"Why?" She asked, pulling him closer.
He pushed away slightly. "My wife. I love her."
"You love me."
Saying this, she placed a hand on his neck. A red light swept from her fingers into his skin, and ran up into his scalp before disappearing beneath. Zan stumbled back, shaking his head slightly confused. He blinked hard. When he opened his eyes, suddenly Kesia looked more beautiful then he'd ever seen her look before. She had captivated him.
Without another word, he leaned into her, kissing her lips hard, running his mouth down her neck. She arched her head, her eyes rolling back with a feeling of ecstasy. A small smirk crawled up over her lips, as she clutched a handful of his hair in her hands.
"Zan… oh Zan…" She moaned.
He pulled away, trying to fight whatever the force was that held him to her. He couldn't, just as soon as their lips parted, he found himself drawn against her yet again.
"No… no, no." With each mutter his protests became weaker, as if his very will was slowly dying.
Later, Kesia walked the halls of the palace without Zan. She looked around, carefully slipping into a room, shutting the door behind her. Inside were Kivar and Vilondra. They had clearly been enjoying one another - physically.
"It's done." She said quietly.
Vilondra drew in a small smile. "Very good."
"You've done well. How long until you're in complete control." Kivar asked.
Kesia considered. "Hours, a day at most."
"Terrific. When you've finished, make sure to tell him to summon the court." Vilondra instructed.
The girl nodded. "Yes ma'am."
She left, leaving Vilondra and Kivar to speculate on their own.
"I'm having one of my men follow her. The first move she makes to betray us, we'll know." Vilondra kissed him.
Kivar was impressed. "How do you know she'll betray us?"
"Because, the silly git believes my brother truly loves her now."
He stroked her hair. "Why bother with this, if you're only going to kill her anyway?"
"She knows about our plan. We can't have any strings left hanging. Besides, shaking up the connection Zan and Ava share will weaken them. Even if they get back together, which I'm sure they will. Their full power together will be diminished for some time."
This time Kivar kissed her, and said. "You have this whole thing planned like a dinner party… to the T."
Vilondra gave him a dry, almost evil look. She stood up and moved to the large bay window, with long flowing curtains. Looking out of it, she watched Zan and Ava meet in the garden.
"I've been planning this since I was a child. Nothing will stop me from being queen. Nothing."
Outside the room Kesia had over-heard the princess and Kivar speaking of their plans to kill her. Infuriated by their betrayal, she backed up. In an effort to get away quickly, she slipped and knocked over a large floor vase.
Immediately Vilondra and Kivar came running out. Realizing the girl knew of their entire plan, Vilondra had no choice but to step up their termination of her. She smiled, pretending to know nothing of the eavesdropping, and let Kesia escape. Knowing full-well that the girl would not have the chance to explain things to Zan, until it was too late.
"What do we do?" Kivar asked aloud.
The princess smiled fondly, watching Kesia walk briskly down the hall. "We tell Zan."
Being the king's sister, meant she could have an audience with him at any time, whenever she wanted. So, she called the royal four into the throne room for an emergency meeting.
"What's this all about?" Ava asked, as she and Zan sat in their thrones.
Vilondra stood before them, seemingly upset. "Brother, I have some grave news. One of our guards has informed me that a courtier tried to bribe him into betraying you."
"What?" Ava was outraged.
Zan patted her hand, calming her. "Who is this courtier?" He asked.
The princess shook her head, as if in disbelief. "Kesia."
Zan was visibly disturbed. He sat back, astounded – and somewhat relieved. It'd been hours since he saw Kesia, and her hold upon him had all but vanished. He realized now what had happened, and he was enraged.
"I'll have the guards pick her up at once." Rath said, about to call the guards.
Zan stopped him. "No!"
Holding her breath, Vilondra hoped he wasn't about to go soft. "My brother, I-"
The king interrupted her. "If we do that, she's sure to know. I'll arrange a meeting with her, we'll call the guards in then. Not before."
"I agree. If she has informants in the palace, they'll tell her of our plans. She must not be aware of our knowledge." Ava concurred with her husband.
Vilondra watched with a satisfied look, as Zan entered the second to last door of the main hall, and walked inside – closing the door behind him. She could hear them speaking inside.
