After showering together and getting Isabel the three of them set off to Michael’s to meet with the others. When they arrived they only found Michael and Maria. Liz left to head upstairs to get Zack and Ava. She knocked on the door and Jack answered it.
“Hey baby sister. Come in.”
“Morning, Jack.” She greeted her brother as she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Have Zack and Ava came out yet?”
“Not yet but I heard noises in there so I know they’re up.” He said as he walked into the living room where Krit, Josh, and Zane all sat around eating. She sat down next to Krit and snagged a piece of toast from his plate.
“Hey get your own.” Krit pouted but didn’t try to take the toast back. The boys knew how hard the night had been on Liz and tried to cheer her up. They got her laughing a little when she turned serious again.
“I need to talk to everyone tonight. Do you think we can get together for dinner?” All the boys nodded. “Can you call the girls and have them meet us for pizza at six?” They all agreed just as Zack and Ava came out. Liz could see that neither one of them had slept much during the night. They greeted Liz and followed her down to Michael’s.
Kyle had arrived while she was gone so they started the meeting. Max stood in the center so that everyone could see him. “Now that we had a chance to let everything soak in we need to talk over everything. I stand by what I said last night. I’m not going to make anyone go who doesn’t want to. You have a week to decide but there are a couple of things that Larek told me last night that you should know before you make your decision.”
Max saw everyone waiting for him to continue so he did. “First off, he said that our human ‘mates’ could go with us if they choose to. They would be welcomed.”
“So we can go with you?” Maria interrupted.
“Yes, you would live with us in the palace.”
“We would be considered the aliens.” Kyle said in the form of a half statement, half question.
“Well they don’t know about you three being changed or anything but Larek said that the people would accept you. They won’t be like Nasedo and look down you for being human.” Max explained. He looked directly at Isabel and said, “He said that the people will look at us more as our predecessor’s children rather than be exactly like them.”
“So they won’t hold Vilandra’s betrayal against me?” Isabel asked tentatively.
“You never betrayed me Isabel. Kivar tricked you into giving him information that led to us dying. You didn’t mean to. You were in love. People do strange things when you’re in love.” Max smiled at her to reassure her. “Ava and I won’t be considered married and Isabel and Michael aren’t engaged. So if any couples go the relationship will be recognized.”
During the whole exchange Zack watched Liz to see if she gave any indication on her decision. She gave away nothing so instead he asked, “Liz?”
Liz sat up straight on the barstool and said in a tone that they knew meant no argument. “I’m going. I plan on tell the others tonight. I set up a dinner with everyone and I’ll tell them then.” Liz stated.
Liz’s announcement confirmed Zack’s suspicion. He looked down at Ava and nodded. She nodded back and grabbed his hand; “We’re going.”
Zack and Ava had already talked everything over. If the humans were able to go then Zack was going with her. He knew the decision would surprise everyone. He had always been the protector of his family who looked over everyone and they wouldn’t think he would leave. And if it wasn’t for Ava he wouldn’t, but he loved her and wasn’t about to give her up now that he’d finally found her. They’d been together the least of the whole group but they knew that each other was it for them.
Liz went over and hugged both of them. She felt better knowing for sure that there would be two more familiar faces. She was also happy that Zack was doing something for himself rather than for everyone else. Max smiled gratefully and said, “Okay but you still have a week to change your minds.”
He looked at the others, “Don’t feel like you have to decide now. You have a week.” The subject of who was leaving was dropped to be replaced by plans on settling their lives.
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Later Liz, Kyle, and Zack left to meet their siblings for dinner so Max took Isabel and Ava home. Michael shut the door after them and joined Maria on the couch. They sat in silence for a short time before Maria spoke.
“I think you should go. All your life you’ve wanted to go back to Antar. Last year when you had the chance you choose to stay here because of me. I can’t let you do that again.”
Michael looked at her surprised, “But Maria, my life is here with you.”
“Your life might be with me but it doesn’t have to be here.” Maria said.
“You mean you want to go too.” Michael asked surprised.
“Yes, ever since Max changed me it’s been apart of me too. I understand a small part of what your whole life as been like being scared of someone finding out about you. And I don’t want my children to grow up in hiding. Antar will be safer and they can be around people who understand them.”
“What about your Mom?”
“I’ll miss her but she has the Sheriff and the new baby. It’ll be safer for them too. I’ll come visit if we can. She’ll understand.”
Michael kissed her hard and wondered how he’d ever gotten so lucky.
