Part 10

            “What?” Serena demanded, her temper flaring.

             Alex laid a calming hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

             Michael sighed and looked up at the shocked faces that surrounded him.

             “Two or three weeks ago I started having this dream about my father and sister returning.  I don’t remember images, but I know that my sister was terrified of him and wanted me to stay away from him.  I got the feeling that he was evil, too.  I just dismissed it as being weird until now.  He’s really close, isn’t he?”

             “Yeah.”

             “God, Michael.  Why didn’t you tell me?” Maria asked with hurt in her voice.

             “Oh no, no fights right now.  We need to get Alex, Max, Liz and Alexia to a safe place.  At least as safe as we can get.”

             Liz raised an eyebrow.  “Why us?”

             This time Serena raised an eyebrow.  “Because you’re the royal family.”

             “Huh? How the hell are Liz and Alex royal?” Maria asked.

             Serena got a confused look on her face that was quickly replaced with one of realization.

             “Oh yeah, you guys don’t know,” she said.

             “Don’t know what?” Michael asked his sister.

             “Well, I’m afraid you guys got the Royal Four a bit mixed up.  Liz is actually Ariana, Zan’s wife and Queen of Antar.  Alex is Brek, Zan’s second in command and Vilandra’s fiancé.  Michael is Rath, Zan and Brek’s best friend; and Tess was Ava, Ari’s younger sister who had the hots for Zan and my father.  Ew.”

             “Why were two sets of Rath and Ava sent then?” a bewildered Liz asked.

             “Khivar found out and put them in Ariana and Brek’s places.  Fortunately, I was able to save your pods, but I had to make some modifications.  I made you fully human and disabled your powers until you formed a true connection with one of the other royals or myself.  Max gave Liz her powers back when he healed her, and my future self connected with Alex so he’d believe me.”

             “Where does that leave me? Why isn’t Khivar after me?” Isabel asked.

             Alex looked at his feet.  “Because we convinced him that you were the same Vilandra he knew and that he wouldn’t have to worry about you not handing over Antar after Max, Liz, Alexia and I were dead.”

             “You what?”

             “We had to do something to protect you.  Don’t blame us, it was Alexia’s idea.”

             Max and Liz stared at Alex and Serena.

             “Just how long have you been communicating with her? What all has she seen?” Max demanded.

             Serena swallowed and sat down on the couch.

             “She first contacted Alex two years ago by dream walking him.  He woke and told me.  We’ve kept in contact with her since then.  We visit her dreams every night and talk to her on the phone sometimes.  This is only the second time we’ve seen her in person.”

             Max glared daggers.  “When was the first time?”

             “A year ago when Liz came to New York.  Serena, Ava, Zan and I were eating at this deli when they walked by.  Alexia smiled and waved, but she knew better than to approach us,” Alex said.

             “Wait, Zan and Ava?” Kyle asked.

             “Yeah, they’re friends of ours.  They’re on their way here now.  I know you guys thought Zan was dead, but that was also a set up.”

             Serena’s cell phone rang.

             “Hang on a sec and don’t kill each other!” she called as she left the room.

             “Hello?”

             “Serena, my favorite little backstabber.”

             “What do you want, Nicholas?”

             “Well, besides you, I just wanted to let you know that your father is very close.”

             “No shit.  Why the hell are you telling me this anyway?”

             “No reason.  See you around, doll.”

             Click.

             “What the hell?” Serena mumbled as she walked back into the living room.

             “What’s up?” Alex asked.

             “Nicholas.  He’s acting so weird.”

             “Weirder than normal?”

             “Yeah, he just told me that Khivar was on his way here.”

             “You’re right, that is weird.  He’s up to something.”

             “Ya think?”

             “Smartass.”

               “Enough! Jesus, you two are like an old married couple,” Michael muttered.

             “Sorry.  You should see Ava and Alex; they’re way worse.  They fight 24/7 whenever we’re all together.  Its funny as hell.”

             “I’m sure,” Isabel said.

             “Mom! Your cell phone is ringing!” Alexia called downstairs.

