Fan Fic and More

Posted: **Sun Jun 15, 2003 2:16 am**

Thanks Tracie, Veca, Melisa, and Bookwork! I appreciate your fb! Here's chapter 29. Hope you enjoy it!<img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/wavey.gif ALT=":wave"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/ufo.gif ALT=":ufo"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/read.gif ALT=":read"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

Posted: **Sun Jun 15, 2003 2:17 am**

The Four Faces of Rath Down Came A Blackbird Chapter 29 XXIX The girl had escaped, and Kathleen felt somehow oddly relieved. Even though this girl had wanted to kill her, Kathleen was sure that she would not have been able to sleep at nights if Zwolinski had dissected her alive and she had helped. Zwolinski had left the lab in a huff, leaving Kathleen to herself. Kathleen looked around at the instruments… “Zwolinski’s toys,” she said to herself. She looked at the restraint straps that had held the girl but which now dangled freely beside the gurney. She looked up at the high ventilation window at the top of the room where the girl –or the blackbird she had turned into- had escaped. Even though she was relieved that the girl had escaped, Kathleen felt an uneasy sense of curiosity… What would she have seen if Zwolinski had dissected the girl? What does something that can change from a human into a blackbird look like inside? If the girl had been dead, she might have gone along with Zwolinski willingly… out of sheer curiosity. But she wasn’t, and that was the difference. It wasn’t an impediment for Zwolinski. For him, the fact that an alien he intended to dissect was still alive was merely icing on the cake. Kathleen took one last look around and walked toward the door. As she did, she heard a sound behind her… the sound of wings flapping. She turned around quickly, in time to see a raven or blackbird swoop down from the ventilation window at the top of the room. It landed on the floor in front of her and immediately morphed into a man. “Who… who are you,” Kathleen managed to ask. “My name is unimportant. But since you asked, it is Yali.” “Yali?” “Yes.” “I thought you were the girl… Tess… returning,” Kathleen said. The man looked around the room then looked back at Kathleen with a strange look in his eyes. Suddenly, he began to morph into a girl with blonde hair and greenish eyes. “Me?” Kathleen nodded. She wanted to speak, but it just didn’t come out. “I am the one you saw before.” “You’re Tess?” “No… not Tess. I merely gave you the name of the person whose appearance I had used.” Yali returned to his former appearance. “Are you going to try to kill me again…” Kathleen asked, “because if you are, I think you should know, I can defend myself better here. And you don’t have a piece of pipe to hit me with.” “No. I’m not going to hurt you. That was a mistake. You are not who I thought you were. I waited until the man with you left. I came back, because I heard you talking to him when I was on the table.” “You heard?” Yali nodded. “I pretended to be unconscious while I decided what to do. You didn’t want him to kill me… Why?” “You were alive.” “I thought that’s what killing was… someone has to be alive first.” “Well, yes… it is… of course.” Yali… or the girl who had called herself Tess… or was she a blackbird… Kathleen wasn’t sure anymore… reached up and touched Kathleen’s forehead. Kathleen started to recoil but then decided not to. She wasn’t sure why. After a moment, Yali removed his hand. “Yes, I can trust you. Very interesting.” “What’s interesting?” “You’ve met Rath… and you’ve been to our planet.” “Your planet?” “Well, it’s not our birth planet. Dars, Vorzelis, and I are from Lauris-Kel. But we made our home on Antar for many years. We defended the royals… mostly from others of our kind.” “Michael mentioned something about that.” “Michael?” “Michael. The one who took me to Antar.” “You mean Rath.” “His name is Michael.” The shape-shifter thought for a moment. “Whatever name he was using, I assure you, you were with Rath. I saw him in your mind. I felt his presence there. There is no other like him. There is only one Rath.” “Who is Rath?” “Rath is Zan’s right hand man. He’s the leader of Zan’s armies… and he is much feared, at least as much as he is respected, on Antar.” “Michael is feared on Antar?” “Rath is feared… very much so. But he is also respected… and loved by many. The king loves him as a brother. But this is quite perplexing.” “What is?” “Rath disappeared many years ago and has not been seen since. Now I see him in your mind, and he is no older than he was when he disappeared. Do you not find that strange?” “Strange? I don’t even understand what’s going on.” The shape-shifter nodded. “I should have realized that. I saw the confusion in your mind.” “If your job was to protect the royal family, what are you doing on Earth,” Kathleen asked. “Zan is on Antar. So is Ava.” “But two of our wards disappeared that day many years ago. Rath… and Vilandra. It was always believed that Rath was killed by Kivar or by Nyykto lying in ambush and that Vilandra was taken… kidnapped… by Kivar. Neither has been heard from since.” “So why are you on Earth,” Kathleen repeated. “Because… our sources led us to believe that others of our kind brought Vilandra here for Kivar. We still believe that she is here… with Kivar.” “How long have you been here?” “About sixty of your Earth years.” Kathleen looked shocked. “Sixty? Years?” “Is that strange?” “Well, if you were an Earthling it would be. I have no idea how old you can live to be… assuming that Zwolinski doesn’t catch you.” The shape-shifter nodded. “And I thank you for trying to argue with him on our behalf. But we know this man. He is not one who can be dissuaded.” Kathleen gasped, as a terrible thought suddenly came into her mind. “Were you the ones who killed Zwolinski’s family? It would have been about the time you came here.” The shape-shifter looked at her for a moment, and Kathleen felt a tremor run up her spine. “No,” the shape-shifter said at last. “It wasn’t me. Nor was it Dars or Vorzelis. I was not aware of this fact.” The shape-shifter reached out again with one hand and touched Kathleen’s forehead. It was easier for her… him… it… whatever it was… to obtain detailed information this way. It told Yali so much more than words ever could. He removed his hand after a few moments. “I see. Zwolinski told you that his family was killed by aliens who left silver handprints on the ones they killed.” “Yes. Do you have any idea who could have done that?” “An idea… yes. But I would know so much more if I could connect with Zwolinski’s mind.” Kathleen laughed. She didn’t know where it came from. It was a spontaneous reaction. It was just the idea of Zwolinski submitting to an alien mind probe. It somehow struck her as supremely ludicrous… and funny. “I don’t think Zwolinski would sit still for that.” “Perhaps not for me,” the shape-shifter said. “But I’ll bet he would allow you to touch his head.” “Only if I was giving him a massage,” Kathleen laughed. <div style="text-align:center">**********</div> “Ah, that feels good, Topolsky! Who would have known you were so talented,” Zwolinski sighed, sinking back into his chair while “Kathleen,” behind him, massaged his temples and forehead. “Almost makes me forget about aliens. I don’t suppose you’d want to get married?” “Is that a proposal,” ‘Kathleen’ asked. “Naw… well, almost. If I wasn’t married to my work, I’d be all over you,” Zwolinski sighed. The real Kathleen, who was in the other room listening, shivered. “Ewwww! Who would’ve guessed there’d be a silver lining to Zwolinski’s obsession,” she thought to herself. “His obsession with aliens was my salvation!” The shape-shifter, who looked exactly like Kathleen, right down to the smallest freckle, continued