*blush* Gosh… You are making me blush with your sweet words. Thank you so much!! It means so much to me, you can't imagine. Thank you.

I'll just leave you with the next chapter. It's only one chapter this time, because due to the ending, I didn't want to post two chapters… I'll be back in a week though :-).

Chapter 34


Michael felt the cell phone vibrate against his thigh, and he reached down with his hand to pick it up. He didn't recognize the number on the display. The music was hammering around him - the volume so high that he barely could hear what he was thinking. He quickly sought out the nearest green exit sign and moved towards it. As he opened the door and stepped outside - the door swinging shut behind him - the music was muffled and he took a breath in relief. He pressed the connect-button and put the phone to his ear.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Michael, it's Kira."
Michael frowned. Why was Kira calling him?
"Tell Isabel to get ready, a ride is on its way to pick you up. Try to not be too conspicuous as you leave. And take Tess with you."
"What's going on?" Michael asked.
"Emma's missing."

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The three passengers of the dark Cheva could all see the smoke as a big dark cloud against the clear, dark night sky.
"Oh my God," Isabel whispered. "What's going on?"
Tess was trying her best not to let her emotions shine through. Had everything gone according to the plan? Had Max, Liz and Emma been captured?

There was a large pang, like the sound of a gun being fired, and then the car was driving off the road. The three passengers looked terrified at their driver as he slumped over the steering wheel. Michael reached forward, and took a hold of the steering wheel. He felt something drip on his hand, and he looked down. His hand was gradually being stained with blood droplets.
"Oh shit!" he said.
"What?!" Isabel shrieked.
"He's been shot," Michael said, as he crouched down with his head - both in an effort to shield himself from whatever gun shoots might continue to be fired in his direction, and also to remove the dead driver's foot from the gas pedal.

The car was heading out in the desert - bumping over stones and shrubs. With a shrill shriek it came to a halt. Michael climbed back in the backseat.
"Get down," he ordered the girls. They complied, pressing their foreheads to their thighs - trying to make themselves as compact as possible.
In a crouching position, Michael scanned the surroundings.
"It's clear," he said and opened the door on his side. Just then he was knocked to the ground by an invisible force.

Isabel pulled the door close with her powers as she saw Michael slump on the ground. She motioned for Tess to open the other door and get the hell out of there. She had to help Michael. She saw Tess step out of the car, and then Tess was on the ground as well.
"No, please!" she cried. "I did my job! I got them out of the apartment!"
Isabel pulled herself backwards, away from the opened car door. There was a crackle of energy, and the next thing she knew she was looking at a Tess that seemed to be on fire. There seemed to be electricity running through her, and her skin appeared was turning scorching red. And then there was Tess's animalistic cries. Isabel's couldn't breathe as she witnessed how Tess was slowly melting - and then she was gone. A pile of dust everything that was left.

Isabel couldn't move. She couldn't see the attacker. All she could think about was that Michael was out there - with someone that had melted Tess - and Isabel was pretty exposed too. Her head jerked up, as she heard the sounds of energy jolts being fired. She heard someone cry out and then everything went silent again. Isabel could hear the blood pumping through her veins. Her breathing was labored and she was still unable to move.
"Vilandra," a voice said, and then a face showed itself through the open car door.
Isabel gasped and suddenly got her mind working. At the same time as she was moving backwards in the backseat - until she felt the other door against her back - she put out her hand in front of her and fired. At the instant that Isabel fired, a purple force field was put up in front of the person - absorbing her energy jolt.
"What do you want?" Isabel demanded, her voice much calmer and authoritative to realistically represent her inner turmoil.
"Don't worry, princess," the man said. "I'm on your side. I'm here to take you to your brother."
Isabel furrowed her forehead.
"And why should I trust you?" she asked suspiciously.

