Isabel turned then only to see a pair of very memorable blue eyes. That was when Isabel did something that she had never done nor thought she'd ever do. She passed out.
"Okay that wasn't the welcome I was looking for although I should have done it with a little less dramatic flair." Alex joked as he moved to help Liz with the unconscious Isabel. He was thankful the petite brunette had been behind her to catch her or she would have landed in a big heap on the desert floor.
"At least when you made yourself known to me, I was sitting down." Liz joked back. "You know it is kind of shock to see you alive."
"I can't help if women faint at the sight of me." Alex said. He ran his hand down Isabel's face and it suddenly hit him how much he'd missed her. Sure he knew he had before but now with her right in front of him, close enough to touch, the feeling had been amplified ten fold. "Isabel. Isabel. You have to wake up."
Isabel heard Alex's familiar voice and opened her eyes. She looked at him dreamily for a minute before she said, "I don't want to wake up, if I wake up you'll be gone."
"No I won't Isabel. I'm not a dream, I'm real and I'm here." Alex said.
Isabel sat up suddenly and crushed him to her in a big hug. He was right, he was real. She thought she'd never feel his touch ever again and here he was, right in front of her. And she wasn't going to let him go.
"Umm, Izzy. I'm not dead so that means I need to breathe." Alex gasped out.
"Sorry." Isabel said as she released her grip but didn't let go. Instead she pulled him close and planted an eager kiss to his lips. The fact that Liz was standing next to them didn't stop her from kissing him with all the passion she felt for him.
Alex was half-shocked by the feel of Isabel's lips on his but his happiness far outweighed it. He was so happy to see her. Her soft lips felt like heaven and he moved to deepen the kiss even more. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she quickly opened her mouth in invitation. Isabel clutched her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply while letting his tongue roam around her mouth familiarizing each other with each other's tastes once again.
They kissed until they were breathless and pulled apart. "Now that's more like the welcome I was looking for."
Liz and Isabel both giggled at Alex's statement. Alex just smiled and directed his words towards Isabel. "I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that you believe everything so quickly. I didn't think you'd listen to Liz."
"I'll admit at first, I didn't believe her. I thought maybe she had gone completely insane or that maybe one of our enemies had gotten to her but then I realized something. Liz has always been right. She was right about Topolsky; she was right about trusting you, and right about trusting the Sheriff just to name a few. And when I saw you, I knew that she was right about her assumptions about your death or supposed death." Isabel explained. "What happened?"
"She was right about something else too, not to trust Tess." Alex stated.
"You mean, Tess had something to do with all of this?" Isabel asked but found herself not completely surprised. While Tess was a part of their group, she had never completely trusted her after her manipulations when she first came to town. Even after she rescued Tess from Whitacker. Of course now she wished she would have left her there in the warehouse and ignored her visions of Tess in trouble.
"The whole time I was supposed to be in Sweden, Tess really had me in Las Cruces under the influence of her mindwarp. I was using their computer to translate the destiny book. After I was done, she sent me back to Roswell with no idea what had really been happening. Then right after you and Maria left the house that day, I broke out of the mind warp and remembered everything. I went to see her, and confronted her. When she knew she was caught, she knew she couldn't let that happen. She tried to make me forget but there was too much damage to my brain and I collapsed. She set up the whole car accident to finish me off but it didn't. Khivar's men rescued me at the morgue and took me away to heal me. That's when I remembered everything. I tried to let you know but..."
"I thought it was a dream." Isabel finished for him. "I wondered why that dream felt so much more real then the others ones I had about your death. In that one you told me that your death was a misunderstanding while the others were you telling me goodbye. At least until I started having other...dreams."
She looked at Liz and Alex and asked. "The dreams I've been having, they've been about my pass life. They were memories weren't they?"
"Yes, they were. I hope your not angry but I asked Alex's sister who is here on Earth as well to go into your dreams and help you along with some of your memories." Liz explained.
Isabel didn't know what to say so she just nodded. She couldn't believe what Tess had done. She was far worse then Isabel had given her credit for. And to think she had done it all under their noses with none of them being the wiser. Even thinking she was on their side. She felt Alex hug her close and said, "Since you're handling this so well, there's someone else who would like to join our little chat. As well as see Liz."
"Who?"
"Khivar." Liz said excitedly.
"How did you know he was here Liz?" Isabel asked curiously.
"One of my powers is the abilities to read people's emotions. I can sense them at quite a distance so I knew because I felt him as well as the dozen of his men that came with him and Alex." Liz explained. She turned in the direction that she felt Khivar and shouted, "It's okay."
Isabel watched as a tall man with dark blonde hair and eyes whose color was similar to Alex's walk out from the rocks. His face was handsome although she thought she saw signs of a hard life. His light features gave him the appearance of being opposite of her brother but there were some similarities as well. Plus he had the same authoritative air about him. He was definitely the one in charge. But it looked like there was someone else who controlled him, Liz.
Isabel had spent enough years watching Max fawn over Liz to recognize the absorption of Khivar's attention on Liz. Khivar and Liz's gazes were locked on each other, never wavering. It was obvious to Isabel that there was still something between the two of them. She continued to watch as he walked straight over to Liz and stood by her side. She felt somewhat surprised He nodded to her, "Isabel."
"Khivar." Isabel greeted. She put on her best ice princess facade and said, " I must admit that this is somewhat strange meeting with you."
