The Enemy Unknown...(TEEN/MATURE) ~Pt 60 ~ 3/24/06 COMPLETE

[majiklmoon]

Chapter Thirty-Nine – Reunion

Michael glared at Kyle. “How the hell do you do that?” he groused.

“What?” laughed Kyle. “Know that Cal was nearby, or the serious kicking I gave your ass?”

“You did not kick my ass,” said Michael, shooting Kyle with a glare that would have felled a lesser man.

“Yeah, I did,” Kyle said, smugly.

“He did,” said Cal, joining the conversation. “Now can the two of you stop arguing like a bunch of old ladies? That explosion was not a part of the fourth of July fireworks you know.”

“What was it?” asked Michael.

“I blew up a weapons storehouse,” said Cal. “And conveniently enough, it was located right next to a facility that housed a lot of the Gadori ships. Unfortunately for them, the explosion probably wiped it out, as well.”

“Well great. Zan can give you a medal or something after we get you back to Sanctuary,” said Michael. “Come on, let’s get out of her.”

“I’m not going back with you,” said Cal.

“It’s not open for discussion,” said Michael. “So just shut up and let’s get going.”

As Michael argued with Cal, Kyle stepped up behind and surreptitiously pressed his hand on Cal’s back. He gave a small nudge with his mind, and Cal fell unceremoniously to the ground, unconscious.

“Nice work,” said Michael.

“Thanks, I am to please, “ was Kyle’s response. “Now, how do we get him back?

“Um, we could drag him through the streets by his feet,” Michael offered hopefully. “But then, Max or Zan would probably want to heal him or something, and I don’t want them wasting their power on him.”

“I’ve got an idea,” said Kyle. “Help me lift him up.”

He reached down and pulled on of Cal’s arms around his neck, while Michael did the same on the other side. Kyle placed his hand on the small of Cal’s back and focused intently. He focused a minute burst of energy towards Cal’s spine, and to his satisfaction, and Michael’s amazement, Cal’s legs began to move of their own accord.

“How the hell did you do that?” asked Michael in amazement.

“Well, body movement occurs when the brain sends out an electrical impulse through the nervous system to the part of the body that it wants moved. I figured we could bypass the brain part and use our won electrical impulses to move him.”

“Who the hell are you, and what happened to Kyle?” demanded Michael. “What, are you channeling Alex or Liz, or something?”

“I, uh, I read a book this past summer about spinal injuries, and it sort of stuck with me. Kind of sucks that that particular alien power didn’t manifest itself in high school or something.”

“Buddha would have frowned up on you using your powers for evil, Kyle,” Michael teased.

“Shut up,” Kyle said amicably. “Or you can carry your father all by yourself.”

“How hard can it be?” asked Michael. “All I need to do is give him a jolt of energy right about here, right?”

“No! Michael, don’t do it!” Kyle shouted, but it was too late.

He put his hand on Cal’s back and shot a burst of energy into his back. Cal’s body stiffened momentarily, and his legs began to move as if he was running a race. Both Kyle and Michael lost their grip on the older man, and he moved forward several feet, but without their support, his unconscious fell in a heap on the ground. Michael and Kyle looked down at the crumpled body, legs jerking spasmodically and struggled not to laugh.

“Guess I should have read the book,” said Michael.

“Gee, ya think?” asked Kyle.

“What I wouldn’t give for a camera right now,” said Michael, still fighting the urge to explode into full-fledged laughter. “Come on, let’s get him back to the others. Much as I hate the guy, this is one reunion that needs to happen sooner, rather than later.”

They hefted Cal’s body, and led him down the steep incline into the ravine that hid the entrance to their underground hiding place. Once inside, Michael sent a soldier to locate Drinian, Kitana and Dijanya, while he and Kyle dragged Cal’s body to a secluded section of the cavern set aside for the royal family’s use.

“Kyle, can you go find Max and the others and have them come here?” he asked. “But maybe you’d better keep Maria and Ava away until I have a chance to talk to them.”

“Are you nuts?” Kyle asked. “Why don’t you want them here?”

“Mostly because I haven’t told either one of them about Cal,” said Michael.

“Well, I told Ava,” said Kyle. “I don’t keep secrets from my wife. She deserved to know.”

“How’d she take it?” asked Michael, his face a mask of worry. The last thing he wanted was for anybody to cause his sister any pain.

“She took it better than you,” said Kyle. “At least she didn’t try to track him down and kill him, but I don’t think she’s going to be asking him to Sunday dinner any time soon. Why didn’t you tell Maria?”

Michael shot Kyle a knowing look, and Kyle laughed. “I know, because General DeLuca would have marshaled her troops to find him and kill him, right?”

“Exactly,” said Michael. “She would have torn the planet apart looking for him, and we didn’t need that. Well, can you go get the others. All the others,” he added pointedly. “And bring them here, while I wake sleeping ugly over her back up, and it won’t be with a kiss, I can promise you that.”

Kyle jogged off into the recesses of the cavern and quickly found Max, Isabel, Alex, Ava and Liz. He whispered his news to them and told them where Michael was waiting. Max promised to get Zan and Shandar who were sequestered away somewhere trying to come to terms with the fact that they were parents.

He tracked Maria down and pulled her away from her strategy meeting and asked her to meet the others in the royal quarters. She grumbled a bit, but when Kyle told her Michael needed her, she dropped everything without another word and made her way across the cavern, Kyle trailing worriedly along behind her. He didn’t have a good feeling about what was going to happen, and he wasn’t sure that Maria was going to react well to the news.

“Maria, wait!” Kyle called. “Maybe I’d better tell you something before you go in there.”

“Tell me what, Kyle?” Maria said. “Is it important. I mean, can it wait, because if Michael needs me, I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Well, it’s kind of about Michael,” said Kyle.

“He’s all right, isn’t he?” Maria demanded, her face going white. “You’d tell me if he was hurt or anything, right? Kyle, tell me he’s all right!”

“Maria, relax, look, I said that all wrong,” said Kyle. “Physically, Michael is fine, but something happened back home. Something he didn’t tell you about. He was going to, but then something else happened, and he decided he wasn’t the right time.”

“Kyle, you’re starting to totally freak me out,” said Maria. “Plus, you’re rambling, and that’s like my job, remember?”

“Yeah, well you’ve kind of been busy being a General lately, and maybe I decided we needed a little rambling,” said Kyle in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

“Now you’re stalling. Just tell me,” said Maria.

“We met someone back home, and well, this someone, Jesus, Maria, this is hard, well, this someone is Michael and Ava’s father. We brought him back with us, but he escaped, and Michael just tracked him down and we brought him back here,” Kyle said in a rush.

Kyle quickly explained Cal’s role as member of the Gadori ship that brought the pod squad to Earth, and his subsequent attempts to contact them, and how after he couldn’t make contact with them after various attempts, he wrote them off as not wanting any part of their Antarian heritage.

“Oh, I see,” said Maria, her face devoid of all expression, and her voice flat. “And Michael didn’t see fit to tell me this because?”

“Because he knew you loved him enough to want to tear apart the planet until you found Cal and that you’d forcibly drag him back here if you had to.”

“And what about you, or Liz, Max, or even Isabel?” Maria said in a voice laced with venom. “Why didn’t any of THEM tell me?”

