Max held Liz tightly. He felt too dizzy to stand, much less go and help Joey. He needed a moment to get collect himself but something in him wanted to go deal with the hunter now instead. The orb had told him three things while he was on the psychic plane, and the first he knew Liz wasn’t ready for.

*Max?*

Liz pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes. She knew. He nodded guiltily and walked her away from the others. He could feel her confusion and turmoil and his hand went to her arm to steady her. “You don‘t have to go, Liz. I understand and... we‘ll have the twelve with or without-”

“MAX!“ Her eyes were fierce, but her voice stayed low. “Don‘t you even say it. I can‘t believe you would even suggest that I stay behind when you go to- to-”

“Dagon.”

“Right. Dagon.”

Max could feel her anger and confusion. He was pleading with her to understand. “I don‘t know what we‘ll be going home to. It may not be safe. It may not be...” He trailed off and took her hands in his own. “I love you and I have to know that you‘re safe. This has almost killed me- seeing you go through all of this.” He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. He wasn‘t exaggerating. “All I‘m saying is that if you don’t want to go, maybe we could come back to get you, after we know it‘s safe-”

“But what if you can‘t come back?“ Liz‘s eyes were lit up with righteous indignation. “I‘m NOT taking that chance, Max. I can‘t.” She swiped away a tear angrily. “Do you remember what I gave you for a wedding present? Do you?”

“Yeah.” He barely got the word out.

“Do you remember what I told you it symbolized?”

He nodded, a film of tears suddenly covering his eyes.

“I told you that the telescope represented the part of you that we didn‘t know about, the part that you would always be searching for. And I said that no matter what we found, we would deal with it- together.”

Max nodded again. He felt vulnerable in the long silence, filled only with their emotions colliding through the connection. “So I guess we found it. And you... still feel the same way?“

Liz said the next words only in her thoughts. *Don‘t you remember? ‘No matter what we go through, it‘s worth it, because we‘re together.’*

Max felt his face flush and more tears filled his eyes. He pulled her to him, the words barely making it out. “I want you to come. I can‘t live without you. Please come with me. Please.” He buried his face in her hair and felt his tears mingle with her soft tresses. Liz wrapped her small arms around him and he could feel her anger and tension melt away. *I will be with you wherever you go. I promise.* Her hands caressed and comforted him and he drew strength from her love. He pulled away and ran his hands up into her hair. He looked deeply into her eyes, loving the courage he saw there. “We don‘t have long. Can you leave everything behind in twelve hours?”

Liz looked at him steadily. “Yes.”

“Twelve hours?” Max looked over to see Michael staring at them with a stunned expression, holding a limp Maria in his arms. He looked away briefly. “Sorry. I tried not to listen.” Max nodded at him. They had been far enough away to keep everyone from hearing, but the connection between Michael and Liz made that a moot point.

“What‘s in twelve hours?” Isabel pulled Alex with her as she walked over to them. Her brown eyes were filled with concern.

Max looked from her to Alex, then to the others that gathered around. The only ones missing were Joey, Justin, and the third in their foursquare. The orb had revealed that they were tracking Croazoh, and he thought it only fair to wait until they were all assembled before dropping the bomb. “I’ll tell you when we’re all together.” He caught Liz’s eyes and she nodded her willingness to keep quiet. Michael nodded as well. “Right now, we need to help the others take care of Croazoh.”

The looks passed around the group were tense.

Delia spoke up first, of course. “So he’s a hunter- Isabel’s, right? No biggee. We’ll just take him out like we did the others.” Their foursquare was intact and they all looked fairly sure of their ability, but Max knew more than they did.

“He’s no ordinary hunter. He’s from the royal bloodline and he offered to come here to take revenge for Tess, Sashaset. She was his daughter.”

Christopher’s blue eyes grew round. “Then he’s my- my father?”

Max hastened to correct him. “No. Tess was only your half-sister. Her father was not your mother’s husband. He tricked your mother into sleeping with him and she became pregnant. Your father and mother raised her as their own.“ Max decided to move on, hoping that would help shift attention off Christopher right now. He looked nauseous. “Croazoh has the ability to shapeshift and drain our powers. And he has an agenda; he wants Liz. He found out that Liz had something to do with Tess’ death and he wants revenge.”

“On Max, too,“ Liz said firmly.

Max tightened his arm around her waist. “So, we take any advantage we can and kill before he does. Be careful and stay with your foursquare. We’re stronger that way.”

The faces around him were grim.

“Okay, just tell me this, whose foursquare am I in?” Alex piped up. “I mean, I know I’m obviously the Red Power Ranger since I glow like a traffic light under the right circumstances, but I have no idea who I’m linked to. Izzy is paired with Michael in the foursquare you guys are in, right? So, where does that leave me?”

Max nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. Actually, the foursquares are a little confusing at the moment. I, uh...” Max didn’t want to confess that he had asked the orb for Alex to be transformed when he thought that there was still someone missing. After the beating he took, the orb had informed him that Joey, Justin and the other had been transferred here by Maria. Max had no idea what would happen now that the twelve had become thirteen. “It’s me and Liz, Isabel and Michael in the first square. Joey and Justin, Nathan and Maria in the second, since she took Kate’s place. And then Tug and Delia, Shelley and Christopher in the third. Right now, Alex, you‘re our pinch hitter. If someone goes down, you take their place.”