"Not now, Kesia, I told you." Zan sounded irritated.
Kesia answered. "You know, you would be happy with me."
"Happy – and empty." He concluded. "I'm sorry." He said at last.
Confused sounding, Kesia said. "For, breaking my heart?"
"No." He took a pause, and then yelled. "Guards!"
Vilondra nodded, allowing a wave of guards to sweep into the room and grab Kesia by the arms, forcibly dragging her out – kicking and screaming.
"You can't do this! I didn't do anything! Stop!" She cried.
The princess walked with the guards, a head of her brother. Who walked out of the room, and met up with Ava as he neared the end of the hall. She embraced him with open arms. Clearly their power had not been weakened. Vilondra cringed as she spotted him kissing her cheek. Their hands clasped as they followed the trail of guards into the throne room; where a battered and beaten Kesia awaited her sentence. Vilondra, of course, already knew the punishment of treason – Death. With a chuckle under her breath, she sat herself down beside her brother.
She entered into the large damp chamber, as Kesia was being lowered on a metal table.
"Lonnie, please – I beg of you…" She whimpered.
Annoyed by the girl's common use of her nickname, she leaned over the table, resting her hand on the metal right by Kesia's arm. Brining her face close enough to hers to feel each other's breath, she spoke softly. Once her message to the girl had been said, she stepped back. Kesia was crying, but she didn't care. She ordered the guards to begin the machine that hung above the metal table. Watching, with a please expression – Vilondra saw to Kesia's termination. When it was finished a guard approached her.
"Princess?" He stopped her before she could leave the chamber. "What would you like us to do with the body?"
Vilondra looked carelessly at the corpse and waved it away. "I don't care; just make sure there's nothing left."
"Yes, your royal highness." He nodded, leaving to do as she asked.
Their Present Lives
"Hold still, ok?" Max soothed, as he ran his healing hands again over Tess' battered body.
She moaned. "It hurts."
"I know." He wanted to tear up, but he fought the rising lump in his throat.
She struggled against the pain. "Ahhh!" She cried.
Max could hear bones snapping into place. He could feel muscles mending, skin reforming. His healing was working. It was just taking so long. Her internal injuries were causing a lot of pain, and the fact that there were so many wounds made it hard for Max to truly concentrate on just one.
"Wait… sit still." Max pleaded, as Tess jolted around, in reflex to the immense pain of her bones being reset into place.
She shook her head, desperate for the pain to stop. She clutched at his sleeve, as hot tears fell to the ground beneath. "No, stop, stop, no, God… please!" She begged, wailing around.
Max turned behind him, yelling for Jim who was watching with discomfort. "Hold her!" He ordered.
The sheriff did as he was told. "Does it normally hurt this much?" He asked, seeing Tess' obvious pain.
The alien king grew grim. "No." He said, as his glowing hands moved to her ribs.
"Then why…" Jim wondered.
Max breathed a sigh. "Every inch of her body has been wounded. It's not like when I healed Kyle or Liz. That was one single wound. I could concentrate better, and keep them from feeling the pain of healing – but I can't here or I won't have enough energy to finish."
Finally, after what seemed like hours; but was more likely only minutes, Max's glowing hands dimmed and Tess' moans subsided. Her arched back relaxed, and she fell flat once more, unconscious – for now.
Liz slipped out of the van, and recovered the hidden orb, as Max finished healing Tess. She stuffed it in her coat pocket and got back into the passenger seat. Smiling to herself as she realized they never even saw her.
"Is she going to be ok?" Jim asked, looking at the girl sleeping.
Max wiped his forehead and nodded. "She's going to be fine." He assured, touching her face with his hand.
The sheriff nodded, and walked to his jeep to answer a radio call.
The alien king lifted his queen from the ground and carried her to the van. Opening the door he realized there was no room for another sleeping body. Isabel and Michael were already asleep in the back, and Liz had nodded off in the front. Kyle was with his father, talking outside. Max sighed, slipping Tess into the middle row, letting her have the remaining seat. He shut the door and walked to Kyle and Jim.
"What's going on?" He inquired.
Jim looked grimly at him. "I just got a call on my radio…" He began.
"Max, they're sending troops all over the place to find us." Kyle explained quickly.