The man reached out his hand towards her, and she instinctively shrunk back. He stopped in his movement and instead took his other hand to pull up his sleeve. He waved his hand over the arm, and their was a short flash - and then a symbol appeared. It was their symbol. The same symbol they had seen on the orbs, and the same symbol that had been on the pendant she had found at Atherton's home.
"It means that I'm loyal to the king - King Zan," the man explained.
"Tess was also suppose to be loyal to Zan, but she wasn't," Isabel said. She had a good feeling about the man. But she'd had a good feeling about Tess too when she had arrived to Roswell - so she wasn't so sure she could trust her instincts when it came to aliens.
"How do I know that you're just not mindwarping me into making me believe that I'm seeing that symbol, when I'm really not?" she asked.
The man searched her face, and realized that she needed more convincing. He put his hand in his pocket and picked up what looked like an ordinary stone. But then he waved his hand over it, and it turned into a communication device of some kind.
"Sir," he said into the communicator. "Come in, sir. We have a situation here." Isabel didn't like that it was referred to as a situation - it gave her the creeps.
"Kaleva? Where are you?" Isabel could hear Kira's voice asking.
"We're about two miles from the target location, sir," the man Kira had called by the name of Kaleva answered.
"What happened?"

"They're were attacked, and Ava was killed, sir."
"Are Vilandra and Rath okay?"
"Yes, sir. The situation is taken care of. Although I need to convince Vilandra of my identity. Could she talk to Zan, sir?"
"Yes."
The communicator went dead, and Isabel and the man stared at each other. Isabel had already been fairly convinced of the fact that the man wanted her no harm, since she had heard Kira for herself. But she wanted all evidence she could get. And a fake Max would never fool her.
"Isabel?" the communicator spoke.
The man offered Isabel the stone and she took it.
"Max?" she asked.
"Isabel, you have to go with the man. Trust me, it's safe," Max said.
"Max, what's going on?" Isabel asked. Michael hadn't told her anything, and neither had anyone else. She felt completely in the dark - having no clue to what was happening.
"It's extremely important that you and Michael go with that man and come here. I need you."
"But Max..."
"No, Isabel," Max said, his voice harsh. "We're not discussing this any further right now. There is no time."
Isabel might not know in full detail what was going on, but by the sound of her brother's voice, she knew that she should expect the worst.

---------------------------------------------------

Isabel stepped out of the car, her eyes wide as she scanned the exterior of the warehouse, and its nearby surroundings. There was smoke boiling out of its every opening, the sky above dark. There were people running around outside the warehouse, but Isabel only had eyes for her brother. He was standing a few meters away, his back towards her, talking to what appeared to be one of Kira's men. Isabel only had to take one look at Max tense stance to know that something was horribly wrong. Michael stepped up beside her, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He had a pounding headache after being knocked down.

"Max!" Isabel yelled, and started to walk quickly towards her brother.
He turned around immediately as he heard her voice. Isabel's steps faltered a little in speed as she looked into his taut face.
"What's going on, Max?" Michael asked.
"I need you two to search the building," Max said. Isabel stared at him.
"Max, you better tell me what's going on right now," she demanded.
"I want you to search after Emma," Max said. His voice was cold, emotionless, and he was giving them orders as if they were his soldiers.
"Haven't you commanded all of your men to do that already?" Michael asked, his voice tight as he grew increasingly angry with Max's bossiness.
"I need you to do it," Max said, "I trust you." His stone face fell for a fraction of a second, then he tiredly covered his face with his hand.
Isabel reached out and put a hand on his shoulder in an act of support.
"We'll do everything in our power to find Emma," she said. Isabel took away her hand and Max looked up into her face.
"Thank you, Isabel," Max whispered, his voice cracking.
Isabel smiled weakly and then took a firm grip on Michael's shirt.
"Come here, Michael," she said.
"Yeah, yeah," Michael huffed. Honestly, he didn't have a problem with searching after Emma. He loved that girl already. She was like a niece to him. He had only for a second there fallen back into his resistance to be bossed around when it came to Max.

--------------------------------------------

They searched until the sun started to rise above the horizon. They searched as the sun made its ascent on the sky. They searched as the sun started its descent – acknowledging the end of another day. They were all searching – Max, Michael, Isabel, Liz and Kira and his army. Later even Maria, Alex and Kyle joined them. But Emma was nowhere to be found.

Liz stumbled to the ground. Her limbs ached, her head throbbed, and her throat was dry. But the physical ailments were nothing compared to the pain she was feeling in her heart. She closed her eyes and for about the million time since her little girl had disappeared, she concentrated on their connection, trying to reach her. The tears started to slide down her face, causing streaks to be formed in the dirt on her cheeks. She couldn't reach her.

