Michael sat on a short fence that ran along the side of the road near where they parked Serena's van. The whole concept of trying to work with the Special Unit still didn't sit well with him. Michael believed the Special Unit would betray them. He also didn't enjoy winding up as the lone firm dissenter to Liz's plan. Max explained it, but Michael knew Liz made it up.
In his youth, Michael would defy the others if he couldn't see eye-to-eye with them. However, in this circumstance, he tried to keep reminding himself that he came to El Quartelejo because Isabel asked him to and because she thought Max might need their help.
Unlike in high school, Michael held no desire to escape his present life through uncovering an alien purpose. So he ultimately decided to back down relatively quickly once Isabel supported Max and Liz in coming back to the base to explore some kind of deal. In fact, Michael considered it good that he wound up standing by to bail them out if needed, even though it kept him away from the action. He would struggle to act friendly to the Special Unit, and he would also feel edgy simply from going inside their base.
Ava seemed anxious and didn't try talking to him. Michael barely knew her. He understood they should all appreciate her raising Zan, though. Michael watched as Ava slowly paced to the left of him. From the edge of the fence, past the hood of the van, out to the edge of the road then back. She held her right hand near her mouth and bit her fingernails. Michael never became what anyone could describe as astute, but he noticed that Ava appeared to grow increasingly troubled as the hours passed by since Zan chose to run off with Kivar and Nicholas.
Michael knew his perception of time would slow to a crawl if his thoughts became consumed with what happened at the base. He hopped off the bench, picked up a handful of small pebbles from the ground and hopped back on. He threw one at the driver's side tire well of the van to make a ping sound. He squinted as a gust of wind kicked some dust and dirt up into his eyes. Then, he threw another pebble at the van.
Ping
While Michael argued for breaking Liz out of the Special Unit first, he also supported going to Kivar's ship for Zan. He viewed Zan as just a stupid, confused kid. Michael didn't begrudge Zan for that, though. In fact, he found Zan somewhat relatable. He imagined himself making a similar choice if another alien reached out to only him at that age. Even with his support system growing up of Max and Isabel, Michael always expressed the most interest in claiming an alien identity since his human one living with Hank sucked so much. From what he could tell, Ava didn't encourage Zan to explore or focus on his alien heritage.
Max shared many details making it obvious that Zan wanted to learn more about his alien side. Max, as usual, overthought the whole thing and wouldn't commit to that explanation firmly. Zan made a reckless and impulsive decision to join Nicholas and Kivar, but as someone with his own laundry list of reckless, impulsive decisions, Michael forgave that mistake almost immediately. He massaged the pebbles in his hand, turning his attention back toward them and slid one between his thumb and pointer fingers.
Ping
The time on the road, especially when the group dwindled to just Michael, Maria, Max and Liz helped Michael become more patient. If the group didn't flirt with imminent danger from both the Special Unit and Kivar and his forces, Michael might've found this quiet, desolate setting a welcome, peaceful environment. Now he needed to continuously resist the temptation to instruct Ava to hop in the van, pull up to the base and charge in. He imagined telling Max, Isabel and a dismayed Liz that he couldn't wait anymore. And he imagined telling whoever from the Special Unit they spoke to that they blew their chance to work out terms. Michael smiled as he snapped back to reality as he pushed that fantasy aside and looked down at the pebbles in his hand.
Ping
As Ava made her way toward the road with her back toward Michael, she froze in her tracks at the sound of that last pebble striking the wheel well on the van. She put her hand down from biting her nails, spun around and glared at Michael.
"What?" Michael asked plainly, wondering why she suddenly seemed bothered by the sound of the pebbles hitting the van.
Ava fired back with a question of her own, "Why you gotta do that?" she asked, sounding annoyed.
"Not much else to do," Michael answered with a shrug. "Besides we both know this…" he held up a pebble and threw it toward the van again.
Ping
"…isn't what's really bothering you," Michael finished.
Ava's demeanor changed and she seemed slightly amused. "You some kind of shrink now?"
"I don't have to be to know you're worried about your kid," Michael said bluntly but also with empathy.
"Yeah," Ava confirmed and then started to get fiery, "so how do you sit there so casual? You may not know Zan well, but you seem pretty tight with Max. Why don't you care about his kid? And I know you don't like 'em goin' to the Special Unit. And none of us know what it's gonna be like to storm the ship. You got a kid, a wife. You wonder what'll happen to them if you get yourself killed?"
"You're right," Michael admitted, "I got a lot to worry about too. That's why I do this. It's Zen."
Ava laughed out loud. "Ain't Kyle the Buddhist? What do you know about Zen?"
