their friends didn't fall into the trap Nasedo was obviously setting for them.
Sure, no problem that.
He flinched as Grant came near and picked Isabel up carefully. Alex considered ordering him not to touch her, but changed his mind when he got a look at the so-called archeologist's face. Forbidding was the only way to describe it. "Come," Grant ordered. He looked over at Will. "Bring your cousin."
Alex got up, jumped down from the truck and helped Will maneuver Jack out of the transport. They both took one of his arms over their shoulders and dragged him after Grant.
He managed to glance around as they struggled to carry Jack's dead-weight. They were in some sort of huge cavern, big enough for the truck in which they had been transported to have been driven right in.
"What are we going to do?" Alex stage-whispered to Will after they let Grant get a little ahead.
"Play along for now," Will replied. "And, then, when we get the chance, we kill them. There are only two of them."
As the words left the young king's mouth, he and Alex rounded a corner after Grant and both came to an abrupt halt. "You were saying?" Alex muttered, sighing as they came face to face with at least ten more men and women. They were all staring at them, various degrees of menace in their expressions.
This was bad. And it was getting worse by the minute. The only hope left was that Kate had gotten to Max and Liz and had managed to convince them to stay way. Because it was very clear by now that the entire goal of this operation was to bring all eight hybrids together. Ironic that, when up until now it had seemed that the whole purpose of everything that had gone on had been to drive them apart.
How did Alex know that the plan had changed? Well, it was very simple really. The eight glowing cages looming behind the pack of enemy aliens told him so. He watched in dismay as Grant dumped Isabel in one, stepping out and fiddling with some controls on the door. The fake archeologist came towards he and Will, grabbed Jack's body and tossed it into the one beside Isabel's, repeating the same process.
"This can't be good," Alex muttered to Will. "Nope. Not good at all."
Alex winced when he realized that someone was standing behind him. Turning his head, he met Nasedo's cold eyes. "Come Mr. Whitman. It's time for you and I to have a little chat about this alternate timeline to which you referred."
Alex exchanged a glance with Will, who shrugged. "Do what you want to do."
"What happens if I refuse," Alex asked Nasedo, although he was pretty sure he already knew.
"You die," Nasedo replied sternly.
"Hmmm, decisions, decisions" Alex muttered. Nasedo was already walking away, obviously knowing what his answer would be. He was forced to break into a light job to catch-up.
*******************************************
"Tess! Tess, wake up."
Max propped the small blonde up against his arm, shaking her slightly.
At first he had thought she was dead. He felt the flash of fear that had run through Liz and knew that she thought exactly the same thing. They had both jumped into action at the same time when Tess moaned lightly, falling to their knees beside her.
After doing a cursory exam, Max was unable to uncover any physical reason for why Tess was unconscious, no visible signs for him to heal so that she would open her eyes. So now he was just trying to wake her up.
"What happened?" Michael demanded, coming up behind Liz. Maria and Kyle were on his heels.
"Oh hell," Kyle muttered, hurrying forward and dropping down beside Liz. "Tess!"
"I don't know," Max snapped, his frustration at their complete lack of control of this situation getting the better of him and making him sound more angry then he meant to. He raised his head, looked around at his assembled friends. "We need to get into the pod chamber. Whoever did this. They'll be back and likely sooner rather than later."
Max got to his feet, carefully balancing Tess in his arms.
"I thought they were supposed to be following [I]us[/I] Maxwell," Michael complained, striding along at Max's elbow. "How the hell did they beat us here?"
"I have no idea," Max ground out. "They're obviously playing games with us. They're trying to throw us off balance. We can't let them. We keep the original plan."
"To just wait for them to show themselves?" Michael asked, sounding incredulous. "I don't think."
"There's nothing else we can do," Max interrupted firmly. Because he was standing on the bottom of the slope that led up to the pod chamber, he was looking down on the other four, who were all staring up at him, various degrees of anger and fear reflected on their faces.
He met Liz's eyes. She gazed steadily back at him, her will to be with him through anything making him decide that it was time to give it to them all straight. "We have to take a stand. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder all the time. I, for one, am ready to die here today, rather than have to keep living like that. I was going to give myself up to make sure that none of you had to do that anymore, but Liz made me see that's it not my right to make that decision for you. It's going to be bad. I know it is and we may not come out of this alive. But it's just time to take back our lives, time to find out exactly who we are and what our role is on our home planet and what it means for us on this one. If there's anyone here who isn't in agreement, then you're free to go."
