PART NINETEEN

Max and Liz huddled under the sleeping bag, the top pulled above their heads. For just a little while longer, they wanted to avoid reality.

Careful not to move too much, alerting the others that they were awake, Max tenderly stroked Liz's cheek.

He could barely see in the dimness underneath the heavy material, but it was enough to see the glisten in her eyes as she looked at him.

His brow furrowed, as he saw that she was troubled. He gently kissed her nose and touched his forehead to hers.

"What's wrong?" he said in the barest of whispers, careful not to be heard over Maria and Michael's argument.

"Nothing," Liz whispered, shaking her head.

"I can tell something's bothering you," he said.

She surreptitiously moved closer to his warmth.

"I'm just worried about you," she said, "about what's going to happen to you."

He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as he took in her words. She was worried about him. She cared about him. He didn't know if he'd ever get used to that, if it would ever stop amazing him.

"Nothing's going to happen to me," he said quietly. "And I won't let anything happen to you."

"No, I mean...Max, have you thought about what's going to happen once this is over with Pierce? That maybe you are going to go home? To where you're from?"

He hadn't thought about it, but now the thought terrified him. For as long as he could remember, he'd wished he could see his home, be taken away from this planet where it's people hated him. But now things were different. There was Liz, and suddenly, home didn't seem so appealing after all.

He shook his head.

"I hadn't thought about that Liz," he said. "I learned not to think too much about the future, because I didn't think I'd ever have one. But now so much has changed," he said.

"Right now, I'm just glad we're out of there, and that you're safe. I can't think about anything else right now," he said.

"But what if...Max what if you were meant for something else? *Someone else?" she asked, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Are you talking about...no Liz, that's not possible. My heart's already been taken, by *you*," he said meaningfully.
"Max, you were brought here for a reason. She's like you. I'm not. What if there was some reason you were sent together?" Liz said quietly.

"It might not be me she was sent with," Max said.

"There is something there Max, some connection between you and she. Even I saw it," she said.

"But it's not like you Liz. I can't explain it, but it's not the same," he said. "What I feel for you...it's the most wonderful thing I've ever felt in my life."

"You know, Alex named her Isabel. Maria named the boy Michael," she said.

Max smiled that they had names, like him.

"I'm glad," he said softly.

"But I don't want you to be worried about any of this Liz. Nothing Cal could tell me will change the way I feel about you. Whatever happens, I want you to know that," he said.

"It's crazy, because I know we haven't known each other long, but I feel closer to you than I have ever felt to anyone," she said. "It's almost like..." she paused.

"We were meant to meet," he finished. "That we were meant to be together."

"Yeah," Liz smiled.

"I know," he said, pulling her closer, gently nuzzling her cheek with his.

"I *hear* you two mumbling under there!" Maria said loudly.

Liz rolled her eyes before throwing the cover off of her head.

"Ok Maria," she said. "We're up."

Michael looked at the two of them in the sleeping bag, and shook his head and walked away.

"Rise and shine kiddies!" she said with a smile, as Cal walked into the chamber.

He looked pointedly at Max and Liz so close, and then turned pointedly away. Isabel and Alex came in soon after.


Liz sat up reluctantly. Max tried to push himself into a sitting position with his feet and Liz noticed him wince.

"Max, I forgot all about your feet," she said, and he shook his head.

"It's ok Liz," he said.

"No it's not," she said. "Should we try..."

"No," he said shaking his head and glancing over at Cal.

"Besides," he said, smiling a little, "if your feet hurt, I think I cam live with it too."

"Let me at least clean them up," she said, and he nodded.

She got up and went to get the box with the first aid materials in it.

Max felt Cal's stare, but he didn't meet it. He wasn't ready to reveal what he and Liz had discovered they could do together yet.

Liz came back and dropped to her knees, picking Max's leg up and propping up on her thighs.

She carefully cleaned and wrapped the first foot. Max couldn't keep a smile from curving on his lips as he watched her bite her lip, concentrating on her task.

After wrapping his other foot, she looked up and smiled at him. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you," he whispered softly.

She nodded.

"Max, I think it's time we had a talk...alone," Cal said.

Max's face tightened and he nodded.

Liz looked at him uncertainly, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before standing up gingerly.

"I'll be back," he promised, and walked over to Cal with a determined look on his face.

Cal motioned to Michael and Isabel, and they joined them, Alex and Maria exchanging questioning looks.

"Outside," Cal said forcefully.

They followed him outside the chamber, and he stood with his back to them for a moment.

The three glanced at each other, waiting for Cal to speak.

