Part 25

"They killed him....oh my God, they killed him. They killed them all. Zan knew; he knew what they were going to do. They've come for him again," Liz whispered, tears flowing down her face.

"Liz, are you ok?" Alex asked in concern.

Her head snapped toward him.

"They're all in danger," she said in a trembling voice, glancing from him to John.

"We need to get to them, before it's too late," she said, frantic, trying to stand. Alex stopped her.

"Liz, we can't. I know that you want to help, but they're right. We'd only make matters worse," he said in a calming voice.

"No! I need to be there! I need to be with Max!" she said with barely controlled anger.

"Liz, you're scaring me," Maria said, on the verge of tears. "I don't know what just happened, but you need to stop and think about this. You know what happened to you in the compound. There isn't anything you're going to be able to do to help them. Max will be worried about you, and if he's worried about you, he can't do what he has to do."

They didn't understand. She'd seen Max murdered in cold blood, in another body, in another place, in another time. She'd see7n the prophecy. And now, she couldn't feel him at all.

They were here, the bounty hunters. Somehow they'd found him, and they were getting close. She knew it.

Desperately, she tried to feel the connection, her fingers moving frantically to her throat.

"Hear me Max," she pleaded. "I'm coming."

But she felt nothing, no sense of him at all.

Alex and John had everything they could handle in trying to keep Liz still.

"We have to go! We have to go them now!" she with a panicked cry, trying to wrestle herself free from their grip.

"Liz, we can't go anywhere near the cabin, not now. It's too dangerous. If Pierce sees you...if something happens, he'll use it against Max and the others," John said, trying to maker her see reason.

"This isn't about Pierce anymore," she hissed. "You don't understand what's going to happen if I don't go to him."

She wrenched her arm away from Alex. She stumbled to John's pack and grabbed the keys to the truck.

"Liz wait!" Maria cried, and Liz turned to face her.

"You all can either stay here or come with me, but I'm going," she said.

"I'm coming," Alex said without hesitation, moving alongside of Maria.

"Me too," Maria answered.

They all turned to look at John.

He sighed.

"You know this is suicide, right?" he asked, and received no reply.

"Fine," he answered with a sigh. "I'll drive."

Liz was gone from the chamber entrance before he'd even finished speaking.

******

Max could feel her. Cal had to be wrong. She was the one.

An eerie silence filtered through the dusty cabin punctuated by the sound of slamming doors.

There were only two of them. Where was the rest of the Unit?

Max looked upon Pierce's face once again, and felt his body stiffen. He couldn't let him win. Pierce couldn't have Liz, ever. He would die first.

"Come out now, 88647" Pierce said, his voice lilting and slow.

Max looked at Cal, noting his furrowed brow, the confrontation between them only moments earlier put aside, his protector instincts on alert.

Max looked at Pierce again as he stepped from behind the car.

"Something ain't right," Cal whispered.

"What should we do?" Michael asked in a low voice.

"Nothing yet," Cal answered. "Wait and see what they're gonna do."

" I can smell you in there," Pierce said, staring at the cabin.

Cal's face hardened as he studied Pierce.

" He must have been pretty pissed off when I busted you out of that compound," he said.

"What worries me is how many other agents are hiding out there somewhere," he muttered, peering at the horizon. "We don't know what we're up against. But for now, we just stick to the plan. We hold them off out there for as long as we can, and then we send Max out with his shield up."

"They'll be concentrating on getting him with any luck, and the three of us can pick them off. Hopefully when Max comes out, he'll draw the fire of any other agents hiding out there, and we can lock on their location," he said.

"You sure you're gonna be able to keep your shield up for that long?" he asked.

Max nodded.

He had to. Pierce had to be destroyed so that Liz would be safe. There was no other alternative. Then he would deal with Cal.

No one was going to touch her or harm her, even if it took his last breath to make sure of it. He could feel her. She was coming closer, and her panic was growing stronger. He blocked off his mind, not wanting her to know he was in any danger. Hopefully this would be over before she got here.

"The cabin is surrounded. Come out peacefully, and I won' t hunt the girl down like a dog," Pierce said in a dead voice, his face devoid of expression.

