“You sound like you’re fixing a machine,” Maria muttered under her breath, but Sandy still heard it.

“Well, having him asleep is better than him killing you, don’t you think?” Sandy snapped.

Liz rubbed her temple in frustration, collapsing onto the bed. Their situation had gone from bad to a hell of a lot worse. And this bickering was not helping any.

All of them, Max, Maria, Michael, Isabel, Kyle, Ben, Sandy, Adam, Alex and herself, were stuck in the motel room. They were too afraid to leave in fear of Khivar having men outside waiting for them, and too afraid to stay in fear of Khivar waking up in Alex’s body. So here they sat. Stressed, edgy and worried beyond belief. And that damn headache. Where’s Tylenol when you need some? What the hell had Khivar done to her anyways?

“You all right?” Max asked her softly, as he sat down next to Liz on the bed. She nodded slightly and leaned against his body. She needed his warmth and comfort right now because all she could feel was numbing darkness inside.

“All right, Khivar’s out for right now and we don’t have much time,” Michael stated plainly. He and Maria stood just a few feet away from Liz and Max. Adam and Isabel stood in the corner, both with distracted looks on their faces. As for Kyle, he sat in the middle of floor with his legs crossed, all ready for story time.

“I think it’s time you do some explaining. The both of you.” Michael gestured towards Sandy and Ben. “We’re all listening.”

Ben glanced over at Sandy, noticing her extremely crossed face. He didn’t want for it to get this far, and she sure as hell didn’t either. But it was time they ‘fess up.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ben started, looking at each of the individual faces in the room.

“Then I guess you better start,” Liz said softly, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Well, we didn’t really know anything about the Royal Court, or Antar in general, before Adam left. We were all normal teens, Owen, Sandy and I. Adam too. We did normal things, and lived day to day like regular humans. Even now, I don’t remember how the four of us became friends. But it was instinctive, I’m sure of it. We had to be with each other.

“When Adam fled Sunny Oaks, that’s when things started getting weird. When Adam’s house set on fire, we were told Adam and his parents were inside the house and didn’t make it out. That they were dead.”

“Who told you?” asked Maria, her eyebrows scrunched in examination.

“Well, that’s the weird thing. This large team of… well, I don’t even know what to call them. They didn’t work for the government, I’m sure of that. And they weren’t a part of the Sunny Oaks police department. But they came along, handled everything and no one questioned them. I mean, we’re from a small town. We all just wanted to forget tragedy and go back to our pathetic little lives.

“It was a few days after the fire, when I started to get the dreams. They were blurry and perplexing at first, almost horrifying. All I ever remembered when I woke up was screaming and blood. Against my better judgment, I didn’t tell anyone. Sandy just thought I was just troubled from Adam’s death. But that wasn’t it. I knew in my heart it wasn’t it, that it was so much more. And I knew in my heart that Adam wasn’t dead. I could still feel him.

“But by the time I started making sense of all the confusing details, Sandy had already pulled away from me. I know she wasn’t angry at me, but angry at the situation we were in and she didn’t even know all the details yet.” He smiled at Sandy, even though she refused to meet his eyes.

“It was hard on us, on her. It’s partly my fault for her hatred of the world. When she needed someone, I wasn’t there. I had so many pieces of a puzzle but no picture so I hurled myself into figuring out what everything meant. I didn’t take the time to care for my sister. I’m glad Owen could.” Ben paused for a moment, letting the memory of Owen sweep powerfully over him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adam and Sandy had closed their eyes in remembrance as well.

“What were the dreams about? Did they ever get clearer?” Michael questioned, interrupting the reminiscent moment.

“Yeah, slowly. The dreams started coming more frequently, replaying over and over in my mind during one single night. They really confused and frustrated me at first, because I knew they held the meaning to something so important. But night-by-night, a new section became less blurry and more understandable. It eventually became one, long movie.” Ben stared at each member of the room.

“It was about the Royal Court and their ruling on Antar. I’m sure you know about most of it. Adam must have had his dreams by now. You know the deal, boy and girl fall in love, rule together with five others to form the Royal Court. There were two protectors, one for the Princess, and one for the whole Court. Khivar wanted to take over Antar, kidnapped the Queen, she fought and they killed her. The Royal Court falls apart and the enemy quickly takes over.

“Now here’s where the details are bit fuzzy. Owen, Sandy and I, we’re not part of the Royal Court. Never were. We were soldiers from Antar, three of the best. We were hidden after the downfall of the Royal Court. At this point, the scientists and loyalists worked underground because if Khivar ever found out about them, he surely would have killed them. Despite the reckless and inevitable defeat of the Royal Court, the people refused to believe Khivar had taken over. Khivar was, rather is, a cruel ruler fueled by lust for power.

