Okay, so I lied. I tried so hard to focus on my HP stories and actually studying, but this is stuck in my head. I swear this chapter got written in a dream and I had to wake up to type. Anyway, one goal I gave myself for this story is to use as many references to my favorite cliffie quotes/moments from the TV show either just like they happened or with a twist that fits this story. You got some of that in the previous chapter with the memory of Michael meeting Isabel in the school cafeteria. Hope you like the little Roswell references in this chapter and if you do let me know in a review. BTW thanks for the lovely review I got. It keeps me inspired.
Ready
Michael got in the jeep and explained that Mr. Parker had let him go. Isabel drove and Michael opened the tin can and looked at the flower.
"What do you think it means?" she asks.
"I don't know. But it's the same flower you made in my memory, when we were kids in our planet." They are quiet for a bit then he adds, "It doesn't glow." She looks at him questioningly. "In my memory, the flower glowed like you did. This one is the same, except it's not glowing."
"Okay. We still don't know what the flower or the glowing mean. I saw myself glowing gold and you glowing red in most of my memories. And Max and Tess, I mean Zan and Ava glowed silver and blue in Adam's memory of Zan and I dying. What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe we should ask Tess and Max about it. They said they saw us in a forest making flowers bloom."
"You think it was the same one?"
"Maybe."
"We'll ask. Are you feeling okay, like normal?" She laughs slightly. "What?" he asks.
"Nothing, I just never expected you to be asking me to feel normal. Do we even know what normal is anymore?"
"Sorry?"
"It's alright. I think maybe I'm slowly getting used to this… never knowing what comes next. One day I'm ready to be with Alex and then everything turns upside down… the dreams and flashes, the book, and then Adam… Max and the white room, you dealing with Pierce, then destiny and now all these memories… and glows and alien flowers... It's like I don't know anything anymore, but I'm slowly making peace with that. It's okay as long as we're safe, the four of us, Adam, my parents and our friends, then I'm okay."
"Good. Izzy, whoever sent us down here was smart… they sent us together. And I think… as long as we stay together we're gonna make it. We'll figure things out and get Adam to be safe with us."
"I think so too. It's just… today was too close, Michael. What if I hadn't stopped glowing or you hadn't locked the door? If Mr. Parker had seen -"
"He didn't Izzy. We're okay."
"I know, but we have to be careful. We can't get too close in public places. I don't want to glow again."
"Okay."
"Also… I've been working on things… for Adam and with Tess, to solve the issue with the Geologist." He looks at her questioningly. "I told you it was good that we had some time to plan before we begin the process to get him out of the pod. I talked to my parents about graduating early and they're thrilled. They wanted to reward me and send me to Europe."
"You can't go to Europe!"
"I'm not going! Would you just listen?" she says as the arrive to the desert hills. They get out of the car and he looks at her as they walk. "I told them I wanted to use the rest of the school year to gain work experience, volunteer and tour colleges that accept me. They thought it was really responsible. Mom set me up with an event planner friend of hers for a job interview."
"Event planner?"
"Yeah, like for parties and meetings, a lot of weddings I think."
"So, you'll be stuck going to weddings every weekend?" Michael says as if the idea of it was equivalent to getting the plague.
"I love weddings."
"Figures."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"What would you know about weddings anyway? You've been to how many?"
"None, but they seem like birthday parties with a chick-flick twist. It's like those movies you girls watch… forced merriment with some corny guy who cannot possibly exist and magically dances like a professional."
"Always enlightening, Michael," she said with a sigh. He begins to speak, but she stops him. "Don't. No need to further explain how in your crazy brain a couple's special day is some twisted version of a birthday. Honestly, do you also go around telling children that Santa Claus doesn't exist?" she says, giving him a frown.
A part of him wants to get angry and argue that she takes crap like this too seriously, but it has been a long day and he feels relieved that things have worked out and they remembered and they are safe and talking about jobs of all things. So, Michael chooses to smirk at her glare and tries to be supportive. "Sorry, no plans to scar children with Santa scam tales today. But I'll think about it for December and maybe I'll go to one of your weddings and see what the fuss is about."
"You're awful. Would you really go to a wedding I planned?"
"Sure, whatever. It's the perfect job for you," Michael comments. Then he murmurs almost to himself, "Hail the now wedding Nazi."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," he answers as they get to the podchamber. He opens it.
"Whatever. I don't have the job yet. But if I get it, I will do what they ask me to do for their perfect day. There's nothing Nazi about that."
"Right. I'm sure it won't be like Christmas, mein fuhrer."
