Summary: (AU) Liz meets another alien while trying to escape from Roswell and the events of the end of Season 1 (the cave - you all know what I mean!)
Could this stranger, friend or foe, hold the key to Liz's own destiny?
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell so I'm not taking any of the credit from the creators for this fantastic show. Pity: I'd soo love to be mega-rich by now - and better yet, hold creative license over Tess' head (behave, vixen!) :D The OC's are mine, and I will fight viciously to keep them!
I should probably change the rating for this chapter, as it gets a little violent half way through, but it shouldn't be too bad ... I hope! Hey, you can always skip the middle section of this chapter - it's only for a little while!
Reviews: Thanks guys - I know I haven't given much time to respond to the last chapter - but I had this chapter done and I thought I had better upload it or I'll start fiddling with it endlessly!
To Just Me: Sorry if my teasers are, well ... too evil, but I'm just an evil-ish person ( yeah, I don't think that's really a word, either, but hey!) Glad you liked last chapter: I was hoping you'd enjoy the little Tess bashing Akela got into - she seems to just encourage it, doesn't she! Thanks for the imput with Akela's little revelation on Liz's emotional state - glad it worked out so well, but if I'm not hitting the mark feel free to tell me and I'll work on it! You'll just have to wait and see about Tess' kidnapper (tho seeing how you've been pretty much on the mark so far - you'll prob get this one too!) And yeah, Akela is insane in the membrane to be choosing to enter the realms of high school ... but I think she gets it now! Thanks for being the only one to review so far - luv'em heaps!
And now on to the next chapter …
Chapter Ten: The Masks We Wear; The Secrets We Keep – Part One.
The shrill ringing of office phones was a constant stream of white noise that filled the normally bustling office space with its demanding tones and Liz raised a hand to rub away an oncoming headache. Her mind raced, and even though she was seated at her desk in the open area of Senator Whitaker's Roswell chambers, her thoughts were not work-related. They kept racing back over the words Max had declared to her at the end of the school day, only a few hours ago, words that had shaken the core of her resolve. Every time the words rolled around in her mind, the memory replaying itself like it was stuck on a continuous time loop, she saw again and again in clearer focus the burning passion in his eyes, and her train of thought made her insides want to melt into a puddle of tingly sensations. Instead, she gripped her hands together, clawing her skin with her nails to force herself out of her dangerous daydreams.
"Get a grip, Parker," she growled at herself under her breath; it was so easy to forget what she didn't want to remember, but freedom of choice was no longer one of her options. Max had a destiny with Tess, and it was only wishful thinking to believe for a second that each time he refused to face it, it was actually going to work at nullifying the path destiny set for him. She couldn't get in the way of his future, not when the secrets she was hiding from him were as dangerous as the dreams she were forced to face each night were telling her the Zai'era's role was once upon a time ago.
Muffled yelling coming from the office her own desk was directly facing distracted her thoughts, and she watched warily as the door swung open sharply to reveal the flushed façade of the Senator's personal assistant. Jenna Karsen stormed out with a dangerously large bunch of files crammed into her small grip, a look of undisguised fury smouldering in her ice blue eyes visible as she glared around the office space before dumping the files unceremoniously on Liz's desk, barking orders before swirling forth to do battle elsewhere. Liz watched her go before turning back to the open doorway, catching the end of what must have been an unsatisfactory telephone call as the Senator slammed down the receiver with unnecessary force, whipping a frustrated hand through her loose blonde hair. Before the door swung back into place, Liz was certain she caught a glimpse of a grey and white tabby cat perched lazily on the outside shelving to the slightly open window casement on the far side of the office.
Drawing in a calming breath, Liz gave the files a discerning once over, then placed them into alphabetical piles that would make it easier for her to re-file. As she began the tedious assignment, her thoughts wondered back to follow in the same vein as before. The Auron was the gift of every Zai'era before her, and like herself, they also had to learn to control its unpredictable joys. It was also a matter of trust; trust in the Auron's abilities and let the charm learn to trust the right host. Ever since she had started working for the Senator, she had been feeling jumpy, the Auron's way of attempting to keep her on her toes and ready for any unexpected events. As Liz learnt to rely on the Auron's power boosts, she began to realise the wisdom behind it's inherent intuition; an ability that matched her own slight sixth sense. There was just something wrong with this entire situation, and that feeling had grown and shaped itself into a spectre that followed her constantly instead of shrinking away with time.
