[u]Part 39[/u]
Alex's mouth was hanging open in shock. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Whittaker. It suddenly made sense why Nasedo was presently shaped like Pierce. That was the form in which the congresswoman would have trusted him, the form in which she had [I]loved[/I] him. He felt a shudder of disgust towards Nasedo. While he knew that Vanessa Whittaker was just as evil as Nasedo, no one deserved to be so completely lied to in that way.
Anyway, how did they even know that Whittaker was evil anymore? Obviously she hadn't really murdered Nasedo. She had kidnapped and hurt Tess, but that wasn't even certain at this point either, Alex realized. After all, the fact that Whittaker was alive meant that Isabel must have been tricked into thinking she had killed her somehow. And there was only one person capable of creating such a realistic deception.
Tess.
Alex sighed. [I]Great,[/I] he thought.[I]Back to knowing that Tess is a bad guy. Although why I ever changed my mind about that is a mystery. [/I] He flinched slightly at the memory of the malevolence in Tess's blue eyes as she had tossed that alien bomb in his direction.
Nasedo was still ignoring Alex, his attention focused on Whittaker, who was thrust unceremoniously onto a chair in the center of the room. [I]She[/I] was looking at him though, a slight frown on her fine-featured face. In spite of the bruises marring her perfect complexion, a particularly brutal one encircling one blue eye, her beauty was still unmistakable.
Alex met her eyes, trying not to show his fear. Her expression softened for one brief moment, but when she turned to Nasedo, her voice did not reflect it. "Why have you brought me here again? I told you before that you might as well just kill me. I'm not going to tell you anything."
"Then know you are responsible for this boy's death," Nasedo replied calmly. Alex felt his heart stop beating. He scrambled back against the hard, stone wall, trying desperately not to whimper as Nasedo nodded at the guard standing near the door.
This was really it. He almost couldn't believe that he had made it this far only to be shot down because Whittaker, to whom he had absolutely no connection, was being difficult. Alex watched the guard move menacingly in his direction, the gun he wore at his side now in his hand. He had time to reflect that it was ironic that it was a human weapon that was going to end his life, knew that his time was really up as the gun was raised, pointed at him, and the most important events of his life started to roll through his mind at super-speed.
[I]Isabel is never going to forgive me.[/I] It was a ludicrous thought. He had known he was lying to her when he had been brought out of his cage and, yet, he supposed that somewhere inside him he had believed that Nasedo wouldn't [I]really[/I] have him killed. He abruptly remembered Nasedo's words earlier that evening. Words he, Alex, obviously hadn't - and should have - taken to heart: [I]We will not be leaving any remnants of our little Earthly adventure behind and that includes any humans you've come into contact with.[/I]
He had been doomed from the very beginning. As long as Nasedo thought he could use him, he had survived. But he had never been meant to get out of this alive.
After that, his mind went mercifully blank. Fear was completely gone. What was the point of being afraid when there was no way to change anything?
"No! Wait!"
Alex blinked, but his eyes did not move from the muzzle of the gun still aimed at his head. It was only when the gun was lowered that he realized that it was Whittaker's voice. He looked at Nasedo, who had obviously motioned for the guard to pause.
"Why is he here?" Whittaker demanded. "He has nothing to do with any of this. Let him go."
"I will let him go, if you tell me what I want to know," Nasedo said evenly. "Where is the granolith?"
"I told you!" She exclaimed. "I don't know that!" She sounded desperate. "I thought you finally believed me!"
Nasedo's tone was grim when he said, "I did. When you wouldn't even save that little brat, I was sure you couldn't possibly be lying. Who knew that you were so heartless, Rowena? It almost worked though. You let one of your own die in order to protect the secret, but I now know for sure that you [I]do[/I] know."
Rowena. Nasedo had just called Congresswoman Whittaker [I]Rowena.[/I] Alex felt his mouth fall open again.
"I told you to stop calling me that," Whittaker said wearily. "I'm not Rowena." Alex nodded, certain that she was right. After all, she couldn't be Rowena. [I]Liz[/I] was Rowena.
