Max opened his eyes and saw Liz crying while looking at her ring. “What is the matter Liz?” Max turned to face her and ran a finger along her cheek to wipe the tears away.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been truly happy Max,” Liz took her attention away from the ring and looked at Max.

“Whenever I hold you or look at you Liz, I’m overcome with joy. You are my drug for happiness and when we get married I’ll have my drug with me for the rest of my life,” Max smiled at his future wife, and then pulled her to him for a kiss. Liz put her head on his chest and looked out the bedroom window. The peacefulness of the house quickly came over them as they both looked out the window.

The doorbell rang crashing the peace of the house. “Who could that be?” Liz asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ll get the door,” Max stood up and start walking out the room.

“Max?” Liz asked. “Don’t you think you should put on your boxers?” Max’s face turned red as he grabbed his boxers from the floor. After putting them on he walked to the front door.

Isabel’s hair could be seen from the door’s window. “Why are they here?” Max asked himself. He opened the door to a smiling Isabel and equally grinning Alex. “Hi you two, what are you doing here?”

Isabel raised her hand and on her finger was a diamond ring, surrounded by small sapphires. “We’re getting married Max.”

Max was shocked, happy, and worried all at once. “Congratulations you two. I’m speechless.” Max hugged his sister and shook Alex’s hand. “Your wedding date is not the same as mine and Liz’s, right?”

“Uh, well, that is why we came over here Max, because we have something to ask you.” Isabel and Alex walked into the house and went into the living room as Max went to get Liz.

“I wonder what they’ll say Isabel?” Alex asked her.

“I dunno what they’ll say but it’s worth a try Alex,” Isabel smiled and took Alex’s hand.

“Isabel and Alex are here and they have some news for you Liz,” Max said while grabbing a white shirt to put on. Liz grabbed her robe and followed Max into the living room. As soon as Liz walked into the room and saw Isabel’s smile she knew what she was going to say.

“Congratulations Isabel and Alex!” Liz screamed as she hugged Isabel while looking at Alex.

“Don’t need to hug me Liz because I need my ribs so I can stay alive.” Alex smiled at her.

“Liz, Max we have something we would like to ask you,” Isabel didn’t know how they would react but she just had to ask them. “Since we don’t know a lot of people here and well, since Michael, Maria, and you two are here for your wedding, Alex and I were thinking that maybe we should combine our weddings and make them one.”

Max and Liz looked at each for a couple of minutes and without even talking, they came to a decision. “That sounds like a great idea Isabel,” Liz replied. “We should tell Michael and Maria the news. It’s going to be so great Isabel. We can go shopping together, and I’ll have my friend with me to help put things together,” Liz hugged Isabel again.

In a dark room sat a man smoking a cigarette. He sat in the room waiting for the days that the man would be awakened by his power. “It’s almost time for him to awaken,” the man smiled between taking drags of his cigarette. The sound of a door opening broke the smile from the man’s face. “What do you want?”

“Sir, here is the file you asked for. The man’s name is Max Evans and he has already tapped into the power of the Yaz. It’s only a matter of time before all the power he possesses is realized,” a man in black suit said giving the file to the other gentleman.

“If he is already using his power of the Yaz then no one close to him is safe until the transformation is complete.” The man flipped through the file reading only what he wanted to read. “It’s only a matter of time before he seeks us out. All we have to do is wait for him to find us. Call the others for a meeting later to discuss this Max.” The other man shook his head and walked out of the room. “Time is on my side,” the man laughed at what was in store for Max Evans.

“Oh my god, Isabel,” Maria screamed while looking at her ring. Michael shook Alex’s hand and then Max’s. Max and Liz thought that it would be nice to have everyone back together for the first time since Nasedo was killed.

“We have something that we want to tell you two,” Liz told Maria and Michael, “Since Isabel and Alex are getting married we decided that Max, Isabel, Alex, and I will have a combined wedding.”

“Does that mean we only have to buy one wedding present since it’s a combined wedding?” Michael laughed. Maria hit Michael for even thinking that kind of question. “What?” he laughed some more.

“Well, I hate to rain on the parade here, but I haven’t eaten all day and I’m starving, so why don’t we talk over lunch?” Alex asked everyone.

“That sounds like a good idea, Alex,” Max responded. “Where shall we go?”

“Anywhere they serve drinks so we can toast this happy occasion,” Alex smiled at his future bride. They all looked at each other and they all said at once, “Chili’s.”

Alex, Isabel, Max and Liz went in Alex’s car since it had no top and it was in the mid 80’s. The sun felt good beaming down on Isabel while thoughts of happiness engulfed her heart. Max and Liz were in the back seat huddled together enjoying the scenery flying by on the freeway. Alex broke the silence and asked, “Max, I know that this might be tough on you, but I have to ask. Have you given much thought about what Nasedo told you about being a Yaz?”

“Why did you have to bring that up on a day like this Alex?” Isabel shot.

“It’s alright Isabel, and to tell you the truth, Alex, I have been thinking about that. I mean I’m not even a Zenon, which I was led to believe. I mean, I don’t know that much about the Yaz except that they are a species who conquer planets they deem not worthy of existence,” Max told Alex.

“You have nothing to be afraid of Max because we are here for you, and you’re not like Nasedo was,” Liz said while squeezing his hand.

“I know Liz, but who I really am is still a mystery to me. I don’t know what will happen to me since I’ve discovered this part of me.” Max looked down at Liz who was now looking worried.

“You’re not leaving me are you?” Liz questioned.

“I have told you time after time Liz, I’m not leaving you again. I’m not going to leave my future bride.” Max played with the ring on Liz’s hand, lowered his head, and kissed her. Alex pulled off the freeway with Michael right behind him.

“How many are there?” The hostess asked them.

“There are six of us,” Alex replied.

“Follow me please,” the hostess said grabbing six menus.

After they sat down and the waitress took their orders, Alex dug some more into the Yaz question. “Max, but aren’t you the tiniest bit curious about who you are?”