Michael realized Ava's reaction shouldn't surprise him. Back at the camper he just displayed some of his patented hot-headedness, which he also showed her at times in high school when he made his first impression. And he talked to her bluntly when voicing his support for prioritizing Liz's rescue from the Special Unit over Zan's rescue from Kivar.
From what Michael knew, Ava didn't enjoy a good relationship with Rath or Lonnie. Sharing Rath's face and at times giving Ava attitude, Michael understood why he could rub her the wrong way. He knew he evolved from that hot-headed guy from high school in so many ways, but the stress of things now put Michael more on edge. In this moment, he felt a bit of guilt for not making an effort to treat Ava more kindly.
"I know," Michael acknowledged with a warm smile, "I'm not exactly someone you'd ever imagine meditating in robes sitting on a mountainside, but, like you said, we're all feeling pretty stressed right now. It's something about the rhythm of the sound that brings a little calming influence."
"Oh, yeah?" Ava remarked, accepting Michael's intentionally friendly tone and matching his mood to some degree.
Michael gestured for Ava to come sit beside him on the fence and reached down to pick up a few more pebbles. She came and sat next to him on the fence as he sat back up.
"Here," he said handing half his pebble pile to Ava, "try it."
Ava grabbed a pebble and threw it with a fair amount of force at the van.
DONG
"Whoa," Michael yelled in reaction to the loud sound.
"No good?" Ava asked.
Michael shook his head no. "It's more of a toss than a throw. Think of it like a soft toss."
Michael gestured the motion he used with Ava watching so she got a better idea of the amount of force. Ava tried again and this time better mimicked what Michael did with his pebble tosses.
Ping
"That's it," Michael said to assure her. "Now just wait—maybe 30 seconds or so—and toss again."
They waited in silence as Ava timed in her head a good time for the next toss.
Ping
Ava looked over at Michael and smiled with genuine joy, "Ok, yeah, I do like this."
Before she could think about tossing another pebble, they heard an engine. Both looked to their left toward the base and saw a Humvee slowly approaching their position. It didn't feel like an obvious, aggressive attack, but Michael expected the group to rejoin them on foot. He dropped his pebbles and rose to his feet. Ava did the same.
The Humvee came to a stop and Max and Isabel popped out of it. Michael exhaled in relief.
"Maxwell, what's all this?" Michael asked.
"We don't have a lot of time," Max replied. "The Special Unit has technology that will help us pinpoint the exact location of Kivar's ship. They'll drive us right up to it and then we can go inside."
"And then?" Michael followed up.
"We'll explain the rest on the way," Isabel promised, "now get in."
Michael and Ava hopped into the Humvee, which drove off toward the location of the crash. Max and Isabel explained the plan to disable the ship's cloak and then bury it once they escaped with Zan. They explained that Liz and Serena stayed behind to stay with Agent Samuelson at the Special Unit command center. The ability of Liz or Serena to stop the Special Unit from attacking the moment they boarded the ship didn't inspire much confidence in Michael that leaving them behind would help. But he moved past the point of arguing and didn't want to do so in front of the Special Unit agent driving the Humvee.
After a 20 minute ride, the Humvee pulled into an area barricaded off from the public by the military.
"We need to wait here," the driver told them.
Michael flashed a look of unease at Max. It didn't seem right working with the military in this fashion and Michael would feel better as soon as they could get out of the vehicle and go into attack mode on the ship.
The EMP grenade attack didn't make a lot of sound or generate any light or explosions. Michael couldn't figure out what happened from their vantage point in the Humvee, which only contributed to his unease as the Royal Four sat quietly.
"Woohoo, we got 'em!" A voice announced over the driver's radio.
The voice then announced some numbers and without a word the driver sped off. Michael didn't quite understand what the numbers meant, but he recognized that they helped their driver take them to the correct location. As they neared their destination, the Humvee began to slow. From his position crouching between the two back seats, Michael leaned forward to look at the massive, metallic, saucer-shaped spacecraft. He couldn't help but feel in awe at his first glimpse of a spaceship from his home world.
"That's close enough for me," the driver announced, as the Humvee came to a stop.
The Royal Four exited the vehicle without a word and headed toward the saucer. Michael felt a sense of urgency for going in to rescue Zan and knew that Ava and Max and most likely Isabel also experienced the same thing. Even so, they all walked to the ship. It was a big moment for them. They stopped when they got almost right underneath the edge of the silver disc, which towered above them several feet off the ground.
"Now what?" Michael asked, breaking the silence after just a few seconds.
"Maybe we should start circling it looking for some kind of hatch or something," Max speculated.