He grabbed his revolver with lightning speed and let off a round at the cabin, contrary to his previous lurching movements, and it threw them off guard for a moment.

Cal nodded at Max, and he spoke.

"You won't ever get the chance to hurt Liz again," he said, feeling overpowering anger racing through his body, laced with fear that Liz was coming ever closer as each minute passed.

Pierce was still too far away, but Max could see that there was something different, off about the Agent.

A humorless smile appeared on Pierce's lips.

"Really..." Pierce said.

"She's already out of here. You'll never find her. I won't have her live like this, in fear. Not anymore," Max said.

"That is yet to be determined," Pierce said.

"Come out, before I[I]burn[/I] you out. Don't think I can't...." Pierce finished, looking at the agent next to him. They both turned their attention back to the cabin.

"Tell me, are your other extra-terrestrial friends in there with you? The girl is...quite attractive with that long, blond hair," Pierce said, shambling a few steps toward the cabin.

"Stay where you are," Michael yelled, and fired a burst of energy at Pierce's feet. The force of it knocked him to the ground.

With careful deliberation, he stood and wiped the dust off of his suit. It was then that Max saw the wounds Pierce had sustained, and the misshapen look to his features.

"That was a mistake my friends," Pierce said, and looked up at the sky.

Isabel gasped behind Max as the morning sun seemed to be obliterated by darkness. Max looked up and saw thunderclouds rolling in at a breakneck pace, darkening the ground it passed over.

"Shit!" Cal said. "I can't believe it. I can't fucking believe it."

He shook his head, pulling Max away from the window quickly.

Max pulled away from him.

"What are you doing?" Max asked, his eyes flashing in anger.

"Look, all bets are off," Cal said. "We've gotta leave the planet...now."

"No," Max said, stepping back. "I'm not leaving Liz here with Pierce still alive."

"We've got a lot more to deal with than just Pierce now," he said, glancing at out the window at the sky, which had darkened even further.

"Listen to me kid. That ain't just Pierce. They found us," he said.

"Who found us?" Isabel asked, moving to stand beside Max.

"The bounty hunters," Cal snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Michael said, looking out at Pierce.

"You ever seen that movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers?" he asked.

Michael looked at him blankly.

"Forget it," Cal said. "They possess bodies. That may be Pierce's body and maybe there's some small part of Pierce in there somewhere, but that sure as shit ain't Pierce making those clouds roll in."

"We might have a chance if we can distract them and find a way out the back, but we gotta go now," he said.

"No," Max said, lifting his chin.

"What do you mean no?" Cal practically shouted, his patience worn thin.

"Liz is coming. I'm not leaving until I know she's safe," he said with determination.

"Kid! What are you stupid? Not only will she die, but you'll die too! All of us will die!" he spat.

"Then leave," Max said quietly, looking from his protector to Isabel and Michael. "I'm not asking you to stay, but I can't go."

"We can't go without you," Cal said angrily. "If I don't have you, then I might as well just sit here, because I'll be a dead man when I get back to Antar."

"Then save yourself and them, and choose to stay here on Earth. Build a life here," Max said, moving to look out the window as a loud thunderclap seemed to split the sky with a thundering roar. A moment later, the sky was lit brilliantly, and a crack of lightning hit the roof of the cabin, sending a shower of sparks raining down on them.

Isabel stifled a scream and turned toward him.

"Max, you can't be serious!" Isabel hissed. "You can't take them on yourself!"

Max looked up at the roof, which was starting to burn, and raised his shield. The shimmering energy surrounded them, blurring out the doorway.

"Get out now while you can," Max said with finality, turning toward the window, seeing Pierce lurching toward the door, the other agent no longer in sight.

"Watch your backs." Max said, his concentration trained on Pierce. "The other one disappeared."

"Listen to me you brat!" Cal said. "I haven't sacrificed everything only to get fucking mauled in the middle of a desert because of some insignificant human girl!"

"Max, he's right," Michael said. "You have a responsibility to our planet."

"I also have a responsibility to Liz!" he said fiercely. "She's the only reason I'm alive. I would have been dead in that alley if it weren't for her! I have to make sure that she's safe first, and then I will do what I have to do for Antar."