Part 7:
Max, Isabel, and Ava pulled away from Michael’s apartment building and headed for the Crashdown. “It’s going to be hard on the two of them to say good bye. Kyle too if he decides to go.” Ava commented.
“I was surprised that Zack agreed to go, Kyle always said that Zack was the protector of the family.” Isabel said.
“I know, I was surprised too. But he told me that he loved me and wanted to be with me.” Ava remarked.
“Sounds like Liz. She told me almost the same thing to me this morning.” Max explained. “I feel horrible that she is giving up her family to go with us. From what I know and seen they only had each other when they were little, protecting each other.”
“Max, what have you seen about Manticore? I have talked to Zack and Liz both about it some but I think they still hold most of it back especially the time when he was recaptured. I’ve heard Liz thrashing around in her bed a couple of times and I went in to wake her up. I know that she had nightmares, I recognized it.”
“When we first found out up in Seattle Liz and I connected and I saw some. But that was when she was concentrating on them. Mostly when I get flashes from Liz they’re of her life after but I do occasionally get others. Not many of them are pleasant. You know that scar on Liz’s eyebrow? Lydecker gave that to her when she wouldn't do one of their exercises right. That was tiny compared to what else was done to them.”
“I know Kyle still has nightmares too. One night we fell asleep on my bed studying and somehow I dreamwalked him. I saw all of them; Kyle and Liz were about five. Their heads were buzzed and it was hard to recognize but I recognized their eyes. They were sitting in a classroom watching a video, but not a normal video. It was like the subliminal messages they told us about in psychology. Lydecker was there, telling the kids something but I couldn’t hear it. I woke up before I could see more but what I did see wasn’t pleasant. Kyle woke up too and I told him what happened, what I saw. He talked about it, told me that was one of Lydecker’s ‘lessons’. That was how they try to brainwash them into slaves.” Isabel explained.
“I understand what it’s like to not be able to forget something, the time in the white room is something I’ll never forget.” Max sighed; he had never talked to anyone including Liz about those few days. He knew it wasn’t healthy but maybe someday he’d be able to talk about it. “But I know that things have gotten better for the three of them in the last year since we took out Manticore. They have control of their lives for the first time in a long time and it helps.” Max said as they pulled up at the Crashdown. “Izzy, you want to just eat here since Mom and Dad are still gone?”
“Yeah, you want to join us Ava?” Isabel asked.
“I might as well get as much greasy food as possible into me. You never know what we’ll eat when we leave.” The three sat down at the gang’s favorite booth and ordered. “I think the more they talk about it and get it out, the better they’ll be.” Ava said drowning her food in Tabasco sauce. “I know once I talked to Liz about Zan, things got better for me.”
Max nodded and thought about something else he wanted to talk to Ava about. “Av, when we get back to Antar I know you guys don’t want to use your other names but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away from Zan’s name. Would that be too hard on you?”
Ava thought on what Max asked, “Zan has been gone for over a year and his murderers won’t hurt anyone ever again. I loved Zan from the time I was small but it was nothing compared to how I feel about Zack. I chose Zack on my own, not because someone told me to love him. I’ve moved on, so it’s okay. The original Zan is a part of you, too. But there is no way in hell anyone is calling me Tess.” Ava said scrunching up her nose in disgust.
Max and Isabel laughed a little at Ava, “I don’t blame you there Ava.” Isabel commented.
“When we arrive we’ll tell our parents and Larek about the names. Larek already knows that we don’t like the names.” Max said.
“What about Michael and Maria? Do you think they’ll go?” Ava asked.
“I don’t know. Michael was the one to do most of the searching about where we came from for so long but then last year he chose to stay for Maria. If he does, I know Maria will have to be by his side.” Isabel stated.
“Well like you and Kyle they have just over a week to decide.” Max commented as they talked of other things and finished their dinner.
Part 8:
All the X5 siblings sat around talking as they at pizza. Liz had paid extra so they could have the private part room in the back. The table was covered in the leftovers of the dinner. Josh and Kyle were fighting over the last couple of pieces of pizza until Kyle used his powers to get the upper hand.
“No fair. No Czechoslovakian powers allowed.” Josh yelled.
“Boys, just split it.” Jondy said trying to calm them both down. Jondy was the oldest of the girls after Tinga and now acted like the mother of the group. Kyle frowned but handed over half. Liz laughed at the whole situation. There were times like this when they all acted like they’d never been separated.
It saddened her that her and Zack’s announcement was going to kill the happy atmosphere but they had to tell them. Liz caught Zack’s eye and he cleared his throat to show that he needed to say something, “Guys, we need to talk.”