With no time for rest, Max wearily dragged himself back to the van, and got into the front seat. As the engine started, he saw Kyle give his father a long goodbye hug, before darting into the van, and squeezing himself next to a sleeping Tess. The roar of the engine momentarily woke Michael and Isabel, who stirred, but fell restfully back asleep.
Liz opened her eyes, seeing a skyline with moving stars she knew they had gotten back on the road. Glancing back, she shuddered seeing Tess sleeping peacefully – healed and looking like herself again. She turned to Max, and saw his tired eyes focusing on the road ahead.
"Where are we going?" She asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
He scratched the back of his neck. "Out of the state, New York."
"We can't run forever." Liz reminded him.
He nodded sadly. "I don't plan to run forever, Liz. I plan to get my son, and get you all to safety, and then…"
"What's that mean?"
He refused to say anymore. Liz feared he meant to leave them once they were safe. Didn't he know they would never be safe? Not on Earth, not ever. She crossed her arms, upset with his closed-mouth. She stared quietly out of the window, as they drove into the never-ending horizon.
An hour of silence went by, and then Liz couldn't take it anymore. She turned to Max again, and spoke.
"We have to go to Antar. That's the only way we'll be safe."
He didn't disagree. "I know."
"So, what are we going to do?"
He sighed rubbing his face to wake himself. "I said I'd get you all to safety."
"What does that mean?"
Grinding his teeth, he answered. "I have a plan. Okay?"
Liz looked away, annoyed.
But he didn't have a plan. Max knew their only way home was in LA, with a broken, busted up ship that last time he checked, couldn't make it off the ground. Langley, their other protector had vowed to never help him again. Max would force him to help them, even if it killed him. First he'd have to get his son, which was going to be a whole other mess. He knew he was sent to New York to be adopted, and once there he'd have to contact his father to get the address.
It was early in the morning, Kyle opened his eyes to find himself slouching against Tess, who was awake, and smirking. At first he didn't know why, until he looked down to find his pants had been pulled down around his knees. Her grin of mischief gave her away as she giggled under her breath. He snatched his pants up in a hurry, blushing.
"Oh… very funny!" He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help letting a small smirk pass over him.
Tess teasingly pushed him. "C'mon Buddha boy, can't take a joke?"
"Some joke…" He muttered.
He looked behind him to find Isabel and Michael still fast asleep. Isabel's stomach jutted out a bit more than when he had last seen her. He wiped his eyes and looked to the front of the van. Max was still driving, looked utterly wiped. Liz was asleep, with her head leaned against the window.
"Hey man, let me take over for you." Kyle insisted.
Max pulled over, too tired to disagree. "We're heading to New York."
"Alrighty, where are we exactly?" He asked, looking around for a sign.
The alien king, pulled out a map, and pointed to a spot about halfway between New Mexico and New York. "There."
"Great…" Kyle sighed, jumping into the driver's seat.
Tess watched Max climb into the back seat next to her. She tensed up, feeling nervous. Liz was sitting only inches away, this was bound to get a little uncomfortable. She just thanked her lucky stars that the girl was still sleeping.
"You should take a nap." She suggested.
Max rubbed his weary, dry eyes. "I just can't sleep – too much on my mind."
The alien queen smiled gently, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He stared at her, sharing each other's warm look for a moment.
"Just put your head back and try. It'll come." She assured him.
He nodded, leaning his head back against the seat. Soon he felt his eye-lids get heavy, and he knew she had been right. Sleep was not far off; he could feel the pull of dreams taking him. Noises from reality began to slip into the background as he drifted into unconsciousness.
He'd slept for about ten minutes, before his head fell against her shoulder. Tess leaned back, letting Max take a more comfortable position. She could feel the rise and fall of each breath, the beat of his heart against her. It was like a familiar, warm feeling that covered them, wrapping them up tight. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Not to sleep, but to focus in on his heart beat – the sound comforted her. She remembered so many nights where she'd lay her head upon his chest and fall into a deep slumber. This time it was he who had fallen asleep on her. She'd missed him. He'd not only been her husband, but he'd been her best friend. The world had seemed so lonely and cold without him – like a world void of normalcy. As he slept, subconsciously he had taken her hand into his, she didn't object. There they sat, hand in hand, as he dozed off – resting against her.