Max's shield widened to encompass the whole room as Pierce's figure shadowed the door.

"Are you staying or going! Tell me now. I'll need to drop the shield," he said.

"It's too late for that," Cal muttered, looking behind them and seeing the other agent covering the back door. "We're dead."

"Antarian....pooleel," Pierce cursed, in disgust. Max's eyes widened as he saw Pierce's eyes begin to glow with a preternatural light.

******

John looked at the blackened sky with a worried glance. Liz seemed to barely register it, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

And then the rain came, in great pouring sheets. John turned on the wipers, throwing caution to the wind in maintaining the speed limit amidst the downpour.

"This isn't good," Alex said, shaking his head in the backseat as he caught John's eyes in the rearview mirror, before turning his attention back to the laptop on his knees.

"When were your people gonna send the info about the Special Unit?" Alex asked.

"They were working on it this morning. We should have gotten it by now. Anyway, if what Liz is saying is true, they're going to be the least of our problems," John said.

"The bounty hunters are beings of immense power," John continued, glancing back at Alex before turning his eyes back toward the road. "They are formidable opponents."

"But not invincible, right?" Maria asked, worried.

"In thousands of years, very few have been defeated," John said. "They have no regard for life...any life."

"Somebody has to know how to take them down," Maria said. "There has to be something."

"They're more vulnerable here," John said. "The climate generally doesn't agree with their physiology. They need a host to protect their essences from the elements."

"A host," Alex said, frowning. "You don't mean..."

"They're parasites," Liz said in a flat voice. "They inhabit bodies, using their energy, until there's nothing left to feed off of. When the host grows weak, they find another one."

"So we have to find a way to kill the host they're in, and make sure that they don't have another one to take over," Alex said.

John nodded.

"But it's not that easy. They're extremely powerful, and even their energy eats others' energy. It will feed off of Max and the others' power until it is depleted, and when they're defenseless, that's when they'll make their move," John muttered. "They have means to cloak themselves. The government will be more concerned about what this rain is going to do around here than what's going on in the middle of nowhere. Their focus will be on the surrounding towns."

"Not that they'd be much help anyway," Maria grumbled.

"Turn here," Liz said suddenly, pointing to the left.

The truck jolted onto the dirt road, swaying precariously.

"Dios Mio," Maria muttered in a low voice from the back seat.

The truck jolted along the almost non-existent dirt road at a suicidal speed.

"We're running out of time," Liz said, an edge to her voice.

"We'll get there," John said. "I don't know what the hell we're going to do once we're there, but we'll get there."

********

Pierce raised his hand to the glowing shield and flexed his fingers. The four watched in horror as razor-like claws poked through the pads.

As it pushed on the shield with its own force, Max watched in horror as his own shield shrank around them, it's radius getting smaller and smaller. He felt Isabel, Michael and Cal pressing closer to him and knew that it was shrinking behind him as well. His eyes widened as he saw the shield grow brighter and he knew that Isabel, Michael and Cal had added their energy to his.

Max felt a sense of relief as he realized they were going to help.

"Turn with me," Max commanded the others without looking away from Pierce.

Max concentrated on connecting with the others silently, through their minds.

[I]"I'm going try to get us outside," he said in a low voice. "Is the other one in here too?"

"He's working your shield from the other side," Cal answered. They're shrinking it."

"If we can get outside the cabin, we have a chance," Max said, and felt his stomach churn. He could sense that Liz was close, too close.

"Cal, what chance do we have of taking them out?" Max asked.

"I don't know. Maybe all of us against one could do one of them, but with two of them here...." he faltered. "Its energy is depleting yours. The only reason this shield is still up is because we're feeding it with you, but even that...we won't be able to do it for more than a few minutes."

"If I were to lower the shield and the three of you hit the one behind, then maybe," Max started.

"No! No fucking way! Out of all of us, you're the one that has to survive this!" Cal hissed.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Max said in a clipped tone.

"Cal, we've got to try something!" Michael protested.

"I can keep the shield going with Max," Isabel said. "You and Michael go for the other one."[/I]

Cal shook his head.

[I]"No, that's an unbelievably stupid idea!" he said.

