posted on 9-Sep-2002 6:37:42 PM by Etoiline
This is the final part in the terribly long saga that was my first attempt at fanfic. I hope you like it. Please be profuse in your feedback, I need to know people are reading it. If you want to read the rest of the story, find it at this place... or search for my username.





Part Ten - The Revalir




Part Ten - The Revalir (The Awakening)


Author's note: This
takes place the day after the trip to the fortunetellers. Liz knows she and
Max can be happy, and more. Future Max never showed, for there is no need
for Tess - there is another who can take her place...


"Liz, I have to talk to you."
I stood in front of her, determined not to move until she agreed.


"Okay." This was a surprise.
I gaped at her for a moment, not expecting her easy accord.


Abruptly I blushed. Tonight was the night
I'd hired the mariachi band to serenade her. I'd spent my free period writing
and re-writing the lyrics Mr. Delgado had given me to make sure that I had
them memorized. I was almost embarassed to do this for Liz, but I was sure
I'd need something cheesy just to make her laugh. Now, however...


"Max?" Liz gave me a questioning
look as her locker clanged shut. I shook my head and focused on her face.
Her beautiful face, that I saw every night in my dreams.


"You really mean that, Liz? We can
have a long talk? You won't push me away?" I asked, still disbelieving.


"Of course I mean it! Were you this
insecure as a king?" Her eyes sparkled and I was rewarded with a laughing
smile. She reached a hand to my face. "I'm joking. You were a wonderful
king." She looked a little confused as she said that, then blinked and
said, "I mean, you must have been. I don't know why I said that. But
Max, of course I will talk with you. There's something I have to tell you,
too." A mischievious glint came into her eyes. For some reason that excited
me greatly.


"Tonight? Can I see you tonight?"
So I would have been going anyway, but to finally get her to talk, no time
was too soon.


"Tonight, unless you want to try the
eraser room..." At my astonished glance, she laughed again, and said,
"Unfortunately, sir, I have to get to class and so do you. We can make
our own eraser room later." She touched my lips with a finger before
I could make an incredulous response, and turned and ran down the hallway,
leaving me standing, shocked, for a moment. I couldn't believe she had said
those words... and then I remembered I had to get to class. We both had surprises
coming.


*****


"I, Liz Parker, take Max Evans to
be my wedded husband... wow, that's too weird." Liz smiled and laughed
at herself. I can't wait to tell him,

Liz thought. Well, she didn't exactly say we'd get married, but that I
would not be left wanting...
Liz
blushed. I hope this is what he wants to hear.I won't push him away any
more. I -we- deserve to be happy.

She turned from the mirror and replaced the lacy bedspread at the foot of
her bed.


Where is he? style='font-family:Verdana'> she wondered. Tonight, he said, and he really
seemed to want to come. Maybe he chickened out? Sheesh, it's almost tomorrow,
style='font-family:Verdana'> she thought as she glanced toward her bedside clock.
She had finished her homework hours ago, in anticipation of going out. She
could barely sit still durning dinner, and at her parents' questioning, she
blushed furiously and said that Max might come by. Her dad raised an eyebrow
and her mom smiled indulgently. There must be something special about Max
that she would play so hard to get
,
thought Jeff.


'Are you punishing him for something, honey?
Did you two have a fight? Because I've never seen a guy so dead set on getting
a girl back. Except maybe me after your mother,' Jeff said, winking at Nancy,
who smiled back.


'We didn't fight style='font-family:Verdana'>, exactly. More like a misunderstanding. He thought
he was supposed to do something else with his life that would inconvenience
me and I thought he was right at first. Now I think we're back on the same
track,' Liz said, blushing. No way was she going to tell her parents she would
"not be left wanting."


Suddenly she heard the strains of vaguely
familiar maraiachi music coming from outside. She hurried to the patio and
looked over the balustrade.


To her surprise, Max looked out from underneath
a large sombrero and started singing. Liz blushed furiously for the second
time that night, alternately embarassed and proud that she had such a wonderful
boyfriend who would do such a cheesy thing. In the middle of his song, he
tossed a bouquet of red rosed up at her, using his powers to change them,
midair, to the white she preferred.


Liz caught the roses and inhaled deeply.
They smelled like real roses, just taken from the bush. She found the somewhat
large card attached to the bouquet, but before she could open the envelope,
her dad came out onto the balcony. "Is that Max again? Max, it's eleven
o'clock at night, and tomorrow's a school day."


