Fandom: Roswell
Pairing: Michael/Liz
Rating: T/PG-13
Summary: A polar prequel to EOTW.
Spoilers: The End of the World
Challenge: Response to the PAC Halloween Challenge, at Polar Attraction.
Run.
Run. Run. Run. Run.
Run. Run. Run.
It pounded in her head, a staccato counterpoint to her pulse and her ragged breath.
Run.
Her legs were starting to burn and a sharp stitch was tearing at her left side. Yet, even as the sweat plastered her shorn hair to her face and neck and began to run down into her eyes, Liz knew that she wasn’t fast enough – not far enough.
She didn’t know where the others were. She tried not to think about it, because her overly logical mind told her that if they were still alive and safe, they would be here with her. They wouldn’t have left her alone. Michael wouldn’t have left her alone.
Luckily, running for your life didn’t leave much energy or time for thinking. Right. Left. Duck. Don’t trip. Don’t look back.
Other thoughts on evading capture and not leaving a trail, vied for space. Luckily, by now, they were second nature – and second priority. Michael had taught them very well, including the very practical lesson that subtlety and stealth were only important if you were still alive. He had taken his role seriously and was determined to keep them all as safe as possible. He had studied strategy and tactics with Alex, and how to fight and survive with various people they had met along the way. In turn, he had passed this knowledge on to them.
She struggled to stay upright, as she dug her fingers into her side, trying to fight back the pain, and started scouting for a shelter. She had to rest soon, or her body would make the decision for her. It was another one of those lessons that she wished that she hadn’t had to learn – know your limits.
The last few years had been hard. Max, Isabel, Michael, Alex, Kyle and Serena had all pushed themselves to their limits, over and over. There always seemed to be another threat around the corner. First, the special unit had driven them out of Roswell. Then there was some sort of private consortium that was even more ruthless and seemed to resent the hell out of aliens, any aliens. They had actually been inadvertently helpful a couple of times, when Liz and her friends were fighting their worst adversaries, until Nicholas and the skins had eliminated them.
That was the biggest threat, the one that threatened to overwhelm them – the Skins. They had no need for or belief in a defensive posture. They only wanted to destroy the Royal Four, and their human allies, at any cost. Well, the Royal Three, anyway. Tess was on their side – however that worked – and her knowledge of the group and its dynamics, especially when backed by the information and training that Nasedo had ingrained in her, made her a dangerous enemy. Unfortunately, Nicholas was ruthless enough to put her to good use.
She seemed quite unstable, a fact that didn’t really surprise those that had known her. Tess seemed to delight in tormenting them, taunting them, catching them in her sick mind games. She had practically crowed when she had found out about Liz and Michael’s relationship. She had really enjoyed sticking it to Max for choosing Liz over her, when Liz had chosen his second. Despite the fact that Max had mostly come to terms with their relationship, everyone had seen how she had gotten under his skin with that strike. Isabel had finally pulled him aside, and whatever was said, it was never discussed among them.
Then again, there had been little time for fall-out. That had been the beginning of end, and the resultant strain on their interpersonal relationships had not improved their conditions. Time was running out, and they had only each other to rely on.
Slowly, the Skins had been driving them toward the desert, herding them, backing them into a corner. However, despite Tess’s knowledge of the pod chamber, the Granolith had been safe thus far. After her defection, Max had found a way to key the entrance to only their group, using the royal seal. Alex had found the idea in the destiny book shortly after her defection. This wasn’t the first time that they had been betrayed by one of their own, and Max’s protectors had left little to chance.
Tess and Nicholas didn’t seem to know all of the details of what the Granolith was capable of, which was a small factor in the group’s favor. They seemed content, thus far, to kill them all, and pick up the pieces later. On the other hand, between Alex’s translation of the destiny book and Serena’s knowledge of physics, they had a pretty good idea, and a fallback plan.
It looked like it would have to be set in motion. Liz had almost reached the cave. It had taken her almost a full day to get this far, when Max and Michael hadn’t returned to the reservation. She didn’t know how close her pursuers were, and she didn’t feel very lucky, but it was her only shot. Hopefully, anyone else that was still alive would make it there too.
It had been three days since she had last seen the others, except Isabel. She had been lost 2 weeks ago, to a particularly sadistic trap set by Nicholas. Michael and Max had gone to find supplies and to scout ahead. Michael hadn’t wanted to leave her, but they needed to split up to have the greatest chance of accomplishing their goal. Kyle was seriously injured and had been left in her care, at the cave, on the reservation. Alex and Serena had been smuggled away by a friend of Riverdog’s the previous night. They were very valuable for their knowledge and they were the most vulnerable of the group. Alex was still human, and Serena had very little in the way of offensive abilities, and didn’t like to use the ones that she had. They were liabilities in a fight, and unfortunately, they no longer had that luxury.
