posted on 18-Aug-2002 4:24:39 PM by CrashdownGurlie
Title: Never Let You Go
Author: Phoebe James
Category: ALL
Rating: PG 13
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All of Roswell belongs to UPN, Melinda Metz, and Jason Katims. This fic was written WAY before Season three even started, the fact that it is coming out now is not a reflection of recent episodes of Roswell. Although, it does include some variation of how to get to Antar as seen on the show, which I take no credit for. (As well as certain Snapple references, lol)
A/N: This is the 2nd chronicle in a 5(?)-fic series. The 1st chronicle is Destined to be Forever, which I hope you all read!!!
Summary: Liz and the Czechoslovakians go home to Antar to defeat Kivar, while a friend of Katswana's stalks them all.
DON'T FORGET THE FEEDBACK!!!

PART ONE-

Saturday, October 19: Journal Entry #87
Ever since Katswana transferred her powers into me, I've become more confused than ever. Max acts like nothing happened, and Maria acts as if it's the coolest thing in the world. I don't know what anyone else thinks, Alex and I don't talk about it, and the others hardly ever talk to me. I was in the biology room the other day, and I was wondering if I had changed. I remember the day I found out about Max. I tested his cells, and they were different. So I decided to test mine. I found that even though I have alien powers, I'm still completely human. It's all so confusing and I feel lost inside of myself. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I have to do something.

The whole gang was sitting at their regular spot at the Crashdown, just talking.
"Liz, you said you have access to Katswana's memories, right?" Max asked.
"Well, yeah, I guess." Liz answered.
"Okay, so what are we supposed to do now? I mean, have you found anything important that we need to know?" Max continued.
"I haven't really looked." Liz answered.
"You haven't looked? Aren't you dying of curiosity? I know I would be." Maria exclaimed.
"I don't know, I mean, I, I've just been kind of busy, with school starting and everything..." Liz said.
"Well can you try now?" Kyle asked, eager to move things along.
"Fine, alright, I’ll try." Liz answered. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body. Soon she began to see flashes of Katswana's memories. Kivar, Nicholas, Antar, Max, Tess, Maggie, millions of things she didn't recognize...Nicholas, Kivar, Nicholas, Kivar, Nicholas, Kivar, Nicholas, Kivar-
Liz gasped and her eyes snapped open. "Nicholas is Kivar!" She exhaled.
"Whoa, what?" Kyle asked.
"Nicholas, he’s Kivar’s human form. He hired Katswana. He used her to try to kill you. Now he's back on Antar and he started a war between the planets. It's all there, all of it. Inside her memories."
"We have to go back. We have no other choice." Michael stated.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Max cautioned. "Was there anything else?"
"No. Nothing else. But I think Michael's right, Max. There's no other way. You have to go back." Liz told him.
"We all have to go back." Isabel said.
"Okay, okay, we’ll go. We have to help our planet and kill Kivar once and for all." Max agreed.