"I can imagine." Khivar stated. "But you are in no danger, I hope you know that."
Isabel looked at Liz then at Alex's smiling face and said, "Yes, I do.."
"Good, because you are safe as long as you are here. Some of my men have set up a perimeter so that no one will get close without our knowing." Khivar informed them.
"Wouldn't want anyone to stumble upon the fact that I'm alive, could raise some questions that would be a little hard to answer." Alex joked.
"Who else knows?" Isabel asked.
"My parents and grandparents, you, Liz, Liz's family, and Kyle." Alex added.
"Both of your families know? Like everything?" Isabel asked surprised and slightly jealous. She had wanted to tell her parents for the longest time but hadn't been allowed to.
"There is so much to tell you." Alex said thinking about replaying the same tale he and Khivar had told Liz.
"Why don't we give you two some time together?" Liz asked. She handed Alex a bag and a cooler before she said, "I knew you would want some time so that's why I asked Isabel to tell her parents that we would be stargazing. There's a blanket and some other stuff in here to make yourselves comfortable."
"Thanks." Isabel said gratefully. The two reunited loves headed off away from them through the rocks.
As Liz watched them go she felt Khivar's hand slip into her own, "And now some of the same time for us."
She didn't get a chance to smile before his lips met hers.
PART 28
Isabel and Alex found a flat area of rock about twenty feet away from the entrance to the pod chamber and Alex had laid out the blanket Liz had given them. It took some time but Alex was able to tell Isabel the story about how Liz and he had come to be on Earth and also how he had gotten his memories. She asked him some questions about their past life but didn't enlighten her as to how he and Liz had died. Even without being an empath like Liz, he knew her emotions were going haywire and didn't need to know what her brother had done. He'd tell her someday but not that night. He just wanted to spend time with her without any interference.
Isabel had just started telling Alex about how her life had been since his death or supposed death when both of their stomachs growled loudly. They both laughed and Isabel started rummaging through the cooler of food Liz had brought. She pulled out a couple of sandwiches and handed them to Alex. She noticed that Liz had even remembered to pack some Tabasco. Isabel noticed that Alex put some on his sandwich but not as much as she did. "Is the fact that you're a full blood alien why you don't eat so much Tabasco?"
"Yeah. Our sense of taste isn't as weakened as yours."
"Sounds like you and Liz got the better end of the deal with the recreation." Isabel commented. "You wouldn't have to worry about someone getting a hold of your blood, and your ship didn't crash."
"And if your ship hadn't crashed you might not even have ended up in Roswell. And we wouldn't have met when we did." Alex stated.
"Or we might not have met at all." Isabel said not sounding like she liked the idea much.
"Oh, we would have met, I would have found you somehow." Alex reassured her.
Isabel smiled at him and munched happily on her sandwich. They sat in comfortable silence just enjoying being with the other one. When they were done eating, Isabel moved so she was sitting between Alex's legs. She laced her fingers between his as she said, "Alex, I have something I want to tell you."
"What?"
"I love you." Isabel said. "I know that I told you in my dream but I wanted to tell you to your face. And I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, I'm sorry for pushing you away, for being so cold to you at times, for everything. I was scared and the way you made me feel was so for lack of a better term, alien. You were so accepting of everything and me. I thought it was too good to be true so I pushed you away. I just wanted you to know."
Alex rubbed the pad of his finger over the soft skin of her hand and said, "I know you're sorry. And I know that you were scared. You might have the ice princess attitude down to a science but there are somethings you can't hide from me. I could see the fear in your eyes when I tried to get close. I'm not saying that it didn't hurt but I understand. And I think that we both know that through all of it I loved you."
He pulled her close and Isabel stared into his eyes for a moment, unable to speak, unable to think. She laid her hand against the curve of his cheek, feeling the rough texture of his skin there, and watched his eyelids flutter closed. Carefully, she leaned over and kissed him gently. He waited a moment and then he responded softly.
After a moment, he pulled back and laid his forehead against hers, but his eyes were burning with love now. “Isabel or Vilandra, which ever name you are called, I love you.”
Before she could say anything in response, he pulled her tightly into his arms and began to kiss her in earnest. Unlike the gentleness of their first kiss and as desperate as the other ones since their reunion, this one was fierce and demanding, and Isabel was borne back by the pent-up passion she sensed in him now. She was glad they were sitting because if they’d been standing she was sure that her knees would buckle. The kiss drew her in, melting her into him, into blissful darkness. The warm moisture of his mouth, and his roving hands sparked a tingling fire, which spread rapidly throughout her body and mind. She was his as much as he was hers, totally and forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On the other side of the rocks from Isabel and Alex, Liz lay on her back, as she stared up at the starry night. Constellations glittered clearly through the infinite ebony depths of the sky, and her eyes wandered idly over them, and then to Khivar who lying next to her. But his attention wasn’t on the stars but solely on her. “You know I’m starting to feel like some animal at the zoo who is put out for display.”
Khivar smiled at her and said, “You better get used to it, I plan on doing it for years to come.”