She felt him sit down beside her, and she felt his strong arms encircle her. She leaned into him.
"Can you reach her?" Max asked.
Liz shook her head. They grew silent. It seemed hopeless. They had searched for almost twenty-four hours – searched for anything at all. Any clue. But there was nothing. Max was certain that Emma was in the hands of their enemies – and it was slowly killing him that he had been unable to protect her. He tried to block it out – tried to shut off his feelings. Otherwise he was certain that he would not be able to move on. He would be incapable of leading any kind of search, and he would fail Emma once again.
"Max, don't," Liz whispered, and looked up at him with her tear-streaked face. Max looked into her eyes. The eyes he always found comfort in, and calmness. They were so different now. At the same time as they were still the same eyes as they had always been, they seemed colder – like life had vanished.
"They have our baby girl, Max," Liz whispered, her voice cracking with emotions, "and we can't get her back if we let guilt win."
"I failed her, Liz," Max said.
Liz too felt that she had failed her daughter. If only they've slept in the same room, Emma might still be with them. If only she had went to check on Emma when she had felt that deep sense of dread simmering through her body. But she couldn't let that thinking drown her. She had fought that kind of thinking for a big part of her life – when every day was a struggle of sheer willpower to go on. She knew how that kind of thinking could destroy a person.
"Max, we have to think about her. We have to concentrate on her."
Max swallowed – forcing down the sobs that threatened to erupt in his throat.

"Max, Liz! We've found something!"
Max and Liz eyes broke contact as the searched out Michael running towards them in the darkness.
"What is it, Michael?" Max asked, not being able to stop the hope from awakening inside of him.
Michael crouched beside Max and Max felt something cold being placed in his hand. He looked down and found himself looking at a stone – barely small enough to fit in his palm, with the appearance of amber. Its surface was shimmering. It looked as if water was floating over it. But that wasn't possible – since the stone was completely dry.
"What is it, Michael?" Liz asked, her voice strained as she stared at the stone in Max's hand.
"One of Kira's men said it looked like a communicator," Michael answered.
"It's not communicating," Max said in a low voice.
"No," Michael shook his head, "we couldn't get it to work either. Maria suggested that we should give it to you."
"There definitely is something different about it," Liz said and moved her hand to feel the texture of the mysterious stone. As soon as her hand brushed against the surface, an hologram sparkled up in front of them. Liz jumped back – startled – and her hand moved away from the stone.
"Liz, I think you need to touch it too to get it working," Max said and gently took her hand in his. Liz looked into his eyes, and then she felt the cold stone against her fingertips once again and a white hologram appeared in front of them. She diverted her eyes away from Max and they both looked up at the hologram. Liz inhaled sharply as the image of Nicolas appeared on the screen. She could feel Max's anger seething through the connection.

"Max. Liz," the hologram of Nicolas said – looking straight at them. "I see you found the stone."
"Nicolas," Max breathed, his voice clouded in hatred. But Nicolas was neither able to hear nor see Max, since it was only a recorded message.
"I believe that you by now have noticed the absence of your child. She sure is beautiful, Max. I was planning on taking Liz as well – I could have had some fun with her – but I guess the plans changed." Max pulled Liz closer to him. "By now you've probably been enlighten about the death of your mate, Max." Max shivered, and took an even firmer grip around Liz. His fears were lessened a bit as Nicolas continued, and Max realized it wasn't Liz that was being discussed. "Tess was always a weak individual, and she was not to be trusted – neither in this lifetime nor in the lifetime before." Nicolas smiled smugly. "But now that problem is out of the way. I guess you are only happy about her death, Max... Now, I'm sure you are interested in what I have to say about your daughter. Yes, she's with me. Unfortunately for you, she is not within your reach. Not within your reach at all I must say." Nicolas smug was pure evil and gloating. "Our ships were loaded earlier today – as you were still searching I presume," Max's heart stopped, "And by the time you receive this message we are already on our way to Antar – with your daughter."


END BOOK 1

Short A/N: If you haven't noticed it before, this book is divided up into two books (I don't plan on their being any more than that) and the first book has now come to an end. Book 2 of "Solar Eclipse" will start next week. But it will still be "Solar Eclipse" and it will be same place, same time ;). Just so you didn't think this was the end. It's not… not yet. :-)

Thank you for reading!

Hugs,

Josephin