“No Alex, I’m not because I have no need to find out about myself. My future is here with Liz and you guys. If all the Yaz are like Nasedo was, then I don’t want to know.”

“Can we just drop it now? Max is a Yaz, but he is nothing like them in any sense of the word,” Isabel snapped out.

Alex looked at Isabel. “I’m sorry, I’ll drop it now.” Alex picked up his drink and said, “I would like to make a toast. To us six who will never let anything get between us, and who will be friends for life.” Alex went to clink glasses with everyone but stopped. “One last thing, to my fiancée, who is the most beautiful person on either world.” Alex clinked glasses with everyone and then kissed Isabel.

“Will you excuse me please, I have to use the restroom?” Max told everyone, and then walked to the bathroom. Max looked in the mirror for a minute, running what Alex asked him through his head, when all of a sudden a sharp pain stabbed Max in the stomach. He bent down in pain holding his stomach. The pain only lasted for a few seconds and was gone. He straightened himself up and looked into the mirror, but he was scared of what was looking back at him. Max was looking at himself, but at the same time it wasn’t him. His reflection had a darker complexion, his hair was just hanging all over his face, his eyes seemed to be sucked back into his head. Max put his hand on the mirror to make sure that it was himself staring back at him. His reflection grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the mirror.

“It’s time for you to wake up Max,” his reflection told him, then out of the dark recesses of his reflections, eyes of glowing green appeared. The sound of the door opening made Max turn his head.

When Max looked back at the mirror, he was looking at himself. “Just a daydream Max.” He washed his face again, left the bathroom and rejoined the group.

“Is everything okay, Max?” Liz asked. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

“I’m fine, Liz. I just turned the sink on too hard and water splashed everywhere. Thank goodness for my powers. I took care of the mess.” Max smiled at her.

“Wasn’t today very nice Michael?” Maria asked him while she was getting ready for bed.

“Yeah, I can’t believe Isabel and Alex are getting married too. Sort of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Michael looked at the floor because ever since the Yaz had kidnapped Maria, he had thought about asking her to marry him.

“Wonder about what?” She knew what he was talking about, but wanted him to say it.

Michael stood up and walked behind Maria. He put his hands around her waist and said, “About you and I getting married someday, and maybe that someday should be soon.”

Maria turned around so that she was facing him and replied, “What are you saying to me, Michael?”

“Ever since you were kidnapped by the Yaz and I got you back, I realized how empty my life would be if you weren’t in it. So, I thought about asking you to marry me, Maria DeLuca.” Michael reached behind him and pulled the ring out of his back pocket. He showed her the ring, which sparkled in her eyes.

Mara started to cry from the overload of happiness that was rolling over her. “Yes, Michael. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Michael put the ring on her finger. “Perfect fit, just like you’re the perfect fit for me.” Maria twirled herself around again and stared at the ring in the mirror. Michael slowly trailed kisses from her ear lobe to her neck, but stopped so he could look at her in the mirror. He got an evil grin on his face as he looked at Maria. “Want to know what I’m in the mood for?”

Maria looked at him, but felt the answer hitting her in the back. “What?”

“You.” Michael picked Maria up in both of his arms, walked into the bedroom and threw her on the bed.

“I don’t know how I’m ever going to survive living with you,” Maria laughed.

Max was lying down in bed looking at Liz, wondering about what had happened in the bathroom. Was it the Yaz in me? Will it happen again? What will I do if something happens to me and I’m with Liz? As if Liz could sense that something was wrong with Max, she opened her eyes and saw his worried expression.

“What is the matter, Max?” Liz took his hand.

“It’s nothing Liz, I just have some things running through my head about what Nasedo told me. I know that I haven’t said anything to anyone about it, but what he said to me really scared me. I don’t want to be like he was - an evil person who killed people.” Max rested on his back looking at the ceiling.

“Max, you may be a Yaz, but you are nothing like them. You have a heart of gold and you’ve shown that to everyone who has ever crossed your path.” Liz put her head on his chest still looking at his face. “If there are any problems, we’ll handle them together. There isn’t anything we can’t deal with, as long as we’re together.”

Max looked down at Liz and saw the love she had for him in her eyes. “Cupid must have shot me when I first saw you, because I do not deserve someone like you.” Liz put her head on his chest and she fell asleep right away. Max stayed awake still thinking about what had happened in the bathroom earlier that day. Max softly laid Liz’s head on her pillow as he got out of bed. He went into the living room to think some more. The sound of lightening crashing made Max turn his head outside and his eyes saw the first drops of rain hit the ground. He quickly got back to trying to figure out what happened to him in the bathroom. Max ran the question through his head again, when all of a sudden, the stabbing pain in his stomach exploded. The pain was so intense that Max keeled over onto the floor. He curled up in a ball trying to ease the pain, but it didn’t work. An image of Liz popped into his head and he knew what he had to do. He looked in pain out into the backyard. Max struggled to get up, fighting the pain all the way to the sliding door. He opened the door and walked outside, but he wasn’t outside long before the pain was too unbearable to stand, making Max fall to his knees.

Max’s eyes turned the glowing bright green, but when the pain was just too much for him, he raised his head and yelled out in pain.

An old man was lying in his bed dreaming of better times, when he was ripped from his sleep. “I need to find him. Time is short and the others will be looking for him.” The man didn’t know how he knew where to find the gentlemen, but he knew he had to find him. The man put on some clothes, a dark jacket and left his house. The man got on the freeway and started to drive. “I’m coming for you Max, let’s just hope it’s not too late.” While driving down the road, a surge of pain hit him in his stomach, the man grunted in pain but kept driving on. “I’m close, very close to him.”

Max managed to get up from the ground with the pain still stabbing him in the stomach. “What does this pain mean? Is it the Yaz in me waking up?” Max grunted. He stumbled towards the porch swing and relaxed as much as he could when he sat down. His eyes glowed green again and an evil sensation swept over him. He couldn’t control the impulse; it was as if something was invading his body and he couldn’t stop it. Max stood up and started walking towards the bedroom. His eyes burned intense green and his hand started to glow with power. He was yelling in his head to stop what he was about to do. Max walked into the bedroom while his power grew with every minute. Liz was sleeping in bed so peaceful and beautiful, and Max was still fighting with himself to stop. With every inch Max got closer to Liz, he was fighting himself to stop what he was doing.

