[u]Part 43[/u]
"Here, Alex."
Alex looked up. He was seated on the dirt floor of the pod chamber and had been staring off into space since Max, Michael and Whittaker had taken Kate's body into the granolith chamber. Maria joined him for a while, filling him in on the basics of what had been happening while he'd been gone, but she eventually went to talk to Isabel, seeming to understand that Alex wasn't really in the mood to converse.
And, so, Alex was surprised to hear Isabel's voice now . She was standing over him, a sandwich in her outstretched hand.
"Where'd that come from?" he asked, without interest.
"The sheriff. He brought some food with him when he came."
"Thanks Izzy, but I'm not hungry," he told her.
"Alex, you need to eat something," Isabel insisted. "I'll bet you haven't even thought about food since yesterday. It's just been so crazy around here." She leaned back against the wall next to him, slid down until she was sitting beside him on the filthy ground. He smiled slightly to himself. The Elle MacPherson of the junior class didn't seem to mind getting her jeans dirty when it mattered.
"Isabel, thanks, but I'm really not hungry." It was true. His stomach was in knots. While he believed Whittaker that Kate could be brought back, his nerves would not return to normal until she was alive and well and standing in front of him. He would eat then.
Isabel sighed. "Alex."
"Isabel, please," Alex snapped. "I said no."
"I was just going to say," she continued firmly, "this isn't just about you. You need to keep your strength up for her too, you know. She's going to need you."
Alex turned his head and stared at her. "Who?"
"You know [I]who[/I] I'm talking about. Kate," Isabel replied quietly. "I have a feeling that dying is going to be a whole lot more difficult to deal with than any loss of an alien side has been. And I know how hard [I]that[/I] is. You helped me, Alex. Just being with you helped me. She's going to need that too." Isabel looked away, her voice barely audible. "She's lucky to have you."
"Isabel, I don't even know what you're talking about," Alex told her. "Kate won't need me. She has Will, and she has Jack."
"That may be true," Isabel told him, "but it's you who hasn't taken your eyes off of her since she's been gone. It's you she needs. And even if I don't know her very well, I have a feeling that it's you she'll want. I was there when she came to get us Alex. You were all she cared about."
Alex met her eyes. He was surprised that Isabel would have noticed. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked. He couldn't deny that it was what he wanted to hear. It had only been after Kate was killed that he had understood exactly how much she had come to mean to him in the short time he'd known her. But he had never had a chance to find out if she felt the same way. His past experiences with alien princesses had told him to never take anything for granted, after all.
"Because you deserve someone who isn't totally screwed up, Alex," Isabel said. "Someone who understands what she has from the very beginning. I don't really know her, but I have a feeling that Kate is that person."
She sounded sad. Not for the first time, he wondered what was going through her beautiful blonde head. But, he realized, as much as he loved Isabel, for the moment, he really did have other things to worry about. If she wanted to support [I]him[/I] through something for once, well, he wasn't going to say no.
"Thanks, Iz."
"You're welcome." She handed him the sandwich and, as he ate it, they sat in comfortable silence.
When he was done, Isabel reached out and took his hand in hers. She looked back across the pod chamber, to where Grant stood. He was talking to the sheriff, but his eyes were on them. When he became aware of Alex's regard, he turned his head quickly, focusing on Kyle's father again.
"So, Maria told me a bit about who he is," Alex said tentatively. "What about you? Are you okay?"
Isabel shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "It's just kind of weird. I mean, I liked him, but I wasn't crazy about him. He was more of an excuse to try and pretend I was normal. I guess it's romantic that he betrayed his entire race for me, but I don't even really know who he is. I have no idea what any of it even means." She turned her head and met his eyes again. "You do understand that, Alex, don't you? That Grant was about trying to pretend I'm not who I am?"
Alex sighed. He wondered why Isabel's motivations over the past few months were so clear to him now, when he wasn't nearly as emotionally invested in her every move. He really could have used the insight he now had a week ago. "You wanted someone who didn't know anything about the abyss, am I right?"
"How ironic is that?" She sighed again. "I mean, I've realized now that I'll never get majorly involved with someone who doesn't know the truth about me. It's just not fair to do that to anyone. Our lives don't even really belong to us. I know that too well now." She squeezed his hand. "But, I'm not ready to be that serious with anyone. That's why I backed off from you, Alex. It's because you know who I really am. With you, it would have been too much, too fast. I need to know who [I]I[/I] am first." She looked at him anxiously. "Does that make any sense?"
"It totally does," Alex told her. "And I do understand, Isabel." He looked at her for a long moment, wondering whether he should just tell her the truth.
Since they were being honest, he decided to go for broke. There was no way of knowing what the future might bring. The last forty-eight hours had more than proven that life - particularly alien life - was fragile. She was his best friend, his first love. He needed her to know how he felt. "I just wish you'd told me that from the very beginning. If you just want to be friends, I am totally fine with that. I love you. I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you."
"I love you too, Alex," Isabel replied, tears in her dark eyes. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Maybe someday." She trailed off, suddenly sounding uncertain, but also a little hopeful.
Alex frowned slightly again. Maybe. But he didn't think so. Not if things turned out the way he was beginning to realize he wanted them to. He just hoped that Isabel had been telling the truth earlier - that she was going to be able to handle him getting involved with someone else. Particularly with someone like Kate, who was so similar to Isabel in so many ways, and, yet, totally herself. Someone who was fine with her alien baggage, but seemed, if Isabel was right, ready to explore the more human side of living on Earth.
He loved Isabel and he had not been lying when he'd said that he'd always be there for her. It was what he wanted, what he hoped would be possible. But, in the end, he knew that it might not play out that way. That he might be forced to make a choice and, that, he might not be able to choose her.
Closing his eyes, Alex leaned back against the wall again, enjoying being close to Isabel one last time. There was time to worry about all the rest of it later. For now, while he waited for later, he needed her. And, for once, he was going to take what he needed, damning the consequences.
***
"I thought we needed all eight of us to make it work," Michael said. "If Kate's dead, how is she supposed to help?"
Max looked at Whittaker, glad that Michael had been the one to ask the question. He would have thought of it himself eventually, but he was a little preoccupied. He was worried about Liz. He could feel that something upsetting was taking place between her and Will. Max's connection to her was burning stronger with every passing hour. He figured it had something to do with the granolith, and, maybe, also with the fact that all eight hybrids had finally been brought together in close proximity.
Or it might just be that he fell a little more in love with her with every passing hour.
Max wasn't sure how it could even happen, but it was the truth. Her joy at his return made his heart swell even now, just thinking of it, reminding him that once upon a time he had been unable to even imagine the possibility that she might someday feel as much for him as he did for her. That she did.It was humbling.
He felt sorry for Will, which was why he had been amenable to Liz trying to explain things to him herself. While Liz would never [I]belong[/I] to anyone, she had chosen Max. He had lived through the experience of feeling that she had decided on someone else - the mere thought of the horrible night of the Gomez concert still sent a shiver down his spine - and he wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not even on his worst enemy, which Will clearly no longer was. Liz would try and break the news of all that had transpired - in this life and that other one - as gently as possible. But it would still suck for Will, no ifs,ands or buts about it. Max knew that he would never have been able to accept it had it been the other way around. He only hoped that Will's relatively short acquaintance with Liz would make it easier on him.
He understood why Liz was upset. She never liked to hurt anyone. And Will was going to be hurt. But, in the end, it was better to be honest. Secrets and lies were what had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. The shapeshifters had excelled at both. He wouldn't allow the society they were going to try and rebuild suffer the same fate again because of them.
"Her human body has died, but her alien essence lives on in the granolith," Whittaker explained patiently. "We'll use the healing stones to help guide it back into her body."
Max exchanged a glance with Michael. "Is that how we healed Nasedo?" Michael asked, tilting his shaggy head back and staring up at the cone above them skeptically.
Whittaker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Last spring, when they took Max," Michael explained. "He was killed. Tess told us that he couldn't die, that we could bring him back." He shrugged. "We used the stones and we did it. We were here. I just thought that, maybe."
Whittaker didn't speak for a long moment, her eyes wide, as though thinking about it. Finally, she said, "That's strange. I guess you must have accessed some of the granolith's healing capabilities without even realizing it. The stones are a way to harness its power. Although, since Nasedo didn't know where the granolith was, I don't know how he would have known to have you bring him here." Shaking her head slowly, she seemed perplexed. "I'll admit, I don't understand the granolith fully myself."
Max stared at her. "What? I thought you [I]invented[/I] it. Liz remembered that. The granolith belonged to Serena."
Serena smiled slightly. "That's not entirely true. Rowena always gave me more credit than I deserved. The granolith existed on our planet long before I ever knew of it."
Michael interrupted briefly, "You mean on Valonia?"
"Yes. Its legend fascinated Rowena from the moment she became aware of it, as a young child. She was a queen, but she was a scientist, first and foremost. She wanted to understand everything, wanted to prove that all life had an explainable basis. To her, the granolith was the key to its secret meaning." Whittaker's eyes became unfocused, as she remembered her 'sister.' "But she never had enough time. Being heir to the throne took up more of her attention than she liked." She trailed off, sighing.