They all turned their attention to their oldest brother and waited for whatever they had to say. “You all heard the announcement last night about the Czechs have been called back.” They all nodded. “Liz and I are going with them.”
Max smiled at her sister. She was glad her sister had decided what to do and she felt good that she had in some small way helped her. Everyone was quiet but turned their eyes to Kyle.
Kyle put up his hands up, “I haven’t decided yet. Izzy and I are still talking it over.”
“Max thinks we’ll be able to visit.” Liz bit her lip nervously. “Please don’t be mad or think we don’t want to be with you. We love you but we have to do this.”
Krit got up and kneeled next to Liz as he pulled her into a hug. “We’ll be fine. We figured this was going to happen.”
“Yeah, Zack’s not even a surprise. We’ve all seen how he is with Ava.” Syl smiled slyly at him. The first time they had met Ava shortly after she had come to Roswell, they had all seen the attraction between the two of them. They liked Ava and were all elated that Zack found someone later when they found out the two were dating. The six siblings who had not found someone special hoped they would soon so they could be as happy as the other four. “We don’t want any of you to give up your loves to stay here.” Syl stated.
“Plus we can brag that we’re the siblings of a Queen.” Josh joked. Everyone voiced similar comments like Syl’s and they sat around enjoying being a family in the time they had left.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It was late that night that Liz made her way out to her balcony. She had stayed with her siblings until she knew that the Crashdown would be closed then headed home. She grabbed Ava and they went to meet up with Liz’s parents. They were the last people to tell about their leaving. Liz knew she’d been lucky that they had adopted her. They’d loved her ever since they met her and treated her like their own. They’d put themselves in danger trying to protect her from having to go back to Manticore. They took the news well. They would miss her a lot but had been prepared for this day for awhile. Back when Manticore was looking for her they had known that someday she might have to up and leave suddenly. At least now with her going to Antar, they knew she’d probably be able to visit and wouldn’t be living on the run. They knew that Max loved her and would take care of her not to mention that Zack would be with her.
She looked around her balcony and thought about how much she was going to miss it. It was her sanctuary, the place she could always go to relax. It was a place where she could talk freely about the secrets in her life to any visitor that was there. Zack had met with her and Kyle numerous times on that balcony. She could remember once when Zack had been there to talk to her and Max had shown up. It was in the days before Tess had come, right after they found the orb and Max said he just wanted to see her. She had shoved Zack in her window and he hid until she could make excuses for Max to leave. She then had to sit through a lecture form Zack about having guys in her room and getting too close to them. She was standing there when she heard a faint noise from below. She didn’t even have to look over the edge to see who it was. The wind carried up the familiar scent of the visitor. “Ky, I know you’re down there. You might as well come up.”
A minute later, Kyle’s head appeared “Hey, I didn’t know if you were done talking to your parents yet.”
“I just got done. Did you talk to your Dad?”
“A little. I can’t believe you’re going.”
Liz looked at him and nodded, “I know but I am.”
Kyle stared at her upon hearing her statement. A part of him was angry that she was leaving. Over the years the two of them had always stuck together. Even after finding the others, he was still the closest to Liz. They had stuck together through the escape, through the running and settling down in Roswell, through all of the alien crap including Tess, and even taking down Manticore they were side by side. And now she was going to leave. The other part knew she was doing what was best for her. Max was her other half and she would be miserable if he left without her. He gave her one of the things she’d been searching for since they had escaped, true love.
Liz watched all the emotions play over his face and felt horrible. She didn’t want to hurt him; she wanted to let him know that she didn’t want to leave him behind, “Come with us. Even if Isabel doesn’t go.”
“I’ll admit there is a part of me that wants to go, to be somewhere that we know we’d be safe. No more hiding, I’m sick of hiding even if it has gotten better since Manticore went down. But I don’t know. I need to think about it.”
Liz nodded understanding. “If you decide to go just remember I’ll be there, we’ll do it together.”
Kyle smiled before getting up. He said good night and left. Liz got up and watched him go. When he was gone she turned and walked over to the wall. She pulled the loose brick and extracted all the journals stored there. They would be going with her. They contained too much information about all of them to be left behind. Not to mention Liz couldn’t bear the thought of someone getting a hold of them and reading her innermost thoughts. It was bad enough that Michael had taken it before but she wouldn’t allow a complete stranger to do it.
