Fan Fic and More

Title : Every Battle
Author : Kalyku
Rating : Mature
Disclaimer : I don’t own the rights to Roswell.
Couples : M/L
Summary : Liz has been imprisoned by Khivar for over a decade. When she escapes, what will she find? Will her beloved King (Max) still be alive and well, or will she find that nothing is as she knew it before war broke out?

Prologue

I’m alone here in a small room with no windows. I don’t know if it’s day or night. I’ve been here so long I’m not even sure what year it is anymore. I haven’t seen another person in such a long time that I’m not even sure there is another person out there. For all I know they’ve all been killed. For the first few months I was in here I would occasionally hear the guards talking to one another about the war. It sounded bad, then in the next year or so it got worse, then apocalyptic. Then all word of the battles ceased, and that’s when I began seeing less and less of other people. I’m kept warm and clean and fed by their ridiculous machines, and I know I could go on living like this forever if need be.

I want out though. I don’t even deserve to be imprisoned. I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t stolen anything. I was never officially charged with any crime. But to them, the Antarian rebels, it was crime enough for me to be the betrothed of the King. I’m sure my being human didn’t help me any either.

About ten years ago, and that’s a very rough estimate, considering how long I’ve been without a calendar, war broke out here on Antar. Max’s return to his rightful throne wasn’t taken well by Khivar and his men, and they openly declared war on the Antarian Galactic Lineage. I’m not even sure if Max’s men put up a valiant fight, as Khivar had me kidnapped and locked away within days of the war declaration. He wanted to use me as bait to lure Max in. It didn’t work. I knew it wouldn’t. We had predicted Khivar would do something of the sort right after the war began, though deep down I hadn’t really believed it. In any case, Max and I had agreed that if Khivar were to capture me, Max couldn’t take the bait. He’s a king, and a king’s job is to save his people. The safety of the planet comes before me. Max protested this, but I insisted; I made him promise that if I were taken he wouldn’t come after me until Antar was once again safe.

And as of yet he hasn’t come for me. To my understanding this can only mean one of two things. Either the planet is still in peril of being conquered...or my beloved Max is dead and Khivar is King already.

In either case, it seems I’ve been forgotten. And today I’m breaking out of my prison. I don’t fear being caught or even being punished for it. I fear what I may see when I step outside into the open that I haven’t seen in so long.

Part 1

After sitting in meditation for a while I feel calm enough to crouch down next to my bed. If anyone in the prison complex is watching me on the security camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling or is observing me through the two-way mirror, they will burst into the room in a matter of seconds, demanding to know what I’m doing. But of course no one does and I’m able to easily retrieve from under my bed a small microchip.

I stare in wonder at the tiny silicon piece, hardly able to believe this little object is what can potentially get me out of here. Many weeks or months ago one of the guards dropped it after he had come in with a change of clothes for me. I’d carefully placed my foot over it, without really stepping on it, to conceal it from his view as he left. They always turn the camera off for two minutes after I get a new change of clothes, as if my being able to change clothes without being seen can somehow let me keep my dignity in here. During these two minutes that day I was able to hide the chip far back under my bed. I haven’t risked taking it out since then. Until now.

Taking a deep breath, I walk to the large reinforced steel door that separates my holding cell from the hallway. I’ve seen how the guards use their microchips to control the doors and it’s always appeared effortless.

However, as I slip the chip into a tiny slot made for that purpose I realize I’ve been extremely stupid. A small screen flashes to life on the door and prompts me:

Top Security Procedure: Subject Liz Parker
Please place thumb on screen for print match-up. Upon confirmation, access to/from Liz Parker’s holding cell will be granted.

I, of course, don’t have thumb prints matching the ones of the owner of this chip. I stare in awed shock at the door, hardly able to believe I could have overlooked something so vital.

“Shit,” I mumble, slamming my hand down on the screen, which is still prompting me to provide a thumb print. “Shit, shit, shit ” I am now slamming my whole fist down on the screen in anger and frustration.