She stands in front of him and gives him an evil look.
"What?"
"What?"
They stand in silence for a few seconds then she speaks. "Oh, whatever. Point is I would make decent money if I get that job. Between that and what you're making and saving this summer, we should be financially ready for a baby. I think."
"Yeah."
"Well, I have the interview in two days. Come on." They open the way into Adam's chamber and begin to crawl in.
"What about the Geologist and Tess? Is she okay after the no destiny thing?"
"I don't know," she says, standing in Adam's chamber. Michael follows. "She cried."
"Tess, our Tess, she cried?"
"Michael, she has feelings. She said her feelings and her powers seem stronger the more time she spends with us. Anyway, I think she'll be okay. We talked and she really wants to put the destiny thing behind her and she has a plan to deal with the Geologist."
"I'm listening."
"Her and Alex will lead the Geologists on a wild goose chase around the desert, as far away from this area as possible. Then Tess will mindwarp him into thinking that the find at the Santa Fe office was bogus. Alex came up with a story for the rock, something about black tourmaline. Him and Tess have been figuring that part out."
"What about the piece of the book? We can't let them keep it. They'll keep testing it and send someone else."
"I said the same thing," she adds. He nods. "Tess said some of us would need to go to Santa Fe and recover the piece of the book and replace it with the kind of rock that Tess and Alex came up with. She wanted you and Alex to go with her to do that. Alex can hack into their systems and erase files, she can mindwarp the scientists and you can help steal and then destroy evidence."
"Sound like a good plan. When is this happening?"
"She said the geologist is meeting Alex the week after school starts. I suggested to have Tess pretend to be the girlfriend that the rock was for, that way there's a reason for her to go with Alex when he takes the guy to the desert." Michael laughs. "What?"
"Tess pretend dating Alex?"
"I dated Alex. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing." Isabel gives him a hard look. "I mean it. Nothing. He's just so normal human and all into computers and Tess has always been all about alien stuff and destiny and making moves on Max. It's just weird."
"I guess he was more my type. Sweet and normal," Michael doesn't quite get why her words make him feel uneasy. He just looks at her. "Guess it's in the past. I'm alone again."
"Izzy, you're not alone," he states, holding her hand. He brings her to the pod and they place their hands on the membrane.
She smiles and nods. "Hey baby," Isabel greets. "We brought some a fun one today," she adds, pulling a book out of the bag. She had started bringing distractions like books and pictures to avoid getting flashes. It's pointless now that they have agreed to remember, but the reading had turned into something nice to do anyway.
"The Little Prince," Michael says, looking at what she holds.
"What? It was one of your and Max's favorites when you were little."
"I know," he answers.
"And he's a little king," she says, handing him the book. "You read first." She opens the tin of cookies, hands the flower to Michael and then they sit in front the pod. She leans onto the membrane, listening. She realized a while ago that if she puts her ear against it she can hear his heartbeat. She loves doing it. She eats a cookie and listens to Adam's heart and then Michael's voice as he reads. All her troubles seem to melt away. Everything is peaceful and easy.
Michael places the flower on the floor and opens the book. He looks at Iz and her joyful expression as she leans to listen to Adam. He starts to read, "Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the..."
Things had changed since the day that they had started the memory retrieval. Max and Tess had managed to make peace and become at least allies that were working on being sort of friends. Him and Isabel were convinced that Tess wasn't safe alone in Nasedo's house, especially since she somehow knew he wasn't trustworthy. So Max spoke to the Sheriff and he opened his house to Tess, while Isabel convinced her that moving there was for the best. Michael and Isabel had discussed the flower with Max and Tess and they confirmed that it was the alien flower from their memories. Max said it was called an Alkalean gaze. That Vilandra and the baby had some power called the Alkalean shine and that Rath has been able to produce the flower when he was with Vilandra. Michael never mentioned he remembered them kissing after he made the flower for her. They left the flower hidden in Adam's chamber after their reading session and cookie dinner.
Max had been doing memory retrievals every day. Now that the issue of Tess wasn't there he was committed to help Adam and his sister and friends. The rocks seemed to help and he mostly got memories of his work in Antar, Adam and advanced alien science. He talked to Liz about that and she gave good comparisons with regular science. He tried one more session with all four of them and had remembered the betrothal ceremony Tess had talked about.
It's the day after the meeting with the Geologist. They all sit in Michael's apartment waiting for Tess. Max was nervous. He quietly talks to Liz about DNA and the instrument and explains his latest memories.
"You have to tell them."
"I will. I'm just worried. This is happening too fast."