“Uh, Maria, this might not be the time to point it out to you, but we are in the middle of a war, things have been a little crazy around here. Factor in a missing sister of Kivar’s, and Zan finding out that he’s a father without any of the usual pleasantries that go with making a baby, and you wonder why none of us thought to tell you? Damn it, Maria, get over yourself, will you. Now your husband needs you, and I suggest you get your ass into the family quarters and be there for him!”

“I’m not finished with you, Valenti,” Maria said. “We’ll finish this later.”

She turned abruptly and stalked across the cavern fuming at Kyle and Michael and the world in general as she walked. By the time she reached the area set aside for the royal family, her temper had cooled enough to allow her to stand beside Michael without blowing him up.

“Is that him?” she asked her husband who stood near Cal’s still unconscious body with a guilty look on his face.

“Uh, it depends on who him is?” asked Michael, stalling for time.

“Give it up, Space Boy. Kyle caved and told all, or at least the short version. So, is this him, or isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s him,” said Michael. “Look, Maria, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, really I am.”

“Later, Michael. We don’t have time for this right now.” She leaned over and slapped Cal across the face. “Hey, you! Daddy-in-law! Wake up!”

Cal groaned and instinctively covered his face with his hands to ward off any more of Maria’s slaps.

“Daddy, I’d like you to meet your daughter-in-law, Maria,” said Michael with a smile. Maria, meet my father.”

“I’d say it’s a pleasure,” said Maria. “But it’s not. You filthy son of a bitch, get up so I can kill you.”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that Maria is one of Zan’s top Generals?” Michael added with a smirk.

“This day is not going anything like I planned,” said Cal.

“Rough day, Cal?” said Max, entering the room with Liz. “Pity.”

“This him?” asked another voice as Zan walked in, holding his son in his arms, Shandar at his side. Alex, Isabel, Ava and Kyle filed in behind them and joined the others, but Cal virtually ignored them when he saw his oldest and dearest friends walk into the room, flanking his beloved wife.

“Cladar,” Dijanya whispered before falling to the ground.

[AJK001]

Thanks for a great new part.

[Angelzbabe]

Ok Tracie, much as I love both this story and you, you really can't just leave it like that!!! I know you are the Queen of Cliffies, but this just evil!!



Love the story Tracie, keep up the amazing work as always!

[Ti88]

I hope I left you feedback for all the parts up to 29. I know I read all of them, but with the haking and the coughing and all I'm not sure if you got to see it all. so here's a rough sum up and then I will leave you indiviual feedback parts after this.

Yes!!!! A sequel. Very fitting. I love your stories girl, but I think you already know that. So this is a where it all began. Nice of you to come full circle. Ties up everything real nice and neat as a proper sequel should. You know have you ever thought of giving up little epys with some of these characters after this is all over. I mean I would love to see more little hidden and lost seens. Yeah yeah it coul dne like lost episodes. Ok I've gone way off track.

Great job, I'm loving each and every part so far and its cracking me up. Back to Antar for the final again. Well now we know who these people are. And they now have some of the same abilites. Very very cool. Must come in handy. The interaction between each other to how did they put it 'oh to relieve tension' and 'cope' love your one liners. Kyle's. Michael's. Hysterical.

Can these guys ever catch a break. If it isn't one thing, its another. I love how with all the agnst going on you manage to keep fun, hope, love, laughter, and a sense of clamness throughout. *comes from all that time you spend with kyle right?* I have actually caught all the way at work, so I am feedbacking to you little by little. I think this takes care of the 1st 39 parts.

[Aligewe]

Hi!!!
I finally found this fic!! (on this site) lol
I really liked the idea of Zan having a baby!!!! But how on earth did you come up with the idea of Shandar??? her being Kivar's sister... well it makes sense that he would use her but you still havn't explained why she went to the Royals...
I really hope that will be in the next chapter after Cal is reunited with his wife!!!!

(At the end of this fic, are they all going to have children??? or is that going to be in a sequal??????) (The kids grow up on earth and the Royals have to hide the powers of the kids... that could be very funny!!!)

Hope you update soon!!!!

Aligewe

[Island Breeze]

Okay, I'm a little late getting here! I didn't realize this was a new chapter. D'oh! And a great chapter it is, too! Kyle and Michael can really ham it up when they ger together! I loved this whole little scene with them and Cal:

“Well, body movement occurs when the brain sends out an electrical impulse through the nervous system to the part of the body that it wants moved. I figured we could bypass the brain part and use our won electrical impulses to move him.”

“Who the hell are you, and what happened to Kyle?” demanded Michael. “What, are you channeling Alex or Liz, or something?”

“I, uh, I read a book this past summer about spinal injuries, and it sort of stuck with me. Kind of sucks that that particular alien power didn’t manifest itself in high school or something.”

“Buddha would have frowned up on you using your powers for evil, Kyle,” Michael teased.

“Shut up,” Kyle said amicably. “Or you can carry your father all by yourself.”

“How hard can it be?” asked Michael. “All I need to do is give him a jolt of energy right about here, right?”

“No! Michael, don’t do it!” Kyle shouted, but it was too late.

He put his hand on Cal’s back and shot a burst of energy into his back. Cal’s body stiffened momentarily, and his legs began to move as if he was running a race. Both Kyle and Michael lost their grip on the older man, and he moved forward several feet, but without their support, his unconscious fell in a heap on the ground. Michael and Kyle looked down at the crumpled body, legs jerking spasmodically and struggled not to laugh.

“Guess I should have read the book,” said Michael.

“Gee, ya think?” asked Kyle.

LOL LOL

Well, you haven't lost any of the majik! 8)



Gerry

[majiklmoon]

Chapter Forty – Altercations

Michael shoved Cal out of the way and rushed to his mother’s side and shook her gently.

Cal shot Michael a withering glare before he stepped forward and knelt before Drinian.

“My Lord, I have failed you,” he said, his head bowed.

“Stand up my friend,” said Drinian. “How could you have failed? We thought that you had died. I myself saw your body. But we can get to that later. See to your wife.”

Drinian stepped aside and motioned to Cal to step forward to Dijanya’s prone form.

“Cladar?” Dijanya whispered, opening her eyes. “Can it really be you?”

“Dijanya,” Cal replied, his voice brusque.

Dijanya struggled to rise, her eyes reflecting the hurt she felt at Cal’s abrupt answer. “Cladar, what is wrong?”

“Don’t mind Cal, Dijanya,” Kyle said, moving next to his mother-in-law, his soft tone doing much to ease the wounds left by Cal’s treatment. “He’s having a difficult time adjusting to life back on Antar. In fact, he got separated from us when we first arrived. Michael and I have been searching for him since then.”

Kyle’s look dared Cal to say anything different, and Cal, if possible seemed to shrink slightly before Kyle’s withering glare.

“Thank you, my sons, for this precious gift you have brought me,” said Dijanya. She reached out and took Kyle and Michael’s hands in hers. “You have made my family whole again. There is no greater gift.”

She released their hands and turned toward Ava and Maria.

“My daughters,” she said, softly. “Don’t stand back, come join us. Make our family circle complete.”

Maria took a hesitant step toward the small group. In one swift glance, she saw pain and suffering that was masked behind the stone face of Michael Guerin; a face she had not seen in quite a long time. She looked from Michael to Cal. She moved a bit closer and looked closely at Cal. Something about him seemed familiar, and she searched her mind, trying to recall where she had seen that face. With amazing clarity the memory rushed back, and for a moment, she was transported back to the CrashDown restaurant.