And suddenly, without warning, a small pleasant female voice says, “Print confirmed.” The door swings open.

The door to my cell is open to me for the first time in a decade. And suddenly I am seized by an uncontrollable urge to slam the door shut and just stay put in my cell. The hallway is dim and narrow, and looks as if it goes on forever. Strange shadows and an eerie silence add to the unsettling feeling. My holding cell, however, is familiar to me.

“What are you thinking, Liz?” I ask myself out loud. “You’re free, thanks to their sub-par security. This is what you’ve wanted for so long. Go, get out, before you lose your chance ”

I’ve convinced myself.

Gathering up my resolve, I step into the hallway.

Here’s where another large oversight on my part comes in. This isn’t something I even knew about beforehand though.

With my first step into the hallway, lights start flashing. I hear a calm female voice, the same one from the door security system, saying, “Biological organism XSLX13, Liz Parker, detected in sector 5. Biological organism XSLX13, Liz Parker, detected in-”

The voice continues, and I know that if there is anyone in the building who wasn’t paying attention before, they sure must be paying attention now.

This isn’t going as I’d planned.

Taking a deep breath, I plunge down the hallway at a sprint. If only I can get out of the building...



10 years earlier

“Liz, are you sure you want to do this?” Max asked, staring deep into the eyes of the woman he loved.

“Yes, Max,” she replied, somewhat impatiently. “We’ve gone over this a hundred times. I’m willing to leave Earth to be with you. Your place is on the throne of Antar, and I want to be beside you. I love you, Max.”

“I know you do, Liz,” Max said, pulling her into his arms. “I just want to be sure you understand...you may never see your parents again. Not to mention Maria, Alex, and Kyle...”

“Max, I know. I’m trying not to think about that now. I want to concentrate on you, on us. We need to get to Antar before Khivar takes the throne. According to Isabel’s dreams, we have no time to spare.”

Max nodded and turned from Liz. Walking towards the pod chamber he called out, “Hey guys, come on! We’re ready ”

There was no reply.

Liz and Max walked into the pod chamber from the granolith chamber where they’d been, to see all of their friends in tears.

Alex and Isabel were in a corner of the chamber, just holding one another. Kyle and Tess were doing the same in another corner, while Michael and Maria were passionately kissing.

“Ahem,” Max cleared his throat. “We need to get going.”

The three couples broke reluctantly apart. The humans all walked towards each other. Kyle was the first to reach Liz, and grabbed her into a warm hug.

“Take care, shorty,” he murmured in her ear. “Don’t let being a queen get to your head.” Liz smiled sadly at him as he pulled away and tousled her hair.

Alex was next to embrace Liz. He held on to her in silence for a full minute before letting her go. “I love you, Liz,” he said. “Three Musketeers forever.” At this, Liz and Maria smiled.

Maria was next. As she hugged Liz she completely lost it. Through her sobs all Liz could make out were the words “love”, “sister”, and “send postcards”.

After a few more repeated goodbyes, Liz, Max, Tess, Michael, and Isabel walked into the granolith chamber. Silently, they formed a circle around the granolith and held hands.

“Concentrate,” said Max quietly. They did as he asked. Suddenly there was a blinding light, and then the granolith chamber was empty.

Maria continued to sob loudly in the pod chamber.

Part 2

I’ve gone so long without physical exercise that within minutes I am weak and exhausted. I slow to a walk. Looking around me I note that none of the doors are labeled with numbers or signs of any kind. I could be going past exit after exit and not even be aware of it.

Turning a corner, I’m suddenly faced with a sight I’m not at all prepared for. Lying on the floor at my feet is the dead body of a guard. From the color of his uniform, a metallic hue of blue, it appears he was one of Khivar’s top men. His torso is covered in a thick, dried layer of blood. I can’t even tell if he’s been stabbed or shot. Whichever it was, it seems to have happened a few days ago. Emanating from him is the rank odor of decaying flesh.