"We don't have any other choice!" Isabel grated.[/I]

Max pushed harder with his energy and the creature backed up out of the door, and Max stepped forward, the others following.

And then, Cal faltered.

Max felt a flash of hope run through the connection as Cal studied the being with narrowed eyes.

[I]"Somethin' ain't right here," Cal muttered. "Look at its face."[/I]

Max nodded, without turning his head.

[I]"Those wounds, they shouldn't be affecting him, but look at the area around them. The skin's turning a funny color," Cal said.[/I]

[I]"Which means what?" Michael asked.

"I dunno yet, but it may buy us some time," Cal answered.

"If we take one down, we might have a fighting chance," Cal said, glancing at Michael. "Can you handle it?"

"Yeah, I think so," Michael said.

"Can you or can't you?" Cal barked. "'I think so' is going to get us killed."

"Yeah, I can do it," Michael snapped.

"When we get outside then, we split up," Cal ordered.[/I]

The connection between the four fell silent.

Max felt his energy draining rapidly, but continued to push with it, needing to be clear of the cabin for what they planned.

******

"Why the fuck did I sign on for this job?" Kal muttered behind him. "I shoulda known it was suicide!"

"Come on kid, move to the right!" he said to Michael, and then it was just Isabel's hand on Max's shoulder.

Max knew that she was scared, yet here she was fighting at his side.

"Thank you Isabel," Max said, "I couldn't do this alone."

"Just get us out of this alive, Max," she muttered.

The energy of the bounty hunter was immense. He could feel it eating at the shield he and Isabel were desperately trying to keep intact.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Michael and Cal, pushing their own energy against the other agent.

Great pregnant drops of rain hit the ground with audible slaps, stirring the arid sand, and a menacing rumble seemed to vibrate the air around them.

The bounty hunter advanced toward them, until the creature's face was mere centimeters from Max's. It was then that Max could see the rot that had begun to eat at Pierce's features. The sky was lit with a tremendous flash of light, illuminating the dead mask that used to be Pierce's face.

The hunter drew closer to the shield and a dead smile adorned his face.

"Shal sool vi-tah Zan!" he croaked, claws pushing through the pads of its human shell, touching the surface of the shield. An eerie scrape filled the air as Max watched them penetrate the shield.

Isabel screamed and Max used every ounce of his energy to push the bounty hunter away.

*******

The truck had barely come to a stop before Liz grabbed the first aid kit and jumped out. She didn't wait for the others. There wasn't time.

She ran to the outcropping directly ahead of her, the craggy peaks illuminated by the flashes of electricity piercing the sky. Her hand moved to her throat without conscious thought.

He was near. He was in danger.

She leaned forward, keeping her upper body in a crouching position, so as not to be detected.

She reached the rocks and stumbled up the incline and dropping to the rock when she saw the scene playing out in front of the cabin.

Max and Isabel were paired, as were Michael and Cal, their only defense against the hunters being their shield.

But the hunters looked nothing like aliens, and one of them looked something that used to be Pierce.

Almost overcome by panic, she barely registered the others behind her.

She had to think and think fast. Max didn't have much time.

She heard Maria gasp behind her as she took in the battle below.

It was then John spoke.

"It's too late," he said.

Liz swung around to face him.

"No, it's not. I have an idea, but I'm going to need help," she said. "Maria, are you up for it?"

Maria looked at her stricken, swallowing hard.

***********

The girls moved off to take their positions.

Alex and John were hunched under a tarpaulin to shield themselves from the rain.

Alex was loading the tranquilizer dart gun.

He glanced at John.

"Is it normal for them to look like that? The two of them almost look disfigured," he said.

John shrugged, digging through his bag.

"Not that I know of. Everything I've been told was that even if injured, the host's body protects the hunter until it no longer sustains biological function. I've never heard of anything like this," he said.

"Well, what might cause something like that?" Alex asked, pushing another dart into the gun.

"I don't know," John snapped.

"Think Alex...think," Alex muttered to himself focusing, watching Liz instructing Maria on what to do.

"Its gotta be something here, something environmental," Alex mused, frustrated. " Something affecting their biology."

"John, is the laptop still logged on to the net?" Alex asked. "Maybe those friends of yours sent us the info on those agents in the Special Unit we asked for."