As Liz made her way back to her desk, she found a file left on the edge of her desk that she hadn't remembered being there before. The title on the front was unfamiliar to her, and without the backup support in her new role from Ms Karsen, Liz had no choice but to ask the Senator herself about the file.
Knocking apprehensively on the door, she straightened her shirt subconsciously as the permission she was hoping wouldn't come passed through the solid door into her hearing. Entering quietly then closing the door behind her at the Senator's unspoken bidding, she waited patiently for Whitaker to finish with her phone conversation before asking a question, ignoring the nod to make herself comfortable in one of the seats before her. She couldn't shake the feeling that relaxing her attention for just a moment could be a mistake she shouldn't make.
"What on earth are you still doing here, Parker? It's late; you should be on your way home already!"
Liz merely forced a smile; her one worded reply of "Filing!" delivered with enough disdain to make it believable. Whitaker took it out of her hands, throwing it into a pile with an airy wave that, "Jenna would know just what to do with it!"
"Where is Ms Karsen?"
The Senator's smile was almost predatory. "Just dealing with some business for me – she'll be back shortly. Sorry about before, Parker; things in here can get pretty ugly when tensions rise. Sometimes its easier to just do things yourself, especially when you delegate it to people who can't make a move without messing up!"
"It's fine, really. I know what it's like to have things just go wrong!"
"I'm sure you do." Something in her tone worried Liz a little, and she risked a sharp glance to find Whitaker watching her with a strange expression on her face. Glancing away, her gaze fell back on the open window. The grey cat had moved to sit against the edge, it's little nose pressed against the glass in an almost human way, studying her with alert and watchful eyes that seemed familiar. The Senator followed her gaze, moving to her feet with an ugly look pasted across her face to shoo the feline away, closing the window firmly before turning back to meet Liz's uncertain one with a small smile that made the younger girl feel very uncomfortable. Instinctively, Liz knew there were undercurrents behind the look that she didn't understand, and the air within the office took on a stifling effect.
"Well, I have an evening of budget proposals and take-away to look forward to; wait, your parents own that adorable little themed café, don't they. What's the food like – and no biased answers, now!"
Liz chuckled, hoping the act would relieve some of the tension her body was repressing, but something about the question didn't seem as innocent as it should have been. Before she could answer it, the Senator's face scrunched up slightly, and her nose began to bleed in a heavy red stream. Liz gasped in shock as Whitaker raised a hand to wipe away the blood, leaving a smear across her fingers that she gazed at in surprise.
"Oh, ooh, um … I'll go wet some paper towels," Liz threw over her shoulder as she rushed off after thrusting a box of tissues into the Senator's grasp, the door swinging wide to stand open, casting patterns of shadow over the tarnished hand Whitaker raised up to glare at. She didn't share the same human weaknesses that surrounded her everyday, and the way a human was prone to bleed freely was not something she had ever experienced before. The bitter taste of iron under her tongue was strong as she could feel the blood well up in the back of her throat almost making her gag. This evidence of a flaw in her shell's genetic make-up was not what unsettled her to the point of fear; that emotion was reserved for the familiar voice that danced around the gloom of her mind, laughing her, mocking her, and reminding her with thewarning in blood that she was always watching.
"Akela!" The growl sounded like a curse, bitten off as she slammed her hand against the door to leave a red streaked handprint in her impotent fury. A sharp gasp reminded her she wasn't as helpless as she had thought; the human the Xe'Minah was so determined to protect was within her grasp to do with as she now willed. Reaching out a vice-like grip, she dragged Liz through the open door, pressing her up against it as she lowered her face to glare angrily into the frightened brown eyes beneath her.
"What does she want with you – what are you to her! Tell me!"
