The Four Faces of Rath - (CC, ALL, YTEEN) -Ch 66-71 - 8/6/05

Post by **majiklmoon** » Sat Apr 26, 2003 11:14 pm

<img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love"> oh that was good. I get why Michael wants to go back in time, but i have the feeling something's going to happen - am i right? <center>It all started with a boy, a girl, and a silver handprint.</center><center><a href=http://pub84.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsrealm><img src=http://members.aol.com/majiklmoon/image ... a></center>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 3:32 am

Thanks, Tracie! Here are the next two chapters. Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub129.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsr ... dbreeze</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/aim116b.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 4/30/03 2:37:16 am

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 3:34 am

The Four Faces of Rath

A Different Perspective

Chapter 6

VI

“M[/font]ax, you know I don’t mind Michael using the spheres… Or any of our group using them for that matter,” Liz added reflectively. “But do you think it’s wise for Michael to go back to the past like that… especially alone?”

Max smiled. “Who’s gonna tell him if it’s not?”

Liz nodded and smiled, too. “Well, I do know Michael, and I know that wouldn’t be the easiest thing for anyone to try to tell him, but I just can’t help being concerned about this quest of his.”

“I know,” Max agreed. “I’m concerned, too. But Michael has to find himself, as he put it. I don’t know any way we can tell him he can’t do that.”

Liz shook her head. “I authorized the spheres to respond to Michael’s call. He doesn’t need to have them in his possession to use them you know.”

“I know. Thanks, Liz. Michael will appreciate it. He told me to thank you properly.”

“Properly in whose estimation?”

Max grinned. “Well, he didn’t say.” Max put his arms around Liz and kissed her passionately.

“Mmmm… That’s a good start, Max. But letting Michael use my spheres to go back to the past alone is a really big request. Is that the best you can do?”

Max grinned and picked Liz up, carrying her toward the bedroom. “The things I do for my friends,” he mumbled.

“Life can be tough,” Liz agreed. “But what are friends for?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well, Michael, you’re all set,” Max said, giving Michael a friendly slap on the arm. “Liz said just call the sphere and tell it where you want to go. It’ll respond to you.”

“Thanks, Max. I hope you thanked her a lot.”

Max smiled slightly. “Yeah. She’s making me work it out… sort of.”

“Geez, Max, thanks. I don’t know what to say.”

Max shrugged. “That’s alright… What are friends for?”

Michael studied Max’s face a few moments and nodded. “If I know Liz, I don’t think you were too upset with the terms, Maxwell, old pal. Don’t sprain anything.”

Max turned slightly red in spite of himself at Michael’s obvious intuitiveness… or maybe Michael did just know them too well.

“Goodbye, Michael. Have a safe trip, or whatever it is.”

Michael nodded. “Thanks, Max. You guys stay safe, too. Portal!”

“Ask,” a voice said from the air.

“Take me to Earth… Roswell, New Mexico… Earth’s date, uh, 1989… let’s say, August.”

The portal opened, and Michael stepped through, glancing back only to wave a final quick goodbye. He stepped out on the other side and onto a sidewalk. Turning around a couple of times to get his bearings, he recognized the UFO museum, and across the street from it, on his side, the CrashDown.

Michael shook his head. “Doesn’t seem right… the CrashDown being on Earth. Just seems like it belongs on Antar,” he thought to himself.

As he turned, a toy glider shaped like a UFO sailed by him, and a dark-haired little girl, running to catch it, bumped into him.

“I’m sorry, mister. I didn’t mean to bump into you, really. I was watching to see where our spaceship went…”

Michael looked up and saw another little girl waiting for her friend to return with the toy.

“That’s okay,” Michael said. “But you should be careful. If you run out in the street without looking, you might get hit by a car.”

“Oh, I know that! I always look before going in the street.”

“Well, that’s very smart of you. How old are you?”

“Six! Today’s my birthday!”

“Well, happy birthday. That’s great. You stay safe now, okay?”

“I will. Thanks, mister.”

Michael looked up again. A young man appeared in the door of the CrashDown.

“Lizzie! Come here.”

“I’m coming, Daddy!”

The man turned to the little blonde girl in the doorway. “Maria, you come on in, too. Why don’t you girls go play inside a while. There’s still some cake left.”

Michael watched as the man shut the door. He walked over, but there was a hand-written note on the door: We will be closed from 2 PM to 6 PM for a birthday party. We look forward to seeing our guests again tomorrow at the CrashDown. Thank you. Jeff & Nancy Parker, owners.

Michael stood there staring at the note. “Maria,” he said to himself, trying to retain a mental image of the little blonde girl who had been standing there. “That was my Maria… and Liz.”

He thought about knocking but decided against it. It wasn’t what he had come for, and anyway, what would he say? “Hi, I’m Maria’s husband? I’m an alien from the future, and I took Maria to a planet called Antar to live? Oh, and by the way, my friend is married to your daughter, Lizzie, and they live on Antar, too? No…” Michael smiled a sort of sheepish smile. “They’d think I was one of those UFO freaks who had finally lost it and gone over the edge, and Jim Valenti –or was it his Dad who was sheriff in ‘89- would lock me up and throw away the key!” Michael’s smile turned into a halfway grin. Then he turned away with a quick look back and a sigh.

Michael put his hands in his pockets as far in as he could get them and walked on down the sidewalk. At the corner, he stopped to think where he should go. The answer was made for him. The sheriff’s car drove by, and in the back seat was a little tow-haired boy, about six. The little boy looked scared… or perhaps confused. Michael wondered why the sheriff would be arresting such a young suspect, but there was something more, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He walked in the direction the sheriff’s car had gone. After walking eight or nine blocks, he saw the sheriff come out of a building and leave without the boy.

“That’s strange,” Michael thought. “It doesn’t look like a jail.”

It appeared to be a public building, so Michael walked in. After looking around the lobby, he walked over to a man at a window.

“Sir, what is this building?”

The man looked at Michael a moment. “It’s the office of children’s welfare. Can I help you?”

“No. No… I just, well, I was wondering, that’s all.” As Michael spoke, a man entered and sauntered up to the window beside him. Michael didn’t pay much attention to him.

“I came for the boy. The sheriff called and said he caught ‘im hidin’ out by the tower.”

All the blood almost ran out of Michael’s head. He would have known that voice anywhere… even after all these years. Michael turned quickly and looked. It was Hank. Michael’s first instinct was to hide his face, but then he realized that Hank would not know him as he was now. Hank was looking for a six-year-old boy.

“Sign here,” the clerk said. “Sheriff Valenti said if the boy keeps runnin’ away, they might have to place him with someone else. He’s only been with you less than a week, and already the sheriff has had to go lookin’ for ‘im three times… or was it four? Anyway, he’s getting’ a little miffed about it.”

“Don’t worry,” Hank said. “I’ll make sure he don’t run away ag’in.”

The clerk looked up.

“Oh, I don’t mean nothin’ by that,” Hank said. “I jus’ mean I’ll, you know, give ‘im a good talkin’ to so’s he knows where he belongs. I really love that boy.”

The clerk nodded, but clearly he didn’t quite believe the man. A deputy appeared in the door from a room in the back.

“Mister Whitmore,” the clerk said. “Here’s Michael. I don’t want to hear that you did anything illegal, you know? You wouldn’t even’ve got the boy except you signed an affidavit swearin’ you gave up the bottle, and he’s a little old to adopt. The other two children we found were taken in by a nice couple, but it’s hard to find adoptive parents for these older children. I hope you really are off the bottle. That foster parent check you’ll be getting’ every month depends on it.”

“Oh, I am! I am! I’m as sober as the day is long. Ain’t touched the stuff in a year. Ain’t gonna never touch the stuff ag’in, I swear it.”

The clerk rolled his eyes but held his tongue. He was pretty sure he noticed the smell of alcohol on Hank’s breath, though Hank had made some effort to disguise it with mints and gum.