"I'm not going anywhere," Liz said quietly, not unexpectedly. But Max nodded anyway, accepting her right to say it. It still wasn't easy for him to think of her potentially dying, but this was her fight now too. And, in the end, he'd rather have her by his side, where he could protect her as much as possible anyway.
There was a long silence, then Michael said, "Well, I guess I'd be a fool to back out now. I'm the one who always wanted the answers, aren't I?"
Maria moved up, took Michael's hand, not saying anything more. Kyle merely stood with his arms crossed, obviously with no intention of going anywhere either.
"Fine then. Let's stop talking about it and get up there. I want to take a look at the granolith while we still can, try and figure out exactly what it is." Max shifted Tess's weight in his arms. She moaned again, but didn't open her eyes.
Within minutes they had climbed the slope and Michael was placing his hand against the silver hand-print on the rock face. The entrance to the pod chamber slid open. Max welcomed the sensation of coming home he always felt within the cave of his birth. He realized that he had always suspected that the answers to all of his questions were here, from the first moment Tess had showed it to him. He only hoped that today proved him right.
He ducked his head, taking care to shield Tess as well. He moved into the main cave, gently laying the small blonde down near the lightly glowing pods.
"What do you think's wrong with her?" Kyle asked, sounding concerned.
"I wish I knew," Max sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at the unconscious girl. He felt Liz come up beside him, brought his arm up and around her, taking strength from her presence. In spite of his bravado outside, he was terrified. Because, in the end, he did not want to die today. Not when he and Liz had just reunited and the thought of really [I]living[/I] was again full of the promise of happily ever after.
Simply having the chance to openly love her and be with her was all the happily ever after Max would ever need.
Max kissed her lightly on the temple, taking her hand in his. Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow. "Want to see what all the fuss is about?"
Her eyes lit up, just as he knew they would. In spite of her fear, the prospect of seeing a real alien device, particularly one that was capable of time-travel, was almost balm enough for her science-loving soul.
He looked around at the others. "C'mon."
"I'll stay here with Tess," Kyle called after them as they moved towards the pods.
Max got down on his hands and knees and crawled through into the granolith chamber. He stood up, reaching down to help Liz to her feet. He watched her reaction, smiling slightly at the awe that crossed her face. "This is [I]amazing[/I] Max. God."
She moved away from him, reaching out with her hand and touching the glowing base of the metallic structure. When she looked back at Max, her eyes were bright with tears. "This.this is where he left her. Fourteen years from now, it's where [I]you[/I] would have left me."
Max hurried forward, gently pulled her against him. "It's not going to happen this time. I swear to God Liz. No matter what, we won't be separated again."
"I can feel them here," she whispered, clutching at him. "They.[I]we're[/I] everywhere."
He stroked her hair lightly, desperate to comfort her. He had had absolutely no idea that she was going to react this way. It humbled him actually. Because, for the first time, truly he understood how hard it had been for her to push him away. But she had done it, simply because another version of him had asked her to. What had he ever done to deserve such loyalty?
"You love me. It's reason enough," she said quietly, as though she had heard his very thoughts, which maybe she had. She had demonstrated an entirely too perceptive ability to do so in the Jeep on the way here after all.
It was only when Michael came crawling through that Max realized that he and Liz had been alone in the granolith chamber for several minutes, just taking comfort from being in each other's arms, fear pushed aside in the face of how right they were for each other.
But cold reality set in as he looked over Liz's head at his friend, felt the warm feeling in his heart fade at the expression on Michael's face. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Tess, she's." Michael grimaced. "Maxwell, she's awake."
Max frowned. "And that's not a good thing?" Liz turned her head against his chest. She was still pressed firmly to Max, but was obviously now listening to Michael too.
"Well." Michael sighed. "She's acting a little weird. I think you better come see for yourself. She's asking for you." Max nodded, but Michael grabbed his shoulder as he passed him. "Maxwell, you need to know something." Max simply stared at him, waiting for him to go on. "Maria, she elbowed me and I noticed.Max, she's wearing Serena's scarf."
