posted on 4-May-2002 10:10:02 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Roswell.

Rating: pg-13

Category: AU, CC

Summary: This is just my attempt to set right what once went wrong *happy*. The events from End of the World to Departure happen, but just not the way we were led to believe. When all seems at its darkest, clues begin to lead the pod squad and friends to unravel a mystery that will put the pieces of their shattered group back together and lead to some shocking discoveries...

Feedback: Yes, please! *happy* It's really great to hear from you guys and know if you like the story.
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Prologue: 1947

The protectors worked laboriously over their young charges, the two sets of the Royal Four. Soon they would be ready to be placed into their pod chambers to mature. Six of the eight pods were ready, and now the protectors were working on their Queen. But her pod was leaking and had obviously been damaged. Serena watched with a wary gaze as her companion Nasedo went through the motions of attempting to repair the damage. Had Nasedo intentionally damaged the Queen's pod? It certainly appeared so. And now the Queen would die unless Serena intervened.

"I do not think anything can be done at this point. We'll have to start the process over and create a new pod for the true Queen and one for her duplicate. Can you handle that while I clean this up?" Serena asked Nasedo, indicating the damaged pod. Nasedo nodded his assent and began to create a new, undamaged pod for the "Queen." Nasedo was all too happy to be left alone for awhile so that he could carry out his plan of replacing the queen with an impostor, whom he would bend to his will.

Serena, for her part, was relieved to escape so easily with the damaged pod so that she might be able to save the Queen. Of course, the only way to do so was to implant her into a human host. She would live as human and not develop powers until she was much older, but she would live. And Serena would find her again when the time was right....

[ edited 6 time(s), last at 31-May-2002 8:21:15 PM ]
posted on 4-May-2002 11:18:25 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Thanks for the feedback, Pixie and Tamira! *happy* I can't tell you yet if Liz is the true queen. I don't want to give that secret away just yet. All will be revealed in time *big*. Here's the next pert dedicated to you two:

Part 1: End Of The World

Liz curled up on her bed, the tears streaming down her face. Just a few short hours ago, a future version of her soul mate, the love of her life, had come back to shatter her dreams forever by saying that they could not ever be together or it would mean the end of the world. All because Tess would leave Roswell and wouldn't be there for them when the war came to Earth. Comes to Earth. Will come to Earth? Whatever. Just thinking about it gave Liz a headache. The main point was that everyone they loved would die because of it. And now Liz had to find a way to stop that from happing by making Max fall out of love with her. How could she hurt him like that? It was killing Liz inside to know that she would have to hurt Max and destroy his love for her, and she didn't know if she had the strength to do it. But she couldn't be selfish and let the world be destroyed. She wouldn't be responsible for that.

What could she do? And how did she even know if the future would be better by her changing things? What if the future turned out even worse? She didn't know what path to take, and she was terrified. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she drew a ragged breath and asked softly, "What is my path?" Tired and emotionally spent, she drifted off into a dream.

Liz was vaguely aware that things weren't right. The timeline had somehow been altered, and now her very existence was falling apart because of it. The sphere of her existence, a metaphor for her life that contained everything she had ever experienced and ever would experience in past lives, this life, this reality, and in every other reality, was shattered. The remains of her sphere lay scattered all around her, in a form almost unrecognizable to her. If she did not act soon, there would be nothing left of her existence, for everything around her would fade away, she knew. She would fade away. Already, Alex was gone. In anguish and desperation, Liz wandered through the remains of her existence, not knowing what to do to stop this. Up ahead, she spotted a figure, a tall, slim girl about her age with long dark hair and brown eyes. Liz ran over to her and begged her for help in putting her sphere back together. Liz couldn't quite make out the response and would never remember the words, but as she woke up with a gasp, terrified from her dream, she would remember the gist of what she had been told. Liz was doing the wrong thing by seeking help outside herself; she had to decide on her own what to do. Whatever she decided, it was vital that she not act too soon or too late or all would be lost. She had to act at exactly the right time, and she would know inside when the time was right. But would she listen to her intuition?