She made a tiny chuckling noise, which caused his heart to skip a beat, and a laugh of sheer delight threatened to explode from within him, for no reason whatsoever. It was ridiculous the effect she had on him, she was the only one to bring the now king of Antar to his knees but he adored it, he adored her. A feeling of happiness trickled pleasurably through him, increasing until it was cascading like a waterfall. Liz brushed against his cheek, with a tiny fluttering touch, and he hugged her tightly in his arms loving the feel of her, her scent, and even the taste of her kisses that seemed to be indelibly imprinted upon his lips. It took him a moment to be able to speak again. “And I doubt that when we get back to Antar that I’ll be the only one staring at you, your parents will probably not let you out of their sight.”
“Can I see them?” Liz asked seriousness. “I mean, one of your memories of how they are now?”
Khivar could see how much it meant for her to see her parents, she wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t. While he didn’t mind the thought of her in his head, only her, he knew she felt she needed his permission. “You can, but I must warn you, the stress they have been through over the years have not been kind.”
Liz nodded as she crept closer to him. She placed her hands to cup his face and stared into his eyes. She felt the connection flair up strongly between them and began to search his memories. There were so many that it would be difficult if she didn’t focus on the image of her parents.
She saw her father and mother standing outside of a ship on a platform talking to Khivar. She saw the scene play out through his eyes. He had been right, they looked older than she remembered, like they had lived a lifetime in just the ten years she’d been gone. She felt her heart grow heavy at the sight of how their grief over her and Ardeth’s death had hit them. She watched as her mother hugged Khivar and she reveled in the feeling, even if she was experiencing it via another person. She heard her mother whisper, “Be careful.”
“I’ll bring her back, I promise.” Khivar said in response before shaking her father’s hand. Kat appeared behind him and said her good-byes as well.
After seeing what she wanted to Liz was about to break the connection when another memory jumped out at her and she couldn’t help but watch it play out.
She watched as a large solemn group of people stood around a body wrapped in silvery cloth, she recognized the Antarian style for a funeral. She was seeing her or Ardeth’s funeral. It wasn’t until she saw the symbol of her family imprinted on her funeral shroud that she knew it was hers. She saw Kat crying in the arms of her father as they stood next to her watching through Khivar’s eyes.
As the last words were spoken Khivar stepped forward, and knelt down next to body. He touched his fingers to his lips before touching the same fingers to her shroud. As he rose he looked up at her parents standing on the other side of her. Her father was holding her mother as they watched the funeral. Liz could tell that they were in deep anguish. As Khivar approached them, he dropped to his knee once again and lowered his head. Liz knew what he was doing, he was asking for their forgiveness for his role he felt he played in her death.
She watched her father raise his hand as if to strike him but the blow never came. In midair it hung until he brought it down onto Khivar’s shoulder in a sign of mercy. Her parents did not blame him, she could see that he loved their daughter as much as they did and he suffered as much as they did.
Liz ended the connection and felt her eyes were filled with tears. She felt Khivar’s fingers come up and brush away the tears away. “Why are you crying?”
“I saw them, before you left and at my funeral. It was just a little much.” Liz explained.
“You’ll see them soon , I promise you that.” Khivar swore.
Liz looked at him and said, “It’s time to end this, it’s time to confront Tess.”
PART 29
Khivar looked at her for a minute to see if she was sincere. She appeared to be but he wanted to be positive about her decision. “Are you sure Liz?”
Liz nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, Kat and I have worn her down and made her suffer. It’s time to let her know that she’s not getting away with her crimes.”
“I’ll help you, what do you need from me?” Khivar asked.
“Not much. The amount of men you have surrounding us will be enough to contain her and take her back to the compound once I’ve gotten her confession. I need to call Kat to let her and Kyle know what’s going on.” Liz said as everything ran through her mind and she started to set things up.
Khivar was quiet as he watched her think and plan. It was interesting to watch her in such deep concentration. She had always had a brilliant mind although he wished she was using it for something other than to plan vengeance. Even if Tess did deserve their wrath.
“I need to talk to Alex in the morning and see if he still has the camera Valenti gave back to him. I’m pretty sure he does, I know after he found out about the aliens Valenti gave us everything he had confiscated in his investigation. And to see if he can rig it up so he could tape what I film.”
“Why do you need it taped?” Khivar asked with interest. He was indeed curious as to her reason; she wasn’t one who was likely to do it for a souvenir.
“Because I plan on sending the tape to Max.” Liz informed him. “When Tess disappears, he’s going to want to know where she went and start to search for her. But when he receives the tape when her confession as well as a little message from me, he won’t wonder any more.”
“What’s the message?”
“I’m going to tell him the truth.” Liz stated. “About who I really am, who Alex is, and everything that happened on Antar. He told me that he was starting to get some of his memories back maybe the message will trigger some more and he’ll remember it all.”
“When do you want it to happen?” Khivar asked.
“In the morning.” Liz answered.
“Then why don’t we go to sleep?” Khivar suggested. “You’ll need all of your energy tomorrow. Tess will surely try to use her mindwarp on you and you’ll have to fight against it.”
“I know.” Liz said as she pulled up a blanket over them and curled up next to him. It wasn’t as comfortable as his bed but it would be nice to sleep with him under the stars. “Besides, I don’t think that Alex and Isabel would appreciate it if I interrupted their reunion until the sun came up.”
Khivar nodded and the two settled down to go to sleep. Liz looked at him for a moment before asking, “When we take Tess back to Antar, what will happen to her? I mean you said she’d be tried for her crimes and that she’d be found guilty but what will be her punishment?”
“Liz…I think you know what it will be.” Khivar stated. “Her crimes, attempted murder of the King’s brother, will be considered treason. And there’s only one penalty for treason.”
