Chapter 12


"Michael? What are you doing here?"
"We found Emma. We're back."
She looked at him with surprise edging her features. He could see that she was having trouble believing him.
"You did?" There was tentative hope lingering in her voice. As if she was too afraid to hope what she so badly wanted to believe.
"Yes, Max and Liz went over with Emma to the Parker's. They are probably all meeting now."
Tears were glistering in her eyes as she watched him with an expression of amazement on her face.
"Oh my Go-" Her shocked voice was muffled by his shirt as she flung herself in his arms. There lips hungrily sought each other out.
"I've" kiss "missed" kiss "you" kiss "so much."

"I've missed you too," Maria mumbled against his lips and he felt his heart soar at her words. He had never loved her more than in this moment. She had never looked more beautiful than she had done when she had opened the door, even though her hair was tousled with sleep and she wore old pajamas with pink elephants. There were no words to describe how fiercely he had missed her and that was not just due to the fact that words often didn't come to him easily. He was, however, planning on using other methods to show her just how much he had missed her. How much she meant to him. How much he loved her. How he couldn't live another day without her.

There were no words exchanged as they stumbled into the house. Michael swiftly closed the door behind him with his foot, his lips still locked with hers. Her taste was making him delirious, teasing him into wanting even more. He couldn't get enough of her. His hands sprawled over her back and he pulled her as close to his body as he could. Somehow, they made it over to the couch and fell over the armrest. Maria moaned in disapproval as Michael fell on top of her.
"Michael Guerin," she panted between his heated kisses, "Have you gained some weight on Antar?"
"Don't talk," Michael grunted.
"Mr. Smoothtalker," Maria said sarcastically. But he knew that she didn't want it any other way. Her small hands moved under his shirt, pulling at it desperately.
"Too many clothes, too damn many clothes," Maria moaned.

He had to agree with her there. What stupid guy had came up with the idea of wearing clothes anyway? Clothes were highly overrated. That's when having special abilities came in handy. Especially the ability to push molecules apart and make obstacles like these disappear into thin air - literally.

But before he could do anything she was hitting him in the chest.
"Maria? What?!"
"Michael!"
He stared down at her. Her eyes were looking at him angrily. Would he ever understand what the hell was going on in that head of hers? Women...
"Maria! What are you doing?" he grunted.
"Michael!"
And suddenly it wasn't Maria's voice any longer. It grew a little darker and a little more annoyed than angry.


His eyes snapped open and instead of Maria's green eyes, he was staring into Isabel's brown ones. He quickly cleared his mind from the dream, but he couldn't stop feeling Maria's lips pressed up against his. "What's wrong?"
"Max and Liz have called a meeting," Isabel answered. Her voice was short and he could hear the streak of annoyance that had been following Isabel around more and more the last couple of days. Being on Antar was slowly changing them. Antar was changing them. It was taking away their humanity bit by bit, and without their human counterparts to guide them back, they were getting lost. The only one of them who had been more or less unaffected with the changes was Max. He had Liz.
"In the middle of the night?" Michael growled.
Isabel pulled away the thin sheet that was covering him. "Yes. Now, get your ass in gear. They're waiting. And they are not happy."

Michael growled again, despite himself. This just sucked. What could be so important that they had to wake him up in the middle of the night? In the middle of one of his Maria dreams to be precise. 'Well,' he thought as he rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hand, 'maybe there might just be some action for once.'

His annoyed behavior was completely washed away though, when he and Isabel entered the main tent. Glowing orbs were placed all over the place, their light trying to break through the thick, sticky darkness. Everyone seemed to be there: all of Kira's men, Kira himself, and Max and Liz, of course. Michael didn't even have to look at Max's face to know that this was big. That something had indeed happened.
"Maxwell. What's going on?"
Michael met his best friend's eyes and he had to look away from the intense look he found in them. His eyes moved to Liz who was sitting beside Max, clasping his hand as if it was the only thing keeping her sane.
"There has been a change of plans," Max said. His voice was slow, but if Michael was not mistaken, it carried a new strength, a new determination. What the hell was going on here?