The dream had been the most intense dream of her life. filled with an urgency that let her know that the dream held some vital message. But she had the disturbing feeling that she was missing something, that she had woken up before the girl had told her everything she needed to know. Liz turned on her bedroom light for comfort and began to write the dream in her journal. When she finished, she lay back in her bed with a sigh, still no closer to understanding what she needed to do and choosing her path.



[ edited 2 time(s), last at 4-May-2002 11:36:53 PM ]
posted on 5-May-2002 12:42:57 AM by Elizabeth Evans
Ok, the last part turned out to be a short one, and I'm in the mood to write, so here's another part. Just as a little tidbit of info, Liz's dream was based on a dream I had after asking that question (What is my path?) one night when I was facing a very difficult and important decision. It just somehow seemed to fit with this story.

Part 2: The Choice

Liz caved in to pressure from Future Max to change his timeline. Seeing the haunted, grieving look in his eyes, she could deny him nothing as he pleaded with her to stop Michael and Isabel from dying and the Earth from being taken over. So she went to Tess and helped set her up with present-day Max to get them together so that Tess wouldn't leave. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that plan backfired when Max caught her spying on him with Tess. Max immediately left Tess and ran over to Congresswoman Whitaker's office, where Liz and Future Max had been hiding. When Max burst into the room and kissed Liz, she had been terrified that he would see flashes of Future Max and broke away as quickly as she could. Later that night, she broke his heart, and her own in the process, with a lie. Liz went to Max and said that she could not be with him because she wanted a normal life and didn't want to die because of him. That plan didn't work either; their love was too strong.

Now Liz was sitting out on her balcony, crying. She knew that she had hurt Max deeply with the things she'd said to him, and it was tearing her heart apart. Future Max still insisted that Liz had to do something more, that she had to allow herself to change. She thought of her dream and its warning, and the hopelessness of it all was overwhelming. She had to save Earth, keep Tess in Roswell, still keep Max in her life, and there was something about keeping Alex safe as well. Liz saw no way to do it all. She'd just have to try something and pray for the best. An idea formed in her mind, a horrible idea that might be the only way to push Max away and free him to go to Tess. She was too confused and distraught to listen to her intuition, which was telling her that it was the wrong thing to do, that no matter what Future Max said, the time was not right to act.

Liz would never forget the look of pain and betrayal on Max's face when he saw her lying in bed with Kyle. A part of her prayed that he would know it was all an act, but the more altruistic side of her prayed that she had finally succeeded in saving the world. After Kyle and Max had left, Liz again sat out on her balcony looking up at the stars. She had never felt so alone or empty.

"I'll be alone now," she sighed.

"Maybe not," Future Max tried to reassure her. "You know, Kyle's turning out to be a pretty decent guy."

How could he suggest that? Liz wondered sadly. She knew this had to be hurting him, too. He'd said earlier that watching her with Kyle was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Funny, going through with the pretense of sleeping with Kyle to push Max toward Tess was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. "Max, don't you know what you are to me?" she asked. "You're the love of my life. Everyone else will just be second best. There will never be another you."

Their eyes met in a long, soulful glance, and in that moment Future Max relived all the precious memories he and Liz had shared over the years. Their wedding day at the Elvis Chapel in Vegas and dancing all night, long after their friends had tired and gone to bed. The birth of their daughter, Claudia Maria Evans. The long, romantic walks they took every night to spend time alone together and talk about anything and everything. Picnics and stargazing and fights and making up. The close friendships with Alex and Isabel, Maria and Michael, and Kyle. Max and Liz had led a rich, fulfilling life blessed with the love of a soulmate and good friends, as well as exciting careers. Who could ask for more from life? It was agony that those wonderful things could never happen now.

Liz broke into his thoughts. "Max, can we? Um, I know I won't have the wedding of my dreams now, but...can I have my wedding dance?" She looked into Max's eyes pleadingly. She had to do this, just this once since she would never have the real thing. His eyes softening, Max agreed, and he played their song, "I Shall Believe." They danced slowly in time to the music, and Max held Liz close. Towards the end of the song, he twirled Liz around. As Liz spun, she smiled contentedly, grateful for this experience. But as she stopped, her smile faded as she noticed that Future Max had disappeared...

posted on 5-May-2002 2:28:11 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Thanks for the awesome feedback, roswelluver, tamira, and abbs007! It made my day to see that people are enjoying this fic. This next part is dedicated to you guys *happy*. I promise that Liz and Max will never get too far apart. I am 1000% dreamer, so I won't let anything come between them.