"It's okay that you remember, Max. It's your destiny."
"No, Liz. I told you destiny is over for me and Tess. Even she said it. I'll remember for Adam and then it's done."
"I know."
"So, can we try again? Please."
"Maybe. Let's take it slow. You have this hatching situation to deal with and I still have work with congresswoman Whitaker. We can talk about this again after that, okay?"
"But you'll consider it, us, together?"
"I'll think about it."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Michael is talking to Alex about the book and some of the progress he has been making now that they know the symbol means life bringer.
"The instructions and DNA structure make a lot more sense," Alex says. "I gave Max the corrected text. He said he'll work with Liz to understand it better and that it makes sense with what he's remembering."
Isabel sits with Maria and asks about her music.
"I heard you are joining Alex in a band."
"Yeah. We have our first gig next Saturday at that new place on Walnut street."
"Cool. Do you want us to come?"
"Sure. It would be nice to have support. But maybe don't bring him," she says, looking towards Michael. Isabel doesn't know what to say. She wants to say that this is only temporary and they will get back together but she can't make herself utter the words. "I'm okay you know, with things being over. I think we can be friends, just not yet. Right now, if he's around we might confuse each other or try again and that's no good. You two need to focus on baby Skywalker and I want to focus on my music and everything I wanted before Michael."
"Okay. I'll go with Max and Liz and maybe I can bring Tess, if that's okay with you. She doesn't want Max anymore and she needs to just be a teenager."
"You are sure about all that? I just can't see her not pushing the destiny thing."
"She's trying to move on. She doesn't even look at Max in the face anymore and her only contact with him is through me. And Alex invited her."
"Alright, Ami, you can bring her."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Tess walks looking like she wants to kill somebody.
"What's wrong?" Isabel asks.
"Two words, Kyle and Valenti."
"What about Kyle Valenti?" she says, smiling and raising an eyebrow.
"It is so not like that and this is all your fault. Thanks to you, we live together and he's freaking out for no reason. You'd think he'd never seen a bra in a washing machine or a girl's legs. Not to mention the tampons by my shaver meltdown." The girls can't help but laugh. The boys look uncomfortable. "What?"
Alex speaks, "Nothing. Just well… it'd be hard to live with a really pretty girl all of sudden."
She shrugs and looks at Isabel, "Maybe you should sleep over. We can walk out of his room wearing his football jerseys for breakfast and see if he gets over it." Max and Michael look at her horrified and the girls and Alex look unsure. "What? If he sees two of us, he'll get desensitized to me in jerseys or pj's, right?"
"I think I'm a bit too tall for him to get just an innocent desensitizing peak," Isabel answers jokingly. Michael looks at her like she's gone insane. "We'll talk about it later," she adds, looking at Tess. "Max, you had something to say?"
"Yeah… but maybe we should make sure we're all in the same page." They all look at him confused. "About the geologist and the flower. We need to know how things went with him and we haven't told everyone about the flower."
"So? It's just a flower," Michael answers.
"It's not. Trust me. Let's go over the Geologist issue first and then the flower." Max says.
"Okay," Alex replies. "We took him southeast way pass Bottomless Lakes State park. Tess got him fascinated with some rocks over there. So far so good."
"So you already mind warped him?" Maria asks.
"No, I just talked to him. Told him how much I got to love the dessert after moving here and how maybe I wanted to study geology myself. How the rock was the best present my wonderful boyfriend could have possibly gotten me." Isabel laughs at her. Alex blushes. Michael smirks. Max looks strangely disturbed and Liz looks concerned.
"That's so disturbingly cheesy, I literally need wine," Maria says.
"Well, I think Kevin bought it and he is checking all sorts of formations and rocks and even the nearby streams over that area. He said he'll call us in a week."
"And this Kevin will report his findings to you? Just like that?" Michael asks, looking skeptical.
"I think he just wants to see Tess," Alex answers.
"He's young. Probably finished college not that long ago. So… whatever," Tess says.
"You flirted, didn't you?" Isabel asks.
"No. He's very handsome, like supermodel perfect. But I did not flirt. He just seems interested for some reason, but I was a very in love girlfriend, wasn't I?" she says, looking at Alex.
He blushes furiously, "Yeah… lovely... I mean loving… yeah."
"I bet she was," Maria says.
Tess glares at her. Alex speaks, "So what's this flower we need to know about?"
"Alkalean gazes," Max answers.
"Alka what?" Maria asks.
"Alkalean gazes," Isabel says. "They're this yellow flowers from our planet. I… I accidentally made one a few weeks ago at the Crashdown."