That’s it, she thought to herself. I saw him there, at the CrashDown. He’d come in, stare at Michael for a while and leave.

Without further warning, Maria balled her small hand into a fist and drove it into Cal’s stomach with her not inconsiderable strength. Cal doubled over, his breath leaving his body with a gusty whoosh, and Maria fled the small room where the reunion took place.

“Well, that went as well as could be expected,” said Kyle, to nobody in particular while Liz rushed after her friend. “Though I really wasn’t expecting Maria to be the one to take Cal down.”

** * ** *

“Maria, Maria wait!” Liz shouted, chasing after her friend. “Maria, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. That bastard, that insufferable, selfish bastard, that’s what’s wrong. I’ve seen him before. He’s been at the CrashDown. I’ve seen him there, staring at Michael. Jesus, Liz, that’s his father. His whole life, the one thing Michael has wanted was a family and there was his own father coming in to gawk at him. And don’t tell me that bastard didn’t recognize him. I’ve seen pictures of him when he was younger. Michael looks just like him, but with better hair.”

“Maria, I,” began Liz.

“And another thing, why the hell didn’t you tell me any of this before. I’m your best friend, Liz. We’re not supposed to have any secrets from each other. You knew. You helped to bring him back here, but you didn’t bother to tell me!”

“Maria, I,” Liz tried again.

“Don’t bother, I don’t want to hear any more excuses,” said Maria. She turned as if to walk away. Liz reached out and grabbed her arm and spun her back around with considerable strength.

“Maria, will you shut up and listen!” Liz shouted. “You’re absolutely right, Cal did come to the CrashDown, probably on a number of occasions. He also left messages in Antarian around town many different times for Max, Michael and Isabel. When none of them responded, he assumed that they didn’t want anything to do with him, or their lives on Antar, so he didn’t try to contact them.”

“Well, how could they respond?” asked Maria. “None of them could read or write Antarian back then.”

“Right,” said Liz. “But Cal didn’t know that. Remember how surprised Drinian was when he found out none of them knew anything about their previous lives?”

“Oh shit,” said Maria. “I just sucker punched my father-in-law right in the stomach. This is not going to buy me any bonus points at Christmas time.”

“Relax, Maria. Cal probably appreciates it more than you know. Besides, Michael’s taken more than a few swings at him as well. To say they haven’t bonded would be the understatement of the century.”

“Liz, why didn’t you tell me?” Maria asked in unaccustomed seriousness. “I deserved to know.”

“It wasn’t my secret to tell, Maria. It was Michael’s. But in his defense, he wasn’t dealing too well with it himself. Plus, he was afraid you’d tear apart the planet looking for Cal yourself.”

“I probably would have,” Maria admitted.

Liz motioned to a pair of unoccupied chairs, and the two girls went and sat down. Liz filled Maria in on everything that had happened on Earth prior to their arrival, this time omitting no details. Thanks to the developing empathic powers of Kyle, Liz could feel Maria’s rage as she told her of Cal’s terrible attitude toward them. But thanks to the same power, she was able to understand the pain that Cal had been dealing with and share some of it with Maria. When her story ended, Maria looked at Liz with a new sense of understanding in her eyes.

“I guess you were having just as much fun down there, as we were up here,” she said.

“I don’t know General, I think you’ve been having a little bit of fun being in charge.”

“Okay, well that part’s pretty cool, but Liz, I don’t know how were going to beat these guys. I mean, we can’t have you and Kyle going up to all of them and trying to sense if they have a soul,” said Maria. “They have to have some weakness.”

“We’ll figure it out Maria,” said Liz. “Together. Just like we always do. Are you ready to go back and be with the others.”

“I guess,” said Maria, standing up. “Do you suppose I ought to apologize to Cal for sucker punching him?”

“What do you think?” asked Liz with a laugh.

“I’m going with no,” Maria replied, smiling. “He was a lousy tipper, anyhow.”

[Angelzbabe]

Love the new part Tracie!! Maria's reaction is just typical Hurricane Deluca, and I can't wait to see what happens next. Keep up the amazing work!

[Island Breeze]

He was a lousy tipper anyway! Maria would remember that! And this line was for LOL:

“Oh shit,” said Maria. “I just sucker punched my father-in-law right in the stomach. This is not going to buy me any bonus points at Christmas time.”

At least he has an excuse (the Antarian writing), and maybe now he and Michael can bond in a different way than with fists. Although Maria certainly got her punch in there, too! Great part!



Gerry

[majiklmoon]

Chapter Forty-One

Well, if everyone has worked past their rage at their parental units, we have some planning to do,” Max said later that evening.

“I don’t know if worked past it are the words I would use,” said Michael. “But I’m good for now. Ava, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said the petite blonde. “I just don’t understand why he didn’t keep trying to communicate with us.”

“I’m not saying what he did was right,” said Liz. “But try and look at it from his perspective. He was trying to communicate with you, but he was leaving Antarian messages. You couldn’t read them, but he didn’t know that. He just assumed that you wanted nothing to do with him.”

“Look,” Michael said with some bitterness in his voice. “We can rehash this until forever. It isn’t going to change the fact that the man essentially blew us off. Now can we get on with the planning?”

Liz shot Michael a hurt look, but tried hard not to take offense at his caustic tones or comments. He was hurting, she could feel it pouring off of him in waves, and arguing with him wasn’t going to change matters.

“Let’s look at everything we know about the Gadori so far, and admittedly, that isn’t much,” said Zan. “They’ve assimilated into our world with no apparent difficulties.”

“They are also capable of surviving on our world,” said Isabel. “Without any problems.”

“Let’s look at the why’s,” said Zan. “Why are they doing this? Why do they want to take over Antar? Gador is just about the same size, actually, except for being slightly bigger, it’s an exact duplicate of Antar.”

“Colonization,” said Alex. “The main reason anyone leaves home and moves to a new place. There have to be advantages for them, monetary, is usually the main benefit.”

“But as a society, both Antarians and Gadorians have moved past the capitalistic society,” said Maria. “The societies are almost, well Utopian. There isn’t any hunger, poverty, or negative class distinctions.”

The room fell silent and everybody stared, their faces betraying varying levels of shock and amazement.

“Uh, who are you and what did you do with Maria DeLuca?” quipped Kyle.

“Just because I was in regular social studies doesn’t mean I didn’t pay attention,” said Maria. “Besides, this is important. I’ve been doing a lot of research lately. Like Zan said, we need to figure out why before we do anything else. There’s always a possibility of negotiation. Full out war is an absolute last resort.”

“Is anybody else besides me afraid?” asked Kyle. “Maria’s making sense.”

“Shut up, Kyle,” Maria said. “Or I’ll have my husband kill you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Kyle. He folded his hands in his lap and looked up at Maria with an expression reminiscent of a first grader waiting for his teacher to impart some wonderful gem of knowledge.

“Jerk,” said Ava, smiling playfully. She shoved Kyle and he fell off his chair to the ground with a resounding crash.

Drinian, passing by, looked in, enjoying the sound of his children having a good time, and knowing that in spite of the laughter, they were accomplishing a great deal of work.

He turned to walk away, and collided with a female figure, sending her crashing to the ground.

“Forgive me, Shandar, are you hurt?” he asked, courteously.

