Fractured Four

The lights in the Crashdown Café were low as Jim Valenti walked in.

“Private party?” he joked.

The room was filled with adults. Diane and Philip Evans were sitting at the counter, Nancy and Jeff Parker stood behind it, Jesse Ramirez was seated in a booth, opposite Amy and Sean DeLuca.

“Well, now that we’re all here, what’s this all about?” Jim asked as he sat down at the counter.

“We got a phone call this morning from Max and the others. They asked that we all gather here,” Philip said.

“Why?”

“No clue. Max didn’t say. It was just a short phone call, I don’t think it was even a minute in length.”

“Well, we couldn’t be traced.”

They all looked to the back of the café, where Max, Isobel, Michael, Liz, Maria and Kyle stood.

There was a sudden flurry of noise and activity as parents rushed over to embrace their children. As they all sat down to recount journeys and swap stories as to how far pregnant Liz was, where the sextet had travelled, how much they had all missed each other and why Maria and Michael had split up irrevocably, Langley burst in, crumbling to the floor.

“Langley! What happened?” Max said as they hoisted him into a chair.

“Larrik, his vessel, where is it?” Langley said frantically as the others gathered into seats.

“Brody? I have no idea, England, I think. Langley, what the hell happened?”

“The sky! Have you seen it? The message.” Langley passed out.

“What message?” Max asked the others. Michael went out to the door and looked up.

“That message,” he said. They all crowded outside.

Thousands of space ships were soaring through the sky, crashing with bright lights and distant bangs in the desert. The Pod Squad looked at each other.

“This is not good,” Max said, herding them all back inside as a military van screamed past them.

*******************************

They had been up all night.

The Pod Squad, their friends, their families. Jeff Parker had stationed himself in front of the television, to keep a constant eye on the news coverage.

Max and Liz were taking care of Langley, still out cold from exhaustion in dawns early light.

Maria, Nancy and Dianne had taken over the kitchen, keeping them all in coffee and snack foods.

The others were sitting around, discussing possibilities and methods of escape, should it come down to that.

Around eight in the morning, they all convened in the main diner.

“So, what do we do boss?” Kyle asked Max.

“We wait. One, the government has stopped their pressing search for us, so we know they’re not looking for us. Two, we don’t know what was on those ships. And three, the plan was to come home to Roswell. I say we stick to that until we have to abandon it,” Max said. “If any of you want to leave, I won’t stop you, you have every right to leave. But I’m staying.”

“Me too,” said Liz.

“Lets just cut to the chase shall we? Anyone leaving?” Michael said bluntly.

No one raised their hands. “Right, so lets deck the halls.”

“What?” Isobel asked Liz.

“We act like nothing happened. We sell ties and balloons. We sell alien merchandise. We hide in plain sight,” Liz said.

“That is brilliant, Crystal Ball,” Michael said, the name a new nickname he had adopted for her over their travels.

*******************************

“I’m looking for Max Evans.”

“Ummm, try at the counter.”

Maria started to frantically signal to Max behind the strangers back. Max nodded and turned his attention to the stranger.

“Max Evans?”

“Can I help you?”

“Yes. I’m looking for Cal Langley.”

“I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“Don’t play games, your Majesty. I mean you no harm but I must speak with Langley.”

Max was about to argue with the stranger when the strangers gaze landed behind his shoulder.

“It’s alright. He’s an ally,” Langley said.

The members of the Pod Squad and their expanded members quickly moved to the back of the café. They all took seats and wondered what was going on.

“It’s happened. We had no choice but to bring her,” the stranger said to Langley.

“But that plan was abandoned. We all decided that if it came to that it would be too risky, earth is the first place he’ll look for her,” Langley argued.

“We had no choice.”

“Would someone mind telling us what the hell is going on?” Isobel said.

Langley took a deep breath.

“The Royal Four was fractured.”

“What do you mean fractured?”

“I mean that there are five, not four. Three siblings and the second in command were the original Royal Four. Queen Ava, if you can call her much of a Queen, was the sister of Kivar. She engineered it so that she pushed her out.”

“Who?” Max asked.

“Princess Anara. Your baby sister.”

“This has to be a joke. This is a joke! There are four of us, three now that Tess is dead,” Max said angrily, getting to his feet.

“It is no joke. Nasedo was working for Kivar, a double agent. They had it all planned. The only flaw in the plan was Anara.”