She took them inside and placed them in a bag. She had decided start packing. There was a lot of stuff to go through and figure out what to take and what to leave. She turned her radio on low and started sorting through ten years of memories.
Part 9
The next morning Kyle was lying in his bed thinking over whether to go to Antar or not. Should he stay here on Earth or go with the others to Antar? Go with Zack and Liz or stay with his other seven siblings? And what about he and Isabel? He loved her; he had no doubt about that. They had been together just under a year and he wanted to see where they were going but if she chose the opposite of him what would they do? They would be living on different planets, not the best way to have a long distance relationship. A tapping on his window interrupted his thoughts. He got up and opened the curtains revealing Isabel on the other side. He opened the window quickly, “You know when I build a house I’m going to tell them to forget the doors since no one uses them.” He joked as he helped her inside. They had both been uncomfortable at first about being in Kyle’s room. After all it was where Alex had died, but they had changed it so it wasn’t recognizable.
“You’re one to talk. You use my window enough.” Isabel smiled. “I didn’t want to wake up your dad, Amy, and Maria.” After the Sheriff and Amy got married, they sold Amy’s house and built on two extra rooms to the house so Maria and the baby could have their own rooms. It had taken a while for Kyle to get used to living with two Deluca women but he’d gotten over it.
“Should I even act stupid and ask why you’ve come over so early?”
“You know why. I think we should talk.” Isabel stated. Kyle gestured to his bed and the two sat down. “How did dinner go?”
“They were supportive, of course I never thought they wouldn’t be. I talked to Liz last night; she wants me to go. For so long we only had each other and its hard thinking she won’t be around. I didn’t sleep last night, I talked to dad then thought about everything.”
“Did you come to a decision?”
“Not really. What about you?”
“Max and I told Mom and Dad. They were in shock. They had known since they found out that Antar intended for us to come back but it really hit home when Max said that he and Liz were leaving in just over a week. Mom tried not to cry. Dad just said he was proud of him for taking his responsibilities. I told them I hadn’t made a decision yet. I’m so confused.” She said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“Let it all out and I’ll help you wade through it.”
“For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted two things. To be normal and meet my real mother. The two things contradict each other. Then when I thought I had betrayed Max the last thing I wanted to do was go back. I couldn’t imagine going back to somewhere that hated me. But Max took that away when he told me that I didn’t really betray him. See why I’m confused now?”
“Okay, the betrayal thing is out of the way so that leaves the normal life and meeting your mother. I hate to break it to you Isabel but you will never have a normal life. None of us will. We’re all different, if we were normal then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I told Liz that not having to hide there was a big point in favor especially with Amy having the baby. I don’t want he or she to be endanger because of who her brother is, sister too.”
Isabel nodded, “Yeah, I mean something could happen to one of us and we might not be able to get there in time to cover it up. And it would be nice to be able to talk to my mother, someone who would understand everything. I mean don’t get me wrong, Mom and I have really gotten closer since she found out but there are still a few things that I can’t talk about.”
“What about us?” Kyle asked.
“Us.” Isabel said.
“Yeah, I mean Liz and Max are getting married, Ava and Zack will be together probably live together. I have a feeling Maria and Michael are going, she said she wanted to talk to Mom and the Sheriff today. So while we try to decide I think we need to factor in us. I mean if I decide to go but you stay here then that would pretty much end us.”
“Kyle I don’t want to lose you.”
“Then we make this decision together.”
“Do we go or do we stay?” Isabel asked.
“I say the pro list goes in favor of going. I’m sure your mother would be willing to let us return if we didn’t like it. It would be harder to contact Max and the others if we decided to go after they left, if we could at all.”
Isabel nodded. “I think we already decided, we’re going.” She said smiling. As much as she had always tried to be normal she knew Kyle was right and they would never be.
“So our next big decision is whether or not we want to be roomies when we get there.” Kyle said smiling as Isabel hit him with a pillow.
NC- 17-ish
Part 10:
The other X5 siblings stayed for two more days and Liz, Kyle and Zack spent all of their time with them, none of them sleeping. On the morning they all left it was one filled with good-byes. The X5 boys threatened Max one more time to make sure he made Liz happy knowing that if he stepped out of line Zack and Kyle would be there. Liz hugged everyone goodbye clinging to them, telling them she would never forget her family. They didn’t know for sure yet it they would be able to visit or not but would notify them later if they could.