And, yet, Nasedo sounded utterly confident when he replied, "It's time to stop your games. I know who you are. There is no one else you could possibly be. Rowena is the only one Khivar would have ever entrusted with the mission to come here and retrieve the pods."
She snorted lightly. "You couldn't be more wrong. He doesn't trust me at all."
"He sent you here with his right hand man to track down his own clone," Nasedo argued. "You are his wife. The rumours that you survived your captivity with Zan have been proven true."
Whittaker pressed her lips together, refusing to answer. Finally, she glanced at Alex again, frowning slightly. "Tell me what you think you know," she said to Nasedo.
"This boy," he indicated Alex, "told me a very interesting story earlier tonight." The shapeshifter proceeded to outline the entire tale of Future Max and his use of the granolith to go back in time. "Since I know that you are the only one who could possibly have engineered the granolith to do such a thing," Nasedo concluded, "I now have even more proof that you know where it is."
"Are you insane?" Whittaker snapped. "You just told me yourself that this happens fourteen years from now. It doesn't prove anything. Maybe I'll find it later. It doesn't mean I know where it is [I]now[/I]."
Nasedo glared at her. "Why else would you have chosen to make contact with the Royal Four now?" He snapped. "You know where it is and you're planning to use it to take them all back to Antar."
"Why would I do that when I still haven't found my own clone?" Whittaker demanded. "There's no point in going back without her." Alex stared at her, realized that she had just basically admitted that she was indeed Rowena. Because [I]her[/I] clone would be Liz, the only member of the eight podded royals sent to Earth who was still technically lost.
"Please spare me your lies," Nasedo ordered. "I know who Liz Parker is. It was confirmed for me tonight by the ravings of Khivar's idiotic clone, but I was beginning to suspect anyway. There was no other reason for you to seek her out the way you did. I'm only embarrassed I didn't realize it months ago. Zan's obsession with her should have told me all I needed to know."
"Liz Parker is not my clone," Whittaker told him, her tone so firm, Alex almost believed her, even though he knew the truth. "Even if she were, that doesn't mean I know where the granolith is."
Alex watched Nasedo's face in fascination. The shapeshifter's Pierce visage was starting to turn an interesting shade of purple, his rage beginning to get the better of him. Alex was still absolutely petrified and Nasedo's worsening mood did not improve matters. He was completely in the wrong place right now. He was still expendable, while Whittaker obviously was not. He had a feeling that if someone was going to pay for her inability to tell Nasedo anything, it was going to be him.
Luckily, a sharp voice, seemingly coming out of nowhere suddenly pierced the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Whittaker and Nasedo were still glaring at each other, at a stalemate.
"This is Sorenson. Request back-up at main entrance."
Nasedo started, glared down towards his hip. "I suggest you reflect on your next move, your highness," he said, pulling a radio out of his suit jacket pocket. "If you haven't decided to talk when I'm finished here, the human dies."
"Where have you been?" He said into the radio.
"Checking out the perimeter," Grant's creepy voice came back through the small radio. So [I]that's[/I] where he disappeared to, Alex reflected. "I just had a feeling we should be expecting some guests. I didn't trust your idiots to get their hands on them. You had to take the other four out yourself after all."
"Well?" Nasedo demanded, his impatience obvious. Alex had stopped listening though. He looked at Whittaker, who was moving slightly, obviously in an attempt to get his attention. He frowned at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes, trying to tell him something. He had no idea what.
"I have the king himself. And the little escapee." Alex's focus jerked back to Nasedo and his radio. Max had been captured. And Kate.
He felt his heart drop. Why had she come back? Max's presence did not surprise him at all. He had known that his friend would come for Isabel. But Kate had not needed to come back. She had been safe. Was she crazy?
Alex forced himself to take deep breaths. [I]Okay, think here Whitman,[/I] he ordered. [I]Max and Kate obviously didn't come alone. Michael must be around. We still have a chance here.[/I]
"You took them out yourself?" Nasedo demanded, his anger fading slightly, much to Alex's relief. Not that he was thrilled by why Nasedo was pleased.
"Princess Karana exposed Tess, but she managed to escape unscathed. She came back just in time to help out. She's here now. They know you're alive."