And, finally, Max understood exactly how Serena had come to exist. "So she cloned herself so that she could literally be in two places at once," he finished for her, shaking his head in amazement. He still could not quite grasp the magnitude of what Rowena had done, the immensity of what she had set in motion with her curiousity.
Whittaker looked at him seriously. "You make it sound like a bad thing," she commented. "My sister was brilliant. That she was even able to do such a thing."
"She was messing with things beyond her comprehension. She brought about the destruction of her own planet."
Max looked up, grimaced. Liz was standing slightly above them, obviously having heard the last bit. She had a slightly shell-shocked expression on her face. Max wondered if it was because of what she had just learned about her past life, or because of her conversation with Will.
"Liz." He began, holding out his hand to her. "It's okay."
She descended the last few steps without saying a word, coming to join him. "I know it is," she replied simply, although the bitterness of her tone seemed to indicate the complete opposite. "Because, really, in the end, this has nothing to do with me. I don't [I]remember[/I] being Rowena. Even Will has finally come to terms with the fact that we're no longer [I]them.[/I]"
"But you are," Whittaker insisted. "You are Rowena, Liz. You must accept this. Without you - all of you," she added, looking at Michael and then Max, "our system is doomed to continue its downward spiral. The people will not emerge from the darkness until their rulers return to lead them to the light."
"Their rulers were the ones who turned the lights [I]off[/I]," Liz snapped. "They don't need us."
"You're wrong. Our society was on the verge of a golden age, the cooperation between its inhabitants at its peak. This was because of who you all were, because of the relationships you had formed and the vision you all had for what could be. The shapeshifters ruined everything. They were the most trusted beings in our system and they used that to infiltrate everywhere. Including on Valonia, where Rowena was working to answer the last questions of our civilization."
"If things were as rosy as you say, the shapeshifters shouldn't have had any power at all," Liz told her. Her voice was sharp, uncompromising. "We all know how quickly the bonds between Sardica and Antar broke down. And that was Rowena's fault too. Not only was she trying to play God, she brought two other planets to their knees with her games."
Max could feel her tension through their connection. "Liz, what's wrong?" He asked under his breath. Things had clearly gone very badly with Will. Before their conversation, Liz had been much more accepting of who Rowena had been. Now she seemed determined to believe the absolute worst of her past-life alter-ego again. Although she had said moments ago that their actions in their past lives could not be blamed on them now, he could tell that she was beating herself up about something. And if it wasn't Rowena, about what she had done to Will, then what was it? "What did he say to you?"
"He didn't say anything," Liz replied, pulling her hand from his. She crossed her arms over her chest, as though she was cold. "I just want this over with. Can we please just do this?"
"Liz." There was absolutely no way he was doing anything until she told him what had happened between her and Will.
"Max, please." She turned her head, met his eyes. He could see the glimmer of tears shining in their dark depths. "Can we [I]please[/I] just do this?" she repeated. "I'm tired. I'm just so tired of talking and analyzing. I just want to [I]know[/I] the truth. I want to know, once and for all, exactly who I was. I'm telling you that we [I]need[/I] to bring Kate back, now, before this gets any worse."
He frowned. "Liz, I don't know. Are you sure?" He was seriously disturbed about letting her do anything at the present time, when she was so obviously upset. Why wouldn't she tell him what Will had said?
"I'm sure. Please, Max."
Max looked at Michael, who shrugged, obviously as perplexed as Max felt. Max could see that Whittaker was frowning, as though she wanted to argue further with Liz, to convince her that what Rowena had done had been good, that it had been others who had twisted her scientific achievements to be used for their own nefarious purposes.
But, in the end, Liz was right. Nothing could convince her better than knowing for herself. They [I]needed[/I] their memories back. They could not wait any longer.
Max reached out, pulled Liz to him and dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. She was so strong, but even she had her limits. Dealing with Will had obviously been the last straw. He wasn't sure what she had learned that had so upset her, wished that there was time to really press her, but she was right about one thing. Kate needed to be brought back sooner, rather than later. They owed it to her.
If this was what Liz wanted, then it was what they would do. "Okay," he said simply, pulling her against his chest and stroking her dark hair comfortingly. He felt a flash of relief, when she brought her arms up and hugged him tightly.
"I'll go get the others," Michael said quietly, already disappearing up the lighted staircase.
"Liz," Whittaker began, after Michael disappeared. "You really can't blame yourself."
"I told you. I'm not blaming myself," Liz said firmly, pulling slightly away from Max to address her. "But I can't just take anyone's word for it anymore. Will remembers thing so differently from everything we've been told. Because of that, he's pretty screwed up right now. I just can't listen to anyone else's version of events anymore. Can you understand that?" Her voice had gentled by the end of this, as though she finally recognized how rudely she had been speaking to Serena.
Max met Whittaker's eyes. She was obviously upset. "Liz is right," he told her. "We need to know for ourselves. Nothing you tell us will ever convince us better."
Whittaker sighed, then nodded. She had no chance to say anything else anyway, because footsteps were already sounding on the stairs above their heads. Within moments, the entire group from the pod chamber had joined them.
Max watched Will approach. He couldn't help the slight scowl that appeared on his face at the sight of his nemesis. Whatever Liz had said, Max knew that Will was somehow responsible for her upset. Will met his gaze squarely for a moment, glanced briefly at Liz, who was still standing close to him, and then looked away. He expression remained blank, annoying Max even more.
"You managed to get rid of your bodyguard, I see." Whittaker addressed this to Tess, who was standing next to Kyle.
The small blonde nodded. "I sent him outside to guard the entrance. He seemed okay with that. He understands protocol, knows that he has nothing to do with what's going on down here. As long as I don't try and leave here without him, he won't bug us." Tess was addressing Whittaker, but her eyes were on Liz, her forehead slightly creased, as though she could sense her sister's disquiet. "He apparently thinks you're all willing to give me my just due," she added wryly, while her gaze shifted to Max's, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
Max shook his head slightly, warning her not to start in on Liz. The last thing his girlfriend needed at the moment was the third degree again.
"So, what's the process?" Michael asked Whittaker, eager as always to get started.
"Is this even going to work for us?" Jack spoke up. Max glanced at him, surprised. The other new alien boy was so quiet, Max barely knew what his voice sounded like. But, now, with Kate gone, and Will pretty much mute, he appeared to realize he was the only one able to speak for the Sardicans.
It took Max a moment to understand that Jack was actually talking about himself and Isabel though. He didn't, in fact, until Jack added, "I mean, we apparently aren't aliens anymore."
"It will work," Whittaker assured him. "Whatever Nasedo told you, your essences cannot be stolen. The fact that you live means that they're there. He has thrown your balance off, encouraging your human side to dominate. The healing stones will restore your balance when you use them to help Kate."
"Like they did for Nasedo," Michael suggested, obviously putting the pieces together in his mind.
Whittaker looked at him. "You are referring to.?" she asked.
"He got his balance all thrown out of whack a long time ago," Michael explained. "A native elder on a local reservation told us all about it. River Dog was able to restore his balance using the rocks. Max, Isabel, Maria, and Alex did the same for me a few months ago."
"That makes sense," Whittaker replied. "Anyone can use the stones. They are merely a tool to help you focus your energy. They have no power themselves. You will use that focus to access the granolith's healing properties to revive Kate."
"Jeez. Is there anything this granolith [I]can't[/I] do?" Kyle demanded. "It clones, it heals, it's a time machine! Does it make pretty little roses out of tomatoes?"
"I don't suppose we'll ever know all of its possibilities," Whittaker told him, her voice reflecting her amusement. "They are as limitless as our imaginations."
"Have you thought about the time machine aspect?" Liz asked, making Max jump slightly. He hadn't expected her to delay matters by questioning Whittaker. He knew that she, more than anyone, just wanted to get on with things.
"Michael told me a little bit about your visit, Liz," Whittaker told her. "I wish I could tell you how I did that."
"So, you think [I]you[/I] did it?" Tess interrupted, sounding disappointed. "We just assumed it was me."
"From what I understand, Tess, you were gone," Whittaker reminded her. "It was your absence that caused all the problems in the first place. It seems unlikely that it was you." She paused, then added gently, "I'm unsure if you would have ever accessed the secrets of the granolith anyway."
"Why not?" Tess demanded, sounding a little put-out. "Am I not smart enough this time?"
"That's not it at all," Whittaker assured her. "The problem is, you are not entirely [I]me[/I]."
"Okay, what?" This came from Kyle, who was voicing all of their shock. "Are you telling us that Tess [I]isn't[/I] Serena?"
"She is," Whittaker replied, "but there is a reason that Nasedo insisted on vetting Tess to take Ava's place. Haven't you all understood by now that she was never part of Max, Michael and Isabel's four square? It's blatantly obvious. I coded you to be able to match up correctly." To Max, she sounded slightly exasperated, as though she was only just beginning to understand fully how far her plans had been thrown out of whack.