to massage Zwolinski’s temples, neck, and forehead, as he probed deeper into his mind…  The bell rang, and Dumas collected up his second grade books quickly. He had to walk about a mile and a half to get home, but it was a pleasant walk. It was a bit chilly outside being February. But for February, it was actually not so bad. Dumas was in a hurry to get home. His older brother had promised to take him to the five and dime to spend the dollar his father had given him the day before for getting good grades the previous quarter. Jonathan was sixteen. He had just learned to drive recently and enjoyed shuttling Dumas –or anybody else- around in the family’s Packard. Normally, Dumas would stray from the route home to walk by the lake. It was a big lake, and Dumas always wondered what was on the other side. It was a mystery… the other side of the lake… It might as well have been the other side of the world. But today Dumas headed straight home. There were things that interested him even more than the mystery of the other side of the lake. Jonathan was taking him to the five and dime. Dumas loved the five and dime… especially the little rubber tractors. They had bins and bins of them in different sizes, nickel-sized and dime-sized. And they had lots of other kinds of toys… and candy… so much candy! Dumas could get a lot of candy with a dollar. He’d get some for Jonathan, too. Dumas walked up the street to his yard and opened the little white swinging gate. He put his books on the ground and closed the gate back then picked the books back up and walked briskly toward the house. As he got closer, he heard something going on inside. It wasn’t the normal sounds he would hear… it was more chaotic… like people running… things being overturned or thrown. Dumas dropped his books and ran up onto the porch. As quickly as he could, he let himself in. “Mom? Are you here? Sally? Francis? Johnny?” Dumas ran to Jonathan’s room. Jonathan was lying beside his bed on the floor. Dumas looked at him and saw that his T-shirt was torn. He reached down and carefully lifted the tattered, burned edges of the T-shirt. Jonathan had a silver handprint on his chest over his heart. The handprint seemed to have been burned through his T-shirt. Jonathan was dead. Dumas wasn’t sure how he knew that. Maybe it was because he had never seen Jonathan quite so still. But he knew. He ran to his sister’s room. “Sally? Are you in here?” Dumas opened the door carefully and peeked inside. Then he opened the door. Nine-year old Sally lay on the bed. Thirteen-year-old Francis lay across her as though she had been trying to protect her younger sister. Dumas didn’t have to touch them. He could see the silver handprints and the vacant stares in their eyes. Dumas rushed through the house looking for anyone. As he rushed into the living room again, a shadow on the wall moved then turned into a man. Dumas stood looking at the man, his eyes wide. Then, as the man took a step toward Dumas, the closet door opened. “Leave him alone! Dumas, run!” Mrs. Zwolinski ran from the closet where she had been hiding. Dumas was too shocked to run. He stood there as the man turned on his mother, pressing one hand to her chest. A red aura grew quickly around his hand, and Mrs. Zwolinski collapsed to the floor. The strange shadow-man turned and took a step toward the boy, but at that moment, another man that looked just like the first shadow-man appeared suddenly from outside and said something that was unintelligible to Dumas. The shadow-man in front of Dumas looked at the boy again then inexplicably turned and fled out the back door with his companion. Shocked at what he had seen, Yali broke the connection with Zwolinski momentarily. “Don’t stop, Topolsky! You’re massage is the best thing that’s happened to me in a while,” Zwolinski said. Yali began to massage Zwolinski’s shoulders and temples again. But he had seen what he needed to see. “I think that’s enough for now, Zwolinski,” “Kathleen” said. “You should be pretty relaxed.” “Oh, I am, I am,” Zwolinski said, looking up at “Kathleen.” “You’ll have to do this again sometime. I never knew what I was missing.” “Kathleen” smiled. “We’ll see.” Zwolinski stood up, and before Yali knew what was happening, Zwolinski had given him a kiss right on the lips. Yali just smiled back at him. <div style="text-align:center">**********</div> “I heard your conversation,” Kathleen said later when she and Yali were again alone. “I wish I could have seen it. Zwolinski seemed to enjoy your massage.” “Yes. He showed his appreciation.” “Oh? I didn’t hear him say thank you.” “He gave me… you call it a ‘kiss’ on my lips.” Kathleen looked at Yali, and her eyes grew wide. “I am so glad that was you and not me! Oh God, but he kissed you? Didn’t that seem kind of… well, gay?” “What’s ‘gay’?” “A guy… well, two people who are alike… I don’t know! You know… don’t you?” Yali looked confused. “Oh God, this is hard… Well, look, Yali, it doesn’t matter really.” Yali smiled. “You have two different ‘sexes’ on Earth, just as they do on Antar. The two sexes must combine to create a continuing line. I understand that.” “That’s what I meant to say,” Kathleen said, turning red-faced. “We do not have sexes on Lauris-Kel. Everyone is the same. I can be whatever I would like to be at any particular time.” “Sounds like fun,” Kathleen said. “A little kinky… but it definitely could be fun.” “It’s the natural way,” Yali said. “For you, I guess it is, Yali. I didn’t mean to imply anything. How do you… you know, continue your line?” Yali smiled. “Never mind! Omigod, I shouldn’t have asked that, should I?” “Why not? I don’t mind. We become pregnant much as you do. We carry our babies three of your Earth months.” “Lucky you,” Kathleen said. “Who gets to carry the baby?” “We agree beforehand. We choose life mates for compatibility… and because we care about each other. When it is time to continue our line, we agree who will carry the baby.” “That would never work here, Yali. We might become extinct. Do you have a life mate?” “Yes.” “Who’s going to carry your baby?” “My mate will carry the next one.” “The next one?” “I’m carrying this one.” “Thi… this one? Now? You mean you’re… pregnant?” “Well, it’s not exactly the same, but yes, basically that is accurate. In two months, our line will be continued.” “Congratulations… I think. Do you say that?” “I understand. Thank you.” “I would really love to continue this conversation, Yali, but I’m afraid I’m going to stick my foot in my mouth and embarrass myself beyond any hope of recovering.” Yali smiled again. He did seem to understand Earth emotions pretty well. Perhaps it was because he had spent sixty years on Earth and… Kathleen had no idea how many on Antar before that. “Did you find out anything from Zwolinski,” Kathleen asked. “Yes. I saw what happened. And I recognized the ones responsible. They are a separate race of shape-shifters.” “There’s more than one kind?” “Oh, yes! Kivar used shape-shifters from several planets. The ones I saw in Zwolinski’s mind were from Copro.” “Is that a planet?” “Yes. It’s in the same system as Lauris-Kel. The Coprosians are known as the ‘shadow-dwellers.’ Their natural form resembles a shadow, but they can take any shape. As a shadow, they are flat, and the Coprosians will often stand against a building or wall and not be noticed.” “Why would they kill Zwolinski’s family?” “That is the real question,” Yali said thoughtfully. “The Coprosians are ruthless as a race, but they’re not known for killing randomly for no reason. There had to be something they were looking for or something that they wanted in that house or from someone in that house.” “What could the Zwolinski family have possibly had that would interest the shadow-dwellers,” Kathleen asked. “That’s what we must find out,” Yali said. tbc