That night Liz closed the Crashdown. Her parents had to go out of town over night something they couldn’t get out of even though Liz would be leaving soon. Ava was at Zack’s keeping him company. She was glad that summer was coming, there would be plenty of highschoolers looking for jobs so they wouldn’t be left high and dry since three of their waitresses and one cook were leaving. Liz sat in the gangs’ favorite booth looking over the dark café. Her enhanced vision let her look over everything, the place where so much had happened to her. Memories washed over, the first time she met her parents and Maria, all the times her, Maria, and Alex had hung out there, when she was shot, when Max first connected to her, all of the times with the aliens, her first talk with Ava, the back room where Zack had told them their sister Tinga was dead, and her times spent with her family after they had been reunited.
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear or feel Max come in from the back. He saw her sitting there, looking so alone. Watching her say goodbye to her family that morning had torn at his heart. She had done it for him and he hated causing her pain. He had done that enough. He moved over to her and pulled her into his arms. She leaned into his chest taking comfort in the warmth of his body. He felt her body relax and he picked her up effortlessly. The weight of Liz’s body always amazed him. She had so much strength in it but she felt like a feather. He carried her through the back and up into the apartment. He headed into the bedroom and set her on the bed, “Sit right there. Don’t move a muscle.”
Liz smiled softly. She knew Max, knew what he was going to do and loved him even more for it. He wanted to make her feel better. He snapped his fingers lighting several candles all around her room, bathing everything in a soft glow. He knew how much she loved candles, they calmed her. He walked back over to her and pulled her up to stand in front of him. Capturing her face in his hands he said, “I love you Liz. I love you more than you can possibly imagine.”
Her eyes shone with unshed tears, “Max,” she breathed. Then he was kissing her, so tenderly as if he thought she would break. She slipped her arms around his neck, loving the feel of him against her. They kissed like that for long moments, gentle caresses, feather light touches. His hands roamed lightly over her back sending shivers down her spine.
As Liz's kisses became more urgent, so did Max’s. He began to move his tongue across her lips seeking entrance; she gladly opened to him. Liz was quickly drowning in the taste of him, she couldn’t get enough, and she never could. As their tongues dueled, she ran her hands down his back and slipped them underneath the edge of his shirt. She had to feel his skin under her hands; she ached to touch him. She began sliding her hands up, taking Max's shirt with them. She pulled back so she could slip his shirt over his head, and then let her eyes roam over his well-toned upper body. She leaned in and began placing light kisses along his collarbone then slowly started down his chest. As she licked across a nipple gently moving the ring there, he shuddered. “God, Liz you have no idea what you’re doing to me.” At that, she leaned against him and felt his hardness press against her belly. “I think I have some idea.”
At the same time, his right hand came to her breast and began gently stroking. Liz sucked in a sharp breath, and her head fell back as Max continued his sweet torture by bringing his other hand up to toy with her other breast. After a moment he pulled away, and Liz looked at him in confusion. “I think you’ve got too many clothes on. I want to see your beautiful body,” he told her.
As he said that, he slowly pulled her top off and tossed it to the floor, forgotten. Then, ever so slowly, he slid his hands around to her back, unfastened her bra, and tossed that aside as well. Then he kissed her so passionately it nearly took her breath away. Then he was moving down. Down her throat, down her shoulder, down to her breasts.
As he took one hardened nipple into his mouth and began licking and sucking, Liz thought she just might be dying. She fisted her hands in Max’s hair holding him to her, she never wanted this to stop, and it felt too good. Max slid his hands down to the waistband of her pants and unfastened them. As he slid them past her hips and down her legs, she stepped out of them.
“Now, I think it’s you that has too many clothes on,” Liz said seductively, as she reached for his pants. As they fell to the floor, he leaned down and kissed her deeply as he sat down on the bed. Liz moved to straddle his hips, then looked deep into Max’s eyes. “Whatever else happens to us, please remember this moment and that I love you. I need you to remember that.”
Max took her face in his hands and pulled her to him. “I’ll never forget, Liz, as long as you remember how much I love you.” He sealed his promise with a long kiss. His hands started roaming over her body again. He just couldn’t get enough of his queen.
Liz slowly started kissing down his neck, and then moved down to his chest. Again, she licked and sucked at his nipples all the while her hands were moving lower. When her hand came to the edge of his boxers she looked up at him, the corner of her mouth tilting up in a half smile, “Oops, forgot to take these off. I think I’d better fix that.” She quickly pulled them off and tossed them to the floor with the rest of their clothes. “Much better,” she said then slid her hand down. As she grasped him in her hand, Max’s eyes rolled back in his head, “Oh, Liz.”
