Chapter Two

By June Goddess

Somehow, Liz had done what Isabel had been unable to do. She had reached Max through Isabel's powers and saved him from death at the hands of the Dupes. It was days later, and Isabel found herself still puzzling over it. Ava, Tess's doppelganger, had said Liz had been changed from when she had been healed from the gunshot wound.

Isabel sighed. The delicate trust Max and Liz now shared had put a stopper on Liz's memory-dreams. And it was not as though the blonde could confront the brunette with the knowledge inside her head. That would be very bad. She was happy for her brother and Liz. They were attempting to be friends. The dead look in Liz's eyes was fading more and more every day.

She sighed again. She could not sleep. A glance at the clock on the nightstand furthered her upset. She would normally be in one of Liz's dreams. Ah, well, she thought. I'll give it a shot. Flipping the yearbook open, she fell into Liz's dreams once more.

"You're the one I trust."

Isabel blinked in the familiar scene of Liz's balcony with the Max look-alike. Liz was near tears watching the man helplessly.

"Please, Liz. I need you to make me fall out of love with you." The dark look, full of regret, speared through Isabel, though she knew he could not see her. He was looking off into the distance.

Liz's tears fell. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what I can do."

The balcony was melting. Isabel went rigid in alarm. This was extremely unusual. Just as though nothing happened, the balcony solidified. The former occupants were still talking, only they were inside.

"Tess left… because of me?" Liz's voice was uncertain.

The Max look-alike shook his head. "No. Because of me." He sighed. "When things between us were… cemented, I pushed Tess away. But without her, we were left unprotected. The four of us - Michael, Isabel, Tess, and I - we form a complete unit. When our enemies came to Earth, Tess was long gone. It was the end of the world."

Isabel's eyes snapped open. The words reverberated through her skull. She forgot to breathe. She could not process this latest dream. Moreover, she had been so surprised, she had leapt out of Liz's memory-dream back to her own body and consciousness. Her lungs were hurting. A painful gasp returned her to normal breathing.

She sat up and looked in her mirror. The face looking back was her own. It was odd to see something so normal as her face. The words "It was the end of the world" kept circling themselves in her head. She could no more stop them from their merry-go-round repetition than stop the herself from blinking.

She sat staring at her reflection until her alarm starting ringing. She gasped at the time. Hurriedly turning off the annoying alarm, she dove for her "Liz Journal" and recorded the latest blip she had stumbled upon. She spent the majority of the morning staring at the words she had written.

Luckily, it was a Saturday, so she did not have school. Which was very good, since she could not concentrate on anything. Diane, concerned for her daughter, suggested she go for a walk. Isabel had agreed. Strangely, she found her steps led her to the Crashdown. Just in time for the end of the lunch rush.

She walked in, waved half-heartedly to a busy and distracted Maria, and sat in a corner booth. She watched as Liz wiped down the counter and alternately ran the cash register. After a few minutes, Maria whirled to a stop in front of her, whipped out her order pad, and poised her pen expectantly.

Isabel blinked. She tilted her head to the side and regarded the other blonde. Maria was looking frazzled, and more so the longer she stood waiting for Isabel's order. She opened her mouth, no doubt to tell Isabel to hurry up, when Isabel decided to speak.

"Actually, Maria, I'd really like to talk to Liz." Maria frowned. "Whenever she's free is good, but I really want to talk to her." Maria crossed her arms. "I'm not really hungry." Maria began tapping her foot. "A coke would be great." Maria smiled beatifically. Isabel sighed.

Her coke arrived ten minutes later. Liz arrived twenty minutes after her second refill.

The brunette smiled nervously. "Hey, Isabel," she greeted quietly. "Maria said you wanted to talk to me?" At Isabel's nod, she looked around the restaurant quickly. "I don't really know how long I have. There's only a brief lull between the lunch rush and the afternoon rush," she warned.

Isabel nodded impatiently. "Yeah, I know. Sit down, Liz. We need to talk." Her voice was harder than she would have liked. Harder than Liz would have liked as well, if her wince was any indication. She softened her voice. "Please."

Liz sat down. She looked at the blonde across from her. She looked at the table top. She looked at the floor. She looked at the doors. She looked at the waitresses still working.

Isabel sighed. This was harder than she thought. She looked at Liz again. She sighed again. "Liz," she began, hesitantly, cursing herself for her reluctance. Liz looked at her. Isabel firmed her resolve once more. "Liz. What did that man - the one who looks like Max - what did he say about the end of the world? What did he mean by it?"

Isabel watched, curiously, as the brunette stilled. She did not appear to be breathing. She was not blinking. Her dark, dark eyes impaled Isabel's with urgency. "How did you find out?" Her words and breath exploded simultaneously. She reached for Isabel's hand and gripped it tightly. "Tell me!" she whispered furiously.

The blonde felt the first glimmer of caution at the girl's reaction. Carefully, she looked around. No one was looking their way. She leaned forward slightly. "I dreamwalked you," she uttered softly.

Dark brown eyes glared into chocolate brown eyes. Long moments passed. A crash came from the backroom, and a fluent stream of Spanish curses - unmistakably Maria's dulcet voice - filtered through the restaurant. Liz pulled back sharply. A quick mutter of dismissal and she was gone.

Isabel sat back and winced as feeling returned to her hand. Looking down, she saw the half-moon marks left by Liz's fingernails. They looked angry. She sighed. Dropping money to the table, she walked out of the Crashdown and meandered the streets of Roswell.

She never saw the occupant of the booth just behind her. She never caught the intent gaze that followed her out. She never looked back to see the thoughtful stare that regarded a certain waitress back to wiping down the counters. And no one saw as he slipped into the backroom and snuck into the living quarters of the Parker family. Completely unnoticed, the young man smiled and passed a hand over his face, changing his appearance to match that of Max Evans.

A few blocks away, Max Evans smiled as he watched Tess feed birds in the park. They had been spending more time together since the trip to New York City. Isabel saw them and changed her course. She did not want to talk to either of those particular alien hybrids. She just wanted to think. She wanted things to be simple again. She did not want this constant feeling that something had gone terribly wrong with Liz. She broke into a run and did not stop until her tears blinded her vision so badly she could no longer see blurs rushing past.

When she did stop, she was at Alex Whitman's house. Breathing hard, she stared at his window, willing his familiar form to appear. But it never did.