"Okay, I am totally lost." Kyle told them as they filled him in on what was going on. "Why do I suddenly feel like I've entered some weird fantasy novel? The next thing you know, there are going to be unicorns trotting down the main drag of Roswell! Stonehenge? Are you guys totally bananas?"

It was late evening. The Crashdown was closed and they were all sprawled in booths and at the counter.

Only Maria was missing. Michael had gone to pick her up after school but she had been too tired to come. Amy Deluca had not even let him through the front door, although Maria had attempted to sneak out through the window. Michael had forced her back into bed when he had gotten one look at her though.

He had not spoken since arriving at the Crashdown. He was brooding at the counter, clearly listening to the conversation, but also too upset to participate. Liz actually felt her heart go out to him at one point. He looked so lost and alone...She quickly suppressed the feeling.

Maria's absence just emphasized how important it was to get Max back as soon as possible. Which was why Liz had come to a decision. Isabel had agreed with her. They were taking control of the situation and no one was going to stop them. Not even their parents.

"Could you for once be serious?" Tess asked Kyle now, sounding irritated. Liz knew that she was still stewing about the decision that Isabel and Liz had reached before Kyle had joined them.

"Do you really think you're going to get away with this?" Kyle asked, ignoring Tess, but sounding a little hurt. "Your parents are never going to let you go. I mean, its the middle of September. You are all going to flunk out."

It had been decided that Liz, Michael and Isabel were going to England to check out the Stonehenge angle. It was clear that it was important and they had been the three chosen to go not only because of their close relationships with Max, but also because they were the only three who had had direct visions or dreams about the stone circle.

Of course, Maria had shared Michael's vision, but she was just too weak to go. Michael had originally argued against leaving her behind, saying that if they did manage to get Max back, Maria should be close by so that he could heal her as quickly as possible, but he had said nothing about it since Maria had been unable to join them that night.

"We've thought of that, of course." Liz told Kyle. "Michael is eighteen and technically can do what he wants now."

"Not to mention, I'm already flunking." Michael spoke up for the first time, his voice a monotone. "Might as well really go down in a blaze of glory."

Liz saw Isabel shoot a concerned look towards her brother. "I'm going to be honest with my parents." Isabel continued. "They'll let me do it I'm sure, if they think that it might bring Max back."

"I just don't understand why I can't go." Tess said in a sulky voice.

"Because we need one Czech to stay behind for protection." Liz sighed. They had gone over this a million times already, but Tess was still very upset.

"I don't see how I'm going to protect anybody." Tess snapped back. "My power doesn't work that way...it's not defensive OR offensive. It's pretty damn useless as a matter of fact." She muttered, her lips pressing together in fury.

"You're not coming Tess. Deal with it." Isabel replied testily. "You and Alex and Kyle need to stick close to Maria. She cannot be left alone."

"I know that none of you want me around. That's the real reason. You've never wanted me around!" Tess' voice was nearing a shriek. Liz blinked. She watched Tess jump up off her stool and race out the doorway to the restaurant.

"Jeez!" Michael had his hands over his ears. "Is she going insane?"

"She's just stressed out." Kyle was scowling at them all. "She cares about Max just as much as the rest of you do. I still think you're all crazy by the way. There's no way that the Parkers are going to let Liz go anywhere." He stalked out of the Crashdown. Liz was sure that he would find Tess and try and calm her down.

Alex was sitting quietly in a booth, nursing an alien blast. He spoke up for the first time in a while. "Kyle's right Liz. Your parents are never going to agree to this. And I don't think your parents are going to just let the three of you head off the continent without a chaperone." He directed this last comment at Isabel.

"We're going to ask my dad to come with us." Isabel replied. "He has some holiday time coming up...and I think he needs to do something productive to snap him out of his funk." Isabel looked hopeful. "I'm sure he'll agree."

"And that's why I'm not telling my parents." Liz told him.

"WHAT?" Alex bellowed, jumping to his feet. "Might I inquire where I was for that part of the conversation?"

Liz and Isabel exchanged guilty looks. "Er...you were in the bathroom." Isabel finally said.

"This is lunacy! Iz, your dad will never agree to letting Liz come without permission. We don't even know if the stone circle means anything! Why would it make such a difference? I mean, Izzy brought Maria and Michael back without Stonehenge getting involved." Alex had flopped back in his seat, a pained expression on his face.

"I just know it's important." Liz told him firmly. "And that's where Tess comes in...she'll make Mr. Evans think that my parents are at the airport when we leave." She knew that she sounded more confident than she felt. She would not feel totally secure until they were seated on a plane across the Atlantic. She pushed that thought aside for the moment. "Now the only question is, where are we going to get the money? Alex, what did you find out on the 'net?"

Alex was still shaking his head. "We are all slowly but surely losing it..." Isabel sighed, went and ran her hand down his back.

"Please focus Alex."

"I managed to find a seat-sale...five hundred bucks a ticket from Miami." He told them in a subdued voice. "Leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Liz began calculating their finances mentally. "I have five thousand in my checking account..."

"What the hell? Did you rob a bank?" Alex eyed her with interest.

"Big tips." Liz wiggled her eyebrows at him. "My grandma took pictures at the crash site you know." Alex rolled his eyes.

"And I have 1500 dollars." Isabel added.

"We should be okay for a while then." Liz told them. "But England is really expensive and the exchange rate is terrible."

"So it's there and back as fast as possible." Michael spoke up again. "We can't leave Maria for long anyway."

They all exchanged loaded glances.

"We are going to get Max back." Isabel told Micheal reassuringly. "I promise."

Michael ran his hand through his spiky hair in frustration. "I hope so...Maria needs him..." Liz thought she heard him add in an undertone, "And so do I," but she might have been hearing things.

She was not going to start feeling sorry for Michael Guerin. She knew that he felt guilty, that Maria's illness was almost impossible for him to bear...but it was his fault in the first place.

He should be suffering.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her that she didn't really feel that way, but she pushed it away ruthlessly. She needed to stay mad at someone...

If she didn't, she might fall apart.

Liz knew that she was balanced precariously on the edge of despair. Everytime she let herself hope...

Seeing Max in her dream had been magical, but also devastating.

That he didn't recognize her...

If she let herself think about that, she might never get out of bed again.

Liz shook her head, forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Okay, we need to get those tickets. Alex, that's your job."

Alex nodded, headed through the door to the break room to use the restaurant's computer.

"I'm going to talk to my parents." Isabel informed them.

"And I'm going to Maria's." Michael stalked out of the restaurant.

Liz sat down on one of the stools at the counter, placed her head in her hands. She breathed deeply, trying to calm down.

If this worked, they could have Max back in less then a week. A day and a half to get to England, another day to figure out how to get into Stonehenge...and then they would activate the orbs.

But for the first time Liz allowed herself to reflect on the one thing that could go wrong...The one thing none of them had wanted to contemplate.

If Max didn't remember them...if he really thought that he was Jaxon Falconer and had always been Jaxon Falconer...

What if he didn't want to come back?

Part 13

Maria felt like her body was falling apart.

She had been annoyed when Michael had told her that she was not
coming to the Crashdown, but she could not deny that it had been a
relief to sink back onto her bed. Every single part of her hurt.
She had terrible cramps in her arms and legs, her head felt like it
was going to explode and she had gotten to the point where she was
pretty much throwing up every hour on the hour.

She knew she was dying, which was why she had wanted to go to the
meeting in the first place. She wanted to spend every moment
possible with her friends before the end. With Michael.

Now she lay on her bed, staring out the window, her gaze drifting to
the "V" shaped constellation that was shining down on her
from the star-pocked sky above. She remembered sleeping under those same stars, wrapped in Michael's arms, during the three weeks that he
had tried to heal her in the desert.

It had been the happiest and most peaceful time of her life.

Ironic really, how much the little things counted, when the little
things were not going to be yours for much longer.

Maria knew that Max was not going to return in time to heal her.
Even if they did, by some mega-miracle, manage to bring him back,
there were absolutely no guarantees that he was going to be able to
help her. He wasn't God after all.

She had made her peace with what was happening to her. What she had
not made her peace with was the idea of leaving Michael alone.

She really was not sure if he would be able to go on without her -
and it terrified her.

The bond that had formed between them....she knew that something of
great significance had taken place in their relationship during their
time together in Illyria. Michael had been so much more protective
of her in every sense since they had come back...and it WASN'T
just because she was sick.

Something had happened to make it so. She just wished that she could
remember. Sometimes it felt like the memories were just beyond her
reach, that the fingertips of her mind were brushing against the
truth but that there was no chance of grasping it. It was supremely
frustrating.

Maria was pulled from her reverie by a knock on her window. She
managed to sit up, smiled at the sight of Michael's face peering
in at her. "Come on in spaceboy."

Michael pushed the window up, climbed in quickly. He stood there for
a moment staring at her. It looked like he was trying to compose
himself. "How're you feeling?" He finally asked gruffly.

"Oh about the same." Maria replied, trying not to let her
physical pain reflect in her voice. He didn't need that on top of
everything else.

His guilt about Max, not to mention her, was already almost out of
control.

"I'd feel a lot better if you were over here instead of over
there." She continued, managing to quirk a grin at him.

He smiled back, took off his jacket and shoes, and gently climbed
into bed beside her. Michael pulled Maria into his embrace. She
rested her head against his chest and was not surprised when her pain
did ease a little.

The love she felt for him was like the best drug in the world.

She could feel him playing with a lock of her long hair. "So
what did you guys decide?" Maria finally asked when the comfortable
silence had stretched on long enough.

"Liz, Izzy and I are going to England." He told her abruptly. "They
really think that this Stonehenge thing is a sign or something." He
sighed.

"Don't you?" Maria asked quietly. She really hoped it was, that Max
was on his way home. She hoped it for Liz's sake. It would be
nice to know that her best friend in the world was with her soulmate. And she knew that Max would be the one most likely to be able to help
Michael through his grief when she was gone. Isabel would drive him
crazy with her worrying. Max would listen and give advice - advice
that would likely annoy Michael beyond belief.

But an annoyed and angry Michael was much better than a devastated
Michael.

"I don't know." Michael replied. "But we have to do
something. Everyone is going crazy, I swear. Tess totally flipped out
tonight."

Maria frowned to herself. "Why isn't she going with you?"

"Someone needs to stay and protect you." Michael told her sternly.

"TESS?" Maria's surprise gave her enough strength to be able to sit
up to stare down at him. "Don't you think that's a little weird
Michael?"

Michael turned his head, stared out the window. "That's what
she said." He didn't say anything for a long time. "I
don't want to go." He finally continued. "I want to stay here. I want to be the one who heals you. God, Maxwell, where are you?"

Maria had not seen Michael cry since the night that Hank had found
out about his Czech status, the night he had had the biggest fight of
his life with Isabel and Max, the night that Michael had felt the
most alone.

But she could hear tears in his voice now.

She lay back down on his chest, reached up to stroke his cheek.
"I know you want to do it Michael, but you can't protect me forever
and you're not Superman, even if you are an alien who crash-landed on
this planet...and maybe if you can get Max back, we can find out about
what happened to us when we were on your planet. I really want to
know Michael. I really NEED to know."

"Me too." He scrubbed his hand across his face. "God,
Maria! Why are you comforting me when I'm the one who did this to you.
I'm the one who should be sick, not you." His jaw was clenched in fury.
She continued to stroke his face, trying to ease the tight muscles.

"Don't you get that that would be like even worse in my
book?" She gently kissed him on the lips. "I love you. If it was you, I wouldn't be able to bear it."

Michael's eyes had been closed, but they opened now, stared up at
her. "Then you know how I feel." He told her hollowly.

"I love you Michael." Maria kissed him again. She buried her
face in his neck, breathed in the scent that was all him, only him.

"Ditto."

Maria fell asleep moments later, her last thought that dying would be
quite all right, as long as she could do it in Michael's arms.

Miami Airport, Florida, September 25, 2001

Liz glanced at her watch impatiently, heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"Where the heck is he?" She asked Isabel. "The plane is
leaving in fifteen minutes." She blushed slightly when Mr. Evans gave her a surprised look. She realized that that had sounded nothing like her usual self. Spending so much time in close quarters with Michael
Guerin, the cause of all the grief of the last few months, was
driving her nearly insane.