John nodded, his fingers flying over the keys. Seconds later, he turned the laptop toward Alex.

Photos of each member of the Special Unit flickered on the screen. He scanned them quickly looking for Pierce's and the other agent's face, searching for any connection between them any common factor that might be causing the deterioration he was seeing.

And then he saw it.

"Bingo," he said, looking at John. "This has got to be it. Look at this. Both of them grew up in the same vicinity."

"What does that have to do with anything?" John asked. "That common denominator could be anything!"

"You said they're sensitive to the environment anyway. What if they're sensitive to their hosts? What if...the hosts body was altered in some small way that made them incompatible?"

"Look at where both of these guys grew up," Alex said, pointing at the screen.

"Carrizozo," John said.

"And where are we now?" Alex asked.

"A few miles outside of Socorro," John replied.

"And what happened here fifty years ago?" Alex prompted.

"Holy shit!" John exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm betting the two agents pretty much grew up on a bed of low level radiation living near the Trinity site," Alex said.

"The first atomic test. But that's never been proven to have any negative effects," John mused.

"Not to us humans," Alex commented, "but maybe to them. Maybe their cells were mutated just enough to make the host inhospitable for long. And maybe, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

*****

Max didn't know how he was going to stop the hunter. All he knew was that he had to, and fast. His energy was depleting at an alarming rate, even with Isabel's bolstering his own.

"Max, I don't know how much longer I can keep this going," Isabel said, her voice strained.

The rain had become a deluge, pouring off of the shimmering shield, and streaming down the bounty hunter's face. It didn't seem to bother it one bit.

Max knew that soon it would penetrate the only defense they had. Once it did that, then it was over.

He glanced toward Michael and Kal. They were in much the same predicament. Thunder rumbled across the heavens, the malevolent claps seeming to foretell their doom.

The only thing that kept Max holding on was the thought of Liz, the strength she'd given him, the courage she'd shown, the unwavering faith she'd had that he'd return to her.

But would it be enough?

********

Michael sensed his energy had almost run dry. If it weren't for Cal, it would have already been over.

He saw, as Cal did, that this creature seemed to have the telltale gangrene marks where it had apparently been wounded.

Blue pulsing veins began to stand out on Cal's neck as he struggled to maintain the shield.

The agent gnashed his teeth at them in a goading snarl, and Michael clenched his jaw and put forth power where he hadn't thought there had been any left.

But it wasn't going to be enough. The shield was wavering and starting to thin.

"Fuck," Cal grated. "Why the hell did I listen to a stupid kid?"

It was then that Michael saw the first hole appear in the shield.

He saw the creature's hand poke through the shield and he closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

And then he heard a dull thud.

"Hey you overgrown lizard! You want a piece of me?" he heard a voice cry out, and his eyes snapped open.

Maria.

Michael felt an uncustomary rush of relief at seeing her, which was immediately replaced by a protective instinct that was unfamiliar to him except when it concerned Isabel and Max; nevertheless, the feeling was strong.

She was standing on the rocks, already picking up another large stone to throw at the hunter. She threw it and it struck the creature's head with a dull thump.

The creature turned with inhuman speed, distracted, and she screamed and ran back over the outcropping.

With a terrifying inhuman roar, it sent a bolt of energy at the rock she had jumped behind, sending brittle shrapnel spraying out into the deluge.

********

"Now!" Alex said, and he and John stood up from behind the rocks a short distance away from where Maria had disappeared. Alex let off a shot that hit the agent closest to Michael and Kal squarely in the throat.

With an ear piercing shriek the creature's energy field drew back into its body and the creature's hand flew to its throat, pulling the dart from its neck.

"Dammit I don't have a clear shot! He's turned!" John said, and Alex's head snapped toward Max and Isabel.

It was true. They had moved the moment they'd stood up and their shield stood in the way of the creature, now on the other side of the energy shield.

"Shit!" Alex cursed.

Cal hadn't waited for the creature to turn toward them again. With the trained precision of an Antarian protector, he fired his energy at the creature, puncturing a hole in his back.

With a frightening snarl, the creature whipped around to face Cal, just as Michael fired off another alien bolt of fire. The impact against the creature's body threw it against the rocks, impaling its body on a craggy outcropping.