“Here you are Hank,” the deputy said. “Take the boy on home. We don’t wanna see him in here any more. The sheriff is beginnin’ to think you ain’t a’treatin’ him right.”

“I treat ‘im real good, deputy. The boy’s just ungrateful.” Hank planted a kiss on the top of the young boy’s head. “I love this boy to death.”

Michael’s fists tightened impulsively, and he fought the urge to end this charade right here, but he held his peace until Hank had left.

“Sir?”

“Huh? Oh, you again. What do you need now?”

“I was wondering… how well did anyone check to make sure that, uh, that man… Hank is it… is really sober now or isn’t beating that little boy or mistreating him?”

The clerk sighed and put down his pen. “Mister… uh?”

“Oh, uh, Rath… Mister Rath.” Michael cringed as soon as he said it. He couldn’t believe that that was the first name he could come up with.

“Well, Mister Rath, you have to understand something. This is a small town. We have limited resources to do extensive investigations. The man swore he ain’t drinkin’ now. He gave us a signed affidavit sayin’ that he ain’t. If you got some evidence that says he is, just say so, but unless we see him drinkin’ or runnin’ around the town drunk, I’m not sure there’s anythin’ we can do.”

Michael started to turn away.

“Oh, Mister Rath?”

Michael turned around and looked at the clerk again. “Yes?”

“You want to adopt him?”

It might have been an offhand or a flippant remark, or even a joke, but it hit Michael like a cannonball in the stomach.

“I… I can’t. Believe me, I’d like to.”

The clerk smiled. “Yeah, they all say that.” He looked at Michael’s face and looked into his eyes. “But I believe you. You look sincere.”

Michael nodded and turned away quickly, as he was sure that his eyes were beginning to redden. He exited the building without looking back. The clerk picked up his pen again and sighed to himself, “I really wish you could help, Mister Rath.”

Outside the building, Michael noticed a cab approaching, and he hailed it over to the side.

“Where to?”

“There’s a trailer park just outside of town…”

“Yeah, I know the one. That where you wanna go?”

“Yeah,” Michael said, distractedly looking out the window. But he wasn’t really paying attention to the scenery.

End of chapter 6
tbc…

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 3:35 am

The Four Faces of Rath

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot…

Chapter 7

VII

On Antar, Liz and Max sat in their “great chair” together. Liz was sitting sideways on Max’s lap with her arms around Max’s neck, her legs dangling over the side of the chair. Max smiled and let his lips be drawn to Liz’s. As their lips slowly met, Liz closed her eyes and savored Max’s kiss as though she were tasting a very fine –and expensive- wine.

“Uh… ahem.”

Liz opened her eyes, and Max looked up.

“What is it, Kyle?”

“Sorry, Max, but you have visitors. Thought you’d like to know.” Kyle smiled slightly.

“Okay,” Max said, as Liz jumped off his lap, looking endearingly sheepish.

“We’ll continue your, uh, CPR lessons later,” Max said to Liz with a grin.

Liz just smiled.

“Who is it, Kyle?”

“It’s Diane and Dan Klein.”

“Oh! Well… that’s a nice surprise! They must have got back from their honeymoon. Have ‘em come in. Liz and I’ll meet them in here.”

Kyle nodded and glanced at Liz again… then he turned and walked out of the room with a smile on his face.

As Diane walked into the room, Liz ran and hugged her. “It’s so great to see you again, Diane! How was the honeymoon?”

“Oh, Liz, I’ve gotta tell you about it. It was fabulous beyond all words or imagination.”

Dan smiled. Max took his hand for a moment, more in the Antarian tradition than actually a handshake. “So you guys had a good time, huh?”

“Great,” Dan said, nodding emphatically. “I still can’t believe I’ve been to two alien planets now. I’d tell you about it, but I think I better let Diane. She’d never forgive me if she didn’t get to tell it.”

Diane smiled. “Well, I’ll let you tell them the other thing, Dan.”

“Oh, thanks a lot, Diane,” Dan chuckled.

“What other thing,” Max asked.

“Well, right before we came here, the President asked if you could do him a favor.”

“The President? As in… of the USA?”

“The same.”

“What does he want from us?”

Dan grinned and proceeded to relate the President’s request to Max and Liz.

“Diane, tell me about Yxtiar,” Liz said impatiently. I want to know everything!”

“Well, not everything, Liz,” Diane replied. “I’m a modest girl.”

“Come on, spill it, Diane. Everything!”

Diane laughed.

“Yxtiar is beautiful! The whole planet is full of hot springs, some surrounded by beaches, others isolated and hidden by huge rocks and warm waterfalls. They have bath tub-sized ones, swimming-pool-sized ones, even lake-sized ones. You can soak in a huge warm spring with other aliens from all over the galaxy or by yourselves in one just big enough for two. In fact, there are so many hot springs there that you can usually even find a large one that is isolated and, uh, intimate.”

Liz grinned. “I’ve never been there. It’s definitely on our list of places we have to visit, though, right Max?’

Max nodded and smiled. “Liz has been wanting to go there ever since Alex and Isabel came back two years ago. But things have kept us pretty busy here.”

“Oh, Max,” Diane said, “you have to make time for relaxation and fun. It will never come to you. I found that out. Make the time, and take Liz there!”

“Please, please, please, Max,” Liz coaxed.

“Alright! Alright! I know when I’m outnumbered,” Max said. “We’ll go… soon.”

Liz winked at Diane and smiled from ear to ear.

“You know,” Dan said, “they have this amazing drink there called a Dashtyri.”

Diane nodded. “Oh, yeah! I could lie in a hot spring and drink Dashtyri’s all day for the rest of my life,” Diane said, sighing. Give me a Dashtyri and a hot spring with Dan in it, and I’ve got everything I ever need.”

Dan smiled but reddened slightly. “You know what’s fun, Max,” Dan said. “Sitting at a bar with a dozen alien beings with all these different digestive systems drinking Dashtyri’s.”

Diane snickered. “There was this one that drank through his nose… You don’t even want to know how it eats! It was a he, wasn’t it, Dear?”

Dan shrugged. “I think so.”

“Anyway,” Diane continued, “there was another one that had a funnel-shaped head, and it poured Dashtyri’s into the top of its head. At meal times, it put the food in the top of its head and made sounds like a coffee grinder.”

At this point, Liz and Diane were both laughing hysterically, and Dan and Max finally succumbed.

Max rubbed his eyes as they teared up from laughter. “Liz, you girls are awful. Those aliens probably went home and told their families all about you and Dan, Diane.”

Diane almost snorted, nodding her head briskly. “I wouldn’t doubt it! I did see some of them staring at us.”

“I guess we might look pretty weird to something with a funnel for a head,” Dan laughed.

“Oh, Dear,” Max said, holding out his hand effeminately, “you should have seen these aliens that stick their food into the front of their faces, and their faces open up.” Max laughed, as he did his mock impression of the other aliens telling their families about Dan and Diane. Everyone collapsed in hysterics. They even heard Kyle laughing in the next room.

“Kyle,” Max called, “Come in here! You should be here, too. You and Dan are friends.”

Kyle walked back into the room, and Dan stood up and gave him a proper Antarian hand hold.

“Good to see you again, Dan,” Kyle said.

“Yeah! Great to see you, too, Kyle! I showed the President the clips made by VideoStream XSO of Xarius when we were fighting the Dragons of Drago, and he was quite impressed.”

“You hear that, guys,” Kyle said, turning to Max and Liz. “I’m famous.”

“It was just one person, Kyle,” Max said.

“Yeah, but the President! …Doesn’t that count for extra points or something?”

Max laughed.

“Well,” Liz said, “there’s not a soul on Antar or Xarius who doesn’t know who you and Dan are since those clips were shown, Kyle, so I’d say you’re famous… even if Dan, Diane, and the President are the only three people on Earth who know about it.”

“I’ll take that,” Kyle said with a grin.

“The President was really impressed, huh,” Kyle mused to Dan.

“Oh yeah! He said, where were you when he needed you? He used to own a team or something in Texas before he was the Governor there or the President.”