Max glanced at Liz, his surprise reflected on her face. Max hadn't really thought about what had happened to Serena's scarf since he had taken it away from Liz earlier. Now he frowned. What the heck was Tess up to?
They hurried back through the pods. Tess had obviously been waiting for him if the sigh of relief that escaped her at the sight of him was any indication. She was standing against the far wall, a strange look on her face. In fact, she looked distinctly freaked.
Max climbed to his feet, moved towards her carefully. He paused briefly, glancing behind him with concern when he heard a gasp from Liz, who was just now emerging from the pods. She was staring at Tess, as though she had seen a ghost.
Max grimaced, realized that he was going to have to deal with Tess first, although his instinct was to return to Liz. He didn't like the look on her face. But Tess really seemed on the verge of bolting at the slightest misstep from any of them. "Tess?" He reached out, gently touched her shoulder, making her look at him. Her blue-eyed gaze had been glued to Liz after her first glance at Max. "What's wrong? Can you tell us what happened to you?"
Tess bit her lip, glanced past him. Max turned his head, saw that she was looking at Liz again. Max's heart started to beat more rapidly. What the hell was the matter with her? "Tess, what is it?"
"I.I got here a bit early. I locked myself in the car to wait for you," Tess explained slowly, swallowing, as though she was coming out of a dream - or maybe a nightmare was a better word for it. "When you didn't come, I got scared, so I decided to come up to the pod chamber, thinking I'd be safer."
"Okay." Max prompted when it seemed that she wasn't going to continue.
Tess's eyes widened and Max realized that she was on the verge of tears. "Max, I don't quite.I don't know how to tell you this!"
"Tess, just tell me," Max ordered.
"If I tell you, you aren't going to listen to me. But you have to understand! He [I]made[/I] me do it! I didn't know who I was! He raised me to.He told me all these things about who I was and about how if I didn't act, I was going to turn out just like I had before. He lied to me Max."
Max could feel himself beginning to get a little annoyed, his impatience getting the better of him. "Tess!"
He felt someone move past him, gently nudging him aside. "Max, let me try."
"Liz, I really don't think."He began, but trailed off, watching in amazement as Tess's hand came up and her fingers trailed lightly across Liz's cheek. The blonde almost seemed transfixed as she narrowed her gaze and stared directly into Liz's eyes. It took all of Max's strength not to reach out and drag Liz away from the other girl.
But there was nothing threatening in Tess's regard, Max realized, when Liz didn't even flinch. Instead, her caress was entirely loving, almost reverent.
"It's okay. You can tell us," Liz said softly. "I think I know anyway. I.I'm just sorry I didn't realize it before."
"You didn't know who you were," Tess replied. "It's not your fault. It's [I]mine[/I]. I should have known. I should have recognized you. But.He told me you were my enemy. I thought you were human. And I didn't know who I was. I swear it."
"Maxwell, what the hell is going on here?" Michael demanded in a low tone, coming up to stand next to him. "They're both freaking me out here."
"You're not the only one," Max replied. "Liz."
Liz turned her head, regarded Max. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears again. Max took a surprised step forward. "Liz?"
"Max, I'm so stupid. How could I not have realized?"
"Liz, what?"
"We've found her Max. It's Tess. Of course it's Tess."
Max raised his hands in frustration. "Liz, I don't know what you're trying to tell me."
Liz put her arm around Tess's shoulders. The two girls were of a height, blonde and brunette heads level with each other.
Max blinked, shook his head, when a flash momentarily blinded him. For one instant, neither Liz, nor Tess was standing in front of him. He was staring at two small, grey figures, identical down to their serene dark eyes. Completely the same, in every way. And he knew them. He knew them both.
Because how could he not recognize the one who was his very heart and the other who was his saviour?
Oh God.
He met Liz's eyes - because she was Liz again - the radiance of her happiness shining on her face, coming directly from the soul he had loved for two lifetimes. She nodded once.
Max shifted his gaze to Tess and smiled. "Serena."
To be continued.