Tess. Back. And a traitor again. Alex closed his eyes, sighing.
"Very well," Nasedo replied, taking several seconds longer than necessary to do so, Alex reflected. "I'm sending out two men to help you bring them in. I'll meet you in the main chamber momentarily. I'm occupied with Rowena at the moment."
Nasedo turned the radio off, looked at the guard. "Send out Talon and Terear. I want a read on Sorenson. See if he has shifted recently. Don't let him know about it though." He paused, then said thoughtfully, "Check out Tess too. If she's warping, I want her taken down immediately."
The guard looked at Alex for a moment, then at Whittaker. "Sir, should you be in here alone?"
"Are you questioning my orders?" Nasedo demanded.
"No," the guard said quickly. "Whatever you say, sir." He was gone a moment later.
Nasedo watched him leave, then looked at Whittaker. "Well, well, well. Two more down, two to go. I'm guessing the other little royals are around here somewhere. It's only a matter of time."
"One of them you'll never find," Whittaker told him firmly. "I swear to you that Liz Parker is not my clone. She isn't."
Nasedo merely smiled. "We'll know soon enough, won't we? If I am proven wrong, she can quite simply be killed. No harm, no foul."
"And, yet, you'll have to keep seven strong teenagers under lock and key for as long as it takes to find the real Rowena," Whittaker reminded him. "You're crazy to do this now. You still don't have anything."
"That's where you're wrong Rowena," Nasedo snapped. "With Zan, I have everything I need. Even if you won't tell me where the granolith is to save him, Vilandra will. Or he'll tell me to save her. The pawns are in place."
"You still won't be able to make it work." Alex blinked. Had he just spoken? Where did [I]that[/I] come from?
Nasedo turned his head, narrowed his gaze on him. "Do you have something you'd like to add Mr. Whitman?"
"Maybe," Alex shrugged, sounding more confident than he felt. He looked at Whittaker again. "I don't know if she's Rowena or not, but I know that she's right that Liz isn't. I've seen the baby pictures Mr. Harding. She was born to Nancy and Jeff Parker seventeen years ago."
"Does it matter?" Nasedo demanded. "It really doesn't. Because I have Rowena, whether she is Miss Parker or not." He looked at Whittaker, his expression triumphant. "I only need Rath and I have a full complement of the royals."
Alex felt a chill descend his spine. He still had no idea what the granolith even did, but he did know that he didn't want Nasedo to be able to make it work. Because he knew that the shapeshifter was right. To save each other, Isabel and Max would crack.
He looked at Whittaker, who was watching him wordlessly, a slight frown on her face. In the end, he only had one thing to tell Nasedo that might make him think twice about even looking for Liz and Michael. "I don't think Rowena's going to be able to help you. Liz told me that Future Max told [I]her[/I] that it was someone named Serena who made the granolith work. We don't even know who she is. You're out of luck."
"That's where you are mistaken Mr. Whitman," Nasedo told him calmly. "I know exactly where Serena is."
"You do?" Alex croaked.
"I do," Nasedo replied. "Rath is on his way, I am sure. It is all coming together now. And, so, I regret that it is now time to tie up the loose ends." He smiled at Alex, almost kindly. And, yet, Alex's blood ran cold.
He knew that, this time, there would be no reprieve. [I]He[/I] was the loose end Nasedo was planning to tie up, and, as the shapeshifter raised his hand, Alex knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
***
Kate grimaced. Her stomach was killing her. She was draped over Grant's shoulder, as he carried her supposedly unconscious form down a long, dark tunnel. She had been told by Tess to wait thirty seconds after the guard's arrival to teleport she and Grant to the cells, but she didn't know if she was going to be able to resist yelping in pain before that. He had the boniest shoulder in the world.
It was only the force of her will that allowed her mind to continue counting evenly. [I]Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.[/I]
As the magic second ticked by, Kate reached behind her, grabbed the hand Grant had resting on her back, closed her eyes, and jumped.
When she opened her eyes, she was still staring at the floor. It took her longer than usual to orient herself, being as she was upside down. "Put me down," she ordered Grant. "I think I'm going to be sick." He quickly complied.