             Liz ran to the top of the stairs and took the phone from her.

             “Thanks sweetie.”

             Liz walked back downstairs.

             “Hello?”

             “Ah, Agent Parker.  I’m glad I’ve finally gotten a hold of you.”

             “Oh, uh, hello Agent Skinner.  What can I do for you?”

             “Well, I was just wondering what the HELL the three of you are doing in Roswell?”

             Liz winced.

             “Didn’t Mulder tell you? We’re investigating an X-File.  We might be out here for a while.”

             “And you expect me to just accept that?”

             “Yes, sir, I do.  Talk to you later, sir.”

             Click.

             “You’re an FBI agent?!” Michael shrieked.

             Liz groaned.

             “Here we go again,” she grumbled.

 Part 11

            “Where is she?” Mulder asked for the millionth time.

             Dana rolled her eyes.

             “Once again, honey, I’m sure she’s still over at Max’s.  They all seem to have a lot to discuss.”

             “Well I can’t take waiting for her anymore! I’m turning the bug back on.”

             “Fine, if it will make you shut up!” 

            Mulder flipped the switch on.

             “An FBI agent? What the hell were you thinking?” Michael ranted.

             “I was good at it, okay Michael? Besides, I was never involved with alien investigations until this case.”

             “Are your two little friends Feds too?”

             “Yes, got a problem with it?”

             “Of course not, your Majesty,” Michael replied superciliously.

             “Okay, stop it.  God, you’re worse than you originally were and I didn’t think that was possible,” Serena muttered.

             “Yeah, they’re almost as bad as Alex and Ava,” a deep and familiar voice said from the doorway.

             Serena didn’t even think—she shot out of her seat and threw herself into Zan’s arms.  They held each other a moment before Zan pulled back to give Serena a kiss that put Max and Liz to shame.

             “Knock it off! I don’t wanna see you two do the nasty right here!” Ava cried, covering her face.

             Zan and Serena turned bright red and glared at their friend.

             “Give us a break, Ava.  We’re desperately in love, remember?” Serena begged.

             Ava grinned.

             “I know.  I was just givin’ yous a hard time.  Sorry.”

             “Yeah right.  You’re never sorry Ava, just **sorry**,” Alex piped in.

             The punk whirled around with her hands on her hips.

             “What was that, Whitwoman?”

             “Nothing, reject.”

             “Reject? Reject? That’s it, Alice, I’m gonna whoop your skinny white ass!” Ava said as she pounced on Alex and began to beat him.

             “Take that, second best!”

             “You little bitch!” Alex yelped as he struggled to get the pink haired girl off of him.  By this time Zan and Serena were rolling on the floor with laughter while the others looked on in horror.

             “Stop it!” Max yelled over the commotion.

             Ava froze with her fist halfway to Alex’s face and Alex froze with a handful of her hair in his grasp, ready to pull it out.

             “What’s your problem?” Michael asked with an amused expression on his face.

             “We always fight like this.  Sorry, we forgot that you guys aren’t used to that,” Alex said apologetically.

             “So, Zan, what’s the deal with you and Serena?” Kyle asked.

             “We’re engaged,” Serena answered for her fiancé,

             “Um, Rena? Who is who?” Zan whispered in her ear.

             “Oh! Well, this is Max and Isabel Evans, Liz Parker, Michael and Maria Guerin, and Kyle and Jim Valenti.”

             Zan looked around at all of the people who seemed to be studying him and got very uncomfortable.

             “What?”

             “Sorry, you just look so much like, only not.  We also thought you were dead,” Max replied.

             “Yeah, well, blame your daughter.”

             “What?!” was the resounding response from everyone but the New Yorkers. 

            “A day or so before Lonnie and Rath were supposed to kill me, a future Alexia showed up and told me that I had to prevent that.  Serena and I were already friends so I called her and asked her to mind warp them into thinking I was dead.”

             “What’s with all the future people? This is getting a little out of hand,” Jim mumbled.

             Michael glanced at his watch and then at his sister.