"I think we're slowing down," Alex said into the silence that had fallen over the truck in which he, Will, Kate and the unconscious Isabel and Jack were being transported. It was pitch black again, Will having let the blue light from his hand die after they had understood that they weren't really going to be able to do anything for Isabel or Jack until they knew exactly what had been done to them.
This didn't mean that they hadn't managed to come up with a very weak plan. Alex knew instinctively that the friends he had left behind at the Crashdown were no longer there. He and the two new aliens had been gone for too long. There was no way that Max and Michael had managed to stay where they were for this long. They were both likely going insane with worry over Isabel by now. Which was also what Alex knew their enemies wanted.
[I]We have Zan and Rowena exactly where we want them.[/I]
Well, wherever [I]that[/I] was, the goal of the trio in the truck was to get Max and Liz as far away from there as quickly as possible.
They had to somehow get word to Max and Liz that they were in mortal danger and there was only one person who could do it. Kate, with her teleporting gift, was their only hope of getting to Alex's friends and keeping them away from wherever it was they were headed.
Unfortunately, Alex had learned when he had come up with the plan, Kate couldn't safely teleport from a moving vehicle. It was too risky. Any abrupt stop or jolt while she was focused on her "leap," as she called the process, could throw her concentration totally out of whack, in turn jeopardizing her life.
"She might lose control of her molecules," Will had explained. "And if that happens."
Alex grimaced. "Let me guess. Losing molecules means losing Kate."
"Basically," Will agreed.
"I can try," Kate argued. "It [I]is[/I] possible."
"No," Alex said firmly. "I." He had paused, blinked, then modified that. "[I]We[/I] can't risk you. It's better to wait and have it done safely then to screw up the only chance we have."
He could still feel the heat that had risen into his cheeks at his slip of the tongue, one that he didn't quite understand. Here he was sitting with Isabel Evans's head in his lap, his concern for his friend deep, but his worry for a girl he had only known for two days felt infinitely more real and immediate.
What the heck was happening to him?
Even now his stomach was twisted in knots at the thought that something might happen to Kate while she was gone. He much preferred having her right in front of him so that he knew she was safe. He couldn't even begin to analyze why this was so important to him. All he knew was that it was.
"I'm ready," she said now, her voice soft.
"Don't do anything stupid Katie," Will ordered. "I mean it." He sounded gruff, but Alex could hear the underlying fear and frustration in the young king's tone. He absolutely hated sending his sister out there alone. Alex didn't blame him one bit. Look where splitting up had gotten Jack and Isabel.
An image of Kate lying as lifeless as Isabel popped into his brain, sending a shiver down his spine. He immediately thrust it aside.
"Yes sir," Kate replied sarcastically. Even though he couldn't see her face in the darkness, Alex could tell from her voice that she was frightened. She had no idea where she was going. She could be teleporting herself right into the middle of an even bigger mess. They were relatively safe in the back of this truck after all. At least for the moment.
Alex heard movement close to him, realized that Kate was inching past him towards a more open part of the truck. She was stumbling slightly with the motion of the vehicle, which was still moving at a fairly rapid clip over much bumpier terrain. They were quite obviously nearing their destination though. It was almost time.
He felt her shoulder brush his, reached out abruptly, almost against his will and stopped her.
"What?" She asked, after a long moment of silence.
His voice seemed stuck in his throat, but he finally cleared it and managed to stutter, "Be careful." He grimaced, shaking his head in annoyance.
"I will," she whispered. She fell against him slightly as the truck finally ground to a halt. He felt the brush of her soft curls against his neck and then nothing.
She was gone, as though she had never existed at all.
And just in time too. Because an instant later the back doors to the truck were wrenched open. Alex squinted, his eyes expecting to be blinded by the late afternoon sunlight. He gradually opened them wide again when he realized it wasn't going to happen. A very dull glow entered the truck, but nothing major.
"Grant, nice to see you out and about buddy," Alex said, more annoyed than scared at the sight of Grant Sorenson climbing into the back of the truck. He looked over at Will. "I so knew this guy was bad news from the first moment I laid eyes on him."
Grant merely smirked, setting Alex's blood to a boil. "Can't help it if Isabel digs older men kid."
"Right. That alien mojo must make you really attractive to all the chicks." Alex knew he was being ridiculous but it was much better to be pissed off than scared. Of course, with Kate gone and Isabel unconscious, there really wasn't anyone around to impress. Like he cared what Will thought.