"Katie!" It was Will's voice. She took a deep breath, trying to control her nausea. She opened her eyes, found herself staring at her brother. He was up at the bars of his cage, clutching them, his amazement obvious. He looked at Grant suspiciously. "What are you doing with [I]him[/I]?"
"He's okay," she told her brother quickly. "He's the other protector, but [I]he[/I] actually protects." She looked at the two other occupied cages. Isabel was in one, Jack in the other. She felt her heart leap with joy at the sight of her cousin, but not for long. Where was Alex?
"Are you alone?" Will demanded. "You can't possibly expect to teleport us all out of here?"
Isabel gasped. Kate looked at her, realized that she was staring past them. "Oh my God! Max!"
"It's okay," Kate whispered, trying to calm Isabel, as it did likely appear that Max was in a precarious position. "He's with me." She felt another flash of concern. The plan was proceeding smoothly, but one thing they had not counted on was that the captives were being held separately. "Where's Alex?"
"Why are you just [I]standing[/I] there?" Will snapped, not answering her question. "They're going to see you."
"They won't," Kate replied. "Tess is mindwarping them to think that Grant and I are still over there with them. We have to get you out of there so that you can take them down Will." The entire plan hinged on Will out of the cage presently muting his powers. He was the only one who had the firepower to deal with the guards permanently. "Then Max and Tess will get you all out of here."
Grant was already playing with the electronic lock on Will's cage.
"I thought Tess was a traitor," Isabel spoke up. "That's what Alex said."
"She isn't," Kate said. "We'll explain everything once we have you out of here." She looked over her shoulder, her fear beginning to get the better of her. "Where is Alex?" She repeated, knew that her voice was starting to rise hysterically.
There was only one explanation for why he wasn't here. She couldn't believe that she was actually asking the question that was going to confirm it. She knew inherently that she would be no good to anyone the instant anyone told her that he had been killed.
"Nasedo took him for questioning," Isabel explained. "He promised me he'd be fine. He's okay," she added, as though trying to convince herself.
Kate stared at her. "Where?" She demanded.
Isabel didn't get a chance to answer though. "He's changed the combination," Grant muttered, interrupting. He looked over his shoulder. The guards, lugging Max's supposedly unconscious form between them, were almost upon them. Tess was walking straight towards them, her blue eyes wide open. She was completely unfocused on them, however, her entire attention on her warp and making it seem like she wasn't warping at all.
"It's okay." Kate looked at Will, who had a strange look on his face. She watched in astonishment as her brother reached through the bars and tapped in a code himself.
"Will!" She exclaimed, her horror so complete, she could think of nothing else to say.
"Never mind," Will told her firmly. "I'll explain later." She could see that he looked slightly ashamed of himself. She didn't blame him. He had known how to get himself out of that cage all along! What had he been thinking, making them come for him, when he could have taken at least Isabel and Jack away by himself?
Grant stepped aside as Will pushed open his cage door. "Open the other ones," he ordered the shapeshifter. Grant was staring at him, obviously not nearly as shocked as Kate, his contempt obvious.
Will looked at Kate. "Alex is in a room nearby. Go get him Kate. Now." He stepped past her, sending two controlled bolts of energy towards the guards carrying Max. They fell soundlessly to the floor, taking Max with them. He was up a moment later though, and at Isabel's cage, reaching through to grab his sister's hands, his relief that she appeared to be mostly well obvious.
Kate pressed her lips together, her shock at her brother's behavior quickly turning to anger. She didn't say anything though, simply closed her eyes, thought of Alex, and moments later found herself in his presence.
The scene that greeted her was not more reassuring than the one she'd left. Alex was on the floor, huddled against the wall, the fear on his face so obvious, Kate felt her heart go out to him instantly. And, yet, her joy at seeing him relatively unharmed was so great, she felt it right down to her toes.
He didn't seem nearly as overjoyed to see her though. She watched his eyes widen in horror as they registered on her. "Kate!" He exclaimed. "Move!"
It was the last thing she heard before the entire world went black.