Kyle and Dan both laughed.

For the rest of the afternoon, Dan and Diane told Liz, Max, and Kyle about all their adventures on the warm springs planet of Yxtiar. That evening, after Dan and Diane left, Max and Liz received another guest, one who would be staying for a few days. Kyle watched momentarily from the doorway, as Liz and Max talked to their guest. He was seated in a large chair with his back to Kyle, and Kyle could just see a right arm as it gestured up and down during the conversation.

Kyle shook his head and smiled then walked into the entertainment den and turned on the Videoscreen, flipping the channels to Earth cable, something Varec had given them a few years back. He wondered who was footing the bill for it now that Zwolinski and his Special Unit had “disappeared.”

“Fox News… Always fair and balanced…” the anchor on TV proclaimed, as Kyle punched in channel 1239.

“And in other news today, since the terror alert was raised from yellow to orange, following the capture of three prominent Al-Qaida leaders yesterday, Vice-President Dick Cheney has once again dropped out of sight. Sources quoting President Bush report that Cheney is safely ensconced in a remote location known only to a few people and will likely be returning to the White House in a few days.”

End of chapter 7
tbc…

Coming next: “A Vengeful Angel”

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 9:25 am

I love this story!!!! Thanks for two great updates! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love"> <div style="text-align:center">Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.</div> <div style="text-align:center">Rudyard Kipling, English author</div>

vecastone · Post by **vecastone** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 4:58 pm

Wow !! Great updates. I missed a few chapters and I had to catched up !! Great !!! Please don´t let Michael do something stupid and change the future !! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap">

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Sat May 03, 2003 4:04 pm

The Four Faces of Rath

A Vengeful Angel

Chapter 8

VIII

Michael paid the cab driver then turned and walked in the direction of Hank’s trailer. He still remembered every rock; every step he took drew him back to the past. As he drew nearer to the trailer, he heard noises. It sounded like something hitting the side of the trailer from the inside. And yelling… He heard Hank’s voice…

“You think you can make a fool out of me, boy, and get away with it? Huh? Do ya? Is that what you think?”

Michael heard a sound that he recognized painfully… the sound of the back of Hank’s hand hitting a face… a child’s face… Michael quickened his pace.

“Why don’tcha cry? Go on! Cry, I said! I wanna see ya cry! You always just sit there like that… smirking at me inside. Don’t think I don’t know it. You’re a freak, Michael! You won’t cry… not even when I rap you on the mouth. You don’t even blink. You ain’t normal! You’re a f*’ing freak!”

There was no reply from the boy, who sat shaking but silent, blood streaming from a badly split lip onto his dirty T-shirt. Hank picked up a half-empty bottle of vodka and took a couple more long swigs then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I’ll show you! I’m gonna teach you to cry… right now you’re gonna learn…”

Hank raised the bottle over his head and turned toward the boy. Suddenly, the bottle exploded in Hank’s hand, as the door to the trailer burst open. In the door stood the shape of a man… but not a man. This figure was glowing with an aura. Michael didn’t even know that he had the ability to glow. It was the rage that he felt at what Hank was doing… was about to do. Hank was already half drunk, having consumed most of the bottle of vodka and, apparently, a few beers, too, judging from the empty cans. He stood there, staring at the glowing apparition in the doorway.

“What the hell are you? Some kind of guard… guardian angel or somethin’?”

Michael said nothing, but the intensity of the glow increased. Things began to explode all around Hank in the trailer. Hank tried to dodge.

“Come on! I didn’t hurt no one! He had to be punishsh… punished. The boy’s a freak! He don’t even cry when I bust ‘im in the mouth.”

More items exploded… the lights in the lamp, on the ceiling, in the bedroom… Hank’s oven blew open behind him, and several six-packs of beer he had stashed in the oven began to explode, one bottle at a time.

“Awwww… not the beers!” Hank howled. “You can’t be real! I don’t believe in you! There ain’t no God. If there ain’t no God there cain’t be no angels…”

Michael silently raised his hand, and Hank flew backwards, crashing into the oven. He staggered to his feet again, holding onto the oven door for support. Michael flashed a bolt of energy that looked very much like a lightning bolt at Hank’s feet, setting both his shoes on fire. Hank howled and dropped to the floor, struggling to get the burning shoes off his feet quickly.

“Okay… okay! So you’re a guardian angel… or the devil… or something. What do you want with me? What’d I do to you?”

Michael finally spoke. “Not to me… to Michael. You mistreated him.”

I’ll treat ‘im good! I promise! Look!”

Hank hobbled over to the wide-eyed boy, who sat staring in awe at his “guardian angel,” and wiped the blood off his lip and chin with a napkin, being far more gentle than he was accustomed to being.

“Go… go sit down at the table, boy. I’ll get you something to eat.”

“His name isn’t boy,” Michael said. “It’s Michael.”

“Michael,” Hank nodded.

“I’m watching you,” Michael said ominously to Hank. “I’m going to be watching you all the time. If you mistreat that boy again, a couple of burning shoes will be the least of your problems. Tell me you understand what I’m saying.”

Hank nodded. Somehow, he had sobered up considerably since Michael had arrived.

“I was drunk. It’s the bottle. I didn’t mean to hurt the boy.”

“But you did.”

“I won’t hurt ‘im ag’in. I swear it. I’ll change.”

Michael nodded. “And I’ll be watching to be sure that you do.”

Michael turned and walked out of the trailer. The little boy sat at the table, awe-stricken, looking back with his hand on the back of the chair, as he watched his guardian angel depart. He smiled slightly and raised his hand almost timidly to wave goodbye.

Outside the trailer, Michael closed his eyes and pursed his lips momentarily, allowing the tension that had built up in him to dissipate. Then he walked back toward the road. As he walked, a hand touched him from behind. Michael swung around to see Max standing there.

“Max? What the… Cripes! Where did you come from?”

“I was checking to see how my best friend is doing,” Max said. “That was pretty cool… what you did for that little boy… Do you think Hank will treat him better now?”

Michael shrugged. “For a while. I don’t expect him to keep being a ‘good guy’ forever, though. Realistically, maybe a few days… maybe a week… till he puts on another borrachera.”

“A what?”

“You know, get’s stinkin’ drunk.”

“You’ve been around Maria too much, Michael.”

“No way, Max. Not possible.” Michael shook his head and smiled. Max grinned understandingly and nodded his agreement.

“Did you do it for that little boy… or was it for you? He is you, you know.”

Michael stopped walking and thought for a moment. “I know he’s me… but I guess I wasn’t really thinking about that. All I could think of was Hank hurting him…” Michael stopped and thought again then added, “…the way he used to hurt me.”

Max nodded. “That’s what I thought. You always took Hank’s abuse… When you couldn’t take it anymore, you got emancipated. You didn’t follow Hank back here today to avenge yourself. You came here for that little boy.”

“Yeah. I guess I did,” Michael admitted. “So what does that mean? …I’m some kind of good guy or something?”

Max smiled. “You’re a guardian angel, Michael. And I didn’t even know you believed in God.”

“I never said that,” Michael replied, looking at Max. “Well, I never said I did or didn’t. Maria does… and I’ve always trusted Maria a lot… Liz does, too,” he added, glancing over at Max. “I just said I never celebrated Christmas or anything when I was growing up… with Hank. You’re the one who didn’t believe God was real, Max.”

“Did I say that?” Max shrugged. “I don’t remember. I could’ve said that, I guess.”

“Yep. You did.”

Max was silent for a few moments. “Well,” he said at end, “I’ve seen a lot of things that can be explained… and some that can’t. Let’s just say I’m not closing my mind to any possibilities anymore and leave it at that.”

“I know this, though,” Max continued, stopping again to look at Michael, “Somewhere out there, there’s something greater than me… and there’s a drunk and a wide-eyed little boy in that trailer back there who really believe in guardian angels now.”