"Max… Max… wake-up Max." A soft, wispy voiced called out to him from beyond his dreamy reality.
He opened his eyes, and was greeted by Tess' blue gems staring down at him. Rubbing his face vigorously, he yawned. "How long did I sleep for?"
"The whole damn trip." Kyle grunted, hopping out of the van.
Max was astonished that he'd slept that long. It must've been almost twelve hours left when he let Kyle take over driving. How did he manage to stay asleep that long? He looked to his lap and found that during his sleep, he had taken Tess' hand in his – their hands were intertwined. By the stiff feeling in his fingers, they must have been like that for a long time. He wondered why she didn't let go sooner. She smiled kindly at him, and he returned the favor. They held each other's eyes a moment, before realizing that everyone else had gotten out of the van minutes ago.
"I have top vomit." Isabel muttered under her breath.
Michael gave a disgusted look as she dragged him with her to the other side of the parking lot they were in. "What do you need me for?"
Tess gave Isabel an odd look, but quickly turned her attention to Max who was pulling out his cell phone. He dialed a number, and listened.
"Dad… hey…" He walked off and talked.
Liz stared at Tess. She remembered their last conversation, just before Tess left the car to die. She shuddered. That whore had lied the entire time, that hussy. She swallowed back her rage and stepped up to the alien queen.
"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
Tess looked at her, confused. "What?"
"Why did you tell me that Max cares for me?"
She shook her head. "Because he does."
"Not enough…"
She crossed her arms and swung herself closer. "You love Max… but that guy…" She pointed to Max who was still talking on his cell. "That guy isn't Max… that's a creation, a mixture of two people. You have to understand… That guy isn't ever going to be who you want him to be."
"God, you sound like his echo."
Liz stormed off to join Kyle. He was checking the Van's engine over, and giving it some fresh oil. She leaned against the edge of the vehicle and sighed, not really loud, but loud enough to get his attention.
"Yes, Liz?" he asked, peeking up from the engine.
She glanced over her shoulder at Tess who was standing by Max, talking on the cell. "Ever get this nagging feeling that maybe things will just never go the way you want?"
"Every moment of my life. Why do you ask?"
She turned to him. "Kyle, me and you, we should leave."
"What? No, we can't." He began to fix the engine again.
She grabbed his arm lightly. "Please, I can't stand this anymore."
"And you think I can? I'm the one that's been forced to tag along! But I'm stuck here now, and so are you." He grunted.
Frustrated by her lack of sway over the boy, Liz turned away from him – her powers inadvertently causing some sparks to fly on the engine. Kyle leapt out of the way as green energy came flying at him in spit and sparks like fire.
Cleaning out her mouth with some water, Isabel stood up and fixed her shirt. Her clothes were slightly skewed from being bent over and vomiting. She began to mutter under her breath.
"Damn this baby.. I swear to…"
Michael turned in. "What's that?"
"Nothing, nothing…" Isabel took him by the arm as they walked back to the others.
He tucked his hand in her pants pocket. "You know, I was thinking about what you said the other night."
"Oh yea?"
He nodded. "Yea."
"And..?"
There was a pause. "About Max wanting to take off without us." He took a small breath. "I think you might be right. I mean, him and Tess and now they're getting their son… it's all too perfect. Why now? Why not when we have a way home… unless he already does."
"You think he's keeping us in the dark about his plan to get off the planet?"
Michael shook his head in agreement. "I think he might."
Meanwhile, Max was getting much needed information from his father. Tess was standing near by, with her head tilted toward the phone, in an attempt to hear bits and pieces about her son.
"Okay, yea, I hear you… yea." Max stated.
Tess leaned in. "What is it? How's my baby? Is he ok?"
"Alright, yes."
She tried to get closer. "How's he been eating? Has he gained a lot of weight?"
Max gently swatted her away. Pressing the phone against his ear and shoulder; he wrote some things down on a small post-it note. Saying his goodbyes, Max flipped his cell shut and headed back to the van to update everyone. Tess followed closely, practically jumping with anticipation.
"Tell me, tell me everything!" Tess exclaimed with a huge, bright smile. "When do we get my baby back?"
Isabel scoffed at her geeky smile. "God… like a cheerleader at a game."