No one said anything. Everyone waited for Max to continue. He slowly rose from his seat and, with sinking hearts, they all watched the reluctance with which Liz let go of his hand. He seemed to have the same problem letting go of her.
"We are re-scheduling the meeting with the Loyalists. I want it earlier."
His voice was firm and it left no room for arguments, but Michael wanted to know the reasons behind this. Kira seemed to agree with him.
"Max, that could be dangerous," he said, rising from his seat.
"I know," Max answered, looking at him, "But there is no longer any choice."
"It takes several days for a secure meeting place to be set up," Michael said, "Kira told us that earlier, Max."

Max turned his head towards him and Michael could see in his eyes that there was no use fighting him. He would do this.
"Not if it's only one person," Max said quietly.
"What?" Isabel exclaimed. Michael could see confusion and fear crossing over Liz's face. She obviously hadn't been informed of that little detail either.
"Max, you can't meet with them alone. You could get yourself killed," Michael said in a hopeless attempt to change his mind.
"There is no time to organize a big meeting and I need to meet with them now. I need to see if we can form an alliance with them right now. Time is running out, Michael."
Michael stared at Max and then turned to Kira for help, but Kira was silent.
"Kira. What do you have to say about this?" Michael asked. He needed someone on his side to force Max not to do this. This was an impulsive decision and Max wasn't impulsive. Something always went wrong when Max was impulsive.

"If the meeting needs to be put in action earlier than we had planned, then the same security can't be established. The only way to be able to create some security in that short time is to make the meeting smaller. Max going on his own is the best solution."
"What? You're agreeing with him?" Isabel asked grimly.
Kira shook his head and turned towards Max. "You can't do this on your own, Max. You need a couple of guards and-"
"I'm going with you," Michael said firmly.
He met Max's eyes and he could see relief flash in his eyes. "I was hoping you would say that," Max said.
"Count me in too," Isabel said.
Max looked at his sister. He had already anticipated that she probably wouldn't want to be left out either and as much as he had tried to let the protective brother side in him win, he knew that if they were placed in possible danger Isabel and Michael were the people he trusted the most and they had been training their powers most together. They were most in sync.

Max nodded in answer to Isabel.
"Max, this isn't like you. What happened?" Isabel asked.
Max glanced over his shoulder in Liz's direction as if he was seeking out her comforting presence.
"They're hurting Emma," he said.
Isabel's eyes widened and her gasp was drowned behind her hand. "What?" she breathed. Of course, they should've anticipated as much; little Emma was in the hands of their enemies and she was defenseless. However, being faced with the cold certainty in Max's voice sent chills down her spine.
"How do you know?" Michael asked.

Max turned his head and looked in Liz's direction again, this time letting his gaze linger at her face for a longer time, as if he was drawing strength from her. "We heard her. She somehow tapped into our connection."
"I've always had a connection with Emma," Liz spoke up. Her voice was so small and weak. So unlike the strong Liz they knew. "But it was stronger from her side. She could always read my feelings through the connection. Tonight, Max and I was connected and she somehow tapped in on our connection."
"Probably because we are stronger when we are connected," Max filled in, "and that made it easier for us to hear her."
"You haven't been able to contact her before?" Isabel asked. The three of them had had sessions where they had tried to use Isabel's sleepwalking abilities to reach Emma, but it hadn't worked. Isabel knew that Max and Liz had continued trying on their own, but their efforts been just as unsuccessful.

Max shook his head. "No, it was as if something was blocking her. Blocking her connection to us. But for some reason that block was missing today."
"Or she was stronger," Isabel said.
Max nodded. "Exactly."
"So, she's in danger?" Michael asked.
"She told me that she was scared," Liz said, "and then she was just gone. But we could feel...pain as she said the words."
"We have to do this now, before they do something serious to her," Max said.
Isabel nodded. "Yes, let's get working."