Liz, Isabel and Isabel's dad were standing near the boarding
gate for their British Air flight to London. Michael had disappeared into the crowds of the Miami airport the moment they had gotten off their flight from Albuquerque.

That had been two hours ago. They had not seen him since.

"He went to call Maria." Isabel explained. "I ran into
him at McDonald's about half an hour ago. Don't worry! He'll be
here."

Liz shifted from one foot to another, tried to get herself to calm
down. She was never going to survive the seven hour flight to
England if she didn't cool it.

But she couldn't help it.

For some reason she felt like time was running out...and not just
because Maria was so sick.

She was getting the feeling that if they didn't get to Stonehenge
quickly they would lose the opportunity to bring Max home. And that
did not bear thinking about.

"Did you call your parents Liz?" Mr. Evans asked, clearly
trying to change the subject.

Liz and Isabel exchanged glances. "Ummm, yeah." Liz replied,
hating herself for having to lie to him. "They told me to call
again when we reach London. They worry about me being on
planes."

Although Tess had still been furious at them when they had seen her
that morning, she had done her part. She had created an illusion of
the Parkers at the Roswell airport saying good-bye to Liz. Mr. Evans
had not suspected a thing. He still had no idea what Tess' gift
was.

Mr. Evans nodded sadly. "A parent can never be too careful."
He said quietly.

Liz saw Isabel's eyes fill with tears. It was clear that Mr.
Evans was thinking about Max. It was equally clear that Mr. Evans felt
like he had failed his son somewhere - that if he had been a better
parent, none of this would have happened.

Of course, it couldn't be further from the truth. Max, Isabel
and Michael had never had any control over their lives. What on Earth
could the Evans possibly have done to make it any different? What
they had done had been wonderful enough.

Max Evans was the kind, loving person he was because of them. They
had given him the normal life he had always wanted.

But then all hell had broken loose.

If Liz had her way though, it was all going to change when Max came
back. He was going to be happy and normal if it killed her. Destiny
be damned.

Isabel was searching the crowd with concern. "Okay, he has been
gone for way to long." She finally admitted.

Just then Liz caught a glimpse of Michael's spiky head towering
over the people in the terminal. He was rushing towards them, a sucker
stuck in his mouth.

He looked completely unconcerned. Liz wanted to strangle him.

Michael stopped and stared at them all. They were all staring back
at him.

"Why aren't you on the plane?" He asked in typical Michael
fashion, as though they were the idiots and he was an innocent
bystander trying to stay clear of their polluting ways.

"We're waiting for you dimbulb!" Isabel replied, rolling
her eyes.

"Why?" Michael scowled at her. "I can board a plane by myself
you know."

Liz heaved a sigh. Michael glanced at her, quickly looked away, a
guilty expression on his face. Liz tried to suppress the pang of
guilt that suddenly hit HER. She was not going to feel bad for
Michael. He deserved to feel bad. They wouldn't even have to be
doing this if it wasn't for him.

"Let's just go kids." Mr. Evans suggested, trying to ease
the tension.

Liz followed him quietly. I just better not have to sit with him,
she thought to herself as she boarded the plane.

As she settled into her window seat next to Isabel, her thoughts
naturally returned to Max.

We’re coming Max! Just hold on a while longer. I will see you
again.
***********************************************************

It was late afternoon.

Kyle had gone to the airport to see Liz, Isabel and Michael off and
was headed over to Maria's to check on her. Michael had asked
him to and he had quickly agreed.

Not only was he worried about Maria for her own sake, he also knew
that Tess would be there. He was just as concerned about her.

Tess had showed up at the airport to do her, as Maria would say,
voodoo alien mind thingy on Mr. Evans. She had not spoken to anyone
but had stalked out, without even acknowledging Alex and Kyle's
presence, as soon as the trio traveling to England, as well as
Max's dad, had boarded the plane.

She was acting very strangely. Like she hated them all.

It was so sudden, Kyle didn't know what to think.

Tess had started to develop a bond with the group - one that had
become natural after she had given up on all that destiny crap. The
fact that they had all been mourning the loss of Max had made the
transition in their relationships even more logical.

Past mistakes and bitterness had seemed really petty after what had
happened to Max.

But, after her little freak-out in the Crashdown the previous
evening, Tess had been totally alienated from the rest of them, no
pun intended.

She was even ignoring Kyle. And it hurt.

Kyle knew that Tess did not feel the same way about him that he felt
about her. He LOVED her. She LIKED him and was totally oblivious to
how he really felt. It sucked, but he accepted it. At least he got
to spend time with her.

If he lost that, he didn't know what he would do.

He pulled his Mustang into the Deluca's driveway. He was not
surprised to see Alex's parents' car parked on the street out
front.

Kyle hurried to the front door, knocked. Maria's mother answered
a moment later.

Amy Deluca looked like she had been put through the wringer. She had
dark circles under her eyes and her brown hair was hanging limply, as
though she hadn't washed it in days.

If Kyle didn't know that Maria was suffering from some spacey
disease, he might wonder if what she had was catching. Her mom
looked like she was on death's doorstep too.

"Hi Kyle." Amy said quietly, her usual bubbly personality
muted under the heavy burden of her concern for her daughter.
"How's your dad?"

"He's okay." Kyle replied. Kyle had often wondered what
had gone down between his dad and Amy. He knew that they had gone on a couple of dates, and he knew that his dad had really liked her, but then
BOOM! Nothing. It was weird.

"Maria's in her room." Amy told him. "Alex and Tess are here too.
Do you want to stay for dinner?" Amy continued. "Maria asked
for pizza." She sounded really excited that Maria actually had an
appetite.

Kyle suspected that Maria was only pretending to be hungry in order
to ease her mother's mind somewhat.

"Sure, thanks." Kyle replied. He made his way down the
hallway to Maria"s bedroom, knocked softly.

"Come in." Maria's voice came through the door. Kyle entered to
the sight of Alex sprawled on Maria's bed beside her. Tess was
sitting at the vanity, gazing out the window, a far-off expression on
her pretty face.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

Maria was curled up on Alex's shoulder, her pillow on her lap.
She looked even worse than she had yesterday, if that was even possible.

"Michael just called." Maria replied, her breathing heavy.
Kyle saw Alex frown slightly. "They're in Miami about to board
the plane to London."

"Cool." Kyle said, sticking his hands in his pockets. He
suddenly realized that they were a strange group to be hanging out together. Liz and Max were the ones who had always bonded them. To have both of them gone...it just felt peculiar.

"So we're trying to come up with a movie for tonight." Alex piped
up. "The girls have already vetoed Scream 1, 2 or 3."

"Actually, we're vetoing any film that has a number after the
title." Maria put in. "Right Tess?"

Tess' head snapped around. "What?" She asked. She had clearly
not heard a word of their conversation. Alex and Kyle exchanged a
look.

"Tess, are you okay?" Kyle asked, going to put his hand on her
shoulder. She flinched away. He tried to ignore the pang of hurt
that clenched at his stomach.

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"You're not still mad that they left you behind?" Maria demanded,
sounding annoyed. "I mean, we all wanted to go Tess...it just
was not logistically possible."

Tess looked away again. "I know." She said. "I'm not mad anymore. I'm just tired." She finished lamely.

Kyle knew she was lying.

"Anyway," Alex attempted to change the subject. "Movies? Any
ideas Valenti?"

"Don't you think we should be looking into who has Liz's
journal?" Kyle asked, scowling slightly. "We still have no
idea and, from what I understand, there's some pretty explosive stuff
in there."

Maria struggled to sit up. "Kyle's right. We need to make up a list of suspects."

"Who are you?" Alex asked teasingly, "Sherlock Holmes?"

Maria grinned slightly. "Actually, I'm Watson. Michael's Holmes."

"Yeah, and a really effective one at that." Alex replied
sarcastically. "Has that guy EVER broken in somewhere without
almost getting caught or pulverized?"

Maria smacked him. "So, I vote for Pam Troy. That girl was just
WAY too excited about that web-site."

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know. She's pretty dumb. I don't
think she could set up a web-site."

"Not to mention, the person who did it clearly has an agenda.
There was a reason that the Czech parts of the journal were left out."
Alex continued. "Whoever did it wanted us to know that they had
it, wanted us to worry, but they didn't want to give up the goods -
yet anyway."

"Good point. So who the hell was it then?" Kyle sighed. "Jeez,
this is tough. I never realized how much Liz and Max were the brains
of this operation."

Alex scowled at him good-naturedly. "I resent that Valenti. I am
clearly the designated nerd around here..." He was cut off by
Tess,
who had suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Can we please just shut up about Max and Liz for once?" She
demanded. "That's all I ever hear about...how much LIZ misses Max,
how much SHE needs him. Every time you say their names its like
they're one word...LIZANDMAX, MAXANDLIZ..." She was practically
yelling now. "There are others of us who cared about him too you
know!"

Kyle moved to put his arm around her. "We know that Tess." She
whirled away from him.

"I'm leaving. I need some air. I'll be back in a while
to check on you." She told Maria. Maria was still staring at her with her mouth open. She snapped it shut abruptly.

"Okay."

"What got stuck in her craw?" Alex asked when the bedroom door had
slammed shut behind Tess.

"Shut up Whitman." Kyle snapped.

He was torn about whether to go after Tess or not. He decided to
give her a chance to cool off. Not to mention he needed to think.
He had thought that Tess had gotten over all this jealousy stuff,
that she had given up on her so-called destiny.

But the way she had just acted...it didn't seem that way at all.

Can things possibly get any worse? He wondered as he plunked himself
down on the vanity stool Tess had just vacated.

When Kyle looked back on the incident days later, he wished that he
had knocked on wood - because, surprise, surprise...it had turned out
that things COULD get worse....

Much worse.
************************************************************

Heathrow Airport, London, England

Isabel stumbled off the plane, rubbing her eyes. She had been
surprised that she had managed to sleep. She had been exhausted
though and had also been willing to do anything to escape the
tenseness between Liz and Michael.

She had been stuck sitting between them and it had been no picnic,
that was for sure.

Liz had snapped at every word that had come out of Michael's mouth,
until Michael had just stopped talking entirely. The whole thing was
even more disturbing because Michael never said anything to defend
himself. It was so unlike him to let someone treat him that way, it
was very worrisome to Isabel.

She could not be mad at Liz though. She knew that resenting Michael
was the only thing that was keeping Liz in one piece. If she really
started to think about the fact that Max might never come
back...Isabel just knew that Liz would lose it totally.

"Do we have to get our baggage before we go through customs?"
Mr. Evans was asking Liz as they followed behind Isabel.

"No." Liz replied. "We can pick them up on the other side." Liz
was the designated tour-guide being as she had spent a considerable
amount of time in London during the fall of their junior
year...during the time when she had been trying to give Max his
freedom to live out his so-called destiny with Tess.

"What time is it anyway?" Michael asked tiredly. He had just
joined them.

"It's a seven hour time difference." Liz replied. "I think its
about eight a.m. London time. I'm thinking that we should probably
go straight to my aunt's and try and get rid of this jet-lag. We
can get up later this afternoon and head for Victoria Station to get
bus tickets to Salisbury."

"I don't think I can sleep." Isabel told Liz as they slowly made
their way through the customs line. It looked like a whole slew of
747's had landed at the same time and that they had come from all
over the world. Isabel could not even identify half the languages
she was hearing.

Isabel felt a pang of excitement. London! How she wished she was
there under different circumstances. It was one of the most exciting
cities in the world, one she had always wanted to visit. She had
often dreamed of leaving boring little Roswell behind for the lights
of the big city...of course, the "big city" had usually meant New
York or Los Angeles...but London was right up there on the list.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Liz replied. "But we need all our
strength Iz. We have no idea what's going to go down
tomorrow."

"God, I hope we DO know." Isabel sighed. "I hope we're right
Liz, that we're not on some wild goose chase here. What if
Stonehenge doesn't mean anything?"

"It has too." Liz told her firmly. "Why else would we ALL have
seen it?"

"I guess." Isabel did not have time to continue. She was
suddenly confronted by a very cranky looking customs officer.

"Country?"

"Ummm...the U.S." Isabel told her.

"Reason for your visit? Business or holiday?"

I wonder what she would say if I told her that we were here to bring
my brother back from another planet through an interstellar gateway
that we think is at Stonehenge? Isabel wondered briefly. "Holiday."
She bit out quickly, trying hard not to laugh.