“These scientists and loyalists were not delusional though, they knew the Court was dead. But instead of losing hope, they took the essence of six of the Royals and put them into pods that would eventually mature into human bodies, with the intention of them maturing on Earth. Somewhere that Khivar would never think to find you.

“But again, avoiding delusion, they wanted protection for the Court. They were really throwing caution into the wind, unsure of how anything would turn out. They weren’t even sure if you’d gain full capacity of your powers. So that’s why a second ship was sent. Us three, and Adam, were sent in there, each of us with our pods, to mature alongside the Royal Court.”

“I thought Adam was part of the Royal Court,” Maria interjected.

“Oh, he is,” Ben replied, smiling at her. “But he’s also our leader. The Protector Four-Square.”

“Oh.” Maria pursed her lips in thought.

“Then what happened? Obviously we didn’t grow up together,” responded Max. He shifted Liz closer to him. He was scared of learning more about his implausible history, but even more scared of not knowing.

“Honestly, I’m not completely sure. From what I’ve pieced together, our original destination was Sunny Oaks. All of us, both the Royal Court and the Protector Four-Square. But there wasn’t much time to orchestrate the whole thing, so the scientists were really rushing to get prepared thus not leaving much room for caution.

“Maria and Alex were not of royal blood therefore lacking much power, which evidently would interfere less with living on Earth. As you guys probably have already realized, our blood is different from humans. And from Liz, Maria and Alex’s too. Having strong, physical strength changes our blood cells, plus the years in the pods didn’t do much to help our normalize the cells to human cells.

“Just before the scientists were about to send us all off to Earth, they became conscious of these facts about our blood, and made adjustments to Liz, Maria and Alex. It was decided that they would be implanted in human women six or seven years before we all hatched. These scientists were brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I still can’t figure out how they managed to impregnate the women.

“Anyways, the ship that held the Royal Court was obstructed before it left Antar. It wasn’t known until after the deployment. The underground loyalists immediately killed the one responsible for the trouble. But it was too late to fix the ship. That’s why your ship crashed in Roswell, and why ours landed in Sunny Oaks.”

“Ok, I’m confused,” Kyle spoke up from his spot in the floor. “You know all this information about these guys and their past, but how? And what’s this Protector Four-Square crap?”

“Each of the protectors were implanted with dreams of the past,” Sandy answered, a bit more calmly than the group was used to her being. “We were all supposed to have them at the same time. Well, in fact, the Royal Court and the Protector Four-Square would aid each other in earth life, train together, and slowly build up our powers to work as a team. We share a special bond to the Royal Court. We were sent here with them to protect and help them defeat Khivar. But when our ships were separated, our bond was severely severed. Our bodies went out of whack, and each of us started to grow at different rates. That’s why Ben’s dreams came before mine and Owen’s and why we never had an inkling of what our lives really entailed.”

“Ok, but then what about this Protector Four-Square deal? What’s the purpose?”

Sandy stared off at the wall and paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts in her mind. Then lifting her head towards Adam, she stared at him directly.

“Adam is part of the Royal Court, official protector of the Queen… well, Princess for now. But when the scientists were issuing us into groups, they assigned him leader of the Protector Four-Square. He has the strongest connection to the Royal Court so it was a plausible choice.

“Apart, each of the protectors are strong, but together, we become a powerful son of a bitch. We complete a square, with the four of us. We’re connected to each other to form a group, a four-part square. And our square is linked to the Royal Court.”

“Wow,” Kyle said, sitting back. He looked up at her with awe. “That’s some deep shit.”

Sandy ignored Kyle, continuing her hard glare at Adam. “But once Adam left, our four-square was broken. For months after he left, Owen and I were oblivious to what actually happened. We didn’t even know we were aliens until about five months after Adam’s absence.

“All three of us decided to that we had to find out more about this alien business. Both Owen and I were getting our dreams by then, and the past became a lot clearer to us. Like why we were sent here, what our powers are, who Khivar is and such.

“All the while, Khivar was watching us. We don’t know how he found us, but we know that it was Khivar that tried to kill Adam and Owen.”

“Wait, tried?” Maria cut in.

“Owen’s not dead,” Ben answered flatly. “He’s alive. Sandy says she doesn’t feel it. For some reason, I seem to be more perceptible to all these connections, but I know Owen isn’t dead. I can still feel him.”

“Where is he then?” Isabel piped up, uttering her first words since Alex’s knock out.