To be continued.
Alex's mouth was hanging open in shock. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Whittaker. It suddenly made sense why Nasedo was presently shaped like Pierce. That was the form in which the congresswoman would have trusted him, the form in which she had [I]loved[/I] him. He felt a shudder of disgust towards Nasedo. While he knew that Vanessa Whittaker was just as evil as Nasedo, no one deserved to be so completely lied to in that way.
Anyway, how did they even know that Whittaker was evil anymore? Obviously she hadn't really murdered Nasedo. She had kidnapped and hurt Tess, but that wasn't even certain at this point either, Alex realized. After all, the fact that Whittaker was alive meant that Isabel must have been tricked into thinking she had killed her somehow. And there was only one person capable of creating such a realistic deception.
Tess.
Alex sighed. [I]Great,[/I] he thought.[I]Back to knowing that Tess is a bad guy. Although why I ever changed my mind about that is a mystery. [/I] He flinched slightly at the memory of the malevolence in Tess's blue eyes as she had tossed that alien bomb in his direction.
Nasedo was still ignoring Alex, his attention focused on Whittaker, who was thrust unceremoniously onto a chair in the center of the room. [I]She[/I] was looking at him though, a slight frown on her fine-featured face. In spite of the bruises marring her perfect complexion, a particularly brutal one encircling one blue eye, her beauty was still unmistakable.
Alex met her eyes, trying not to show his fear. Her expression softened for one brief moment, but when she turned to Nasedo, her voice did not reflect it. "Why have you brought me here again? I told you before that you might as well just kill me. I'm not going to tell you anything."
"Then know you are responsible for this boy's death," Nasedo replied calmly. Alex felt his heart stop beating. He scrambled back against the hard, stone wall, trying desperately not to whimper as Nasedo nodded at the guard standing near the door.
This was really it. He almost couldn't believe that he had made it this far only to be shot down because Whittaker, to whom he had absolutely no connection, was being difficult. Alex watched the guard move menacingly in his direction, the gun he wore at his side now in his hand. He had time to reflect that it was ironic that it was a human weapon that was going to end his life, knew that his time was really up as the gun was raised, pointed at him, and the most important events of his life started to roll through his mind at super-speed.
[I]Isabel is never going to forgive me.[/I] It was a ludicrous thought. He had known he was lying to her when he had been brought out of his cage and, yet, he supposed that somewhere inside him he had believed that Nasedo wouldn't [I]really[/I] have him killed. He abruptly remembered Nasedo's words earlier that evening. Words he, Alex, obviously hadn't - and should have - taken to heart: [I]We will not be leaving any remnants of our little Earthly adventure behind and that includes any humans you've come into contact with.[/I]
He had been doomed from the very beginning. As long as Nasedo thought he could use him, he had survived. But he had never been meant to get out of this alive.
After that, his mind went mercifully blank. Fear was completely gone. What was the point of being afraid when there was no way to change anything?
"No! Wait!"
Alex blinked, but his eyes did not move from the muzzle of the gun still aimed at his head. It was only when the gun was lowered that he realized that it was Whittaker's voice. He looked at Nasedo, who had obviously motioned for the guard to pause.
"Why is he here?" Whittaker demanded. "He has nothing to do with any of this. Let him go."
"I will let him go, if you tell me what I want to know," Nasedo said evenly. "Where is the granolith?"
"I told you!" She exclaimed. "I don't know that!" She sounded desperate. "I thought you finally believed me!"
Nasedo's tone was grim when he said, "I did. When you wouldn't even save that little brat, I was sure you couldn't possibly be lying. Who knew that you were so heartless, Rowena? It almost worked though. You let one of your own die in order to protect the secret, but I now know for sure that you [I]do[/I] know."
Rowena. Nasedo had just called Congresswoman Whittaker [I]Rowena.[/I] Alex felt his mouth fall open again.
"I told you to stop calling me that," Whittaker said wearily. "I'm not Rowena." Alex nodded, certain that she was right. After all, she couldn't be Rowena. [I]Liz[/I] was Rowena.