"Kira, contact the loyalists and tell them that the meeting is off and instead we are going to arrange a smaller meeting. I only want to meet with their leader, but he can have some of his people with him as long as it is safe."
Max, Michael and Isabel were soon deep in conversation about how to plan the meeting. Liz was standing on the fringes of the group, her mind desperately seeking any contact with Emma. But Emma was gone. If it hadn't been for the fact that Max had heard her too, Liz might have wondered if she had imagined it all. But they were hurting her and Liz wasn't going to let anyone hurt her little girl. From the determined glances Max shot in her direction during their planning, she knew that Max was not going to let anyone hurt Emma either. Not if they could help it.

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



Serena took a deep breath before she stepped into the palace. She needed to calm down. There was really nothing to worry about. Yeah, right. She was just going to more or less demand that Livenders let her take Emma outside. She wanted permission to take their precious captive out for the day because she knew that Emma was withering away there in her room. Even though Serena had never met Emma outside captivity, she had been able to sense her carefree and joyous spirit on their first meeting. It was like a faint trace of the girl she once was. But lately, Emma had become withdrawn. She hadn't spoken a word to Serena since Serena had found her crying under her bed. She couldn't get through to her any longer. Either she was almost catatonic, staring off into the air, or she was crying for her mother.

Serena didn't know what they did to her while she wasn't there. From the pieces of information she got out of Emma during her upset crying, she could tell that they were sampling her blood and maybe even scanning her brain. She didn't know what they were looking for. They already knew that she was human. Maybe there were looking for traces of Antarian in her. Maybe they were trying to determine if she had any connection to the king, to Zan.

As Serena walked through the huge halls and stepped up to the guard, she was more determined than ever to help Emma whether she was Zan's daughter or not.
The same bulky guard she had met with when she had been assigned to Emma's case was staring menacingly at her.
*What's your business here?* he huffed.
She took a deep breath, wondering if he had to follow a certain script when he talked.
*I am to meet with The Livenders.*
*Have they requested your presence?* the guard asked, hostility in his voice.
Serena ducked her head slightly, giving off the impression that she was no threat. *No,* she answered.
The guard frowned. *What is your name?*

*Serena.*
And then the same process as before followed. The guard's hands hovered over her so he could determine that she was telling the truth about her identity and could look for any trace of deceit. Serena focused hard to block her thoughts about the loyalists. The guards were well trained and their minds' were powerful, but so was hers and obviously she was able to resist him successfully again since he pulled his hands away and nodded.
*You are free to enter the realm of the Livenders.* With a wave of his hand the door behind him disintegrated and she stepped inside. The only difference from last time was that this time another guard stepped out of the shadows and followed behind her. This time she wasn't expected.

The man she had spoken to last time stepped out of the Lower Chambers and greeted her with a small nod of his head.
*Emotival Serena.* He waved the guard off with his hand and Serena could sense the guard's presence moving to the back of the room. He didn't leave the room, but he gave them privacy.
*Master Leiko,* Serena answered.
*What is your reason for being here?*
*My apologies for interrupting,* Serena said.
*Is everything to your acceptance?*
*Master Leiko,* Serena took a deep breath, *I have something to ask of you.*
*Yes, Emotival Serena.*
*I believe that the little girl, Emma, is in the need of outdoor activities.*

The master nodded. *Yes, I've heard some rather disturbing news. Is there any progress?*
Serena shook her head. *Negative, master. That's why would I consider a change of environment to be of good use.*
Master Leiko looked at her, his expression pensive. *Our interest lies in progress with the human, so whatever can further facilitate a development we fully encourage. However, this is not a decision for me to make on my own. I will consider your request and talk it over with the Elders.*
Serena smiled. *Thank you, master.*

TBC…