Seeing as how it’s too late for me to do anything for him, I step over the guard’s body and continue on down the hall. I feel more secure than ever now. If there hasn’t even been anyone around to take away the guard’s body, then one would assume there won’t be anyone around to run across me, wandering the corridors.

As I continue to walk, trying to find something denoting an exit, my mind turns to Max. I wonder where he is, how he is, what he will look like after so long, how he-

“Freeze ” a low and commanding male voice demands.

I spin around so quickly on my heels that I just barely manage to avoid tripping.

“Michael fucking Guerin?” I exclaim.

At the same moment Michael is yelling, “Holy shit Hey Isabel, I found Liz ”

Within seconds the busty blonde comes tearing around a corner, carrying the biggest machine gun I’ve seen in my life. It completely dwarfs the handgun Michael had pointed at me for two seconds before he had realized it was me.

“What are you doing here?” I question them, suspiciously. Suddenly I’ve realized how unlikely it is that Isabel and Michael just happen to be running around with guns in the prison system. These two people could be shape shifters; mindless drones doing their master’s bidding. I wouldn’t put it past Khivar to mess with my mind a little, if he already knows I’ve gotten out of my holding cell.

“We’ve been searching for you and Max for two weeks now. We, along with Tess and Serena, took over the prison complex two weeks ago. Half the guards were killed, the other half ran,” Michael explains.

“Who’s Serena?”

“She’s a friend of ours. We were in a tight situation once together, and she’s been with us ever since. But we don’t have time for this, Liz. Where’s Max? We need to get him and then get you two out of here.”

I stare at her in dumbstruck awe. “Why do you think I know where Max is?”

A look of surprise comes over her face. “Liz, he was taken just days after you. Michael and Tess and I saw Khivar himself take him. We were too late to do anything though. We...we thought Khivar took him here, where he’d taken you. We’ve been trying ever since then to get you guys out. But over the last ten years....oh, Liz, so much has happened. The world...the universe...everything is changed now.”

I look into Isabel’s eyes and see the pain and anguish in them. I see how tired she is and how little hope she has left. This is no shape shifter. This is Isabel Evans. And she’s at the end of her rope.

I pull her into a hug. She’s stiff at first, but quickly falls into my arms and hugs me back. “I’ve missed you so much, Liz,” she says, and I realize she’s crying. “And I’ve missed Max...”

“Isabel, I’ve been waiting all this time for Max. He promised me he would come for me after the planet was safe. I...have no idea where he is.”

At these words, Isabel begins to cry softly into my hair. Suddenly we are enveloped by warm, strong arms. I glance up to see Michael’s face hovering near mine. He’s wrapped his arms around Isabel and I, and I can see that he’s fighting not to cry as well.

And that’s when it hits me. Max could really truly be dead. Yes, while I was locked up I had thought about it. But I’d never truly believed it could be. To me, Max was always out there, maybe lost, maybe in trouble, but always out there. Ready to save me the first chance he could.

But to find out he’d been missing for as long as I’d been in captivity was a shock to me. Where could he be, if not in this building? What had Khivar done with him...to him?

“Have you searched the entire building?” I ask Isabel and Michael, pulling out of the group hug.

“Liz, do you have any idea how huge this building is?” Michael asks me.

“No.”

“In two weeks we’ve searched the basement and first floor. There are three floors to go. There are thousands of rooms, secret pathways, and...Khivar has very advanced technology. He can change the floor plan of the building in seconds, with the push of a button. Everything in the room, people as well as inanimate objects, are moved with the room. Liz, for all we know we’ve searched the same ten rooms for two weeks and still have thousands to go. It’s a miracle we even ran into you the way we did. And by the way, how did you happen to be in the hallway?”

I quickly explain how I escaped from my holding cell, wanting to get back to the topic of Max.

“So what do we do now?” Isabel questions.

“We keep searching for Max,” I say. I’d thought the answer was obvious.

“We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing,” replies Michael. “Some of the guards are coming back, and they’re coming back with reinforcements. We need to formulate a plan. Tess and Serena are holding guard at a small shack near here. We should go to them and all put our heads together. The last thing we need, now that we have Liz back, is to get one of ourselves killed.”