"Yo over here," Ava announced.
Michael didn't notice until she said something, but Ava walked about 10 yards to the right of where they initially encountered the craft. Michael and the others quickly walked to join her. Then Ava waived her toward the ship. Michael watched as a white swirl insignia appeared on the craft. The design and contrast of colors mirrored the symbol on the egg-shaped orbs they used to activate the message from Max and Isabel's mother. Ava then pointed her palm up at the image. It started shining brighter for a few seconds. Then, Ava put her hand down. A doorway into the ship started opening and at the same time a ramp began extending to the ground.
"How did you know how to do that?" Isabel asked.
"I got a lot more memories from back home compared to you three," Ava explained.
When the ramp reached the ground, the Royal Four walked up the ramp and boarded the ship. As they stepped inside the doorway closed behind them.
The design of the ship reminded Michael of the architecture of the Granolith Chamber. They entered the ship right in the middle of a hallway as opposed to a room. Michael scanned the area intensely, but he didn't see anyone else nearby.
"Where is everyone?" Max asked to the group, and then he followed up to Ava specifically, "Is this normal?"
"Dunno," Ava replied simply.
"Well, we probably shouldn't just stand here," Michael prompted.
"Right," Max said and gestured for the group to follow him as he turned to the right and began walking.
It felt like 5 minutes went by as they walked in a giant circle in a hallway that apparently went around the outside of the ship. They did see some doorways on the left wall, but without knowing what they might find on the other side, no one stopped to try to figure out how to open one of them. Michael wondered if Ava might know.
They started to hear talking in the distance. Max motioned for Michael and the other to hug the left wall. Michael fell in place behind Max, with Ava behind him and Isabel bringing up the rear. The ship curved enough to where as they got closer they could peer ahead of the curve and get eyes on those involved in the conversation.
As they got closer, Michael recognized Nicholas' voice doling out instructions.
"We're going to need everyone working on this, you understand? You have your orders. Now, go."
Michael heard footsteps moving off in the opposite direction. He could see just a little of Nicholas who faced the same direction the others headed in. Nicholas turned around and started walking toward them. Max motioned for everyone to move backward to stay out of sight. Nicholas stopped at a doorway on the left wall, waved his hand across the wall on the right side and then placed his hand over the spot. The door opened and Nicholas moved to step inside.
Michael started walking toward the door, but Max pulled on his shoulder as he walked past.
"What do you think you're doing?" Max asked in a hushed whisper.
"We need to follow him, don't you think?" Michael replied.
"We don't know what could be waiting for us beyond that door," Max noted.
"So?" Ava asked.
"We don't know that we're much safer out here," Isabel said, "and Nicholas can lead us to Zan and Kivar."
"Ok," Max conceded.
Max and Ava went to the right of the door, while Michael and Isabel stayed on the left side. Max looked across and counted down 3, 2, 1 on his fingers. Then, he made the same gesture as Nicholas and opened the door.
The Royal Four quickly filed in. Michael though that the room looked like some kind of mess hall with six tables with bench seating on either side of a center aisle. A series of illuminated, crystal-like rods affixed to the side walls lit up the room more brightly than the hallway. Nicholas was the only other person in the room. He stood in the back of the room at some kind of terminal that Michael guessed distribute food. As the Royal Four fanned out, they formed a curved line along the back of the room. Positioned from left to right were Isabel, Michael, Max and Ava. Nicholas turned around and the Royal Four stuck out their hands at him.
"Well, what do we have here?" Nicholas asked rhetorically. "This is bold."
"You can't take all four us," Michael postured.
"Maybe, but maybe I don't have to," Nicholas sneered.
"Where's Zan?" Max demanded.
"And Kivar," Isabell added.
"You know," Nicholas said, not sounding at all worried, "I don't have any history with the boy, Zan. In fact, he was a good friend to me. Kivar wants to kill him, but I don't see the point."
"Where the hell is he?!" Ava asked.
Michael expected some sort of smug tease, but Nicholas surprised him with a simple answer.
"He's four levels down," Nicholas instructed. "As you circle the floor it's the only door with a guard outside."
Ava immediately headed toward the door. Michael didn't want to just leave Nicholas here and Isabel didn't seem like she intended to head out after Zan, either. Max appeared caught in between.
"We should all go," Max said.
"You and Ava should go," Isabel suggested, "there's more we can learn here."
"We got this," Michael reinforced, "you two go get Zan."
Max followed Ava out of the room leaving only Michael, Isabel and Nicholas. Michael shuffled off just to the right of the center aisle while Isabel stayed on the left side. Nicholas remained in the middle of the aisle, though he did inch closer to them compared to his position right along the back wall when they first entered.