The creature thrashed with a high-pitched wail, trying to dislodge itself from the stone.

"The stone!" Alex shouted. "Just protect yourselves! The stone will kill it! It's contaminated!"

Cal's eyes widened, and he shoved Michael toward the rocks where Alex and the others were hiding.

He had no real concern for the humans other than the threat they now paid to his charges. IF the creature took one of them, they would not get out of this alive.

"Get over there now!" he hissed at Michael. "Get them all together. Protect them with your shield. Do it now!"

"But we need to finish it off," Michael argued.

"Kid, when that thing expires, it's gonna come looking for another host. And if you don't get over there, it will take one of them! We don't have enough energy to fight it off again. Do it!" Cal shouted.

"What about Max and Isabel?" Michael asked, glancing over at them, their shield still hanging on by a thread.

"I'll handle them. Just go!" Cal shouted.

Michael took off across the clearing as Cal turned toward the howling creature with a grim face.

If Michael wasn't quick enough, it would all be over within minutes.

***********

The creature concentrated on the boy, focusing on his objective, ignoring the uneasiness that was creeping up its spine. Something was not right with this body, and it was degenerating at an alarming rate. It didn't know why, as it had never had this problem before when invading a human, but this was different. It could feel its host's organs failing at an alarming rate, and knew the other was experiencing the same.

He knew the boy and his protector would not last too much longer. The failing body did nothing to dilute its own energy, which was as powerful as it had ever been. But if the body failed too soon, and the atmosphere hit its sensitive essence, then it would be finished within minutes.

It cursed this polluted planet, which forced it to take a host in the first place.

Still, there were other human hosts nearby.

It was fast running out of options, and if it came down to it, it would do what it had to do, even if it meant taking another a host. It would complicate matters a bit, but those temporary complications could be worked out. First and foremost, its own survival was its main priority.

******

As Maria jumped back from the rocks, Liz jumped to the ground at a run, armed with a scalpel from John's first-aid kit, but she soon realized that she wasn't quick enough.

A stab of terror iced her veins as she saw the creature's claws pierce the shield, intent on coming after Max. The face that used to be Pierce's was now malformed and collapsing in on itself.

Isabel screamed as it grabbed Max's head with lightning speed. She tried to fight it off of Max with no effect.

Liz didn't think. With no regard for her own safety, she reacted, driving the scalpel into the creature's back.

An ear-piercing howl filled the air as it turned on her, grabbing her hair and dragging her against its chest.

"Nooo!" Max screamed.

**********

Michael jumped the rocks and landed in the mud at Maria's feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Maria yelled, slapping his arm with both of her hands in a rapid succession.

"Ow! Quit it!" he seethed.

"Go help Liz!" she yelled.

Michael scrambled to his feet, throwing his shield around Maria, Alex and John, he'd barely gotten it up before it wavered with a violent crash.

A high pitched squeal caused the humans to cover their ears. Maria looked at the perimeter of the shield to its source and started to scream.

********

In one instant, Max registered the apparition-like being taking flight toward the rocks and heard Maria scream.

Cal was running toward he and Isabel.

"Don't move!" he shouted. "Don't be stupid kid!"

Max saw the other creature hurtling toward Isabel before Cal did.

On instinct, he threw his shield around Cal, Isabel, and the being holding Liz.

With an anguished shriek, the creature hit the shield, trying to break through.

*******

The being didn't let go of the human girl, even as it watched its comrade battering the shield, trying to break through, to find a host. It was already too late.

Its eyes turned toward the boy King, who was looking as if he wanted to rip his head off. But he knew better.

It had the upper hand now. From Pierce's memories, it knew that Zan cared for this weak female human.

It paid no attention to the agonized howl of its compatriot. It did not need to look to know what was happening, and a moment later, the shrieks ended abruptly. All that would be left of it was a pile of smoldering ash.

This is what would happen to his own body if he didn't find a new host, and time was almost out.

It would have to the girl.

********

"Let her go!" Max seethed, and took a step toward the creature before Cal halted him.

"Don't make any sudden moves, kid," Cal warned. "Play it cool."