"Coded?" Tess asked, sounding as confused as Max felt.
"Colour coded," Whittaker told her. "You, Will, Kate and Jack are all blue- eyed, while the members of the other four-square all have dark eyes. Have none of you [I]ever[/I] noticed this?"
Max shrugged when he met Isabel's dark-eyed gaze, while they all looked around at each other, surprised. He had certainly noticed Tess's eyes when he'd first met her, as well as Kate's. In fact, he was beginning to realize that it had been something in their eyes that had helped him to recognize them. But since they hadn't known who they were, the idea that they should be matched up that way had never even occurred to them.
"I guess we noticed," Max replied for them all. "We just never understood what it meant."
"I think it [I]did[/I] work - kind of anyway," Isabel added. "When I first met Tess, it was her eyes that drew me to her. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think I recognized her because of them."
"Well, that's something anyway," Whittaker sighed. "Because you weren't supposed to have to recognize each other. If everything had gone according to plan, you would have all been raised together. The eye colour difference was mainly to make sure there was no Rowena/Serena confusion." She lowered her gaze. "That was Khivar's one condition for allowing me to clone everyone. I had to guarantee him there would be no chance of mistaken identity this time around."
Max grimaced, glanced down at Liz. She was looking at Will, whose jaw was tightly clenched.
Tess seemed to feel the tension that had abruptly entered the room, because she quickly interjected, "You said that Nasedo wanted [I]me[/I] for a reason." she prompted, encouraging Whittaker to change the subject.
"I didn't find out the truth until I lured you to that abandoned warehouse, Tess. When I hired Liz, I was trying to understand what had happened between all of you. The orbs being set off in May alerted everyone in Copper Summit that your four square had finally been united. But, when I came to check things out, nothing made sense. Liz was already gone, and [I]you[/I] had blue eyes. I knew that you weren't Rowena, and that you couldn't have set the orb off with the other three."
"That still doesn't explain why you took Tess," Liz told her. "I've never understood that."
"It was through my connection to Nasedo, when he was imitating Pierce, that I first learned about you, Liz. When you came back to Roswell, I arranged it so that you would apply for the job with me. It was when you and I discussed Tess that I finally understood the mistake you were all making. What I still didn't get was [I]why.[/I] I knew from Nasedo that Max was drawn to you, and, yet, you were all completely convinced that Max was supposed to be with Tess. It wasn't until I learned what Grant had done - that he had made you more human by implanting you in a human womb for a period of your gestation - that it began to make sense. None of you knew who Liz really was - that she was as alien as any of you."
"Can we just back up for a minute?" Michael demanded. "What was the deal with you and Nasedo anyway? Didn't he know who you were?"
"He knew," Whittaker replied grimly. "I don't think he knew for sure when I approached him, but he suspected. He gave me just enough information to make me hang myself. Taking Tess like I did was the final confirmation he needed."
"What I don't get is why Nasedo was so desperate to have me and Tess together?" Max asked.
"What difference did it make? He never intended for any of us to rule anyway. Why didn't he just kill us all?"
"And what about the book he made me find in the library?" Tess put in. Whittaker just looked at her. "Oh." She smiled, slightly embarrassed. "That was just meant to convince me to keep pursuing it, wasn't it?"
"You've all mistaken what Nasedo wanted," Whittaker said. She shook her head, sending her light brown hair swaying against her chin. "When I took Tess, I was planning to reveal to her who she really was, but once I had her, I realized it wasn't that simple. She wasn't entirely what I expected to find, just like Liz wasn't."
"What do you mean?" Tess asked, sounding a little frightened. "What's wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you," Whittaker assured her. "Nasedo wanted Max with Tess, because she holds elements of Ava of Knosis's genetic make-up in her DNA."
A long silence greeted this.
"So, I'm [I]not[/I] Serena?" Tess pressed, beginning to get upset. "Nasedo wasn't lying?" She glanced at Liz, her disappointment obvious.
"No, you [I]are[/I]," Whittaker replied. "Just let me finish explaining. You have to understand why Nicholas and I came to Earth. About a year after Nasedo left Antar with you all, Khivar managed to get his hands on the shapeshifters who helped me create the pods. They had disappeared almost immediately, taking all my research with them, revealing with that action that they had been working against us all along." She paused, grimacing slightly. "It was then that they told us about the deal that the Knosians had made with the Wendarians."
Max eyed her suspiciously, wondering exactly what Khivar and Serena had done to get that information. It seemed unlikely, that after all their plotting, the shapeshifters would have just randomly chosen to tell the truth. He decided not to dwell on it at the moment though. For the first time since he had come into the granolith, an emotion flashed across Will's face. Max recognized it as revulsion - at himself. Or at least at that other version of himself.
If Khivar and Serena had indeed stooped to torture, no one needed to know about it. At least, not now.
"The deal was that the Knosians would support Nasedo's return with the eight royals, would support his rule, on Antar, as regent for the human replicas and their children, as long as Ava continued as Zan's wife," Whittaker elaborated, seemingly unaware of the unease that had flashed around the room. "They wanted one of their off-spring to be heir to the throne of Antar. It was completely opposite to what I had intended by cloning myself and Rowena. There were supposed to be two of us again. One for Zan and one for Khivar. But, this time, everyone would know the truth from the very beginning. The reason for all the conflict between the kings would cease to exist."
"Khivar was okay with this?" Jack asked. "Are you telling me that the other Khivar knows who you really are?"
Whittaker lowered her eyes briefly. "He knows," she said. Max could hear the pain in her voice. It seemed pretty clear that the other Khivar wasn't too happy about it. "He has accepted the truth, but our personal relationship is over. The ties between us now exist only to ensure the restoration of the monarchies under our reborn replicas."
"If he's accepted that I'm supposed to be with Serena, then why was I led to believe differently?" This came from Will, whose disgust seemed to be growing exponentially with every word that came out of Whittaker's mouth.
"I'm sure that was Nicholas's doing," Grant informed him. The other shapeshifter was standing near the stairs and had been listening quietly until now. "He obviously used the fact that your pods released you early, without all the memories you were intended to have, to his advantage."
"I thought Nicholas was on Khivar's side," Maria said. "Why would he try to undermine what his boss was trying to do?"
Grant rolled his eyes. "Nicholas was a slimeball and an opportunist. I'm sure he knew how Khivar really felt, in his heart. Khivar is a good guy and I believe he was willing to let the new Rowena be with Zan. But Nicholas wasn't about to settle for his king having second-best if he could help it. Rowena was the one both Zan and Khivar wanted. And, since Khivar was Nicholas's king, he was the one who was going to win that particular power struggle. No way Nicholas was going to allow himself to ally with the runner-up."
Max watched Whittaker flinch at each word coming from Grant's mouth. He felt horrible for her. He wondered if she had known that Nicholas had been working to undermine her almost the entire time they'd been on Earth. It likely wasn't nice to have the fact that her husband would have chosen someone else over her shoved in her face every five minutes.
"Why didn't you tell us any of this before?" Max demanded, hoping to end this line of conversation as quickly as possible.
"I told you," Grant replied, "I wasn't entirely sure of anything. Some stuff Will told me on the way here helped me to put two and two together. It only makes sense that he was undermining the mission all along."
"Where is he, anyway?" Jack asked.
"He's dead," Whittaker told him, her voice slightly dull now. "Nasedo killed him when he first took Will, Kate and Alex."
"How tragic," Kyle muttered, voicing the opinion of virtually everyone in the room. Max knew it was wrong to be relieved at the death of anyone, but Nicholas had been completely untrustworthy.
Not that he was entirely sure that Grant and Whittaker fell into the "trusted" camp either. But, at the moment, they didn't really have much of a choice other than to believe them.
"Nasedo was beginning to understand that Nicholas had been screwing with Will's head," Grant added, "but he couldn't be sure that it was going to continue. Nicholas never would have sided with Nasedo against Will. In the end, the little brat would have told the truth. Nasedo couldn't take that risk, so he killed him." He grimaced slightly. "He made it his goal to get rid of everyone who could have helped you all to know the truth about yourselves. The Crash turned out to be a big help because it messed with the timing in the pods and you were all even more helpless than you would have been if he'd raised you. The down-side was that he lost most of you for a while. Nicholas and the Skins managed to find Will, Kate and Jack before Nasedo could come back for them. Tess had already emerged early - I'm guessing because the shapeshifters had messed with her pod when they added Ava's genetic material - and he had her, but he made a mistake in leaving the others behind, because he lost them. He, of course, didn't know where the other four were, because I was the one who hid them."
"He wanted everyone dead?" Michael prompted, when Grant seemed finished. "Is that why he killed Courtney?"
There was a long pause. Grant glanced briefly at Isabel, then said quietly, "That was me. I impersonated Jack and did it. To prove my loyalty."
"God! That was you?" Isabel's disgust was obvious.
Max watched Grant look at her again, sadly this time, as though he knew he was irreparably damaging himself in her eyes. And, yet, he continued, "I did what I had to do to maintain my cover, your highness. He needed to believe I was on board or he would have just killed me too. She was dying anyway," he finished lamely.