Liz nodded her head. He was telling her that when they reached Antar, Tess would be executed. She thought about this as she laid her head on Khivar’s chest and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning Liz was the first one to wake. Sometime during the night they had rolled over so she was no longer across Khivar’s chest instead they were facing each other. His arm was draped over her waist and held her to him. Like he did the last night they were together she stared at him as he slept. He stirred not long after and the two smiled at each other through sleep hazed eyes. He was the first one to lean in for their morning kiss. It was slow and gentle, exactly what Liz needed. The day was going to be a busy one that this would probably be the last moment they had to themselves.
Some time later, they rose from their makeshift bed and gathered their belongings. They headed back to the area that they had last saw Isabel and Alex. Neither were there yet but appeared shortly arms wrapped around each other and large contented smiles on their faces.
“Looks like you two had a good night.” Liz stated. “Although I’m a little surprised that we didn’t hear anything last night. After all out here, sounds travels so well.”
“Liz!” Isabel exclaimed in what Liz figured was embarrassment but then said. “We know how to be quiet if we need to.”
Liz’s mouth dropped open in shock, she had never imagined that Alex and Isabel would have ‘that’ kind of reunion. She stayed like that for a minute before Isabel and Alex bust out laughing; “I’m just joking Liz.”
“Right, I knew that.” Liz said playing it off.
“Sure you did.” Khivar said trying to muffle his own chuckle.
“If you guys are done making fun of me,” Liz asked, “I need to talk to you guys about something serious.”
“What?” Alex asked.
“Tess. It’s time to confront her. I’m ready to go home and she’s the only loose end left.” Liz explained.
“Go home?” Isabel asked. “You mean back to Antar? You never mentioned it before.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to Isabel.” Alex said. “But Liz and I are, there’s no life for me here. Like I said last night, everyone thinks I’m dead.”
“I always knew I’d go back some time, I just never expected it to be so soon.” Isabel stated.
“We can give you a couple of extra days to sort things out.” Khivar told Isabel. “But we do need to be getting back to Antar soon.”
“What about Michael?” Isabel asked. “I know I can convince him that Khivar is not the enemy.”
“Isabel…” Liz started to argue but knew it was of no use. And she could see her reasoning. “Talk to him. I’m sure once he knows about Tess and what Max did in our past life, he’ll come to our side.”
“What do you mean what Max did?” Isabel asked. Alex looked at her for a minute before saying, “After we deal with Tess, I’ll tell you, okay?”
Isabel nodded her head. After explaining everything that she had planned and making the arrangements for the camera, Liz flipped open her phone and dialed Tess’s cell phone number. She knew it was strange for her to know it but Max had insisted that everyone know everyone in the groups cell phone number in case they’d need it. It rang a few times before she heard Tess’s voice on the other line. “Tess. It’s Liz.”
“What do you want?” Tess asked sounding annoyed. .
“I know, Tess. I know all about the translation of the destiny book and how you got it.” Liz explained.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tess stated trying to sound innocent.
“Yes, you do.” Liz said. “And you are going to meet me outside the podchamber in a half an hour.”
“I can’t get there that fast.” Tess argued.
“Yes, you can. It’s only a twenty-minute drive. So make your excuses and get your ass out here or I’ll go straight to the others.” Liz shut her phone not waiting for Tess’s answer. She looked at the others; “She’s on her way.”
PART 30
Tess could only stare at the phone in her hand for a minute after her and Liz had been disconnected. Her brain couldn’t wrap around the idea that Liz had discovered her part in Alex’s death. How could that have happened? She covered her tracks so well, how did some pathetic little human figure her out?
She dressed quickly and used her powers on her hair and face as she tried to figure out what to do. She had to contain Liz, make sure that she didn’t tell anyone what she might know. Tess was sure that Max wouldn’t listen to her but Michael and Isabel might and that could cause a problem. Figuring up quickly, she thought of a plan. She would meet Liz like she was supposed to, find out all of what Liz knew, and then wipe her memory. Maybe she’d even have Liz decide to go back to Florida; let her think that staying in Roswell was too much and needed a new change of scenery. That way she’d be out of Tess’s way, it was either that or she could just rid of her for good. But she’d have to think on that plan a little more, after she erased Liz’s memory, she’d have plenty of time to plot it out.
Tess did her best to look calm as she left her bedroom and approached Kyle. She was surprised to find him awake let alone looking as awake as he did. Kyle usually slept in late. She was glad since she was in a hurry and needed to borrow his car. “Kyle, I need to borrow your car to run a quick errand.”
Kyle didn’t ask her anything about why she wanted the car; just tossed her the keys. She caught them effortlessly and smiled. “Thanks, Kyle. I owe you one.”
She headed straight out the front door right then and didn’t hear Kyle mutter after her, “No, you owe me a lot more than one, Tess.”
He sat up and watched as she quickly pulled out of the driveway. He knew where she was going, Kat had dream manipulated him just before she had received her phone call and told him what Liz was up to. He had to hurry and get dressed; Kat was on her way to get him so he too could go out to the desert.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Max was not in a good mood when he woke up. He had slept fitfully all night, worried that he would dream again and recover more memories. He didn’t want to remember if they were anything like the last ones. He knew it was denial but he wouldn’t allow himself to believe that the last memory in his dream had been real.