Max raised his hand as the power reached its peak, but instead of releasing the power, his other hand hit the first one so when the power went off, it missed Liz and hit the potted plant across the room. Liz jumped out of sleep looking at Max with wide eyes. “Max, what was that?”

Liz looked at Max and noticed that something was wrong with him. “What is the matter, Max? You’re scaring me.”

Max jumped on the bed so that his legs were on either side of Liz’s waist. “Nothing is the matter Liz. I’m perfectly fine,” Max’s voice was deep and emotionless. Max put his hands around Liz’s neck and started to squeeze. Liz’s eyes opened fully in shock at feeling what Max was doing to her.

“Max, I can’t breathe,” Liz choked.

“That’s the point Liz. All you’re suppose to do is just die.” A smile swept across Max’s face.

“You’re not Max. Who are you?” Liz choked again.

“I’m the Yaz. I’m everything and anything that has to do with the Yaz.” Max increased the pressure on Liz’s neck.

The man pulled up to the house that he had dreamed about many times and ran to the door. He gave it a couple of shakes and found it was locked, but he fixed that with a wave of his hand. He kicked the door open and ran inside. Without even knowing where to go, he started running towards the bedrooms. He ran into the master bedroom and stopped in his tracks at what he saw. “Max, stop this!” He yelled.

Max’s face turned toward the intruder and he released his grip on Liz. “Who are you and how to you know my name?”

The man stepped more into the room and towards Max, who had just jumped off the bed and started walking towards him. “You already know who I am, Max.” The man’s hands started to glow, and Max noticed this action. Max’s hands started to glow as he approached him. The two men stopped inches from each other. “Search yourself Max, and you’ll find out who I am.”

“I don’t care who you are, but in a few minutes, you’ll be dead.” Max looked into the man’s green eyes. Before Max could act on anything, the man put his hands on Max’s face and released his power into him. Max gave out a scream of pain and fell to the ground unconscious.

“Help me get him into bed Liz,” the man ordered her.

Liz, still not believing what just happened, got out of bed and helped the man carry Max over to the bed. “Who are you and what did you do to him? What is happening to him?” Liz started to cry.

The man looked at Liz and felt sorry for her. No loved one should have to see what Max has to go through to make his transformation complete. “My name is John and I’m Max’s father.”

“What do you mean his father?” Liz said in shock. “You’re a Yaz?”

“Yes. I am, but I’m nothing like the rest of my species who are now looking for Max,” he said, looking at his son sleeping on the bed.

“Why are they looking for him?” Liz wanted to get as much information as possible out of him before Max woke up.

“Max will be out for the rest of the night. I suggest you get some sleep in another room. I will explain everything in the morning. I will stay in the room just in case he wakes up,” John told Liz. Liz did as she was told and went into the spare bedroom.

John went and sat in a chair in the corner of the room and looked at Max. “He has no idea how lucky he was that I found him first.”

A man walked into the same darkly lit room that he had been walking into for years. He sat down, pulled a cigarette out, lit it and took a drag. “What do you have for me?”

A man walked out from the corner of the dark room. “We found a huge surge of power being used here earlier tonight?” The man handed him a photo of a neighborhood. “We believe that Max Evans lives there and the power of the Yaz is growing in him everyday. We must find him and help him understand his powers before the renegade does.”

“Don’t tell me what I have to do! I’m very clear on what I have to do and plan on finding Max before the renegade does.” The man took another drag and blew the smoke in the face of the other person. “I want you to get everyone together and start searching that neighborhood to find him. Max Evans is the key to everything, and if the renegade finds him first, everything is lost.” The other person shook his head and walked out the door, leaving the man with his thoughts.

Liz had stayed in the spare bedroom, but she didn’t sleep at all. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Max choking her. She kept on telling herself that it wasn’t Max, that it was the Yaz inside of him doing that. The sun rose and shone in the room, touching Liz’s skin like someone caressing it with a feather. “Do I really want to go out there?” Liz asked herself out loud. “John is here and he’ll help Max through this.” The house was quiet and only the sound of Liz’s heart could be heard. She walked into the kitchen but stopped when she reached the room.

“Max! What are you doing up?” Liz asked him while looking for John.

“I woke up and saw this man sleeping in the corner of the room. I didn’t want to wake him so I came out here to make some coffee. Do you want some?” Max said while getting the coffee maker ready. “Who is that guy, anyway? He didn’t scare me; I was actually comforted by him. He looks like someone I haven’t seen in a very, very long time.”

“Do you remember anything of last night?” Liz didn’t want him to answer the question until John was out here.

“I only remember talking to you last night and having you fall asleep on my chest. When I woke up you weren’t next to me and that man was in the room.” Max looked at Liz with concern. “Did something happen last night?”

“Yes, something happened last night, Max,” John said, while walking into the living room. “Your Yaz power has fully awakened and is pretty pissed off.”

“How do you know who I am? Who are you?” Max shot at him.

“I’m your father, Max, and you need to learn how to control your power for Liz’s safety.” John sat down at the dinner table and motioned for both of them to join him.

“My…my…. father? But how can that be?” Max was in shock from what his father had just said.

“I’m a Yaz from the west side of our planet.” John followed Max with his eyes until he sat down. “There are two different kind of Yaz; the killing, take no prisoner, East side Yaz and the more peaceful West side Yaz. Our planet is at war at the moment because each side wants to control the whole planet.”

“That doesn’t explain why you are here?” Max asked him.

“Well then, let me start when you were born. When you were born, the war had just broken out. Your mother and I didn’t want you to be around during the war, so we found a planet close to ours where they could take care of you. We found a family that would be perfect for you to live with until the war was over and we could bring you home.”

“Isabel’s family,” Max looked at John.