[I]Admit it Whitman,[/I] the annoying voice in the back of his mind taunted. [I]You're petrified.[/I]
[I]Smart people get scared,[/I] Alex retorted. [I]Smart people know when they are about to die horrible, alien-related deaths, perhaps involving probes and other instruments I'd rather not reflect too long about.[/I]
"Where's your sister?" Grant was saying to Will as Alex shook his head, ridding it of his split personality for the moment.
"Gone," Will snapped.
"Gone?" Another voice demanded.
Alex turned his head, did a double-take, then stared. "Oh crap." [I]Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.[/I]
"Who are you?" Will asked. "And what the hell do you want with us?"
The person Alex knew he could not be seeing ignored Kate's brother though, throwing Grant aside like a rag doll. "What kind of idiot are you?" He roared. "You let her wake up? She's a teleporter. She's gone straight to Zan and she knows about Tess."
"She was unconscious when I threw them all in here," Grant whined from where he lay on the floor. "And no one told me she could do that. How was I supposed to know?"
"I am going insane. Clearly, I [I]am[/I] insane," Alex muttered to himself.
"What's wrong?" Will asked.
"Don't you know who that is?" Alex demanded. "Well, of course you don't. Because you've never seen him. That's [I]Nasedo[/I]. He also goes by Ed Harding - at least in this form."
"I thought Nasedo was dead," Will replied, his voice slightly raised. "I thought their guardian was [I]dead![/I]"
"Apparently not," Alex retorted. "Because that's him. Which, of course, only makes sense because Tess is a traitorous little backstabber." He sighed, glanced at Nasedo, who had stopped yelling at Grant and was eyeing Alex in a way that was making him entirely uncomfortable. "Hi Mr. Harding," he said weakly. He didn't quite know what else to say. And, well, his mother had always told him that, when in doubt, be polite.
"Why is this human still alive?" Nasedo demanded.
"No one told me to kill him. I follow orders, but I'm not a murderer. If you want him dead, you have to tell me these things," Grant replied peevishly, getting up and moving towards Alex. Alex stared at him as he advanced, wondered why his body wasn't moving in the opposite direction. Of course, the fact that Isabel's head was still in his lap might have been one reason. The other being that all pretense of not being scared out of his mind was now completely gone. He was frozen with fear. Great.
"Leave him alone." Will was now on his feet, had moved between Grant and Alex. "I don't know who the hell you think you are and what the hell you think you're doing, but he has nothing to do with any of this. Let him go."
"Not possible your highness," Nasedo said firmly. "We will not be leaving any remnants of our little Earthly adventure behind and that includes any humans you've come into contact with."
"You say that as though our time here will soon be over," Will said.
"In a manner of speaking," Nasedo told him. "You'll be dead and we'll be gone. It will be as though none of us were ever even here. These idiot humans can't handle the truth, so we'll let them continue to exist in their little fantasy of being alone in the universe by ridding this planet of all evidence to the contrary." He turned his fathomless gaze on Alex again. "Including witnesses."
[/I]Ack! Say something! Say anything to make this psycho realize that keeping you alive it in his best interests.[/I]
For a long moment, his mind was a complete blank. And, then, Alex was surprised to hear himself say, "So you've decided not to destroy my entire planet this time then." Nasedo looked at him again, one eyebrow raised. "Thanks for that," he finished lamely. [I]Shut up[/I]! The little voice said. [I]Just shut up and pretend you're not here. Talking was a bad plan.[/I]
Nasedo's gaze was narrowing though. He seemed interested. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh just the fact that in some alternate timeline a bunch of aliens destroyed the Earth fourteen years from now," Alex replied. "But carry on. Forget I said anything."
He grimaced as Nasedo continued to stare at him, his expression unreadable. "Who told you this?"
"What do you care?" Alex snapped. "If you're leaving, it's not going to happen, so what does it matter?"
"I want to hear this story," Nasedo responded firmly. He looked at Grant. "He can live. For now. Get them all out of here." With that, the shapeshifter turned on his heel and left the vehicle.
Alex heaved a sigh of relief, having no idea how he had just managed to preserve his sorry hide for at least a little while longer, but pleased nonetheless.