Alex turned a shade paler. “Right. Take their place and hit him with the weapons I’m still not sure that I have and don‘t know how to use even if I do. You know, I‘m okay with sitting this one out, really.” Max nodded with a tight smile. Alex was braver than he knew. Isabel turned to Alex and whispered something in his ear. Assumedly, one of her fiercely motivating pep talks.

“So then, if Maria takes Kate’s place, then that means that Nathan and Maria are... uh, supposed to, uh...” Michael trailed off, shifting Maria in his arms uncomfortably.

“No, Michael, they’re only paired for their power to be used together. It has nothing to do with destiny or mates or anything.” Then he caught Christopher’s eye. “Unless you want it to be. We choose our own destiny. So, is everyone clear now?” Everyone looked ready. He looked over to see Christopher looking stronger now.

Max nodded at him. “You four lead out because you’re the strongest. We’ll follow.”

Christopher hesitated. “Where am I going exactly?”

“Straight ahead to find the others. They‘re tracking him, so we should find them first.”

Christopher nodded and started forward, signaling Shelley, Tug and Delia to go with him. Michael followed with Maria’s limp body thrown over his shoulder again. Isabel and Alex were next. Max turned to Liz and cupped her smooth cheeks in his hands. He rubbed his thumb over her skin lightly, just basking in the love he felt from her. She closed her eyes and sighed. Max smiled. Even after all she’d been through, her beauty was breathtaking. She smiled and flushed at his thoughts. Then She turned her head to the side and kissed his palm. Max’s heart ached with sudden determination to be what she needed him to be right now. She had been through so much. Too much.

“I promise...” He whispered. “I’ll take care of you. This is the ‘no more separation’ part.”

She opened her big brown eyes and smiled through her tears. “Which means this is the end of the ‘hell and high water part‘, right?”

He kissed her briefly. “Right.”

He felt the familiar him kick up between them from just that little kiss. Just think of all the bubble baths you have to look forward to. He felt her smile against him.

*Just think of the wedding night you have to look forward to.* The whisper in his mind made a chill go down his spine. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She pressed herself against him in response to his thoughts. He was starting to melt. He grabbed her hand and stalked off to get rid of the damn hunter. Then- on to more important things.

******

Kyle sat watching the endless parade of human debris as it went in and out of the hospital doors. He had been in the office to the side for a while, feeling numb after the barrage of questions he‘d been subjected to. So many hysterical people had witnessed the glowing Joey. And those that hadn’t seen her still wanted answers. So they all wanted a piece of him, from the FBI to the hospital administration to the poor, freaked-out casual observers. He didn’t blame them. He had his own pret-ty damn long list of questions, too, none of which he figured would ever get answered now.

Kyle shook his head. His little green woman, in her last act in Roswell had proved the existence of aliens beyond a shadow of a doubt. Maybe there were one or two dissenters, who insisted on trying to figure out how the “trick” was done, but by and large, everyone “believed.”

Kyle wanted to be mad at Joey for turning his life into a sideshow, but he just couldn’t be. He loved her, no matter how much of a pansy that made him, and he knew she had done what she had done to protect Nathan, and Justin and even him. The orb had taken over, that’s why she had blasted everyone so hard that it temporarily blinded them. It hadn’t been her fault, even though she’d felt so bad about hurting them. He wished he could tell her that they were better now, at least almost everyone was. A few of the older witnesses’ eyes weren’t going back to normal as quickly. Their problems might be permanent- but then again, they might not.

Just another question to add to the list. The best news by far had been that Joey’s stunt blew the circuitry on every single camera that had been recording. The tapes in every camera and all the film used was melted and useless. So that was question four-hundred and twenty-two: how in the hell had she done that?

Kyle smiled at the memory of Joey with this electric yellow glow up under her skin. He’d been so stunned that he had just laid there and watched. But man, what would it have been like to touch her at that moment, with pure energy flowing through her veins?

Kyle’s smile slowly faded. Question four hundred and twenty-three that would never be answered. She couldn’t come back. She’d be dead if she did. Kyle laid his head down on the desk. He was going to go crazy in here. A knock at the door surprised him.

“Yeah?“ The guard must’ve okayed whoever it was.

The door opened to reveal Mrs. Parker.

******

Joey was helpless. All she could do was lay there and glare at Justin. He was her MATE!! How could he think that was her? Did the shapeshifter even sound like her? She wanted to scream at them, but it couldn‘t get free. Everything felt weird- wrong.

To her amazement, a group of people walked out from the other room. They spread out around the room like cops. Who were they? That one guy that was headed this way looked a lot like Nathan. They were in danger; she had to warn them!

Joey strained against the oppressive grip on her again, only succeeding in exhausting herself. The guy was coming closer. Then Michael came in, with Maria passed out over his shoulder. Was she okay? Joey focused on the other Joey. He wasn’t he doing anything. What was he waiting for? Then with growing horror, Joey saw Max and Liz come in the room. The other Joey’s smile grew large as he turned to them.

Joey was fighting the hunter’s control on her with everything she had left. The guy that looked like Nathan was looking back at Max now, looking as if he might head in that direction. If only he would look closer- she was laying right here! Her power was useless; her struggles were taking the energy she had left. Finally, she stilled again and looked over at the group. Max was hugging the other Joey...