And, yet, Nasedo sounded utterly confident when he replied, "It's time to stop your games. I know who you are. There is no one else you could possibly be. Rowena is the only one Khivar would have ever entrusted with the mission to come here and retrieve the pods."
She snorted lightly. "You couldn't be more wrong. He doesn't trust me at all."
"He sent you here with his right hand man to track down his own clone," Nasedo argued. "You are his wife. The rumours that you survived your captivity with Zan have been proven true."
Whittaker pressed her lips together, refusing to answer. Finally, she glanced at Alex again, frowning slightly. "Tell me what you think you know," she said to Nasedo.
"This boy," he indicated Alex, "told me a very interesting story earlier tonight." The shapeshifter proceeded to outline the entire tale of Future Max and his use of the granolith to go back in time. "Since I know that you are the only one who could possibly have engineered the granolith to do such a thing," Nasedo concluded, "I now have even more proof that you know where it is."
"Are you insane?" Whittaker snapped. "You just told me yourself that this happens fourteen years from now. It doesn't prove anything. Maybe I'll find it later. It doesn't mean I know where it is [I]now[/I]."
Nasedo glared at her. "Why else would you have chosen to make contact with the Royal Four now?" He snapped. "You know where it is and you're planning to use it to take them all back to Antar."
"Why would I do that when I still haven't found my own clone?" Whittaker demanded. "There's no point in going back without her." Alex stared at her, realized that she had just basically admitted that she was indeed Rowena. Because [I]her[/I] clone would be Liz, the only member of the eight podded royals sent to Earth who was still technically lost.
"Please spare me your lies," Nasedo ordered. "I know who Liz Parker is. It was confirmed for me tonight by the ravings of Khivar's idiotic clone, but I was beginning to suspect anyway. There was no other reason for you to seek her out the way you did. I'm only embarrassed I didn't realize it months ago. Zan's obsession with her should have told me all I needed to know."
"Liz Parker is not my clone," Whittaker told him, her tone so firm, Alex almost believed her, even though he knew the truth. "Even if she were, that doesn't mean I know where the granolith is."
Alex watched Nasedo's face in fascination. The shapeshifter's Pierce visage was starting to turn an interesting shade of purple, his rage beginning to get the better of him. Alex was still absolutely petrified and Nasedo's worsening mood did not improve matters. He was completely in the wrong place right now. He was still expendable, while Whittaker obviously was not. He had a feeling that if someone was going to pay for her inability to tell Nasedo anything, it was going to be him.
Luckily, a sharp voice, seemingly coming out of nowhere suddenly pierced the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Whittaker and Nasedo were still glaring at each other, at a stalemate.
"This is Sorenson. Request back-up at main entrance."
Nasedo started, glared down towards his hip. "I suggest you reflect on your next move, your highness," he said, pulling a radio out of his suit jacket pocket. "If you haven't decided to talk when I'm finished here, the human dies."
"Where have you been?" He said into the radio.
"Checking out the perimeter," Grant's creepy voice came back through the small radio. So [I]that's[/I] where he disappeared to, Alex reflected. "I just had a feeling we should be expecting some guests. I didn't trust your idiots to get their hands on them. You had to take the other four out yourself after all."
"Well?" Nasedo demanded, his impatience obvious. Alex had stopped listening though. He looked at Whittaker, who was moving slightly, obviously in an attempt to get his attention. He frowned at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes, trying to tell him something. He had no idea what.
"I have the king himself. And the little escapee." Alex's focus jerked back to Nasedo and his radio. Max had been captured. And Kate.
He felt his heart drop. Why had she come back? Max's presence did not surprise him at all. He had known that his friend would come for Isabel. But Kate had not needed to come back. She had been safe. Was she crazy?
Alex forced himself to take deep breaths. [I]Okay, think here Whitman,[/I] he ordered. [I]Max and Kate obviously didn't come alone. Michael must be around. We still have a chance here.[/I]
"You took them out yourself?" Nasedo demanded, his anger fading slightly, much to Alex's relief. Not that he was thrilled by why Nasedo was pleased.
"Princess Karana exposed Tess, but she managed to escape unscathed. She came back just in time to help out. She's here now. They know you're alive."