Posted: **Sun Jun 15, 2003 3:04 pm**

Great job! love it! Max: Knowing you has made me human. Whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same. It's you! MICHAEL: I've been thinking. MARIA: Oh, great this usually involves me having to get my car towed Giles: Do you want me to answer that or shall I just glare? Whatever the virtues of balance, it's just a pleasant form of insanity. ~~Ally McBeal You might think there's an explanation, but you'd be wrong! ~~Ally McBeal

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:56 am**

Another twist...I wonder what they couldhave had and how it all ties into Michael/Rath? Hurry back with some answers!! <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>

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2003 1:12 pm**

Great Twist !! *****I´m thinking....I´m thinking***** <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"> :

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:41 pm**

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

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2003 12:44 am**

Thanks for the feedback, Fallen Magic, Melisa, Veca, and Tracie! The answer to the question of what the Coprosian shape-shifters were looking for is coming soon. But in the meantime... here's another chapter. The clues are falling into place, though. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2003 12:47 am**

The Four Faces of Rath Changes Of Heart Chapter 30 XXX Liz opened her door to find a very distraught Kyle Valenti standing in front of her. “May I come in, Liz?” “Kyle! Sure! Yeah, come in… Have a seat…” Liz showed him to the living room and motioned to a large armchair… then she sat down herself in a chair nearby. “What are you doing here, Kyle? Aren’t you a little far from your stomping grounds?” “My Dad got killed, Liz.” Liz looked surprised, then sympathetic. “Kyle, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. What happened?” “We don’t know. Well, somebody killed him… I know that… He was shot. But the new sheriff they appointed, Hansen, thinks it was an accident.” “An accident?” “Hansen thinks Dad fell while he was investigating something out at the old quarry.” “You said he was shot. I would think even Hansen could tell that.” “Hansen thinks Dad shot himself accidentally when he fell into the quarry. He was shot with his own gun.” “Oh! Well… I guess… I can see how he might think then…” “Dad would never shoot himself accidentally, Liz… and he would never fall into the quarry. He was shot and pushed in. Dad’s been all over that quarry more times than I can remember. There were always reports of weird things going on out there, and he was always running out there to check on something… ever since I was little. Dad didn’t fall, and he didn’t shoot himself.” Liz nodded. “I believe you, Kyle. I do. I don’t think he would fall or shoot himself either. I can see how Hansen might think that, though.” “Hansen knew Dad well, Liz. How could he have thought that?” Liz shook her head. “People sometimes believe whatever’s easiest to believe… or to explain, Kyle. Hansen was pretty young when I lived in Roswell, but even then I knew that he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the package, you know? Your Dad’s death being an accident is probably all that he can imagine.” “Maybe.” “How can I help, Kyle?” “Well, that’s why I’m here, Liz. It’s just that… that… well, how can I put this? This isn’t easy for me…” “Just say it, Kyle. I’ll understand, whatever it is.” Kyle smiled slightly, grateful for the confidence. “Liz, I was thinking about what that guy said… you know, Michael, the one who claimed to be from out there somewhere…” Kyle pointed randomly upward toward the sky. “Antar,” Liz said, nodding. “Yeah… well, whatever. It’s not that I really believe it, you know, but…” “It’s true,” Liz said. “I’ve been there.” Kyle looked at Liz with a startled look. “You’ve been there? How? Geez, Liz, that’s a lot to lay on me… this ‘I’ve been to another planet,’ stuff. I’m not the most trusting guy in the world, you know. If you were anyone else but you, I’d write you off right now as another crazy abductee kook.” “Yeah, well, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Kyle. I called it home for a little over a year.” “When did this happen, Liz?” Liz smiled. “In the future. I didn’t tell Michael or my Dad that I was there that long. I returned here only a few minutes after I left. But, yeah… I was there a little over a year. It’s all true, Kyle. Believe me if you don’t believe Michael.” “Maybe you’re crazy, too, Liz. But if you are, hell, so am I, ‘cause… as hard as it is for me to say this… I do believe you, and the crazy part is, I think… maybe… I might want to go there, too.” “What about your life in Roswell, Kyle? What about your football trainer career… the money… the respect… you know, all that?” “Yeah, well, I just woke up this morning and realized that all that was not as important as I thought it was, Liz. When Dad died, I… I… well… Michael said something about a whole different life up there. Do you think Dad would be alive there, Liz?” Liz smiled. “He was when I was there. Don’t ask me any more, Kyle. I can’t tell you any more about the future.” “Why not, Liz? It’s not our future. It’s a whole different future in another place and time.” “It still may be your future, Kyle.” “I’m going to have a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around that thought, Liz. I’m trying… believe me.” “So you really think you want to return to that life, Kyle?” “Return? Oh, yeah, Michael said I was there before and time got screwed up or something, didn’t he? Yeah, I don’t know, well, yeah, I guess so. No, hell, I know so. I’ll just say it.” Kyle turned slightly red as he made this admission. It was like admitting he believed in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. In fact, in Kyle’s mind, the tooth fairy was probably more likely to exist than some alternate time on an alien world… with him in it. But he was ready to take a chance… to embarrass himself if that’s what it took… to get back what he really cared about in life. In this time, Kyle had no family except his Dad. There was no wife, except the brief marriage he had had just out of high school… and that had ended badly. There were no children. Michael said he had had all these things on Antar. Could that be so bad? Kyle had trouble imagining himself happily married, with children, but Michael said that on Antar he was. Could that really be a bad thing? He had no football career there, but Michael said there were a lot of other things. Could that be so bad? Now that Jim was gone, the football career seemed tragically unimportant. Maybe part of it’s importance had always been that it had impressed his Dad. Kyle hadn’t been a stay-at-home. He had cut out on his own right after high school, and he had always been his own man. But he realized that a lot of the enjoyment he got in life was in knowing that his successes pleased and impressed his Dad. He realized it now more than ever… now that everything he had lived for… everything he had treasured and built his life around… suddenly had no real meaning to him. “You want to take a little trip, Kyle?” “Where to?” “You’ll see.” Liz called for the portal. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this, Liz. This is just weird.” Liz smiled and took Kyle’s hand. “Portal, take us to Michael.” They stepped through the portal and onto one of the balconies of the royal palace on Antar. Zan and Michael were both standing there looking out at the city and the Golden Sea just beyond. Both of them turned to look at Liz and Kyle, as they stepped out of the portal. Liz’s face turned a rosy pink, as they suddenly both looked at her. “Zan… Michael… Hi! I hope I didn’t interrupt something important. I’m sorry to just barge in on you. I thought you’d want to know that Kyle had a change of heart. He wants to come back.” Kyle stared out at the Golden Sea, the unknown landscape, the moons in the day sky… and the slightly visible planets aligned like a V in the sky, with the one he was on forming the junction of the V. For a moment, he almost had no awareness of those around him. Then he suddenly realized that people were talking. Some of what he was hearing was distinctly not English. It was also not Spanish. He had heard plenty of that in New Mexico, and though he didn’t speak it himself, he had picked up enough to understand a good bit of what he heard. This did not sound like Spanish. “So, you’re ready to come back,” Michael asked Kyle. Zan smiled and said something to Michael in Antarian, and Michael nodded. “Zan says you look like you’d make a great Captain.” Kyle shook his head. “I’m not interested in being a soldier… but I’m ready to get my old life back… the one you told me about… if that’s still an option.” “I’m still working on it, Kyle, but yeah, it’s still an option. I’m glad you want to return.” Michael spoke to Zan in Antarian, and Zan smiled understandingly. “This is Antar? This is where I lived in that… other time you told me about?” “Yeah. This is it, Kyle. The people in the palace are a little different… well, kind of. Max and Liz were the king and queen. Zan here is Max, but that’s kind of a long story. And all our families are missing, so it doesn’t feel the same… but the planet’s still the same. How do you like it?” Kyle hadn’t heard anything after Michael said, “Max and Liz were the king and queen.” “Liz… my Liz? This Liz! You didn’t tell me about that, Liz.” Liz nodded and blushed slightly. “Your Liz?” Michael asked. “Yeah, well, you know, the Earth Liz… like me… the Liz I know. Liz, how the heck did you get to be the queen… of another planet? I really want to hear this.” “I got together an army and mounted a rebellion against the palace. Then I ousted the royal family, and the people made me their queen.” Kyle stood with his mouth open and nothing coming out. Liz giggled and slapped him playfully on the arm… “No big plots, Kyle. I married the king… Max… that’s all. Zan, he’s called here.” “Yeah,” Michael added, “then we found out she really was the rightful queen all along. Remind me to tell you about that sometime.” “Count on it,” Kyle said, nodding incredulously. “So what do you think, Kyle? Could you live here and be happy,” Michael asked. “It’s got its charm,” Kyle said. “It’ll take some getting used to, though, I think.” “Maybe not,” Michael said. “If I succeed in restoring time to its former path, you’ll again be who you were before, and you’ll be used to it already. You lived on Antar for about twenty years… longer than anyone else from Earth but Max and me, longer than Liz and the others. We rescued them from Earth later. You came here with Max and me when we first returned to our planet. “How the hell did you get me to do that?” “Earth was falling apart. Kivar blew it up.” “Oh. That might work, I guess.” Liz slapped Kyle on the arm again. Kyle grinned. “Who was Kivar anyway?” “He was the guy who really wanted to oust the royal family and take over Antar… and some other planets.” “Oh… a galactic bad guy. And he blew up the Earth?” “He was after us. I don’t think he meant to blow the Earth up, but that’s what happened.” “And you changed that some way, I take it. I mean, otherwise I wouldn’t be around on Earth in my time, would I?” “I don’t know how this time stuff works exactly, Kyle,” Michael said, “but yeah, Max and I went back and changed it and rescued Liz and Maria… and all the others who were being held by the special FBI alien unit. Alex helped. You stayed on Antar.” “Alex?” “Yeah, Alex Whitman.” “This just gets cozier and cozier! Alex Whitman was here?” “He came later… with Tess. That reminds me… Liz?” “Yeah?” “You said I had to find Alex, Kyle, Jim, Kathleen, and Tess. We’ve found everyone but Tess, and now that Kyle wants to come back, everyone but Tess is taken care of. How am I supposed to find someone who doesn’t exist?” “Tess?” Kyle asked. “Tess Harding. She was the fourth royal… the queen before Kivar deposed… killed us. Tess was Ava’s double or reincarnation. But in this time, we didn’t get killed. Ava is still alive, and Tess was never born on Earth, because Ava’s DNA was never taken there.” “Well, I don’t know what Tess Harding was,” Kyle said… “but she did exist on Earth. She still does. At least somebody’s cashing my alimony checks.” Michael and Liz both looked at Kyle with obvious surprise on their faces. “Well, she could have been an alien,” Kyle said. “That might explain a lot. That girl could really warp my mind!” “That was one of her powers,” Michael said… “mind warps.” “Well, I didn’t mean that literally,” Kyle said. “I was speaking figuratively. Oh, I guess she wasn’t so bad. We were both young and naïve. We weren’t ready for marriage. I know I wasn’t.” “Do you know where she is… what she’s doing?” Liz asked. Kyle shook his head. “I haven’t kept up with her. I just send a check to a PO box every month. Well, my attorney does.” Liz looked at Michael, and Michael nodded. Liz called the portal. “Kyle, you’re coming with us,” Michael said. “You got that right. I’m not staying here by myself on an alien planet with no one that speaks English! How would I even find the bathroom? Do they even have those here? No offense, Zan.” Zan smiled, though he didn’t understand a word of what Kyle had said. Liz told the portal to take them to Tess Harding, and Michael stepped into the opening. Liz followed with Kyle. They stepped out on the other side into what appeared to be a yacht, a very big yacht. “Tess must be making the most of my alimony checks,” Kyle said, looking at the beautiful yacht around them. Suddenly, they heard noises. Someone was trying to speak, but their voice was muffled. “Shut up,” another voice said gruffly. “Let her scream,” a third voice said. “No one’s going to hear her out here.” “It grates on my noives,” the other male voice said. “My ‘noives!’ My ‘noives!’” the second voice mocked sarcastically. “Just get her over to the side.” There were more muffled sounds. Michael and Kyle ran around the back of the boat with Liz right behind them. “Damn, this is a big boat,” Kyle thought to himself. “Takes forever to get anywhere on it.” As they rounded the back, they saw two big men struggling with a young, blonde-headed woman. She was gagged, and her feet had been stuck through the two holes in a large cinder block then the holes had been sealed with concrete around her ankles so that she would not be able to pull her feet back through. “Tess!” Kyle yelled. The young woman looked at him with terror in her eyes. Then the two men hoisted her over the side. The last Kyle heard was a muffled scream and a big splash, as the cinder block hit the water and sank quickly to the bottom, a hundred and twenty feet below, taking its victim with it. tbc