"You did?" Alex asks, looking at her with surprise in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I… you've been telling me about the band and then we always get busy talking about the geologist and the book again and how to pretend to be Tess' boyfriend and everything… I don't know."
"Were you two together? When she made the flower, where the two of you together?" Maria asks, looking at Michael.
"Yeah. It's a glowing flower," he answers, aware that Maria has seen. She has that look about her and Michael knows that her wheels are turning. She should be a detective, he thinks.
"We just hugged," Isabel adds defensively. "Michael remembered us meeting in our planet at his parents' funeral. I acted like an idiot. He forgave me and we hugged."
"Right," Maria says. Her expression not giving anything away to anyone, except Michael knew better.
Alex looks at Isabel for a second. Then he turns to Maria and after a couple of seconds she nods at him.
"So, why is this important again?" Michael asks.
"Because I… I remembered how to hatch Adam. We can't do it without the Alkalean shine." Everyone stares. "I did what you asked me," he says, looking at Michael. "I've been using the stones everyday and remembering. I think I got the last piece I needed yesterday. The instrument is in the pod chamber with Adam. I can retrieve it using my essence."
"And you didn't tell us!" Michael replies.
"We had already planned to meet today to talk about the Geologist. What's one more day?"
Michael is about to reply, but Isabel has already stood and approached him. She places a hand on his arm and he looks at her, obviously furious. "Let me," she pleads. He turns away and faces the wall as if that is what he needs to control himself. "Max, you should have come to us right away. You know how important Adam is. We're changing our entire lives for him." Michael turns back to them and listens. "You can't keep things from Michael or me when it comes to Adam. Not small details, not even for a day. I'm asking as your sister, please. He's my baby."
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"Just don't do this again. Tell us everything," she says, sitting back down between Maria and Tess.
"This will take a while. I… I remember meeting with the architects and the elders. I worked with them to heal the sick and injured and also with couples that wanted to bond and try to have children. See… in our galaxy our kind had issues with reproduction. We could live for about two hundred years and do all these incredible things. But the mutations that gave us our powers also made it harder for us to reproduce. There was a bonding ceremony of sorts where a group of architects or sometimes their leader, the king, would manipulate the molecules of the couple so they could be more compatible. It was a hard process and if the mates didn't have good compatibility already it could kill them and the ones who performed the bond. So, often, mates were chosen based on genetic make-up and how likely the match could result in a baby."
"That's why the baby was a miracle!" Tess interrupts. "In my memory, when I defended them, I said that the General and the Princess had been able to conceive a child without any bonding."
"Yes," Max says, looking at her. "That's true. That's the first reason why you claimed he was the life bringer and future king and swore to defend him. We agreed to make him the next king and asked them to name him Adameus. It's also why bringing him was so hard and hatching him is complicated. I remember a meeting with the architects. You going insane and refusing to make any backup plans in case of your death unless you could have your baby send to Earth with you," he says, looking at his sister.
"You both agreed with her," he adds, looking at Michael and Tess. "We explained some of the issues to the three of you. How his essence was too new and fragile and trying to capture it while he was still in Lonnie would be very painful for her, which was all true. But I knew that pain was the least of my sister's concerns. Then… I remember meeting them without you, before I even told you about Earth and the procedure to save us. We were discussing the biggest issues we had with the baby. Adam's basic composition was unknown to all of us and we were afraid that even if we captured his essence we wouldn't be able to mix it with human DNA in the same way we had designed for the rest of us. See the architects understood exactly how our genetics came to be. They had samples from our parents and records of their bonds and what they had done to increase compatibility. The architects usually rated a bond after it was done and all our parents had extremely high scores which meant they would be able to conceive two to three children in the next two cycles of the suns. Our parents had the two of us. Ava was the youngest of three. Rath never had siblings because his parents were soldiers and both were killed before they had another child. The architects predicted about sixty percent of what our compositions would be like even before we were conceived and we had all those records along with samples we gave through the years as royals and part of the defense team. But we didn't have half of that for Adam. Just the samples from Vilandra, Rath and a few from the baby inside her. But not a clue of how parental compatibility worked, how their cells merged or why the baby they made had the traits it did. We didn't know how to merge those cells with ones from a human, much less have him hatch from a pod or even put inside the hybrid version of my sister again."
"So? He's here. You must have found a way. How do we get him out?" Michael asks.