Part 3: Ramifications

Liz was doing her biology homework when she heard a soft tapping on her balcony window. She looked over, and her heart leapt when she saw Max. Her face lit up in a joyful smile as she almost literally skipped over to the window to let him in. "Hey, Max," she greeted him softly, stepping aside to let him climb into her room. He had just gotten home from the "peace summit" in New York, and she was so glad to see that he had returned safely. As they walked further into her room, Liz caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and found herself looking closely to spot any changes. She'd done that often since Ava had told her she was different now that Max healed her the day of the shooting just over a year ago.

"I keep looking for some sort of change," Liz confessed with a grin.

Max grinned back. "You mean like...?" he began, and held two fingers on top of Liz's head, as if she had alien antennae.

Liz nodded. "Yeah. Something like that. It's nice to see you smile again." Their eyes met in the mirror.

"I want to thank you for saving my life. "

Liz smiled softly. "I guess that makes us even."

"Liz, I needed to talk to you," Max began somewhat awkwardly. "I was thinking about what you said earlier, about us being friends, and...I ." What Max wanted to say was that he wanted her back and would never give up on her. He wanted to beg her to tell him the truth, but right now it was too soon. He was too hurt, even though he didn't believe that Liz and Kyle had slept together. What hurt the most was that Liz was pushing him away, was giving up on them again. And she wouldn't tell the truth about why. Maybe in time she'd be able to tell him. "And...I'd like to...start again...our friendship, that is. I mean...I miss it."

"Yeah. Um...I miss it, too."

"There's just one thing I have to say. One thing I have to ask...and...I promise I'll never ask it again," Max said. Even though Liz wouldn't talk to him about what really happened, Max had to ask and watch her face. He knew that he would find the truth there.

Liz nodded solemnly. She knew what he was going to ask, and she dreaded it. But she knew that he had to do this. "Yeah. Go ahead."

"Did you...sleep with Kyle?"

Liz saw the pain in Max's eyes as he asked the question, and she almost faltered. She desperately wanted to tell him the truth and take all of that pain away. She wanted to tell him that she didn't just want to be friends, that she wanted so much more. "Max, I..." she began, but stopped herself and simply nodded slightly.

Max watched her face intently. Her eyes and expression said it all. She didn't sleep with Kyle! He had been right all along. Showing no visible reaction, he simply nodded and said, " Ok. I'll see you tomorrow." As he turned to go out the window, he couldn't stop the joyful smile that spread across his face.

Over the next months, Max and Liz grew closer again, and Tess was accepted more into the group. Tess found herself drawn to Kyle, and faced an internal struggle between her developing humanity and the lessons that Nasedo had told her all her life. Tess knew her purpose. Nasedo had made a deal with Khivar that she would bear Max's son to create an heir, and she was to get Max, Michael, and Isabel back to Antar where they would be turned over to Khivar. It had all been so much easier when the group despised her. Now, despite Nasedo's teachings about not getting wrapped up in human emotions, Tess found herself caring about everyone in the group. Even Liz. If it hadn't been for the competition over Max, she had the sense that they could have been good friends. But it hurt to see Liz and Max so close, and Tess found herself conflicted. She was torn between duty (Max) and love (Kyle). One day after school, she went to the cave to think. It always helped calm her down and bring her clarity. Wandering through the cave, she noticed a hidden chamber that she hadn't found before. There, right in front of her, was the Granilith! Awed, she stepped into the room and walked around. Sitting down against the wall to think amid the gentle glow and soft humming of the Granilith, she noticed a book beside her. It was a copy of the Destiny book!