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:28 am**

Well, well well...it seems Kyle was the only good person Tess could associate herself with int hat timeline, huh? Figures! Ok...so....I need some answers...please hurry back soon! <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>

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:09 pm**

Wow !! MMmm very interesting !! Liz spent almost a year on Antar !!!! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love"> Ok they have finally found Te** I bet she would be glad to return to her life on Antar !! jjejeje Well, I can´t wait to the next part <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/slinkie.gif ALT=":slinkie"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/slinkie.gif ALT=":slinkie"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/slinkie.gif ALT=":slinkie">

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:21 pm**

Gerry, you are just too cool <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"> <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>

Posted: **Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:56 am**

The Four Faces of Rath Davy Jones’ Locker Chapter 31 XXXI Kyle ran toward the men, as they tossed Tess –with the cinder block around her ankles- into the sea. He caught one of the men broadside before the man could turn around completely to face him. The much larger man, knocked off balance, fell over the side. The second man, who was at least as big as the first, grabbed Kyle by the neck and literally lifted him off the deck. Kyle gasped for air, as the large man’s hand wrapped almost completely around his neck, pressing like a vise against his trachea and closing off the airway. Though well-toned and muscular, and no small guy himself, Kyle found himself nevertheless unable to reach the hulking ogre that held him effortlessly in the air with one hand as it strangled the life out of him. He tried to kick or punch the man, but it was to no avail. His arms and legs simply wouldn’t reach him. “Damn,” Kyle thought, as he began to lose consciousness, “Just my luck to be killed out here by the Incredible Hulk’s evil white brother.” Suddenly, a bolt of power flashed past Kyle’s face and struck the large man square in the middle of the chest. The powerful burst of energy sent the large man backwards right through the rail and over the side… with Kyle still in his hand. Michael watched as Kyle went over the side. He hadn’t expected to go this far, but what had to be done had to be done. He quickly kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt then jumped overboard. The larger man had released Kyle when they hit the water, and Kyle was floundering, half-conscious, on the surface. Michael grabbed Kyle by the chin and lifted his face out of the water, as he swam back to the side of the boat with him. “Liz! …Liz! …Drop me a ladder or something,” Michael yelled, spitting out some salt water. He waited a few moments then yelled again. “Liz! Where are you? I need a ladder over here!” Getting no response, Michael looked around for a way to get himself and Kyle back onto the small ship. He spotted the anchor line at the bow. “Liz, you’d better have a real good reason for disappearing on me up there,” Michael said, more to himself than to anyone in particular, as he paddled with one hand toward the anchor line while holding Kyle with the other hand. Kyle seemed to be regaining consciousness. At least that was a good sign. He could keep himself afloat if need be. Michael reached the anchor line at last and grabbed hold of it with one hand, testing his remaining strength. “Can you hold onto me, Kyle, while I get us out of here?” “I think so,” Kyle said. “Is Goliath gone?” “Yeah. Hold on tight. We’re going up.” Kyle put his arms around Michael’s shoulders. “Not that close,” Michael said, looking Kyle in the eyes. “I can’t move my arms… and I can smell your breath.” “Naw, that’s just the fish in my shirt,” Kyle said, grinning as much as he could under the circumstances. Kyle slid down a little and grabbed hold around Michael’s waist to allow Michael to move his arms freely. Michael grabbed the anchor line with both hands and began to climb, pulling himself and Kyle up the chain one stroke at a time. As he climbed, Kyle began to help, finally grabbing hold of the chain himself and pulling himself the rest of the way up. The two climbed over the bow onto the yacht and looked around. “Where is Liz,” Michael asked, his voice now showing genuine concern. <div style="text-align:center">**********</div> One hundred and twenty feet below the surface of the sea, a silvery, mirror-like apparition appeared in front of a panicking young woman whose feet were stuck in a cement block. Tess had held her breath about as long as she could, and she had tried every way she could –and a few that she couldn’t- to get the block off of her feet or to somehow swim or move with it on, but it was useless. Now she was at the point of sheer exhaustion and panic. She saw the silvery apparition appear in front of her, looking hazy through the water, and her only thought was that she must be ready to die and this was some light leading her to the next life. She was relieved to think that it wouldn’t all end here, but it saddened her, too, to go this way… this suddenly… this… needlessly. Tess closed her eyes and prepared to succumb to the overwhelming urge to breathe. She knew that her burning lungs would merely fill with water, but she had already held her breath longer than she had thought was humanly possible. As she started to breathe in, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pinching her nose and mouth closed. Tess opened her eyes wide in shock and looked through the haze of the water at the figure in front of her. If she was being taken to Heaven or… some place else… either way, she hadn’t expected to be taken like this. She momentarily almost forgot that her lungs were burning as though being seared by flames with a desperation to breathe. The figure swimming in front of her laboriously moved the cinder block a few inches at a time toward the silvery apparition. It took only a matter of moments… twenty, maybe thirty seconds… to reach the apparition, but to Tess it was an eternity. She was losing consciousness as the figure pulled her into the apparition. The next moment, the hand came off of Tess’ nose and mouth, and Tess gulped in air… real air… delicious air… with several deep reflexive gasps. Collapsing at the feet of the unknown figure who had pulled her through the apparition, Tess looked up thankfully into the smiling face of a young woman with brown eyes and hair. She was sure that she was looking into the face of an angel. Whether she was dead or alive, either way, she was looking at the face of an angel. “That was close,” the dark-haired woman said, attempting to press some of the salt water out of her long, drenched hair. “I’m glad we made it in time. I’m Liz, by the way.” Tess gasped again, gulping in more of the precious air that her lungs and body were starved for. Then she surprised Liz by grabbing her around the legs and starting to cry. Liz slid down next to her and put her arms around her. “It’s alright. You’re okay now. You’re safe.” “I know,” Tess said, tears streaming down her face. “I know… thanks to you. I don’t know how you did it, but thanks… so much! You’re an angel!” “Pshhh… just someone who knows a few special tricks,” Liz said, holding Tess and rocking with her back and forth. “How did you get in this mess anyway,” Liz asked. “Who were those guys?” Tess looked away momentarily. Then she looked back at Liz with a sense of determination. “You deserve to know. I’ve never told anyone before, not even my husband when I was married.” “Kyle?” Tess looked surprised. “You know Kyle?” “Yeah. He’s here… somewhere.” “I thought I saw him right before they threw me in the water… then I thought maybe it was just my life flashing before my eyes, you know.” “Yeah.” “You wanted to know why they were trying to kill me?” “If you want to tell me.” “I’ll tell you. Like I said, you deserve to know. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t saved me… I still don’t know how you did that!” “That’s my secret,” Liz said. “But I might tell you later. What did those guys want?” “They’re just hired thugs,” Tess said. “It’s who they work for that matters.” “Who’s that?” Tess looked around again. “I don’t want you to think I’m making things up. You might think I’m lying to you, and I wouldn’t do that… not after you saved my life.” “I won’t think you’re lying.” Tess nodded. Somehow, she sensed that Liz really would believe her. “Okay… well, the people the thugs work for… they’re not from around here.” “Not from… I don’t even know where here is,” Liz said, just realizing this fact. She and Michael had asked the sphere to take them to Tess. She had no idea where that might be, though. “Well, we’re about twenty miles east of the Bahamas,” Tess said. “But that’s not what I meant. I meant that the people those thugs are working for are… aliens.” “Aliens… like Mexicans? …or aliens like, you know, Martians?” “Like Martians,” Tess said. “They’re shape-shifters from a planet called Copro… and from Antar.” Tess thought she noticed a look of surprise in Liz’s eyes at the mention of Antar. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, though. “Did the thugs come from there, too,” Liz asked. “Oh, no! They didn’t even know they were working for aliens. They just know they’re well-paid. It’s just business for them.” “Some business!” “Yeah. Did you put them out of business, Liz?” “Me? No, I think Michael and Kyle did that.” Liz looked around with a look of concern on her face. “You’re worried about your friend and Kyle, aren’t you?” “Yeah, well, they were here, and now they’re not… But I trust them. They’ll be okay.” Tess smiled and nodded. But she could see the worry in Liz’s face. “What did these aliens want with you, Tess?” “They’ve always wanted me,” Tess said. “Ever since I came here I’ve been hiding from them.” “Where did you come here from?” “Well…” Tess looked down again. “Don’t think I’m lying to you…” “I promise.” “Antar.” Tess noticed that same look of surprise in Liz’s eyes. “You know something, don’t you, Liz? How do you know about Antar?” “You won’t think I’m lying, will you?” Liz asked. Tess smiled. “Okay, I had that coming, I guess. No, I promise.” “I’ve been there,” Liz said. She decided to wait until she knew more about this girl before telling her that Michael was from there. Tess looked surprised but then nodded. “I knew there was something about you. You aren’t a shape-shifter.” Liz laughed. “No!” “I know that. You don’t look like you’re Antarian… but I can’t be sure. There’s not that much difference.” “I’m from Roswell… New Mexico.” “Oh.” “Why were these shape-shifters after you, Tess?” “Because they made me.” Liz could not conceal the shock that this statement caused in her. Tess noticed it immediately. “I guess you aren’t here to take me back if you don’t know who I am,” Tess said. “No. I’m only here to help you, Tess.” “I can tell that. Thanks, Liz.” “What did you mean, ‘they made you?’” “They work for a real bad type known as Kivar.” “I’ve heard of him.” Tess looked surprised but just barely. “Well, anyway, Kivar bribed someone to get him some of the queen’s hair from one of her hair brushes then he had his scientists isolate her DNA and combine it with human DNA here on Earth.” “Why?” “Because he hoped to kill the real queen, Ava, and replace her with his creation.” “You.” Tess nodded. “I was supposed to be indoctrinated and raised to be obedient to Kivar while I grew up here on Earth, but I escaped. Another shape-shifter, Nasedo, took me away when I was little and hid me. The sheriff in Roswell helped us.” “That explains that,” Liz said to herself. “How could you replace Ava, though? I met Ava. She’s like ninety years old now. You’re nowhere near that.” “The plan was to age progress me over time until I was the same age as the queen then kill her and put me in her place. Then Kivar would take over, because I would be there helping him from inside the palace. No one would ever suspect the queen.” “Ingenious. Nasty… but ingenious. You spoiled their plans, huh…” “Yeah… big time. I escaped from Kivar and his shape-shifters when I was only seven. Nasedo found me before the others did; and instead of taking me back, he helped me get away. The sheriff helped us, too, for a while, as I said before. He found us a place to hide… a safe house. Nasedo explained everything pretty much to the sheriff, I think. He trusted him. Not so much at first, but later he did. That’s how I met Kyle. But Jim never told anyone… not even Kyle… what I was. He kept my secret. He wanted me to tell Kyle, but I never could. How can you tell someone you care about that you’re not real,” Tess asked, swallowing a sob and looking at her own hands as though she didn’t know what they were. “You’re real, honey,” Liz said. “You’re as real as me! You may have been brought to life by the scientists who combined Ava’s DNA with human DNA, but you’re every bit as real as I am.” Tess smiled. “Thanks, Liz. You’re nice… a lot like Jim. I miss him… and Kyle, too, in a way.” “Somebody killed Jim,” Liz said. Tess was stunned… then tears began to well up in her eyes again. “Jim’s dead? How? When?” “A couple of days ago… at the old quarry outside of Roswell. We don’t know who did it. He was shot with his own gun. The deputy… the new sheriff… Hansen… thinks Jim slipped and fell into the quarry and accidentally shot himself.” Tess shook her head vehemently. “No! Jim would never do that! You don’t know about the quarry, Liz. Stay away from there! It’s a dangerous place!” “Well, I figured that out,” Liz said. “Kathleen told me that. She said it’s spooky. There’s no sound out there… not a bird or a cricket, not even a breeze to rustle the leaves of the trees or bushes. She said it’s like being inside a strange invisible box.” “Don’t let her go there again if you care about her,” Tess said. “Please!” “Why? What’s the deal with the old quarry?” Tess grimaced. She didn’t want to say too much, but she felt somehow compelled to tell Liz everything. “The shape-shifters’ space craft is there. They put a force canopy over the whole area.” “How were Jim and Kathleen able to get in there then? If a space ship is there, why didn’t they see it?” “The ship is buried under the rocks at the bottom of the quarry. The force canopy doesn’t keep people out… people won’t even notice it. Animals seem to be aware of it, though, and they stay away. The purpose of the force canopy is to provide the shape-shifters with remote information about what’s happening there. It’s like a radar field. They’re… connected… somehow… to the force canopy. Anything that happens there, they can see it or sense it in some way. If they feel it’s a threat to them… they eliminate the threat.” “Why didn’t you tell Jim this?” “I wanted to tell him… but I was afraid he’d go out there and try to do something and they’d kill him. I didn’t want anything to happen to him. There was nothing Jim could have done against the shape-shifters. He wouldn’t have had a chance… He didn’t have a chance.” “They killed him?” “I’m sure of it. That’s probably how they found me.” “Jim wouldn’t have told them where you were… not even if they tortured him.” “He wouldn’t need to,” Tess said. “I’m sure they knew he wouldn’t give up any information. But all they have to do is touch someone’s forehead to see all their thoughts.” “You think Jim let them do that?” “No. They would have sneaked up on him disguised as something… a bird, a cat, a puppy… it could be anything. If Jim picked it up, it could have had his gun and shot him before he knew what happened. They could get the information in the seconds before he died… maybe even after he died… in the first few seconds.” Liz was appalled and shocked by what Tess was telling her. “So Jim really would have been defenseless against them,” Liz said. “Yeah.” “Someone could have notified the military.” “The Secret Service and the military aren’t high on my slumber party invitation list, Liz. Jim wasn’t just protecting me from shape-shifters and from Kivar…” “Oh! I see.” “Besides, anything that drew attention to the presence of aliens and appeared in any way to be connected to Jim would have caused nothing but trouble for him from the military.” “You’re probably right.” Liz looked around again for Michael and Kyle. She was more that a little worried now by their disappearance. “I think we’d better look for Michael and Kyle. You up to walking?” “Yeah… I’ll be okay now. Thanks, Liz. I’ll go with you. Maybe I can help.” Liz nodded and headed off toward the front of the yacht, walking along the port side, with Tess beside her. As they reached the bow, Liz looked around for any sign of her two missing friends. She saw nothing. Then, suddenly, two large hands closed around her eyes and mouth from behind. She heard Tess let out a muffled cry and knew that they had her, too. Moments later, the hands came off, and Liz and Tess looked around. They were inside a large stateroom. A couple of large men left the room and locked the door behind them. “I’m so glad you could join the party,” a voice behind Liz and Tess said. Both spun around at the same time. “It was really not very considerate of you to escape when I wanted you to drown, Tess.” Tess gasped. “Nicholas?” The boy grinned. “At your service… temporarily… very temporarily.” tbc 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: 6/25/03 2:18 am