Saturday, October 19: Journal Entry #88
What am I supposed to do? I'm not like them. I'm human. I'm normal. I feel so scared and like I'm alone, even though I know that's not true. What's going to happen to me on Antar? Will I be changed? Will I even survive? What about Kivar and Katswana?
Will he know me? Will he try and destroy me? I don't know how I'm supposed to react, and Max isn't even thinking about it. At least, he hasn't said anything to me. I know I have to talk to him, but--
(A sudden noise distracts Liz)
"OMG! What was that?" Liz yelled as she spun around. After a few minutes , when everything was still again, and the silence surrounded her once more, she finished the entry.
I know this may sound weird, but I swear someone is watching me.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The gang sat in their usual spot for the second day in a row, talking about their plans to return to Antar. Maria strolled up to their table carrying three cherry cokes, two diet sprites, and an orange soda.
"You don't know how to get back." She reminded them as she slid into the booth. Business was slow and she felt like she deserved a break. "I mean, what are you gonna do? Go on a ten-year search for your alien spaceship and then fix it up in your back yard? I don't think so. You need a plan."
"You know, for once, Maria has a point." Isabel commented. Maria shot Isabel an evil glare.
"Hey what about Katswana? Liz, do you think she knew anything?" Kyle asked.
"She knew a lot, Kyle." Liz laughed. Then she continued, "I'll look, but I don't know if I'll find anything.". Liz closed her eyes again and concentrated on finding a way to get to Antar. The thoughts spiraled through her head, millions upon millions of thoughts Liz had never thought, memories in languages unheard by the people of Earth, images unexplainable and scientifically impossible. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes again.
"Anything?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know. I don't think so." Liz replied.
"What's that?" Alex asked, referring to Liz's hand. She was holding something, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were white from lack of blood. When she opened her hand, she found a long, pencil shaped, white crystal.
"Oh myGod! What is that?" Isabel asked.
"I don't know, but it has something to do with you getting home. And the granilith. And there’s some book or something, it’s like, I don’t know. It’s very symbolic, I can’t describe it." Liz answered.
"How much more cryptic can you get?" Maria asked rhetorically.
"It really isn't much to go on." Alex agreed.
"What about the book Nasedo gave us? Didn't he say it held all the answers? What if it tells us how to get home?" Michael asked.
"There's only one way to find out." Max answered,
"Any ideas?" Everyone was silent for a few minutes.
"What about Las Cruces University? It has one of the best decoding systems in the US. If there's any hope of translating that book, your best bet would be there." Alex suggested.
"Alex, you're a genius!" Maria exclaimed, hugging him.
"Great. So we have a plan. Now, how am I gonna get me and Alex out of school long enough for him to decode the book?" Michael asked.
"We'll think of something." Isabel replied.
"Great, so you two leave tomorrow. We'll cover for you. And don't take your time. We need you back as quickly as possible." Max restated.
"Wait, what about me? Why can't I go too?" Maria asked.
"It's really not a three person job Maria." Michael answered.
"It’s not really a two person job either, Michael. But you still get to go." Maria retorted.
"He's right, besides, you're comfortable in Roswell. And two people are easier to cover for than three. So, Michael and Alex, tomorrow." Max repeated.
"But three heads are better than two!" Maria whined.
"Sorry Ria, but the saying is two heads are better than one. And I really don’t think you want to spend your valuable time with two smelly, messy, disgustingly sloppy guys for however long this may take them."
"Ugh. Whatever." Maria sighed, seeing the wisdom in Liz’s words, but still not happy that she couldn’t tag along.
"Finally!" Michael smiled. "So tomorrow, bright and early. And I'll be sure to make Alex work quickly." Michael assured Max.
"Hey," Alex began.
"Don't worry, I'll help. You'll have plenty of Snapple." Michael guaranteed him. Everyone laughed.
"Well I gotta get back to work, I've got things to do. Not that any of you care..." Maria stated, glaring at Michael.
"I'll be there in a minute, Ria!" Liz shouted after her. Maria nodded as she walked away.
"I have to go too," Alex said, "I'm going to have a lot of packing to do tonight."
"I'll pick you up at five o’clock tomorrow morning. Wait outside for me. You can call your parents with some story Max thinks up after we're gone. Just make sure they don't see you leave." Michael told him.
"Fine, tomorrow at five. I'll be ready. And Max, you better have one hell of a good story, or I'm screwed."
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll think of something." Kyle said simply.
"Bye guys." Alex said.
"See ya, Alex." Liz said.