"Not necessarily," Michael growled. "We could have saved her with the granolith."
"Not in time," Grant replied. "I knew you'd never trust her soon enough to make that possible."
"We would have if you'd come to us," Isabel snapped. "If we'd known she was no threat to us, we would have helped her."
"It seems highly unlikely that you would have trusted me quickly enough either to make that true."
"You didn't give us the chance!" Isabel exclaimed.
Grant met her eyes again. "I'm sorry, your highness."
Isabel's lips were pursed and her eyes flashed with outrage, but she said nothing more. She simply turned away from him. Max narrowed his gaze. He didn't want to feel sorry for the shapeshifter, - he was a killer - but he almost did. He was relieved that his sister had apparently no romantic interest in Grant any longer. He supposed that was why it was possible.
"I still don't understand why Nasedo wasn't just planning to kill us all?" Michael was asking. "I mean, why did he want us to go back at all? Couldn't your people just finish off the last of Khivar's resistance on Antar and take over? Nasedo could rule the whole system himself."
Grant took a deep breath, obviously forcing himself to get past his hurt at Isabel's anger. He then said, "You don't understand Wendarian culture, Michael. No Wendarian would want to rule in their own name. We believe in equality, no Wendarian sitting higher than another. Our one goal is the superiority of our entire race. It is much more in keeping with our ways to rule through the kings and queens the other races would accept. It is what my race has been doing for generations. In a manner of speaking, we have always been the power behind the throne, ruling in everything but name on Antar, Sardica, Valonia [I]and[/I] Knosis. This whole fiasco emerged from the fact that neither Zan, nor Khivar, nor Rowena would have ever allowed themselves to be controlled. It was Zan's strong will, Rowena's intelligence, and Khivar's sense of justice and fair-play that forced our hand."
"So Nasedo decided to bring us back as helpless no-nothings." Max shook his head, finally understanding. "He was going to suppress our alien sides to make us feel even more worthless to the system, and then he was going to take us back, set us up as puppets, and return the system to the status quo."
"Exactly," Grant told him. "But, first, he needed to destroy you all in your last lives."
"He didn't even have to do that," Liz said, sounding angry. "All they had to do was pull a few strings and we destroyed ourselves. So much for Zan's strong will, Rowena's intelligence, and Khivar's sense of fair-play," she added, mimicking Grant's earlier words, her sarcasm obvious.
Max looked down at her, concerned. She had been quiet through much of this, but, now, he could almost feel fury coming off of her in waves.
"Liz." Whittaker addressed her firmly, obviously frustrated again by Liz's cynicism. Max wasn't frustrated. He was scared. Liz was behaving entirely out of character. He looked at Will again, suspiciously. What [I]had[/I] he said to her? "They were all of those things," Whittaker was insisting. "They were played against each other. You will learn this in the granolith. None of it was their fault."
"No one is going to learn anything in the granolith, if you guys don't get your asses in gear and bring back Kate." This came from Alex, who was standing near where Kate's body was resting on a silvery table - one that didn't look entirely Earthly - in an alcove. "Can we please get the show on the road here?" Alex glared briefly at Max, silently demanding that he back him up.
Max felt a flash of guilt. Liz's emotions settled slightly, Max aware of it through their connection. He recognized her matching recognition of their inability to prioritize.
"Alex, we're sorry," she said, her tone much calmer. "We're being idiots. We can talk about all this stuff later."
Instantly, they were all in movement, Whittaker directing the seven conscious hybrids to their positions around the dark-haired girl's still body after Alex had moved her gently to the floor in the centre of the underground cave.
Before Max relocated, he squeezed Liz's hand, murmuring under his breath, "We're going to do this and then we're going talk. Alone." He met her eyes briefly. Liz's were unreadable as she looked away, not answering. Max frowned, sighing.
Moments later, he stood at Kate's head, where Whittaker had placed him, a healing stone lying in his open palms. Liz was directly across from him, at Kate's feet. Tess and Will, and Isabel and Michael, were also paired up, across from each other. To Max's surprise, Whittaker decided that Jack's participation wasn't necessary.
"It will work better to have clean connections between the pairs," she explained, after thinking about it briefly. "Since Kate is Jack's match, having him in there without her essence present might just muddy the waters."
"You'd think that would help," Jack insisted. "I'm the most strongly connected to her. I want to be involved."
Whittaker frowned slightly, obviously a little unsure. Max felt his first flash of trepidation. "Stand ready. We'll send you in if this doesn't work. You may be right, but I want to try it this way first."
"Do you know what you're doing?" Michael demanded, sounding suspicious. Max didn't blame him. He was beginning to wonder the exact same thing.
"In principle," Whittaker replied. "I can't say that I've ever seen this done before though. I know it will work, I'm just not sure exactly how."
Michael stared at her for a long moment, scowling. "Great," was all he said, although his tone was distinctly sarcastic.
"Okay, close your eyes and concentrate on connecting with each other," Whittaker instructed. Max complied, immediately sensing the tentative feelers the others were sending out in his direction.
"Whoa!" It was Kyle's voice. Max's eyes popped open briefly. He looked up at the cone above their head, which was beginning to burn brightly. Glancing down, he saw that the stone in his hands was doing the same.
His heart was pounding nervously, as he forced his eyes closed again. He realized that he could [I]feel[/I] something strange. There was energy he didn't recognize running through his veins. He briefly thought it was the others - that they were making a connection.
It was only when he became aware of Isabel, as a mental link between the two of them abruptly opened, that he realized that wasn't it at all. The energy was coming from the granolith.
He could hear Whittaker's voice on the edge of his consciousness, instructing them to use their combined energy to force Kate's essence to join them. They needed to draw it out of the granolith and back into her human body. Max understood what she wanted them to do, but he couldn't focus. Isabel's familiar presence was not disturbing, but as the others started to make themselves known, he felt overwhelmed.
Too much was happening at once. Max felt like his legs were about to give out on him. It was too intense. Something was wrong. This didn't feel [I]anything[/I] like what it had felt like to bring Michael's balance back. It hadn't felt like this when they'd brought Nasedo back to life either.
Something flashed in his mind - almost like he'd blinked - and, then, everything changed again.
[I]Max! Something's not right![/I]
Max felt like he was stumbling. He knew his sister wasn't yelling at him, but her voice was suddenly screaming through every nerve of his body. He forced his eyes open again, only to find he was no longer in the cave. He was standing in the same circle in the desert where they had pulled Michael back from the brink.
Looking around, he counted heads. Isabel was to his right, Michael to his left. Will and Tess were further away, standing at the end of their own spoke of the wheel. Kate was lying in the centre of the circle, motionless.
Calm overtook him. [I]Settle down, everyone.[/I] It was Will's voice. He was taking a step forward. Max could feel the tranquillity the other guy was sending out through the connection, succeeding in helping them all to regroup and focus. Max felt slight admiration. Whatever had been stuck in Will's craw earlier was apparently gone, now that they needed someone to step in and assume leadership of the situation.
[I]What's wrong?[/I] Tess asked, after a moment. [I]Isabel's right. I feel it too. Something isn't right.[/I]
But Max already knew. He was looking straight ahead, to the spoke of the wheel directly across from him.
It was Liz. She was missing. She wasn't there with the rest of them.
That was what had felt wrong. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he understood that it was true. He had been bearing the brunt of the energy that he was supposed to be sharing with Liz. He hadn't been because she wasn't in the connection. She had been left behind.
[I]Where's Liz?[/I] he demanded.
He watched them all turn their heads to stare at the spot where Liz was supposed to be standing. They all seemed to be moving in slow motion. Clearly, none of them had noticed the fact that she wasn't there. They had felt that something was wrong, but none of them had been able to figure out what. Max figured it was her absence that was causing the lack of focus. The energy wasn't being evenly distributed.
[I]Max, it's just like last time![/I] Isabel sounded annoyed. [I]Where[/I] is[I] she?[/I]
[I]We need to get out of here,[/I] Tess thought, beginning to sound a little hysterical. [I]Where is she? What happened to her?[/I] Her tone indicated that she wasn't angry, like Isabel, but, rather, worried. Max understood completely. This was about more than just Liz not showing up in the connection.
He knew it deep within himself. Something was wrong.
He couldn't feel her at all.
[I]Tess is right,[/I] Max told them all, trying to stay calm. [I]We need to let go of the connection, regroup and try again. We can't do this without Liz.[/I]
[I]Oh for.[/I] This came from Michael, but when Max looked at him sharply, he simply rolled his eyes, closed them, and seemed to be trying to release himself from the circle. Max watched his best friend, felt his eyes narrowing. Michael's expression was entirely too strained for what he was trying to do.
Several moments later, Michael's eyes were open again. Max saw Michael's fear, knew that it matched the almost strangling terror that was starting to crawl up his spine.
[I]Maxwell, I can't do it. I can't get out of here.[/I]
Max looked around at the others. They were all staring at each other, their combined mounting desperation clear.
They were trapped.