             “Well, Serena, you have anymore surprises for us or can we go home and get some rest? It’s getting late.”

             “That’s it for now and you’re right—we all need some sleep.  How ‘bout we meet at the Crashdown tomorrow at noon?”

             The group agreed and headed for their cars, leaving only Max, Liz, Isabel and Alexia behind.

             “God, I so do not want to see Dana or Mulder right now.  Mulder’s going to be so full of questions,” Liz groaned.

             Max looked at his feet.

             “Yeah, but they’ll have even more if you and Alexia don’t return to the hotel.”

             “Okay.  We’ll see you two tomorrow, then.  Bye Iz, goodnight Max,” Liz whispered.

             Max leaned down to give Alexia a hug and a kiss on the forehead, and then proceeded to do the same to Liz.

             “Goodnight, my girls,” he said softly.

             Liz smiled and walked hand in hand with Alexia to her rental car.  ‘Maybe there’s hope after all,’ she thought with a grin.  If only the path wasn’t going to be so difficult.

 Part 12

            “Where have you been?” Mulder exploded as Liz walked into their suite. 

             Liz sighed.

             “Hang on, let me put Alexia to bed first.”

             Dana nodded and dragged her husband onto the couch.

             “Jesus, Mulder, what happened to being subtle?”

             Mulder glared.

             “I dunno, Scully, maybe the fact that one of my best friends who lived with me for a year is an alien is starting to get to me!”

             Liz stood frozen on the other side of the door.  ‘Holy shit, they know.  How? A bug.’  Liz frantically began to search through her stuff until she found the bug Mulder planted in her purse.

             “Fuck me,” she muttered.

             “Mommy!” Alexia admonished.

             “Mommy didn’t say that.”

             “Yes you did.”

             Liz groaned and put her head in her hands.

             “What are we going to do, Alexia? Dana and Mulder know.”

             “So? Will’s known for two years and he hasn’t freaked.”

             Her mother whirled around.

             “Will knows? Since when?”

             “Since he fell off the monkey bars and cracked his open when we were three.”

             “You healed him?” Liz asked in awe.

             Alexia nodded.

             “What else can you do?”

             “Dream walk, connect with people, move things with my mind, scan text and images into my brain, you know, the usual.”

             Liz stared at her daughter, dumbfounded. 

             “How long have you been using them?”

             “Since I was three and accidentally dream walked Daddy.  Look, Mommy, you better go talk to Aunt Dana and Uncle Fox before they freak out even more.”

             Liz nodded and left the room.

             “Since when do I take advice from my five year old?” she muttered to herself.

             Dana and Mulder looked up as Liz re-entered the living room.

             “About damn time,” Mulder mumbled.

             Liz glared and sat down on a chair opposite the couple.

             “What’s up?” she asked sweetly. 

            Dana shot Mulder a warning look and said, “Nothing.  We were just worried about you and Alexia since you were gone for so long.  How did it go with Max?”

             “Fine, we’re just trying to work out some of our issues.  You know, Alexia, my disappearance, our powers, destiny, evil aliens, our future together, that sort of stuff.” 

            Dana and Mulder gaped at her.

             “What?” Liz asked innocently.

             “How did you know?”

             “Gee, Mulder, the bug was a bit of a clue.”

             “Oh.  So, um, aliens, huh?”  Mulder had no idea was he was so nervous all of a sudden.

             “What do you know?”

             Dana drew a deep breath. 

            “Well, we know that some evil guys is after you and your family, your friend Alex isn’t dead, time travel is possible, and oh yeah: ALIENS FRICKIN EXIST!”

             Liz and Mulder stared at her in shock and said, “Whoa,” in unison.

             “How long you been holding that in?” Mulder asked.

             “A while,” Dana said as she sat down.  “So, what next?”

             Liz grimaced.  “We sleep, then you meet the gang at the Crashdown tomorrow and pray they don’t flip too much.”

             “Great, we have potentially pissed aliens to deal with now,” Mulder muttered.