"We'll miss you." Isabel said. Alex just smiled at her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Max, can I talk to you?" Liz asked.
"Sure, what's up?" Max asked as he followed Liz towards the back of the cafe.
"I wanted to ask you something about Antar. I don't know what's going to happen to me up there. I'm not like you guys; I'm human from my cells to my bone structure, I just use a few more brain cells. And Max, don't misunderstand, it's not that I don't want to go and help you. In fact I know I have to, and I want to. But I'm scared, Max. I've gone over everything, and it's not adding up."
"I, I guess I never really thought about that Liz. You're right. I don't know what's going to happen to you on Antar. The only way to find out is to bring you there. But I'll understand if you decide to stay here. I mean, maybe you should." Max stammered.
"That's not what I wanted you to say Max." Liz groaned, looking to the ground for solace.
"What did you want me to say?" Max asked, smiling.
"I wanted you to say that no matter what happens to me, you'll always be there. You'll protect me and help me. And you'll make sure I'm safe and feel loved."
Max wrapped his arms around her waist and replied, "I do that everyday Liz. Why would it change just because we're on another planet?" Then he leaned down and kissed her gently. She smiled up at him, whispered, "Thank you," And walked away.
Maria came up to the counter where Michael was pulling on his apron. The burgers were cooking on the stove.
"Are you sure I can't go with you and Alex tomorrow?" Maria asked.
"I'm sure. You don't need to go. It would be better if you stayed here." Michael replied.
"How do you figure?"
"Oh, you could help Liz get over her little ‘now I’m a freak like my boyfriend’ problem. Haven't you noticed how stressed she is? We can't deal with her crap if we have to fight a war for our planet." Michael stated.
"How perceptive of you. I never knew you cared so much." Maria answered sarcastically.
"Here's your order." Michael said as he handed Maria the tray.
"Thanks." Maria replied shortly.
"No problem!" He shouted after her. He shook his head, sometimes she could be so stubborn. But he loved her for it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Next Morning:
"Michael, is that you?" Alex whispered as he walked towards the end of the driveway.
"Who else would it be this early in the morning? Hurry up! I parked the car down the street so no one would see us."
"Great. I put my stuff out here last night so I wouldn't make too much noise..." Alex began. He searched though the bushes for a few seconds and pulled out a large duffle bag and two suitcases.
"Travel much?" Michael asked.
"Ha ha ha. I just like to be well prepared." Alex answered.
"I think you've been spending way too much time with Liz and Maria lately."
"Me too." Alex agreed. They walked down Alex's street towards the jeep. Michael had persuaded Max to lend it to him, despite Isabel's inconvenience. When Max finally relented and agreed to let Alex and Michael take the jeep to Las Cruces, it was on the condition that Alex drove most of the way. When they finally reached the car, Liz,
Maria, Max, Isabel, and Kyle jumped out and shouted,
"Surprise!"
"You guys! I'm so glad you're all here. I couldn't bear to leave without kissing my girls..." Alex sighed dramatically. They all laughed.
"We couldn't let you leave without presents!" Liz said, happily. She and Maria carried a big decorated box full of road trip 'stuff'.
"We have here: a picture of all of us, two big stuffed Teddy bears, two Roswell-alien key chains, lots of music for the road, food, like cookies, sandwiches, chips, gummy bears...stuff like that, blankets for the car, oh, and most important, air fresheners, Febreze, and extra socks!" Maria finished.
"That's sounds like quite the care package." Alex commented.
"Professionally put together by the queens of care packages, Liz and I." Maria smiled.
"I helped...with the cookies," Isabel added.
"Yes, everyone helped. Kyle bought the sodas, Maria and Isabel baked the cookies, Max bought the key chains and the music, and I made the sandwiches and bought the Teddy bears. Oh, and Maria and I both brought the blankets, Febreze, air fresheners and extra socks. We thought you’d need them the most." Liz laughed.
"Now that everyone has been credited, can we finally eat the goodbye cake?" Kyle whined.
"Goodbye cake? At five o'clock in the morning?" Michael asked.
"Well, yeah, we had to see you off with something!" Isabel explained.
"Oh, and the cake was bought by Kyle." Liz added. Maria brought it out from the trunk of the jeep and cut it into seven pieces. Everyone took their cake and a soda.
"Well, here's hoping that the book really does tell you how to get home, or else we're all up a creek." Alex toasted.
"Here here!" Liz and Maria shouted. It was already around 6:30 that Alex and Michael finally left. Before they did though, Max told Alex that he was scheduled for a JROTC trip to an imitation boot camp for two weeks.
"Hope that convinces your parents." He said.
"Me too." Alex agreed.