She slowly began stroking him, loving the feel of him in her hand before moving down and licking a small circle around the tip of his arousal. She continued her ministrations tracing lines up and down the length of him. But, all too soon, Max groaned, “God, Liz. As good as that feels, you’d better stop before this ends before either of us wants it to.”
“But, what if I don’t wanna,” she asked coyly. In answer, Max proceeded to pull her up against him and flip her underneath him. “Then I’ll have to make you,” he said as his hand began moving lower, and lower. He pulled her panties off and threw them on the floor, then, before Liz even knew what he meant to do, he slipped two fingers into her. She gasped and arched up, almost completely off the bed and Max chuckled. He whispered in her ear, “See, I told you I could make you.”
As his fingers continued moving in her, he leaned down and took a swollen nipple into his mouth and rolled his tongue around it. That was nearly Liz’s undoing. She couldn’t take anymore. She wanted him... now. “Max, please. Make love to me. I want to feel you inside me. Now.”
That was all Max needed to hear. After getting what they needed from her table he positioned himself at her opening. As he slid into her, they both moaned loudly. It was like they were always meant to be this way. He began moving slowly in her and Liz arched up to meet him. He leaned down and kissed her, his tongue mimicking his other movements. Liz felt taught as a bowstring, then she snapped, screaming Max’s name. Max followed her quickly, moaning her name into her neck. They lay there together until it came time for Max to leave. He kissed he gently and left. Liz dressed in her pajamas and lay back down to rest. The day had been so emotional that she was exhausted. She didn’t even hear her parents come home.
WARNING: Sad part.
Part 11:
The days left on Earth were spent with their parents. Liz, Zack, and Ava spent a lot of time with the Parkers. Zack was staying there since he had already gotten rid of his apartment. Liz didn’t see much of Max because he was doing the same thing with his parents. When Maria and Michael as well as Kyle and Isabel made the announcement they were going too, Liz was ecstatic. Maria’s mom had initially flipped about Maria leaving but she could see how important it was to her. After threatening Michael with penalty of death if he didn’t protect her, Amy gave them her blessing. She and the Sheriff had even been letting him sleep on the couch since he too had given up his apartment. Liz and Zack sold their bikes, and the parents were going to take care of Kyle’s car and Max’s jeep once the kids were gone. They all packed a few bags of their stuff but a few things and had it stored at the podchamber. They had figured it would be the best place to open the portal when it was time.
They all got out of the cars and made their way inside the cemetery. It was the day before Max’s meeting with Larek, they had two days before leaving. They had one person they all wanted to say goodbye to. Ava and Zack went with them although they didn’t know him. They were there to lend support. The six who were close walked up to the grave while Zack and Ava hung back.
“I met him once.” Zack said suddenly.
“What?” Ava asked.
“I went to the Crashdown to set up a meeting with Liz. The restaurant was nearly empty and he was at the counter. He told me that someone would be with me in a minute and tried to talk to me. I knew who he was, knew he was one of Liz’s friends so I played nice. Liz came out a minute later and Alex left shortly after. That was the only time I talked to him but I remember thinking that he was a good guy. After I found out about Max and the others and the things that Alex had done for them, I remember thinking I felt better that my sister had a friend like him. He would do anything for her.”
“I only met him when we came to town. When he first saw us he thought we were the others in costumes. Didn’t talk to him.” Ava said smiling. “Wish I would have.” She said as she watched the others.
The six of them planned on saying good bye. Isabel was the first one to speak, she stepped forward and the others gave her room. “We just wanted to say good bye. We’re leaving for Antar since we defeated Kivar; of course you probably know that. My mom is going to take care of these flowers I planted.” She said as she picked some weeds. “I know you’re probably surprised that I chose to go back but I found out that I wasn’t the bad person I thought I was. I’m actually going to meet my real mother. But I had to come say good bye to you. I wanted to let you know although I’m with Kyle that I haven’t forgotten you and I never will, you were my first love.” She kissed the tips of her fingers and placed them on his headstone. “Good bye Alex, I love you.”
Isabel started to cry slightly and Kyle came up to hold her. He continued to hold her as he said his own good bye. “Hey man, I never got a chance to thank you for all the times you were there for Liz when I couldn’t be. And I’m sorry I didn’t figure out what Tess was doing to you, that I wasn’t able to stop her, and that I didn’t remember she did it. But know this I will take care of Isabel for you. And if Buddha is right, I’ll see you in the next life.”