“I am fine, Uncle,” Shandar replied, looking at the ground.

“Something is bothering you, Shandar, would you like to tell me about it?”

“Why should I bother?” demanded Shandar. “You can find out, you don’t need me to tell you.”

“No, I don’t, but I also wouldn’t intrude upon you in that way.”

“You tried before,” the girl countered.

“That is when I thought you were an enemy. Now I know you are not. You are a victim in this war, as is Zan,” said Drinian.

“They don’t see me as one,” she said contemptuously, pointing to the room where the group of young people joked and laughed as they planned strategies.

“You have not given them a reason too, have you?” queried Drinian. “You have been on the defensive with them ever since we learned of the child.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” asked Shandar. “Zan has the power to take Valrik away from me.”

“Do you think he would?” Drinian asked softly.

“N-no, I don’t think so,” Shandar whispered.

“Then why don’t you go in there and give him, give them all a chance to get to know you, and give yourself a chance to know them. They are good people. I think you will like them.”

“I will try, Uncle,” Shandar said. “But it’s, I’m afraid,”

“I think I can help with that,” said Drinian. He took Shandar’s hand and led her into the area where the others had congregated.

“Hello, children,” he said. “The sound of your laughter is a joy to hear indeed. I’ve brought one more for your, uh, what is the word I’m looking for?”

“Think tank,” said Alex, while Ava replied “Popcorn party.”

“Well, maybe it’s a little of both,” Drinian laughed. “But I thought Shandar could offer some more insight into the Gadori as she was held prisoner by them for a time.”

Shandar stood before them, her eyes telegraphing the fear she felt. It was Liz who slid her chair over and motioned for Shandar to sit between her and Zan. Shandar smiled gratefully and slid gracefully into the chair Zan pulled up to the table.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“How is Valrik?” Zan asked, softly. “Any problems getting him to sleep?”

“No, he’s a good baby,” Shandar said. “Perhaps tomorrow, you could join us for bedtime.”

“I’d like that,” Zan said.

“Um, excuse me,” said Max. “But if you’re done picking out tomorrow’s bedtime story, maybe we could get some work done?”

“Hey, let’s remember whose the king here,” said Zan.

“Yeah, let’s remember who was the king first,” parried Max.

Liz looked at Shandar who seemed cowed by the comments between Max and Zan. The byplay was familiar to all of them, but Shandar, as a newcomer wouldn’t understand that they were just having fun.

“Excuse me,” she yelled, using as dignified a voice as she could manage. “I am the Queen, and I command both of you to shut up and get me a drink.”

“Yeah, right, get your own drink, Queenie,” laughed Zan. “You’re wife sure likes to play the queen card whenever she’s too lazy to get her own drink. Maybe you should start throwing her in the royal dungeon or something.”

Everyone, Shandar included, exploded in to laughter, which did much to ease the tension that had built up with Shandar’s arrival. Drinian slipped away unnoticed, smiling at the way Liz had diffused a tense situation.

I always did like that girl, he thought to himself.

** * ** *

“Okay, if everyone is ready to focus,” said Michael. “We need to figure out why the Gadori are hell bent on taking over our world.”

“I know,” said Shandar. “Gador is dying. Their climate is changing, and their bodies can’t withstand the changes.

A shocked silence filled the room and everyone stared at Shandar.

“Did, did I say something wrong?” she asked.

[Ti88]

max, zan, and liz are a riot together. total riot.

hmmm so gador is dying. the plot thickens.

ava and michael i thik you need to sit down with the 'rents and have a heart to heart. michael thats using words and the only contact is conforting. a hug. a pat. no blasting. no punching.

[majiklmoon]

The Enemy Unknown The Enemy Unseen

Chapter Forty-Two – Adjustment

“What did you say?” Zan finally asked.

“I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” Shandar said. “I just thought I could help in some way.”

“No, no, you helped, Shandar. You really did, it’s just that, I, we, we weren’t expecting you to,” stammered Zan.

“Have any useful information,” said Shandar. She pressed her lips together tightly and crossed her arms over her chest, and Zan realized he had just had a large helping of proverbial shoe leather.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. We were all just shocked that you jumped in so quickly. I mean, it took me months before I felt comfortable enough with these bozos to offer a suggestion,” said Zan. “And here you are, after what, five minutes giving us vital information. It was a shock, that’s all.”

“Nice save,” Kyle whispered sotto voce. “I thought for sure you were a dead man.”

“You needed an answer, and I had one,” said Shandar. “Why wouldn’t I help? And what is a bozo?”

“I’ll explain later, Shandar,” Ava said, smothering a grin. “Intro to Earth Culture 101 is going to take more than five minutes.”

“Intro to Earth Culture? You people are very strange,” said Shandar.

“Yeah, we know,” Alex said, almost proudly. “We work at it.”

“Ignore him,” said Zan, giving Alex a pained look. “Tell us more about what’s going on, and how you found out.”

“Well, when I was locked up, I spent a lot of time listening, and I overheard a lot,” explained Shandar. “Also, I think my brother,” she shuddered, thinking of Kivar, “Told them that I wasn’t very intelligent, and the scientists would speak openly in front of me, certain that I could not comprehend what they were discussing. And, while I’m not a genius, I was able to understand what they were talking about.”

“Yeah, well, they were stupid not to realize how smart you are,” said Zan. Without thinking, he reached out and squeezed Shandar’s hand gently.

Maria’s quick eye caught the movement, and she nudged Ava, who poked Isabel, who stepped gently on Liz’s foot under the table. Without a word being spoken, the four girls began to make intricate plans to get Zan and Shandar together, as much as possible.

“Hey, can the four of you focus, please,” said Kyle. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Uh, Kyle, what are you talking about?” asked Michael. “Mind filling us in, cause none of us have a freaking clue?”

“No, I’m not filling you in, and some of us do have a clue, and some of us should probably just give in gracefully, because they don’t stand a chance,” Kyle responded, cryptically.

“Yeah, thanks for clearing that up for me,” said Michael.

Ava began to giggle uncontrollably, and Liz, Maria and Isabel soon followed suit. Alex’s lips twitched as he watched Isabel’s face light with laughter, and soon he was laughing as well. Within minutes, the room was filled again with the sound of laughter, though half the room didn’t know why they were laughing.

Outside the room, two men listened to the sounds of laughter and gaiety.

“Those are the ones who you think are going to save your world?” one asked.

Those are the ones who are going to save our world,” said the other. “You would do well to start remembering that, my friend.”

“I think you’re putting too much faith in them. They are nothing but a bunch of kids. Stupid punks, all of them.”

“Including your son, Cladar?” Drinian asked, softly.

“Especially him,” said Cal. “He’s nothing but a two bit hoodlum, that someone dressed up and taught some manners.”

“Sounds like somebody else I know,” said Drinian, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “I remember your own father saying very much the same thing about you.”

“And he wasn’t far wrong,” said Cal. “Look how I turned out. I failed the most important mission you could have ever entrusted to me.”

“Cal, you didn’t fail. I wish you would accept that. You did everything in your power to contact the children short of walking up to them on the street and introducing yourself. They didn’t know who they were, never mind know you. And you had no idea they couldn’t read the messages you left for them.”

“But maybe if I had investigated more, or, I don’t know, done something, things would have turned out differently.”