After a quick shower he headed into the kitchen and saw that only his mom and dad were eating breakfast. “Where’s Isabel? Still sleeping?”
“No, she stayed over at Liz’s last night.” His mom answered. “I’m glad the two have become so close, Liz seems to be helping her to deal with everything.”
“Uh, yeah.” Max said as he sat down to eat his food. He was hoping that his mom wouldn’t ask him anything about the condition of his and Liz’s relationship, or lack there of. He didn’t want to attempt to explain it to her. It would be difficult without mentioning what he was.
“So what are you up to today Max?” His dad asked.
“I think I’m going to go see Michael, he’s been staying with the Deluca’s until yesterday and except for a short talk at the Crashdown, I haven’t seen him much.” Max said as he quickly gobbled down his food. “Do you know when Isabel might be back?”
“Not really, she said she was going to be gone most of the day.” His mom answered. He finished his food and rose to leave, as he did his mom called out. “See you later honey.”
Max grabbed his keys and headed out to the jeep. It was a quick drive to Michael’s apartment and when he arrived he saw Michael on his outside patio messing with his bike. “Having problems with your bike again?”
“Just needs a tune up.” Michael explained as he continued to tinker with his bike. “What are you doing out without your new appendage known as Tess?”
“Michael…” Max said in a tone that meant he shouldn’t tease Tess.
“Hey man, you gotta admit that she’s been stuck on you like gum the past few weeks.” Michael commented as he wiped some grease off of the bike.
Max shrugged, “Yes, Tess is…enthusiastic about our relationship but she had a right to be. She’s been waiting around for this for years.”
Michael kept his mouth shut instead of saying anything about Tess. Despite her helping him with his powers and helping them over the past year he didn’t completely trust her. She always seemed to have ulterior motives behind everything she did. When she had first came to town she had been the aggressive one where Max was concerned, maneuvering things to fall apart between Max and Liz. Then when it did she sat back to watch; patiently waiting for Max so she could pick up the pieces. Then when things started to go better for Max and Liz, Max started remembering their pasts. It was so perfect that Michael would think Tess had planned it.
Ever since he had found out about their past lives, Michael had wanted to remember. But after meeting his dupe and seeing how Max’s behavior had changed since he started remembering, Michael wasn’t sure. Michael had learned plenty about the dark side of a person’s personality when he lived with Hank and he was starting to see it come out of Max. The discussions he had witnessed between Max and Isabel or Max and Liz were proof of that. If that was the way Zan was and what Max was going to become, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be around the guy he had thought of as a brother for so long.
The two stayed that way for a little bit of time in silence as Michael continued to work on his bike. Max watched and wondered why Michael didn’t just take the bike inside and fix it with his powers. It would be a lot easier and definitely a lot cleaner way to do it. He was about to mention it when he heard car tires screech as they came down the road.
Both of the guys looked up and saw Kyle’s mustang come charging down the road in their direction. The tinted windows were rolled up so to inhibit them from seeing the driver but neither of them thought much about it. The two guys watched as it continued to speed down the road until it was out of sight.
“Wonder where Kyle was going in such a hurry?” Michael asked.
“Probably going to see his new girl. Tess mentioned that he was out late the other night.” Max explained.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Exactly a half an hour after she hung up on Tess, Liz saw Kyle’s car coming in the distance. Of course she had already known she was on her way since she had talked to Kyle. As the car got closer, she opened up her block so she would know what Tess was feeling through their meeting.
Everyone else who was gathered was discreetly hidden away from Tess’s view. All she would see is Liz standing by her dad’s truck, not the over a dozen people watching as the scene played out. Like the night at the UFO museum, Liz had a secret camera hidden away in her clothes, waiting to tape Tess’s confession.
Liz stood rigid as she waited for Tess to reach her. She could feel the fear, anger, and determination flowing off of Tess like a summer storm. But she waded through them to keep her own thoughts straight. She kept her gaze locked on Tess as brown eyes met blue. “Tess, just on time.”
“Well I couldn’t let you go off and bother Max with another one of your insane theories.” Tess said with the appearance of trying to act superior.
“You’re deluding yourself if you think you’re fooling me. I know how scared you are of what I know because it’s the truth. You killed Alex after he remembered that you made him decode the destiny book. He wore off his usefulness and when you knew he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut, you mindwarped him again. You mindwarped him so much that you fired his brain, killing him. Then you covered it up and played out being the sympathetic friend and lover to Max.” Liz stated. Despite the mask Tess was wearing, Liz could see that she had hit a cord with Tess.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just trying to pin something on me thinking that you will get Max back.” Tess argued.
Liz then smiled coyly as she added. “You always did think you were smarted than everyone around you didn’t you Ava?”
Tess looked at her surprised, “Why did you call me Ava?”
“Don’t you recognize your old school rival?” Liz asked as she smiled. She walked up just in front of Tess and leaned over to whisper in Tess’s ear. “It’s me, Enola.”
PART 31
Max and Michael were still outside tinkering with Michael’s bike for sometime after they saw Kyle’s car go racing by. Michael was telling Max about Maria breaking up with him. She had told him the night before that she didn’t want to be with him anymore, that she needed to separate herself from him because she knew that one day she would loose him when he had to go back to Antar. And after loosing Alex and then Liz, she decided not to delude herself anymore that she wouldn’t loose Michael too. It had came as a shock to him since they had been getting so close but he had let her go. He knew that it was better for her in the long run and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. He loved her too much for that. So he decided to give into what she wanted.
