Author's Note: Hi everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the long waits between parts on this fic. We're very close to the end now though, and I should be updating more frequently.

Also, for those who are disappointed that this fic turned out to be about Max and Liz...Well, I'm sorry, but I never said that it would be anything else. My story is what it is. There isn't much I can do about it if you don't like it.

Thank you to everyone who is enjoying it, and I hope you continue to do so.

uPart 56/u

IZan stared out into the starry abyss. The sheer enormity of the tragedy that had occurred on Antar had not yet even started to penetrate his psyche, although it had been three days since he had heard the news about his sister and the princess of Sardica. He just could not believe it. He could not accept that the bright lights that had been Vilandra and Karana had been snuffed out so easily, and without any remorse.

He could not yet grieve, because he had not yet accepted it. He could not accept it. He refused. And because it was all anyone on the ship wanted to talk about, he stayed in his quarters.

Rath's threat of leaving his side had, of course, been nothing but an idle one. The general's loyalty was complete. It, however, did not mean that he hadn't continued to pressure Zan to at least consider a marriage to Ava of Knosis. Every refusal on Zan's part had only made his friend more persistent, to the point that, for the first time ever, Zan preferred to not be in Rath's company.

At the very least, the murder of Rath's wife had silenced his friend on the Ava matter. For a little while anyway. Zan did not doubt that it would all start up again eventually. But since he didn't want to talk about any of it, it was just as well that Rath was too wrapped up in his own grief to bother with Zan.

Rath, with whom Zan had shared everything, wanted nothing to do with Zan in their shared sorrow over the loss of Vilandra. Zan knew it was a turning point. And not a good one. This, more than anything, meant that nothing would ever be the same again.

Which was why he was startled when a beep sounded, alerting him to the fact that someone was waiting outside his quarters. He was so surprised, he pushed a button allowing them entrance before he thought better of it.

For a long moment after she entered, he stared at her. Somehow he had known it was her. Somehow he had always known that it would come down to this meeting.

"Zan." She bowed her head, moving forward into the room. She stopped several feet away, not moving any closer, waiting for acknowledgment.

He tilted his head, examining her. He could see no physical difference between this woman and the one he loved. He sensed it though. He had known from the moment she walked in that this was not Rowena. He wondered briefly if she had wanted him to make the mistake. What game was she playing this time?

"Serena," he replied quietly.

She lifted her eyes, not surprised, nor upset. So she had not wanted him to think she was her sister. Her clone. Or, rather, her /Ioriginal/I, because this was the clone. Which was at the crux of this entire disaster, in the end.

"I am so sorry for your loss," she said. "It was not...I never expected that it would come to this."

"To which loss are you referring?" Zan asked mildly. He could feel rage burning just below the surface of his control, but he would not lose it on her. Not when he needed her so badly. Not when he needed this woman - this monster - to fix everything. She was the only one who could do it. The only one who could stop the fiasco she had set in motion and return peace to a galaxy. One that had been on the verge of a golden age, but was now teetering precariously on the precipice.

/I "I don't think it's that you don't want to be king.

"You don't?"

"No, I think it's that you fear you will not be a good king."I

The memory of Rowena's faith that he could be a good king solidified his resolve, as it always did. It was the only thing that helped him to control his fury. The only thing that stopped him from reaching out and shaking the life out of the woman standing in front of him. The one who looked exactly like his love, but was so completely her opposite. He clenched his hands at his sides.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, confused.

"I was just curious. Were you apologizing for the loss of my throne, or for the loss of my family?" He clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes.

Her grey skin whitened slightly, but she did not rise to the bait. "For all of it," she said simply.

He didn't say anything for a long while. He knew she was sincere. What he didn't understand was why she was here. What had brought her out of the stolen life she had claimed for herself? Why had she decided that it had all been a mistake?

"What do you want?" he finally ground out. "How did you get on board, anyway?"