“Yes, the family that we put you with had a daughter your age so it was perfect. What we didn’t plan on was when their home planet decided to send you, Isabel, and another one with a crew to Earth to see if they could live in peace. After you left, your mother and I lost contact with you, and we thought that you were dead when we found out that the ship you were on crashed in the desert in Roswell.” John took Max’s hand and squeezed it. “What we didn’t plan on, was that our home planet had sent a spy with your ship to make sure that you were safe and to see what kind of planet Earth could be. Well, time passed and I couldn’t find out anything about you or the spy that went to Earth...”

“You are referring to Nasedo as the spy?” Max asked him.

“Yes, Nasedo was the best warrior on our planet and everyone loved him, so he was the first choice to send. After the crash, we didn’t hear anything from him so we presumed he was dead until that one day you all came back to Zenon. Then Nasedo came back to Yaz and said that Zenon would be no trouble to take over and the same thing with Earth. Well, you know the rest of that story, Max.”

“The Yaz attacked and enslaved us until we rebelled and drove them back to Yaz.” Max’s eyes lowered towards the table. “Then you came back and killed us all, and sent Isabel, Michael, and me to Earth to find test subjects for the Yaz to study.”

“The East Yaz only care about spreading their empire across the galaxy,” John told Liz, who was looking a little sick. “Are you okay, Liz?”

“Yes, it’s just a lot to digest at once. So, when did you come to Earth?”

“I came to Earth about a year ago when I heard that my son would be coming back here, and I knew, this time I’d better come because his transformation would happen soon.”

“My transformation?” Max looked at his father with wide eyes.

“Yes, your transformation into a Yaz. The transformation happens when you’re about to exit your twenties. The period from when you are born to about your mid twenties is when a Yaz learns about themselves, and depending on how they were brought up, determines if they will be a East or West Yaz. If a Yaz is brought up as a West Yaz, then most likely they will be a peaceful Yaz, but if they are brought up in the ways of the East Yaz, well, the warrior takes over.” John looked at his son with sad eyes. “Since you were not brought up with either teachings, your transformation will be hard, son. Both sides will be grabbing at you to join them because of what you hold inside of you.”

“What do I hold inside of me?” Max looked down at his chest and the rest of his body, and then looked at his father.

“You hold the power to destroy either side you decide to join. On our planet, we have a story about a man who, when he is born, will be the deciding factor is which side will rule the planet. With one power blast of this being, he’ll destroy them, freeing the others from their prison.” Max looked at John with a you-don’t-mean-me expression. “Yes, Max. You are that person.”

“I need to lie down for a minute.” Max got up from the table and flopped down on the couch. Liz went to join him on the couch. He lifted his head so that Liz could have a seat. He lowered his head on her lap and Liz started to play with his hair. “What you are saying is, I’m some kind of savior for either side of the planet? Depending on which side I choose, I’ll destroy the other?”

“Yes, Max, that is what I’m telling you.” John walked in front of the couch and continued, “I want to show you something, Max. This is what the East Yaz are doing to the West.” John’s hands started to glow with intensity as he tried to open a gate to the home planet. He started to separate his hands and in the middle of his hands, Max and Liz could see Yaz. The picture was something out of a movie where a person dies and goes to hell: fire balls exploding everywhere, crying and screaming everywhere, and Yaz people being tortured for enjoyment.

“I had a dream just like this, Max,” Liz said, “and it was right before Nasedo kidnapped me.” She turned her face because she couldn’t stand looking at it.

“That’s enough John. We’ve seen enough.” Max had his hand over his eyes to block the haunting images. John closed his hands and the images where gone.

“Max, I do have to tell you something else. You have both sides of blood pumping through you because your mother is an East Yaz. After her transformation she became a West Yaz, so you will have both urges fighting to take control. You’ll have the East emotion, where you just want to kill anything, like what you almost did last night, and you’ll have West emotions where…well, I think I’ll let you figure out what kind of emotions the West have,” John smiled at the two of them.

“What did I do last night? Did I almost kill something?” Max asked, looking at John. Liz put her hand around her neck and shut her eyes. Max looked at Liz and then it hit him, like someone hitting him with a baseball bat. Max sat up in the couch and put his arm around Liz, pulling her to him. “I’m sorry, Liz. I didn’t know I did anything to you. I’m so, so sorry, Liz.” Liz buried her head into his chest. All she wanted to do was smell him and hold him.

“It’s not your fault, Max. You didn’t know what was going to happen,” Liz said into his chest.

“Max, we need to get to work because your transformation is almost over with. I have to teach you how to control your urges, as they will be coming more and more often now, and you’re going to have to fight some of them.” John looked at Max and Liz and knew that he must hurry because other Yaz were on Earth and knew who and what Max was.

“So, let me get this straight, Liz. Max is going through some kind of alien puberty?” Maria asked her; the others sat and looked at Liz. Max and John were in the backyard starting Max’s training.

“You can say, it’s something like that, Maria,” Liz returned.

“I wouldn’t want to go through puberty again. That whole period of my life I held my books in front of me,” Alex joked, but no one laughed at it. They all knew what Max was faced with and they knew he would remain the same old Max, but deep inside, everyone was questioning the dark side that was built up in him.

“How are you holding up with this, Liz?” Isabel asked.

“I don’t know how to take this, everyone. If you saw the anger that was built up in Max, you would feel more scared for yourself than what you’re feeling right now.” Liz put her hand on her head to hide the tears she was shedding. Isabel and Maria got up from the couch and hugged Liz at the same time.

“Don’t worry Liz, we are all here for you and Max. Lets hope that the other Yaz have not figured out about him yet.” Isabel hugged Liz some more.

“What information do you have for me?” A man in a black suit asked.

“We have found out where Max Evans lives and who is around him the most.” The gentleman handed him a folder.

The man opened the folder and flipped through pictures of Liz, Maria, Michael, Isabel, and Alex. “Tonight, move your men in and get him without any problems. I don’t want this screwed up like Nasedo did. Max is too important to the survival of our kind.”

“Sir, we have a small problem.” The gentleman handed him another picture of an older man with gray hair, gray eyes, and a tan complexion.