Michael nodded and grinned. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

End of chapter 8
tbc…

Coming next: “Party Favors and Real Prizes”

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Sat May 03, 2003 5:00 pm

Thanks, Roswellkitkat and Vecastone! Yeah, we know that Michael will have trouble just "observing," and sooner or later, he's bound to have to get something fixed after changing something he shouldn't. (That answers Tracie's previous remark, too). So far he's been pretty good, interacting but without making any radical changes. Here are the next two chapters. <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Sat May 03, 2003 5:02 pm

The Four Faces of Rath

Party Favors and Real Prizes

Chapter 9

IX

Michael and Max walked back toward town together. It took forty-five minutes, but there was no hurry now.

“You came to make sure I wasn’t getting in trouble, didn’t you, Max?”

Max grinned. “You? Get in trouble? Whatever would make you think that, Michael?”

“I’ve been known to be a little impetuous I guess… when I was younger.”

“Aw, I wouldn’t say that, Michael. Bullheaded maybe… act first and think later maybe…”

Michael lunged suddenly and grabbed Max by the throat, shaking him playfully. “Like this? How long till I’m supposed to think about it and let you go?”

Max made choking sounds. “Yeah, that’s it! And now would be a pretty good time!”

“Yeah, well, I wanted to do that to Hank a little while ago.”

Max smiled. “But you didn’t. You’ve changed, Michael.”

“I just took the abuse when I was a child. I didn’t fight back at all.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Max said, shaking his head. “When we were in high school, if you had seen Hank about to smack a child in the head with a vodka bottle –not you, I mean, but another child- what would you have done?”

Michael thought about it. “I don’t know. My first thought probably would have been to vaporize him… then I would have thought about the options.”

“Exactly. I’m not saying that that would have been a bad option of course…”

Michael smiled.

“But you handled it so much differently today… better.”

Michael nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, but I still don’t know who ‘I’ am, Max. I guess I just know who I’m not.”

Max stopped and looked at his best friend… “That’s a start, Michael.”

“Do you want me to stay a while?”

Michael shook his head. “No. Go on home, Max. You came, you ‘rescued’ me, now in those immortal words, ‘Go home!’”

“Who said that?”

“The French, I think… or the Arabs.”

Max laughed. “Portal!”

“Bye, Michael. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Michael smiled and raised his hand slightly to say goodbye… then the portal closed.

Michael stood there alone for a moment thinking then turned and walked back towards the center of town. As he neared the place where he had first appeared earlier through the portal, he saw the sheriff’s car in front of the CrashDown. At first, he thought something might be wrong, but then a small boy ran out and jumped into the car with the sheriff.

“How was the party,” the sheriff asked, as the boy jumped in.

“Great, Dad. Look! I won a prize!”

“Well alright! Way to go, Kyle!”

The sheriff looked back towards the door. “Alex, you want me to drop you off at your house on the way?”

“No thanks, Mister Valenti. My Mom’s comin’ to get me.”

The sheriff waved at the other 6-year-old then drove off with his son. Michael looked down at his feet for a moment and swallowed a small lump in his throat.

“Get real, Michael,” he said to himself. “How would a kid living in the trailer park at the edge of town with a drunk like Hank ever have known someone like the Parkers? Max and Iz maybe… The Evanses were good, decent, social people… but, of course, Max and Iz would have just been found in the desert a week or so ago, like I was, so they wouldn’t know Liz or the Parkers yet either, I guess… We didn't even meet Liz and Maria until third grade.”

Michael sighed then smiled. “All those years, Maria and I were ships passing in the night… just like Max and Liz… never knowing what the future held for us.”

As Michael thought about it, he began to feel better. “Alex and Kyle knew Maria and Liz way back then… but I’ve got Maria now… Max has Liz. Alex and Kyle were at that party and won the party favors, but Max and I won the real prizes.”

Michael smiled widely for a moment then stopped suddenly.

“Wait. Alex wound up with Isabel in the end, so I guess he won, too… and I’ve never seen Kyle happier than he’s been with Jeliya, so I guess we all won.” Michael thought about it for a moment.

“Okay, so what’s wrong with everyone winning,” Michael asked himself. “I can live with that!”

Michael smiled again. For a while, he began to think that maybe he did know who he was. If it just weren’t for the dreams. He stopped and thought about the dreams. He knew that they would continue to dog him. Coming to terms with his early life in Roswell… and Hank… if indeed he had, would be nice. But Michael knew that the answer to the dreams would not be found here. Ultimately, it would only be found on Antar… in his previous life. But that’s the last place in time he wanted to go. Something about going back there terrified him like nothing else in his life ever had, and he didn’t know why.

End of chapter 9
tbc…

Coming next: “Not in a Million Years”

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat May 03, 2003 10:53 pm

Man, it better start raining soon in my neck of the woods...i've spent far too much time outside enjoying the weather. Look at all the great updates I've missed! This story is awesome!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sun May 04, 2003 10:52 am

<img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap">

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Mon May 05, 2003 1:02 pm

Somehow I keep missing these updates! That ws great. I think it was awesomeof Michael to help his younger self and give him something powerful to believe in. There is nothing wrong with a guardian angel or two! Nice of Max to hsow up and check on him too! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/Grin_anim.gif ALT=":grin"> <div style="text-align:center">Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.</div> <div style="text-align:center">Rudyard Kipling, English author</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Tue May 06, 2003 3:40 pm

Thanks for the feedback, Buffyrosfan, bookwork, and Roswellkitkat! Michael's finding out that he can be "Michael," but he doesn't know it yet. And Michael is a unique individual, not really any of his past selves on the whole, and yet all of them in a way. He's more willing to open himself up and less concerned about criticism... more confidant, but he's still the old Michael in some ways, too. Here's the next chapter. <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/ufo.gif ALT=":ufo"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub129.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsr ... dbreeze</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/aim116b.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 5/6/03 2:49:18 pm

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Tue May 06, 2003 3:42 pm

The Four Faces of Rath

Not in a Million Years

Chapter 10

X

Michael took one last look at the CrashDown. He didn’t see Maria or Liz, and he didn’t wait to find out who else might have come to the party. As soon as no one was looking, he moved into a side alley…

“Portal!”

“Ask.”

“Take me to the year, uh, 1999… in Roswell.”

The portal appeared, and Michael stepped quickly through it. He stepped out on the other side and walked back onto the main road. The UFO Museum didn’t look much different… and the CrashDown was the same as he had just left it except for a new coat of paint in a different color on the sign outside. Michael walked over to the door. The CrashDown was open… and fairly busy it would appear. He started to enter but then changed his mind. As he turned, he noticed a group of tourists leaving the UFO museum wearing various garish mementos of their visit. Michael walked quickly across the street then went into the museum. When he emerged, ten minutes later, he was wearing a UFO hat that tilted over his left ear like a crashed spaceship, alien-eyes sunglasses, and a T-shirt that said, “I was abducted in Roswell.”

“What’ll it be,” Liz asked, smiling at the sight of the new customer. Michael noticed Maria behind the counter giggling and shaking her head. He was sure that they couldn’t recognize him. “It must be this stupid UFO crap,” he thought to himself. But he wasn’t going to take it off; the whole purpose of wearing it was to make them think he was someone else.

“A cherry Coke… Monster Crashburger… Alien Fries, and…” he looked around, and not seeing any on the table “…a bottle of Tabasco sauce.”

Liz looked at him suspiciously then glanced back at the cook in the kitchen. Michael looked to see what Liz was looking at. It was him… well, his 1999 counterpart anyway. Liz looked at the new customer again and decided that any resemblance must be a coincidence. Clearly, this guy was older than Michael… and a lot less picky about what he wore. Liz grinned again and took the order to the kitchen.

“Order, Michael!”

“Yeah, yeah! Just give it to me.”

“Take a look out there, Michael. You see that guy at table three?”

Michael glanced through the door. “The one with the UFO crashed on his head?”

“Yeah. That could be you in… say fifteen years.”

Michael looked at the man with the alien-eyes sunglasses, the crashed UFO tilted over his left ear, and the “abducted” T-shirt.