Max just looked up at Liz, smiled, and
led the band down the alleyway. Jeff smiled indulgently, then patted Liz on
the shoulder. "He really seems to want to be with you, hon. He's a good
boy. I hope you two work it out. I hate seeing my baby unhappy."


Liz drew in the scent of the roses again.
"I think it's going to work out, Dad. Thanks. Good night," she said
as she followed him back into her room and closed the door after him.


*****


Liz sat on her bed, about to open the envelope.
She wondered that Max had gotten such a big card. But when she took it out,
she discovered that the card was blank but for three words on the front… I
love you.
Two tickets were taped
to the inside along with a note. She yelped in amazement when she saw the
word GOMEZ under EVENT.


Hope you liked the show, Liz, but I
think this one might be better. I'll pick you up at 5:30 on Friday. I think
you know this, but I love you. --Max


Liz leaned back among her pillows and pulled
the sheets over her. She reached over to her nightstand and plucked a rose
from the bouquet and breathed in the scent. Then she placed the rose on the
pillow next to her, and fell into a dreamless sleep.


*****


I woke up the next morning much earlier
than I would have liked, but I couldn't help it. I was too excited. Even though
it wasn't the day of the concert… one more day… I couldn't contain myself.
I would see Liz today, and she wouldn't push me away. I could kiss
style='font-family:Verdana'> her, like I had in my dreams. I could tell her that
I knew she was my soulmate,
that somehow she had followed me through time and space to be with me, and
all we had to do was believe.


I believe. I remember things now. I remember
how I felt when I first saw Zaria. I remember being a king, and I remember
being in love. It has to be true. I could not want Liz as much as I wanted
Zaria in that other life unless Liz and Zaria were somehow the same. I didn't
know how it could be, but I didn't know how I could even exist. I mean, I'm
a hybrid. Not of this Earth. Surely somehow my soulmate could have followed
me.


I wouldn't see Liz today because of block
scheduling, but I vowed to find her at least once during passing time. I was
still a little embarassed that I had serenaded her last night. When I had
called the band, the rep said that their lead singer would be out of town,
but when they heard why I wanted to hire them, the rep suggested that I do
it. He siad I should try Tres Dias

and to talk to Mr. Delgado about the lyrics. I was almost glad when Liz's
dad came out. I could hardly keep from laughing.


 Liz was a no show at lunch, but I
found her in the library after fifth period, studying for some test even though
she'd no doubt already memorized all the material. I stood behind a bookshelf
and stared at her for a while, remembering how Ms. Topolsky had told me to
stop hiding behind trees. Liz looked up at my stifled giggle, but I ducked
beneath the level of the books, and then snuck up behind her.


"Hey there, beautiful," I whispered
at her ear. She jumped in her chair, then smiled at my closeness. "How
can you be studying at a time like this, Liz? I can barely walk straight,
for thinking of you," I said as I pulled her into the shelves.


"Hey, I'm just trying to be practical.
If we're going to have a heart-to-heart tonight, I can't study for the test
on Friday, now can I? Just because you
style='font-family:Verdana'> can't think straight doesn't mean I'm letting my--"
she sighed as I kissed her neck--"my feelings style='font-family:Verdana'> get the best of me." She chuckled softly against
my mouth. She didn't, or rather couldn't, say anything for a while.


"Seriously, you arrogant king,"
she said laughingly, pushing me back, "this particular subject isn't
going to think about you until precisely 2:45 pm, in which case I will meet
you outside by the track. I'm not about to let some boy
style='font-family:Verdana'> ruin my chances at scholarships," she said,
grinning. "Now get going, or you'll be late for class. Laughing, she
pushed me toward the doors just as the first bell rang.


*****


I really don't know how I got through the
next two periods. The second the last bell rang, I was on my feet, rushing
toward the parking lot, starting the Jeep from a hundred meters away, heedless
of who might see me wave the door open. I did manage not to peel rubber as
I practically raced to the track.


Liz stood at the fence, watching the athletes
warm up for practice, her hair rippling in the breeze. "Liz," I
whispered, almost not surprised when she turned. She smiled, a breath-taking,
genuinely happy smile, and ran to the Jeep. I waved the door open, saying,
"Your chariot, my lady."