Michael was next. “You know I’m not good with this emotional stuff so I’ll get down to the point. You were a good friend who was there for us. I admire your loyalty especially to Liz and Maria. My jaw still hurts. I want you to know that I love her and I’ll treat her good.”
Maria squeezed Michael’s hand and kneeled down. “I was packing the other day and I came across your guitar. It reminded me of the first time you played it for Liz and me. We were like ten years old and your grandfather had taught you. I remembered Liz’s eyes, they were so huge. I remember thinking it was strange, like she had never seen someone play but now that I think about it she probably never had. Not since she was in Manticore. Anyway I know I’m rambling but I wanted to let you know that you were so important to the two of us and we’ll never forget you. Love you.” She reached down and left two objects, a guitar pick and a vile of cedar oil.
Max helped Maria up then started his own goodbye. “I don’t remember if I ever thanked you for everything you did for us. First you gave your blood that day. You did it without even knowing what was going on, you helped Liz with the Sheriff when you both arrested. You brought this side of my sister out that only you could, the inner her. I’m sorry I let Tess get to you. I hope someday you can forgive me.” He took a step back and joined the others.
Liz was last. She sat down indian style in front of his stone. “When you died, I didn’t want to believe it. I kept thinking the whole way to the morgue that it was a mistake and you were in a coma or something. But when I saw Max get out of that van, I knew. I had lost one of my best friends, I accepted that but I couldn’t accept that it was because of some stupid accident. So I set out to prove everyone wrong, and I did. When we figured out it was Tess, I blamed myself. I brought you into this whole thing and if I had been strong enough to fight telling you then you wouldn’t have died. I know if I hadn’t I would have lost your friendship but you meant so much to me that I couldn’t lie to you more. There was so much I was already keeping from you, I couldn’t tell you another lie. Then I blamed myself for changing the future because in that future you were alive. I had all of this hate for Tess, knowing that she took you away from us. And although I shot her to save Maria because I couldn’t let her take someone else, I know by doing it, I avenged you. Which is something I know you wouldn’t want, revenge, your heart didn’t hold violence. So I hope you can forgive me for it, along with everything else. For lying about who I was, and for not being there when you needed me. You were my brother, whether you had a barcode or not. I love you Alex.” Liz stood up and walked over to the others. Maria stepped forward and the last two members of the three musketeers lead the others out of the cemetery.
Part 12
Two days before leaving, one day until Max’s meeting.
Late that night Liz, her parents, Zack, and Ava were sitting in the Parker living room watching TV. As they watched, it was cut off by an ‘Eyes Only’ message.
“Oh, Logan’s sending out a new broadcast.” Liz stated. They all watched with rapt attention.
“DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR SET. THIS IS AN EYES-ONLY SCREAMING FREEDOM MESSAGE. IT WILL LAST EXACTLY SIXTY SECONDS. IT CANNOT BE TRACED, IT CANNOT BE HACKED, IT IS THE ONLY FREE FORM OF SPEECH LEFT. X5’S YOUR EXISTENCE HAS BEEN REVEALED AS WELL AS POSSIBLY THE FOUR SQUARE. YOUR LOCATIONS HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED AND THE ARMY IS IN PURSUIT. LEAVE YOUR POSITIONS AND CONTACT ‘EYES ONLY’ AT ONCE. PEACE.”
The message blinked off.
“Oh shit.” Zack yelled as he jumped up. “All eight of us have got to get out of here before they shut up the town. I’m going to call the others to make sure they got Logan’s message. Liz, call Logan and figure out what the hell is going on and check on Maxi.” He knew Liz would be calmer than he would.
“How in the hell did the army find out about us?” Ava asked.
“Lizzie, come with me downstairs to get Michael and Maria. They’re closing and won’t know what’s going on.” Jeff Parker said as he led his daughter downstairs.
“Ava, call Max and the others. Tell them to get the rest of their stuff and meet us at the podchamber. It’s far enough out of town that we don’t have to be worried about getting trapped in town limits.” Liz yelled as she hit the memory button on her cell phone. She followed her adopted father downstairs to the café. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Jeff called for Michael and Maria. They both came running.
“What’s going on?” Maria asked breathlessly.
“Logan sent out a message. The Army maybe even the FBI know about us. All of us, alien and X5. We have to get out of Roswell. Ava and Zack are checking on everyone.” Liz explained as she waited for Logan to answer. She had tried their apartment but got no answer so she called their cellphone. All she got was a busy signal.
“Where are we going to go? We still have two days until we leave for Antar.” Maria said.