The man knew who he was, because, how could you forget your own brother’s face. “So, John is on Earth. Well, this may turn out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be.”

“What if he gets in the way sir?” The gentleman asked.

“Kill him and anyone else who gets in our way. The time for waiting is over.” The man lit a cigarette and took a drag.

“Now concentrate on what is in your heart Max. Your heart will never steer you wrong,” John told Max.

Max closed his eyes and concentrated on the war that was being waged inside of him. Max heard swords being hit against each other making him open his eyes. He stared at two of himself fighting each other. The first one looked just like Max, but the other had the glowing green eyes, darker complexion, long dirty hair, and looked like it was winning the battle. “What is this?” Max said out loud to anything or anyone that would answer.

“This is what is going on inside of you right now. This is the battle of good versus evil waging inside of you. You have gone so many years locking the evil inside of you that it has gained strength, but the good is weak and needs to rest, which is causing you to have those out of body experiences. When you attacked Liz, your good side was so weak that it couldn’t fight any longer.” John watched as the evil was winning again. “Max, will for the good to gain energy and win. You must use the good some more.”

Max shook his head and concentrated all his energy onto the good side. The good side started to fight back with more spirit. After a few minutes of fighting, the evil side’s appearance shrunk and finally disappeared. “Did I win, John?”

“You won this battle but you have to start releasing some of the good energy so you can gain strength towards the evil. Now close your eyes, Max,” John told him.

Max closed his eyes and then opened them again, finding himself in the backyard again. ”How do I build my strength against the evil?”

John cupped Max’s ear with his hand and whispered something to him. “I think I can do that, John.” Max smiled at him.

“Do you want us to stay here until Max’s transformation is over?” Michael asked Liz.

“No, John said that he would stay with us until Max has finished,” Liz responded. “Well, you can stay for dinner at least, so what do you want?”

They all looked at each other thinking the same thing, “Pizza,” they all said at once and shared a laugh. Liz picked up the phone, called Round Table, and ordered the pizza. “I hope John likes pizza.”

Max and John walked into the living room from outside and looked at everyone. “What are we having for dinner? I’m starving everyone.” Max walked over to Liz and took her in his arms. Max whispered something into Liz’s ear making her turn red and laugh.

“Well, since everyone is here, Michael and I have an announcement of our own.” Michael joined Maria as she stood up from the couch and looked at everyone. “We are getting married.” Maria took the ring out of her pocket, put it on, and showed everyone. Isabel and Liz both cried with joy while Michael looked at the other guys. Max and Alex shared a smile with Michael.

“I guess we should make the double wedding a triple one then,” Alex laughed.

“Do you mean it guys?” Maria asked.

“Why not? We are all friends here and I know that Michael will forget any important date, so with Alex and I around, he’ll never forget.” Max smiled at Michael.

Michael shot daggers at Max. “Thanks a lot Max.”

“Congratulation Michael and Maria,” John told them. Michael looked at him and smiled, as did Maria.

The girls went their own way and talked about what they were going to do for the wedding. “Do you think it’s wise to have them plan everything?” Alex asked.

“It’s either have them plan everything or have them mad at us for the rest of their lives,” Michael responded with a smile.

Alex looked over at Isabel who looked so happy talking with Liz and Maria. “I would rather have her smiling than pissed at me any day.”

Michael looked at Max who had a worried expression. “Are you okay Max?”

“Huh? Yeah I’m fine,” Max replied, half-heartedly.

“Really Max, are you okay?” Michael didn’t believe Max’s answer.

“What do you think, Michael? I don’t completely understand what is going onside of me, and a part of me doesn’t want to do anything but kill whoever I’m close to. What Liz told me earlier today keeps running through my head: all I know is that I love her and don’t want to hurt her at any cost.” Max looked at Liz and felt his heart sink at what she had told him earlier about trying to kill her.

“We will do anything to help you Max. We all know you are not the Max that tried to hurt Liz last night. If you follow John’s training then you’ll end up okay. You just have to try and move on and stop thinking about what you did. Start thinking about walking down the aisle with her.” Alex looked from Max to the girls again, and seeing them all happy and carefree made him smile again. The doorbell rang just as Alex was going to continue.

“I’ll get the pizza,” Liz said, running for the door. After a few minutes, Liz returned with a pizza box in her hand. She put the pizza down and everyone jumped at it like hungry wolves. Everyone ate in silence because none of them realized how hungry they were until the pizza had arrived. Alex fought with Isabel for the last piece of pizza but he finally gave in and let her have it. After dinner, everyone sat around and talked about the wedding and who was going to be invited.

Alex saw what time it was and said, “I don’t want to be the party pooper but I have to get up early tomorrow.” Everyone looked at each other and agreed to leave. Alex, Isabel, Michael, and Maria said goodbye and left the left the house, but none of them wanted to leave in fear of what Max would do. Max had told them that he had control over who would take control, but not even Max was convinced of that himself.

A man walked into a room taking off a Round Table uniform, and picked up a phone. The man dialed a number and it rang a few times until someone picked it up. “Sir, he is at home and with company. What do you want me to do?”

The man on the other side mumbled some commands. “Yes sir, wait until they are alone. What do you want me to do about the other one?” The person on the other side mumbled something else. “Yes sir, everything will be taken care of.” The man hung up the phone and started to walk out of the room. The man raised his hand; shape shifted into a man in a black suit, and shut the door behind him.

Michael was looking straight ahead while driving down the freeway. “I think they took the news about us pretty well. I like the idea of all of us getting married at the same time.”

“Yeah, it sort of makes the day even better, don’t you think?” Maria asked, still looking at her ring.

“Couldn’t imagine spending it any other way,” Michael smiled, snapping a looked at her before returning his eyes to the road.

Maria went to grab her purse on the floor, but there wasn’t one there. She turned around to the back seat and didn’t see it there. Then it finally hit her where her purse was. “Michael, I left my purse on Liz’s couch. Can we go back and get it? I have the money for the shop’s rent in there. I promised Julie that I would drop in her mailbox tonight.