Tess. Back. And a traitor again. Alex closed his eyes, sighing.
"Very well," Nasedo replied, taking several seconds longer than necessary to do so, Alex reflected. "I'm sending out two men to help you bring them in. I'll meet you in the main chamber momentarily. I'm occupied with Rowena at the moment."
Nasedo turned the radio off, looked at the guard. "Send out Talon and Terear. I want a read on Sorenson. See if he has shifted recently. Don't let him know about it though." He paused, then said thoughtfully, "Check out Tess too. If she's warping, I want her taken down immediately."
The guard looked at Alex for a moment, then at Whittaker. "Sir, should you be in here alone?"
"Are you questioning my orders?" Nasedo demanded.
"No," the guard said quickly. "Whatever you say, sir." He was gone a moment later.
Nasedo watched him leave, then looked at Whittaker. "Well, well, well. Two more down, two to go. I'm guessing the other little royals are around here somewhere. It's only a matter of time."
"One of them you'll never find," Whittaker told him firmly. "I swear to you that Liz Parker is not my clone. She isn't."
Nasedo merely smiled. "We'll know soon enough, won't we? If I am proven wrong, she can quite simply be killed. No harm, no foul."
"And, yet, you'll have to keep seven strong teenagers under lock and key for as long as it takes to find the real Rowena," Whittaker reminded him. "You're crazy to do this now. You still don't have anything."
"That's where you're wrong Rowena," Nasedo snapped. "With Zan, I have everything I need. Even if you won't tell me where the granolith is to save him, Vilandra will. Or he'll tell me to save her. The pawns are in place."
"You still won't be able to make it work." Alex blinked. Had he just spoken? Where did [I]that[/I] come from?
Nasedo turned his head, narrowed his gaze on him. "Do you have something you'd like to add Mr. Whitman?"
"Maybe," Alex shrugged, sounding more confident than he felt. He looked at Whittaker again. "I don't know if she's Rowena or not, but I know that she's right that Liz isn't. I've seen the baby pictures Mr. Harding. She was born to Nancy and Jeff Parker seventeen years ago."
"Does it matter?" Nasedo demanded. "It really doesn't. Because I have Rowena, whether she is Miss Parker or not." He looked at Whittaker, his expression triumphant. "I only need Rath and I have a full complement of the royals."
Alex felt a chill descend his spine. He still had no idea what the granolith even did, but he did know that he didn't want Nasedo to be able to make it work. Because he knew that the shapeshifter was right. To save each other, Isabel and Max would crack.
He looked at Whittaker, who was watching him wordlessly, a slight frown on her face. In the end, he only had one thing to tell Nasedo that might make him think twice about even looking for Liz and Michael. "I don't think Rowena's going to be able to help you. Liz told me that Future Max told [I]her[/I] that it was someone named Serena who made the granolith work. We don't even know who she is. You're out of luck."
"That's where you are mistaken Mr. Whitman," Nasedo told him calmly. "I know exactly where Serena is."
"You do?" Alex croaked.
"I do," Nasedo replied. "Rath is on his way, I am sure. It is all coming together now. And, so, I regret that it is now time to tie up the loose ends." He smiled at Alex, almost kindly. And, yet, Alex's blood ran cold.
He knew that, this time, there would be no reprieve. [I]He[/I] was the loose end Nasedo was planning to tie up, and, as the shapeshifter raised his hand, Alex knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
***
Kate grimaced. Her stomach was killing her. She was draped over Grant's shoulder, as he carried her supposedly unconscious form down a long, dark tunnel. She had been told by Tess to wait thirty seconds after the guard's arrival to teleport she and Grant to the cells, but she didn't know if she was going to be able to resist yelping in pain before that. He had the boniest shoulder in the world.
It was only the force of her will that allowed her mind to continue counting evenly. [I]Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.[/I]
As the magic second ticked by, Kate reached behind her, grabbed the hand Grant had resting on her back, closed her eyes, and jumped.
When she opened her eyes, she was still staring at the floor. It took her longer than usual to orient herself, being as she was upside down. "Put me down," she ordered Grant. "I think I'm going to be sick." He quickly complied.