Though none of them had actually spoken yet, they knew Cal held the answers they had sought about themselves for as long as they could remember.

"Max, what do you remember, do you remember anything about what you were?" he asked without turning around.

"I don't remember anything," Max said. "The only thing I know is that we were engineered, our DNA mixed with humans. I wasn't told anything. I remember coming out of a pod. I know I don't have parents," he said.

"Ah but you are wrong about that," Cal said. "You do have parents. Or at least you did. I don't know if they are still alive," he said regretfully.

"We have parents?" Isabel asked in a small voice, speaking for the first time in their presence.

"Yes. Parents who loved you very much," Cal said.

Max glanced over at Isabel, whose eyes had started to fill with tears.

Parents. All this time he'd thought that they were freaks, engineered by some twisted race, hybrids made for some unknown purpose.

Michael's face showed no emotion, but Max guessed that he was just as affected by this revelation as he and Isabel were.

"You were sent here for protection. Your planet was in a volatile state when we brought you here. You were reborn, mixed with human DNA and recreated," he said.

"Reborn?" Max asked in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because you were beloved to your people, a prince,” Cal said.

"Prince?" Max said laughing. "You're joking, right?"

"No it's not joke," Cal said. "You are a Prince, and Vilondra, or Isabel as you were so named by the human," he said derisively, "you were the children of a great King and Queen. Your name was Zan. Michael's was Rath, and he was a great warrior, your second in command."

Sister. Isabel was his sister. It was the connection Liz had detected between them, the connection he couldn’t explain. He looked at Isabel and smiled. Family. He had a family.

But a Prince? That was incomprehensible.

"Forgive me if this is a little hard for me to believe," Max said.

"I imagine it would be, but it's true," Cal said. "You were meant to come here, to be re-trained in your abilities, building and honing them until you were ready to return. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way."

"Where were you? Why did you abandon us?" Michael said angrily.

"I had no choice," Cal said. "There was nothing I could do."

"What is this supposed to mean to us?" Max asked.

"It means that we have to erase all traces of your existence here. It means that you will be going home," Cal said.

"Home?" Max said uncertainly. For so long he had day-dreamed of a home, a place where he belonged, until he had escaped the compound. Until he had met Liz. Suddenly the idea of a home light years away was not so appealing. Suddenly, Earth seemed to be the only place he wanted to be.
"How?" Max asked.

"The Granolith. It's been hidden all of these years," Cal said.

"What is the Granolith?" Michael asked.

"The Granolith is what you're meant to protect. It has been entrusted to the care of your family for generations. Whoever possesses the Granolith holds the key to our galaxy," Cal said. “It is a conscious entity, an iconic symbol of Antar. Whoever possesses it, possesses our world. And your people’s enemy, Khivar, intends to get it.”

"Only the highest council on Antar knew of your existence here, until three years ago. You were murdered by Khivar and his soldiers, and Antar was taken by force. We were barely able to get your pods and the Granolith off the planet without being captured. But one of the council turned on the Antarians and told Khivar you were in this solar system. If Khivar finds you, or of that the Granolith is here, you and this planet will cease to exist," Cal said.

Max's first thought was of Liz, and the fact that his very existence put her world as she knew it in jeopardy.

Though he understood the enormity of the plight of the people on Antar, he'd never seen them, never had a connection to them. He had a connection with Liz.

“Liz…” he said distracted, in a soft voice.

“You have to let her go,” Cal said without emotion. “She will only be a liability, a distraction to you.”

“I can’t,” Max said. “She saved my life.”

“And you’ll be saving hers by cutting her loose,” Cal said. “You can’t stay here. After we take care of Pierce and his unit, you will receive a short training period, and then we return to Antar with the Granolith,” Cal said. “It’s your purpose, your duty.”

“I don’t know anything of duty!” Max said angrily. “Until now, I knew nothing of where I came from, who I was. I don’t know how to fight, and I don’t know this enemy you talk about! Liz is the only reason I’m alive and standing here talking to you.”

Michael and Isabel silently regarded Max. They could not comprehend this sudden loyalty to any people of this planet. Humans had tortured them, hurt them. Granted, the few that were with them now were not like Pierce. Still, that fact did not press them to feel as if they had to stay.

“You are royalty Max,” Cal said. “Like it or not, you have to face that. You have responsibilities.”

Max glared at Cal.

“My only priority right now is keeping Liz safe. She’s been through too much already. So if we have to take care of Pierce, so be it,” he said.

“I don’t think you understand Max,” Cal said.