posted on 24-Aug-2002 12:40:19 PM by CrashdownGurlie
Here you go, hope you like!*happy*

Phoebe

PART TWO-

A FEW DAYS LATER-AROUND 9:00
Max was up in his room doing homework and listening to the radio. He was worried about a lot of things, and he couldn't concentrate. Liz, for instance, was on his mind. She had said something about not being able to survive on Antar. What was that supposed to mean? He had been worried about her ever since she received her powers from Katswana. That whole episode had totally freaked him out. And now that they had to go back, he couldn't just leave her. She was as much a part of everything as he, Isabel, and Michael were. But that thought only brought him back to the thought that she wasn't the same at all. She was human. And what if she was right about not being able to survive on Antar? It's not like he could zap her back home with the flick of a finger. And how would his people react to having a human among them? And a human with the memory of their archenemy's hit man, none the less. He wished he could say Liz was the all of his worries, but that simply wasn't true. He had so much to think about, and so little time in which to do it. Max looked back down at his Trig homework. He put it back into his book bag and tried to focus on something besides problems. As he sat on his bed, listening to the music in the background, he slowly fell asleep...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Maria, please stop whining." Liz begged over the phone.
"But Liz! I mean, we all know that me and Alex and Kyle aren't going to Antar with you and the Czechs, but Kyle doesn’t care, and Alex gets to go on this little fact finding mission on how to get to their god forsaken planet, I think I should have that right too. Michael thinks I'm just gonna sit here like some little housewife waiting for her husband to come back from the war so she can kiss him and hug him and have his babies; well he can forget that. I'm not doing a damn thing for his insensitive alien ass." Maria went on, ignoring Liz's tired complaint.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you I wasn't going to Antar either?" Liz asked.
"Uh, no! Of course you're going. You have to go. So, duh, it wouldn't make me feel better 'cause you're lying!" Maria complained impatiently.
"Maria, that's just it. I don't know if I can go." Liz replied.
"What are you talking about? You have to go, you must go, it's implied in the 'So Now You're An Alien' Handbook."
"But I'm not an alien, I'm human. Just like you. Remember what Max said? They just use a little more of their brains than we do. So I'm a human actually using most or all of her brain space. Get it? What if I can't survive there?"
"Can you say pessimist? Do you really think Max would even consider letting you go if he thought, even for a minute, that something would happen to you? Uh-NO!" Maria rationalized.
"But Ria! What if he's wrong? What am I supposed to do?"
"I, I don't know..." Maria answered, surprised and taken aback by Liz's apparent fear. "If you really think something could happen, you can't go, Lizzie. I can't let you."
"Look, I've already decided I'm going. The question is, how do I get back if something goes wrong?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
QUITE A FEW HOURS LATER