"Nasedo didn't tell me there was another one," she commented to herself. Picking it up, she thumbed through it. When she reached the page that should have the pictures of the Royal Four as children and then as they were now, she gasped. Right where her pictures should be, next to Max's, were pictures of Liz! Tess felt faint. What was going on? She had to understand, and the only way was to have someone help her translate the book. Tess immediately thought of Alex, who was skilled at this sort of thing. He just might be able to figure out the translation. Clutching the book against herself, she ran out of the cave and drove off to find Alex.







posted on 5-May-2002 7:18:14 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Pixie and Roswellluver, thanks so much for posting feedback again. It means a lot to me! BLS40, I know just how you feel. Season 2 did awful things to the show we fell in love with. So, I just wanted to say don't worry. I'm here to remedy all that with this fic *happy* I love the Alex character, and I promise to take good care of him. That's all I'll say for now so I don't give anything away. It's all in this chapter, which I dedicate to the three of you. Here it is:

Part 4: The Darkest Hour

Liz watched the Granilith sail into the sky with a heavy heart. All was lost now. Alex was dead; she'd failed him. And Tess had been the one to kill him! Now Tess was gone, a traitor who would never have been around anyway when they needed her help against their enemies fourteen years from now. And Max....Max had slept with Tess, and now there was a baby. Could Liz and Max ever get past that? Liz felt very much the way she did in her dream months ago, with her existence falling apart around her and the remains scattered everywhere. She was supposed to have done something to stop this. She thought she'd done the right thing and followed the warning from that dream, but everything had gone horribly wrong.

Max wrapped his arms around Liz, holding her close against him. He prayed that Liz could forgive him as he'd forgiven her. He was furious with Tess and glad to be rid of her, and he refused to let her destroy the love he knew that he and Liz could have. He wanted Tess to pay for what she had done.

The rest of the group watched the sky, too, in various stages of shock, disbelief, and fury. Maria and Michael stood very much the way Liz and Max were, their arms around each other. For Maria, the moment was particularly bittersweet. There was the agony that Tess had murdered her best friend, but joy that Michael had chosen to stay on this planet and be with her. Kyle was hurt beyond measure by Tess' betrayal of him, and Isabel wanted vengeance.

"What do we do now, Max?" Isabel asked, at once hating herself for voicing the same question that was Tess' habit to ask.

"We find my son," Max responded determinedly. He refused to let his son grow up with Tess and be corrupted by her. But there was nothing that could be done now. As one, the group walked away from the cave and headed home.


Meanwhile, Tess was inside the cave in the Granilith's chamber, sobbing in Alex's arms. "God, Alex, I hate this! I hate that we had to hurt them like this. I mean, I mindwarped Max into thinking we made love and that I was pregnant! I said such awful things to him just now! And I hurt Kyle so bad. He thinks I betrayed him...they all do..."

Alex stroked Tess' hair comfortingly and wrapped his arms around her. "Shh, Tess. It'll be ok. They all think I'm dead, so this is killing me too. But we both agreed that this was the only way we could search for the truth about the Destiny book without being discovered. And we had to let Khivar think you were following through with the plan to buy us time. He won't know for another six months that you're still here. That will give us enough time to track down this protector...Serena. She's the only one who can tell us which Destiny book is the real one and what we're up against. We have to know before we can tell the others, because if they found out about this now, we'd have a war on our hands that none of us would be ready for."


Tess nodded. "You're right." In translating the book, she and Alex had learned some vital information about the aliens' past. For one thing, Vilandra had not betrayed the Royal Four. She had been misguided in her trust of Khivar and let him into the palace when he wanted to talk peace. Khivar had been the one to betray that trust and murder them all. Apparently, he had loved Vilandra, but his love for power was stronger. Vilandra's marriage to Rath had been arranged as a matter of convenience. They had always been good friends, and both were waiting for their soulmates, whom they knew they would not meet in that lifetime. And Liz...they had learned an amazing truth that explained her connection to Max and why her pictures were in this book. Tess still wasn't certain herself what her role in all of this was, but she knew now where her loyalties lay. The book was no help in that matter. And it wasn't any more informative about exactly where their enemies were or what their plans might be. The book was mostly about how to use the Granilith to get home. There was, however, a message from the protector called Serena. It said to find her before they left for Antar and hinted that she knew vital information that would help them save both Earth and their homeworld. Serena must have the ability to see into the future, for she had addressed her message specifically to Tess and Alex and warned them not to reveal yet what they knew to the others. Something about the message made Alex and Tess trust Serena, so they understood that they had to be the ones to go to her and bring her to Roswell. And so that is exactly what they set out to do...