“A flaw? How could a princess be a flaw? Is she a twin of one of us, screws up the order of the inheritance of the throne?” Isobel said.

The stranger spoke up.

“She was a flaw because of what she represented. Sit down and be quiet and we’ll explain.”

The extended Pod Squad sat and waited. Langley and the stranger both began to pace, apparently organising their thoughts.

It was the stranger who spoke first. “When the two of you,” he motioned to Max and Isobel, “were young, you were very close. Closer than anyone had anticipated. When your family was nearly torn apart, you banded together even more. Your father was unfaithful, he produced a child with another. The mother died in childbirth, we never actually determined who she was exactly, but we do know this: she was not Antaran.”

Langley took over. “This mystery woman was, as you call them, a Skin. She was born of a Skin family. This presented a problem. It leaked out to the public that there was another princess. Imagine it. A race under the threat of invasion and their King has just produced a half-breed daughter. The whole of Antar was in an uproar over Anara. Many wanted her disposed of, others wanted her sent back to the Skins. But your father was a great man, very diplomatic. Your mother was even greater still. Your mother saw that this situation could be used as an advantage. She took Anara as her own, claimed her as a daughter.”

The stranger took over. “Once that happened the three of you were inseparable. Fast forward a few years. The King dies. There is great confusion over who should take the throne. Should it be the eldest son? Is he ready to be a King? Or should it be the eldest daughter? Or should it be Anara, a band between our two species? In the end it was decided on the order of birth. Zan became King. And you were a good king.”

Langley interrupted. “As King, you made sure that nothing came above the safety and happiness of your sisters. They were your family, your best friends. You ordered more security around them, and you chose protection for each of the princesses. A body guard. I was guard to Vilandra. Tough job but I enjoyed my work. For the princess who bridged the gap, it was a little more difficult. You were aware that many wanted her dead, that they saw her as an abomination. You were also aware that she was now sixteen, and a beautiful young woman. You were rigorous in your pursuit of the perfect guard for her. In the end, you chose a young general.”

The stranger sat down and looked at Michael. “You were young but you were dedicated to protecting the royals, so you accepted the post. Once you got there, however, it became a little more difficult for you. You met the young princess and fell hard for her. Spending most of the day with her was very difficult. Anara was always one to treat the guards and servants as friends. In the end, it was too much for the both of you and you began dating in secrecy. When you were discovered, Zan made the decision to accept you as the one his sister had chosen. Before long, the two of you were making plans to marry. But it was never to be.”

“By this time, Kivar had shown up, Ava had married the king, Vilandra was looking very tempting to Kivar. He demanded, as a treaty, a marriage with a princess. Vilandra couldn’t be married off to him, she was too close to the throne. The king had no heirs and if he were to die, Vilandra would take the throne and so would Kivar. The king refused to have either of his sisters marry Kivar. In the end, Anara offered herself. The king objected but it was too late. Ava had informed Kivar. Anara was married to him. A few days later, she was sent back, broken and bleeding,” Langley said.

“While the plan to marry Vilandra to Rath to avert Kivar’s demands was put on hold, Kivar took advantage. Ava convinced Vilandra to ally with Kivar to stop impending war. She opened the gates to the city. Vilandra died first. Then Kivar spent hours torturing Zan to get him to reveal where he had hidden Anara. Because of his marriage to her, once Zan was dead he could legally claim the throne. Zan died protecting her and his crown.”

“So, this Anara, what happened to her?” Liz asked.

“She died of the injuries that Kivar inflicted. She lay dying while we put what we thought to be the Royal Four into pods. Anara came round just as we had activated the incubation period. She told us what had happened. It was too late to remove Ava, it would kill all of you. So we adjusted it so that Ava would wake up later. Anara was put into a separate pod and kept on Antar,” the stranger said.

“So, why all the aliens crash landing on earth?” Kyle asked.

“Kivar has gone nuclear. He’s killing our people all over the place. And he’s doing it to find her,” Langley said.

“Why?” Maria asked.

“Because he can claim the throne through her,” Liz answered.

“Exactly. He is still legally married to her, and you all did legally die. If he finds her, he can manipulate her into consummating their marriage. If he does, by force or other wise, he can claim the throne legally.”

“So, what does that mean for us?” Max said.

“We need to protect the Royal Four. We feel that it would be easier if you were all together.”

“Here? You brought Anara here?” Isobel asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is she?”

“In a safe place. But unveiling her will be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because only her protector, her guard, can release her from stasis.”