To be continued.
"Here, Alex."
Alex looked up. He was seated on the dirt floor of the pod chamber and had been staring off into space since Max, Michael and Whittaker had taken Kate's body into the granolith chamber. Maria joined him for a while, filling him in on the basics of what had been happening while he'd been gone, but she eventually went to talk to Isabel, seeming to understand that Alex wasn't really in the mood to converse.
And, so, Alex was surprised to hear Isabel's voice now . She was standing over him, a sandwich in her outstretched hand.
"Where'd that come from?" he asked, without interest.
"The sheriff. He brought some food with him when he came."
"Thanks Izzy, but I'm not hungry," he told her.
"Alex, you need to eat something," Isabel insisted. "I'll bet you haven't even thought about food since yesterday. It's just been so crazy around here." She leaned back against the wall next to him, slid down until she was sitting beside him on the filthy ground. He smiled slightly to himself. The Elle MacPherson of the junior class didn't seem to mind getting her jeans dirty when it mattered.
"Isabel, thanks, but I'm really not hungry." It was true. His stomach was in knots. While he believed Whittaker that Kate could be brought back, his nerves would not return to normal until she was alive and well and standing in front of him. He would eat then.
Isabel sighed. "Alex."
"Isabel, please," Alex snapped. "I said no."
"I was just going to say," she continued firmly, "this isn't just about you. You need to keep your strength up for her too, you know. She's going to need you."
Alex turned his head and stared at her. "Who?"
"You know [I]who[/I] I'm talking about. Kate," Isabel replied quietly. "I have a feeling that dying is going to be a whole lot more difficult to deal with than any loss of an alien side has been. And I know how hard [I]that[/I] is. You helped me, Alex. Just being with you helped me. She's going to need that too." Isabel looked away, her voice barely audible. "She's lucky to have you."
"Isabel, I don't even know what you're talking about," Alex told her. "Kate won't need me. She has Will, and she has Jack."
"That may be true," Isabel told him, "but it's you who hasn't taken your eyes off of her since she's been gone. It's you she needs. And even if I don't know her very well, I have a feeling that it's you she'll want. I was there when she came to get us Alex. You were all she cared about."
Alex met her eyes. He was surprised that Isabel would have noticed. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked. He couldn't deny that it was what he wanted to hear. It had only been after Kate was killed that he had understood exactly how much she had come to mean to him in the short time he'd known her. But he had never had a chance to find out if she felt the same way. His past experiences with alien princesses had told him to never take anything for granted, after all.
"Because you deserve someone who isn't totally screwed up, Alex," Isabel said. "Someone who understands what she has from the very beginning. I don't really know her, but I have a feeling that Kate is that person."
She sounded sad. Not for the first time, he wondered what was going through her beautiful blonde head. But, he realized, as much as he loved Isabel, for the moment, he really did have other things to worry about. If she wanted to support [I]him[/I] through something for once, well, he wasn't going to say no.
"Thanks, Iz."
"You're welcome." She handed him the sandwich and, as he ate it, they sat in comfortable silence.
When he was done, Isabel reached out and took his hand in hers. She looked back across the pod chamber, to where Grant stood. He was talking to the sheriff, but his eyes were on them. When he became aware of Alex's regard, he turned his head quickly, focusing on Kyle's father again.
"So, Maria told me a bit about who he is," Alex said tentatively. "What about you? Are you okay?"
Isabel shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "It's just kind of weird. I mean, I liked him, but I wasn't crazy about him. He was more of an excuse to try and pretend I was normal. I guess it's romantic that he betrayed his entire race for me, but I don't even really know who he is. I have no idea what any of it even means." She turned her head and met his eyes again. "You do understand that, Alex, don't you? That Grant was about trying to pretend I'm not who I am?"
Alex sighed. He wondered why Isabel's motivations over the past few months were so clear to him now, when he wasn't nearly as emotionally invested in her every move. He really could have used the insight he now had a week ago. "You wanted someone who didn't know anything about the abyss, am I right?"
"How ironic is that?" She sighed again. "I mean, I've realized now that I'll never get majorly involved with someone who doesn't know the truth about me. It's just not fair to do that to anyone. Our lives don't even really belong to us. I know that too well now." She squeezed his hand. "But, I'm not ready to be that serious with anyone. That's why I backed off from you, Alex. It's because you know who I really am. With you, it would have been too much, too fast. I need to know who [I]I[/I] am first." She looked at him anxiously. "Does that make any sense?"
"It totally does," Alex told her. "And I do understand, Isabel." He looked at her for a long moment, wondering whether he should just tell her the truth.
Since they were being honest, he decided to go for broke. There was no way of knowing what the future might bring. The last forty-eight hours had more than proven that life - particularly alien life - was fragile. She was his best friend, his first love. He needed her to know how he felt. "I just wish you'd told me that from the very beginning. If you just want to be friends, I am totally fine with that. I love you. I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you."
"I love you too, Alex," Isabel replied, tears in her dark eyes. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Maybe someday." She trailed off, suddenly sounding uncertain, but also a little hopeful.
Alex frowned slightly again. Maybe. But he didn't think so. Not if things turned out the way he was beginning to realize he wanted them to. He just hoped that Isabel had been telling the truth earlier - that she was going to be able to handle him getting involved with someone else. Particularly with someone like Kate, who was so similar to Isabel in so many ways, and, yet, totally herself. Someone who was fine with her alien baggage, but seemed, if Isabel was right, ready to explore the more human side of living on Earth.
He loved Isabel and he had not been lying when he'd said that he'd always be there for her. It was what he wanted, what he hoped would be possible. But, in the end, he knew that it might not play out that way. That he might be forced to make a choice and, that, he might not be able to choose her.
Closing his eyes, Alex leaned back against the wall again, enjoying being close to Isabel one last time. There was time to worry about all the rest of it later. For now, while he waited for later, he needed her. And, for once, he was going to take what he needed, damning the consequences.
***
"I thought we needed all eight of us to make it work," Michael said. "If Kate's dead, how is she supposed to help?"
Max looked at Whittaker, glad that Michael had been the one to ask the question. He would have thought of it himself eventually, but he was a little preoccupied. He was worried about Liz. He could feel that something upsetting was taking place between her and Will. Max's connection to her was burning stronger with every passing hour. He figured it had something to do with the granolith, and, maybe, also with the fact that all eight hybrids had finally been brought together in close proximity.
Or it might just be that he fell a little more in love with her with every passing hour.
Max wasn't sure how it could even happen, but it was the truth. Her joy at his return made his heart swell even now, just thinking of it, reminding him that once upon a time he had been unable to even imagine the possibility that she might someday feel as much for him as he did for her. That she did.It was humbling.
He felt sorry for Will, which was why he had been amenable to Liz trying to explain things to him herself. While Liz would never [I]belong[/I] to anyone, she had chosen Max. He had lived through the experience of feeling that she had decided on someone else - the mere thought of the horrible night of the Gomez concert still sent a shiver down his spine - and he wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not even on his worst enemy, which Will clearly no longer was. Liz would try and break the news of all that had transpired - in this life and that other one - as gently as possible. But it would still suck for Will, no ifs,ands or buts about it. Max knew that he would never have been able to accept it had it been the other way around. He only hoped that Will's relatively short acquaintance with Liz would make it easier on him.
He understood why Liz was upset. She never liked to hurt anyone. And Will was going to be hurt. But, in the end, it was better to be honest. Secrets and lies were what had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. The shapeshifters had excelled at both. He wouldn't allow the society they were going to try and rebuild suffer the same fate again because of them.
"Her human body has died, but her alien essence lives on in the granolith," Whittaker explained patiently. "We'll use the healing stones to help guide it back into her body."
Max exchanged a glance with Michael. "Is that how we healed Nasedo?" Michael asked, tilting his shaggy head back and staring up at the cone above them skeptically.
Whittaker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Last spring, when they took Max," Michael explained. "He was killed. Tess told us that he couldn't die, that we could bring him back." He shrugged. "We used the stones and we did it. We were here. I just thought that, maybe."
Whittaker didn't speak for a long moment, her eyes wide, as though thinking about it. Finally, she said, "That's strange. I guess you must have accessed some of the granolith's healing capabilities without even realizing it. The stones are a way to harness its power. Although, since Nasedo didn't know where the granolith was, I don't know how he would have known to have you bring him here." Shaking her head slowly, she seemed perplexed. "I'll admit, I don't understand the granolith fully myself."
Max stared at her. "What? I thought you [I]invented[/I] it. Liz remembered that. The granolith belonged to Serena."
Serena smiled slightly. "That's not entirely true. Rowena always gave me more credit than I deserved. The granolith existed on our planet long before I ever knew of it."
Michael interrupted briefly, "You mean on Valonia?"
"Yes. Its legend fascinated Rowena from the moment she became aware of it, as a young child. She was a queen, but she was a scientist, first and foremost. She wanted to understand everything, wanted to prove that all life had an explainable basis. To her, the granolith was the key to its secret meaning." Whittaker's eyes became unfocused, as she remembered her 'sister.' "But she never had enough time. Being heir to the throne took up more of her attention than she liked." She trailed off, sighing.