Now all he and Will had to do was figure out exactly what was going on here and how to make sure their friends didn't fall into the trap Nasedo was obviously setting for them.
Sure, no problem that.
He flinched as Grant came near and picked Isabel up carefully. Alex considered ordering him not to touch her, but changed his mind when he got a look at the so-called archeologist's face. Forbidding was the only way to describe it. "Come," Grant ordered. He looked over at Will. "Bring your cousin."
Alex got up, jumped down from the truck and helped Will maneuver Jack out of the transport. They both took one of his arms over their shoulders and dragged him after Grant.
He managed to glance around as they struggled to carry Jack's dead-weight. They were in some sort of huge cavern, big enough for the truck in which they had been transported to have been driven right in.
"What are we going to do?" Alex stage-whispered to Will after they let Grant get a little ahead.
"Play along for now," Will replied. "And, then, when we get the chance, we kill them. There are only two of them."
As the words left the young king's mouth, he and Alex rounded a corner after Grant and both came to an abrupt halt. "You were saying?" Alex muttered, sighing as they came face to face with at least ten more men and women. They were all staring at them, various degrees of menace in their expressions.
This was bad. And it was getting worse by the minute. The only hope left was that Kate had gotten to Max and Liz and had managed to convince them to stay way. Because it was very clear by now that the entire goal of this operation was to bring all eight hybrids together. Ironic that, when up until now it had seemed that the whole purpose of everything that had gone on had been to drive them apart.
How did Alex know that the plan had changed? Well, it was very simple really. The eight glowing cages looming behind the pack of enemy aliens told him so. He watched in dismay as Grant dumped Isabel in one, stepping out and fiddling with some controls on the door. The fake archeologist came towards he and Will, grabbed Jack's body and tossed it into the one beside Isabel's, repeating the same process.
"This can't be good," Alex muttered to Will. "Nope. Not good at all."
Alex winced when he realized that someone was standing behind him. Turning his head, he met Nasedo's cold eyes. "Come Mr. Whitman. It's time for you and I to have a little chat about this alternate timeline to which you referred."
Alex exchanged a glance with Will, who shrugged. "Do what you want to do."
"What happens if I refuse," Alex asked Nasedo, although he was pretty sure he already knew.
"You die," Nasedo replied sternly.
"Hmmm, decisions, decisions" Alex muttered. Nasedo was already walking away, obviously knowing what his answer would be. He was forced to break into a light job to catch-up.
*******************************************
"Tess! Tess, wake up."
Max propped the small blonde up against his arm, shaking her slightly.
At first he had thought she was dead. He felt the flash of fear that had run through Liz and knew that she thought exactly the same thing. They had both jumped into action at the same time when Tess moaned lightly, falling to their knees beside her.
After doing a cursory exam, Max was unable to uncover any physical reason for why Tess was unconscious, no visible signs for him to heal so that she would open her eyes. So now he was just trying to wake her up.
"What happened?" Michael demanded, coming up behind Liz. Maria and Kyle were on his heels.
"Oh hell," Kyle muttered, hurrying forward and dropping down beside Liz. "Tess!"
"I don't know," Max snapped, his frustration at their complete lack of control of this situation getting the better of him and making him sound more angry then he meant to. He raised his head, looked around at his assembled friends. "We need to get into the pod chamber. Whoever did this. They'll be back and likely sooner rather than later."
Max got to his feet, carefully balancing Tess in his arms.
"I thought they were supposed to be following [I]us[/I] Maxwell," Michael complained, striding along at Max's elbow. "How the hell did they beat us here?"
"I have no idea," Max ground out. "They're obviously playing games with us. They're trying to throw us off balance. We can't let them. We keep the original plan."
"To just wait for them to show themselves?" Michael asked, sounding incredulous. "I don't think."
"There's nothing else we can do," Max interrupted firmly. Because he was standing on the bottom of the slope that led up to the pod chamber, he was looking down on the other four, who were all staring up at him, various degrees of anger and fear reflected on their faces.