********************************************************

Michael walked through the desert with the stranger, a man who he had found out was names Vasili. The sun was beating down on them but Michael couldn’t feel anything, noting but the intense need to get to where they were going. He had to know, he just had to.

Vasili came to a stop and Michael stopped with him. They were standing on a part of the cliffs overlooking the crash area. They got down onto their stomachs and looked down below them.

Soldiers. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them. All swarming around the wreckages. The ships were complete write offs. There was no way they could even be put back together, let alone used to find anything. It looked like the ships had been put together in a hurry, only intended to last the journey here.

Vasili pointed down below them and Michael felt sick at the sight that greeted him. Twenty or so aliens huddled together, clinging to each other in fright. They were unshielded, each of them glowing slightly. With a lurch of his stomach Michael realised that they were all children. Not one of them was older than nine or ten. He looked away and saw, a few feet away from the children, were a few adults, all terrified looking, some injured from the impact of the crash.

“We have to help them,” Michael whispered.

Vasili nodded and the two of them stared throwing a few pebbles to get the attention of the refugees. The children saw them, fear on their faces. The adults raised their hands to defend themselves.

Vasili took charge and glowed briefly. The refugees relaxed and the adults gathered the children to them. Michael and Vasili found their way down the rocks and made a hole big enough to get them through without being spotted.

Michael looked at the children, all clutching at each other, some silently crying in fear.

“Take them back,” Michael whispered to Vasili.

“The princess. We have to get to her.”

“I’m her protector. I’ll figure out where she is. They need you more than I do right now. They need you to help them hide what they are. You have the power to disguise them.”

“Michael, what if you can’t find her?”

“You have a cell phone. Got to the Crashdown, take them there. It’ll be closed by now. If I need help, trust me, I’ll let you know.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Vasili said, worry etched across his face. “If Kivar’s men get to her before you do, we’re all done for.”

“They came here to be safe. We’re the Royal Four. Max is their King, I’m their military leader. Let me rescue their princess. Take them to the King. Consider that an order from your general.”

“Alright, but there are things you need to know. There will be precautions in place, to protect her stasis pod. You’ll need to fight your way through to get to the pod. And you’ll have to figure out how to wake her on your own, no one has any idea how to do it. She designed the stasis system. She said you’d figure it out.”

“No pressure on me then. Anything else?”

“Just one more thing. To find where she’s hidden, follow your heart.”

With that Vasili gathered the refugees to him and they walked a little way away before disappearing as Vasili’s abilities took effect.

“Follow my heart. Sure. Simple. Easy as pie.”

**************************************************

It was approaching dawn and still Michael was walking. He had had to change his course several times to avoid the soldiers, fallen down a few holes and lost his way a few times.

But this was it. He knew it. He’d seen it before.

It was a cave, the entrance of which was hidden by a weird flower that Michael was certain didn’t belong on earth. He neared the entrance and the flowers shot out, twining themselves around him. The more he fought them, the more they tightened. He shot a blast of energy at them, hoping to kill a few. It worked, he killed a few of the pink and black blooms but he also managed to piss off the rest. They tightened their hold around his neck.

Suddenly, he knew what they were, he remembered them.

Anara grew them in her own patch of the castle gardens.

He didn’t know what it meant but he said it anyway.

“Esta bethnie bennin. Esta bethnie Anara.”

The flowers dropped him and he walked into the cave. More memories assaulted him as he got closer to the centre.

Red hair. Long red hair. The three of them had all been different. Zan was dark, Vilandra was fair, and Anara was fire.

He dimly noticed that there were glowing crystals embedded in the walls, each sending out a pulse that he could feel in his skin, hear in his ears.

Eyes as dark as night. Zan and Vilandra’s eyes had been a clear crystal blue, but Anara’s were so dark it had been like staring into the depths of the ocean.

The floor was patterned with symbols, the same as in the cave River Dog had shown them, the same as the book.

Laughter. Clear and pure.

Finally he reached it. It wasn’t like their pods. It looked like a glass fish tank. He reached out and touched it, expecting it to be solid and was surprised to see the ripples form from his touch.

It was a bubble.

He had thought that it was square but it was an oval. The water, if it was what he assumed it was, was red, but only faintly. The whole bubble was glowing, a soft red glow that ebbed and flowed like the tide.

He strained his ears and realised that the pulse he could hear, the pulse that the crystals were giving off, the pulse he could feel in every cell, was a heartbeat.