“I never knew you had that cruel streak in you, Liz.”

Maria snickered.

“Well, he does look like you… maybe a few years from now…”

Michael glanced at the customer again. “Only if I lose my mind and my last shred of dignity between now and then… and if that happens, promise me you’ll shoot me before anyone else sees me and I totally ruin my image, okay?”

Maria lost the battle for self-control and had to leave the kitchen, laughing and waving her hand as she walked out the back door. Michael plopped a burger onto a plate with some fries and handed it to Liz.

“I don’t think it’s done, Michael.”

Michael waved his hand over the burger quickly, making it well done.

“Satisfied now?”

Liz carried the order to the stranger and placed it in front of him on the table. Michael tasted the fries approvingly then bit into the burger. He quickly spit it out.

“Is something wrong, sir,” Liz asked.

“Wrong? No… yes. This tastes terrible!”

“I’m sorry, sir. You want me to have the cook make you another one?”

Michael knew full well exactly what was wrong with the hamburger. He had long ago learned that “cooking” the burgers with energy from his hand imparted a strange taste to the meat… the same taste he was tasting now.

“No… let it go. Wait… On second thought, let me talk to the cook.”

Liz started to object, but Michael was already up and walking toward the kitchen. Half way there, he decided against it. He looked back at Liz and returned to his seat, put the burger back on the plate, and handed it to Liz. “Just tell him… uh… the meat will taste better if he cooks it slowly… Tell him it was cooked too fast… must have been a power surge or something.”

Liz nodded and took the burger back to Michael in the kitchen.

“Too fast?” he heard Michael exclaim in the kitchen. “I could set one outside in the sun for him! It’s probably hot enough out there! Maybe in a couple o’ hours, it’d be just right…” Michael plopped another patty on the grill. “I think that UFO damaged his brain when it crashed onto his head,” he muttered to himself more than to Liz.

A few minutes later, he finished cooking the new burger. Maria, who had just come back in, offered to take it to the customer.

“Here you are, sir. See if that’s okay for you.”

Michael tasted it and nodded. “Just right,” he said. “Thank the cook for me.”

Maria suddenly realized that she was staring at Michael. He seemed to notice it at the same time.

“Oh! …Oh! I’m sorry,” Maria said, “It’s just that you look so much like our cook! I can’t get over it.”

“I do?” Michael asked. “Wow! How can you tell with these sunglasses and this hat? Oh! I’ll bet your cook has some just like them!”

Maria’s lips broke into a slow smile then she began to laugh, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. No… I’m sure he doesn’t have any like those.”

“What a shame,” Michael said. “Well, I could give him mine. I could get some more!”

“Oh, no… no! Don’t bother,” Maria said. “I don’t think he… needs them.”

“Okay,” Michael said, finishing up his meal. “But if he wants some just let me know. I have a cousin who’s a wholesale distributor, and he can get them for me real cheap.”

“I’ll tell Michael you offered,” Maria said, nodding and trying hard not to giggle. Michael paid his bill, put a tip on the table, and walked out. Liz watched him walk down the street then she and Maria both broke into hysterical laughter.

Michael looked out of the kitchen. “What’s so funny? Geez! Don’t you two have anything to do?”

Maria made a little flipping sign with her hand, and the two of them started cleaning off the tables, which had mostly cleared out by now.

“He’s bringing you a hat and some specs like the ones he had on,” Maria yelled to Michael. “His cousin sells them.” She winked at Liz.

Michael came back to the door. “Don’t even imagine that you girls’ll ever see me in that get-up. Not gonna happen! You’d have to put that stuff on my dead body!” He started to go back to the grill then turned back around again and added “…and if you do that, I swear I’ll come back and haunt you for as long as you live.”

Maria and Liz both laughed.

Down the street, Michael ducked into a side alley and called for the portal.

“Take me back about six months… just to before I started working at the CrashDown… I want to speak with my past self… but a little further back in time. Not here.”

Michael thought he was being very specific in his instructions, but with the sphere, it is always a good idea to be clear as well. The portal opened, and Michael stepped through. As he stepped out on the other side, he fell into a sitting position… in the back seat of a car.

The passenger in the front seat was Maria, and she was yelling at the driver, who appeared to be his younger self…

“You’re telling me to get out of my own car? This is my car, Michael! Well, actually, it’s my mother’s car, and if anything happens to it, life as I know it will be over. So wherever this car goes I go!”

“Suit yourself. You had your chance,” the driver said.

“Oh my God! You’re kidnapping me! No… you’re abducting me!” Maria exclaimed in utter disbelief.

End of chapter 10
tbc…

Coming next: “285 South Plus One”

vecastone · Post by **vecastone** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:00 pm

Wow !! This trip to season 1 is awesome !! I am loving this !! keep going !! About Chapter 8 and 9 , love the way Max appeared to 'see' what Michael might have been doing <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"> Poor Michael living that hell with Hank. Great updates !! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap">

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:18 pm

Thanks, Vecastone! Well, I just finished chapter 11, so I think I'll go ahead and post it. Here's "285 South Plus One."<img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/ufo.gif ALT=":ufo"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:20 pm

The Four Faces of Rath

285 South Plus One

Chapter 11

XI

When Michael stepped through the portal, he asked it to take him to his younger self in a slightly earlier time. He did not specify under what conditions he wished to speak with or be seen by his alter ego… nor did he specify that his younger self needed to be alone when they met. That was his mistake. The sphere cannot be expected to know these things. Even so, Shaqor, the sphere’s original owner, had long suspected that the sphere of the portal had a certain “warped sense of humor.” Now Michael found himself in the back seat of Maria’s mother’s car headed south on highway 285 with his younger self driving –at 90 plus miles an hour- and Maria protesting vigorously that he was abducting her. It’s not exactly what Michael had had in mind.

Spotting her cell phone on the seat, Maria pressed Liz’s number secretly but continued to talk to Michael, trying to give Liz clues about which way they were headed and what was happening to her, but Michael noticed and threw the phone out the window. Maria turned to try to grab the phone as it sailed out the window, and, at that moment, she noticed the other Michael in the back seat… still wearing the alien-eyes sunglasses and UFO hat. The scream that followed was loud enough and long enough to leave both Michaels partially deaf for at least the next few minutes.

“Who the hell are you,” the younger Michael yelled as he brought the car to a screeching stop off the side of the highway. “Get out!”

Michael took off the UFO hat and the alien-eyes sunglasses. “About time that I dumped these… and good riddance! Sorry, guys, but the T-shirt’s stayin’,” he said. “I’m not doing a striptease here.”

Maria gasped, and the younger Michael stood with his mouth open for almost a minute.

“Who are you,” he asked again.

“And why do you look like Michael,” Maria added. “What’s going on here?”

“Long story,” Michael said from the back seat. “Let’s just say I’m from… well… the future sort of…”

“Sort of?” Maria said. “Sort of? What does that mean? You’re from the future? So… what you’re telling me is that you are Michael?” Maria had put the clues together quickly. She was fairly shouting now, and her tone had risen more than a few decibels in pitch as well. “Omigod! I’m being abducted by two of you? I knew I shouldn’t have got out of bed today. Mom’s going to kill me! Ohhhh… maybe she’ll never see me again.”

“Maria!” the younger Michael exclaimed.

“What?”

“Shut up!”

“I can’t help it. I talk a lot when I’m nervous.” Maria fumbled in her purse for her cedar oil.

Michael in the back seat was watching the scene in the front seat play out with a distressed look on his face. As the younger Michael pulled the car back onto the highway, a police car appeared, and the policeman stared at Michael and his companions as he drove by.

“Well, it’s a good thing for you, I guess, that you pulled off when you did,” Maria said. “You would have just got a ticket for speeding. Besides, I told you you can’t drive this car over 80… the engine won’t take it.”

“You had your chance to get out, Maria. You didn’t, so stow it.”