The customs officer stared at her closely. Isabel scowled at her.
This woman is in for some VERY unpleasant dreams tonight, she thought
to herself.

"Enjoy your visit." The woman said abruptly, waving her
through.

"Don’t you worry. I will." Isabel muttered under her breath.

Liz was through a minute later. She had charmed the customs lady no
doubt. Isabel wondered why everyone loved Liz so much. All she had
to do was smile and people melted.

When Liz suddenly threw her arm around Isabel's shoulder, she
suddenly remembered. It was because of Liz's heart. Her friend's
goodness shone through, even to complete strangers.

It was no wonder that Max had loved her the moment he had laid eyes
on her so many years before.

She was Liz.

"Well, we're here. Only a day to go and we'll see him."

Isabel smiled at her friend.

When Liz said it....

She knew it was true.

Part 15

The Citadel, Illyria

Jennetta sat on the floor of the stone corridor, her back pressed against Jaxon's chamber door. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on trying to access her older brother's mind.

Their mother had moved Jaxon out of the dungeon after their meeting and had given him free run of the fortress, but her brother was not allowed outside the Citadel's inner courtyard.

He seemed resigned to the fact and had chosen not to leave his chamber at all over the past two days. He refused to see anyone, although Jennetta had not let that stop HER. Although Jaxon had tried to get rid of her the first couple of times she had visited him, he had apparently finally given up and instead just listened to her chatter patiently, an expression of half-affection/half-annoyance on his face.

Her brother tried very hard to hide the fact that he had emotions - but he did not do a very good job of it. Jennetta knew exactly what was going through his mind and heart at any given moment.

Of course it helped that she had the gift of telepathy as well.

Now she was waiting for her brother to fall asleep, although she wanted to go in and talk to him. She loved to talk to him. He was the only one in the fortress who took her at all seriously, beside Lucianus of course. Jaxon seemed to hang onto every word she told him, storing it for later use.

Jennetta was happy to oblige him. She told him about Tristandor, whom she had never met, but who she just knew was the most wonderful brother- in-law in the world.

She told him about Mirana, whom she had met once in a dream.

She spoke of Sabrya, who she didn't really like, but knew that she was supposed to love, so she tried.

And she spoke of the humans that Lucianus had told her about - Liz and Maria and Alex and Kyle. The humans who were meant to save Jennetta's planet for her.

Jennetta's eyes snapped open a moment later. She leapt to her feet, raced down the corridor and took the winding staircase two at a time. If Mama saw her, she would be in trouble for being so unladylike, but Jennetta knew that her mother was currently in the transmission room attempting to make contact with Mirana.

Mother had been trying to connect with Mirana ever since Jennetta could remember. She didn't know if Mama had ever been successful, but she never stopped trying.

Slamming through the wooden door to Lucianus' study, Jennetta threw herself at the old man, who was leaning over an electronic tablet on his table, studying it carefully. Lucianus' head snapped up. He smiled at her tolerantly.

"He's asleep Lucianus! Finally! He had about five thousand thoughts whirling through his mind all evening, but he finally just gave up and went to sleep." She smiled at him conspiratorially. "Most of his thoughts were about Liz! Isn't that good news?"

"It is very good news indeed little one. Thank you for coming to tell me so quickly." Lucianus climbed to his feet, kicked his long robes out of his way and hurried across the room. The ease of his movements belied the whiteness of his hair.

Jennetta followed him closely, practically jumping up and down in her excitement. "Are you going to do another dream-meld with Liz?" She asked him breathlessly.

Lucianus paused, raised an eyebrow at her. "How did you know about that little one?"

Jennetta could feel herself blushing slightly. "Er - I might have taken a peek into Jaxon's mind when you did it last time."

Her mentor frowned at her. "You know better then that Jennetta. Jaxon's dreams are his own private domain."

She frowned back. "Well you manipulate his dreams all the time!" She told him indignantly. "I was just taking a look. I didn't DO anything."

Lucianus continued to stare at her, then was forced to laugh. "I suppose you are right little one. But I suggest that you let Jaxon and Liz be alone this time. This is the most important step in our quest to return our king to himself. Only Liz can do it, but it must be soon. He is going to try and escape tomorrow."

Jennetta's eyes widened. "He is? How do you know?"

"It's written in the stars." Lucianus told her in that mysterious way that always annoyed her.

Lucianus had stopped at the control panel on the far wall of his chamber. He began to fiddle with some keys, then turned and opened a nearby chest, pulling out two red orbs and placing them in their slots on the control station. Jennetta watched all this with interest. She always tried to remember exactly what Lucianus was doing whenever she watched him at work. One could never know how to do too much.

"There we are." He smacked a button soundly and sat back with satisfaction.

"Is it happening?" Jennetta looked at the control panel in confusion. It looked exactly the same to her.

"Oh yes." Lucianus smiled.

Greenwich, London, England

Liz stared up at the ceiling of the guest room in her aunt's apartment, sighed with annoyance. She had been trying to sleep all night, but her body clock was totally messed up due to jet-lag. Isabel had also been right not to take a nap that afternoon. Her friend was currently sound asleep in the twin bed beside Liz's, a slight frown on her face.

Finally giving up, Liz climbed out of bed and went to grab her England Guide Book out of her knapsack. She flipped to the entry on Stonehenge, reread the entry for what seemed like the thousandth time. A picture of the great stone circle accompanied the paragraph about how to get there and admission prices. Liz traced it with her fingers, wondered if it was really going to help them bring Max home.

She and Isabel had gone to Victoria Station earlier that day to book four seats on the National Express bus to Salisbury for the next morning. They had decided that they would pretend to be regular tourists and visit Stonehenge tomorrow afternoon in order to case it out. After that, she, Isabel and Michael would return later that evening with the orbs and try and open the gate to Illyria.

She only hoped Max was waiting for them on the other side.

Liz knew that it was not going to be easy to access the heritage site in the middle of the night. She was sure that such an important tourist attraction would have tons of security and she had no idea how long they were going to need in the circle to bring Max back. She also had no idea what they would do if they were caught.

For the first time she wished that Tess had accompanied them. Her gift of illusion would have come in very handy. But at least they had Isabel's dad. They might need a good lawyer if all did not go according to plan.

She tried to push her nervousness aside, tried to focus her attention on another problem that was rearing its head.

Liz wondered briefly what was up with Tess. She had talked to Maria earlier on the phone and her friend had told her that although the blonde-haired girl was taking her job of "protecting" Maria very seriously, she was basically ignoring Kyle and Alex and when she wasn't, she was snapping at all three of them.

Liz knew that this had to be about more than just being left behind by Michael and Isabel. She could tell by the tone of Maria's voice that her best friend was hiding something from her. Liz didn't push it though. Maria or Alex would tell her what was going on when it became truly necessary.

Maria had also told Liz that her parents still had no idea that she was gone. Tess had called them, imitating Mrs. Evans so perfectly, even Maria had been impressed. She had told them that the Evans were taking Liz on a week long tour of eastern colleges with Isabel, but that they had to leave immediately because Mr. Evans had managed to get discount airline tickets that expired after the weekend.

"That's brilliant Maria!" Liz exclaimed. "Now if only I can convince my aunt that she doesn't need to call them to tell them I arrived safely."

Maria had replied, "Can't help you there chica." She had paused for a moment. "How's Michael?" She had finally asked quietly.

Liz had felt herself scowling just at the mention of his name, although she tried to control herself. She knew that she was being totally ridiculous at this point, but she seemed to have no control over how she felt about Max's best-friend. She hated him more every day.

"He's okay." Liz had answered evenly.

Liz could hear Maria breathing on the other end of the line. "Liz, you've go to give him a break. He feels terrible about what happened."

"I know Maria." Liz did not want to upset her best friend. She had enough to deal with. "I'm trying." But are you? A little voice in the back of her mind asked her.

"Liz, you've got to promise me that you're going to look after him."

Liz had frowned at that. "Michael has made it pretty clear on this trip that he can look after himself Maria." Maria's silence was deafening.

"I wasn't talking about on the trip Liz." Liz pressed her lips together, could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Stop talking like that Maria!"

Maria sighed. "You've got to accept what's happening sweetie. You're going to need to be strong - for me."

Liz felt herself beginning to panic. She could NOT promise to be strong again. She had already promised Max - she couldn't bear the weight of another promise of that magnitude. She was horrified when she heard the words coming out of her mouth. "I promise that I'll be there for you and him - Maria."

"I love you Liz."

"I love you too Maria. We'll be home soon, with Max, and everything's going to work out. You'll see."

"I hope so. Well, I better go. This call is probably costing my mom at least two inflatable alien dolls."

As Liz remembered the conversation, she could feel tears filling her eyes again. She thrust the guide-book in her hands aside and buried her face in her pillow. She didn't want to wake Isabel. Max's sister needed all her strength to open the portal tomorrow.

Liz was suddenly hit by an overwhelming wave of fatigue. She missed Max so much, was so worried about Maria, was so resentful of Michael...it was wearing her down, bit by bit. She could feel herself falling into the gratifying sanctuary of slumber, where she would not have to think any longer.

And moments later, she was with Max.

*Dreams * Max and Liz

He was scowling at her. "So they've sent you to do their dirty work again have they?"

Liz could feel herself blinking. It was taking her a moment to adjust to the fact that she was back in the Waylandian Ring and that Max was standing not two feet from her. She knew it was a dream, but it was so real, she could hear him breathing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She told him quietly.

He was eyeing her, clearly trying to be angry with her, but his dark eyes were shining as they gazed at her. He was not as displeased to see her as he made out.

"Are you aware of the lies they've been telling me?" He asked abruptly, moving forward to help her to her feet. It was only then that she realized that she had been sitting on the ground, the tall yellow grass waving around her.

Liz just shook her head. "No Max, I have no idea."

"Jaxon." He snapped. "My name is Jaxon." Liz just stared at him. His mood was incredibly erratic. He actually looked like he wanted to throttle her and kiss her at the same time.

"Are you okay?" She moved forward, reached up to touch his face. She saw him lick his lips, press them together. His hand grabbed hers, pulled it down from his cheek. She was pleased to note that he kept her hand firmly in his though. He seemed unaware that he was doing it.

"No, I am not." He replied evenly. "My mother is trying to turn me against Tarsus. She is trying to tell me that Mirana and Tristandor did not betray me. She is trying to convince me that I have only been back on Illyria for several months, that all the memories I have of the life I lived here, the battles I have fought, are false! How by the stars could I be okay?"

Liz did not know what to say to him. "And you think that I am working for your mother?"

"Who else could you be? You told me the same things she did."

Liz could feel her heart going out to him. He looked so confused, so scared...like everything that he had known to be true was being taken away from him. He looked like a lost little boy.

Which in a way he was. He did not remember being Max Evans. He had lost himself. Liz could feel tears welling up in her eyes again.

Max seemed to calm down somewhat at the sight of it. He unconsciously brought his hand up to her face. "What is wrong my Liz?" He blinked, like he wasn't really sure where that had come from.

"I am just sad Ma...er Jaxon. I wish that you remembered me."

"I do remember you." Max replied, clearly trying to make her feel better. "I have told you as much."

"Then I don't understand why you insist on the fact that you are Jaxon! How can you be both my Max and Jaxon at the same time?" Max looked perplexed.

"I have no idea."

Liz shook her head. They had to stop wasting time. They were going in circles anyway. She did not know how long they were going to have together and she had many things to tell him.

"Max, we are coming for you." She told him, running her hands over his arms. He did not pull away from her.

"How?"

"Through the portal. I think that you have to be in the Waylandian Ring though. Can you do that?" Liz asked him hopefully. He was looking at her like she was crazy.

"I have no intention of leaving Illyria Liz. This is my home. It is MINE. I can not leave it for my mother to take over." His eyes shadowed slightly. "It is why they had Jennetta - another heir to the throne seriously compromises my position. I cannot leave."

Liz could see that he was torn about something. "Who is Jennetta?" She asked him, deciding to leave the subject of returning to Earth for the moment.

She could see his eyes light up despite himself. "She is my sister. While I know that my parents plan to use her as a pawn to unseat me from my throne..." He trailed off.

"You love her?" Liz asked. Max turned away from her.