He had just finished telling Max the whole story when a SUV coming down the street. That sight wasn’t that unusual but the person sitting inside, Kyle. Both the aliens looked at the other in confusion as the SUV passed and followed the same route as Kyle’s mustang had taken earlier. Michael looked at Max for a minute before saying, “Do you have a feeling that everyone but us is meeting out in the desert?”
Max nodded, “Let’s go.”
The two hurried over to Max’s jeep and were off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Liz’s declaration, Tess’s eyes widened so much that Liz thought her eyes were going to pop right out of her head. She just stood there staring at Liz like she expected her to grow another head. But one thing was for certain; there was also a hint of recognition in her eyes. Liz just smiled at her and said, “Surprised to see me?”
“Yyyeah.” Tess stuttered. She didn’t know what to think but she knew that Liz was telling the truth. She had never mentioned Enola to anyone in Roswell so she would have no way of knowing. And when Liz had confessed to who she was, remnants of her memories that she had all became clearer. Liz’s image replaced the blurred image of Enola’s face.
“I bet you’ve got all kinds of questions buzzing around in that blonde head of yours. I can just see the steam coming out of your ears.” Liz stated as she began to slowly circle Tess. “But I’m going first here. And the first question I have to ask is ‘How does it feel to be second to me once again’?”
“Second to you?” Tess asked.
“Yes, you’re both Zan and Max’s second choice to me.” Liz explained. “It’s not that I care, I’m happy for you to have either one of them. I just wanted to know how you felt about it?”
“I’m not second choice to anyone.” Tess disputed.
“Yeah, Tess keep telling yourself that.” Liz said smirking. “Zan never gave you a second glance before I was killed. Only when I was no longer an option did you have any chance at all. And Max, you had to use mindwarps to get him to even know you were alive and then after all of that, he still came trotting after me. It was only when I pushed him to you did he even consider being with you.”
“You never could appreciate what was in front of you.” Tess spat. “You just blew off his love for someone else. You always had to have all of the attention.”
“I would have loved to not have had Zan’s attention. If it wasn’t for Zan’s attention I would still be alive and happy with Khivar.” Liz declared. She saw a look of puzzlement in Tess’s eyes and was surprised by what it meant. “You didn’t know about that did you? That Zan was so obsessed with me that he killed me so I wouldn’t be with someone else. That he killed me because of his jealousy?”
“I didn’t know.” Tess whispered before she realized she was showing her compassion, her walls went back up, and she was as cold as ever. “How…why are you are Earth?”
“Because another man loved me…truly loved me enough to bring me back.” Liz stated. “Khivar sent my pod here two years before the wreckage of the mission that brought yours here. The skins weren’t just here to eliminate you guys but to protect me us as well.”
“Us?”
Liz smiled again. “That’s another thing I wanted to tell you. You know when you killed Alex, you risked a lot. If anyone found out it was you, all your hard work with Max would be swept away. Not to mention what we’d do if we found out you were the one who was responsible. But whatever punishment Max would inflict on you, it’s nothing for what Khivar will do to you for crimes against his brother.”
“Alex was Ardeth?” Tess asked paling so much that her skin was almost translucent. She knew she was in trouble. If they ever went home, she had known her life would be at risk for being at Max’s side but now the risk had now grown. She knew Khivar would hunt her down without mercy.
“You know Tess I’m starting to believe that your memories aren’t as sketchy as you like everyone to believe.” Liz acknowledged. “So tell me the truth Tess, how much do you remember about Antar?”
“The basics, our history.” Tess answered. “Some of the images are cloudy, faces and stuff but I remember what life was like for us on Antar.”
“That explains how you didn’t know about Alex and me.” Liz stated. “If you did, maybe you would have been smarter about who you picked for your puppet.”
“What do you want from me? Why did you call me out here?” Tess demanded.
“To get you to admit what you did.” Liz said. She focused on Tess and began to use her powers. After what her and Kat had been doing to Tess lately, she knew she just needed a little push.
Liz’s persona faded away in front of her eyes and Tess felt like she was once again in her room at the Valenti house. She looked over and saw another image of herself wearing the same clothes she wore the day she killed Alex. She had barely looked away when Alex came charging into the room. He was pale and he looked worn-out as well as weak. His eyes looked wild but they managed to settle on her.
“This is all your fault, you made me go to Las Cruces and made me think I went to Sweden! All so I translate the destiny book for you!”
“Alex? What are you talking about?” The memory form of Tess said.
“You arranged all of it. You mindwarped me the whole time to do what you wanted then you replaced my memories so I’d forget what I did.”
“I can fix you, just let me.” Memory Tess said and tried to grab his shoulders to hold him still. But he jerked away from her in disgust, “No, don’t you see? You did it too much and weakened me. You ruined my brain and there’s nothing you can do to fix it.”
But Memory Tess didn’t listen. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Alex to mindwarp him. When she did, the real Tess watched in disgust as Alex grabbed his head in pain and collapsed on the floor. Since she had been concentrating so much the mindwarp at the time that she hadn’t watched Alex die.
She continued to watch as Memory Tess tried to figure out what to do and Kyle enter. She looked at him, “Kyle get out! Get out now!”
“What's going on?” Kyle asked her then saw Alex’s body on the floor. “Alex?! What’s wrong? Tess, we have to take him to the hospital.”