Michael looked at her, sighed, and then said, “Do we really have to go back because we are almost home.”

“Yes, she is expecting the money tonight,” Maria explained. Michael sighed again and turned the car around.

“Thank you,” Maria said in a sympathetic tone, and then leaned on his shoulder.

The sound of the running water could be heard from the master bathroom. Max lay on the bed waiting for his future wife to come to bed. He pondered what John had told him about the good side, and how he should practice using it more so that it becomes more powerful. Before Max could even think of some way to use the good powers, he found himself in the bathroom watching Liz take her shower. Liz liked to take hot showers, so the steam almost made him seem invisible.

Max started to pull his shirt off when a rush of heat ran over him. This heat was alien to his body; it was not like a summer heat or passion heat. The heat was like a craving that he needed something and his body wouldn’t rest until he found it. A smile ran across his face as he was looking at Liz body through the shower glass. The more Max took off, the more the heat increased and the more the hunger grew inside of him. When Max was fully naked, he opened the sliding door and stepped in.

Liz turned around and looked at Max feeling scared because the last time they were alone, he tried to kill her. She looked at his eyes, but instead of seeing the glowing green eyes, his eyes were a warm red and filled with nothing but love for her. Liz felt her body start to melt while looking into his eyes. “So, this has to be the good side, right Max?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m liking this feeling a lot,” Max pulled Liz to him and picked her up. He walked them over until Liz was pinned to the wall.

John was running in his head what he and Max had done for the day. He has shown a lot of progress but he needs to build his power over the bad side, he thought. All the rage that he has built up and stored inside is winning over the two sides. The rage over leaving Liz, the death of Valenti, and more importantly, finding out that everything he was told about being Zenon, was a lie. He felt bad for his son who had gone for so long not knowing his true roots and wanted to make it up to him as soon as his transformation was over. John heard Max’s name being screamed from their room. He jumped out off the bed and ran to the master bedroom, but they were not anywhere in sight. He saw the light in the bathroom was on and the sound of water running filled John’s ears. John felt a little embarrassed and smiled. “Well, it looks like he’s using the power of good.” John laughed under his breath and returned to his room.

A man in a black suit walked up to the door, shook the handle a couple of times and saw that it was locked. The man waved his hand over the lock and a click was heard, signifying the door was open. The man opened the door slowly and stepped into the house. The house was quiet and only the sound of them man’s footsteps could be heard. The man started to walk towards the back to the bedroom where Max was. He walked by the closed guest bedroom where John was. The man put his hands on the door and they glowed, when the man took his hands off the door, it was welded shut. The man continued to the master bedroom where his prey was. He entered the master bedroom and stopped for a minute. How could a Yaz ever love a human? They are so ugly, the man thought to himself while looking at Liz.

The man pulled out a towel and wrapped it in his hand; the smell of some kind of knock out drug filled his nose. Max didn’t even feel the man put the towel over his mouth. The man saw Max’s breathing slow down, reassuring him that the drug had taken effect. The man picked Max up from the bed, slung him over his shoulder and started walking towards the door. The movement in the bed woke Liz up from her sleep, but when she opened her eyes, Max was gone. She got up from bed and walked into the hallway seeing a man take Max out the door. “Max!” she yelled. The man turned around and waved his hand in her direction, then turned back around and proceeded to put Max into the car. Liz legs felt like jello and she felt tired all of sudden. She fell to the ground and watched as the man put Max into the car asleep. Liz’s eyelids felt heavy and she soon fell asleep in the hallway.

Michael pulled up to the house and turned the car off. “Stay here Maria and duck.” Michael got out of the car and walked towards the guy who had just shut the door. Michael looked at the passenger’s seat and he saw Max sitting there asleep. “Hey, what are you doing?”

The man turned around with an evil smile. “What does it look like I’m doing, Zenon? All your kind smell like slime.” Michael didn’t have time to react to this person because the man put his hand on Michael’s forehead and released energy through Michael’s body. Michael gave out a yell and fell to the ground unconscious. The man picked Michael up and threw him in the back seat. “He’s an additional prize.” The man looked at Max and smiled. He got in the car, started it and drove off. In the distance, Maria sat in the car looking in horror at what had just happened.

When the shock had worn off her, Maria flung the door open and ran inside finding Liz lying in the hallway. “Liz! Wake up Liz!” Maria bent down and lightly slapped her face.

Liz opened her eyes slowly and saw Maria’s worried face. “They have Max, Maria. They have Max,” that was all Liz could say to her.

“They have Max and Michael, Liz,” Maria said, helping Liz to her feet.

John woke up and jumped out of bed when he heard a woman scream from the hallway. He tried to open the door but it was stuck. John gave the door a few more tries before he was hitting the door with his shoulder, “Liz! Liz is that you? What is the matter?” John pounded harder with his shoulder until the door gave in. He stumbled forward and fell on top of the fallen door. “What is it, Liz?”

Liz was hugging Maria crying. “The Yaz have taken Max, John.” Liz cried some more on Maria’s shoulder then spoke again, “They also took Michael with them.”

“Get over here now and help me with these two,” the man ordered to the others. The others came over to the car and helped pull Max and Michael into the building. “Put this one is room four and this one in room three,” the man said, while shutting the entrance door.

After the man ordered where to take Michael and Max, he walked towards the main room of the complex, where his boss would be waiting for him. The man walked in and the room was dark like it always was, but he didn’t even sense the man in the room. “Are they here?”

The man was taken by surprise. “Yes sir, we have Max. Now nothing can stop us.”

“We only have tonight to tap into Max’s power and drain him of it. I’m not going to take the chance of him being my savior. I only believe in one savior and that’s me.” A pair of glowing green eyes came out from the darkness. “When I’m done draining Max of his powers, I’ll be the savior and my turn to rule will have been realized.”

“What about John, sir? He wasn’t in the house when I took Max and the other one. What if he comes to save Max?” The man tried to block his feelings from him because if he found out what he actually had done, he would be a dead alien.