"Liz!" Maria screamed, stopping short of the shield with Michael, John and Alex behind her.

"Max, Cal, listen! It can't survive by taking one of us!" Alex shouted. "All of our cells have been mutated slightly because of the atomic testing done around here! It does something to them, and they can't survive long in anyone that lives here."

Max glanced at Alex, and then to Liz.

"Max, save the others," she pleaded. "Please, help Maria, Alex and John. Don't let it take one of them."

Though he knew she was terrified, her eyes begged him not to endanger his own life for hers.

"I won't leave you Liz," Max said, his eyes hardening as he felt Cal's grip tighten on his arm.

"Max, don't!" Isabel cried from behind him in a trembling voice, but Max ignored her plea.

"It doesn't want any of you. It wants me," Max said in a low voice.

It stared at Max for a moment, before a misshapen grin broke over its face. Its expression sent shivers down Max's spine. He still saw a trace of Pierce's face, but its eyes were as cold as black ice, and filled with murder.

"It is true that I cannot last long taking one of you as a host, but the girl's body will last long enough for me to take you," the creature said, its voice sounding gravelly. "So I take her first."

Liz cried out as the creature's vice-like claws clamped around her head.

"Noooo!" Max cried, and struggled in Cal's grip. In his rage, a powerful blast of energy burst from his body, throwing Cal to the ground.

*********

It vaguely registered Zan's scream as it gathered its essence for the transference to the girl.

But something was not right. It was blocked from entering its new host.

As it tried to force its essence through the skin, it was forcefully ejected, sending a paralyzing jolt of power through its being.

It roared as the pain ricocheted through it.

The boy had done something to her. He had protected her with his mark. He had…changed her.

The prophecy.

But she could not be the one.

With a snarl, it painfully yanked her hair up and she screamed as it sliced through the long strands at the base of her skull.

And there, it found the marks, the V formation in the form of human birthmarks.

********

Max narrowed his shield before Cal could rise to his feet, until only he, the creature and Liz were beneath its wavering green protection

Chaos erupted around him with Cal screaming obscenities outside of the shield, Isabel and Michael calling his name, but Max's whole world suddenly narrowed down to Liz's terrified eyes.

The prophecy was true. Liz did have the mark. Cal had been wrong. A vision of knowledge came ot him then, and the whole greater plan became so crystal clear. And now he knew exactly what he had to do.

Max resisted looking away as Pierce's left eye seemed to pop with a wet burst, the fluid running down its cheek.

"You'll never take her," Max said.

"Maybe I can't [I]take[/I] her body, but I [I]can[/I] kill her," the creature croaked. "Unless...you are willing to cooperate."

"Don't Max, please," Liz pleaded. "You have a chance. Just leave. It will die and you'll be safe."

"No," Max said, lifting his chin. "This is meant. You saw it Liz. You saw the prophecy. But you don't know everything..."

"No!" Liz said, shaking her head. "This isn't supposed to happen! Not like this! I won't let you do this!"

A dull pounding on the shield rose behind him.

"Kid, that isn't true and you know it! This is too important. If you do this, you'll ruin everything!" Cal shouted.

Max turned to look at the faces of the people he had come to care so much about. He saw the fear in Maria and Alex's eyes for Liz, and the fear for him in Michael and Isabel's.

It didn't matter what he did. One group or the other was going to bear the burden of his actions.

There was only one way out of this, and he knew it.

Max turned back toward the creature.

"Take me," he said with conviction.

"No Max!" Liz cried, shaking her head.

Max smiled at her then, his face serene.

The creature cackled, pushing on Liz's shoulder, moving her closer to Max.

With a malevolent grin, it dropped its hands from Liz and grabbed Max by the neck.

"Your belief led to your death once, and now it will bring the downfall of your people," it said.

"No, it will bring them salvation," Max said in a strangely confident voice.

"Fool!" the creature spat, and grabbed his head, its claws piercing his skin.

********

"Max!" Liz screamed and grabbed at the creature's shoulders, trying to pull it off of Max, but her efforts were easily thwarted. She was shoved to the ground with no effort.

She jumped to her feet, again pulling at Pierce's shoulders with every last ounce of strength she had.