“Finding you had become a matter of urgency. Khivar has bounty hunters here. I’ve seen them. If you stay, they *will* find you. And heaven help anyone that is close to you if they do. It’s not just Pierce anymore. Pierce is dangerous, because he and his men had become careless. Those agents he sent looking for you practically advertised your existence. The bounty hunters are looking for you, and if they find us, we are all dead,” Cal said. “Including Liz.”

Max closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Liz.

“Think about it carefully Max,” Cal said. “It may be the most important decision you are ever going to make. I can’t force you, but I think I have to warn you that if you don’t do what is required, there will most definitely be serious repercussions.”

Max nodded, feeling his heart fall. He’d just found Liz. How could he let her go? How could he leave? There had to be some way to make this work.

But deep in his heart, he knew Cal was right. He couldn’t be that selfish, putting Liz and everything and everyone she loved at risk for his own selfish heart.

“How do we get Pierce?” he asked in a low voice.

“John has agreed to lure him out here when we’re ready. He will most likely have other men with him. We have to be absolutely prepared. He will more than likely have inhibiting devices with him, which makes him dangerous.”

“It’s not just Max anymore,” Michael said quietly. “There are three of us now…and you. Show us what we have to know.”

Cal nodded.

“Let’s begin with your shield’s capabilities…”

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Liz sat quietly away from the others, watching Max from across the chamber. He’d quietly avoided her since he’d come back inside with Cal and the others.

Uncle John had returned from town with more supplies and clothes two hours earlier, and she’d changed into a pair of jeans that were a bit too big for her, and an oversized sweater. Luckily, the sneakers he’d brought were a bit big, and could accommodate her wrapped feet.

She felt a little stung that Max had stayed away. After the amazing secret they’d shared earlier, she felt closer than ever to him.

She was almost sure that Cal was the cause of his retreat. What he had told him?

The irrational fear of Isabel being his mate again popped into her head. She knew he’d said his heart belonged to her, but things were so much more complicated than that.

She’d caught the glances between the two as they listened to Cal talk quietly at the other end of the chamber. Perhaps it was as she thought after all.

She looked up and caught Max’s eyes on her. As soon as he met her eyes, he broke eye contact, looking away.

Her heart tightened painfully, and she drew her knees up to her chest, mentally trying to prepare for whatever might be coming. But as much as her mind tried to tell her that she and Max were probably not meant to be, her heart screamed at the injustice of it. She could feel him pulling away already, and it tore at her very soul.

Maria had dozed off on Alex, who was playing aimlessly on the laptop. Liz knew he was trying to get his mind off of the inevitably confrontation with Pierce. He’d committed himself to staying with the group, but she knew he had misgivings over what was to come. Didn’t they all?

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

The group was unusually subdued through dinner.

Liz had barely touched her food, the thought of eating making her ill. She saw that Max hadn’t really touched his either.

She glanced periodically over at him, and he seemed to be troubled. She could see it in his face. She needed to talk to him. She needed to know what had happened to cause his withdrawal. She couldn’t wait any longer.

She got up and walked over to him, holding her hand out to him where he sat on the floor.

He looked hesitant to take it, so she reached down and grabbed it, pulling on it. He reluctantly got to his feet, looking at Michael and Isabel before Liz pulled his hand, leading him to the chamber entrance.

“Liz…” he objected.

“We need to talk Max,” she said, leading him outside.

They walked a short distance down the rocks, the moon lighting their way.

Glancing at him, she saw the pained look on his face, and her heart dropped.

He sat down on a rock, and she stood before him.

“What happened Max?” she asked.

She was greeted with silence.

She could see him shiver beneath the sweater he’d changed into.

She looked at him for a long moment, and sighed.

“It’s Isabel isn’t it?” she asked resiedly. “I was right after all.”

“No!” he said quickly looking up at her. “It’s not what you think.”

“I understand Max,” she said. “I didn’t want to believe it, but-”

“Liz, Isabel is my sister,” he said quietly.

Liz couldn’t help but feel the rush of relief that flooded her body, and she sat down heavily next to him.

“I’m glad for you Max, that she’s your sister,” she said.

He nodded.

“What is it Max?” she asked after a long pause. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

He looked at the ground miserably.

“Liz, you and I…we can’t, I mean it’s not that I don’t have feelings for you, because you are the most amazing thing that has come into my life,” he broke off.

“What happened Max?” she asked again quietly.

“We are going to leave…Earth,” he said.

Liz felt her chest tighten painfully.

“Oh,” she said. She supposed she should understand. After all, it was his opportunity to go home, to meet his people, to see where he came from.