They all knew that their time was short. She and Michael had spent a heart-breaking night in each other’s arms. They had found little time to just be with each other lately. Worse than those first few months on the road, there had been very little privacy and even fewer luxuries. A shared pallet, in a semi-hidden alcove of a cave, was something to cherish. They couldn’t make love, the others were too close for that, but they still reaffirmed their love for each other.
Less than eight months on the road together, Max and Liz’s relationship had fallen apart. She and Michael had started to spend more and more time together, finding that they had a lot in common, including a wry, sarcastic sense of humor, that had the others rolling their eyes. One night at a campsite in Oregon, she had kissed him. It had shocked them both, and rocked the foundations of their friendship, and later, almost torn the group apart.
The relationships within the group were eventually mended and Michael and Liz fell deeper in love. A year later, during a rare trip back to Roswell, Liz and Michael had snuck off and eloped to Las Vegas. He had talked her into an Elvis chapel, of all things. Everyone had thought that they were crazy, but Michael said that if they were going to do it, they might as well make it memorable. Besides, it gave them the chance to one day do it again, and get it right.
They had met up with the group outside of Phoenix with matching rings and matching smiles. Isabel had pasted a smile on her face and quickly organized a reception for them in a little dive off of the highway. Liz never could tell if she was more upset that they had done something so “foolish” and hurt Max, or because they hadn’t included everyone else when they did it.
Either way, Liz had no regrets. She and Michael loved each other, and had done everything possible to share that love with each other. That last night, they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms and that was the last time that she had slept.
She was exhausted, but she knew the cave where the Granolith was hidden was only a few hundred yards away. She came around the edge of the cliff, and up the first small rise that led to the path to the cave. She tripped over a loose stone that was in her path. She had not seen it, in her distraction, but as she fell to the ground, she suddenly could see the entire area lit up, as an energy blast flew past her head and across the night sky. She twisted around to see Tess and a group of Skins sliding down the embankment at the side of the road, behind her, closer than she had realized.
Ahead of her, she could see a small battle taking place that had been hidden by the face of the cliff. Michael was there, near the entrance of the cave, and Max was nearby, holding his shield in front of them both. It looked thin, and the greenish glow was dull. It wouldn’t last much longer. She could see the slight slump to Michael’s shoulders, and almost make out the tight lines around his mouth and eyes that showed his fatigue.
She climbed as fast as she could to the summit, trying to stay under cover. They hadn’t expected it to be this close. She had to make it to the entrance; it wouldn’t work without her. She had the crystal. They couldn’t activate the Granolith without it.
She came up over the last rise, behind them, and dove behind Max’s shield. It started to flicker a bit. She had to get the door open, while Max and Michael held them off. She placed her hand into the indent and felt it dissolve around her. A small charge raced across her hand as she was recognized and the cave started to grind open.
She cried out. Max whipped his head around toward her and nodded. Just then, his shield failed, and a blast flew toward him. Michael threw himself toward Max, tackling him and pushing them both into the cave. They hit the floor hard and Michael curled inward, to clear the entrance. Liz quickly reactivated the lock, as more blasts of energy flew past their heads from Nicholas and his advancing army.
Max extracted his legs from under Michael, and shakily got to his feet. He leaned against the stone wall, panting harshly. He was very drained from the battle, and the chase that had led up to it, but they weren’t done. Liz leaned on Max’s arm, and raised her hand alongside his. They used their powers to fuse the entrance to the cave closed. Hopefully, it would buy them a few minutes.
A moment later, Liz’s cry alerted him to the fact that something was very wrong. As she flung herself in front of him, he realized that Michael still hadn’t gotten up. He was still curled up on the floor of the cave. She sat down beside him and pulled his head into her lap, cradling him in her arms. The tails of his shirt and the area over his right hip were tacky with blood and slightly charred, where a blast had hit him, as he entered the cave.
Michael reached up to caress her cheek and wipe away the tears that had started to fall, as she sobbed above him. Max felt for both of them. He loved them both. He hated that he had lost Liz, that she loved his brother instead, but he had never fallen out of love with her. He had never given up hope, but he would not have wished this on them. He couldn’t stand to lose either of them; Isabel was already gone.
He knelt beside them and took Michael’s other hand. Michael looked at him and quirked his lips in a grimace that vaguely resembled a smile. Max offered a strained smile back, as Michael’s hand went slack in his.
Liz tenderly brushed the hair off of Michael’s forehead, and then leaned over him to place a chaise kiss against his lips. She raised her face to the heavens, as if saying a prayer, and sniffed back her tears. She swiped the back of her hand and forearm across her face, removing her tears.