"Katie!" It was Will's voice. She took a deep breath, trying to control her nausea. She opened her eyes, found herself staring at her brother. He was up at the bars of his cage, clutching them, his amazement obvious. He looked at Grant suspiciously. "What are you doing with [I]him[/I]?"
"He's okay," she told her brother quickly. "He's the other protector, but [I]he[/I] actually protects." She looked at the two other occupied cages. Isabel was in one, Jack in the other. She felt her heart leap with joy at the sight of her cousin, but not for long. Where was Alex?
"Are you alone?" Will demanded. "You can't possibly expect to teleport us all out of here?"
Isabel gasped. Kate looked at her, realized that she was staring past them. "Oh my God! Max!"
"It's okay," Kate whispered, trying to calm Isabel, as it did likely appear that Max was in a precarious position. "He's with me." She felt another flash of concern. The plan was proceeding smoothly, but one thing they had not counted on was that the captives were being held separately. "Where's Alex?"
"Why are you just [I]standing[/I] there?" Will snapped, not answering her question. "They're going to see you."
"They won't," Kate replied. "Tess is mindwarping them to think that Grant and I are still over there with them. We have to get you out of there so that you can take them down Will." The entire plan hinged on Will out of the cage presently muting his powers. He was the only one who had the firepower to deal with the guards permanently. "Then Max and Tess will get you all out of here."
Grant was already playing with the electronic lock on Will's cage.
"I thought Tess was a traitor," Isabel spoke up. "That's what Alex said."
"She isn't," Kate said. "We'll explain everything once we have you out of here." She looked over her shoulder, her fear beginning to get the better of her. "Where is Alex?" She repeated, knew that her voice was starting to rise hysterically.
There was only one explanation for why he wasn't here. She couldn't believe that she was actually asking the question that was going to confirm it. She knew inherently that she would be no good to anyone the instant anyone told her that he had been killed.
"Nasedo took him for questioning," Isabel explained. "He promised me he'd be fine. He's okay," she added, as though trying to convince herself.
Kate stared at her. "Where?" She demanded.
Isabel didn't get a chance to answer though. "He's changed the combination," Grant muttered, interrupting. He looked over his shoulder. The guards, lugging Max's supposedly unconscious form between them, were almost upon them. Tess was walking straight towards them, her blue eyes wide open. She was completely unfocused on them, however, her entire attention on her warp and making it seem like she wasn't warping at all.
"It's okay." Kate looked at Will, who had a strange look on his face. She watched in astonishment as her brother reached through the bars and tapped in a code himself.
"Will!" She exclaimed, her horror so complete, she could think of nothing else to say.
"Never mind," Will told her firmly. "I'll explain later." She could see that he looked slightly ashamed of himself. She didn't blame him. He had known how to get himself out of that cage all along! What had he been thinking, making them come for him, when he could have taken at least Isabel and Jack away by himself?
Grant stepped aside as Will pushed open his cage door. "Open the other ones," he ordered the shapeshifter. Grant was staring at him, obviously not nearly as shocked as Kate, his contempt obvious.
Will looked at Kate. "Alex is in a room nearby. Go get him Kate. Now." He stepped past her, sending two controlled bolts of energy towards the guards carrying Max. They fell soundlessly to the floor, taking Max with them. He was up a moment later though, and at Isabel's cage, reaching through to grab his sister's hands, his relief that she appeared to be mostly well obvious.
Kate pressed her lips together, her shock at her brother's behavior quickly turning to anger. She didn't say anything though, simply closed her eyes, thought of Alex, and moments later found herself in his presence.
The scene that greeted her was not more reassuring than the one she'd left. Alex was on the floor, huddled against the wall, the fear on his face so obvious, Kate felt her heart go out to him instantly. And, yet, her joy at seeing him relatively unharmed was so great, she felt it right down to her toes.
He didn't seem nearly as overjoyed to see her though. She watched his eyes widen in horror as they registered on her. "Kate!" He exclaimed. "Move!"
It was the last thing she heard before the entire world went black.
To be continued.