Posted: **Wed Jun 25, 2003 2:55 am**

Thanks so much for the feedback, Melisa, Veca, and Tracie! Yeah, I don't think getting Tess to want to go back will be a problem, Veca. But you may be surprised by what happens next. And I've got answers! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/slinkie.gif ALT=":slinkie"> Lots of answers! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/slinkie.gif ALT=":slinkie"> ...And maybe more questions. <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/lol.gif ALT=":lol"> (What would any story be without them?) <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/wink.gif ALT=";)"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

Posted: **Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:32 pm**

Wow !! Nicholas !!! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap"> Great update , yes yes yes !!! <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/love.gif ALT=":love">

Posted: **Fri Jun 27, 2003 9:58 pm**

<img src=http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server- ... m/eek2.gif ALT=":jawdrop"> <img src=http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server- ... m/eek2.gif ALT=":jawdrop"> <img src=http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server- ... m/eek2.gif ALT=":jawdrop">

Posted: **Tue Jul 01, 2003 10:15 pm**

The Four Faces of Rath Nicholas Out-Of-Time Chapter 32 XXXII “You didn’t think those two Neanderthal-brains that you threw overboard were the only two crewmen on this boat, did you, Tess,” Nicholas asked sarcastically. “Really! Somebody has to run this dingy. I doubt those two morons could figure out how a rowboat works.” Tess frowned, unamused by Nicholas’ attempt at wittiness. “I didn’t know you knew anything about boats, Nicholas.” “Ah, my dear, dear girl! Shows how little you know! Okay, it’s true, I’m not the one running the boat. I have more important things to occupy my time with. That’s what captains are for. The pea-brains you already met are just useless crew… muscle to back up my will.” “Does Kivar know you tried to drown me, Nicholas? He went to a lot of trouble to make me. I can’t believe he’d just toss out his ace.” “Defective merchandise, Tess… No reason to keep you.” “Is that what Kivar thinks?” Nicholas smiled very slightly, making an obviously forced effort to produce his trademark sarcastic grin, but he seemed inhibited… “It doesn’t really matter what Kivar thinks, Tess. You’re not going to tell him, are you?” His trademark grin returned. “What Kivar doesn’t know won’t hurt me… will it? Kivar could start over and do it right if he would just give up on you. But no! He still thinks he’ll find you and complete his plans. But we both know that even if he does find you, you’ll never be what he’s looking for, don’t we, Tess?” Tess was silent. “No… that’s what I thought. You’ve been corrupted by the humans who’ve been helping you. You don’t have that ruthless instinct that Kivar wanted to breed into you. You’d be a liability now, not a help, to our cause. Kivar is reluctant to give up on you, but we know you’re defective, don’t we, Tess?” “I think you’re defective, Nicholas, if you really want to know,” Tess said. Nicholas grinned. “Now that’s the Tess I like… sarcastic!” “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to turn you on.” “Don’t flatter yourself, Tess. You’re not my type.” “Oh, that’s right… seventy years of popping pre-adolescent zits and having women pat you on the head and walk away has turned your attentions in other directions, hasn’t it?” Nicholas frowned. “My private life is none of your concern, Tess. Besides, there are some shape-shifters that are more than willing to please me.” Liz grimaced and wrinkled her nose. “Ew! I really didn’t need to know that.” “Welcome to the twisted world of NicholasPerv,” Tess said to Liz. “You get off with shadows, Nicholas?” “That’s just their natural appearance. They can be anything I want.” “Ew,” Liz said again, her mind running wild with unwanted images of what might turn Nicholas on. “Let’s change the subject.” “I’d love to stay and chat with you ladies, but my duty calls,” Nicholas said with a dramatic flare. “There is no rest for some of us.” “We wouldn’t want to keep you from your duty, Nicholas,” Tess said sarcastically. “I’m sure we’ll pull ourselves together and manage without you somehow.” Nicholas grinned and knocked on the door. One of his steroid-enhanced crewmen opened the door for him then closed it back and locked it, leaving Tess and Liz alone in the room. “Do you think they got Kyle and your friend, Liz,” Tess asked. Liz was silent for a moment. Then she frowned… “I don’t know. I’m afraid of that… but Nicholas didn’t mention them. He impresses me as the type who wouldn’t have been able to keep from bragging about it if he had them.” Tess nodded. “Yeah! Yeah, that’s a good point. I think you’re right, Liz. He would have said something. I wonder where they went.” “If they saw those other goons, they may be scouting the ship to find out who else is onboard… or planning our rescue. But we can’t count on that.” “But what can we do,” Tess asked. “I don’t know. It doesn’t look like there’s any way out of here.” “Well, I don’t want to just wait for Nicholas’ gorillas to put my feet in concrete and toss me overboard again,” Tess said, her eyes showing genuine fear. “How did you get that cement block off of my feet, Liz?” “I didn’t. I guess the portal transported you back onto the ship and left the block down there.” “Portal? Is that what that thing was? What kind of portal?” “It’s a bit complicated, Tess. It’s something an alien king from another planet gave to a… an ancestor of mine… a sphere that creates a portal that can take you wherever you want to go.” “Cool! Don’t let Nicholas find out about it!” “I won’t… but it wouldn’t help him if he did. It won’t work for him.” “Now that’s really cool… something that Nicholas can’t use and you can! I like that! I never had anything like that.” “I could use the portal to get us out… but if we left the boat, we’d be abandoning Michael and Kyle… and if we don’t leave the boat, those guys will just grab us again. You know, Tess… you might just have something that can help us at that. Michael told me you used to do mindwarps… in another time.” “Mindwarps? What’s that?” “Mindwarps! You know.” Tess shook her head. “You could make people think they were seeing things that weren’t there.” “Like hypnosis?” “Well, kind of, but more… I don’t know, invasive… more proactive. You didn’t have to talk to them or dangle a spinning wheel in front of them. It’s just something you did with your mind.” “That would be… cool… but I can’t do it. I’ve never done that.” “Maybe you could if you tried. If you could, you could make Nicholas and those steroid monkeys of his think they were seeing an empty room when they came back, and we could walk out the door right past them.” “I wish I could do that, Liz, but I don’t know how.” “Didn’t Nasedo teach you?” “No. He insisted that we act as human as possible. He wanted us to blend in and be inconspicuous.” “That’s not the Nasedo I heard about. Our timeline and the other one that Michael came from obviously have some differences.” “Nasedo taught me all about my planet, Antar, and he told me all about Nicholas and Kivar… the things that I didn’t know, so that I could protect myself. But he insisted that we never mention any of them around other humans.” “That was smart, probably. Look, Tess, why don’t you try it… you know… a mindwarp.” “I don’t know how.” “Just think about it. Close your eyes and concentrate. Try to make me think you’re not here.” “Tess closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she opened her eyes. “Do you still see me?” Liz nodded. “Maybe you have to internalize it somehow…” “How do I do that?” “I don’t know.” “I can’t do it’ Liz. I wish I could, but I just can’t.” Liz looked frustrated but not yet defeated. “You need to concentrate on the other person’s mind… block it somehow from seeing you. Let me think…” Liz closed her eyes tight and concentrated, thinking about how a mind warp might work. After a moment, she opened her eyes. “I think I’ve got an idea, Tess, but I’m not sure I can explain it…” Tess was walking around the room with a frightened look in her eyes… “Liz? Where are you? Don’t leave me here by myself! Where’d you go?” “I’m right here, Tess!” Liz waved her hand in Tess’ face. “Liz, please! Come back! You’re scaring me!” “I’m right in front of you, Tess! Look at me!” Suddenly, Tess saw Liz. “How’d you do that? You just disappeared! You were gone! Don’t do that, Liz! I was scared you wouldn’t come back.” “I don’t know how I did it, Tess. I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking about how to do it and it happened.” “But you’re not Antarian… you’re human.” “Yeah… I know. Maybe when I was on Antar I picked up some kind of ability from Max… I don’t know.” “You can mindwarp them for us, Liz.” “I… I’m not sure I can. I’m not sure how I did it. I might not be able to do it when I need to.” “Sure you can, Liz. You just closed your eyes and concentrated on my mind… like this.” Suddenly, Tess began to fade from view… then she was gone. A moment later, she was back. Liz’s eyes were wide. “That was amazing!” “What? What did I do?” “You disappeared! You started to fade out, and then you just weren’t there! It was incredible!” “I did? I could still see me.” “But I couldn’t. How’d you do it?” “Like you told me… I just thought about blocking my image from your mind. It really wasn’t very hard… once you know what to do it’s not. You try it again.” Liz closed her eyes and concentrated. “Think about my mind, Liz. Block it from seeing you.” Liz nodded. Then she began to fade from sight. “Okay… okay, Liz, that’s enough! Come back!” Liz dissolved the block in Tess’ mind, and Tess saw her again. “Cool! Liz, you’re the greatest! You could teach me so much!” “I don’t know how to do these things myself, Tess. I’m just learning… like you.” At that moment, the door began to unlock. Tess turned toward the door, her eyes wide with fear. The door opened, and one of the large thugs came in carrying two cement blocks, one for Tess and one for Liz. The other thug was right behind him with a bag of concrete. Both men stopped and looked around the room then started to yell for Nicholas. Within moments, Nicholas was there. “They’re gone? How? Weren’t you idiots watching them?” “They were locked in! They couldn’t have got out!” “Well they did, didn’t they! Idiot! Moron! Find them!” The big men turned to go one way, and Nicholas turned to go the other way. Suddenly, a foot kicked one of the large men in the behind, and another foot kicked Nicholas in the behind. Both turned back quickly to face each other. “How dare you,” Nicholas said, his child-like face turning red with rage. “Nobody…!” “Nobody does that to me,” the big man said, picking Nicholas up by the pants waist. “Youse just pushed your luck and ran out of time, runt!” With that, the oversized thug spun around twice like a discus thrower and sent Nicholas flying into the sea about a hundred feet from the yacht. Nicholas hit the water with a splash and came up sputtering. “You’ll regret this,” he yelled, as the yacht suddenly came to life and began to head towards the Bahamas. “I’ll find you… every one of you,” Nicholas yelled. “There won’t be any place you can hide from me!” Suddenly, Nicholas felt something nudge him from behind. It was a dolphin. Nicholas swatted at it. “Go away! Go away, whatever you are!” The dolphin picked Nicholas up by pushing its snout under him and playfully tossed him to another dolphin. “I’m not a frikkin’ beach ball, dammit! Cut it out! I said cut it out! Aw geez…” Still invisible to the thugs, Liz and Tess watched and giggled from the side of the yacht as the dolphins tossed Nicholas back and forth from one dolphin to the other. “You kicked that big guy good, Liz. I was laughing so hard. It’s a good thing those guys couldn’t hear us or see us.” “You kicked Nicholas pretty good yourself, Tess! I thought he was gonna sail over the side. Did Kyle teach you to kick field goals like that?” Tess giggled. “I won’t forget this,” Nicholas yelled at the disappearing yacht. “I promise you… I won’t forget…” tbc 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: 7/2/03 1:01 pm