"I do not know what love is." He replied gruffly. Liz smiled. Yeah, right.

"Don't you?" She asked him, trailing her hand across his back as she moved to walk around him so that they were facing each other again. "I think you do."

Liz saw him swallow. His eyes were burning into her soul. Oh yes, he knew. At least here he did.

Liz caressed his cheek again, danced her other hand up his arm. She could feel his muscles tensing under her touch. "You do know what love is - you are mine. You are MY Max. They might try and tell you differently, but you know. Don't you?"

"Liz..." He looked terrified, but strangely intrigued at the same time.

She reached up, ran her fingers through his dark hair. Liz's eyes did not leave his. She would lose him if she let him look away for even an instant. "Max..." His head was slowly coming down...Liz parted her lips. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. MAX!

"LIZ!" She saw Max look beyond her, a slight frown on his face. He had heard it too. Liz grabbed his chin, forced him to look back at her.

"LIZ!" It came again. Liz knew exactly who it was and she felt the rage fill her as Max's gaze drifted from her face again.

"Tristandor." He said, sounding betrayed. He looked at her, his eyes shining with hurt. Max wrenched himself away from.

"MAX! Don't leave me! Please!" Liz screamed after him, but he was walking away from her, had stepped out of the stone circle. "Max! Come back!"

"Liz! Wake up!" Isabel's voice had joined Michael's, calling at her to come back to them. She couldn't! She had to follow Max! She was losing him again!

"LIZ!"
Liz's eyes snapped open, her gaze instantly lighting on Isabel and Michael who were both leaning over her, matching expressions of concern on their faces.

She sat up, glared at them. "Why? Why did you wake me up? I almost had him!"

They exchanged looks. "Liz, you weren't breathing." Isabel finally told her quietly. Liz stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up because you were tossing and turning on the bed. I thought you were having a nightmare." Isabel explained. "When I tried to wake you up, you stopped breathing. I went to get Michael to help me."

Liz closed her eyes, fell back against her pillow. "God, he is so messed up you guys."

"You saw him again?" Michael asked.

"Of course I saw him. He is totally torn in two. He doesn't know who to believe anymore." She jumped out of bed, glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. Their bus to Salisbury was leaving in two hours.

She turned back to Isabel and Michael. "This has to work you guys. We need to bring him back soon or we're going to lose him....and this time not just physically."

Liz saw Isabel flinch, watched Michael put his arm around her to comfort her.

It had to work. They had to MAKE it work.

She would not lose Max.

Roswell, New Mexico

Kyle glanced at the clock in his fourth period English class for the
fifth time in the past ten minutes. The minute hand seemed to be
moving backward. There was absolutely no other explanation for
why this class was taking so long to end.

He was the only one who had managed to make it to school. Tess
had been absent in the two classes he shared with her, Kyle
assumed Maria was too ill to come and Alex had gone AWOL as
well.

So much for acting like everything was normal.

He tapped his pencil against his desk impatiently, frowned slightly
when he noticed that Pam Troy was staring at him, a slight smirk on
her face. Kyle scowled at her. She quickly turned away and began
giggling with the girls sitting hear her. That girl needs to get a
life, Kyle reflected as the bell finally rang.

Kyle jumped out of his seat, pushed his way through the crowds of
students to the front door of the school. There was no point in
hanging around. His concentration was totally shot anyway and he
was going to explode if he had to sit through one more ridiculous
class, his next one being French.

Somehow the proper use of the subjunctive did not seem significant
when one of your friends was dying, while three more were off on a
covert mission to England to try and bring a fourth back from another
planet.

And then there was Tess: the girl he loved, who didn't know he was
alive and was suddenly acting like he had the Bubonic Plague.

It was time to get to the bottom of that little mystery.

Tess had returned to Maria's the previous evening in order to check
on her. She had barely even acknowledged Kyle or Alex's presence
but Tess had even offered to sleep on the Deluca's couch if Maria
wanted. Kyle had seen Alex and Maria exchange perplexed looks at
that. Tess was taking this "protecting Maria" stuff way seriously.

It was beyond weird. It wasn't like Maria was in any real danger that
Tess would be able to prevent. Her illness was slowly draining her,
but there was nothing Tess could do about it. What was she trying to
accomplish?

Kyle climbed into his Mustang, pulled out of the student parking lot
with a screech of tires. He saw two freshmen practically have to
jump out of his way, felt a little bad, but kept going.

He pulled up in front of the Harding's house several minutes later.
Tess had continued to live there after Nasedo had gone to work at
the Special Unit. Kyle's dad had taken care of the paper work and
had helped Tess to become legally emancipated like Michael.
Nasedo had left her with enough money to live quite well.

Of course, Kyle did not want to even think about where Nasedo might
have gotten the money. He would not have put it past the
shapeshifter to have murdered some billionaire in his sleep just to
keep his earthly finances solvent. While Kyle had never actually met
the guy - the stories that Maria, Liz and Alex had told him about
him...they made his toes curl.

And the man responsible for a murderous rampage across the
South-West was basically Tess' father - he had raised her at least.
Sure he had done most of it to protect Max, Isabel, Michael and
Tess, but he had still killed a lot of innocent people.

Max, Isabel and Michael had been raised as humans. Max and
Isabel had known loving parents and a pretty normal life. Yeah,
Michael had had to deal with some crap, but he had at least had Max
and Isabel.

Tess had only ever had a murderous, shape-shifting, emotionless
weirdo to depend on.

It was no wonder that she was kind of strange. The fact that she was
as normal as she was...it was one of the things Kyle admired about
her.

There was no answer when Kyle rang the doorbell. He peered in the
picture window in the front of the house but there was no sign of any
life within. He turned around, stood on the lawn for a moment with
his arms crossed, frowning.

Where the hell was she?

He knew she wasn't at Maria's. He had called there on the cell in his
car, just to check in. Amy Deluca said that Maria was sleeping and
that there had been no sign of Tess all day.

Kyle didn't really feel like driving the streets of Roswell in search
of her. He'd try the Crashdown and then come back here later if he had
no luck. He had climbed back into his car and had started down the
street when he saw his quarry walking down the sidewalk, her head
lowered, her curly blonde hair falling over her face. Tess appeared to
be deep in thought.

Just as he opened his window to hail her, another car, coming from
the opposite direction, pulled up next to her. Tess raised her head,
clearly not noticing Kyle at all, although he was only about ten feet
away from her. She quickly opened the passenger door and climbed
in.

"Tess!" Kyle called, trying to catch her before she took off with
whoever was in the car. He jumped out of the Mustang, ran down
the street after them, but they were gone. Belatedly he realized that
he should have stayed in his car and followed them.

Imbecile. Worrying about Tess was turning him into a moron.

He stopped, scowling. There was absolutely no one in Roswell that
Tess Harding should be getting into a car with, he reflected. Her only
friends were her fellow Czechs and he, Liz, Alex and Maria. He
wondered briefly if it was Nasedo, finally back.

Tess had contacted the shapeshifter at the FBI after Max's
disappearance. Nasedo had apparently been strangely uninterested
in the whole affair. "He had to go back sometime." The bastard had
told her.

They had largely been out of touch with him since. Once Max was
gone, he didn't seem to take his role as their "protector" quite as
seriously. No one quite knew what to make of that.

Kyle returned to his car, wondered if he should try and catch Tess
and her mysterious companion. He decided it would be pointless.
He might as well go grab some lunch at the Crashdown and try and
catch up with her later.

His plans changed a moment later when his cell rang. "What?" He
demanded as he switched it on. In his current mood there was no
time for social niceties.

It was Alex and he didn't seem to care, not even bothering with a
typical snappy comeback. "I don't have time to talk Kyle, but you
better come to the hospital right away."

Kyle's brow knit. "What's wrong?"

"It's Maria. Get here quick." The other boy hung up without saying
another word.

Kyle turned off his phone, stared out the windshield in front of him.

He knew exactly why Maria was in the hospital.

The end was near.
************************************************************
Tess waved her hand in front of the stone wall, watched with an
expressionless face as the silver handprint appeared. She glanced
at her companion, raised an eyebrow.

The girl stepped forward, placed her hand directly on the mark. Tess
closed her eyes as the wall slid away, leaving the entrance to the pod
chamber open.

So she had not lied. She was one of them.

And Tess Harding's entire world changed.

Part 17

Salisbury, England - the same day

"Isabel, those sunglasses look ridiculous." Michael snapped. "It's raining."

Isabel swung around to stare at him, lifting the glasses onto her head as she did so. "I was trying to be low-profile." She replied, sounding annoyed. "It's going to be a little hard to do that with you yelling all the time."

"Yeah and wearing sunglasses in the rain ISN'T going to draw attention to you." Michael snorted, turning away.

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Isabel said to Liz in an undertone.

The three of them, plus Mr. Evans, had arrived in Salisbury about a half an hour before. They had gone for a quick lunch at a nearby pub called the Turk's Head (Liz still wondered when a Turk had ever been anywhere near Salisbury) and were now standing outside the tourist office waiting for Isabel's dad to arrange spots for them on a sight-seeing tour out to Stonehenge. They were planning to check out the security features at the heritage site and basically get a lay of the land so that they could return later that night and try and open the portal to Illyria.

Liz was surprised by how cooperative Mr. Evans was being about everything. They hadn't had to lie to him once, which was like a new record for them. Even the illegal aspect of their operation did not seem to bother the straight-arrow a bit.

It seemed that Phillip Evans was willing to risk anything if it meant that his son might be brought home.

Liz heard Michael sigh. She knew that he had heard Izzy, but was choosing to ignore her now.

It was true that Michael was being much more belligerent than usual. Well, actually he was acting much more like the OLD Michael. The old Michael, the non-guilt-stricken Michael had been snarky about a lot of things.

Liz's eyes narrowed. Something had happened.

"Michael, what did Maria say on the phone this morning?" Liz demanded suddenly. She knew that Michael had called her best friend before they had left London. It had been around midnight Roswell time, but he had decided to do it anyway.

Michael turned back to face them, his expression shuttered. "She said everything was fine. Tess is still acting a little weird, but everything was basically okay." He said, sighing again. "I don't know...I just feel like something's wrong back there."

Liz frowned at him. Trust Michael to not be completely focused on the matter at hand. She was worried about Maria too - desperately worried - but they needed to concentrate on Max now. They could only help one friend at a time. And if they could bring Max back...

Maybe he could save Maria.

It seemed that Isabel could tell that Liz was gearing up to lay into Michael, because she smoothly interrupted. "Here comes my dad."

Sure enough, Mr. Evans was hurrying across the Salisbury High Street. Liz flinched when he barely avoided being hit by a car. In typical North American fashion he had forgotten to look in the opposite direction before stepping off the curb.

He looked flustered as he came to join them.

"Are you okay Dad?" Isabel asked worriedly.

"Yes, yes. Just forgot for a minute that everything's backwards over here." Mr. Evans replied in an irritated tone of voice.

"Not backwards." Liz told him jokingly. "Just different."

"Right. Anyway, our tour leaves in about ten minutes. We're to meet the van at the Cathedral." Mr. Evans seemed to calm down a bit when Isabel gently took him by the arm and began to lead him towards Salisbury Cathedral, whose spire towered over the town.

Liz trailed behind her three companions, enjoying the light rain that was misting against her face. This was one of the things she had missed most about England - the fact that one had to bring an umbrella everywhere because while it could be perfectly sunny when you set out in the morning, it would definitely rain at least once if you forgot one.

While Liz's previous trip to the United Kingdom had been under the shadow of grief surrounding her decision to leave Max the opportunity to pursue his destiny with Tess, she had grown to love the country and now considered it almost like a second home. She loved everything about
it - the unpredictable weather, the lack of central heating, the fact that there were only five television channels, the snails that one had to jump over on the sidewalk after it rained, the efficiency of the Royal Mail, the fact that soccer was called football...but mainly she loved the sense of history that permeated from very stone and tree and blade of grass.

In England you knew that important and world-changing events had taken place there. You just felt it with every fibre of your being.

Liz was hoping that one more world-changing event would take place there tonight.

Liz threw back her head, staring up at the cloudy sky. As she watched, the sun managed to penetrate through the grey mass, sending a beam down to warm Liz's face.

"You're coming home Max." Liz whispered. "Tonight."