Struggling was useless; Vanessa's fingers dug like talons into Liz's arm, pinching her nerves to cause fiery trails of pain to race through her body. A whimper escaped her lips, but Liz couldn't break away from the grip, the Senator's hot breath pressing against her face as the image of being trapped pushed against her mind. The Auron shimmered and sung its displeasure in shades of white and dark rose pink, reaching ever closer to the red of its uncontrollable fury. Vanessa felt the pull of the light, and she reached forward to grab the charm through the fabric of her shirt as her eyes lit up with a gleam of malicious excitement. A second later she had to pull back with a bitten off yelp of pain as the Auron glared with a bright white flash that burned. Turning her hand over slowly, Whitaker found the imprint of the wingless dragons branded into the flesh of her palm in angry red welts, and Liz used the distraction to push the older woman away from her as she made a break for the exits.
Regaining her footing, Vanessa grabbed the ends of Liz's hair to yank her back, slamming her viciously against the wall, and before Liz could steady herself the scarred right followed its brutal partner in a backhanded slap that cracked across Liz's skin with force to send her crashing to her knees. Instead of the pathetic pleading she expected, Vanessa saw the younger girl's form stiffen, flattening her hands out against the floor to balance herself as she turned her head up to face her revealed enemy. Strands of dark hair hid her face for a moment, but as they fell back, Vanessa came face to face with someone else entirely.
Liz's eyes now glowed with a dangerous red, her face pinched into an expression of fury, a faint hiss of escaped breath streamed through clenched teeth that sent a sliver of something cold down Whitaker's spine. Raising herself up slowly, Liz's nearness caused Vanessa to take an automatic step back to keep a measure of distance between them, but her action was in vain. Throwing a violent hand up, a beam of white light tinged with pink erupted from her palm and hit the Senator squarely in the chest, flinging her across the room to crash against the far wall with the ease of a warrior. Stalking after her, a vicious dagger appeared into life in her hand; the blade protruding from the mouth of a white dragon head like a hungry tongue, eager to taste the blood of it's enemy as the ruby red eyes matched the ferocity of Liz's own gleaming orbs.
Whitakerkicked out with her left foot as Liz drew near, connecting with Liz's right knee to stumble her for a moment, giving the older woman a chance to push off the wall to pull herself up, ignored the trickle of blood that seeped from her hairline down her face to drip onto her jacket lapel. Wrenching the offending garment off to allow for freedom of movement, she tossed it aside, keeping her back to the wall as she faced Liz down, the two circling each other, as they searched each movement for any signs of weakness. The half smirk that played around Liz's mouth only angered the Senatormore, and she threw herself forward to swing out a roundhouse kick with enough force to knock the younger girl to the ground. Instead, Liz spun with the blow, turning her body to gain a harder hit to Vanessa's face with the back of her fist that had the Senator stumbling back a few paces, rubbing her cheek at the pain in her jaw. Rather than following up her advantage, Liz watched her opponent with a strange, amused gleam in her glowing eyes, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she pushed her hair back with a careless hand.
Vanessa clenched her teeth in a deep growl, leaping forward to throw speedy manoeuvres with the hope of flustering her opponent. Whitaker knew her worth in battle; she was a seasoned soldier, having fought for her people and for her beliefs for a long time. Liz, however, was not aware of this history, and if she had been, it was doubtful it would have impressed her. She dodged each blow easily, flipping her blade around to land a few skilful slashes against skin with the dagger that had Whitaker stumbling back, tripping over her own feet as she tried to ward off the intensity of each strike. Keeping her wrists locked above her torso so as to knock the blade back, she spun once more with a roundhouse aimed for Liz's head. Prepared for the attack, Liz bent her body out of the way, circling Vanessa's leg to spearhead a kick to the Senator's chest hard enough to send the woman flying into the glass cabinets above the stately desk. As the broken shards crumbled around her, cutting into her skin and the leather cover of the desk she had landed hard on, Liz advanced. Whitaker barely had time to gain her bearings, but she managed to score a fierce kick against an unsuspecting Liz, the younger girl's body bending into the attack, giving time for Vanessa to swing her arm up to hit Liz with enough alien force to send her flying back into the far wall.
Pulling herself to her feet, her eyes flashed brighter, her expression twisting into an angry glare. Clenching her fists, one around the handle of the evil-looking dagger, the other in a gesture of hate that manifested itself in a foreign curse that sounded like something Akela would have thrown at her in her anger. Confused and slightly frightened,Whitaker tried to throw another invisible blast, but this time, a shimmering shield of pink crossing white raised itself before Liz, who hadn't halted as she crossed the room, absorbing the blast in a show of strength. Clenching her left fist tighter, Liz held the fist higher in the air before her and Vanessa could feel invisible fingers crawl across her neck, gripping in an attempt to cut off her air supply.