I can’t argue with the man. He seems to know what he’s talking about. I never thought I’d say that about Michael Guerin. But I guess people change; people grow up. It’s been ten years, after all.

“I’m in,” I say, voicing my support for what Michael’s suggested.

Isabel glances back and forth between the two of us and then simply nods her head. “I won’t go against the group,” she says. “I trust you guys with my life. If you think it’s best to stop for a while and formulate a new plan, then I’m with you.”

“Great, let’s get out to Tess and Serena before nightfall,” says Michael, tousling Isabel’s hair affectionately, causing her to shriek and punch him playfully in the shoulder.

Ok, so Michael’s not quite as grown up as I’d given him credit for.

-----

Michael and Isabel lead me to a door and upon opening it, I’m faced with the wide-open world. At last. I’ve been waiting ten years for this moment. But before I can get a good look at the outside world, Isabel slaps Michael over the head and slams the door shut.

“What?!”

“You almost took us out there without our suits on, you moron!” she chastises him.

An extremely guilty look comes over his face. He silently leads us back up the hallway and stops at another door. He opens it and I realize it is a closet. Stashed in the closet are an assortment of what I can only describe as space-suits.

“What are these for?” I ask.

“Just put one on,” he commands. “We’ll tell you on the way.”

I do as he says, smirking as I realize how stupid we look. Michael’s suit is bright red and far too large for him. Isabel’s is a royal blue, and mine is an extreme shade of orange.

Michael leads us back down the hallway and once again opens the door to the outside world.

I step outside slowly, marveling at the changes. Isabel wasn’t kidding when she said the universe had changed. Glancing at the sky, I can see stars coming out. It is nearing dusk. But the star formations are nothing like they are supposed to look like from this vantage point on Antar. Besides that, the clouds have taken on a sickly green acidic glow, and the sky is a strange lavender color.

“What happened?” I whisper.

“Nuclear war, on a scale never even imagined on Earth,” says Michael. He gives no further explanation. I can barely handle what I’m seeing.

“How many died?” I ask.

“Ninety-nine percent of the population of Antar.”

“Holy shit.” It’s all I can think of to say.

“It was so large-scale and cataclysmic that it threw Antar off its axis. This caused a chain reaction in the solar system and now the entire Whirlwind Galaxy is slowly spinning off further into the universe. Soon we may be too far from Earth to ever go back, if we ever wanted to that is. We have to wear these suits because of the levels of radiation. Going outside without one on...you’d live for about an hour. After that...a quick, painful death. Cancer would come over you and destroy and push out all the healthy cells in your body so quickly, you’d never realize it until it’s too late.”

I can’t take in any more of this information. My mind is suddenly too cluttered and I feel lightheaded.

“Can we go talk to Serena and Tess now?” I ask, hoping they’ll take the hint. They do, and I say a silent prayer of thanks. We need to be able to concentrate now on formulating a plan to find my soul mate, and I know I won’t be able to think clearly if I’m constantly discovering new details of the horrors that have occurred since I’ve been in captivity. I’d drive myself insane with the weight of all of it.

Michael leads, and Isabel follows behind me, covering the rear of our party. I suppose this is how it’ll have to be until I am given a weapon and taught how to use it. As we hike across the land, I note how desolate everything is. Before being taken into captivity, I had marveled at how green and beautiful Antar was. There had been a dream-like quality to how absolutely breathtaking the scenery had been. Now, however, everything appears desert-like. Sand blows at the faceplate of my helmet, and large sand dunes can be seen in the distance. No trees, bushes, flowers, or grass can be seen for as far as the eye could see. I see no sign of water either. And no animals. They were probably all killed by the warfare and radiation.

A deep sense of depression comes over me as I realize the entire planet is probably like this. Such a beautiful world, changed to this...it is something heartbreaking and it hurts me more than the fact that Khivar took my freedom from me.