“I’m sorry Kyle.”
“For what?” Kyle asked confused.
“For this?” Tess closed her eyes and quickly mindwarp Kyle. The panic for his friend’s welfare faded from his eyes and he looked at Tess, “What duffel bag did you need me to carry out to the car for you?”
The memory suddenly died away and Tess was looking into the angry eyes of Liz. “How does it feel? To relive it all?! To see yourself take an innocent life to cover your tracks?! To see you use the guy who thought of you as part of his family?! Kyle trusted you! And how did you repay him for all the kindness he and his father showed you? By making him help you dispose of his friend’s body!”
“I had to.” Tess whimpered in her defense. “If I hadn’t mindwarped him, I would have lost him, he would have turned away from me.”
“He’s already turned away from you.” Liz informed her. “Ever since I told him what you did. And I’m not going to stop telling people until everyone knows what you did. Not that you’ll be around to see it.”
“What do you mean?” Tess asked.
“Did you think you were going to do what you did and get away with it? Kill the King’s brother and get away Scot-free? Even you aren’t that stupid.”
Tess shrunk back in fear at what her words meant but did her best to try and fool Liz. “I don’t see how you’re going to follow any of your threats. You’re all alone here and Khivar’s on Antar.”
Tess didn’t like the smile Liz gave her. It was the one people normally gave when they knew something more than she was showing. She shook her head back and forth, “Wrong again.”
“What?” Tess asked confused before finally getting it. Her mouth dropped in a fashion similar to that of a fish. “Khivar is here? On Earth?”
“Yep, he and his men have been stationed just outside of Roswell. You’ll be seeing them soon enough.” Liz explained. She was getting a lot of satisfaction out of messing with Tess. She had been waiting for this moment since she had found out the truth about what she had done. “You’re getting your chance to go home Tess. Just like you always wanted to, just like you killed for. But I doubt you’ll be getting the reception you were expecting.
“You bitch!” Tess yelled. She lunged at Liz but Liz was quicker and pulled up her hand. She used her powers to send Tess flying backwards and she hit the desert floor. Her failure to hurt Liz just inflamed her anger so she switched tactics and tried to hurt Liz with words. “None of this matters! I’ll just mindwarp Kyle again to forget. And no one else will believe you! You’ve already made Max, Michael and Maria turn away from you and Max won’t listen to Isabel. He’ll protect me against Khivar. I’ll make sure he just keeps thinking that Alex was a stupid human who got himself killed in a car crash. He won’t know that he died because I made him decipher the book so we could go home!”
“Tess?” The two girls heard a voice ask. They looked over and saw that Max and Michael had just arrived. And by the looks on their faces, they had just heard Tess’s confession.
PART 32
Isabel was watching the whole scenario play out between Liz and Tess and heard Khivar receive a message from his men that Kyle and Kat had arrived. Then there was another message that Max and Michael had also showed up. She listened as Khivar told his men to not approach the latter of the pairs that had arrived. She waited until he was done before she asked, “How do you plan to warn Liz about Max being here?”
“I don’t have to, she’ll sense them. And although it’s not her plan, she’ll be glad that he overhears Tess down there. She’ll know she’s safe this time, I’m not going to let him do anything to her.”
“Why do you think that Max would hurt her?” Isabel asked. She saw Khivar glance over at Alex and she snapped. “If you won’t tell me then I’ll find out on my own.”
Before either of them could grab her, Isabel took off around the rock cropping they were hiding behind. Alex cursed and the two of them went after her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Tess looked at Max she saw a whole jumble of emotions in his eyes. Anger, betrayal, confusion, were only a few of them and she knew that she was going to have to some serious fixing to do. “Max, I’m so glad you’re here. Liz has lost it, she thinks I had something do to with Alex’s death.”
“You did.” Michael stated the shock evident in his voice.
“No, I didn’t.” Tess disputed.
“Tess we heard you.” Max finally said. “Michael and I heard you admit to it.”
“I was trying to calm Liz down, she was hysterical when I got here. She was ranting and raving about all kinds of crazy things and said I had killed Alex.” Tess said trying to cover up.
“It’s funny, she looks pretty calm to me.” Michael said looking over at Liz for the first time.
Liz had been standing off to the side quietly waiting to watch the scene unfold. Things were turning out better than she planned. She wasn’t even going to need the camera and what it was filming. “Nope, I’m calm. Tess seems to be the one who’s unhinged here.”
Before anyone could say anymore, Isabel came flying out from behind the rocks. Everyone but Liz was surprised by her arrival. “Isabel, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to help Liz. Everything you heard Tess say, it’s all true Max. She’s a lying, scheming, murdering bitch whose been playing us for fools.” Isabel said as she stood next to Liz. She wanted to make sure that Max and Michael knew whose side she was on.
Max then turned his attention on Tess. He looked at that small blonde who had played him like a fool and asked, “Why? Why did you do it?”
By now Tess knew she wasn’t going to get out of it and there were tears running down her cheeks. “It was the only way I could think of to find a way home.”
“So you mindwarp Alex?! Didn’t you think of asking him?!” Max yelled but didn’t give her a chance to answer as he beared down on her, intimating her with his height. “We trusted you! We let you into our group! I confided in you! I…we were together…and…”
Max’s anger was surging through out his body so much that he couldn’t even finish his words. When he had first started yelling at her, he had grabbed her by the arms but now couldn’t stand to touch her anymore so he tossed her away. “I can’t stand to look at you anymore.”