As Liz reached her,Whitaker tried one last time to throw a blast of power at Liz's shield as her head seemed to swell with the pain of the pressure, her own fingers clawed at the space where she could feel the grip, her fingernails leaving trails of blood blossoming across the scraped path, but Liz absorbed it the same way as she had done the last two, releasing her fist to allow Whitaker to breath again. As Liz reached her, she kicked out at the Senator asthe older womanfell to her knees as she was able to breath once more, resulting in the sickening sound of bones snapping and splintering filling the air; Liz's arm shot forward, aiming a swipe with the blade that missed the target of her opponant's exposed neck as the Senator fell away from the blade, instead cutting into Whitaker's cheek. The burn of the poisoned blade travelled quickly, and she could feel the numbing effects tingle along the edge of the cut as the poison made its way speedily into her immune system, fighting a battle within her.
As Whitaker gasped for air, not able to even scream at the pain past her raw throat, she tried to kick back, attempting to use her body in her defence, but the pain in her ribs was making it hard for her to roll and her kick merely glanced off the side of Liz's face harmlessly. It was enough to anger the younger girl though, and she dropped to her knees, her blade glinting viciously in the uncertain light as she bought it down from her raised position to slice for the Senator's heart. Out of instinct, the Senator jerked out of the way, ignoring the burn of pain that erupted beneath her right breast as she did so, but the blade missed its target again, instead cutting into the skin below her collarbone causing a new eruption of burning painthat forced the Senator to realise she had to find it within her to save herself, or die.
The Senator raised her locked wrists in an attempt to ward off the furious violence fixed against her; Liz gripped the weapon firmly in her sweating grasp as she balanced her stance to continue her attack. In her unnatural rage, the persona of the Auron took over as it craved for a blood lust that was frightening in its strength of purpose. Whitaker was defenceless in the face of such power, and unable to hold back the slashes that were directed at her in unreserved furyshe used her own limited strength to conjure up an invisible force sufficient to hold Liz back long enough to escape,the younger girl dropping her own defences in her frenzy;Vanessa forced her body to obey past the intense pain to scramble to her feet, her face twisted in disgust that the only option open to her if she were to complete her first and only accepted mission was the way of a coward. As the once dominant Senator fled in fear, Liz stretched out her limbs, the blood stained dagger disappearing in a flash of blinding colour as she watched with eyes filled with pure hate.
Her face was distorted with an expression unlike Liz, that for a brief moment she was unrecognisable as the newest bearer of the Auron. The remaining unbroken glass panels above the Senator's desk reflected a face filled with eyes almost black with their colour, a flash of red dancing in their depths as a strand of red blonde hair fell forward to block her gaze. As she pushed it back, tucking it behind her ear, the reflection had changed again, and this time, Liz saw herself. Holding out a suddenly trembling hand to reach out for the reflection gazing back at her with mirror-like precision, she knew who she had just become, the name escaping her lips in a confused and terrified whisper.
"Catriona …"
Before she could absorb what had just happened, her mobile phone ringing out with the concentration of a fog horn in the empty space outside this office startled her out of her shock. Racing to intercept the call, hoping it was Akela when a small part of her mind angrily vetoed the notion as it sensibly reminded her that Akela's normal mode of communication was to merely invade the thought process with one of her telepathic commands, she answered the call to a seriously freaked out Maria.
"Where are you?"
Gazing around the room from the vantage point of her lonely desk, she realised this place was now enemy territory. "Work."
"Well, get your cute little butt down here, chica, something majorly bad has happened – you don't even need me to tell you it's Czechoslovakian related; cos when is it otherwise in our lives …"
"Maria, you're babbling. Stop right now and listen; are you with Ma-Michael?" Liz didn't wait for Maria to answer affirmatively before continuing, "I need you to warn them; Senator Whitaker is not who she says she is. She's alien – of some sort; and she's out there somewhere, angry and very powerful!" She waited patiently for Maria's expected outburst, holding the phone slightly away from her ear so that the screamed, "WHAT!" wouldn't deafen her.