And, finally, Max understood exactly how Serena had come to exist. "So she cloned herself so that she could literally be in two places at once," he finished for her, shaking his head in amazement. He still could not quite grasp the magnitude of what Rowena had done, the immensity of what she had set in motion with her curiousity.
Whittaker looked at him seriously. "You make it sound like a bad thing," she commented. "My sister was brilliant. That she was even able to do such a thing."
"She was messing with things beyond her comprehension. She brought about the destruction of her own planet."
Max looked up, grimaced. Liz was standing slightly above them, obviously having heard the last bit. She had a slightly shell-shocked expression on her face. Max wondered if it was because of what she had just learned about her past life, or because of her conversation with Will.
"Liz." He began, holding out his hand to her. "It's okay."
She descended the last few steps without saying a word, coming to join him. "I know it is," she replied simply, although the bitterness of her tone seemed to indicate the complete opposite. "Because, really, in the end, this has nothing to do with me. I don't [I]remember[/I] being Rowena. Even Will has finally come to terms with the fact that we're no longer [I]them.[/I]"
"But you are," Whittaker insisted. "You are Rowena, Liz. You must accept this. Without you - all of you," she added, looking at Michael and then Max, "our system is doomed to continue its downward spiral. The people will not emerge from the darkness until their rulers return to lead them to the light."
"Their rulers were the ones who turned the lights [I]off[/I]," Liz snapped. "They don't need us."
"You're wrong. Our society was on the verge of a golden age, the cooperation between its inhabitants at its peak. This was because of who you all were, because of the relationships you had formed and the vision you all had for what could be. The shapeshifters ruined everything. They were the most trusted beings in our system and they used that to infiltrate everywhere. Including on Valonia, where Rowena was working to answer the last questions of our civilization."
"If things were as rosy as you say, the shapeshifters shouldn't have had any power at all," Liz told her. Her voice was sharp, uncompromising. "We all know how quickly the bonds between Sardica and Antar broke down. And that was Rowena's fault too. Not only was she trying to play God, she brought two other planets to their knees with her games."
Max could feel her tension through their connection. "Liz, what's wrong?" He asked under his breath. Things had clearly gone very badly with Will. Before their conversation, Liz had been much more accepting of who Rowena had been. Now she seemed determined to believe the absolute worst of her past-life alter-ego again. Although she had said moments ago that their actions in their past lives could not be blamed on them now, he could tell that she was beating herself up about something. And if it wasn't Rowena, about what she had done to Will, then what was it? "What did he say to you?"
"He didn't say anything," Liz replied, pulling her hand from his. She crossed her arms over her chest, as though she was cold. "I just want this over with. Can we please just do this?"
"Liz." There was absolutely no way he was doing anything until she told him what had happened between her and Will.
"Max, please." She turned her head, met his eyes. He could see the glimmer of tears shining in their dark depths. "Can we [I]please[/I] just do this?" she repeated. "I'm tired. I'm just so tired of talking and analyzing. I just want to [I]know[/I] the truth. I want to know, once and for all, exactly who I was. I'm telling you that we [I]need[/I] to bring Kate back, now, before this gets any worse."
He frowned. "Liz, I don't know. Are you sure?" He was seriously disturbed about letting her do anything at the present time, when she was so obviously upset. Why wouldn't she tell him what Will had said?
"I'm sure. Please, Max."
Max looked at Michael, who shrugged, obviously as perplexed as Max felt. Max could see that Whittaker was frowning, as though she wanted to argue further with Liz, to convince her that what Rowena had done had been good, that it had been others who had twisted her scientific achievements to be used for their own nefarious purposes.
But, in the end, Liz was right. Nothing could convince her better than knowing for herself. They [I]needed[/I] their memories back. They could not wait any longer.
Max reached out, pulled Liz to him and dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. She was so strong, but even she had her limits. Dealing with Will had obviously been the last straw. He wasn't sure what she had learned that had so upset her, wished that there was time to really press her, but she was right about one thing. Kate needed to be brought back sooner, rather than later. They owed it to her.
If this was what Liz wanted, then it was what they would do. "Okay," he said simply, pulling her against his chest and stroking her dark hair comfortingly. He felt a flash of relief, when she brought her arms up and hugged him tightly.
"I'll go get the others," Michael said quietly, already disappearing up the lighted staircase.
"Liz," Whittaker began, after Michael disappeared. "You really can't blame yourself."
"I told you. I'm not blaming myself," Liz said firmly, pulling slightly away from Max to address her. "But I can't just take anyone's word for it anymore. Will remembers thing so differently from everything we've been told. Because of that, he's pretty screwed up right now. I just can't listen to anyone else's version of events anymore. Can you understand that?" Her voice had gentled by the end of this, as though she finally recognized how rudely she had been speaking to Serena.
Max met Whittaker's eyes. She was obviously upset. "Liz is right," he told her. "We need to know for ourselves. Nothing you tell us will ever convince us better."
Whittaker sighed, then nodded. She had no chance to say anything else anyway, because footsteps were already sounding on the stairs above their heads. Within moments, the entire group from the pod chamber had joined them.
Max watched Will approach. He couldn't help the slight scowl that appeared on his face at the sight of his nemesis. Whatever Liz had said, Max knew that Will was somehow responsible for her upset. Will met his gaze squarely for a moment, glanced briefly at Liz, who was still standing close to him, and then looked away. He expression remained blank, annoying Max even more.
"You managed to get rid of your bodyguard, I see." Whittaker addressed this to Tess, who was standing next to Kyle.
The small blonde nodded. "I sent him outside to guard the entrance. He seemed okay with that. He understands protocol, knows that he has nothing to do with what's going on down here. As long as I don't try and leave here without him, he won't bug us." Tess was addressing Whittaker, but her eyes were on Liz, her forehead slightly creased, as though she could sense her sister's disquiet. "He apparently thinks you're all willing to give me my just due," she added wryly, while her gaze shifted to Max's, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
Max shook his head slightly, warning her not to start in on Liz. The last thing his girlfriend needed at the moment was the third degree again.
"So, what's the process?" Michael asked Whittaker, eager as always to get started.
"Is this even going to work for us?" Jack spoke up. Max glanced at him, surprised. The other new alien boy was so quiet, Max barely knew what his voice sounded like. But, now, with Kate gone, and Will pretty much mute, he appeared to realize he was the only one able to speak for the Sardicans.
It took Max a moment to understand that Jack was actually talking about himself and Isabel though. He didn't, in fact, until Jack added, "I mean, we apparently aren't aliens anymore."
"It will work," Whittaker assured him. "Whatever Nasedo told you, your essences cannot be stolen. The fact that you live means that they're there. He has thrown your balance off, encouraging your human side to dominate. The healing stones will restore your balance when you use them to help Kate."
"Like they did for Nasedo," Michael suggested, obviously putting the pieces together in his mind.
Whittaker looked at him. "You are referring to.?" she asked.
"He got his balance all thrown out of whack a long time ago," Michael explained. "A native elder on a local reservation told us all about it. River Dog was able to restore his balance using the rocks. Max, Isabel, Maria, and Alex did the same for me a few months ago."
"That makes sense," Whittaker replied. "Anyone can use the stones. They are merely a tool to help you focus your energy. They have no power themselves. You will use that focus to access the granolith's healing properties to revive Kate."
"Jeez. Is there anything this granolith [I]can't[/I] do?" Kyle demanded. "It clones, it heals, it's a time machine! Does it make pretty little roses out of tomatoes?"
"I don't suppose we'll ever know all of its possibilities," Whittaker told him, her voice reflecting her amusement. "They are as limitless as our imaginations."
"Have you thought about the time machine aspect?" Liz asked, making Max jump slightly. He hadn't expected her to delay matters by questioning Whittaker. He knew that she, more than anyone, just wanted to get on with things.
"Michael told me a little bit about your visit, Liz," Whittaker told her. "I wish I could tell you how I did that."
"So, you think [I]you[/I] did it?" Tess interrupted, sounding disappointed. "We just assumed it was me."
"From what I understand, Tess, you were gone," Whittaker reminded her. "It was your absence that caused all the problems in the first place. It seems unlikely that it was you." She paused, then added gently, "I'm unsure if you would have ever accessed the secrets of the granolith anyway."
"Why not?" Tess demanded, sounding a little put-out. "Am I not smart enough this time?"
"That's not it at all," Whittaker assured her. "The problem is, you are not entirely [I]me[/I]."
"Okay, what?" This came from Kyle, who was voicing all of their shock. "Are you telling us that Tess [I]isn't[/I] Serena?"
"She is," Whittaker replied, "but there is a reason that Nasedo insisted on vetting Tess to take Ava's place. Haven't you all understood by now that she was never part of Max, Michael and Isabel's four square? It's blatantly obvious. I coded you to be able to match up correctly." To Max, she sounded slightly exasperated, as though she was only just beginning to understand fully how far her plans had been thrown out of whack.