“Right, things may have turned out differently indeed, and we may not have Alex, Liz, Maria, Kyle or Zan here with us. Did you ever think of that? I was as shocked as you when they first activated the Granolith, Cladar, and I found out they knew nothing of our world or of their lives, save for false impressions planted by the one they called Tess. But those children, working together managed to save themselves from danger time and time again.”

“At the expense of your first born grandchild,” said Cal.

“Yes,” agreed Drinian. “That was a tragic loss, and nobody mourned more than I, even though I was unable to mourn the loss as a Grandfather.”

“I never did understand why you didn’t tell them who you were,” said Cal. “The little spunky one, Liz, when she told me what happened and said the name Che’koth, well, I wanted to laugh. You used to pretend to be Che’koth whenever you wanted to escape the rigors of royal life.”

“I couldn’t tell them who I was,” said Drinian. “If I had, their first response would have been to come back to Antar, and it wasn’t time for that. It wasn’t safe.”

“Was it any safer when they did come back?” asked Cal with a laugh.

“Not really,” admitted Drinian. “But even then, the Gadori were after them, and I had no choice but to bring them home, and look at the good that came from it. They managed to do what nobody else had, bring Kivar down. It was a joyous time for Antar.”

“But it didn’t last long, did it,” said Cal. “And look at them in there, laughing like a bunch of children. I can’t believe you’re pinning your hopes on them.”

“And I can’t believe, given everything you know about them that you don’t have more faith in their abilities. If it can be done, it will be done. And beneath the laughter, they are working. You should have more faith, Cladar.”

“Listen to them Drinian, laughing and joking and having fun. It’s not the way soldiers should act.”

“They are not soldiers, Cladar, they are our children. The world you knew is gone. Things are different now, and in my opinion, better. You need to adjust your way of thinking, my friend. Start by removing all thoughts of failure from your mind. Then give yourself a chance to know your children, and your nieces and nephews. I think that you will find yourself to be surprised.”

“Is that an order?” Cal asked, glaring at Drinian.

“My days as king, and giving orders is long over, my friend. It is merely a suggestion.”

Drinian gave Cal’s shoulder one last pat, and then he turned and walked away, leaving Cal to think about everything that had happened.

[Island Breeze]

max, zan, and liz are a riot together. total riot.

I agree with Roselle! And I love this story! :D


Gerry

[majiklmoon]

The Enemy Unknown The Enemy Unseen

Chapter Forty-Three – Coupling

They gathered around the breakfast table, making various plans for the day. Michael and Kyle decided to head back into town and track down those still loyal to the Royal Family, courtesy of their friend Wandred.

“You want to come?” Michael asked Maria, helping himself t another serving of peroykia. Maria grimaced as she watched Michael load his plate with the spicy sweet food. It had the consistency of oatmeal, but tasted like a combination of peanut butter ice cream loaded down with jalapeno peppers.

“I can’t,” she said, regretfully. “I promised Max I’d bring him up to speed on the fortifications we’ve made.”

“Right,” said Alex, after Isabel nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “And I was going to uh, work on that weapon guidance system Liz and I made, to see if I can calibrate it to work on the Gadori.”

“Well, we still need to work on Shandar’s information about the climate on Gador,” said Zan. “Ava, do you want to work with Shandar on that?”

“Oh, um, Isabel and I are,” Ava floundered, trying desperately to remember what she and Isabel were supposed to be doing.

“Ava and I were actually going to meet with Father, Mother, and Aunt Dijanya to go over some of the plans,” said Isabel. She shot Ava a look that clearly said, ‘Don’t blow this,’ and Ava shrugged ruefully. She hated lying to anybody, least of all, Zan.

“Well, that’s fine then, Shandar, looks like it’s just you and me today,” said Zan. “I hope you don’t mind,” he added as an afterthought.

“No, I-I don’t mind,” Shandar said, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Are you sure you don’t have anything more important to take care of?”

“I think this bit of information is the break we’ve been hoping for,” said Zan. “We need to find out as much information as we can about Gador, and what’s happening there.”

“Is there any place that has information about Antar’s relationship with Gador, I mean treaties and things like that?” asked Shandar.

“Well, there are the archives in the palace,” said Isabel. “They’re housed in the diplomatic wing,” she added, recalling her training as an Antarian diplomat. “We could figure out some way to break in there and possibly,”

“Possibly get killed,” said Alex. “I’m sorry, Isabel, but I’m going to go all Neanderthal on you and say no way. Remember what happened the last time you snuck into the palace.”

“Yeah, Alex, I remember. We won the war!” said Isabel. She threw her fork down on her plate and pushed away from the table. She paused long enough to give Alex a withering glare before she stormed from the room.

“Um, yeah, that didn’t go quite the way I was hoping it would,” said Alex, to the room in general. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Hey, Alex, if it helps any,” said Kyle. “Deep down, she’s really happy that you care enough to freak out that way.”

“I have so got to learn how you do that,” said Alex as he walked out of the room.

After his departure, and awkward silence filled the room. Liz looked at Max, her eyes urging him to say something. He cleared his throat several times, but nothing came out. After several minutes, the silence grew oppressive until finally, Kyle mustered up the courage to speak.

“Will you all look at that giant elephant sitting in the middle of the room,” he said.

“Oh you mean that giant pink thing that’s sitting right there on the table?” asked Michael, trying unsuccessfully to smother a grin.

“Yeah, the one with his foot in the food,” added Max. He kept a straight face for a moment before finally exploding into laughter, followed quickly by all the others, except for Shandar.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “What is an elephant and where is it? I don’t see anything.”

Zan took a few minutes to explain the story of the elephant in the room to Shandar, while the others looked on, happy to see how he quickly moved to ease her discomfort.

“You are all very funny,” said Shandar.

“Yeah, they’re a laugh riot,” said Zan.

“You are one of them, Zan. You need to include yourself in the ‘laugh riot,’ said Shandar.

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Max, nudging Zan. “You’re one of us, and don’t you forget it. And Shandar, don’t think you’re not one of us now too,” Max continued. “Especially if you can figure out some way to keep this bozo under control.”

“Bozo, the clown with the big red nose?” said Shandar. “I don’t think so, I see Zan as having more of an orange nose.” She reached out and tapped his nose and used her powers to turn Zan’s nose a glowing shade of orange, causing those at the table to explode with laughter yet again.

“You do realize, this means war,” said Zan, using one hand to change his nose back, and the other to grab Shandar’s arm.

“Bring it on, Your Majesty. I feel that I am suitably equipped to deal with any challenge of wary you may throw down,” said Shandar, tossing her hair away from her face.

“Well, I guess since Alex and Isabel are busy, um, fighting or whatever,” said Liz. “Maybe I could go with Ava to talk to the parental units about the plans.”

“But we don’t have any plans,” said Shandar, innocently. “At least not yet.”

“Which is why I was going to suggest that Liz and Ava come with Kyle and me when we head in to town. We’ll look less suspicious that way,” said Michael, coming to their rescue.

Liz shot him a surprised look. Michael had been the most resistant to the girl’s matchmaking scheme, at least according to Maria.

“What was that all about,” she whispered to him as they exited the small room where they had eaten their morning meal. “I thought you didn’t want any part of, what was it, oh yeah, ‘Our matchmaking plans from hell?’ Isn’t that what you said to Maria?”