Max cried out, and she watched in horror as the creature's fingers seemed to swell, green veins pulsing its essence into the boy who had become everything to her.

Suddenly, the creature's arms dropped to its sides and the body it had previously occupied fell to the ground in a gelatinous heap.

Liz screamed and Max fell to his knees and then dropped to the ground, the downpour from the skies ceasing in the same instant.

Max looked into her eyes, and the love that shone from them only for her, burned into her soul.

Liz fell to her knees beside him.

"Max," she sobbed, running her fingers over his face.

His breathing was labored as he struggled to keep the creature in his body at bay for a few more moments.

His eyes filled with tears.

"I'm…sorry," he said, his voice hitching. "For all of this."

She shook her head furiously, tears streaming down her face.

"I'll never be sorry. Never," she sobbed.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love...you," she answered leaning down, capturing his lips in a tender kiss as his hand rose to touch her throat, the raised symbol once again rising from her skin in a brilliant flash. She reached up to cover his fingers, resting against the pulsing mark.

"You're the one, Liz," he said, smiling through his tears. "You'll save all of them."

"I felt you, Max, before...in the chamber. I saw all of it. But this…this wasn't supposed to happen," she choked.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes clenched close in the struggle to keep hold of his consciousness.

"No," he said in a cracked voice. "I told you, this was meant. You will be the savior."

Liz remembered how Zan had been so confident right before his death on Antar, and saw that same conviction in Max.

"Then tell me Max. Tell me what I'm supposed to do," she pleaded. "Tell me how to make you better."

Max glanced up as the others moved closer to the shield, Maria and Isabel with tears in their eyes, Alex and Michael swallowing in an effort to control their emotions. Cal stood stoically beside them.

"I wish...I wish I had time," he said softly.

Max pulled away from her suddenly, struggling to his knees, his face turned away from her.

"Kid, you know what has to be done now," Cal said, his eyes hardening. "It can't get to Isabel or Michael. We can't fight it again."

Liz watched in confusion, seeing Max nod from behind, his face still turned from her.

"You're going to have to kill me, Liz," he said. "There isn't much time. I can't hold it off for too much longer."

"What?" Liz asked, shaking her head, not believing what she was hearing.

"You have to, Liz," Max said, lowering his head. "Please, you know why."

"No, I don't...I can't Max," she said, moving to crouch behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You will," he answered in a tortured whisper, picking up the discarded scalpel off the ground and putting it in her hands, closing her fingers around it with his own, keeping his eyes hidden.

"Max," she sobbed. "Don't...you can't ask me to do this."

"If you don't, they'll all die," he said, his chest rising and falling in heavy effort.

"I'll love you forever, Liz Parker," he whispered.

His head snapped up with inhuman speed and she screamed, scrambling back as he snarled at her, and then she saw his eyes, an unearthly serpent green, filled with murder.

The shield dropped.

"Seen shull dieaaaa!!!" he screamed and leapt toward her.

She cried out and closed her eyes as she drove the scalpel forward, driving it into his chest as he fell upon her.

A tortured howl of pain burst from his lips as he rolled and Cal grabbed her from the ground, Liz fighting him. He shoved her toward Alex, who wrapped his arms around Liz.

Michael threw his shield around the group as the creature's essence rose from Max's body.

It circled the shield, with lightning speed, pounding against it, the green energy wavering under its might.

Liz buried her head in Alex's chest, covering her ears against the screams that filled the night air.

With a final ear-piercing shriek, the creature's essence exploded in a shower of dust.

"Max!" Isabel screamed.

Michael retracted his shield, and Liz broke from Alex's grasp, rushing to where Max's body lay still on the wet desert sand, Isabel right behind her.

Liz fell to her knees, her shaking hands flitting across his chest, his shirt blood-soaked and still, his eyes staring, unseeing, at the brightening sky.

She looked up to meet Isabel's tear-filled gaze.

"Do something for him Isabel," she pleaded.

"I can't," Isabel whispered, reaching out to touch Max's cheek.

"No," she sobbed, shaking her head. "No, no. This wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"No, it wasn't," Cal said in an angry voice behind her. "But it did, and now we have to pick up the pieces. Everything's changed. All because of an old fucking fairy tale."