“It’s not because I want to,” he said quickly. “It’s because we have to. We had enemies on our planet, and they’re looking for us. They’re here. If they find us here, they’ll destroy this place and every human that inhabits Earth.”

“But why? Why are they after you?” she asked.

“Cal told me that I am a prince, and that Isabel was my sister. That we were killed back on our planet by someone named Khivar. He wanted control of our planet. A small group of powerful people re-created us and sent us here, to gather strength, so that we could come back and fight Khivar. They sent us with something called the Granolith. It’s what Khivar wants. Without the Granolith, he’ll never have complete control of our planet.”

Liz bit her lip and fought back tears.

“Liz, I…I want more than anything to stay here, to be with you, to find out what’s between us. I know I’m different, I’ve always known it, but I’ve only really known my human side. I’ve only longed to be normal, to have a normal human life. But how can I do that if I am putting a whole planet in jeopardy, putting you in jeopardy just by being here? There are bounty hunters after us.”

She reached out and touched his cheek gently, and he looked at her with anguished eyes. He was going to leave. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon. How would she survive it? How could she be without him, without his gentle presence? He was unlike anyone she’d ever known. His touch was a balm to her soul, his kiss wove a magical spell around her heart.

Slowly, she leaned over and captured his lips with hers, tears springing in her eyes.

They lingered gently on his, memorizing the pliant velvety texture as her other hand crept up and cupped his other cheek.

His arms slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

His hand slid up her back, tangling itself in her silky dark tresses.

His lips moved from hers sliding across her cheek, and he buried his face in her hair.

“I’m sorry I pulled away from you,” he said, his voice hitching. “But I didn’t know how to tell you. I know what I am going to have to do, but how am I supposed to leave you now that I’ve just found you? How will I say goodbye to you, when everything in my heart is telling me that the only thing I want is to be with you?”

Liz’s eyes squeezed shut as she heard his heartfelt words. And she knew the time was right. She knew that she had to tell him.

She pulled away to look into his glistening eyes.

“Max, we’ve been through so much together, and it isn’t over yet. Pierce is going to come after us. I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, or after that, but we have now. We have this time together. And we’ll face anything that comes our way. But please, don’t shut me out, because I couldn’t stand it,” she said quietly, searching his gold-flecked eyes.

“You are everything I’d ever dreamed about Max. Even after everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t take a minute of it back, because that would mean I would have never known you, known your heart, your courage. I…I love you,” she said hesitantly.

She saw his eyes fill with tears as he swallowed hard.

“I love you too Liz,” he answered. “I never knew what love was, and I never dreamed I would, but you…you changed my life. You changed *me*,” he said in a shaky voice.

He pulled her into his embrace, and she felt a hot tear splash onto her forehead. He loved her. He’d said it, made it real.

She sighed tearfully.

“What are we going to do Max?” she whispered.

“We’ll do what we have to. Pierce has to be dealt with. After that…” he paused.

“I know I’m going to have to go, but I’ll find my way back to you Liz. Somehow, I promise I will,” he said quietly.

Liz knew that he meant every word he said, but he would be crossing galaxies, fighting dangerous enemies.

“Just be with me now,” Liz whispered, her heart feeling as if it were breaking into a million pieces. “We have now.”

His arms tightened around her and she felt his warm breath on her cheek.

Her lips were again drawn to his, a magnetic pull that she couldn’t refuse.

She pressed closer to him, needing to feel his body against hers, to reassure her he was still here.

His tongue gently demanded entrance to her mouth, and she opened up to him, tasting him, committing every touch, every sensation to memory as he tenderly explored her mouth.

A connection opened between them, filling Liz’s body with the warm embrace of his love.

She could feel Max inside of her, much like the day he’d healed her, and when she’d healed him.

A rush of his tender thoughts passed through her head, as he opened himself completely to her, letting her feel every thought, every look, every feeling he’d experienced in her presence.

Liz felt her soul expand, taking in every bit of it.

In turn, she opened her own mind, willing him to know that he’d become everything to her. That she’d go to the ends of the Earth or the farthest corners of the Universe for him. Because she knew now more than ever that he was her other half, her soul-mate, the only person who would ever be able to complete her.

She hadn’t expected this, not by a long shot. But whatever happened, she knew that she wouldn’t take any of it back. She’d go through hell again to spend just one moment in his arms, to know his love if only for a fleeting second. Human, alien, it didn’t matter. Her soul called out to his, and his answered, a siren’s song that enchanted them both.

Soon they would face Pierce, and then he would leave. But even if her heart broke irreparably, she knew his love. If only for a fleeting moment in time, she knew Max’s heart, and she would never be the same again.