RING-
The blast of the phone woke Max up like a firecracker in the dead of the night. *Shit!* He thought.
RING-
He leaned over and grabbed the telephone from its rest.
"Hello?" Max answered groggily.
"Max? It's Michael."
"Michael? What time is it?"
"Uh, three o'clock..."
"What the hell do you want at three o'clock in the morning?" Max asked, almost forgetting the most likely reason Michael would be calling at any ungodly hour.
"I would've thought was obvious Maxwell. Alex did it. He finished. The book has been transcribed, and we are going home!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was around 6:00 the next evening and everyone was gathered at the Crashdown, anticipating the arrival of Alex and Michael.
"So when did you actually find out Max? I mean, did Michael ever call to tell you how everything was going?" Liz asked.
"Oh, no. I mean, the call last night was the first I'd heard from either of them. I assume no one else got any phone calls?" Max asked, looking specifically at Isabel and Maria.
"Well...I got a couple calls from Alex. But nothing special. Just hi, how are you, that sorta thing. He said it was coming along. But I don't think either of them expected to be finished so quickly." Isabel revealed.
"Michael called me last night too, and then I called Liz, and Liz called Max, who already knew, and Kyle, who called Isabel, who of course already knew, and then Isabel told Max, who obviously already knew." Maria concluded.
"And that’s about how it happened." Liz agreed. A few seconds later Michael walked through the door closely followed by Alex. Everyone got up to welcome them back and hug and kiss, where the opportunity arose.
"I have a question." Isabel began as everyone settled down.
"Shoot." Michael told her.
"Well, when I last talked to Alex, he made it seem like you would need way more time than your cover would allow. What happened?"
"Well, it all happened very quickly. Alex-"
"Uh, I think I should be the one telling the story here, seeing as all you did was sit around and drink Snapple? We all agree." Alex cut in. "But, Michael was right. It did happen rather quickly. I started by scanning and programming all of the foreign letters into the computer. When that was done, I used those letters to type the transcript. That in itself took about five days, just to get the symbols and the transcript exactly right, as you can imagine. Anyway, after I typed the transcript, I told the computer to translate it, in any or all languages. Which means, I told it to search for letter patterns. Like cracking the code, remember the Rosetta Stone? Anyway, after that, all we could do was wait. It didn't come up with anything for days. We started to think that maybe it couldn't be translated. That must've been when I called Isabel and gave her the impression that it would take a much longer time than expected. Well, about seven days after I told the computer to translate the transcript, I was in the dorm room where Michael and I slept. My beeper went off, and when I called the number, some guy in the lab told us to get down there quick, that something had happened. So of course me and Michael ran down there, and sure enough, it had been transcribed." Alex finished, and pulled out the printed transcript.
"Yep, that's the gist of it." Michael affirmed. Max picked up the papers from the table and skimmed over the first page.
"So, where do we go from here?" Kyle asked to no one in particular.
"I suggest we get out of here, and we can move on from there." Max answered. The group of them returned to their table, grabbed their things and left. Maria, Liz, Alex and Kyle took the Jetta while Max, Isabel and Michael drove in the Jeep. They all agreed to meet at Valenti's office in half an hour. Maria, Alex, Liz, and Kyle went to Alex's house while the others took Michael back to his place. Once everyone was accounted for to their parents, they all met in front of the sheriff's building. Kyle got out and went inside to tell his dad what was going on. Valenti came out not two minutes after Kyle went in.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked them.
"Sure about what?" Max asked, innocently.
"Going back? I mean what if you can't return? What about your parents? What about Kyle and Maria and Alex and me? Are we going to have to wait for you?"
"We have to go back. We have to defeat Kivar. If we don't, he'll defeat us. We can't let that happen." Max answered defiantly.
"What about the connections you have here?" Valenti replied.
"That's just a chance we'll have to take." Max replied.
"I'm coming to see you go." Valenti said.
"We hoped you would." Isabel told him.
"So let's do it." Michael said. The group split again. This time Maria and Alex rode in the Jetta, Liz, Max, Michael, and Isabel took the Jeep, and Kyle and Valenti took the patrol car. They drove with the Jeep in the lead. Only Max knew where he was going.
The book had told them how to use the granilith as their ship, and the crystal Liz had found was the key. Max couldn't help thinking about what Valenti had said as he drove towards the cave where they all had been born. *What if he's right? What if we can't come back?* he thought. Little did he know, but the same thoughts were going through all of their heads.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finally they reached the desert. Everyone got out of their cars and walked slowly and quietly up towards the cave. Max placed his hand over the special spot and the door appeared. He went in and everyone followed. They crawled through the pods and into the back where the granilith was kept. Max inserted the crystal and bright lights engulfed the room. Everyone gasped. There was a click and a small opening appeared.
(A/N: Yes, yes, I know this isn’t how it happened on the show, but I just used the basic framework of the idea. I take no credit for that…)
"This is it. We're going home." Max announced. He hugged Valenti and thanked him for everything. "Don't worry, we'll be back." He assured them all as he saw their anguished looks. Then he stood near the tiny door, waiting for Liz to finish saying goodbye. Liz hugged Maria and Alex as tight as she could. She knew what Max had said, that they would be back, but she wasn't so sure about herself. She told them both that she loved them, and they nodded and agreed. She kissed Alex on the cheek and whispered, "I'll miss you." He just held her for a moment. Liz also hugged Kyle and thanked him for always being there for her. When he let go, Maria grabbed Liz again. They hugged for a long time, both of them crying their eyes out. Isabel walked over to Mr. Valenti and asked him to tell their parents that they loved them.
"Whatever story you come up with, tell them I said that. And for Max too. It'll mean a lot to them." Valenti nodded and Isabel hugged him. When he released her she smiled and glanced over at Alex. She took that moment to say goodbye to him.
"I know we're not, officially a couple," She said, "But I want you to know that I love you. And when I get back..." Isabel couldn't finish the sentence. Her eyes had grown teary, even though she had promised herself they wouldn't.
"I'll be there." Alex finished for her. They kissed and held each other. Finally Isabel let go and disappeared into the opening. Max grabbed Liz's hand as she looked up at him, signaling she was ready to go. Then they went in as well. Maria clung to Michael as tears flowed down her face. He stroked her hair gently. He knew he'd miss her. But no one else had let those sort of thoughts cloud their judgment. Michael lifted Maria's face level to his. He looked her straight in the eyes, whispered, "I love you," and kissed her. Then he pulled away, glanced at her one more time, and disappeared through the opening. Maria began to sob. Alex took her into his arms and cradled her. Alex then instructed them all to leave the cave as quickly as possible, and guard their heads. He knew if they didn't get out of there quickly, the cave would collapse on them. They all ran out of the cave and down the slope. There they stood, waiting for the ship to leave. A few minutes later, there was a huge explosion and they all saw the ship emerge and fly off into the oblivion. Through all the noise, Maria’s sobs could still be heard and everyone was crying with her.