"They think I'm her," Serena replied, shrugging delicately. "They always think I'm her." The last was said with a great sigh. Zan knew she wanted him to feel sorry for her. He did not.

"You're not her," he said firmly. "You will never be her."

"I know it," Serena said, lowering her gaze again. "But, at the very least, I can try to do what she would. I can try to fix what is broken."

"Can you raise the dead?" Zan demanded sarcastically.

Serena lifted her chin, meeting his eyes. "I cannot change what was lost, Zan, but they are not gone. Not entirely. I can make it so that it is almost as if it never happened."

Zan stared at her. His heart started to beat more quickly. "Do you really believe that I would allow you to? After what your meddling with the forces of nature has already done?"

"What is the difference?" Serena demanded. "She did it first! Why is what I have done so much more awful?"

"Because she did it out loneliness, and out of love," Zan snapped. "You cloned me out of hatred. You let your jealousy of her permit you to do things that Rowena would never even contemplate."

"I know it," she replied. "I know you don't believe me, but I loved my sister. I didn't do it out of hatred. She didn't love Khivar anyway. But I did. I was doing it partly for her. So that she could have /IyouI. Anyway, I have changed. I swear it. I have known love now too. I know what I did was wrong. This time, I would be doing it purely for love. There would be nothing in it for me!"

"What are you even talking about?" Zan was weary. This woman was crazy. There was no way he could trust her to set things to right. Her answer was not to step forward and admit what she had set in motion. Instead it was to make things even worse by cloning those that had been lost. That she couldn't see that it would be a mistake, after what had transpired with the Zan clone - with /IherI! - she could not be trusted.

"Khiver," Serena explained. "I love him. He has lost his sister. He believes he has lost his wife. I must help him. He won't survive this."

Zan frowned. What had she just said? Had he heard her right? "What do you mean he thinks he's lost his wife?"

Serena's eyes widened. She took a step backwards.

"Serena." His tone was very quiet, and his heart was pounding so quickly, he could barely hear his own voice. There was a great rushing in his head. "Serena, what are you saying?"

"You didn't know..." She trailed off, looking around for an escape. "How is it possible that you did not know?"

Zan did not wait for her to gather her wits enough to answer him. He hurried from the chamber, and down several long corridors, until he found himself on the bridge of the starship. As the crew became aware of his presence, they all leapt to their feet, bowing.

The captain came towards him, respectfully. "Your highness. I am pleased to see that you are well."

"Well?" Zan demanded. "I haven't been unwell."

The captain blinked. "We assumed..." He paused, then continued in a rush. "When General Rath told us you were not to be disturbed, we assumed you were unwell."

Zan looked around wildly. "Where is Rath?"

The captain looked at him strangely. "Gone. He left two days ago for Knosis. We are to rendezvous with him on Valonia. For the wedding." The captain had started to speak very slowly, as though perhaps he thought Zan wasn't quite right in the head.

Zan stared at him in disbelief. "What wedding?"

"Your wedding," the captain replied, beginning to show his embarrassment.

Zan barely noticed. He didn't have time to worry about it. He sensed that Serena had followed him. He turned to look at her. "Did you know about this?"

"About a wedding with Ava? Of course not," Serena replied.

Zan grabbed her by the upper arm, pulling her to the far side of the deck, out of the earshot of the crew. He noticed them trying to pretend that they weren't all watching him. He knew he was behaving erratically, but he couldn't help himself. While he had spent three days in his quarters trying to accept his sister's death, his best friend had betrayed him.

He had failed again. He had allowed self-absorption to muddle his mind, and now it might be too late. If Rath presented Ava to him as his future bride - as a fait accompli - he was never going to be able to get out of it. It would be a diplomatic disaster of immense proportions.

"Zan." Serena wrenched away from him. "I know you're upset. But you must stop. You're not thinking clearly."

"Of course, I'm upset," Zan snapped. "My sister is dead. My most trusted general has gone behind my back and has made an alliance that I do not want."