Her heartbeat.

She was suspended in the middle of the bubble, a perfect living statue. Red hair. Pale skin. Running down her spine was a line of symbols. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her knees were together and drawn up. She looked like the perfect representation of the human foetus in the womb.

He knew he had to wake her. He knew that the refugees needed her. They looked to her for guidance, for reassurance. He knew that he needed her.

But right at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to think of anyone else.

He sat down on a rock and watched her.

**************************************************************

“Where is he?” Isobel said.

“I don’t know. But Michael will be fine. If he needed us we’d know,” Jesse said as he handed more blankets to his wife.

They moved through the chaos, handing out blankets to the refugees. The other members of the Pod Squad and their families were handing out food, water, clothes and blankets. They had all convened in the abandoned UFO centre and a few of the children were looking curiously at the exhibits.

Max moved over to his wife and gave her a fresh jug of water.

“You alright?”

Liz looked at him and it broke his heart to see the pain in her eyes. “All these people, all these children. That monster has done this to them,” Liz said.

“You know, Liz, if you wanted to turn your back on all of this, I’d understand.”

“What makes you think I want to do that?”

They had stopped still in the middle of all the chaos.

“It’s just, you never asked for all of this. These are my people I have no choice, I’m their king I have to help. But you. You never asked for this. You can walk away, I’d understand.”

Liz leaned in and kissed him. “If you’re king, that kinda makes me queen right?”

He nodded.

“Well, in that case, they're my people too. I’m not going anywhere. But I think Isobel should try and get inside Michael’s head. He’s been gone all night.”

Max nodded and the two of them gave the water to Maria and Sean before making their way over to Isobel.

*************************************************

“I can’t do it, I can’t reach him,” Isobel said.

They all looked at each other and knew that they were in trouble.

*************************************************

Michael stood up and pulled out his cell phone. He couldn’t understand why, but he had a perfect signal inside the cave. He punched in Max’s number.

“Michael?”

“Hey Max. I’m here. She’s in some kind of bubble. Ask Vasili if I can have a clue of how to wake her.”

“Just a minute.”

There was silence on the line for about five minutes and then Max spoke again.

“He says it has something to do with you, that she designed it so you’d be some kind of key to it. He says that’s all she ever told anyone about it.”

“Thanks Max. I’ll call you just before we leave.”

He hung up and tried to figure out this puzzle. He considered what he knew.

He had loved her and she had loved him. He had died for her. He was the key. He had to follow his heart to find her.

There had to be something else. It couldn’t be simple, it was a test to win a princess. These things were never easy.

He looked around the cave. The crystals seemed to be some kind of monitor, making sure she was still alive. And the symbols seemed more decorative than anything else. He touched the bubble again. It rippled beneath his fingertips. He pushed in farther and found that it felt more like jello than water. He pulled his hand out and was surprised to find that it came away clean.

The ripples reached the centre of the bubble and she twitched under the feel of them. Through the viscous jello-water he saw a chest. He moved around the bubble and opened it.

It contained some clothes obviously intended for Anara when she was woken. There were some containers that turned out to contain some food. A few bottles of water. And a jewelled case.

He prised it open and found a small dagger. Underneath it was a picture of what he assumed to be the original Royal Four, without Ava.

‘Ok, think logically. Heart, love, dagger, words I don’t know the meaning of. This could take some time,’ he thought to himself.

He pulled out his phone and called Max again.

“Put Vasili on the phone, I have a question.”

“Michael?” Vasili’s voice said.

“I need a translation and you speak Antaran. What does ‘Esta bethnie bennin. Esta bethnie Anara’ mean?”

“It means ‘I love you. I love Anara’.”

“Thanks.” He hung up and looked at the bubble again.

“No way. It couldn’t be that simple.”

Michael took the dagger and sliced across his hand. When the blood had made a small pool in his palm he took his hand and passed it into the bubble. The blood swirled in the liquid, working its way towards Anara. It reached the symbols on her back and her eyes snapped open. Her arms and legs flailed outwards and the bubble burst.

Anara fell out of the air and straight into Michael’s arms coughing and spluttering. She gripped at his shirt, her fine delicate fingers wrapping themselves up in the damp fabric.

Her dark eyes opened and she smiled up at him.

“You found me.”

*****************************************

There you go, first instalment of my new fan fiction. Please review. It really does mean a lot to me. Even if you don’t think it, those reviews mean a lot to me and I read every single one.