“Our theory is that when Khivar first came for Adam, he thought that Adam was at home and planned to use him. Surprise for him, Adam wasn’t there so Khivar lit the place on fire. Adam left before Khivar could track him. We’re pretty sure Khivar has people working on Earth for him though.

“So the theory applies to Owen. Couldn’t get Adam, so he takes Owen. Another ‘accidental’ fire, and poof, no one realizes anything. We’re pretty sure he doesn’t know we’ve gotten our awakening.”

“Why wouldn’t he know?” Isabel asked.

“Because Sandy and I would be dead by now. Or captured. Too many deaths in one small town make people start questioning the situation. He could have the FBI on his tail in no time. Not that it would matter, because he could wipe them out with a wave of his hand.”

“Then why let you live? Pardon my bluntness,” Maria said.

“Khivar wants nothing to do with this planet. He wants Leandra and the death of the Royal Court. That’s it.” Ben crossed his arms, arming himself with the onslaught of more questions.

“Please,” Liz said quietly, startling Ben. “Don’t call me that.” Ben bowed his head embarrassingly.

“I’m sorry.”

“You knew who we were, why didn’t you tell us who you were when we first got here?” Liz asked, dismissing Ben’s apology.

“We didn’t know who you were exactly-”

A loud, overpowering burst of power came crashing through the door. Ben fell to his face, shuddering from the force of the strike.

“We got visitors!” Michael shouted. Liz stared at the hole in the door, horrified. It was so… sudden. This nightmare just wasn’t going to end.

“Liz!” Adam screamed. He pulled Liz and Max away from the rising smoke and towards the back of the room. Thrusting his hand out, he sent a beam of power through the wall causing a large gap to appear. Pushing them forward, Adam escaped with Max and Liz through the back. He heard footsteps follow behind him.

Pointing to the large cluster of trees that was not too far off in the distance, he grabbed Liz’s hand and began running to it. The cluster of trees turned out to be a bulky forest and a great hiding place.

“ADAM!” He heard Maria scream from behind him. Slowing his pace but not stopping, he turned to the running group behind him. Isabel, Maria, and Kyle were not far behind and gaining with his slowing pace.

“Adam! We’ve got to split up. We’re too noticeable to escape together. Those guys, they were Khivar’s men. I could practically taste the evilness oozing off of them,” Maria panted to him.

“You and Max go with Liz,” Isabel commanded. “Maria, Kyle and I will split off in the opposite direction of the forest. Liz, contact us when you’re in the clear.” Without another word, the three separate from Max, Adam and Liz heading in an entirely separate direction from them.

Max kept quiet, following Adam’s lead. Adam was Liz’s protector, and at this point, Liz’s safety comes first. Adam’s also the leader of the Protector Four-Square. A leader. He’s got to know what he’s doing. Because Max sure as hell didn’t.

“Guys,” Liz wheezed quietly. “My head… dizzy… I can’t keep running…” Liz started to slow down, and Max looked worriedly at her. Adam glanced at him then at Liz. Neither of them wanted to exhaust her but stopping was a definite no.

“Liz, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, all right? I know it won’t help much, but we’ve got to keep going,” Max said, momentarily stopping. Adam did routine checks behind his back, checking to see if anyone was coming. He hated to say it, but thank god for Sandy, Ben and Michael staying behind. They would slow down Khivar’s men.

Max gently hoisted Liz over his shoulder and nodded to Adam when they were ready. Adam began running again, trailing off the visible path. He wasn’t really sure where the hell he was doing. He just knew that they couldn’t stay back there with Khivar and his men. Hell, staying there listening to Ben and Sandy had been a stupid mistake in the first place. They wasted time and they were paying for it now.

“Max,” Adam called out behind him. “Stop.” Max and Adam both halted, only the sound of their harsh breaths sounding into the air. Adam put a finger to his lips and concentrated hard on listening to the forest. A distant sound of crunching leaves and branches echoed in the near distance.

“Shit,” Adam cursed. “We’ve got to move faster. They’re gaining on us too quickly.” Adam began dashing forward again, with Max closely behind him. Adam cringed at Liz’s soft whimpers and moans, but kept pressing on. Either he or Max could heal her afterwa-

“FUCK!” Adam screeched as a large tree bough fell from above, hitting him square in the shoulder causing him to stumble and tumble to the ground.

“Adam!” Max cried. He extended his hand to help Adam up, but Adam refused.

“Go, Max! Run! Find somewhere to hide. Just get the fuck out of here. Get her out of here!” Adam winced in pain as he tried to move his shoulder.

“I can’t just leave you here!” Max replied frantically. Adam stared Max straight in the eye.