“Yeah, well, she turned his nose orange, and he didn’t even flinch. The guy is a goner. He just doesn’t realize it yet,” said Michael.

“Give it up, Michael, your a sucker for a happy ending,” joked Liz.

“That’s my brother,” said Ava, wrapping her slender arm around Michael’s waist. “All rough and stone faced on the outside, but scratch the surface and it’s pure marshmallow fluff!”

“We-well, I should probably check on Valrik before we start,” said Shandar, nervously. She looked around the empty room, and realized that she was going to be working with Zan, alone, and she wasn’t quite comfortable with that. Every time she looked at him, she felt quite peculiar, like her stomach was filled with a thousand small butterflies.

“I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind,” said Zan, clearing his throat. “I, uh, I think my mother said she’d have him with her this morning.”

Zan stared at Shandar as she rose gracefully from the chair. He felt a surge of heat through his body as he followed her out of the room and down the corridor to where the baby was being kept. The sway of Shandar’s hips as she walked drew his attention, and Zan tripped slightly on an uneven patch of floor. He tried to focus his thoughts as they walked into the baby’s small area, and found Cal, standing over the baby’s bed, instead of Kitana.

“Excuse me,” said Cal, “I was just remembering Rath when he was a baby, and you too, Zan. Actually, he looks a lot like you did at that age, except for the hair.”

Zan reached down and stroked the baby’s downy head with his finger. A fierce feeling of protectiveness welled up inside of him and he knew right then and there, he would die to protect this child. He looked over at Cal, and saw the same emotions cross his face, and he knew that the older man was consumed by a sense of guilt at his failure to protect them when they were on Earth.

“It wasn’t your fault, Cal. You need to let it go,” Zan said softly, while Shandar reached down and picked up their child. “You did the best you could. There wasn’t anything more you could do.”

“I failed,” said Cal, softly. Strangely, he exhibited none of the bitterness he did when he was with Max and Michael.

“Fine, you think you failed,” said Zan. “Then I give you a chance to redeem yourself. My son is to be placed under your protection. His safety is your main priority. Protect him, and all your transgressions, both real and imagined will be forgiven.”

Shandar reacted to Zan’s unspoken command, pressed a gentle kiss on her son’s forehead and placed him in Cal’s arms. She slipped her arm through Zan’s, and the two exited the room leaving Cal to stare after them in amazement.

“You were perfect,” Shandar whispered as they walked away from the room. “I think that is exactly what he needed. A sense of purpose.”

“You were perfect,” said Zan. “It’s like you were reading my mind. You knew exactly what I wanted and did it without hesitation. Thank you, Shandar.”

“No, it is I who thank you, not only did you give that poor man a sense of purpose, you have given our son a personal guardian who will do anything to protect him. What mother could ask for more? What could any parent ask for,” she amended and watched as Zan’s expression glowed. He leaned

“Zan, I was looking for you,” a voice called.

Zan and Shandar looked up and saw Dijanya walking toward them, a large bag, similar to a backpack, in her arms.

“Liz told me what you two had planned for today,” she said, smiling at her nephew. “I thought it would be nice if you got out of here for a while. You can do your research outside just as well as you could if you stayed down here.”

“Thank you, Dijanya,” said Zan. He took the bag from her and smiled as she walked away. “I’m starting to get a funny feeling about all of this,” he said, looking down at Shandar.

“Funny feeling about what?” Shandar asked, her face a mask of innocence.

“Never mind,” said Zan with a sigh. He hefted the backpack and smiled down at Shandar, feeling secure she was as much a victim of his family’s matchmaking schemes as he. “Come on, let’s go.”

** * ** * *

Several hours later, Zan and Shandar sat outside, hidden from view by large boulders, enjoying the sun on their faces. Traces of their meal littered the ground around them. Zan and Shandar had gone over everything she could remember during her incarceration with the Gadori.

“We only have one thing left to do,” said Zan. “I didn’t want to do it, but I will.”

“What is it, Zan, you sound like you’re going to be taking some terrible risk.”

“Only to my heart,” said Zan. “See, as members of the royal family, we have access to the collective consciousness of those who came before us. Sort of like we can tap into the minds of the dead or something. But we also have access to the memories of the Zan, Rath, Ava and Vilondra that were killed on Antar. Those memories aren’t so great, so Kyle and Isabel have told me. I’m really a coward. I’m afraid to look. I don’t want to know how I died.”

“Then don’t” said Shandar, her voice matter-of-fact. “I would think you are strong enough to block the memories of the past you and search out what you are looking for. And you are not a coward, you are cautious. There is a difference.”

“I’ll try it,” said Zan, reluctantly.

He closed his eyes, and opened his mind, searching for the information he needed. A tremendous explosion rocked the ground, and his eyes flew open. Shandar screamed and tried to stand, only to be knocked to the ground by falling rocks. Zan instinctively knelt down, shielding Shandar’s body with his own as he scanned the area looking for clues to what happened. His heart pounded and he was filled with a terrible sense of foreboding when he saw the entrance to the underground caverns was completely obliterated.

[Island Breeze]

What just happened? You can't stop there, Tracie! It's not allowed! It's illegal! It's wrong! Well... it's got to be something. : Everything was going so well then something has to happen to shake things up again. I think maybe Zan gave Cal the responsibility of protecting the baby just in time, but I'm worried about Cal now.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed this little exchange: LOL

“Bozo, the clown with the big red nose?” said Shandar. “I don’t think so, I see Zan as having more of an orange nose.” She reached out and tapped his nose and used her powers to turn Zan’s nose a glowing shade of orange, causing those at the table to explode with laughter yet again.

“You do realize, this means war,” said Zan, using one hand to change his nose back, and the other to grab Shandar’s arm.

Great new part, Tracie! Now get back here and make things okay again!



Gerry

[Angelzbabe]

Tracie - what you just did is why you have the title of "Cliffie Queen'. It's EVIL and if I didn't like you so much I might just fall out with you over it. How can you leave us hanging like this????? Get back here!!!!

[majiklmoon]

Oh...Gerry wrote a new story..I have to go read it..but first...

The Enemy Unknown The Enemy Unseen

Chapter Forty-Four – Crisis Situation

“Shandar!” Zan yelled. He struggled to remove the large rock that had pinned his leg. He pushed at it ineffectually until he remembered he could use his powers to blast the offending stone away. In a matter of seconds, the boulder was reduced to a pile of manageable rocks. Zan pulled his leg free, wincing from the pain. He reached his hand down and touched his leg, healing the broken bones.

When he could stand, he quickly ran over to where Shandar had fallen, and knelt down beside her unconscious body. He worked feverishly for several minutes, healing the multitude of injuries her body had suffered. He choked on the thick black smoke that filled the air as he healed her last injury.

“Shandar, wake up,” he said. “Shandar, can you hear me? Come on,” he pleaded. “You have to wake up. Valrik needs you. I need you,” he added softly.

** * ** *

“What was that?” Liz asked, picking herself up from the ground.

“I don’t know,” Michael responded, “But I’m going with nothing good.”

“Look,” Ava whispered. Liz looked up to see Ava pointing at a large black column of smoke that rose up from the canyon where Sanctuary was hidden.

“We need to go back there and help them,” Ava said. “Michael, come on, we have to go back. Our mother is there.” She looked at her brother, her eyes pleading.