 She vaulted into the compartment,
Kaskias' light bathing her face as the shielding fog began to lift. I could
not see her face under the
drykaan
helm, but I felt her smile. "Driven by the Zitan, no less. I could not
be safer."


"Max?"


I shook my head, not quite ready to tell
Liz about my past life. "It's nothing; it can wait till later. I was
thinking we might go to the pod cave. No one would know where we are, we couldn't
be interrupted."


"As you wish, milord." She chuckled
michieviously as she climbed into the jeep. "I am your loyal subject."


I'm sure I broke several laws on the mad
rush to the cave. Thank God no police cars were around. Before I knew it,
we were there, and Liz was pulling a blanket from the backseat. "In case
we get tired of standing," she winked at me.


We started to climb towards the cave, Liz
behind me so I could help her over the rocks. About halfway there, she slipped
a little, and I immediately grabbed her arm.


A purple sky, lit by two moons, the
violet waters of the Bris rushing under the bridge we crossed, barely ahead
of the disappating mists…


"Max, you're doing it again. What's
wrong? You just went all spacey on me, no pun intended." Liz's voice
once again broke through the flash.


"It's… you're sending me flashes.
C'mon, we have to get to the pod chamber. We'll talk about it there."
I found her hand, thankful that no flash occurred… we'd never get to the cave
otherwise!


*****


Liz stood at the entrance to the cave,
watching Max open it with his powers. The last time she was here, she had
seen the message from Max's mother, and realized he would be better off without
her, and with Tess. She closed her eyes for a long moment, remembering the
pain of walking away from him. But everything had changed, now. She allowed
herself a private smile as she thought of what was to come. She took the hand
Max offered as the cave opened, and nearly dissolved into a whimpering puddle
as she saw the intense look in his dark eyes. Not left wanting, indeed.


 The cave was filled with a soft blue
light, shining through the pods from the Granolith beyond. As she stepped
into the cave, the light pulsed brighter, almost in welcome, Liz fancied.
Along with her almost unbearable anticipation of what was to happen, she felt
a sort of homecoming. Which was odd, because it wasn't like she was an alien.


Even the cave thinks we're soulmates style='font-family:Verdana'>, Liz thought happily.


Max led her back to the pods, and through
them, following the path of the communicator that Isabel had thrown. Liz fingered
the papery strands of dried amnion, all that was left of whatever technology
had managed to keep Max and his podmates safe for fifty years. She caught
echoes of Max's memories of leaving the pods, fragmented in the absence of
his touch. At the end of the pod tunnel, Max reached for her--


And she emerged into the king's chambers,
amid the rubble of the secret entrance, sealed no longer under the influence
of spurious love. She was home,
home,
soon to be in the arms of her beloved--


Liz blinked. The sense of homecoming was
amplified as she moved into the Granolith chamber, déjà vu leaving her senses
reeling. There was no way she could have experienced that memory; she knew
style='font-family:Verdana'> she was human, had never been in the chamber before;
these had to be someone else's memories.


"Liz? I need you to come over here."
Max beckoned her to the cone of the Granolith and took her hand, placing it
on the smooth crystal. He covered hers with his own, and smiled at her with
those eyes that always made her melt.


"What are you doing, Max? I thought
we were going to talk."


"You…you can't feel it? The power
in this place? You don't remember?" Max looked at her incredulously,
knowing that they had shared their dreams.


"Remember what, Max? This is part
of your
style='font-family:Verdana'> history, not mine…is this part of what you need to
tell me?" She stared at Max, her throat constricting as she saw the sadness
gathering in his eyes. "Max, what is it? What--"


Max grabbed her face in his hands. "Liz,
you must remember."


And so saying, he dragged her into a connection.
Into it he poured all of his love for her and his absolute surety that they
were meant to be together. He showed her the dreams, the memories, finding
the deeply buried tatter of the past she carried inside. Elated, he coaxed
it into life, feeding the tiny blue core he had seen in dreams. He watched
her awaken to his touch, making her feel the power of his love for her and
her love for him, powerful enough that it reached across lifetimes and galaxies.
The ground seemed to shift beneath them, the room spinning, until they were
drawn apart. But no force could break the connection. Liz found herself on
her knees, a hand on the conical crystal, unable to move. Max stared at her
from the other side, his face wavering in the swirling glow within the Granolith.


Do you remember, Liz? I need you to
know what you were. What you will be, again.