************************************************************
"This is the heel stone. It is faced by five great trilithons which form a horse-shoe shape."

The tour-guide droned on. Although Isabel had considered him to be quite cute when she had first seen him, Thomas had soon proved a disappointment. It was clear that he was simply reciting facts that he had memorized, that he had no great interest in what he was telling them. She scowled, exchanging an annoyed look with Michael. He too looked bored by what he was being told. "Who cares if it's in a horseshoe shape? We can bloody well see that! What about the aliens?" He asked Isabel under his breath.

It astounded her that their guide was missing the power that Isabel could feel flowing through her as she gazed at the great stone circle of Stonehenge.

It was smaller than she had expected. The name Stonehenge was so attached to mysticism and legend - she didn't know what she had expected, but it had certainly been BIGGER in her imagination.

Of course it didn't help that she was completely surrounded by tourists, not only from her own small tour-group but from the at least fifty buses she had counted in the parking lot when they had arrived. Isabel again wondered why so many tourists decided it was a good idea to wear Bermuda shorts with knee socks and sandals. Somehow it was difficult to picture Druids going about their business in this place that was being photographed and stared at by silly people who were only there because their guide-books told them to go.

"I don't understand why we can't get closer to it." A middle-aged man near her was whining to his wife.

"Maybe because they know you'd knock it over." Isabel heard Michael mutter. She giggled.

It was true that the standing stones themselves were impossible to get close to, at least not with all the English Heritage employees hovering around. They would for sure catch you before you had any sort of chance to get close to the stones. Fortunately the low bars separating the tourist paths from the circle would not prove to be a problem later that night. They were clearly just a barrier to stop people from moving off the paths.

"Why was it built?" A member of Isabel's tour group asked Thomas.

Isabel could feel Michael perk up beside her. Liz, standing nearby, was ignoring Thomas completely though, gazing at the stones, her eyes shining.

Isabel bit her lip. She hoped her friend wasn't get her hopes up too high. While Isabel was positive that she would be able to open the gate, they had no way of knowing if Max would come through it.

They were going on faith here - a lot of it. Isabel was trying to prepare herself for disappointment, but she could see that Liz had no doubts.

She wished that she could feel the same.

The sandy-haired guide began a clearly rehearsed monologue about the origins of Stonehenge. "It is clear that the circle was built in three stages beginning between 2900 and 2500 B.C. by Neolithic peoples. The purpose of its construction is believed to have been a temple dedicated to the worship of the sun..."

Isabel frowned when she noticed Michael whispering something to a kid who looked to be about ten standing near him. The kid's eyes were widening with interest, and he suddenly blurted out in an Australian accent, "What about the aliens?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. Great Michael! Way to draw attention to yourself, she thought. Michael looked most pleased with himself. Isabel could see that her dad's face had whitened while Liz's attention had been drawn by the comment as well. She was glaring at Michael.

Thomas' eyes had snapped towards the boy, a sneer on his face. "Aliens? I think not." The little boy's face fell. Michael's expression of disappointment was almost identical.

A few minutes later Thomas told them that the bus would be heading back to Salisbury in half an hour. "Feel free to take as many photographs as you would like and be sure to visit the gift shop." Their tour-guide called over his shoulder as he ambled off to go flirt with one of the English Heritage people.

Isabel turned to Michael, shaking her head. "What? Did you think he was really going to say: well, yes young man - aliens DID build Stonehenge?"

Michael looked mildly embarrassed. "Well, it didn't hurt to try." He motioned towards Liz, who was standing about fifty feet away, staring at the stones intensely. "Is she all right?"

Isabel frowned slightly. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Because I don't really feel like having my head bit off that's why." Michael replied, sounding sad.

"Is it finally getting to you?" Isabel asked, feeling a spark of hope. She hated the tension that existed between her brother and her best friend. It was draining trying to keep the peace...well, at least trying to keep Liz peaceful, while trying to shield Michael from the brunt of her anger. It didn't help that Michael seemed to enjoy it, having wrapped himself so completely in his guilt over Max's disappearance and Maria's illness.

Isabel knew that a reckoning was coming. And it had to be soon. Maria needed Michael and Liz at peace with each other and they certainly did not need Max to reappear into the middle of a civil war between his soulmate and his best friend.

There was no way that her brother was going to have to choose between the two of them. Isabel would not allow it. "You need to do something about this Michael. This thing between you and Liz...it's like poison or something. She's been able to handle herself around you up until now, but I see her losing it a little more every day. It can't go on."

"She needs to hate me." Michael told her firmly. "It's the only thing that's holding her together. And we both know I deserve it."

Isabel clenched her hands. "That's ridiculous! Michael, you know that Liz is not the kind of person meant to hate anyone. You encouraging her in this is only making it worse. It's destroying her. You guys need to talk about this."

"Leave it alone Isabel." Michael snapped, walking away from her. Isabel gritted her teeth. He was deliberately walking in the opposite direction from Liz.

Isabel rubbed her eyes tiredly. Now's not the time to think about this, she thought. She began walking the perimeter of the stone circle, eyeing the different security features of the site.

The whole complex, including the gift shop, the visitor's centre and the tunnel leading out to the circle itself was surrounded by chain-link fence, topped off by barbed wire. Isabel wondered briefly if it would be electrified at night. She and Michael should have no trouble getting through it, but it would be a heck of a lot easier if it was just wire.

They would have no way of knowing until that night whether security guards would be posted or not. It was more than likely that they would. They were going to have to find them all and disable them before they would be able to open the portal. Michael would be able to knock them unconscious with his blast - he had refined it enough for that. It wouldn't be pleasant, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Isabel glanced at her watch. It was 3:00. She had checked the sign on the way in. The site closed at 6:00. That gave them just enough time to go back to Salisbury in the tour van, rent a car and by the time they drove out through the rolling hills to the stone circle it would be dark.

She felt her stomach clenching with nervousness and excitement. If only they knew that Max would be where they needed him...

She wished that there was someway to communicate with Max - to find out if he was going to be waiting for them...

Isabel paused, stared at the heel stone intently.

She could try.

She wandered to a secluded corner of the site. Isabel could hear the mutter from the tourists in the distance. She could see her father talking to Michael near the heel stone, pointing out something to her friend.

She sat down on the grass, which was still damp from the recent rainfall. Isabel saw Liz heading in her direction, saw her pause as she seemed to realize what Isabel was doing. Trust Liz - always so in tune with those around her...well, except for Michael of course.

Isabel closed her eyes, tried to concentrate on shutting out the noise from the hundreds of people milling nearby. She conjured an image of Max in her mind...called to him...

* MAX! LET ME IN! *

She could feel herself fading from the earthly plain, could feel energy running through her veins and into her mind...more power then she had ever felt before in all her thousands of dreamwalks...

She realized that it was the lay-lines...hundreds of them seemed to meet under the gigantic stone circle...and somehow, she, Isabel, was tapping into them.

And suddenly...the vision came...

But it was not really a vision, more like a connection...

Flash*

** Mirana! **

Flash*

** Can you hear me my child? **

Isabel could feel her heart speeding up. She recognized the voice...it was the same one from her earlier visions. But this time it seemed to be speaking directly TO her, instead of AT her.

* I can hear you! * She screamed back with her mind. She concentrated on pulling the energy from the laylines into her mind, focused on throwing that energy behind the words she was sending out. * Who are you? *

Flash*

** I am your mother! ** The voice replying sounded strange, like it was emotionally overwrought. ** I have connected with you at last! **

Isabel felt the connection slipping. * Mother! Stay with me! *

Flash*

** Mirana! I have much to tell you! **

* Max! Where is he? Please mother! *

Flash*

** Your brother is almost lost to you my daughter, almost lost to all of us.**

Isabel could feel her breath leaving her body. MAX! She forced herself to calm down.

* Is it too late mother? *

Flash*

** No my child, but you must open the gate tonight. He needs to return to Earth - to remember who he was...is...**

* But how can we be sure he will be there? *

There was a pause. Isabel frantically reached out with her mind. She wondered if she had lost the link to her mother.

* MOTHER!*

Flash*

** He will be there Mirana. I will make it so. **
The voice sounded more distant...Isabel could feel the connection ending...

* No! Mother! *

She was only met with silence.

Isabel finally opened her eyes. Liz was sitting nearby, watching her quietly, clearly there to make sure that no one disturbed her. Isabel could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Liz crawled over to join her, put her arm comfortingly around her shoulders. "What did you see Izzy?"

"I didn't SEE anything..." Isabel whispered, choked up. "I SPOKE to my mother."

She watched Liz's eyes light up with joy. Her friend squeezed her again. "I'm so happy for you!"

Isabel smiled through her tears. "She's going to help us Liz." Liz looked at her questioningly. "She's going to help us get him home."

Liz's eyes filled with tears of happiness as well. The two girls hugged, bonded in their amazement and hope.

The moment was shattered as Michael's voiced penetrated the fog surrounding them. "What's going on?"

Isabel could feel Liz tense. Her friend's face froze. Isabel's spirits deflated a little.

"I just connected with my mother." Isabel told him, climbing to her feet. Michael looked impressed.

"What'd she say?" He demanded eagerly. Isabel watched sadly as Liz began to walk away from them. She turned back to Michael, saw him flinch slightly, but he quickly refocused on her.

As Isabel told him, she wound her arm through his, silently offering comfort.

It was time to do something about the state of affairs between Michael and Liz.

She knew now that Max WAS coming back - it was just a matter of all the pieces falling in to place. Nothing was going to spoil it. Liz and Michael were just going to have to get over themselves.

And she was going to make them.

Roswell, New Mexico

Kyle paced the hospital waiting room, his hands clenched behind his back.

Where the hell was Tess?

He had left at least five messages on her answering machine and it had been at least three hours since he had seen her get into the strange car.

He was pissed. Not only did he have to worry about Maria, who was fighting for her life down the hall, but he had to worry about Tess, who seemed to be reverting to her old, selfish ways.

Kyle's pacing stopped abruptly when Alex entered the waiting room. Maria's best friend was rubbing his right temple like he had the world's worst head-ache in progress.

"How is she?" Kyle demanded.

Alex collapsed into an uncomfortable looking chair, which looked even more uncomfortable with Alex's lanky form spread across it. "She's in a coma." He replied, his voice cracking. "Mrs. Deluca just told me."

Kyle stared at him. "Jesus..." He swallowed. "How's Mrs. Deluca?"

"Not good." Alex replied. "I don't even know what to do for her...I can't call Liz's parents because they think Liz is HERE, and as far as I know they're her only friends."

Kyle grimaced. "I didn't even know they WERE friends?"

"Well, sort of..." Alex shrugged. "I don't really pay attention to my friends' parents' social life."

Kyle felt helpless. Maria was dying and the people who should have been with her - Michael and Liz - were on the other side of the world. He wondered if doing something for Maria's mom would make him feel any better. "Do you think seeing my dad might help her?" He asked Alex.

Alex's head snapped up. "Were they that close?" Alex asked curiously.

Kyle shrugged. "They seemed to be getting pretty close until all hell broke loose when Tess came to town. I mean, it was a long time ago, but I know that my dad really cared about her...he just sort of seemed to get distracted with all the Czech stuff."

"Don't we all." Alex muttered. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. "I mean, things couldn't possibly get worse."

Kyle wished that Alex hadn't said that. The last time HE had thought that same thing, things HAD proceeded to show him how wrong he was by getting ten TIMES worse.

He hurried over to the pay-phone. Kyle paused as his hand raised to dial his dad's cell. He was not surprised when he dialed Tess' number instead. He'd call his dad in a second.

"Hi! You've reached the Harding residence. Neither Ed or Tess can come to the phone right now. Please leave a message at the beep."

Kyle sighed, hung up the received. Where the hell was she?

He quickly pulled out another quarter.

"Valenti." His dad answered the cell tersely, as was his way.

"Dad, its me."

"Kyle, I'm kinda busy right now." The Sheriff, as usual, had seemed to half tune-out when he realized it was his son on the phone. Bet he wouldn't have done that if it was Max Evans, Kyle briefly thought, forced himself to suppress his lingering bitterness.

He knew his dad loved him. That wasn't the problem. He just sometimes felt that his dad wasn't very INTERESTED in him.

"It's an emergency Dad." Kyle told his father. "Maria Deluca's in the hospital."