"So as long as you're being so helpful, tell us where to find Kivar," Michael demanded.
Nicholas smirked, "Just so you're both clear: I may have developed a soft spot for the boy, Zan, but that doesn't mean I've sworn off my allegiance to Kivar or that I'll ever be any kind of friend to the Royal Four."
Michael didn't know what they could do. He believed that he and Isabel could possibly hold their own long enough to flee the room if Nicholas turned violent, but he didn't think they could overpower him to the point of forcing him to talk.
"Just tell us," Isabel insisted, appearing more confident—or maybe just more committed—than Michael to press Nicholas for information on Kivar's location.
"You want to try to get inside my head again, Vilandra?" Nicholas baited. "I think you'll find I'm much more formidable when I'm fully awake."
To Michael's surprise, Isabel surged into action without hesitation. Nicholas seemed to sense her predatory lash out coming a split second early as he dove out of the way of a white pulse of energy Isabel shot in his direction. Nicholas took cover under one of the dining tables as Isabel recklessly fired another blast toward Nicholas, which he also dodged.
"Hey," Michael shouted out, "you need to be more careful and defend yoursel…"
Before Michael could finish his thought, Nicholas sprang to his feet and extended his pointer and middle fingers in toward Isabel just as he did a few times in high school. Isabel got hit with intense pain and dropped to her knees in agony. Michael twisted toward Nicholas looking to strike him with a blow while he attacked Isabel. But Nicholas proved too quick and waved his other hand in Michael's direction. Michael felt his feet leave the ground, and he got flung backward to the wall behind him, smashing into it with great force.
Michael came to and realized he blacked out for a few seconds. Nicholas crouched over him with a hand on Michael's chest. Michael rushed to move his hand up to push Nicholas off him. He released energy and Nicholas did skid back a few inches. Michael believed he packed enough force into his attack to propel Nicholas back far enough to cover about half the distance of the room.
But as Nicholas skidded back just far enough away to where his hand no longer could touch Michael's chest, Michael witnessed Nicholas' face turn gray and realized it happened to his whole body until it all turned to dust and crashed down to the ground. With Nicholas gone and flakes of skin from his husk floating in the air, Michael saw Isabel standing closer to the back wall, directly behind where Nicholas stood. With her hand still extended, Michael realized that she used her powers to pry one of the light crystals from the side wall. Isabel then thrust it into the seal of Nicholas' husk. They all knew the precise spot because Courtney showed Michael back in high school. The impact broke the seal of the husk and killed Nicholas instantly.
Isabel lowered her hand and the light crystal, still illuminated, clanged against the metallic floor below. A small stream of blood trickled below her left nostril. Isabel rushed toward him and helped Michael to his feet.
"Michael," she said with concern, "are you ok?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yes," Isabel acknowledged verbally and also nodded.
"What the hell was that?" Michael asked.
"What do you mean?" Isabel sounded half confused and half defensive.
"You killed him," Michael stated clearly, something he didn't think should be taken lightly.
"He was going to kill you, Michael," Isabel shot back.
"He was going to try," Michael said with dismay, "but I think I could've pushed him off of me."
"And what was I supposed to do? Stand back and take the chance that you couldn't?" Isabel countered.
"Fair enough," Michael conceded, "and thanks. But you were kind of quick to start our attack don't you think?"
Again, Isabel turned defensive, "I can't believe you of all people are lecturing me about being rash."
"Hey, I've gotten smarter with age, all right?" Michael countered with a fiery retort. "And that's because I've needed to. We needed Nicholas to give us a beat on Kivar's location."
"Do you really think he was going to cave and give us any information?" Isabel asked emphatically.
"I guess we'll never know," Michael said with a degree of exasperation. "…Because you killed him. It was almost like you wanted to kill him—like more than you wanted anything else from him."
Isabel's facial expression softened and became pensive as the gravity of taking a life seemed to set in some. Michael wondered if he pushed too hard and needed to give her more support.
Michael wasn't there when she killed Vanessa Whitaker to see her immediate reaction. However from Isabel's account, she found it a terrifying and haunting encounter. She faced a kill or be killed circumstance, and Isabel came out of that experience shook to her very core.
Now Michael got the impression that she felt almost satisfied. He thought his points of her being too quick and vicious in her attack were valid.
"Since we don't know where to find Kivar, we should head toward where they're keeping Zan in case Max and Ava ran into any trouble and need our help," Isabel said.
Michael simply nodded, and the two of them left the mess hall side by side.