“Let John try to stop me. I’m stronger than him. He stands no chance; he’s nothing but an elder with stupid hopes.” The man smiled and his eyes stopped glowing. “Well, shall we go see him then?” The two men left the room.

Max opened his eyes and he was lying in a blue room that was made out to look like the sky. He stood up but fell to the ground right away because the drug was still in his system. What has happened to me? Where am I? Max looked around the room for a door but he couldn’t find one. He closed his eyes and called for anyone to hear him, but he didn’t get a response.

“What is he doing sir?” a man asked, while another man and he looked through a window into Max’s room.

“I sense that he’s trying to contact someone, but he’s not getting a response.” The man smiled. “If he’s able contact people using his mind then he has been taught well and is advanced for his age.”

“When are you going to start draining him sir?” the other man asked him.

“I haven’t decided yet; think I will watch and observe him for a little while before I kill him.” They watched Max stand up, stumbling around while feeling for a door.

I have to find a way out of here and get back to everyone. I need John and Liz to help me through this. Max suddenly got tired and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. He closed his eyes but when he opened them again he was in an arena seeing two of him fighting. The good was winning from what he and Liz had done earlier that night, but the evil seemed to be getting stronger. Max felt another person’s presence inside with him. The person was a stranger with great strength, but he couldn’t find the person anywhere.

“Who is there? I can feel you, so make yourself appear,” Max announced into the arena. A figure appeared next to him but he couldn’t tell what the person looked like because when the figure appeared, Max’s body froze.

“Well all have two sides to ourselves Max. We have our good side and then we have our bad side. Look at your good side there Max, it is strong and willing to win, but look at the evil, Max. The evil gets stronger by the minute, and you want to know why?” The man walked in front of Max revealing himself to him. “It’s because of all the hate you have inside of you. All that hate that has built inside of you has finally reached its maximum state Max, and when it’s time for you to release it, you’ll be the most powerful Yaz ever.”

“I’m not like the Yaz. I’m my own person. I make my own decisions. I’m not going to be told what to do and how to feel. Who are you and why are you here?” Max tried to stare at the man but his appearance disappeared.

“The evil inside of you is stronger than you think Max. No matter how much you resist the power, it will win you over.” The man’s voice grew distant. The man opened his eyes and was back in the other room watching Max. “This is going to be very interesting. Get the other one and put him in the room with Max.”

The man watched as the evil poured over Max and took control over his body. He couldn’t help but smile because he new that Max would give into the power and it was going to be that much easier to take it away from him. The other man opened Michael’s cell door and grabbed him. Michael jumped to his feet as the man entered and grabbed him. “Hey, let go of me!” Michael shouted.

Michael tried to use his powers on him and escape, but then he heard a scream. The scream was familiar and it took him a minute to realize who it was. It was Max screaming in pain. “What are you doing to him?” The man said nothing as he pulled Michael down the white hallway. They finally reached their destination and with one flawless motion Michael was pushed into Max’s room. Michael stood there for a while not realizing what was going on, but all his questions were answered as Max approached him.

Max walked towards Michael with his eyes glowing green and his hand pulsing with power. “Max, I know you’re in there. Fight it,” Michael told Max.

Max raised his hand and released the energy towards Michael, hitting him in the chest. “There is no Max here, just the Yaz,” Max grinned and prepared for another attack.

“See how well he uses his powers? That just shows how powerful he is and will be,” the man said while watching Max attack Michael. The other man couldn’t take it anymore and left the room.

Michael flew backwards, hit the door, and slid to the ground. Michael looked at Max and knew that he had to do something to reach him. He jumped to his feet and ran after Max, tackling him to the ground. Michael put his hand on Max’s forehead and connected with him. He started sending Max images of Isabel, Max, and himself having fun, pictures of Max and Liz, and images of the Yaz and what they did to him and the others.

Max put his hand on Michael’s stomach and threw him off of him. “You really think images like that will help him?” Max laughed and lunged at Michael. Max grabbed Michael’s shirt and lifted him off of his feet. Max’s strength was nothing like Michael knew Max had. The power was of nothing but true hate towards him and every living creature. It was as if Max was what you would call pure evil and any trace of what Max used to be was gone.

Max put his other hand on Michael’s forehead and concentrated on Michael’s power. Michael tried to free himself of Max’s grip, but the grip was sturdy and strong. Michael felt Max looking for something inside of him and he knew that he must act fast to get away. Max drew in a breath and concentrated on Michael some more and when he found Michael’s power, his hand glowed and changed from a bright white light to a bright blue light.

“He’s going to drain him of his power. His power is stronger then I ever thought.” The man started to get excited at watching Max start to kill Michael.

Michael looked into Max’s eyes and saw nothing but a lifeless green glow. Michael felt himself start to get weaker from whatever Max was doing to him. Michael couldn’t even start to put up a fight anymore and his resistance quickly stopped as Max drained him further. Michael felt a sharp pain start to emerge from where Max was draining him and with every second, the pain got more excruciating.

“Max! Stop!” Michael screamed at Max.

“This is the plan everyone. I will need all your help so that I can contact Max and Michael.” Everyone looked at John as he spoke. They didn’t have to say anything because they knew that John knew they would do anything to save Max and Michael. We need to go into the backyard because the ceremony involves fire,” John told them all. Alex, Isabel, Maria, and Liz followed John outside. “I’m going to need some logs so I can make a fire.” Alex looked around for a few minutes then found some behind the shed. Alex grabbed the logs, and dropped them in front of John. With one wave of his hand, a fire started. “I need everyone to join in a circle and hold hands.” Liz was on one side of John and Maria was on the other. They took each other’s hands. “Okay, what I need you to do is think about them. I mean think about the most important event that has happened when you were with them.” John started chanting in Yaz language and the rest of them closed their eyes and started to remember.

Isabel closed her eyes and images came to her of Max, Michael, and herself holding hands walking through the desert after she, Max, and everyone else in the gang had helped cure Michael and restore the balance within him. A light shot from Isabel and hovered above the fire.