She looked to Max, and nodded, then extricated herself from Michael. As she slowly arranged his body neatly on the dusty floor, Max turned away, and began to stand. He didn’t miss the last tender kiss that she gave Michael, as she closed his eyes, before she rose and extended her hand to him.
She pulled out the crystal that she had been entrusted with. They had decided that she had she had the best chance of making it through to the cave with the crystal. She almost cursed the fact that they had been right – Michael, Isabel, and Kyle were all dead now. She handed the crystal over to Max and asked, “You know what to do, Max?”
“Yes.”
“Find me. You’ll have to convince me, but it’s your best bet. We can’t make the same mistakes again. We have to stop Tess.”
“I will.”
The floor shook beneath them. Together, they stumbled into the chamber that held the Granolith, and Max caught her in his arms. The entire cave was rocked by the blasts being directed at it. She and Max had sealed it well, but it wouldn’t last long against the determination of their pursuers. They were out of time.
Max seemed to have second thoughts. “I won’t leave you.”
“No, no, no. Max, you have to.” There was no choice, no chance. Michael was gone – everyone was gone – and soon, they would be too. It was their only chance.
“If I’m successful, if I can do this, you and I won’t exist. Not as we do now.”
“Max, if you don’t do this, we’re gonna die. Everyone will. Max, you have to do this. You have to try it.”
“I’ll never see you again.”
Liz looked at him then, really looked at him, and saw the love that he still held for her, after all of these years. It made her feel special, but also, more than a little sad for him. She had found true love; he never had.
She reached for him and wrapped her arms around him. He was all that she had left in the world, and he was right, after this brief moment, neither of them would exist.
His ragged breath was harsh and he held her too tightly, but she understood. She took a deep breath. She had to convince him. They were out of time. He had to go. He had to save them all.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” she wondered.
Max pushed back from her and grasped her face in his hands, holding her steady, tenderly. Liz could feel the earnestness in his plea.
“For every kiss, every smile.”
She did smile then. She had loved him once, and she could see in him the boy she had known and loved. It had been a long time. Being on the run had changed him, changed them all. But – it was her feelings for Max that had led her on this path, and that had led her to Michael. She had no regrets, and she told him so.
A particularly harsh blast hit the walls and knocked them both off of their feet. The door wouldn’t hold. It was now or never.
Max pulled out the crystal that would power the Granolith and crawled to the base. He slammed it home. It began to glow red, as the power built up.
They both stared at the Granolith. It was one thing to hear Serena and Alex discuss the theory of this, but another to see it in action. Liz felt the hair on her arms and neck rise, as the residual charge built up around them.
They would get one shot at this, and only one of them could go. It had been decided that it should be one of the original “Czechoslovakians,” because no one was sure how the Granolith would react to the others. Liz was the back-up – the last resort – but Max was here. He would go.
She was scared – scared for him and for all of them, if this plan failed. However, when she looked to Max, he smiled at her. He wasn’t scared, not anymore. He was confident and determined. He was the king.
The light flashed and Liz was thrown across the chamber. She turned and saw a light growing in the vortex. It was Max, suspended in the expanding field, looking around, orienting himself.
He had done it. He had entered the Granolith. She was stunned. There was still a part of her that couldn’t believe that this was possible. It was against all laws of physics. Yet, he was going to make it; she knew it. He would fix things so that this wouldn’t happen again.
It was over. One way or another, everything that she had known was gone, and so would she be, soon. It was all up to Max – a man caught between two worlds and two loves – who had never known peace or comfort and still saw her as the light of his life.
She reached out and placed her hand against the stone, and he reached for her, too. She said a silent prayer for luck and Godspeed. He nodded slowly, with a bit of a smile. He understood.
The vibrations increased and rose in pitch. Max seemed to be shot out of the top of the inverted cone and tossed out into space. She was repelled backwards.
She couldn’t believe her eyes. She was alone. He was gone.
“Aah! Ma…Max! ”
She fought for breath, and collapsed to her knees. It was over. She had to trust him. Either way, it wouldn’t matter anymore for her – or at least this version of her. She would fight this battle as many times as it took. That was her destiny, chosen for her the day Max healed her. She would fight.
And she would love.
Michael.
She took one last breath, dizzy, feeling as if she were spinning apart. Then, she felt Michael; his soul brushed against hers, and for that brief moment, they were at peace, as Max flew through time and space to help set things right.
Halloween is coming and it’s the perfect time to submit a ficlet to the Polar Halloween Horror Challenge! We’re not just talking the stereotypical serial killers/stalkers you see in most horror movies. Ghosts, goblins, witches/warlocks, aliens and all other things that go bump in the night are acceptable too!
The rules are simple:1) The story must be polar (Mi/L together as a couple)
2) Max cannot be the bad guy
3) It has to be scary and we’re not talking about bad fashion sense scary
4) The story must be at least 2000 words but no longer than one chapter