Michael in the back had heard enough. “You… in the driver’s seat…”

“It’s Michael,” the driver exclaimed, exasperated.

“Yeah, that’s what I said… You!”

The driver grimaced and glanced back at his future counterpart.

“What?”

“Why are you yelling at her? You’re the one who stole her car?”

“Borrowed it!” Michael exclaimed from the front. “You should know that! Didn’t you say you were me?”

Michael in the back seat started to speak but thought about his younger self’s words. He was right, after all. He knew it was himself speaking to Maria. But somehow he didn’t like it all the same.

“Treat her with a little respect,” Michael said from the back.

“Thank you,” Maria muttered, almost too shocked to believe she had heard it.

The younger Michael looked at his future self. “Man, what is it with you? Did I get brain damage or something in the future that I should know about?”

“Stop being a frikkin’ horse’s ass!” Michael said from the back.

“Alright, that’s it!” the younger Michael exclaimed, pulling off the road again and opening the doors,

“Get out!”

“Get me out!” Michael said from the back seat.

The younger Michael glared at his future self, unsure what he should do. Finally, he closed the door back, apparently realizing that in any fight with himself the loser had to be him… on one end or the other. He started the car up and drove back onto highway 285, quickly pushing the speed back to 92 miles per hour.

For a while, no one spoke. Then there was a “clunk,” and the engine began to smoke.

“Oh, great,” Maria said. “I told you you couldn’t drive over 80. Now you’ve blown the engine!”

“Maria!” the younger Michael started… then he glanced at his future self in the back seat.

“What?” Maria asked.

“Never mind… I’ll fix the stupid engine.” He got out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

“You may need my help,” Michael said from the back seat.

“I doubt it, Grandpa. I can handle it myself.”

“I seem to remember that you blew the engine up the last time you tried to fix it, junior.”

The younger Michael bit his lip and turned around. “Alright, so what would you do?”

Michael got out of the back seat and opened the hood. Both Michael’s bent over to take a look at the engine.

“Well, the last time, you touched this thing over here and fried it. What you should have done is this…” the future Michael reached into the engine and laid his hand on the carburetor. Instantly, the engine erupted in flames. The younger Michael grinned then started to laugh.

“Great, Grandpa! You fried it again! I’m impressed!”

“Shut up and help me put out the flames,” Michael said.

Together, the two managed to put out the fire before much damage was done.

“I can fix a space ship, and I still don’t understand a damned prehistoric internal combustion engine,” Michael grimaced.

The younger Michael was still grinning. “Well, don’t look at me. I’m more of an artist than a mechanic. You need Kyle or somebody to fix these things.”

“Doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere tonight,” future Michael said.

The younger Michael nodded. “Nope! I’d say not. I’ll take…”

He started to say, “the back seat,” but future Michael was sitting in it again… and Maria would need the front seat. He sighed and turned to walk toward a small motel across the road.

“Where are you going,” Maria yelled.

“I need some sleep,” Michael answered, “and I’m not going to get it out here.”

“Well, you’re not leaving me out here by myself,” Maria said. “I’m coming with you.

“You’re not by yourself,” the younger Michael yelled back. “Grandpa’s there.”

Michael got out of the car and opened the door for Maria. “Come on! We’ll go inside, too. It’ll be alright.”

Maria looked at Michael appreciatively. “Are you sure you’re really him? You’re so… different.”

“You mean old?”

“Nooo… of course not… Anyway, you’re only… what? …ten years older than Michael… our Michael… that Michael… you know what I mean. It’s not that. It’s just that you’re just more, I don’t know, gentle… kinder.”

Michael smiled. “Well, don’t let it get around. I’ve got my reputation you know.”

“Okay, you are him,” Maria laughed. “But you’re still nicer.”

Michael smiled. “The time I come from is actually eighteen years in your future, Maria.”

“Oh. Well, you look a lot younger… Oh God! I don’t mean that you’re like, you know, old or anything. That’s not what I meant. You’re still young. I’m talking too much again, aren’t I?”

Michael laughed. “No. I find it kind of endearing, actually.”

Maria smiled. “Do you think you could do, you know, like, some kind of alien mind-meld thing like Spock does and make my Michael more like you?”

Michael grinned. Maria had called the younger Michael “her” Michael. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip. They hadn’t known each other for very long yet. But something seemed to be there already.

“Are you married… you know, in the future,” Maria asked.

“Yeah,” Michael answered.

“Oh. Is she… nice?”

Michael smiled. “Very. And she’s beautiful, and she’s the most wonderful girl on all of Antar.”

“Oh,” Maria said softly, her smile fading without her realizing it. “You went back to your planet? Is that the planet you came from?” She swallowed hard but then managed a smile again. “That’s nice. I’m… happy for you. Any kids?”

“Three. Zorel… He’s nine. Kryys is seven, and Jayyd is six.

“Are they, like, aliens, too? Oh! Of course they are! I don’t know why I asked that. Never mind me. I babble when I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Michael said taking her hands in his. Maria felt a tingle go through her body, and her legs felt weak. She closed her eyes momentarily then opened them again.

The younger Michael, watching from the window of his motel room, frowned.

End of chapter 11
tbc…

Coming next: “Aladdin’s Palace”

Post by **roswellkitkat** » Wed May 07, 2003 10:58 am

These updates are so awesome! I am thoroughly enjoying Michael's trip tothe past! <div style="text-align:center">Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.</div> <div style="text-align:center">Rudyard Kipling, English author</div>

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Thu May 08, 2003 6:15 am

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Roswellkitkat! Thanks for the feedback. Here's the next chapter. I think everyone will like it. I hope! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/ufo.gif ALT=":ufo"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub129.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsr ... dbreeze</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/aim116b.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 5/8/03 5:16:11 am

isndbreeze · Post by **isndbreeze** » Thu May 08, 2003 6:17 am

The Four Faces of Rath

Aladdin’s Palace

Chapter 12

XII

As Maria took Michael’s hands, she suddenly felt weak in the legs. She turned loose of his hands, and Michael reached out to hold her so that she wouldn’t collapse.

“Are you all right, Maria?”

“Yeah… yeah, I think so,” Maria said.

“What happened?”

Maria shook her head, trying to regain her perspective.

“I saw something… in my head. It was like a flash of lights then planets or stars or something floating in space. It was beautiful. And something else…”

“Something else?”

“Yeah… only it wasn’t a thing… It was more of a feeling.”

“What kind of feeling?”

Maria looked straight into future Michael’s eyes. “Your feelings. I felt your feelings about your wife. You love her very much.”

Michael seemed surprised by Maria’s revelation, but he nodded. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

“She’s a very lucky woman,” Maria said. “…to have someone love her like that. If someone ever loved me like that, I’d…”

“You’d what?”

“I don’t know. I can’t even imagine it. Well, I can imagine, but…” She reached out and touched Michael’s face gently with her hand. “Nobody will ever love me like that.” She smiled and wiped her cheek.

“Come on,” Michael said. “Let’s go in. It’s chilly out here, and it looks like my junior half has us a room.”

Maria giggled. “Yeah. I saw him watching out the window.”

Michael and Maria walked over to the motel room, and future Michael opened the door for her.

“That was locked,” the younger Michael said.

“Would it have kept you out,” future Michael asked with a grin.

“No, of course not.”

“Well?”

The younger Michael didn’t answer.

Maria looked around the room with her mouth open.

“It’s like a porno version of Aladdin! It looks like Larry Flynt’s dream house!”

“It’s shelter,” the younger Michael said.

“I’m not touching the sheets on those beds,” Maria said, shaking her head. “You blew up my mom’s Jetta, and now you expect me to spend the night in… in… Aladdin’s Pleasure Palace with you?”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather be watching an opera on PBS myself,” Michael said.

“You would?”

“Sure. That way at least I’d know that a whole lot of other people were suffering with me.”

Maria ignored the comment. “What’s so important about Marathon, Texas? They’ll put you away, you know, when they catch you! There are laws…”

“You wouldn’t understand, Maria. You don’t understand anything about us,” Michael said, turning away. “This could be the most important day of my life, and all you care…”

What do you mean, the most important day…?”