Posted: **Tue Jul 01, 2003 11:14 pm**

Thanks so much for the feedback, Veca and Buffyrosfan. Here's the next chapter. <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://users.aol.com/isndbreeze/skysymb ...   Gerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hopeless Candy-Coated, Stargazing, Dreamer! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</div>

Posted: **Sat Jul 05, 2003 1:17 am**

I think everybody's just about stopped reading this, but I'm going ahead and post this chapter anyway, since I had it written already. Maybe I should change the title so it doesn't sound like it's just about Michael or Rath only. ? Should I scrap it and start on a new story, or is everyone just on vacation?<img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/idea.gif ALT=":idea"> <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: 7/5/03 1:25 am

Posted: **Sat Jul 05, 2003 2:19 am**

The Four Faces of Rath Mutiny On the High Seas Chapter 33 XXXIII Tess turned to Liz with a worried look on her face. “Liz, what are we going to do about getting back home? How many more thugs do you think Nicholas has on here? And where are Kyle and Michael? We need to find out what happened to them.” Liz swallowed hard. “Yeah… I’m beginning to get really worried about Michael and Kyle, too. I don’t know how many more thugs Nicholas has onboard. I don’t know how many he needed to run this thing. If we run into any more… maybe we can use a mindwarp to make them think the deck goes that way…” -Liz indicated the ocean off the starboard side- “and make them walk off the side or something.” “I think we may need the Captain, Liz… I don’t know how to run a yacht. Do you?” “No. I’ve never even been on one. I just got my solo spacecraft license right before I left Antar… that year I spent there. I wonder if a yacht’s anything like a spaceship.” “You learned to fly a spaceship?” “Yeah. Well, Max said I should. He said that in the other timeline I knew how to fly them and even repair them.” “That’s so cool!” “He said that you did, too, Tess.” “Me? Liz, I can’t even fix a vacuum cleaner when the belt breaks!” Liz smiled. “I guess you just don’t know what you can do until you’ve done it, Tess. Max said you were quite good. He said you and I helped to repair the Antarian mothership, the New Granolith, once when it was badly damaged on Earth.” “Wow! That’s really… excellent! I never imagined…” “Let’s take a walk around this yacht and scout it out,” Liz said. I want to see what’s up there on the bridge running this thing.” Tess shuddered involuntarily. “I hope it’s not Kivar! Can we mindwarp Kivar?” Liz thought a moment. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Liz led the way until they found some stairs that looked like they might lead up to the bridge. Then the two carefully climbed the stairs and slowly opened the door. It appeared that there were only two men on the bridge… the Captain and a First Mate. “Stay with me, Tess.” “You don’t need to tell me, Liz. I’m your shadow!” Liz crept over to the Captain and looked at him. Then she looked at the other man. “Tess, take a look.” Tess looked at the two men. “Kyle?” “And Michael,” Liz said. “What do you think they’re doing up here on the bridge?” “And why aren’t they looking for us,” Tess said. “Exactly! Ooh! I’m starting to think some naughty thoughts, Tess.” Tess smiled. “You, too, huh?” Tess nodded. “You take Kyle. I’ll take Michael,” Liz said. The two girls looked at each other then shoved Michael and Kyle out of their seats at the same time. “Kyle! What the crap!” “You shoved me!” Kyle exclaimed. “I didn’t shove you… You shoved me!” “I didn’t shove you, Kyle! Who shoved me?” Michael looked around the room… “Okay, Liz! Where are you? Show yourself!” Michael and Kyle heard giggling then laughing, as the two girls appeared… sitting in their seats. “Very funny,” Michael said. “Where did you girls come from?” “The question you should be asking, Michael, is “Why wasn’t I out there trying to rescue Liz and Tess when they were about to be thrown overboard with concrete shoes on?” Tess pulled Kyle up by the ear. “I’m waiting to hear that answer, too, Kyle!” “Ow, Tess! Leggo of my ear! That hurts!” “I know more things that can hurt, Kyle… unless you start explaining.” “We were looking for you, Tess… then we were attacked by a couple of those big gorillas Nicholas got out of a zoo somewhere.” “We gave ‘em a banana and sent ‘em back to the zoo,” Michael added. “What does that mean,” Liz asked. “We threw ‘em overboard,” Kyle said. Liz and Tess stared at the two guys. “What? You don’t think we could do it?” “I don’t know, Kyle,” Tess said. “Michael could have alien powers or something, but how did you…?” “Kyle just ducked when the big goon swung at him,” Michael said. “Then when the big lug fell over him, Kyle just stood up and let him roll over his back… and splash! Into the water he went!” “Okay… but why didn’t you come to rescue us then,” Tess asked. “We did,” Michael said. “After we found out where you were, we went to rescue you, but we saw two of those gorillas walking toward the door carrying some cinder blocks and cement. We hid behind some crates figuring we’d attack them and get you girls out when they opened the door; but then they started yelling that you were gone.” “At first, we couldn’t figure it out,” Kyle said. “Michael thought you must be hiding in the room somewhere, but when we saw something kick that big galoot’s ass and then something kick Nicholas’ ass and Nicholas almost do a somersault, we figured it out.” “Yeah! Then we watched the big gorilla throw Nicholas over the side,” Michael continued. “Then the two big guys went back toward the bridge, so we followed them. We figured you girls would be okay after that. That’s when the two thugs saw us, and we threw them over. We found the Captain on the bridge. He was by himself. We tied him up and put him in the stockroom. He was easy… nothing like the steroid gorillas. I think we’ve got ‘em all now.” “I didn’t know you could pilot a yacht, Michael,” Liz said. “Kyle’s teaching me.” “When did you lean to pilot a yacht, Kyle,” Tess asked. “I’ve been on a few,” Kyle said. “Football parties and all, you know. Some of the team owners have some pretty big toys… a few of the players do, too.” “Oh. You never took me on one when we were married.” “We were just out of high school, Tess. I didn’t know all these rich people back then.” “By the way, Liz,” Michael said, “When did you learn to become invisible?” “Well… I…” “Isn’t it cool,” Tess said. “Liz taught me how to do mindwarps!” “Liz taught you to… What!” Michael looked at Liz with a shocked look… “Liz, are you out of your frikkin’ mind? Do you know what you did? What were you thinking? You and I are going to have to have a serious talk!” Liz stuck her tongue out and smiled. “Well, you didn’t come to rescue us, so we took matters into our own hands. You didn’t think we were just going to sit there and let them put cement on our feet and throw us overboard, did you? I mean… if we had to depend on you two…” Liz grinned and shook her head… “You didn’t think we had to depend on you guys, did you?” “Well…” “Well, what? You think we can’t take care of ourselves?” “Well…” “Oh, really!” “No… No… I know you can take care of yourselves. Why do you think we didn’t help you?” Liz gasped. Kyle grinned. “You’re digging your hole deeper, Michael. I was married… I know. Give it up. You can’t win.” “It’s okay,” Liz said. “I’m just giving you guys a hard time because you didn’t show yourselves and we were… concerned… a little… not too much… just a little.” “I’m touched,” Michael said. “Well, don’t let it go to your head,” Liz said. “We may not come to save you the next time.” “Save us!” Michael exclaimed, his mouth open. Kyle laughed. “Well, they did come looking for us, Michael. You’ve gotta give ‘em that! And they found us. It looks to me like nobody needed saving.” “Just don’t worry us like that again,” Liz said. “I thought you said you weren’t too worried…” “I didn’t say I was worried, Michael. I just said don’t do it again.” Michael smiled. “Thanks, Liz.” “For what?” “For coming to rescue us.” “You’re welcome.” “Did you, uh, talk to Tess about… you know… the reason we’re here, Liz?” “Oh! …yeah, sort of… not completely…” “Liz said you want me to go back with you or something?” “Well, not exactly, Tess,” Michael said. “You can’t go back right now, but we need you to want to come back… Does that make any sense?” Tess shook her head. “Why do you need me to want to come back if I can’t go back with you?” “Liz? You answer that. You’re the one who went to the future and came back with that message. I don’t really understand it exactly myself.” “Well… it’s what I was told,” Liz said. “Max said that we all need to be together for the life we had before to resume the exact course it was on before. If any one of us doesn’t want to return to that timeline, then we… that person… won’t… and the timeline will be different in ways that we can’t totally predict. It’s like this… if Tess isn’t there… then the work she did on the New Granolith wouldn’t have happened in any new timeline that doesn’t include her. And anything else she ever did or said there would be…” Liz waved her hands in a gesture that meant, “gone… poof.” “If Tess hadn’t helped us fix the ship it might have taken longer… or worse, we might not have escaped from Zwolinski’s squad.” “Yeah,” Michael said. “Tess was the one who put a bubble around Zwolinski and the others to keep them from shooting at us anymore and give us the chance to try to save the ones he’d shot. I don’t want to think what the adjusted timeline would be like if she hadn’t been there then.” “I did all that?” Tess asked, her cheeks flushing a rosy pink. “Yeah,” Michael said. “You did… and a lot of stuff I can’t tell you.” “Good or bad?” Michael thought for a moment. He started to say, “In which timeline?” But he decided that would be unfair… not to mention confusing. The timeline he remembered from long ago was no more. In the timeline he hoped to return to, Tess was different… that was the Tess he knew now… or had known… before he screwed up that timeline. “Good,” Michael said simply. “All good.” “And I have to want to go there? What will happen to me if I don’t want to go?” “You’ll continue to live your life… the one you’re living now… in this timeline,” Liz said. “Nothing will change for you because you didn’t go…” “Maybe I want it to change,” Tess said. “Nobody needs me here. Well, no one but Kivar, but he’s not… you know…” “Yeah,” Liz said, smiling. “Are you going, Kyle?” Kyle nodded. “I’m crazy, Tess, I know. It’s not like me… but when Dad was killed… well, they explained that in the timeline they knew, he didn’t get killed. He lived on Amstar…” “Antar,” Michael corrected. “Get it right, Kyle. You lived there.” “Yeah. Antar,” Kyle said. “It’s funny, but it’s starting to sound right to me… starting to grow on me… you know?” “I came from there,” Tess said. “I don’t remember it… much, but it’s in my DNA, so I would be going home in a way. And I would be with friends… friends who actually need me… not just people I needed… to hide me. I want to go, Liz!” Liz looked at Michael and smiled. “That makes it a full house, Michael.” Michael nodded. “Yeah. Well, technically, Jim never agreed to go, but I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t want to… under the circumstances.” “Dad will be glad to be there,” Kyle said. “I’ll be there.” “Good point,” Michael said. “So it’s a full house. What do we have to do now, Liz?” tbc

Posted: **Sun Jul 06, 2003 2:41 pm**

What do we do now LIZ um...surely that is a typo, the line is what do we do now Max <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/lol.gif ALT=":lol"> <img src=http://www.majiklmoon.com/ezboardsmilies/lol.gif ALT=":lol"> just kidding Gerry. Excellent part <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"> <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>

Fan Fic and More

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

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Universe)

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Universe)

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Universe)

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Universe)

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer

The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Universe)

Re: The Four Faces of Rath (Sequel to Children of the Univer