Serena reached out a hand, touching his arm. "Zan, I am sorry that I told you about Rowena so abruptly."

Zan looked at her, then scowled. "You think she's dead. I know she's not. But Rath will use these reports to his advantage. He is going to put me in a position from which I will be unable to remove myself."

Serena stared at him. "Zan, she is. Your clone headed directly to Valonia after he killed the princesses and Lord Jondar. He fully intended to take care of both of you."

Zan started. "He doesn't know I'm not there?" He narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. How did you know I wasn't there?"

"I've been in communication with Rowena, of course," Serena replied, as though it was the most logical thing in the world. "To warn her. But I fear I was still too late."

"Why didn't you go with the clone?" Zan demanded. "To protect her!"

"Do you think I have any control over him any longer?" Serena asked, looking at him as though he was crazy. Zan was beginning to wonder if maybe he was. "I was there when he killed Vilandra and the others. I went to Antar in the first place to try to stop him. I told you! None of this was supposed to happen! He was only supposed to take your place. How was I to know that he was wrong? That he was insane?"

Zan felt his anger melt away abruptly. "Of course you couldn't have known," he admitted. "Because you're not crazy, are you? You really are here to help."

"Of course." Her eyes filled with tears. "I swear to you, nothing was supposed to turn out like this. You and Rowena were supposed to be happy together on Valonia, with no one the wiser. I knew that neither of you wanted to rule anyway. I would have let you go eventually, once everything had been worked out. Once you saw that the clone could manage things."

Zan scraped a weary hand across his face. "I understand. It makes perfect sense. I'm sure Rowena told you a million times that she didn't want to be queen."

"Yes," Serena nodded enthusiastically. "And I heard what everyone said about you. The whole galaxy knew that you were at odds with your father because you were not happy that you were going to be king."

Zan was dismayed. "Everyone thought that?" It made sense though. He had never acted like he wanted to be king. He hadn't even known that he wanted to be. Only Rowena...and maybe Vilandra and Rath...had ever guessed that it wasn't that he didn't want to rule. It was that he feared turning into a man like his father.

Serena didn't answer. She just watched him, as though waiting to see if he was really going to allow her to help him.

Zan sighed heavily, then moved back towards the captain. Serena trailed after him.

"When will we arrive at Valonia?" he asked. His heart started to beat more quickly at the thought of it. He was going to see Rowena again - and much sooner than he had ever hoped.

"In ten solar hours, your highness."

"Valonian solar hours, or Antarian?" Zan demanded, knowing that the Valonian were much longer.

"Antarian, of course, your highness," the captain replied, sounding affronted that Zan had even asked. Zan rolled his eyes. Although the captain was right. He should have known. No Antarian would ever refer to any other type of hour. To most Antarians, none of the other planets mattered much at all. It was an attitude that Zan's father had nurtured, much to the detriment of the entire system.

"Very well," Zan replied. "Notify me when we are within visual sight." He turned on his heel and left the bridge.

Serena hurried after him. She grabbed at his arm. "Zan, what is happening? What are you doing? You can't go to Valonia. You will be walking right into a trap. He will be waiting for you."

Zan turned his head and stared down at her. "There is no choice. I am the only one who can deal with the clone." He paused, then added, "And, once he is gone, then we can discuss this idea of bringing my sister, Karana, and Jondar back."

"And Rowena," Serena added.

"That won't be necessary," Zan told her. "Rowena still lives."

Serena scowled at him. "Zan, it's impossible. The clone has been on Valonia for days. She is gone. You must accept it."

Zan glared. "Serena, just as I knew that you were not her, I also know that Rowena still lives. I would know if she were gone."

Her eyes lit up slightly. "Are you sure?"

He looked at her, hard. "Would you know if Khivar were gone?"

There was a long pause, then she whispered, "Yes."

"I thought as much. Then believe me now. Rowena is alive."/I

To be continued...