"It's not so easy, Michael. The elders, the architects and Zan were at a lost. The baby had strands for both of his parents' powers and mine along with markers of a few other powers that were in him just not as strongly. They didn't know how to preserve his composition while significantly mixing it with human anatomic structures. So, we didn't. Adam got enough DNA and tissue transfer from a human to survive the trip in a pod that I designed for him, but his internal organs are still mostly alien. If he gets out of the pod without the proper transfer and enough power to fight infections and heal himself whenever needed, he won't be able to eat or handle the sun or even breathe. He wouldn't survive more than a few minutes and all he would feel in that short time is pain."
"But Michael and I can't heal ourselves. Are you saying… is he going to die?" Isabel questions, looking as if she would rather die herself.
Michael kneels in front of her, "He is not going to die. Look at me. I won't let it happen, okay. It won't happen." They're holding hands and she nods at him. Maria moves and Michael takes the spot next to Isabel.
"I won't let it happen either and I'm saying he needs more than your DNA. He needs a healer and the power of the Alkalean shine to have his organs develop properly for this planet," Max says. "I… Zan knew the baby had a healing strand that was stronger than his. He told Ava that once. He said, "where I have failed he should succeed". But, Adam was still a baby that hadn't been born and had never used his powers, not even accidentally. So, Zan used the four royal seals to get the hybrid baby to have awareness and active powers while in the pod. I believe that Adam can heal himself and keep things around him alive and growing. The pods were only designed to last for five turns of the silver suns. That's fifty years. But he's managed to keep the biosystem going and himself alive for longer. I think that even now in the pod, he can do all that we could do in our planet and maybe more. I think that's why we all got flashes when we visited him and Tess felt better after it. He was gliding into our minds and healing us. He combined Vilandra's and Zan's powers."
"Oh my god, the flower!" Isabel says.
"What about it?" Max asks.
"You said that Vilandra and Adam had the Alkalean shine and that he can keep things around him alive. I… after I made the flower, we left it in Adam's chamber so no one could find it. Max, it took root by his pod. It's growing and shining."
"He did that, just like the attack. When he attacked Alex and Maria with the rocks. That really was him using Rath's power," Michael says.
"Yes. And that makes sense. The flower is a live expression of Vilandra's power. One of the elders said that those with the shine can make plants grow in the most arid of places. That when darkness comes and all is hopeless they bring the brightest light. It's related my power. They said that in the royal line, the girls usually had the shine and the boys had healing. But Adam has both."
"What else Max? Why did they go through the trouble of making sure the four of us could be saved and sent to earth? Your mother is still alive, she could have led armies to fight our enemies. Why are we supposed to be the ones to help? Why are we so darn special?" Tess asks.
"I don't know. I… I remember the architects telling me one common thing we had was that our parents' bonds were all performed by a king, my grandfather, Posaidrak of the Valyrs. And the elders said that the royal four of Antar were supposed to maintain the balance of the galaxy, to help heal, grow, fight, and learn, but most importantly love. I think… I think Adam is the love part. Vilandra and Rath loved him enough to not want any sort of life without him. And Ava was with them and in the end Zan found a way. We need to start the hatching process soon," Max says.
"Alright Maxwell, we're finally on the same page," Michael states. "Tell us what to do."
Isabel squeezes Michael's hand slightly and adds, "We're ready."
"We're not, Izzy," Max answers. "If this works, and I want to make it work as soon as possible, what are we going to tell mom and dad? And everyone else?"
Michael again looks ready to reply. This time Liz interrupts. "Max is right. You guys need a good plan. We don't want Adam to call attention to you and get the FBI back on your tails. I know I don't want what happened to Max to happen to anyone else, especially a baby. I'm sure you don't want that either. You need to figure out how you're going to explain Adam."
"Isn't it obvious?" Tess says. "It's their baby. The book says it will take around six months for Adam to come out of the pod after using the instrument and giving him the proper vector transfer." She looks towards Iz and Michael. "So, start dating or at least pretend. A few trips to the eraser room and the gossip spread will explain a baby."
"She's right," Maria says, looking at Michael. Then she turns to Tess, "But, how would you explain her looking like a supermodel for the next few months when she's supposed to be pregnant?"
"We can't. But I'll look the part," Isabel says. "Tess and I can change our appearances." She moves her hands over Tess' hair and suddenly it's brown and straight.
"We play around with our looks sometimes," Tess adds, repeating Isabel's motions and turning herself back to normal.
"It'll be harder, but I think with some help I can look like I'm pregnant," Isabel says. Tess nods at her and holds her free hand.
"Okay," Max says. "I guess we're ready."
So, I hope you liked.
Next chapter: Dates, lies and Kevin.