“Right,” said Michael. Horror danced across his face as he realized the very people he loved more than anything were trapped, or worse. “Right, come on,” he said, his voice gaining strength. “I’ll take lead, Valenti, you bring up the rear, Liz, you and Ava in the middle.”

“No,” said Liz

“What?” Michael asked, certain he had heard incorrectly. “Did you just tell me we’re not going back? Liz, we have to back there and see if there are any survivors,” Michael added, choking on the last word.

“I said no, we can’t go back there, Michael. We have stay safe,” Liz said, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke.

“Damn it, Liz, don’t you realize they may need us back there. We have to go back,” Michael argued.

“And don’t you realize we may be the only survivors left of the God Damned Royal House of Antar? We can’t go back. We have to stay alive. Whatever happened back there wasn’t an accident, you can count on that. We can’t have it happen to us.”

“You cold, selfish bitch,” Michael said, his voice low and hard. “I don’t care what you say. I’m going back. My wife is there, and she may need me. Do you remember her, Liz, do you? Maria? Do you remember Maria?”

“Of course I do, Michael,” Liz cried, tears spilling down her cheek. “Maria is my best friend, and in case you’re forgetting, my husband and my other best friend are there too, but we have to keep ourselves safe.”

“Screw you, Liz Parker, I’m going back,” Michael said. He turned and began to walk back.”

“Michael,” Liz called out, hating herself even as the words left her mouth. “As your Queen, I command you to stop.”

“What?” said Michael, turning slowly to glare at Liz. “I cannot believe you are going to play the Queen card.”

“I will, if I have to. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you, to keep all of you, safe,” she said, including Ava and Kyle.

“Liz, we can’t not help them,” Ava said, her voice pleading. “Kyle, tell her, we have to go back.”

“She’s right, Ava, we can’t go back. It would be like signing our own death warrants if we did. Our best bet is to lay low and try and find out what happened,” Kyle said, acting like the warrior he had become.

“What, no words of humor, no cute little quip to alleviate the tension?” baited Michael. “Where is the laughing Buddha’s sense of humor now?”

Without warning, Kyle’s fist shot out, catching Michael on the jaw and sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious.

“Would it be wrong of me to say that felt really, really good,” Kyle asked nobody in particular.

“What is wrong with the two of you?” Ava shouted. “Are you on some kind of power trip or something? First you,” she shot a contemptuous look at Liz, “Decide we’re not going back to help our families, and then you,” she added, turning on her husband, “Decide to knock my brother unconscious. What the hell is going on?”

“Ava, will you listen, I mean really listen to us,” said Liz. “It’s going to be hard, but please promise you’ll try.”

“What?” asked Ava, bitterly. She glared at Liz, her expression clearly saying that she’d listen, but there wasn’t anything either one of them could say that would convince her that they were right.

“You know that before we came back, we tried using the Granolith to amplify Kyle’s empathic powers, and pass them on to us, right?” began Liz. “Well, it really worked in me, but not so much in Max, Michael and Isabel. But the thing is, I can feel them, and I’m betting Kyle can too.” She turned and looked at her friend who nodded in agreement.

“They’re okay. Maria is okay, Max is okay, and so are Isabel and Alex, and I think on some level, Michael is feeling it too, but he’s afraid to open himself up to those feelings which is why he’s acting the way he is,” explained Liz. “Remember when it first happened to Kyle, how he fell apart? Well, Michael’s feeling Maria and the others, but he doesn’t know how to deal with it, so he’s acting, well, he’s acting like Michael.”

“You’re sure they’re okay?” Ava demanded. “And what about Zan?”

“Zan’s fine,” said Kyle, joining the conversation. “He wasn’t even there when it happened. He and Shandar were outside, above ground when it happened.” He placed his arms around Ava and hugged her tightly. “I promise you, they’re all okay.”

“What about our parents?” Ava whispered. “Can you feel them too?”

“No,” Kyle admitted. “I can’t, but that doesn’t mean anything. All of us, we share a bond, and it’s pretty damn strong. We don’t really have as strong a bond with the parents, so they could be perfectly fine right now, and we just don’t know it.”

“Well what was all that crap Liz was spouting about being the last members of the Royal Family?” Ava asked, still angry.

“Ava, will you think with your head, and not your heart for a minute,” said a clearly exasperated Liz. “We know they’re alive, but we don’t know what or who caused the blast. Whoever or whatever did this may be there right now, waiting to cut us all down. We can’t go rushing in there playing savior. Max and the others can handle themselves, but if they can’t.” She paused, and drew in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Then we’re the only hope Antar has left. Please, can’t you understand that?”

“Liz is right,” said Michael, struggling to get up. “And if you ever hit me again, Valenti, I’m going to have to kill you. I don’t care if you are my brother-in-law.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said, struggling to suppress a grin. “I seem to recall you saying that the last time I hit you.”

“Well then, I guess this is the time I get to kill you,” Michael shot back.

“You could do that, but then my essence would become part of the collective consciousness. Could you really live with me invading your thoughts for the rest of your life?”

“Stop it!” Ava cried. “Just stop it. Now isn’t the time for joking. What happened to you Michael? Before Kyle sucker punched you,”

“Hey, that wasn’t a sucker punch,” Kyle interjected.

“You were all for going back and help everybody,” Ava continued as if Kyle hadn’t said anything. “Now you’re agreeing with them and making jokes.”

“That’s because when I was knocked out, I heard Maria,” Michael said. “Okay, not heard her, heard her,” he amended when he saw the other three staring at him incredulously. “But I could feel her, sort of. She was kind of worried, and a lot scared, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of relief from her as well,” Michael said. “I think that means that people are okay, and by people, I mean our parents, so rest easy, Ava. They’re safe. Now we can go about the business of figuring out what the hell happened.”

[Island Breeze]

I tried to post this earlier, and my computer was being obstinate and wouldn't recycle.

Wow! That was intense! The raw emotions there... everybody at odds. That was an amazing part! I have to admit, I was floored when Liz, of all people, refused to go back and Michael and Ava wanted to, but it made sense when I realized that she could feel that they were okay and didn't want to risk the others' lives unnescessarily.

Wll you think with your head, and not your heart for a minute,” said a clearly exasperated Liz. “We know they’re alive, but we don’t know what or who caused the blast. Whoever or whatever did this may be there right now, waiting to cut us all down. We can’t go rushing in there playing savior. Max and the others can handle themselves, but if they can’t.” She paused, and drew in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Then we’re the only hope Antar has left. Please, can’t you understand that?”

And you have to smile at Michael and Kyle's sometimes uneasy relationship.

“Liz is right,” said Michael, struggling to get up. “And if you ever hit me again, Valenti, I’m going to have to kill you. I don’t care if you are my brother-in-law.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said, struggling to suppress a grin. “I seem to recall you saying that the last time I hit you.”

“Well then, I guess this is the time I get to kill you,” Michael shot back.

“You could do that, but then my essence would become part of the collective consciousness. Could you really live with me invading your thoughts for the rest of your life?”

Kyle would think of that! Hehe

Great part, Tracie! Intense! But amazing!

I'm glad they're all okay!


Gerry

[majiklmoon]

The Enemy Unknown The Enemy Unseen

Chapter Forty-Five – Amongst the Ruins

“This is so not good, girlfriend,” Maria said, brushing the dust and debris from her clothing.