“Forget it.”

“No. You said it. I want to know why it’s so important. Convince me.”

“See this place?” Michael showed Maria the picture in the flap of the book he was carrying. “It’s the first real connection we’ve ever had to finding out where we came from, and it’s in Marathon, Texas.”

Maria looked at the picture in the book then at Michael. Something inside her understood. She wasn’t about to say it… exactly… but she did have a strong feeling that she understood his motivation better than before. Michael, after all, did not know where his roots were or anything about his real people. Maria imagined that that must be painful for him. She nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

So okay… we go to Marathon in the morning. Mom can only kill me once, right? She’s gonna kill me already anyway.”

“Logical,” Michael said.

“Thank you, Mister Spock! You could show a little more concern, Michael! I’m going to be grounded till I’m too old to find real love, and you don’t even care.”

“I don’t suppose we could share the bed…” Michael said.

“Not if you were the last alien on Earth.”

Michael sighed and tossed a pillow onto the floor beside the bed. Then he looked at future Michael.

“So where are you sleeping, Grandpa?”

Future Michael took a pillow and put it on the armchair beside his younger counterpart.

“I’ll sleep on the chair.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Isabel, traveling with Liz, had been following Michael and Maria since the earlier phone call Maria had made to Liz. For the last hour or more, they had been blocked by a tractor trailer rig that had jack-knifed in the highway. But as the night gave way to daybreak, Isabel noticed Maria’s mom’s Jetta just down the highway in front of the motel. The three drove around the crashed rig on the swale and pulled in at the motel. Max checked the office to see what room they were in. Liz quickly found the room and started to knock.

“Don’t bother,” Isabel said. She reached out and unlocked the door with her hand. Hearing the door opening, Maria leapt up from the bed and fell on top of the younger Michael on the floor, knocking future Michael’s chair over at the same time. Future Michael, dumped out of his chair, landed on top of Maria and his younger self.

Liz stood in the door, her mouth open about as far as it would go.

“MARIA!”

Maria quickly extricated herself from the pile of bodies.

“No! No, Liz! Don’t even think… I mean, that is so unreal! Omigod! Tell her, Michael!”

Michael smiled.

Maria gasped. “No, Liz! Don’t even think it!”

“It’s okay,” Liz said. “I believe you, Maria. Now what in the world ARE you doing in this place with Michael?”

“What I want to know,” Isabel said, stepping over to face the future Michael, “is… Who is this?”

“Hi,” future Michael said, smiling sheepishly.

“Who are you,” Max asked pointedly.

“He’s Michael,” Maria offered for him “…only from the future.”

“The future?” Isabel echoed unbelievingly. “What future? How… where…”

“I’ll tell you,” future Michael said. “I’m from eighteen years in your future.”

“Why are you here then,” Max asked him.

“I… needed to find out some things… It’s personal.”

“We’re taking it personal,” Max said. “So tell us.”

Michael winced slightly. “I’ve been going back in time to learn who I am.”

“I thought you said you were Michael,” Max said unamused.

“I am Michael. I’m just from your future.”

“So tell me,” the younger Michael said. “What are the lottery numbers going to be tomorrow?”

“Michael!” Isabel exclaimed. “We’re being serious!”

“So am I,” Michael said.

“I couldn’t tell you if I knew,” future Michael said. “And I don’t.”

“There you have it,” the younger Michael said. “The man comes from the future and he won’t even help me make us rich. I don’t know why he bothered to come back. That’s all the use he’s been… a big, blank zero!”

“I told you. I came here to find myself.”

“Yeah, sure…” the younger Michael said, shaking his head.

“No… No, Michael, I understand,” Maria said. “He’s you, right? You’re looking for who you are. That’s why you want to go to Marathon. And this Michael, in his future, is looking to find out the same thing, only on a more… I don’t know… personal level, maybe. That’s all. You want to know where you came from and who your people were… or are… Well, he wants to find out who he is inside, who the real Michael is, now that he knows where he came from and all.”

Max, Liz, and Isabel all stood looking at Maria with their mouths open.

“What?”

“That was amazing,” Liz said. “…what you just said.”

“What,” Maria asked, looking from person to person.

“You really do understand us, don’t you,” Isabel said.

The younger Michael nodded, with a shocked look on his face. “I guess you understand more than I gave you credit for, DeLuca.”

“Michael! Was what I just heard an apology,” Isabel asked. “Because if it was, I’m not sure I can take all this shock in one day.”

Michael didn’t answer.

Max walked over and faced future Michael. “If you are from the future, you can tell us what we’re going to Marathon to find out. You must already know the answers.”

The younger Michael looked up suddenly at Max. Hearing Max admit that he, too, wanted to find out the secrets that Marathon might hold somehow gave him a good feeling inside. Then he looked at his future self to see what he would say.

“I’m not sure how much I should tell you,” future Michael said at end. “It’s probably important that you go to Marathon. I mean, it happened that way before, and if I change too many things like that…”

Max nodded and held his hand up. “I understand. You could change the future as you know it. Is there anything you can tell us… about ourselves… about our people?”

Michael thought about it. “Well, just that everything will work out in the end. Don’t ever give up, Max… you either, Michael… Isabel. Sometimes it will seem like giving up is all that’s left to do, but never quit. Never give up hope. From where I stand, everything will work out just fine.”

“That’s good to know,” Isabel said. “We’re not quitters.”

“I know,” future Michael said with a smile. “You never gave up on me.”

Max and Isabel both smiled.

“Our people are a very fine people,” future Michael said. “They’re not so very different than the people here on Earth. We all share the same goals, the same feelings, loves, desires, pains… You will find them one day. That’s all I can tell you.”

“That’s enough,” the younger Michael said. “I take back what I said about you being useless, man. You’ve been a big help.”

“Oh, be still my heart,” Isabel said dramatically. “I don’t think I can take any more.”

“I may keep it up just to see you fall over,” the younger Michael said to Isabel with a coy grin.

Liz looked at Maria and noticed that she was crying silently, tears streaming down her face. She touched Maria’s face gently with her hand and carefully wiped off the tears. “What’s the matter, chica? Huh? Why are you so sad?”

Maria smiled. “It’s nothing, Liz.”

“I know nothing when I see it, Maria, and this isn’t nothing. Now come on. Tell me.”

“I just know something I wish I didn’t know.”

Future Michael suddenly realized that Maria’s knowing he was married but not knowing it was to her was upsetting to her. She actually cared for him. He had never realized that she actually cared this early on in their relationship. It was probable that she hadn’t even realized it herself. This put a new light on everything. He started to tell her but thought about it and decided to consider all the ramifications and consequences first.

Maria solved the problem for him…

“I know how it turns out for you, Michael,” Maria said to future Michael. “I just wish…” she choked up then reached up and kissed him quickly on the lips before he realized what was happening.

Flash!

Michael pulled Maria tightly against his body and felt her soft hair against his face, smelled her perfume, felt her lips pressed to his…

“Maria, hold out your hand,” he said. Then he got down on his knee in front of her, held her hand in his, and asked,

“Maria, will you marry me? Will you be my wife when we get to Antar?”

“Yes! …Yes, Michael! You're the only one I ever wanted or ever will want to marry,” she heard herself reply happily.

Michael turned Maria’s hand over and placed something in it. She opened her hand to look. It was a rock… No, it was a large uncut diamond.

“Michael!” Maria gasped, “Where did you get this?”

“I spotted it among those outcrops back there and picked it up as we were walking here. I’ll always remember this little moon, Maria! It will always be where I found two of my greatest treasures... where you said that you would marry me and where I found this diamond that I give to you for your ring.

Flash!

Michael had just returned from the jeweler with Maria’s diamond… beautifully faceted and mounted in a ring that was absolutely and utterly breathtaking. Maria had no idea how many carats it was; she only knew that it was beautiful… and big! Michael placed it on her finger… it fit perfectly. As he did, he again asked, “Maria, will you be my wife?”