 She started to reply, not realizing
Max was speaking only in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, reeling from
the battery of love thrown at her.


Liz…Zaria. I know you remember.


It seemed she heard two different voices
say those words, and suddenly the feeling of déjà vu became so strong she
was snapped into the memory of the dream, the first, most intense dream, the
one where she was changed


And opened her eyes, seeing the glowing
aura about Max as she knew she would. Yes,

she thought, yes, I remember.
M'alia,
I remember.
She closed her eyes
for a moment, feeling the power gathered in the room, accepting whatever would
come. Yes.


*****


I knew the moment Liz remembered. I knew
the moment she knew that our destinies were entwined, and I knew when she
accepted. In this reality there was no pain while touching the barrier, for
I was only waiting for her word. Without conscious design I let loose the
power I'd held in check, directing it through the Granolith towards my soulmate.
I didn't know what would happen, but I knew that dream, and I let destiny
take its course.


The glow swirled through the Granolith,
sending beams of multi-colored light shooting around the chamber. Liz threw
her head back as the glow brightened, and for one breathless moment, all was
still. Then, with a burst of power that ripped my hand from the crystal and
punched me back to the chamber wall, it rushed into Liz.


I shook my head, thinking that the glow
in her eyes was simply a reflection of the Granolith. Then I realized that
there was
style='font-family:Verdana'> no light, at least not from the Granolith. Liz's
eyes were glowing--with her power.


*****


She opened her eyes, and realized everything
was utterly different. It was dark, and she couldn't see Max anywhere. She
couldn't see anything
anywhere.
"Max?" she said tentatively.


"I'm here, Liz." She moved toward
his voice, needing to touch him. She reached out a hand, and encountered the
solid wall of his chest. He placed a hand on top of hers, and the moment they
met, the world was filled with stars. The world was
style='font-family:Verdana'> stars. Above them, around them, underneath them.
There was no floor; they were floating among millions of pinpricks of light,
both of them feeling more at home than they ever had.


"Oh, Max, it's so beautiful."
Liz looked around in awe, then finally settled on his face. He was smiling
back at her, the starlight reflected in his eyes. "How do you feel, Liz?
Any change?" he asked, his mouth quirking upwards.


"Change? Yeah, big change. As in I
remember more than just flashes. I remember you
style='font-family:Verdana'>, as you were. I remember myself. We performed the
reven-daai style='font-family:Verdana'> in that other life, and we started the revalir style='font-family:Verdana'> in that dream. And here, we finished it."


Max nodded, then reached a hand to her
face. "We were always destined for each other. No one can change that.
No one.
Whatever happened
in that other life, however we were forced to be apart, this is now, and we
will always be together."


*****


I couldn't believe it had actually happened.
In reality, not in dreams, I had shown Liz the path to her powers, and awoken
my soulmate. In the language of that other life it was the revalir
style='font-family:Verdana'>--the awakening.


I could tell you about the journey we took
then, the journey through our memories. I could tell you how she got here,
how she possessed the same brilliant scientific mind as she does now, and
how she worked with the scientists that were still loyal to my rule even after
my death. How they had studied the stars and determined the dimensions similar
to our own, and the quantum physics that I don’t completely understand. Something
about superstrings and eleven dimensions of space, so while the royals were
sent, seemingly to a random planet, only to crash here on earth, her essence
was relayed, alone but for a shapeshifter protector, in a separate dimension
while we incubated for fifty years. In her dimension, she traveled only an
instant. And on a night after a party for the newly married Parker couple,
the protector transferred her essence to the tiny life that had begun. And
how the alien part of her was buried under the human because she was carried
as a human.


I could tell you all of that. But I could
also tell you how we touched, how every time we kissed a new memory was yielded
to  us. I could tell you how I made trails of light glow against her
skin and how she delighted in doing the same, now that her powers were unlocked.
I could tell you how we both had t remember how to be human, after the developments
of the past days.


I could tell you all that and more. But
I think I’ll let you use your imagination.





posted on 9-Sep-2002 7:42:56 PM by Etoiline
oh, come on. Some one love me....

~Et
posted on 13-Sep-2002 6:39:20 PM by Etoiline
I don't know if there will be more... I certainly have ideas, but given that it took me two years to write this one, I'd probably have to have help... or a lot of nagging (read: encouragement) from others....


thanks for your fb!

~Et