Kyle's dad paused on the other end. "It's bad huh?"

"I think this might be it Dad." The Sheriff was aware of the situation with Maria, had been since it had developed.

"Do you want me to come over there son?"

"Yeah, but not for me...I think Maria's mom might need someone."

His dad paused again. "I'm on my way. I just need to call Owen and tell him to mind the shop..."

"Okay, thanks Dad." Kyle hung up, he turned around, froze in his tracks.

Tess Harding was standing directly behind him. She had a stricken expression on her beautiful face. "Is it true Kyle? Is Maria dying?"

"It's true." He said quietly. Her face crumbled. Kyle was astonished when she threw her arms around him, apparently searching for comfort. He brought his arms up around her waist hesitantly, let one hand stroke her back.

He hadn't known that Tess cared about Maria this much. If it had been Michael or Isabel...he might have understood it...but this was weird.

"Everything's falling apart." He heard Tess murmur against his chest. Somehow, suddenly, he knew that this wasn't just about Maria.

"What's wrong Tess?" He asked into her hair, feeling his heart beginning to beat faster at the scent of her perfume.

He felt her tense, as though she had suddenly become aware of what she was doing. She pulled away from him, turned to stare at Alex, clearly trying to compose herself.

"It's nothing. Forget it. I'm going to go see if maybe I can do something for her." Tess hurried away, without showing him her face again.

Kyle watched her go, a perplexed expression on his face.

Tess was hiding something...there was no doubt about that.

Alex had climbed to his feet, had come to join Kyle.

"What was that all about?" He asked Kyle.

"I have no idea." Kyle replied.

But he was going to find out.

* Dreams * MARIA

She felt as if her body had been incinerated from the inside out.

Maria carefully opened her eyes, realized that she was lying flat on her back staring up at a peculiar yellowish sky. She reached up, massaged her temples, tried to sit up.

She froze when she toppled over backwards, landing on something soft.

Make that SOMEONE soft, she amended to herself.

He groaned.

Slowly turning her head, Maria stared down at Michael. He was sprawled on his stomach, one arm thrown wide, the other shielding his head.

Clutching her side when she moved, a sharp pain flashing through her entire abdomen, Maria managed to nudge him. He groaned again.

"Michael?" No answer. "MICHAEL!"

"What do you want?" She heard him mutter.

"I want you to get up and tell me where the heck we are, because I am on the verge of totally freaking out here."

Michael rolled onto his back, slowly opened his eyes. She wondered briefly if it was HER Michael, or if it was pod-person Michael. She assumed it was pod-person Michael since he was the last Michael she had seen.

She realized that she was confusing herself, decided to just wait and see.

Michael was climbing to his feet, looking around, his expression amazed.
"I'm home." He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "I'm home Maria."

Maria stared at him. He sounded like HER Michael. His voice contained inflection, emotion...it was not the flat monotone she had become used to over the past months.

She followed his gaze, took in the waving yellow grass that seemed to stretch on forever in all directions.

Michael suddenly looked at her perplexed. "Why are you here?" He demanded.

"I think because I fell into that light thingy." She replied, reaching up to rub her head again. It was still killing her. "You know - the one I pushed YOU into...sorry about that." She continued sheepishly.

Michael opened his mouth to reply when a noise to their left caused them to both freeze. He grabbed her, thrusting her behind him.

Another head popped up in the grass. It was River Dog...or Tarsus of Dernia as they had learned he truly was. The shapeshifter climbed unsteadily to his feet, seemed to become aware of their presence.

Tarsus' eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Maria peering over Michael's shoulder. "That one is more trouble then she is worth. She has ruined everything - we have returned without Jaxon. Kill her immediately Tristandor."

Maria could feel Michael's back tense under her hands, which were clutching his jacket. He didn't have time to reply though, because Tarsus had begun pacing.

"This is a disaster. My leader is going to be most put out. The only consolation is that Jaxon will no doubt follow you." He turned quickly to stare at them, did not seem at all upset that Michael had made no move to kill Maria. "I've changed my mind. Do not kill her. We will need her to bargain with when the King arrives."

Maria frowned in confusion. None of this was making any sense.

"Time to take my true form." Tarsus' face was implacable as always, but if Maria did not already know that the alien did not have any emotions, she would have thought that he sounded glad. She watched him raise his hand. It began to glow, causing a chain reaction in his entire body.

"Ohmigod! Michael! Is he going to turn into a little green man?" Maria demanded, feeling horror beginning to take ahold of her.

"Shhhh! Maria!" Michael sounded annoyed, and very Michael-like. It made her feel better. She wondered again why he suddenly seemed to be HER Michael again and not weird-emotionless-minion of Tarsus Michael.

But now was not the time. She wanted to close her eyes to hide from whatever Tarsus was turning himself into, but it was like a car accident. She couldn't look away.

The light finally dissipated and she gasped in astonishment.

Standing in front of her was a perfectly normal-looking man. He was young with dark hair and blue eyes. He was actually quite handsome. Maria blinked.

Tarsus was staring off across the plain. "Dernia is south of here. We will go there to rally the troops to bring them back here to capture Jaxon when he makes the journey."

"What if he's long gone by the time we get back? Shouldn't we wait for him?" Michael asked the question Maria had been thinking.

Tarsus frowned. "Don't ask questions about things you don't understand."

"Ummm...how are we ever supposed to learn if we don't ask questions about things we don't understand?" Maria asked. Was this guy really as imbecilic as he sounded? She wondered why they had all been so scared of him.

"Shut her up." Tarsus ordered. Michael squeezed Maria's hand warningly.

They exchanged glances, then followed Tarsus across the plain of yellow grass, heading south.

Part 19

Wiltshire, England

Liz sat in the front passenger seat of the rented Volvo, her face plastered to the window. As she watched the rolling English countryside fly past, she could feel her heart beginning to speed up with every mile that brought them closer to Stonehenge.

Only a couple of hours to go...only a couple of hours to go. It was like a chant, repeating itself in her mind as she tried to calm herself down.

Mr. Evans was driving. He had insisted on coming, although Isabel had tried to talk him out of it. "I need to be there in case something goes wrong." He had told her firmly. Really, Liz had expected nothing less. He had been very cooperative for a dad up until that point. They couldn't exactly expect him to sit back at the hotel twiddling his thumbs while they went off and broke into one of the most famous tourist sites in the world.

Liz turned around in her seat to glance at Isabel and Michael. Michael was staring out the window, his expression unreadable. He had been unnaturally quiet since they had tried to reach Maria an hour or so before. There had been no answer at the Deluca, Valenti or Harding residences. Even Alex's parents had had no idea where he was.

It was most disconcerting, but Liz forced her concern about their friends to the back of her mind. They needed to worry about Max now.

Everything would be better when Max came back.

Isabel presently had her eyes closed. She had a small backpack clutched in her hands. Liz knew that the bag contained the two blue orbs - the keys that opened the portal to Illyria. Isabel had opened the portal once before...she would do it again.

Not for the first time, Liz wondered why they had to be at Stonehenge to bring Max back. Michael and Maria had been returned at the Santa Anna Hot Springs back in Frasier Woods - the same place they had left from. It was all so confusing.

But then intergalactic travel was not exactly a known science, Liz reflected wryly to herself.

Liz swallowed when she felt the Volvo rolling to a halt. "I don't think I better get any closer." Mr. Evans told them, pulling the car off the motorway onto a slight shoulder.

Pulling her rain-jacket more tightly around her, Liz opened her door and climbed out. She took a deep breath, stared up at the for-once cloudless sky. The moon was almost full and shone down on them. Liz knew that it would only get brighter as the evening progressed.

It was reassuring.

Michael had told them earlier that he knew for a fact that there were three security guards posted on the grounds of the monument. When Isabel had asked him how he knew, he had grinned saucily. Liz had wanted to laugh despite herself.

"I have my ways Izzy."

Isabel had muttered under her breath to Liz. "I guess Thomas the tour-guide isn't the only one who can flirt with English Heritage employees."

"Please." Michael had rolled his eyes. "I am far above that. It was a gift shop employee."

Liz HAD laughed at that. It had felt wonderful. They had all been in great moods over dinner at the hotel, all clearly sure that it was now only a matter of time until they saw Max again. Isabel had practically been jumping up and down with excitement at the table. Liz had even managed to be civil to Michael...a fact of which she was very proud.

She knew that the rift between she and Michael was painful to Isabel. Liz was trying to control her feelings, and now that it looked like Max was on his way home...suddenly she wasn't quite as angry.

Or at least, she hadn't been until those disturbing phone calls to Roswell. At the thought of what might be happening to Maria back there the iron had re-entered her soul.

And thus, it was a somber group of four that gathered near the entrance to the heritage site.

"Okay, so Dad you're with me and Liz you're with Michael." Liz grimaced. She knew that she could manage to work with Michael now, but it was going to be as annoying as all get out. "We have to take out those guards."

Isabel had surprised them all earlier that evening when they had been refining the plan when she had told them that she would be able to take some of the guards out on her own. "How?" Michael had demanded, sounding suspicious.

"I've been working on a little something." She had smiled self-consciously. "Liz, do you mind if I use you as an example. I promise that you'll be fine."

Since Liz trusted Isabel implicitly, she had nodded.

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Michael. Liz had blinked, sat up confused. "What the heck?"

"I don't know how I do it..." Isabel had shrugged. "I just sort of tweaked your mind...it put you under almost immediately. I think its somehow connected to the dreamwalking, so I can get in when someone's awake...I don't know for sure."

"How did you discover this?" Michael had asked, clearly intrigued.

Isabel had blushed slightly. "Well, I tried visiting Alex in his dreams one night...but I couldn't get in. He was mad at me because I forgot to pick him up at school - it wasn't my fault there was a sale at the mall. Anyway, it was like he knew to block me or something. I got into Pierce that time, when he was awake, but he didn't know I could do it...and the time I got into Maria, she was waiting for me. Anyway...Alex wasn't asleep and he was consciously blocking me because he was mad, so I just sort of convinced him to go to sleep. I don't know how."

"Weird, but useful." Michael had judged. "So you'll take out two of the guards and I'll get the third." He had decided. "My guy's going to wake up with one hell of a headache, and its better if we can at least be nice to two of them." He had grimaced wryly.

Now, Liz pulled a flashlight out of her bag. The moon was not quite high enough in the sky to go by alone and Michael and Isabel still hadn't managed to perfect Max's little hand-light trick. She handed the first light to Isabel, pulled out another one for she and Michael.

"So, we'll meet at the heel stone in twenty minutes." Isabel whispered, sounding nervous. Liz could see that Mr. Evans' eyes were wide. She realized that this was probably the first time in his entire life he had ever done anything illegal.

Wish I could say the same, Liz reflected ironically, thinking back to the fact that not only had she been a party to numerous illegal break-ins during her association with the aliens, she had also been party to a murder - Pierce's - although it had been a perfectly deserved and, in Liz's opinion, justified one.

It had been done to save a life...many lives.

Taking a deep breath, Liz gave Isabel a quick hug. "Be careful." She ordered.

Isabel nodded. As Liz watched, she reached out her hand to the chain-link fence in front of them. They were about fifty feet from the main gate but had decided not to break-in that way...too obvious and there might be security cameras.

Liz saw Mr. Evans' eyes widening even more as Isabel's hand started to glow. The chains began to disintegrate under her palm, forming a large hole. Izzy stopped when it was big enough for them to squeeze through, one at a time.

Liz and Michael went first, Michael in the lead. They turned to the right and began to slink around the perimeter of the site. Liz turned once to watch Izzy and her father heading in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think they are?" Liz whispered ahead to Michael. He shrugged, stopped briefly, straightened to scan the entire site.

"They're probably closer to the actual stone circle." Michael finally replied. "Izzy's going to get the one that's probably near the visitor's centre."

The great stone circle was dead ahead, lit up by floodlights. It looked bigger than it had that afternoon, finally standing as it was meant to, solitary and commanding, it's great stones reaching towards the heavens.

"Michael!" Liz whispered urgently, having suddenly caught sight of movement to her left. A shadow seemed to cross one of the stones.

Michael turned to stare in the direction she was pointing. "Stay here!" He ordered, taking off across the open plain at a dead run. Liz clenched her hands in front of her, wanting to follow him.