“Maria, could you not call me that right now?” said Max. “We kind of have a problem here. We’re trapped, and nobody knows where we are.”

“Don’t be to certain about that, Max,” Maria replied, a small smile playing on her face.

She looked around and got her bearings and moved towards an expanse of wall that was still standing. Confidently, she waved her hand across a portion of the wall, and waited for a door to open. The smile slipped slightly from her face, and she waved her hand across the wall again.

“Max!” she wailed, when nothing happened. “We’re trapped. We’re stuck inside this tiny little cavern. I can feel the walls closing in on my. I think I’m hyperventilating.”

Max reached into the small pouch Maria wore on her waist and pulled out a vial of cedar oil.

“Here, breath this,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly. Now was not the time for Maria to revert back to form.

Revert back to form, he thought to himself and smiled. Max looked around the cavern and found another fairly large expanse of wall, directly opposite the one Maria was leaning against. He walked across the cavern, stepping carefully over the fallen stalactites and other rubble. He passed his hand across the wall, and a small silver handprint was revealed. Max pressed his hand against the outline of the handprint, and an opening appeared in the cavern wall.

“Was this what you were looking for?” he questioned Maria.

“Shut up, Max,” she grumbled with mock ferocity. “Nobody likes a know-it-all show-off. How’d you figure it out, anyhow?”

“Do you remember that time we let you map the route out to that concert in Albuquerque? Max asked. “You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can’t read a map to save your life.”

“Nice, Max, really nice, bringing that up at a time like this,” Maria said. She shot Max a look of mock outrage and joined him in front of the opening.

They stood there for several seconds, both of them staring into the dark passage before Max finally spoke.

“Well, aren’t you going to go down there?” he asked Maria.

“Are you sure you trust me to go first,” said Maria. “I might get lost or take a wrong turn or something.”

Max gave a long-suffering sigh before he answered, “Maria, shut up or I’ll demote you to private or something.”

“You know, I can’t think of why Liz puts up with you,” Maria muttered, pushing past him.

“Sure you can,” said Max, flashing his famous Tom Cruise grin. “I’m so damn loveable.”

“You’re such a damn jerk,” said Maria, grinning in spite of herself. “Come on, let’s see if we can reach the others.”

** * ** *

“Isabel! Isabel, where are you?” a voice called through the darkness.

Isabel moaned, she didn’t want to wake up, she was having the most wonderful dream, and she didn’t want it to end. She snuggled down deeper in to her pillow and tried to recapture her dream.

What’s wrong with my pillow? she thought to herself.

Slowly, as the layers of consciousness lightened, Isabel realized that she wasn’t lying in her bed, but on the hard ground, and the voice she heard calling wasn’t her father trying to wake her up for school, it was Alex. After several seconds, the memories came rushing back, and she realized that she was on Antar, and something terrible had happened.

“Alex,” she choked, coughing through the thick dust that filled the space she now inhabited. Alex, I’m here.”

She held up her hand and gave a small burst of energy and a ghostly glow filled the area where she had fallen.

“Alex, where are you?” she asked, looking around, trying to locate the source of his voice.

“Out here,” came his muffled reply. “I want you to stand back, I’m going to try and get these rocks out of the way.”

“Be careful!” Isabel called, a niggling sense of fear touching her. “Alex, are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me,” he replied. “Just stand back.”

Isabel did as Alex asked and stepped back against the far wall. In a matter of minutes the boulders blocking her access were gone, and she started to run toward Alex.

“Isabel, don’t move,” Alex whispered.

She stopped where she was and stared to where Alex was pointing and stared in horror. A large pile of explosives lay on the path, separating her from Alex.

“How can I get past that?” she whispered.

“I’m not sure,” Alex responded. I put a shield over it before I destroyed the boulders that were blocking you, but I’m afraid to put a shield over it to have you climb over.”

“You did what?” Isabel exclaimed, furiously. “Don’t you realize how dangerous it was to do that? What if the shield hadn’t held. Those things could have gone off, and you could have died.”

“And if I didn’t get you out, you could have died,” Alex responded, simply. “I had no choice.”

“Alex,” Isabel said, her voice trembling. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he responded. “Now, any suggestions, do you guys have an Antarian bomb squad or anything?”

“I don’t think we have time to track them down,” said Isabel, her voice shaking. “Look.”

Alex looked down at the explosives and felt a shaft of fear shoot down his spine. The explosives had started to glow, a red light emanating from them.

“Okay, Isabel, I don’t want you to panic,” Alex said, his own face a mask of pure fear.

“Right,” said Isabel, “Because you’re going to do it enough for both of us?”

“Yeah, something like that,” said Alex, flashing her a boyish grin. Whatever happened, whatever the end result, as long as he and Isabel were together, everything would be okay.

“Isabel, what I want you to do is back away, slowly, I don’t know if this thing is motion sensitive. Try and get behind that big pile of rocks, and when I say now, I want you to try and put as strong a shield as you possibly can around the explosives,” Alex said. Now that he had a plan in mind, he could speak calmly.

“What about you?” Isabel asked, her chin trembling slightly with fear.

“I’m going to be doing the exact same thing,” said Alex. “Hopefully, the combined strength of our two shields will contain most of the blast that I’m pretty positive is coming. And if it doesn’t, ‘we always had Antar,’” he quipped, purposely misquoting the famous movie line.

“You’re lucky that I love you so much,” said Isabel, grinning despite her fear. “You deserve to get blown sky high for that performance alone.

“Start backing up, slowly,” Alex said. “That’s right, slowly, slowly. Good, Isabel, you’re almost there.” Alex paused and looked around trying to judge the distance between himself and the large boulders he hoped to hide behind. “Okay, get behind the rocks, Is,” he said. “And NOW!”

Both of them put a protective force field around the glowing mass just as they began explode. Alex struggled to maintain his focus, concentrating all his energy in to maintaining the shield. Much as he wanted to, he didn’t even spare Isabel a glance, knowing that as long as the shield remained intact, she was safe.

A sudden flash of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Alex struggled to keep his focus on the explosives.

“Max, no, don’t!” he heard Isabel shout, and his attention wavered, and an explosion filled the small room.

[Island Breeze]

That is so not a fair way to end a chapter, Tracie! Now I have to wait to find out what Max did and whether they're okay or not!

Okay, other comments:

Max reached into the small pouch Maria wore on her waist and pulled out a vial of cedar oil.

“Here, breath this,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly. Now was not the time for Maria to revert back to form.

Max the pusher! Okay, it's just Cedar oil, but... this IS Maria after all! : 8)

“Do you remember that time we let you map the route out to that concert in Albuquerque? Max asked. “You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can’t read a map to save your life.”

“Are you sure you trust me to go first,” said Maria. “I might get lost or take a wrong turn or something.”

Max gave a long-suffering sigh before he answered, “Maria, shut up or I’ll demote you to private or something.”

LOL! That was funny!

And then Alex and Isabel worrying about each other...

“You did what?” Isabel exclaimed, furiously. “Don’t you realize how dangerous it was to do that? What if the shield hadn’t held. Those things could have gone off, and you could have died.”

“And if I didn’t get you out, you could have died,” Alex responded, simply. “I had no choice.”

And I can appreciate Isabel's comment after this movie quote by Alex:

And if it doesn’t, ‘we always had Antar,’”

* snort *

Great part, Tracie, but get back and fix this right now! :!: 8)