He met Liz's eyes. She gazed steadily back at him, her will to be with him through anything making him decide that it was time to give it to them all straight. "We have to take a stand. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder all the time. I, for one, am ready to die here today, rather than have to keep living like that. I was going to give myself up to make sure that none of you had to do that anymore, but Liz made me see that's it not my right to make that decision for you. It's going to be bad. I know it is and we may not come out of this alive. But it's just time to take back our lives, time to find out exactly who we are and what our role is on our home planet and what it means for us on this one. If there's anyone here who isn't in agreement, then you're free to go."
"I'm not going anywhere," Liz said quietly, not unexpectedly. But Max nodded anyway, accepting her right to say it. It still wasn't easy for him to think of her potentially dying, but this was her fight now too. And, in the end, he'd rather have her by his side, where he could protect her as much as possible anyway.
There was a long silence, then Michael said, "Well, I guess I'd be a fool to back out now. I'm the one who always wanted the answers, aren't I?"
Maria moved up, took Michael's hand, not saying anything more. Kyle merely stood with his arms crossed, obviously with no intention of going anywhere either.
"Fine then. Let's stop talking about it and get up there. I want to take a look at the granolith while we still can, try and figure out exactly what it is." Max shifted Tess's weight in his arms. She moaned again, but didn't open her eyes.
Within minutes they had climbed the slope and Michael was placing his hand against the silver hand-print on the rock face. The entrance to the pod chamber slid open. Max welcomed the sensation of coming home he always felt within the cave of his birth. He realized that he had always suspected that the answers to all of his questions were here, from the first moment Tess had showed it to him. He only hoped that today proved him right.
He ducked his head, taking care to shield Tess as well. He moved into the main cave, gently laying the small blonde down near the lightly glowing pods.
"What do you think's wrong with her?" Kyle asked, sounding concerned.
"I wish I knew," Max sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at the unconscious girl. He felt Liz come up beside him, brought his arm up and around her, taking strength from her presence. In spite of his bravado outside, he was terrified. Because, in the end, he did not want to die today. Not when he and Liz had just reunited and the thought of really [I]living[/I] was again full of the promise of happily ever after.
Simply having the chance to openly love her and be with her was all the happily ever after Max would ever need.
Max kissed her lightly on the temple, taking her hand in his. Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow. "Want to see what all the fuss is about?"
Her eyes lit up, just as he knew they would. In spite of her fear, the prospect of seeing a real alien device, particularly one that was capable of time-travel, was almost balm enough for her science-loving soul.
He looked around at the others. "C'mon."
"I'll stay here with Tess," Kyle called after them as they moved towards the pods.
Max got down on his hands and knees and crawled through into the granolith chamber. He stood up, reaching down to help Liz to her feet. He watched her reaction, smiling slightly at the awe that crossed her face. "This is [I]amazing[/I] Max. God."
She moved away from him, reaching out with her hand and touching the glowing base of the metallic structure. When she looked back at Max, her eyes were bright with tears. "This.this is where he left her. Fourteen years from now, it's where [I]you[/I] would have left me."
Max hurried forward, gently pulled her against him. "It's not going to happen this time. I swear to God Liz. No matter what, we won't be separated again."
"I can feel them here," she whispered, clutching at him. "They.[I]we're[/I] everywhere."
He stroked her hair lightly, desperate to comfort her. He had had absolutely no idea that she was going to react this way. It humbled him actually. Because, for the first time, truly he understood how hard it had been for her to push him away. But she had done it, simply because another version of him had asked her to. What had he ever done to deserve such loyalty?
"You love me. It's reason enough," she said quietly, as though she had heard his very thoughts, which maybe she had. She had demonstrated an entirely too perceptive ability to do so in the Jeep on the way here after all.
It was only when Michael came crawling through that Max realized that he and Liz had been alone in the granolith chamber for several minutes, just taking comfort from being in each other's arms, fear pushed aside in the face of how right they were for each other.
But cold reality set in as he looked over Liz's head at his friend, felt the warm feeling in his heart fade at the expression on Michael's face. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Tess, she's." Michael grimaced. "Maxwell, she's awake."
Max frowned. "And that's not a good thing?" Liz turned her head against his chest. She was still pressed firmly to Max, but was obviously now listening to Michael too.