[ edited 2 time(s), last at 5-May-2002 7:24:18 PM ]
posted on 10-May-2002 12:13:23 AM by Elizabeth Evans
Thanks for the feedback, Talena and Roswelluver! This part is dedicated to you guys. Enjoy! *happy*


Part 5: Before the Dawn

When the group left the cave, Max drove Liz home. He wasn't ready to leave her side yet. Now that Liz had confided in him that she didn't sleep with Kyle, confirming what he'd known in his heart to be true all along, there was so much to talk about. For example, why had she continued to push him away? Why had he turned to Tess when Liz was obsessed with finding clues about Alex's death? Max knew that he bore much of the responsibility for what happened next, for he'd been hurting about losing Liz during those months and had turned to Tess and been vulnerable to her mindwarps. Mindwarps...that could be the only explanation for this. He'd never actually sleep with Tess, not when he loved Liz with all his heart. The moment that the Granilith left with Tess, it was as though a fog that had been over his mind the past several months had lifted and he could finally think clearly again. That had to be an indication that so much of what the group had experienced, himself in particular, was a mindwarp. Dating Tess. Sleeping with her, or rather, being mindwarped into thinking he had. The baby. What other events had Tess screwed with? And where would one even begin to sort it all out?


Liz, for her part, was coming to the same realization. The thought that Tess and Max...together...might have been a mindwarp cheered her, and her heart felt a little lighter as they went upstairs to her room and out onto the balcony to talk. They sat down together on one of the wide lawn chairs, stretching out and cuddling together. Max wrapped Liz tightly in his arms.

"Liz, I..." Max began. He had to let her know that the whole thing with Tess was a mindwarp. Deep inside, he knew it was the truth and not just wishful thinking.

Liz shifted around to look at him with love and understanding in her eyes. "Max, I know...I know you, and I know you wouldn't do something like that with Tess. She mindwarped us all into believing so many things that aren't true..."

Max nodded, grateful that Liz understood before he even said anything. The connection between their souls was still there, more powerful than ever. He reached up to gently caress her cheek as they shared a soulful glance. "I've missed this..."

"Me, too," Liz agreed, snuggling in close against him. "I'm so sorry for pushing you away. For allowing all this to happen and not seeing what was coming. I should have known. I should have done something to stop it..."

Max hugged her tightly with one arm and gently stroked her hair. "No, Liz, it's my fault. It's my responsibility to keep the group safe. I should have seen what Tess was sooner..."

"Max, you don't understand. She was one of you. The four of you made a complete unit. Without her, you’re not strong enough to face what’s coming…" Liz fought back tears. She’d had a second chance to stop the end of the world, and she’d failed.

Max remembered how Liz had known about the Granilith and its capabilities, and he knew that Liz was aware of much more. “Liz, you know something important. You have to tell me what it is so we can deal with it.”

Liz nodded. With Tess gone, it didn’t matter anyway if she told Max everything. So she did. In every heartbreaking detail, she recounted the story of her visit from future Max, all that he had told her, and all the things that she had to do to save the world. By the end of her story, they were both in tears. Liz managed to conclude, “So you see, Max, we’re screwed. We still have no way to defeat the Enemy this time because yet again Tess won’t be here. I was supposed to keep Tess here and Alex alive and I couldn’t. Why couldn’t I, Max? Why?” Tears streamed down her face, and Max gathered her in his arms. She’d held this burden for far too long, and she just needed to let go. They held each other close and cried together for half an hour before they began to feel a sense of release and calm. Sniffling, they rested their foreheads together as they lay on the mostly reclined lawn chair.

“Liz, we can’t give up,” Max said firmly. “Not on us, not on the group, and not on Earth.” He had let all of the chaos and turmoil in his life rule him, but no longer. He had simply reacted instead of being proactive, and it had led to his making some poor decisions. All of that ended now. “With all of us together and time to prepare, we’ll be strong enough to win the war when it comes. Now that we know what we’re up against, we can change the future.”