             “Who said anything about potentially? I’m fucking pissed,” Liz shot back as she went back into her room.

             “Smooth move,” Dana mumbled.

Part 13

            “Chill, baby, it’s going to be okay.”

             “No, it won’t! He’s gonna kill us then, then he’ll use the Granilith to destroy the universe! Serena shrieked in hysteria.

             Zan rolled his eyes.

             “Sweetie, I highly doubt he’ll get that far.  I’m not going to let him harm you in anyway, I swear.  I won’t even let him get near you.”

             “But I have to face him! I have to show him that I’m no longer afraid of him.”

             “But you are afraid of him.”

             “What’s your point?”

             “You two are decent, right? I don’t wanna damage my virgin eyes,” Ava called from outside the bedroom.

             “Virgin my ass,” Zan muttered.

             Serena looked at him in shocked disgust.

             “You pig.”

             “What? Oh no, you don’t think—Serena, no.”

             His fiancé turned and started walking out of the room.

             “I wasn’t the one who deflowered her!”

             Serena turned to glare at him. 

            “No! I didn’t mean it like that…I NEVER SLEPT WITH AVA, DAMMIT!”

             Serena laughed.

             “What’s so funny?” Zan asked, utterly confused.

             “I knew that, I was just giving you a hard time.”

             Zan’s jaw dropped.

             “You little vixen.”

             Ava pounded on the door.

             “Hello? Did you two not hear me at all?”

             The couple flung the door open and grinned at their friend.

             “Sorry for the wait, Ava.  Zan was just telling me about of your experience together.” 

            Ava and Zan’s eyes widened.

             “You fuckin’ bastard! We was never together!” Ava screeched, beating Zan with her fists.

             “I never said we was! Serena was just screwin’ with our heads.”

             Alex laughed as he joined them.

             “That’s my girl,” he said while putting an arm around Serena’s shoulders.

             Zan glared.

             “Hands off, Whitman.”

             Serena raised an eyebrow while Alex held his hands up in defeat.

             “Sorry.”

             “Possessive much?” Serena asked.

             “Old habit,” Zan grunted.         

             “Lose it.”

             Zan nodded sheepishly and turned to Ava.

             “What did you want?”

             She blinked and seemed confused for a second. 

             “What? Oh.  Nothing.  I was just tryin’ to annoy yous.”

             “I think you succeeded,” Alex said, steering her away from their royally pissed friends.

              “So, Al, are you gonna get back with that Isabel chick?” Ava asked when they reached the living room.

             Alex sighed and sank into his favorite chair.

             “I don’t know; it’s all so complicated.”

             “Complicated how?”

             “Besides the fact that to her I’ve been dead for the past six years, we’ve both changed, grown up.  We may even have feelings for other people.”

             Ava leaned forward.

             “Other people, huh? Care to name any?”

             Alex gave a half smile and leaned forward in his chair.

             “Nah, I’ll just give you a big hint.”

             With that, Alex leaned forward and captured Ava’s lips with his.  Ava sighed against his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck.  ‘Finally!’ she thought.  The two fell onto the couch, oblivious to everything else around them.

             July 8, 2007

            Whitman/Guerin residence

             “Oh my God!”

             Serena’s scream woke Zan up and he ran into the living room, barely having time to put his boxers on.

             “What? What’s wrong?” he asked frantically.

             Serena nodded toward the couch, never once removing her hands from her eyes.

             “I may not have virgin eyes, but I would like to be spared sights like that,” she mumbled as she ran back into her room.

             Zan peered over the couch and saw a very naked Alex and Ava lying there.  He immediately looked away.

             “God, I did not need to see that,” he muttered to himself as he went back to Serena’s room.

             Alex opened his eyes in time to see Zan’s retreating figure.  His eyes widened and he looked down at Ava’s naked body and his own.

             “Fuck me,” he said.

             “That’s exactly what she did!” Zan called from the hall.

             “We’re never going to hear the end of this,” he groaned to himself.

             An awake Ava snorted.

             “You got that right.”

Index