Tess looked like a broken doll lying on ground. “Max…please. I’ll do anything…Just please don’t let her turn me over to Khivar, please.”
“Khivar?” Max asked confused, switching his gaze over to Liz. “What is she talking about? Why would you turn her over to our enemy?”
“He’s not my enemy.” Liz simply stated.
Max just stared at her as Tess cried, “See she admits it! She’s betrayed you Max again. Just like when she was with Kyle. She hates that you and I were together. So she turned away from you and went to your enemy. She’s in league with Khivar and working with him against you.”
“God, Tess you are even more pathetic in this life than you were in the last one.” Liz yelled not being able to hold back any longer. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Max and Michael stared at her so she decided to enlighten them, “Yes, I knew Tess and the rest of you on Antar.”
“You were on Antar?” Max asked. His mind was racing at what she was saying; she couldn’t be who he thought she was. Could she?
“Yes, I’m an alien too. My name was Enola and I was good friends with Vilandra.” Liz stated. She was surprised when she saw recognition of her name in Max’s eyes. “You knew didn’t you? You remembered me.”
“I just remembered recently. And I didn’t know she was you. You guys looked alike but I didn’t put the two together. I mean, when I saw your face I just thought I was putting your face over hers.” Max explained. “But it was you. I’ve loved you in both lives.”
Liz stepped backwards to avoid his embrace. “No, Max. Open your eyes! You weren’t in love with me. You were obsessed with me. And just like now, you could never let me go. I begged you to let me go and just be my friend but you wouldn’t do it. And when I wanted to be with someone else, you were so jealous you took it out on me. Tell me Max, do you have enough of Zan’s memory to remember that day?! Do you remember what you did?”
Isabel saw panic and fright in Liz’s eyes and asked. “What are you talking about Liz?”
“Max is the one responsible for my death.” Liz explained. She looked over at Isabel in surprise, “He didn’t tell you what happened?”
“No, he didn’t tell me.” Isabel said knowing who Liz was referring to. “But you two died together, does that mean….does that mean that he…”
“Yes.” Liz answered simply. She turned her attention back to Max. “You didn’t answer my question, Max. Do you remember what you did?”
Max’s felt like he had been hit by a train as the realization of what he had done in his past life to Liz hit him. He was a monster who was responsible for her death. “Liz, I didn’t mean to…I lost control of my temper when you wouldn’t listen to me. I don’t remember all of it but I remember how horrible I felt afterwards.”
Liz looked at him with complete disgust. “How horrible you felt?! I watched my best friend die because you were so selfish and wouldn’t heal him. You showed not one ounce of remorse when you and I started to argue. So I’m sorry if I don’t feel sympathetic to you for feeling bad about killing me! Max, you act like it was some kind of simple argument! YOU BEAT ME TO DEATH! You punched me over and over again until almost all of my bones were broken and I was covered in blood! The man who really loved me, Khivar, couldn’t even recognize me when he found my body!”
Liz’s own anger overpowered all of the feelings she was getting from the others and she lost control of the energy inside her. When she did, the source of that anger, Max, got the brunt of it and the energy threw him backwards. “I’m telling you once and only once, Max. Stay the hell away from me. You disgust me.”
“Liz please, you have to listen to me.” Max pleaded as he tried to scramble up from the ground only to have Michael stand in his way. Max could see that Michael was serious and his eyes also held the same look of disgust that Liz’s did. He was turning away from Max because of what he had just found out.
“Stay away from her.” Michael said angrily.
“Michael, you don’t know anything about that day.” Max looked to his sister for help in trying to fend off Michael but all he saw was her back turned away from him. Like she couldn’t stand to look at him. He realized that he was loosing control of what was going on around him and tried to figure out what he could do to get his footing back.
“I know that Liz wouldn’t make up a story like that and if it hadn’t have happened then you wouldn’t have tried to apologize to her.” Michael argued.
Movement over to the side caught his attention and he saw that Tess was trying to slink away in all of the confusion. He pointed his hand at her and ordered, “I wouldn’t try to escape right now if I were you. With the tempers flying around here right now, I’m sure that you’ll be the first one fried since all of us detest you right now. So stay put, or Khivar will be the last thing you’ll have to worry about.”
He turned his attention back to Max, “Now I’d be the first one to argue that we’re not the same people that we used to be but I’ve seen that side of you Max. The violent side. Over the years you’ve pushed me around and even hit me last year. Now I’ve blown it off as me being difficult but now I’ve seen you act like that towards other people. And it makes me have to admit that you’re a lot like Zan. At least from what I’ve heard of him. And I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”
“Michael, I’m not going to hurt her. I just want to talk to her.”
Michael looked over where Liz was standing a few feet away, trying to comfort a distraught Isabel who was suffering from shock. “It doesn’t look like she wants to talk to you. And haven’t you learned by now that you can’t force someone to listen to you if they don’t want to?”
“For once in your life, listen to someone else and heed your second’s advice.” A new voice stated from above them. The five of them looked up and saw that four more had joined them. Kyle, a blonde woman, as well as a man who Michael assumed, and Max and Tess recognized as Khivar was the one who spoke but it was who was next to him that shocked them all, Alex. But he stayed silent as Khivar spoke again, “It’s been a while ‘old friend’.”
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