Liz smiled softly, her hope and determination restored. She would not fail again. “You’re right, Max. When the time comes, we’ll be ready.”


Max returned the smile, thinking how beautiful she was. It was wonderful to see her smile again. And those lips…Max couldn’t resist. He had been apart from her for what seemed like an eternity. He leaned in and kissed her with a hungry passion, and she responded in kind, deepening the kiss. When they finally broke for air a minute later, Max whispered softly against her lips, “I need you, Liz. You’re my soulmate, the love of my life. I don’t want anything to ever come between us again.”

“I’m here, Max,” Liz said simply. “I’ll always be here.” And she captured his lips with hers in another searing kiss…

Now that all the secrets and lies were cleared away, they could open up fully to each other. No longer would fear for each other’s safety, destiny, or the burden of saving two worlds be barriers keeping them apart. And so, when they kissed again, Max and Liz saw completely into each other’s souls and experienced a flash unlike any they’d experienced before, even when the orbs had been drawing them together. This flash was unbelievably vivid and intense, and it showed images that went further and further back in time. They saw the protectors working on the pods and watched as Nasedo made the switch from the true Queen to Tess and Ava. Then the flash took them beyond the crash of their spaceship, beyond even the journey to Earth. They found themselves back on Antar, where they saw Khivar and his troops murder the Royal Four. Further back in time they went, experiencing brief flashes of Khivar’s rise to power and covert subversion of the peace and golden age that Zan was so tirelessly striving for. And then they were at Zan and Ava’s wedding. There, they were no longer watching, but living the events being shown them and experiencing that bond of love as they pledged their life, and all their lives, to each other. For one brief moment, they were Zan and Ava again.

As Max and Liz broke the kiss, they again rested their foreheads together, their minds reeling from the images they had just seen. There was so much, so fast that it was difficult to sort it all out or make sense of what they’d seen. But one thing they knew for certain; things between them had changed, grown even deeper. They had fully opened up to each other and pledged their lives again to each other. They were bonded now, as closely as two people ever could be. They were cemented.

posted on 12-May-2002 6:42:09 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Thanks for the feedback, Roswelluver! I was hoping that people would really enjoy this part. If there are other people out there reading this fic who like it or have suggestions, please leave feedback to let me know! The feedback really keeps me encouraged and motivates me to keep going with the story.
posted on 31-May-2002 8:06:38 PM by Elizabeth Evans
Sorry I've neglected my stories for so long. I've been getting ready for comps. which start on Monday. Anyway, I thought I'd just post a short part before I get back to studying and let everybody know that I probably won't be able to update for awhile. But, keep in mind that feedback *will* get you guys lots of parts and frequent updates once I'm able to again *happy*. So if you like the story, leave feedback please!!
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Part 6:Isabel's Clue

The next day, Isabel went out into the desert. She wanted to go to back to the cave and think. Something was telling her that she needed to go there, that she would find at least some of the answers she sought. As she approached the cave, she noticed that the damage from yesterday when Tess left with the Granilith was gone! "Oh, my God..." Isabel breathed. "What is going on?" She quickly entered the cave and strode to the hidden Granilith chamber. It was still there, intact! Stunned, she scanned the room for any signs of a clue, anything that could help her make sense out of this. then Isabel spotted what looked like a crumpled sheet of paper in one corner. Picking it up, she unfolded it to reveal a partial message in Alex's handwriting. It had the foursquare symbol with the names Max, Liz, Michael, and her own name. What was Liz's name doing there? It was obviously a translation of the destiny book. And yet, something about the drawing and the names felt right. Tess had been a part of the group, but never quite like Liz had always been since they'd gotten to know her. Tess had never been part of the Royal Four; Isabel knew that now. She let this revelation sink in for a moment before reading some of the other symbols Alex had written and their English translation. One was "skins", another meant "war", a third meant "prepare," and a fourth was a combination of a proper name, Serena, with a symbol called "protector." Oh, no...did Tess find out about their protector and make them all think she had left Earth so she could kill this Serena? Isabel knew that the group had to find Serena and warn her before it was too late. She pocketed the translation and sprinted out of the cave, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Max's number as she ran...