Michael reached into her pocket and pulled out her vial of cedar oil. “Breathe.” Maria sniffed deeply and began to calm down. “Now call your Mom. Tell her you are on your way home to get your stuff. Then she can go with us out to the pod chamber and say good-bye.” Michael turned to Mr. Parker and said, “I think I have an idea of a safe place but she needs to use your phone. I’m going to need to use her cell phone.” Mr. Parker said it was fine and Maria went to use the Crashdown phone while Michael went to the front of the restaurant to make his call. Mr. Parker headed upstairs to get Mrs. Parker.
Zack came down at that moment as he talked on his phone. “I couldn’t reach Krit or Syl. Zane’s heading out of Portland. I’m on the phone with Jondy now. Jack and her are already gone and on their way to meet up with Josh outside of Boston.”
“Logan’s cell is busy. I’ll try him again.” Liz started dialing just as Ava came down the stairs. “The other three are meeting us at the pod chamber.”
Michael came in and saw that Liz and Zack on the phone. “Who are you both talking to?”
“Jondy.” Zack answered.
“I’m trying to get a hold of Logan. Ooh, it’s ringing.” Liz said as she turned away to talk to Logan.
“Let me talk to her.” Michael insisted. Zack gave him a curious look but handed him the phone. “Jondy, its Michael. Listen. Head to Arizona when you reach the border call Zack and we’ll give you further instructions.” Michael said good-bye and hung up his phone.
Maria looked at her boyfriend and asked, “Are we going where I think we’re going?”
Michael nodded. “Yeah, Laurie not there but she agreed to loan me the house. She already knew I was leaving.”
“Who’s Laurie?” Zack asked questionably. “Can we trust her?”
“Laurie Dupree. She’s the granddaughter of my human DNA donor and I trust her. She has a large estate and it’s got all kind of security. No one will be able to trace her directly to us even with all the crap with the FBI.” Liz interrupted him as she hung up with Logan.
“Zack, Krit and Syl checked in with Logan and headed south. You should be able to reach them now. Maxi is fine and with Logan. I gave them the same instructions that Michael gave Jondy.”
“What’s going on? What happened?” Zack asked. He had seen the dazed look in her eyes.
“Nothing that they could have controlled. I don’t want to have to explain over and over so wait and I’ll tell everyone when we meet the others.” Zack started to argue but Liz gave him a look to not ask.
“Fine. I’ve got everything together so you and Ava head up to get whatever else you might need. We’ll head out to the pod chamber. I’ll call Zane, Krit, and Syl and tell them the plan.”
“I’m going to take Maria home and we’ll meet you out there.” Michael said as he pulled Maria out of the café to her car. Liz and Ava went upstairs and grabbed the last of their stuff before heading out. They drove out of town making sure that no one was following and headed for the pod chamber.
They were the first to reach the podchamber but Kyle and the Sheriff were close behind them. Kyle tried to get information out of Liz but she stuck to her statement of waiting until the others were going to join them. Max, and the others joined them shortly after. After Liz greeted Max Zack spoke up.
“Okay, Liz we’re all here. Now what happened?” Zack said.
“Max passed out at work and her boss called an ambulance. Original Cindy wasn’t there to stop him.” Original Cindy was a friend of Max’s who knew about them. “While Max was out they took a sample of her blood. I’m guessing they found a mixture of X5 and alien. And they must have been alerted to look for strange characteristics in blood. The army was there when Max woke up but she managed to escape and got to Logan. They were packing when the army showed up at the apartment. They had to leave Logan’s computer and it had all of the information we’ve stored in it. He had to use his laptop to get the message out.” Since Logan’s computer was virtually hacker free they kept a lot of information stored in there. Liz had taken blood samples from herself, Kyle, and Max and compared them to the other X5s as well as the aliens to see the differences. The traces of alien in the changed X5’s and Maria’s blood were small but still noticeable. Whereas the aliens blood cells were green, the ones who had been ‘changed’ only had tiny amounts of green in their blood cells. Enough to see a difference. She conducted a few other tests and all of the data was in the computer along with all other information about them. Now that was in the hands of the army.
“Why did she pass out?” Maria asked.
“Logan said she hadn’t slept since before they were here and not eating much.” Liz said.
“That’s only a week or so without sleep. It shouldn’t have affected her like that.” Kyle said worriedly.
Zack could see that Liz was holding something back. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Liz took a deep breath. She wasn’t looking forward to doing this but had told Logan she would. She looked directly at Zack and Kyle and said, “She’s pregnant. Maxie’s pregnant.”
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