"Hey, maybe when you push that freak of nature out, you'll be a little more enthused!" Tess snapped, pointing to Isabel's tummy.
The alien princess was surprised. "How'd you know about that."
"Oh… I know a lot." She squinted knowingly at her, making Isabel shift uncomfortably.
Max cleared his throat. "Please, stop. Tess and I are going today. The thing is…"
"What is it, another special ops mission?" Kyle winked.
The king shook his head. "No. We have to steal him, because of the circumstances for the adoption… there's no paper work that says I'm Zan's father… plus, according to all known papers of Tess, she's dead."
Tess gave a small laugh and shrugged innocently. "So how is this going to work?"
"Let me guess." Liz sounded annoyed. "This is where it gets 'complicated' or 'risky'."
The king raised his eye brows in curiosity. "Um, no… actually, it's simple. Tess and I will go into the couple's home as Adoptive services doing a random check-up."
"Great, let's go!" Tess was too excited to wait any longer, she was already sitting in the passenger's seat, strapped in and ready to go.
Max rubbed his hands together as he jogged to the van, equally excited. The others dragged themselves back, each having their own concerns, and each plotting against the unwitting king and queen. Off they went, to get the only heir to the throne of Antar.
It was a silent drive into the suburbs of New York. The only talk had been that of Tess and Max, discussing what their son would look like, or if he would remember either of them – that being Tess' main concern.
Max assured her. "He will."
"How do you know?"
He cleared his throat. "Because, just before I gave him away – I implanted a memory into his subconscious. It was a memory of me and you in Michael's apartment."
"Wow… I don't know what to say…"
He smiled at her as they drove into a residential area. "You don't have to say anything Tess. Even though I was mad at you, you were still his mother – and I couldn't let him forget that."
Liz let out an annoyed groan. "Anyone else feel sick?"
Isabel tried not to laugh. "Car sick?" She asked.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Yea, sure."
They pulled the van up to the side of a home. Max and Tess climbed out. They hide beside the van for a moment, using their powers to change their clothes into suits. Tess pulled up her hair, as Max waved his hand over the side of the van – created an adoption services logo. They marched to the house with a dutiful step in their strides. Making it look like this was all business to them.
Tess knocked on the door. She could hear the sound of a vacuum. There was no answer. Max rang the doorbell. They both shifted with anticipation. Suddenly the vacuum shut off. A woman's voice screamed out in horror. Tess and Max stiffened, every muscle on the bodies tightened in fight. They could hear an argument inside.
A woman yelled. "Jake… no! Robert, it's happening again!"
"Look out!" A man cried.
There was a thunderous crash, something broke, and the sound of people falling could be heard. At that, Max and Tess broke open the door. It swung from the hinges and fell to the ground. They stepped through the threshold to find a woman in her thirties sprawled out on the floor. A man was helping her to stand. A vacuum was only a few feet from them – it was smoking and sparking.
"What's going on here?" Tess' tone was threatening.
The woman stuttered. "N-nothing."
"Who the hell are you?" The man yelled.
Max stepped up. "We're from adoption services. We're here on a random check-up. We heard screams, thought there was trouble." He paused, seeing the vacuum again. "Is there?"
The woman smoothed out her dress and dusted herself off. She gave a weak attempt at a smile, as she attended to the vacuum; pulling its cord from the wall.
"My wife doesn't want you guys to know… but…" The man was hesitant.
Tess placed a hand on her hip. "Know what?"
"Our son… Jake… there's something about him…"
As the man began to describe what had been happening with 'Jake'. Tess and Max looked at one another. It was Zan. Max interrupted the man.
"May we see him?" He asked; in a matter-of-factly tone.
At that, the woman glared at her husband, but reluctantly went to retrieve the child. After a moment, she came in carrying the little one. Tess' breath was stolen from her – as her eyes lay upon her child for the first time in months. He'd grown so much. Max squeezed her shoulder, a silent reminder to keep her cool.
"This is Jake." She explained softly. "He's…"
"Almost a year." Tess blurted out.
The woman nodded, a little shocked. "How'd you know?"
"We read his file." Max covered.
"Well, I'm Robert and that's Jill; but you all knew that…" Robert seemed nervous.