Her heart stopped as she suddenly heard a strange voice yelling. "HEY! You're not supposed to be in...."

Michael had come screeching to a halt. Liz could see him clearly in the ever brightening light of the moon. His hand was up and Liz held her breath as it began to glow.

She closed her eyes as the blast went soaring across the plain and smashed into the guard who had been staring at Michael with terror written all over his face.

Liz managed to unfreeze. She went sprinting over to Michael, who was breathing hard. "Is he okay?" She demanded. Of all the powers that the Czechs possessed, Michael's was by far the most terrifying. He had managed to refine it to a certain degree, but Michael had never had much control to begin with.

There was always the slight chance that something could have gone wrong...that they had killed an innocent person.

And Michael knew it too. Liz could see that his face was white. "Can you...Liz..." He managed to choke out.

Liz bit her lip. No matter how mad she was at Michael, no one deserved to have the look on their face that he currently did. She hurried over to the guard, who had collapsed very close to one of the stones that lay on its side.

Kneeling beside him, Liz felt for a pulse. She heaved a sigh of relief when she found it quickly. It was steady and strong. "Good job!" She managed to stage-whisper to Michael. "He's okay!"

Liz could see Max's best friend heave a sigh of relief. He moved quickly to join her.

"Let's get him out of here." Michael said, grabbing the guard and throwing him over his shoulder. They had decided that they would tie the guards to the fence, planning to release them after Max was back.

They were back near the stones about ten minutes later, having secured the young guard to the fence with a piece of rope that Liz had pulled from her knap-sack. Michael was now pacing near the heel stone, clearly becoming more and more concerned the longer they had to wait for Isabel.

"I think I should go find her." He finally announced. Liz frowned, glanced at her watch.

"We said we'd give her twenty minutes Michael. You have to trust her."

"I'm going Liz." Liz stared at him. She watched him stalk off, exiting the circle and promptly tripping over the sprawled body of a guard just outside the stones.

"What the...?" Michael stumbled back to his feet, stared down at the uniformed guard at his feet.

Liz heard running feet nearby. Isabel suddenly appeared from the darkness. "I just got him!" She told them breathlessly. "I couldn't find him...but then I caught a glimpse of him sneaking up on you guys."

"Thanks. Where's your dad?" Liz asked with concern. Isabel grimaced.

"He tripped and sprained his ankle." Isabel shook her head. "He's getting himself back to the car."

"He agreed to that?" Liz was surprised. Isabel looked momentarily guilty.

"Well, I might have planted the idea...."

Liz sighed. "He's going to be mad Iz."

"I know. But I don't think he can be here Liz. He distracts me. I worry too much about what's he's thinking. He's so unused to seeing me use my powers. I mean, I know he accepts me, but its just weird...you know?"

Michael had returned from trussing up the other guard. Liz was glad that he had taken some initiative. "Let's get this show on the road." He told them as he re-entered the circle.

Liz suddenly felt her heart in her throat. Max! Only a few minutes and he would be back.

Isabel's eyes were wide as if she had suddenly realized the same thing. "What if this doesn't work?" She asked in a small voice.

"It WILL work." Liz replied confidently. "I just know it." She stepped forward, hugged her friend. "You can do it Izzy...I know you can."

Isabel was biting her lip. She hurriedly opened her knapsack, pulled out the orbs. Liz stared at them. She thought about the day she and Max had found the first one.

She remembered the way she had woken up in his arms the morning after they had found it, the orb sitting on the blanket next to them, the way he had looked at her had taken her breath away. It had been the first day that she had known that she was never going to love anyone else in the way she loved Max Evans...ever.

And he was coming back to her.

Liz watched Isabel stare down at the orbs. It looked almost like she was silently communicating with them. Michael was standing nearby, his gaze resting on the orbs, his eyes wide. Liz was not surprised when his eyes raised to lock on her own.

And suddenly, in that moment of complete hope that raced through her body at the thought that Max would soon be with them...

She let her hatred go.

She did if for one person alone - and it wasn't Michael.

She did it for Max. Max had risked his entire existence for Michael, had not even hesitated to go after him when he had disappeared.

Her hatred of Max's best friend was a dishonour to that sacrifice.

Michael had not asked Max to come after him...Liz still couldn't quite understand why Michael had let Max stay behind on Illyria, but she could get past that...and maybe Max would be able to tell them.

But she felt her heart open towards Michael in a way it had not in a long time. She could work on forgiving him.

She WOULD forgive him.

As Liz silently communicated this to Michael, his face remained shadowed. She might forgive him, but it seemed unlikely that he would ever forgive himself.

And suddenly Liz's gaze was torn away from Michael's, as the orbs in Isabel's hands began to take on their strange glow. As was the case the last time, one of the orbs brightened more quickly than the other, although the second orb rapidly caught up...

It was different this time though too...

As Liz watched in astonishment, the stone circle surrounding them seemed to be coming to life. The stones began to glow, drawing on the energy being released from the orbs.

When the orbs left Isabel's hands, the light coming from them was enough that Liz had to shield her eyes. She was sure that half the countryside must be illuminated by the strange red glow.

The energy in the stones was beginning to form a column near the centre of the circle. The orbs seemed to be on the verge of exploding...

Liz forced herself to stare at the column of light...frantically searching....

MAX! Where are you!

And then, just like the last time, Liz was knocked unconscious by the force of the explosion that rocked the area.

Jaxon lay on his bed staring at the stone ceiling of his room in the Citadel. Although he was no longer technically a prisoner, he knew that any movement that he tried to make beyond the walls of the Citadel would result in a quick return to that status.

He knew that his mother wanted to trust him, but was still wary.

It had been several days since their original conversation when she had tried to convince him that Tarsus was the traitor, the betrayer...he had seen her a couple of times since, but largely he was left to his own devices.

He guessed that his mother was hoping that if he had time to think about it he would begin to believe.

It had also given her the opportunity to send Liz to him in another dream. He had barely managed the strength to turn away from her that last time...if Tristandor's voice had not intervened when it had - who knew what secrets he would have betrayed to his enemy.

It frightened Jaxon. Somehow he knew that this girl held enormous power over him...he didn't know if he would be able to resist her again. He hoped that his mother had given up on that particular torture.

Liz.

Just thinking about her made his heart beat faster. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on...and clearly the greatest weapon his mother had in her arsenal. He had to get away.

He was planning to make his escape that night. He had to get back to Tarsus and his REAL followers before his mother's arguments and entreaties started to affect him...before Liz made him turn...

Because he did not doubt that she could do it.

He had a feeling that he would be perfectly willing to give up his entire planet if he ever actually got the chance to feel her lips on his own...they had come so close twice. The third time was bound to be lucky.

Or disastrous depending on your point of view...

Jaxon's thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the door to his room slamming open. Jennetta bounced in, her light brown hair bound in two plaits that reached almost to her waist.

He smiled despite himself. Here was his mother's other greatest weapon, although he was not sure if Milena was aware of it.

It astounded him how quickly he had become attached to his younger half-sister. The fact that she had remained so innocent and good-natured in the face of the long-running conflict that divided his family, that she seemed to love HIM despite the fact that everyone dearest to her were his enemies...he could not help but love her.

And this, Jaxon realized, was his greatest flaw. For no matter that he had told Liz that he didn't know what love was, no matter how hard he tried to pretend that he did not feel emotion, he was weak.

He loved.

"Did you have your dinner?" Jennetta asked him sternly. "Letty tells me that you have not been eating."

"Who is the older sibling here?" Jaxon asked her, amused. "I will eat when I am hungry."

"You are impossible." Jennetta replied, climbing up on the bed beside him and dropping down on her stomach to stare at him, a frown on her small face. Again Jaxon was struck by how much she reminded him of someone. He thought it was Mirana...it had been so long since he had seen his twin, he could not be sure he was remembering her face correctly.

"I am impossible? You're the one who does not know how to knock sweeting." Jaxon replied, tugging on one of her braids affectionately.

"What is wrong with you Jax?" His sister was eyeing him directly, the intelligence of her expression belying the youth of her countenance. "You have been jumpy all day."

Max frowned at her, not really annoyed, but feeling the need to reprimand her slightly. Just because she had the ability to go wandering around in other people's minds did not mean that she did not have to learn that some thoughts were private. "I hope that you have not been intruding where you are unwanted sweeting."

Jennetta looked momentarily guilty, but she quickly tossed her head. "Someone has to take care of you since you refuse to look after yourself."

Someone to take care of him. It had been so long...He remembered when he had been close to his mother, his step-father...how much he had loved them.

He pushed the thought aside. It was what they wanted him to think about...it was how they were weakening him...

He had to fight it.

"Should you not be in be in bed Jennetta?" Jaxon asked her suddenly, trying to change the subject from HIM and what HE needed.

"Yes." She replied saucily. "So?"

Jaxon rolled his eyes, climbed off the bed hauling her with him. He threw her over his shoulder. "I will tuck you in, but you must promise me that you will go to sleep."

"I want a story." He could tell that she was pouting.

"Fine, one story." Jaxon agreed, not at all displeased. He enjoyed reading to Jennetta. It was one pleasure he allowed himself here. She listened so avidly, her eyes wide, clearly trying to take in as much information as she could. She was like a flower basking in the sun when she listened to him.

He would miss her when he was gone.

He was amazed at the ease with which he was able to slip out of the Citadel.

It was almost as if they WANTED him to go. It actually made him a little uncomfortable...like he was missing something.

He had had to knock out two guards, but that was it. He was on the road to Dernia before he knew it. It was TOO easy.

Jaxon had been unable to steal transportation, that area of the compound having been too heavily guarded, but he did not worry. It was only a couple of miles to the Dernian border...he would be there in no time. With his cloak wrapped around him and his hood up, he knew that he was unrecognizable. If he stayed in the shadows, it would only be a matter of minutes until he was safe within his own territory.

Jaxon glanced behind himself every few steps or so, sure that he was about to be ambushed at any moment.

The road wound through the Gilded Plain, which separated the two territories. Jaxon waded through the tall yellow grass on the side of the road, ready to hide himself within it at a moment's notice.

And yet nothing happened. He was within sight of the Waylandian Ring before he began to feel truly safe.

The Ring towered above the plain, its immense standing stones reaching towards the moon-dotted sky. Illyria had twelve moons, a couple of which were currently full, lighting up the Gilded Plain so that it shone like a room lit by a thousand lumoglobes.

Only a few more metres and he would be free...

He had to pass directly through the centre of the Ring. It was the only part of the border that was not secure, being the most sacred site on the planet for both the Illyrians and the Dernians. They did not dispute the land on which it sat, neither side yet having the nerve to claim it for their own.

The Ring was a place apart.

No one knew exactly what it had been built for, but both sides revered it. Even the Dernians, with their dedication to progress and emotional detachment, respected the power that seemed to flow within the Ring.

Jaxon was on the Illyrian edge, peering through to his own territory. The heel stone was directly behind him, wreathed in the shadows of the standing stones towering over it.

Sweeping his hood off so that his people would recognize him and would not blast him when he emerged on the far side, Jaxon sped up. He had crossed the centre of the Ring when he heard it.

"JAAAXON!" He refused to look back, to acknowledge the voice. He was almost there! He could almost feel his beloved land beneath his feet...

It came again. "JAAAXON!" He closed his eyes, kept going.

And suddenly behind him, the whole world seemed to explode.

Jaxon was thrown off his feet, landing flat on his stomach slightly beyond the Ring. He spat grass out of his mouth as he struggled to stand. He had become entangled in his cloak and when he had finally managed to tame it, he was surrounded by guards.

The minute his face was reflected by the moons, they all immediately fell to their knees. "Your highness!" One soldier exclaimed, his voice monotone.

Jaxon felt a shiver descend his spine. He was home...but then why did everything feel wrong?

He turned around slowly to stare back into the Ring, to catch a glimpse of what had thrown him off balance. The majority of the soldiers had stopped staring at him and were looking in the same direction as he.

It was as though the entire stone circle had come to life. A brilliant red column of light seemed to be drawing energy from each of the stones. It reached into the star-pocked sky, for what Jaxon could not say. He could not tear his eyes away from the terrifying beauty of it.

And then his world crashed to a halt. For through the beam of light he saw the one person who should not have been anywhere near it...the one person he had left safely tucked into her bed an hour before.