"Coded?" Tess asked, sounding as confused as Max felt.
"Colour coded," Whittaker told her. "You, Will, Kate and Jack are all blue- eyed, while the members of the other four-square all have dark eyes. Have none of you [I]ever[/I] noticed this?"
Max shrugged when he met Isabel's dark-eyed gaze, while they all looked around at each other, surprised. He had certainly noticed Tess's eyes when he'd first met her, as well as Kate's. In fact, he was beginning to realize that it had been something in their eyes that had helped him to recognize them. But since they hadn't known who they were, the idea that they should be matched up that way had never even occurred to them.
"I guess we noticed," Max replied for them all. "We just never understood what it meant."
"I think it [I]did[/I] work - kind of anyway," Isabel added. "When I first met Tess, it was her eyes that drew me to her. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think I recognized her because of them."
"Well, that's something anyway," Whittaker sighed. "Because you weren't supposed to have to recognize each other. If everything had gone according to plan, you would have all been raised together. The eye colour difference was mainly to make sure there was no Rowena/Serena confusion." She lowered her gaze. "That was Khivar's one condition for allowing me to clone everyone. I had to guarantee him there would be no chance of mistaken identity this time around."
Max grimaced, glanced down at Liz. She was looking at Will, whose jaw was tightly clenched.
Tess seemed to feel the tension that had abruptly entered the room, because she quickly interjected, "You said that Nasedo wanted [I]me[/I] for a reason." she prompted, encouraging Whittaker to change the subject.
"I didn't find out the truth until I lured you to that abandoned warehouse, Tess. When I hired Liz, I was trying to understand what had happened between all of you. The orbs being set off in May alerted everyone in Copper Summit that your four square had finally been united. But, when I came to check things out, nothing made sense. Liz was already gone, and [I]you[/I] had blue eyes. I knew that you weren't Rowena, and that you couldn't have set the orb off with the other three."
"That still doesn't explain why you took Tess," Liz told her. "I've never understood that."
"It was through my connection to Nasedo, when he was imitating Pierce, that I first learned about you, Liz. When you came back to Roswell, I arranged it so that you would apply for the job with me. It was when you and I discussed Tess that I finally understood the mistake you were all making. What I still didn't get was [I]why.[/I] I knew from Nasedo that Max was drawn to you, and, yet, you were all completely convinced that Max was supposed to be with Tess. It wasn't until I learned what Grant had done - that he had made you more human by implanting you in a human womb for a period of your gestation - that it began to make sense. None of you knew who Liz really was - that she was as alien as any of you."
"Can we just back up for a minute?" Michael demanded. "What was the deal with you and Nasedo anyway? Didn't he know who you were?"
"He knew," Whittaker replied grimly. "I don't think he knew for sure when I approached him, but he suspected. He gave me just enough information to make me hang myself. Taking Tess like I did was the final confirmation he needed."
"What I don't get is why Nasedo was so desperate to have me and Tess together?" Max asked.
"What difference did it make? He never intended for any of us to rule anyway. Why didn't he just kill us all?"
"And what about the book he made me find in the library?" Tess put in. Whittaker just looked at her. "Oh." She smiled, slightly embarrassed. "That was just meant to convince me to keep pursuing it, wasn't it?"
"You've all mistaken what Nasedo wanted," Whittaker said. She shook her head, sending her light brown hair swaying against her chin. "When I took Tess, I was planning to reveal to her who she really was, but once I had her, I realized it wasn't that simple. She wasn't entirely what I expected to find, just like Liz wasn't."
"What do you mean?" Tess asked, sounding a little frightened. "What's wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you," Whittaker assured her. "Nasedo wanted Max with Tess, because she holds elements of Ava of Knosis's genetic make-up in her DNA."
A long silence greeted this.
"So, I'm [I]not[/I] Serena?" Tess pressed, beginning to get upset. "Nasedo wasn't lying?" She glanced at Liz, her disappointment obvious.
"No, you [I]are[/I]," Whittaker replied. "Just let me finish explaining. You have to understand why Nicholas and I came to Earth. About a year after Nasedo left Antar with you all, Khivar managed to get his hands on the shapeshifters who helped me create the pods. They had disappeared almost immediately, taking all my research with them, revealing with that action that they had been working against us all along." She paused, grimacing slightly. "It was then that they told us about the deal that the Knosians had made with the Wendarians."
Max eyed her suspiciously, wondering exactly what Khivar and Serena had done to get that information. It seemed unlikely, that after all their plotting, the shapeshifters would have just randomly chosen to tell the truth. He decided not to dwell on it at the moment though. For the first time since he had come into the granolith, an emotion flashed across Will's face. Max recognized it as revulsion - at himself. Or at least at that other version of himself.
If Khivar and Serena had indeed stooped to torture, no one needed to know about it. At least, not now.
"The deal was that the Knosians would support Nasedo's return with the eight royals, would support his rule, on Antar, as regent for the human replicas and their children, as long as Ava continued as Zan's wife," Whittaker elaborated, seemingly unaware of the unease that had flashed around the room. "They wanted one of their off-spring to be heir to the throne of Antar. It was completely opposite to what I had intended by cloning myself and Rowena. There were supposed to be two of us again. One for Zan and one for Khivar. But, this time, everyone would know the truth from the very beginning. The reason for all the conflict between the kings would cease to exist."
"Khivar was okay with this?" Jack asked. "Are you telling me that the other Khivar knows who you really are?"
Whittaker lowered her eyes briefly. "He knows," she said. Max could hear the pain in her voice. It seemed pretty clear that the other Khivar wasn't too happy about it. "He has accepted the truth, but our personal relationship is over. The ties between us now exist only to ensure the restoration of the monarchies under our reborn replicas."
"If he's accepted that I'm supposed to be with Serena, then why was I led to believe differently?" This came from Will, whose disgust seemed to be growing exponentially with every word that came out of Whittaker's mouth.
"I'm sure that was Nicholas's doing," Grant informed him. The other shapeshifter was standing near the stairs and had been listening quietly until now. "He obviously used the fact that your pods released you early, without all the memories you were intended to have, to his advantage."
"I thought Nicholas was on Khivar's side," Maria said. "Why would he try to undermine what his boss was trying to do?"
Grant rolled his eyes. "Nicholas was a slimeball and an opportunist. I'm sure he knew how Khivar really felt, in his heart. Khivar is a good guy and I believe he was willing to let the new Rowena be with Zan. But Nicholas wasn't about to settle for his king having second-best if he could help it. Rowena was the one both Zan and Khivar wanted. And, since Khivar was Nicholas's king, he was the one who was going to win that particular power struggle. No way Nicholas was going to allow himself to ally with the runner-up."
Max watched Whittaker flinch at each word coming from Grant's mouth. He felt horrible for her. He wondered if she had known that Nicholas had been working to undermine her almost the entire time they'd been on Earth. It likely wasn't nice to have the fact that her husband would have chosen someone else over her shoved in her face every five minutes.
"Why didn't you tell us any of this before?" Max demanded, hoping to end this line of conversation as quickly as possible.
"I told you," Grant replied, "I wasn't entirely sure of anything. Some stuff Will told me on the way here helped me to put two and two together. It only makes sense that he was undermining the mission all along."
"Where is he, anyway?" Jack asked.
"He's dead," Whittaker told him, her voice slightly dull now. "Nasedo killed him when he first took Will, Kate and Alex."
"How tragic," Kyle muttered, voicing the opinion of virtually everyone in the room. Max knew it was wrong to be relieved at the death of anyone, but Nicholas had been completely untrustworthy.
Not that he was entirely sure that Grant and Whittaker fell into the "trusted" camp either. But, at the moment, they didn't really have much of a choice other than to believe them.
"Nasedo was beginning to understand that Nicholas had been screwing with Will's head," Grant added, "but he couldn't be sure that it was going to continue. Nicholas never would have sided with Nasedo against Will. In the end, the little brat would have told the truth. Nasedo couldn't take that risk, so he killed him." He grimaced slightly. "He made it his goal to get rid of everyone who could have helped you all to know the truth about yourselves. The Crash turned out to be a big help because it messed with the timing in the pods and you were all even more helpless than you would have been if he'd raised you. The down-side was that he lost most of you for a while. Nicholas and the Skins managed to find Will, Kate and Jack before Nasedo could come back for them. Tess had already emerged early - I'm guessing because the shapeshifters had messed with her pod when they added Ava's genetic material - and he had her, but he made a mistake in leaving the others behind, because he lost them. He, of course, didn't know where the other four were, because I was the one who hid them."
"He wanted everyone dead?" Michael prompted, when Grant seemed finished. "Is that why he killed Courtney?"
There was a long pause. Grant glanced briefly at Isabel, then said quietly, "That was me. I impersonated Jack and did it. To prove my loyalty."
"God! That was you?" Isabel's disgust was obvious.
Max watched Grant look at her again, sadly this time, as though he knew he was irreparably damaging himself in her eyes. And, yet, he continued, "I did what I had to do to maintain my cover, your highness. He needed to believe I was on board or he would have just killed me too. She was dying anyway," he finished lamely.