"Are you ok – what happened!"
"Later, Maria – I'll tell you everything later, but right now I need you to do as I told you and warn them …" Her fingers crossed, Liz winced at having to lie once again to her friend.
"You don't think this has something to do with Tess' disappearance, do you? Oh god, you don't think she was the one to kill Nasedo, do you? …"
"MARIA! Focus! Wait, what? Tess is missing?"
Liz ignored the impatient huff from her friend. "That's what I was trying to tell you! Her phone was found dead outside the back of the Crashdown; it looks like she was kidnapped or something, but no one saw anything. None of the waitresses even remember her being there at all, though I don't blame them for that – even I try very often to erase my memories of her …"
"Maria!"
"Right – babbling. I need my cedar oil! Anyway, she was apparently on to something and now she's gone – and Isabel is doing what she does best to try and find her; Michael's pacing like mad – I swear, if he doesn't stop soon I'm gonna do some serious damage to…"
Something clicked inside her mind; a memory that joined with another to form an equation that Liz didn't like the answer to, as Maria's droning faded into being ignored. "Maria, I have to go. I'll call you later, ok. Remember what I said."
"Wait, no – where are you going? You have to com-," the rest of Maria's startled question was cut off as Liz hung up on her, shoving the phone into her bag as she stormed across the floor to the exit. She had a few questions for Akela, and this time she was going to make sure she got some straight answers.
Maria heard the vacant tone that signalled the call had been cut off and swung around to face Max, who was watching her conversation with that worried gaze that was now beginning to annoy her.
"This is all you're fault, you do know that, don't you?" Before he could respond, the rasping sound of Isabel gasping for air grabbed all their attention and Max raced over to grip his sister's clenched fists as they bunched up the fabric of the bedding beneath her in her agitation. Unconsciously, she let her brother enter the connection, and Max saw for himself what Isabel saw.
Flash.
A hand reaches out, one finger crooked as a saltshaker levitates across tables that bear a striking resemblance to the ones at the Crashdown before landing beside a plate of steaming food.
Flash.
Tess's blonde hair swinging out behind her as she reaches out to shove the swinging doors that lead to the back room of the Crashdown open, her mobile phone clutched tightly in her hand.
Flash.
The squeal of a cat pulsates through their ears, the following laughter a nervous release of tension as Tess dials numbers into her mobile keypad out in the alley behind the Crashdown, then a grunting sound of pain as the scene tilts on its axis to see the blonde girl fall to the ground from various angles after a sharp blow to the head.
Flash.
The sound of mechanical humming grates against a pounding headache; blurred vision takes in the towering forms of giant green pipes as a rising fear threatens to overcome her last vestiges of self-control.
Flash.
Icy cerulean eyes that hold a vicious glee at her prisoner's pain; Tess's screams as her body is beaten and tortured by heavy hands as one word echoes around and around and around …
"Granolith"
Flash.
Max breaks his grip, struggling to catch his breath as his mind tried to make sense of what he had seen. Isabel broke into sharp staccato sobs, raising her knees to her chest in an attempt to close her body into a tight ball, and Max moved to pull her into a warm, comforting embrace.
"What did you see?" Michael's question was quiet, but firm; Isabel only tightened her grip as she grabbed her brother closer to her, her fear that they would eventually have to pay for their differences to their human friends becoming a terrifying reality.
Next Chapter: The Masks We Wear; The Secrets We Keep - Part Two:
Tess is missing, and the panic is beginning to set in. While the search is on to find the blonde Queen, Liz is searching for some answers of her own, and fighting to keep a few held close to her chest. Is the one responsible for Nasedo's death the same one responsible for Tess' disappearance, or is there someone else Liz should be wary of …
AN: So, hi to all those who had a chance to review and to those that haven't – sorry for the rush, but I had this chapter all ready to go and wasn't patient enough to just leave it there … so what did you think of the inevitable Liz/Whitaker confrontation – questions, anyone? That's what the review box is for … and let me know if you think Liz is gonna play nice when her powers are released before the others!
I'll try to get the next chapter up soon – I hadn't planned on it being a two-parter, but I needed to break it up somehow or there'd probably be information overload! Can't have that - I'll lose you all in the maze that has become my plot!
Ciao ciao xx