Jennetta.

As he watched aghast, she seemed to walk deliberately into the light, seemingly almost in a trance.

"Jennetta!" He yelled, trying to make her stop.

She paused briefly, stared directly at him, appeared to be waiting for something.

He had to go get her. There was no other choice. Jaxon stepped back into the circle, shook off his soldiers who tried to stop him.

"Go get Tarsus!" He heard one of them yell to another, but it was as if it was from a great distance.

"Jennetta. Come away from there sweeting." Jaxon spoke quietly, trying not to frighten her. Her eyes were still disturbingly wide.

He was only a few feet away from her when she did the unthinkable.

She stepped directly into the column of light.

"NOOOO!" Jaxon took a flying leap at her, landed hard on the ground, missing her by inches.

She was gone. She had disappeared completely.

Jaxon climbed to his feet, stared up the column desperately, tried to get a grip on what was happening here.

"Jaxon!" He whipped his head around, saw Tarsus walking towards him, a hand outstretched. "Get away from there my lord. It is most dangerous for you of all people."

Jaxon frowned at his second-in-command. Something in his tone of voice...Tarsus sounded terrified.

He was actually showing emotion.

And Jaxon knew exactly what he had to do. He could not let his small sister go through whatever she was going through by herself.

He had to follow. There was no choice.

He stepped into the light.

Part 21

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

The almost-full moon shone down on the Salisbury plain, brightening the ancient stone circle so that it's towering pillars seemed to be on fire.

All was quiet within the circle. The pillar of light that had been streaming towards the ebony sky was gone.

Yet the circle was alive.

A small girl climbed to her feet, stumbled slightly. Her long blue tunic did not seem out of place in this place, but anywhere else it would have been. Her light brown hair was coming loose from it's plaits, streaming down her back in disarray.

Jennetta blinked, shook her head to clear it.

And then she saw the bodies. They were everywhere she looked.

A tall girl, her long blonde hair covering her face, was lying flat on her back near a stone that lay on it's side. As Jennetta watched with concern, the girl began to moan.

The noise seemed to disturb the man with spiky hair on his stomach near her. His head rose slightly, then fell back to the ground with a thud.

Jennetta looked around the circle, beginning to panic. The Waylandian Ring seemed to have fallen apart. Several of it's sacred stones had fallen over, a few more seemed to have huge chunks of rock hewn from them. She reached out to touch one of the closer stones, felt her stomach clench. Jaxon is going to be furious! She thought to herself. Who would desecrate the Ring?

And then Jennetta saw him. Her brother was sprawled nearby, his arms covering his dark head, as though shielding himself. Nor was he alone.
A girl was unconscious beside him, her long dark hair entangled in one of Jaxon's hands. As Jennetta watched anxiously, Jaxon began to move, still not making a sound, but clearly waking up.

The dark-haired girl's eyes fluttered, as though sensing his movement. She rolled onto her stomach, lifted her head and stared down at Jaxon. Her eyes widened, filled with tears. "Max."

Suddenly Jennetta knew who this girl was - it was Liz Parker. Lucianus had told her all about Liz...and about the person her brother had been when he had been with her.

Max Evans.

Liz reached over, stroked her hand down Jaxon's face lovingly. "Max?"

Her brother sighed, shifted slightly but didn't open his eyes.

Jennetta looked over at the two other people still lying unconscious. If this was Liz, then the blonde must be Mirana...her sister. Beside her was her husband, Tristandor.

They looked different then Jennetta had imagined they would. Mirana was even more beautiful than she had expected. Where Jennetta looked nothing like their mother, her older sister was the image of Milena, her face almost identical.

Tristandor was handsome, although Jennetta had imagined him to look older than he did. His straight nose seemed slightly out of place on his face, as though he had not yet quite grown into it. His brown hair was almost the exact shade of Jennetta's own. She was not surprised. They WERE distant cousins.

Liz was still staring at Jaxon, seemingly enthralled at the sight of him. She had not yet noticed Jennetta standing near her. The little girl did not know what to do. Her brother did not seem to have any intention of moving anytime soon. She did not know how Mirana, Tristandor or Liz had ended up in the Waylandian Ring.

For this was where Jennetta assumed they still were. Her mother and father had not told her anything but that she was going to help them help her brother. They had come and taken her from her bed, had brought her to the Ring where the most beautiful light she had ever seen had seemed to be calling her name.

She had answered the call and now Liz, Tristandor and Mirana were there. She was going to have to remember to ask Lucianus to explain what had happened to her when she go home.

Until then though, she was not going to waste the opportunity to talk to her brother's future wife.

Taking a step forward, she tapped Liz on the shoulder.

Liz could not stop touching Max. He had not yet opened his eyes, but there was no question that he was there and he was breathing. His ludicrously long eyelashes had fluttered a few times, but he seemed in no rush to wake up. It was really quite irritating.

When Liz had returned to consciousness she had known instinctively that it had worked. She could feel Max's presence, KNEW that he was nearby. She had not expected him to be quite SO nearby however. Somehow her hair had become entangled in his fingers, anchoring her head against his neck.

She had taken the opportunity to lightly caress his face. He looked older, but not unnaturally so...it was clear that he was still nearly the same age he had been when he left, if a few months older. His dark hair was cropped short, but it still curled slightly at his forehead.

He smelled exactly the same. Like Max. It took all of her willpower not to throw herself on top of him, to not kiss him like there was no tomorrow.

And then she had felt the tap on her shoulder. Liz could see Isabel and Michael still unconscious, lying nearby. It was not them.

As far as Liz knew, Mr. Parker was still in the car. The three security guards were tied tightly to the fence.

Turning her head, Liz's eyes met those of a small girl, whose dark head was tilted slightly to the side.

"Hello." The child said, a slight smile on her face. She could not have been more than eight or nine years old, but her eyes were disturbingly mature in her small face.

Max shifted near Liz, groaned. Liz did not look back at him. She continued to stare at the girl, wondered why she looked so familiar...

"I'm Jennetta." The little girl continued. "You're Liz."

Liz blinked, sat up, gently pulled Max's head onto her lap. "Er, yes, I am Liz." Liz took in the girl's dress, realized that it was very similar in style to the one Maria had been wearing when she and Michael had returned from Illyria the winter before.

Jennetta was staring down at Max with concern. "Is he going to wake up soon?" She asked, her tone worried.

"I think so," Liz replied, unsure of what to do about the peculiar predicament in which she found herself. She had no idea who this girl was, but she was beginning to suspect that she wasn't from around here..."Isabel..." Liz said forcefully, willing her friend to wake up. "ISABEL!"

Isabel was moaning again. She seemed to come abruptly to herself, however, as though the lights had suddenly gone on. Max's sister sat up, looked around frantically. "Did it work?"

Liz felt her heart swell as she gazed down at Max's peaceful, beloved face, resting in her lap. "He's back! Isabel, Max is back."

"What do you mean he's BACK?" Jennetta asked Liz, a tremor in her voice. Liz looked at the little girl. Her face was white, as though she had come to some sudden realization.

Isabel had climbed to her feet, appeared torn between running to her brother and waking Michael up. She quickly hurried to her almost-brother's side, shook him.

"Michael! Get up! Max is back! It worked!" With that, Isabel rushed across the stone circle, threw herself down at Liz's side, stared down at Max, her face lit with joy. She frowned slightly when she saw that he was still out of it. "Why isn't he awake?"

Liz looked down at her boyfriend with concern. "Max...it's time to wake up. You're home." She lightly stroked his cheek. His eyes began to open.

"...it's time to wake up. You're home." Jaxon could feel the soft hand touching him, never wanted it to end. He knew it was Liz.

He knew that when he opened his eyes she would be smiling down at him, her eyes alight with love. He had had this dream before.

They had awoken in each other's arms, the early morning sun shining down on them, the chill of night in the desert just beginning to burn off. Her face had been luminous, her hair like a glowing halo around her face with the new sun shining off of it. He had never felt so complete, so much in love, as he had that morning...

It had been the best morning of his life. He had felt like he had finally come home - for his home was in Liz Parker's arms.

He remembered all this on that strange plain somewhere between waking and dreaming.

When he opened his eyes, it was gone.

Jaxon blinked, realized that his head was cradled in someone's lap. He could not quite make out the features of her face, as the full moon seemed to be shining directly behind her head.

"Are you okay Max?" Liz, her sweet voice exactly the same as it had been when he had spoken to her in his dreams, was running her fingers through his hair, clearly feeling for any injuries.

Her touch felt like magic. He could not think with her hands on him. He jerked away.

Liz fell backwards slightly, caught herself on her hands. Jaxon stared at her. "Max?" Her voice was trembling slightly.

This was no dream. Jaxon somehow KNEW that he was on the physical plane.

And then he remembered....

Jennetta.

He twisted his head around, saw his sister staring at him, her expression frightened, although she looked healthy enough. He heaved a sigh of relief. "Where are we Jax?"

"You're back on Earth." Jaxon knew that voice. He swallowed. His gaze swung past Liz, who was gazing at him, dawning understanding on her face. He met his other sister's dark eyes.

Mirana's face was lit with happiness, but her eyes were shining with unshed tears. Beside her, Tristandor had his arm around her. He was staring at Jaxon with an unreadable expression on his face.

For one heartfelt moment Jaxon wanted to smile at his twin - but then he remembered how she had betrayed him...how she had conspired to rob him of his throne, of his planet.

He hardened his heart against her. "Jennetta, come to me." Jaxon ordered curtly. Moments later he felt his little sister place her small hand in his. He turned to Liz. Before he had ripped his gaze from Mirana's, he saw his sister's face fall.

"How did this happen?" He demanded. "Why are we here?"

Liz did not speak for a moment, just looked at him, as though searching for something. Finally she said quietly, "You don't have your memory back, do you?"

"I know who I am." Jaxon told her firmly, although he felt a slight tremor of doubt when she continued to gaze at him steadily, as though she KNEW that he was mistaken about everything. "I am Jaxon Falconer, King of Illyria, and we," He indicated Jennetta, "Do not belong here. I do not know how you brought us here, but I want you to send us back. Immediately."

He saw Liz glance at Mirana. Mirana's expression was stricken. "Mirana, I do not know what foolishness you have dreamed up this time." He told his sister sharply, "But it will not work. You will send us back now."

"Don't talk to her like that!" Tristandor snapped, stepping forward slightly. "I don't know what they told you about us Maxwell, but you need to snap out of it. We're on YOUR side."

Jaxon had taken a quick step back at Tristandor's advance, pulling Jennetta with him. Of the three people there, there was no question that Jaxon's brother-in-law was the most dangerous. He flinched slightly when he remembered the thousands of men that Tristandor could kill with a flick of his wrist. "I have heard you say that before Tristandor. I believed you then, but I learned my lesson."

Jaxon saw Tristandor blink. "Call me Michael." He finally replied, as though he didn't know what else to say.

Liz had moved slightly closer to Jaxon and Jennetta. She was staring at the little girl, a questioning look on her face. "Is this your sister Max...er Jaxon?" She asked him. He saw Mirana's head snap up in astonishment, saw her stare at Jennetta in amazement.

Jaxon remembered that he had told Liz about Jennetta in their last dream conversation. It was the final proof he needed that those dreams had been REAL, that they had not been illusions.

It frightened him more than anything else had to this point. She had access to his private thoughts and dreams. He could not hide from her.

"Yes." He told her. "Why have you brought us here?" He asked her, sure that she would answer him. She had always tried to answer him in his dreams, although he knew that half of what she told him was lies.

"This is your home." Liz told him sadly. "I know you don't remember it...us..."She indicated Tristandor and Mirana. "But I swear that everything I have ever told you is true. You are Max Evans, and you are home."

"I want you to send us back." He told her mechanically, knowing that his words were hurting her, hurting all three of them. He wondered why he cared. They were his enemies.

"WE can't send you back." Liz told him quietly. She sounded like she was leaving something out in that statement, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

He looked around the stone circle, saw no escape for him or Jennetta. He was going to have to play along. "What happens now?" He asked Liz, trying to sound cooperative.

Liz and Mirana exchanged a look. Tristandor, who wanted to be called Michael, was staring at him, a slight frown on his face, as though he had swallowed something vile.

"We make you remember." Liz finally said simply.

Her certainty terrified him.

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