Suddenly I realize Michael and Isabel have stopped walking. I have been so lost in my thoughts that I’ve kept going a few paces. Blushing under my bulky space-suit bubble helmet, I turn back and walk to Isabel’s side. We are standing in front of a small metal shack. I’m not sure what kind of metal it’s made from, but it looks thick and durable. It also looks completely Antarian...nothing like that was ever seen on Earth; of that I am sure.

Following the others’ lead, I step in the main door and find myself in a small room. Air vents suddenly come on, sucking all of the air out of the room that we have just let in, and releasing new air out of other vents.

“Vacuum sanitation,” Michael explains. “So the outside air doesn’t contaminate the building. You didn’t notice it at the prison complex when we opened the door, cause theirs is more hi-tech, but it was still there.”

I nod to let Michael know I understand, but I don’t say anything. Things have changed so much since I’ve been in captivity. Too much.

After we’ve stripped out of our suits and hung them in a small closet, Michael opens another door on the wall opposite the main entrance and we step into a larger room. Immediately I spot Tess sitting on a small sofa. The look of surprise on her face is instantly replaced by a bright smile. She catapults herself off the sofa and straight into me, grabbing me in a tight hug.

“Oh my God, Liz, it’s you! I can’t believe they found you!”

“I know,” I say softly. “It’s a miracle.”

Suddenly Tess’s face falls and she turns to Michael and Isabel. “But where’s Max?”

“We still haven’t found him,” says Isabel. “We were so sure Liz would know where he was, if we found her first, but...she hasn’t seen him at all.”

Tess turns to me and I say, “It’s true, Tess. I haven’t seen Max since the morning of the day Khivar kidnapped me. I have no idea where he is, or even if he’s still alive.”

“He’s still alive,” says another voice behind me. Whirling around, I spot a girl who can only be Serena. Her hair is long, like mine, but jet black. She’s thin and tall, as all full-blooded Antarians are, and has a ‘I don’t take any bullshit from anyone’ look to her. Instantly I think of Maria, and a pang of longing for my best friend hits me.

“You must be Serena,” I say. “And how do you know Max is still alive?”

“If he weren’t, Khivar would be in power. But Khivar and his men are still struggling to gain power. Max has many supporters left on this planet, and they fight for him, when he cannot. But if Max were gone...I think things would be different. I think somehow Max is sending messages to his supporters, letting them know that they should keep fighting, because he’s still alive.”

“Serena,” sighs Michael. “How many times do we have to discuss this? Why would Max be sending messages to his supporters, but not us, if he were still alive? Don’t you think he’d at least tell the people he grew up with, and his own sister, that he’s still alive?”

“And how many times do I have to tell you, Michael, that it would be too dangerous for him? Don’t you think Max realizes that if he let you know he’s alive, you’d come to him, you’d go to the source of the message? What if Khivar still has him in captivity? You’d be walking straight into Khivar’s arms. Max isn’t stupid, Michael. He’s thinking logically and doing what’s best for everyone by not sending you messages.”

“I don’t believe that,” says Isabel. “You know how I feel...Max would tell me if he were alive, he’d let me know. He’s my brother.”

Serena shakes her head. “I don’t want to argue about it again. We’ve discussed this too many times. I think we just need to get Liz caught up on what’s happened and formulate our plan.”

“I agree,” says Tess. “But first, I made dinner for everyone. Let’s eat. We have the whole night for talking.”

Wow! You come up with some of the most mind-boggling premises!

Summary : Liz has been imprisoned by Khivar for over a decade. When she escapes, what will she find? Will her beloved King (Max) still be alive and well, or will she find that nothing is as she knew it before war broke out?

I was wondering what had happened when Liz escaped and found a dead guard. Them Michael showed up with Isabel! Yay! And Tess and Serena are there, too! But Max is missing. Good to know Serena thinks he is still alive, though. And it makes sense. I love the sci-fi elements of your story. The part about wearing the special space suits because of the radiation from the atomic cataclysm and the galaxy spinning off and all... Great start, Kalyku!