"Not necessarily," Michael growled. "We could have saved her with the granolith."
"Not in time," Grant replied. "I knew you'd never trust her soon enough to make that possible."
"We would have if you'd come to us," Isabel snapped. "If we'd known she was no threat to us, we would have helped her."
"It seems highly unlikely that you would have trusted me quickly enough either to make that true."
"You didn't give us the chance!" Isabel exclaimed.
Grant met her eyes again. "I'm sorry, your highness."
Isabel's lips were pursed and her eyes flashed with outrage, but she said nothing more. She simply turned away from him. Max narrowed his gaze. He didn't want to feel sorry for the shapeshifter, - he was a killer - but he almost did. He was relieved that his sister had apparently no romantic interest in Grant any longer. He supposed that was why it was possible.
"I still don't understand why Nasedo wasn't just planning to kill us all?" Michael was asking. "I mean, why did he want us to go back at all? Couldn't your people just finish off the last of Khivar's resistance on Antar and take over? Nasedo could rule the whole system himself."
Grant took a deep breath, obviously forcing himself to get past his hurt at Isabel's anger. He then said, "You don't understand Wendarian culture, Michael. No Wendarian would want to rule in their own name. We believe in equality, no Wendarian sitting higher than another. Our one goal is the superiority of our entire race. It is much more in keeping with our ways to rule through the kings and queens the other races would accept. It is what my race has been doing for generations. In a manner of speaking, we have always been the power behind the throne, ruling in everything but name on Antar, Sardica, Valonia [I]and[/I] Knosis. This whole fiasco emerged from the fact that neither Zan, nor Khivar, nor Rowena would have ever allowed themselves to be controlled. It was Zan's strong will, Rowena's intelligence, and Khivar's sense of justice and fair-play that forced our hand."
"So Nasedo decided to bring us back as helpless no-nothings." Max shook his head, finally understanding. "He was going to suppress our alien sides to make us feel even more worthless to the system, and then he was going to take us back, set us up as puppets, and return the system to the status quo."
"Exactly," Grant told him. "But, first, he needed to destroy you all in your last lives."
"He didn't even have to do that," Liz said, sounding angry. "All they had to do was pull a few strings and we destroyed ourselves. So much for Zan's strong will, Rowena's intelligence, and Khivar's sense of fair-play," she added, mimicking Grant's earlier words, her sarcasm obvious.
Max looked down at her, concerned. She had been quiet through much of this, but, now, he could almost feel fury coming off of her in waves.
"Liz." Whittaker addressed her firmly, obviously frustrated again by Liz's cynicism. Max wasn't frustrated. He was scared. Liz was behaving entirely out of character. He looked at Will again, suspiciously. What [I]had[/I] he said to her? "They were all of those things," Whittaker was insisting. "They were played against each other. You will learn this in the granolith. None of it was their fault."
"No one is going to learn anything in the granolith, if you guys don't get your asses in gear and bring back Kate." This came from Alex, who was standing near where Kate's body was resting on a silvery table - one that didn't look entirely Earthly - in an alcove. "Can we please get the show on the road here?" Alex glared briefly at Max, silently demanding that he back him up.
Max felt a flash of guilt. Liz's emotions settled slightly, Max aware of it through their connection. He recognized her matching recognition of their inability to prioritize.
"Alex, we're sorry," she said, her tone much calmer. "We're being idiots. We can talk about all this stuff later."
Instantly, they were all in movement, Whittaker directing the seven conscious hybrids to their positions around the dark-haired girl's still body after Alex had moved her gently to the floor in the centre of the underground cave.
Before Max relocated, he squeezed Liz's hand, murmuring under his breath, "We're going to do this and then we're going talk. Alone." He met her eyes briefly. Liz's were unreadable as she looked away, not answering. Max frowned, sighing.
Moments later, he stood at Kate's head, where Whittaker had placed him, a healing stone lying in his open palms. Liz was directly across from him, at Kate's feet. Tess and Will, and Isabel and Michael, were also paired up, across from each other. To Max's surprise, Whittaker decided that Jack's participation wasn't necessary.
"It will work better to have clean connections between the pairs," she explained, after thinking about it briefly. "Since Kate is Jack's match, having him in there without her essence present might just muddy the waters."
"You'd think that would help," Jack insisted. "I'm the most strongly connected to her. I want to be involved."
Whittaker frowned slightly, obviously a little unsure. Max felt his first flash of trepidation. "Stand ready. We'll send you in if this doesn't work. You may be right, but I want to try it this way first."
"Do you know what you're doing?" Michael demanded, sounding suspicious. Max didn't blame him. He was beginning to wonder the exact same thing.
"In principle," Whittaker replied. "I can't say that I've ever seen this done before though. I know it will work, I'm just not sure exactly how."
Michael stared at her for a long moment, scowling. "Great," was all he said, although his tone was distinctly sarcastic.
"Okay, close your eyes and concentrate on connecting with each other," Whittaker instructed. Max complied, immediately sensing the tentative feelers the others were sending out in his direction.
"Whoa!" It was Kyle's voice. Max's eyes popped open briefly. He looked up at the cone above their head, which was beginning to burn brightly. Glancing down, he saw that the stone in his hands was doing the same.
His heart was pounding nervously, as he forced his eyes closed again. He realized that he could [I]feel[/I] something strange. There was energy he didn't recognize running through his veins. He briefly thought it was the others - that they were making a connection.
It was only when he became aware of Isabel, as a mental link between the two of them abruptly opened, that he realized that wasn't it at all. The energy was coming from the granolith.
He could hear Whittaker's voice on the edge of his consciousness, instructing them to use their combined energy to force Kate's essence to join them. They needed to draw it out of the granolith and back into her human body. Max understood what she wanted them to do, but he couldn't focus. Isabel's familiar presence was not disturbing, but as the others started to make themselves known, he felt overwhelmed.
Too much was happening at once. Max felt like his legs were about to give out on him. It was too intense. Something was wrong. This didn't feel [I]anything[/I] like what it had felt like to bring Michael's balance back. It hadn't felt like this when they'd brought Nasedo back to life either.
Something flashed in his mind - almost like he'd blinked - and, then, everything changed again.
[I]Max! Something's not right![/I]
Max felt like he was stumbling. He knew his sister wasn't yelling at him, but her voice was suddenly screaming through every nerve of his body. He forced his eyes open again, only to find he was no longer in the cave. He was standing in the same circle in the desert where they had pulled Michael back from the brink.
Looking around, he counted heads. Isabel was to his right, Michael to his left. Will and Tess were further away, standing at the end of their own spoke of the wheel. Kate was lying in the centre of the circle, motionless.
Calm overtook him. [I]Settle down, everyone.[/I] It was Will's voice. He was taking a step forward. Max could feel the tranquillity the other guy was sending out through the connection, succeeding in helping them all to regroup and focus. Max felt slight admiration. Whatever had been stuck in Will's craw earlier was apparently gone, now that they needed someone to step in and assume leadership of the situation.
[I]What's wrong?[/I] Tess asked, after a moment. [I]Isabel's right. I feel it too. Something isn't right.[/I]
But Max already knew. He was looking straight ahead, to the spoke of the wheel directly across from him.
It was Liz. She was missing. She wasn't there with the rest of them.
That was what had felt wrong. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he understood that it was true. He had been bearing the brunt of the energy that he was supposed to be sharing with Liz. He hadn't been because she wasn't in the connection. She had been left behind.
[I]Where's Liz?[/I] he demanded.
He watched them all turn their heads to stare at the spot where Liz was supposed to be standing. They all seemed to be moving in slow motion. Clearly, none of them had noticed the fact that she wasn't there. They had felt that something was wrong, but none of them had been able to figure out what. Max figured it was her absence that was causing the lack of focus. The energy wasn't being evenly distributed.
[I]Max, it's just like last time![/I] Isabel sounded annoyed. [I]Where[/I] is[I] she?[/I]
[I]We need to get out of here,[/I] Tess thought, beginning to sound a little hysterical. [I]Where is she? What happened to her?[/I] Her tone indicated that she wasn't angry, like Isabel, but, rather, worried. Max understood completely. This was about more than just Liz not showing up in the connection.
He knew it deep within himself. Something was wrong.
He couldn't feel her at all.
[I]Tess is right,[/I] Max told them all, trying to stay calm. [I]We need to let go of the connection, regroup and try again. We can't do this without Liz.[/I]
[I]Oh for.[/I] This came from Michael, but when Max looked at him sharply, he simply rolled his eyes, closed them, and seemed to be trying to release himself from the circle. Max watched his best friend, felt his eyes narrowing. Michael's expression was entirely too strained for what he was trying to do.
Several moments later, Michael's eyes were open again. Max saw Michael's fear, knew that it matched the almost strangling terror that was starting to crawl up his spine.
[I]Maxwell, I can't do it. I can't get out of here.[/I]
Max looked around at the others. They were all staring at each other, their combined mounting desperation clear.
They were trapped.
To be continued.