Maria didn’t answer… she just threw her arms around Michael’s neck and kissed him as though she would never let him go.

“I take it, the answer is still yes, then,” Michael managed somehow to say after a couple of minutes.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! A million times, yes!” said Maria. She beamed, and again she kissed Michael passionately. He reciprocated happily.

“We’ll have to set a date,” said Michael at end. I was thinking maybe next month… it’s the beginning of the summer in Antar, and well… because you warm my heart…”

“Aw… Michael, sometimes you can be such a sweet puppy dog… so cute and lovable,” said Maria.

“Well, just do me a favor and let’s keep that to ourselves, okay, Maria? I wouldn’t want it getting out that I’m a cute little puppy or something! Reputations, you know!”

Maria giggled, “Sure, Michael, just between me and my cute little puppy!”

Flash!

Maria found Liz in the palace living room… on Antar. She walked by her several times, holding her hand slightly out away from her body. Liz saw the ring, but at first pretended not to.

“Maria, you seem awfully wound up! Why don’t you sit down and stop pacing! Is something wrong with your hand?”

“Hmm! Hmm!” Said Maria, holding her finger and the amazing ring out where it could be appreciated.

“Mariiiiaaa…” said Liz, “That’s beautiful… it’s gorgeous! So Michael got it mounted… that’s the ring from the moon?”

“Yep.”

“You must be absolutely thrilled!”

“Well… maybe a little happy… Oh, of course I’m thrilled! What do you think! Liz, I can’t wait to show it to everybody! They’re gonna freak! Have you ever seen anything like it?”

Flash

Maria’s hand was on Jim Valenti’s arm. She was dressed in a long white and light blue gown that just reached the floor. She was too beautiful for words. Slowly, Jim led her down the aisle to the front. Maria’s face seemed to glow. Her Mom, Amy, was wiping tears from her own eyes with a handkerchief and trying bravely but unsuccessfully not to cry… it was all so beautiful! This was far and away beyond anything she had ever imagined for her daughter even in her grandest dreams.

Behind Maria and Jim Valenti came the bridesmaids… then, from the back of the SyyKolyva, a man entered wearing a long dark blue robe over a red vest. The robe had gold trim around the collar and around the wrists. The man had a gold sash trimmed in red hung loosely over his left shoulder. This was the Jalesek, who would be performing the ceremony.

The music stopped, and all eyes were on Maria and Michael. The Jalesek took a small book from his vest pocket and looked at it quietly for a moment.

“Michael Guerin (He spoke in Antarian), of the line of Varkor Sarvael, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish this girl, Maria DeLuca, and that it is your wish and desire that she be your wife now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you profess to Maria your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Michael?”

“It is!”

“Maria DeLuca, of the planet Eluymer, you have come here today to tell all those present and the world that you love and cherish Michael Guerin and that it is your wish and desire to take him as your husband now and for as long as you both shall live. Do you, Maria, profess to Michael your eternal undying love; and is this your wish, Maria?”

“It is!”

“And who gives this girl away?”

“I do,” said Jim Valenti. He took Maria’s hand from his arm and placed it on Michael’s arm and took Maria’s other hand and placed it in front of her with the palm up. Then he took Michael’s other hand and placed it on top of Maria’s.

“Then,” continued the Jalesek, “How shall you show this love that the two of you share?”

Michael and Maria closed their hands, intertwining their fingers together.

“Then I say for all to know that Michael and Maria are joined together as mates of the soul and of the body for the rest of their lives… May they know only happiness and joy forever!”

The entire SyyKolyva stood and applauded briefly but enthusiastically, in the Antarian tradition. Then they took their seats again.

The music resumed, and Michael and Maria walked arm in arm back down the aisle to the foyer as Michael and Maria Guerin.

Flash!

Some lady was holding up a blouse for Maria’s approval.

“Is this darling or what?”

“I approve,” said Maria. “Very chic!”

“I just wish I could find one in a pastel green instead of this bright green, but it’s still too darling to pass up.”

Maria grinned, “Jayyd, honey? Would you mind?”

Jayyd grinned from ear to ear and waved her hand. The blouse changed color.

“Better!” said the lady, “Much better!” Can you make it just a little lighter, Dear?”

Jayyd waved her hand again, and the color changed slightly.

“Oh! That’s perfect!” said the lady. “That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!”

Jayyd was grinning. She loved nothing better than using her power and getting praised for it!

Zorel rubbed Jayyd lightly on top of the head and smiled,

“If you can use my services, Mom…”

Maria and the other lady both laughed, “Thanks, Zorel! We’ll keep that in mind, Honey… but right now, I don’t think that any of the clothes would be helped by power blasting!”

“Except maybe that one,” snickered the other lady, pointing to a ridiculous fluffy tutu-like culotte that no Antarian or Earthling -well, maybe except Howard Stern posing for a Hooters billboard- would be caught dead or alive in.

Zorel started to lift his hand, but Maria was too quick, after eight years of experience, and stopped his hand before he got it up.

“She was kidding, Zorel!”

“Oh.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria pulled away from Michael the moment she kissed him. Everything that she had just seen was transferred to her brain in less than a second. And yet she remembered… everything! She stood there at first, shaking, her mouth open in utter amazement and awe. Then, slowly, she began to smile.

Future Michael looked at Maria. “That wasn’t supposed to happen, Maria. I don’t know what consequences this could have for the future.”

“How could it be bad to know,” Maria asked, smiling. “I’ll get over the shock.”

“What did you see, Maria,” Isabel asked.

Future Michael shook his head, and Max cautioned her, “It might be better if we don’t know, Iz… If Michael from the future thinks it’s better not to tell us, we should listen to him.”

Isabel frowned. “You’re no fun, Max. I can’t stand secrets… when someone else is keeping them.”

“Yeah, that’s what I know,” Max said.

Max looked out the window. Kyle was driving up to the motel. He had probably seen the jeep and Maria’s mom’s Jetta. It would be a while before he found out what room they were in, but not long enough.

“Kyle’s coming,” he said to the others.

Future Michael looked out the window. “I really have to be going.” He looked at Maria. Maria smiled. Michael took her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. As he did, he quietly placed a block on the memories of the flashes she had just seen… and the fact that he had said he was married.

“Good bye,” he said, and he called for the portal. A light appeared, and Michael stepped into it, as Max, Liz, Isabel, and his younger self watched in awe. Then he was gone.

Kyle burst in just as Michael had left, wanting to know what was going on. When he became insistent on dragging Liz away, the younger Michael threw him across the room and shoved him out the door.

“I don’t know you,” Kyle said to Liz. “Whatever you’re mixed up in with these people… I don’t know you anymore, Liz Parker.”

Michael shut the door behind him.

“So, Maria…” Isabel started, “What was all that about?”

“What was all what about?”

“You know… the secret you and future Michael know.”

Maria looked perplexed. “Secret? What secret?”

Max smiled. “Too bad, Iz! It looks like Michael took his secrets with him.”

Isabel frowned. “Damn! How’s a girl to ever find things out? Just my bad luck!”

The younger Michael smiled at Maria, and Maria smiled back. Isabel noticed.

“Who knows, Michael… You and Maria may wind up together some day… married.”

“Not if she were the last girl on Earth!” Michael said.

“I have to agree with Michael on that one,” Maria said. “For once, he’s a hundred percent right.” She held out her hand, and Michael slapped it as a gesture of his agreement. As his hand touched Maria’s, Maria collapsed. Michael caught her.

“What happened? Sheez! I didn’t hit your hand that hard?”

Maria looked at Michael, and a smile slowly crept from ear to ear. Then she kissed him on the lips, passionately, leaving Michael, Isabel, Max, and Liz all with their eyes wide and mouths open.

“What was that for,” Michael asked, smiling in spite of himself.

“Nothing,” Maria said. “Let’s just say it’s for the memories.”

End of chapter 12
tbc…

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