"Well." Michael sighed. "She's acting a little weird. I think you better come see for yourself. She's asking for you." Max nodded, but Michael grabbed his shoulder as he passed him. "Maxwell, you need to know something." Max simply stared at him, waiting for him to go on. "Maria, she elbowed me and I noticed.Max, she's wearing Serena's scarf."
Max glanced at Liz, his surprise reflected on her face. Max hadn't really thought about what had happened to Serena's scarf since he had taken it away from Liz earlier. Now he frowned. What the heck was Tess up to?
They hurried back through the pods. Tess had obviously been waiting for him if the sigh of relief that escaped her at the sight of him was any indication. She was standing against the far wall, a strange look on her face. In fact, she looked distinctly freaked.
Max climbed to his feet, moved towards her carefully. He paused briefly, glancing behind him with concern when he heard a gasp from Liz, who was just now emerging from the pods. She was staring at Tess, as though she had seen a ghost.
Max grimaced, realized that he was going to have to deal with Tess first, although his instinct was to return to Liz. He didn't like the look on her face. But Tess really seemed on the verge of bolting at the slightest misstep from any of them. "Tess?" He reached out, gently touched her shoulder, making her look at him. Her blue-eyed gaze had been glued to Liz after her first glance at Max. "What's wrong? Can you tell us what happened to you?"
Tess bit her lip, glanced past him. Max turned his head, saw that she was looking at Liz again. Max's heart started to beat more rapidly. What the hell was the matter with her? "Tess, what is it?"
"I.I got here a bit early. I locked myself in the car to wait for you," Tess explained slowly, swallowing, as though she was coming out of a dream - or maybe a nightmare was a better word for it. "When you didn't come, I got scared, so I decided to come up to the pod chamber, thinking I'd be safer."
"Okay." Max prompted when it seemed that she wasn't going to continue.
Tess's eyes widened and Max realized that she was on the verge of tears. "Max, I don't quite.I don't know how to tell you this!"
"Tess, just tell me," Max ordered.
"If I tell you, you aren't going to listen to me. But you have to understand! He [I]made[/I] me do it! I didn't know who I was! He raised me to.He told me all these things about who I was and about how if I didn't act, I was going to turn out just like I had before. He lied to me Max."
Max could feel himself beginning to get a little annoyed, his impatience getting the better of him. "Tess!"
He felt someone move past him, gently nudging him aside. "Max, let me try."
"Liz, I really don't think."He began, but trailed off, watching in amazement as Tess's hand came up and her fingers trailed lightly across Liz's cheek. The blonde almost seemed transfixed as she narrowed her gaze and stared directly into Liz's eyes. It took all of Max's strength not to reach out and drag Liz away from the other girl.
But there was nothing threatening in Tess's regard, Max realized, when Liz didn't even flinch. Instead, her caress was entirely loving, almost reverent.
"It's okay. You can tell us," Liz said softly. "I think I know anyway. I.I'm just sorry I didn't realize it before."
"You didn't know who you were," Tess replied. "It's not your fault. It's [I]mine[/I]. I should have known. I should have recognized you. But.He told me you were my enemy. I thought you were human. And I didn't know who I was. I swear it."
"Maxwell, what the hell is going on here?" Michael demanded in a low tone, coming up to stand next to him. "They're both freaking me out here."
"You're not the only one," Max replied. "Liz."
Liz turned her head, regarded Max. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears again. Max took a surprised step forward. "Liz?"
"Max, I'm so stupid. How could I not have realized?"
"Liz, what?"
"We've found her Max. It's Tess. Of course it's Tess."
Max raised his hands in frustration. "Liz, I don't know what you're trying to tell me."
Liz put her arm around Tess's shoulders. The two girls were of a height, blonde and brunette heads level with each other.
Max blinked, shook his head, when a flash momentarily blinded him. For one instant, neither Liz, nor Tess was standing in front of him. He was staring at two small, grey figures, identical down to their serene dark eyes. Completely the same, in every way. And he knew them. He knew them both.
Because how could he not recognize the one who was his very heart and the other who was his saviour?
Oh God.
He met Liz's eyes - because she was Liz again - the radiance of her happiness shining on her face, coming directly from the soul he had loved for two lifetimes. She nodded once.
Max shifted his gaze to Tess and smiled. "Serena."
To be continued.