Alex was the second to close his eyes as he remembered the time when he, Max, and Michael went to a Giants game and hung out. It was the first time that Alex felt that Max and Michael accepted him as a part of the group. A light shot from Alex and joined Isabel’s above the fire.

Maria was the third to close her eyes as she remembered after Michael told her why he really came back to Earth and told her that he was sorry for that and everything else that he had done to cause her pain. Maria could still feel his strong arms holding her while he kissed her to make her stop shaking. That moment was when she knew she was meant for him and he was meant for her. A familiar light radiated from Maria and joined Isabel’s and Alex’s.

Liz was the last to close her eyes as she started to remember the night that Max had kissed her for the first time on her balcony so many years ago. In that moment, she knew that whatever was going to happen to them, he would always love her and she would always love him. A part of Liz’s soul shot from her and joined the light that was created by Isabel, Alex, and Maria’s souls. Their combined souls radiated a light that was beautiful beyond words and the sound that came from it was like a hundred symphonies playing at once.

John opened his eyes and looked at the scene that was playing in front of him. He looked at the four of them and knew that they all belonged together. He couldn’t put all the pieces together, but he knew that they were the missing puzzle pieces of their mates. John’s eyes squinted as he concentrated on using their combined powers to reach Michael and Max. John felt their power joining his as he concentrated even harder. He lifted his head and with his mind, called for Max. John could feel Max’s presence, but the true Max was being blocked by another power, an evil power.

John opened his eyes and found himself in a blue room with Max and Michael both in it. He could feel the other power source; it was knew and old at the same. It was a power he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since he was on his own planet. The sight in front of John flooded his body with terror: seeing Max drain Michael of his life energy. John stepped forward to help stop Max and defeat the evil inside him, but he couldn’t move. The evil inside of Max was to strong because it was combined with the outside force. “Max, you have to fight it. Max, it’s the only way to save yourself. You need to listen to your heart and not be influenced by outside forces. The choice is yours Max, and not for anyone else to decide for you!” John yelled at Max.

The dark force’s power increased and John felt a pair of eyes looking at him, but he couldn’t see the person. He stood there not moving or for that matter, even breathing, but the more the evil force was around John the more familiar it got to him. “I know who you are and I can stop you,” John announced to the outside force. “I did it before and I will do it again, brother.”

A figure appeared before John. “So, we meet again, brother. Isn’t this a nice family reunion?”

“You don’t belong here Adam. This is not your concern, so stay out of it,” John ordered his brother.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that brother because, well Max holds the answer to unleashing our true powers as a people, and well, whomever holds that knowledge holds the key to the universe.” Adam stared at his brother with hate filled eyes.

“If you keep on getting in the way Adam, I will kill you. You are not my brother anymore since you decided to join the evil side. The day you did that was the day I lost my brother forever.” John looked at Max who was still draining Michael.

“Now, now brother. Why all these negative emotions? You have no idea what being an East Yaz means because you were always too busy being Mr. Number One and always having to be in the spotlight. Well, the evil side was the place I could be myself and not have to worry about being second best to you. I was number one and you were not even a thought,” Adam surged his powers together and unleashed them at John who dodged them.

The sudden loss to Max’s evil side was enough to stop Max from finishing Michael off. He dropped Michael and fell to the ground lying along side Michael. “It looks like your powers are not as strong as they use to be, Adam,” John smiled as he saw Max drop Michael.

John waved his hand, flying Adam against the wall, making him shout out in pain. John walked over to his brother and knelt beside the wounded alien. John put his hand on Adam’s forehead seeking out where he was. When John found out what he needed, he released Adam from his power. John looked at his brother, and then at Max. “Remember to look inside yourself for who you really are.” John’s appearance disappeared and he was back with the others outside. “I know where they are,” John told them.

“Are you okay Michael?” Max asked him.

“I think so, but I’m a little wiped out.” Michael looked at Max and wanted to get out of the room.

Just then, Adam opened the door and stepped into the room. “Finish him now, Max!”

Max and Michael shared a look and then looked at Adam. “I not going to finish him off or do anything to him,” Max told Adam.

“Fine, if you won’t, then I will.” Adam grabbed Michael and lifted him off the ground. “This is how it’s done, dumb shit.”

Adam put his hand on Michael’s forehead and automatically started to drain the rest of Michael’s life energy. Max shot to his feet as his energy started to build again. “Stop it or I’ll stop it myself.” Adam didn’t stop, so Max put his hands together and concentrated on stopping Adam. A light shot from Max’s hands hitting Adam, and then surrounding him in the light. Max moved his hands to the left and Adam’s body did the same movement. Adam screamed in anger while trying to break Max’s power. Max tightened the squeeze in his fist making Adam scream in pain now.

At the sound of Adam’s scream, guards came running in with tazer guns. They shot them at Max and filled him with electricity. Max gave out a scream of pain and fell to the ground unconscious. Adam struggled to his feet then walked over to Max’s lifeless body. “Think you can beat me?” Adam kicked Max in the stomach and left the room. The guards left the room, leaving Michael standing there in amazement at what just happened.

“What did you see John?” Isabel asked him.

“We need to hurry because if we don’t, Max might be lost to us forever.” John put out he fire with a quick wave of his hand.

“We can take my car,” Alex announced to the group. They all shook their heads and left the house.

“You never told us what you saw while you looked for Max, John?” Liz questioned him this time.

“You don’t need to know what I saw. All you need to know is that Max might not be the Max you all know when we find him,” John told her.

Liz became overcome with anger. “Don’t tell me that all we need to know is that Max might not be my Max when I see him. Tell us what you saw John, because we are putting our lives on the line here!”

John saw the love in her eyes and he felt sorry for her, for all of them. Here was this man, alien, Yaz, or whatever you wanted to call him, loved by so many people, and it was just as hard on them as it was for Max to go through the changing. “Max was captured by my brother, Adam, who is an East Yaz. I was always the favorite of my family and it showed all the time. When Adam was old enough and went through his transformation, he chose the evil side, because it offered him everything my parents and I didn’t give him. He has blamed me for everything that has gone wrong with him in his life, and one day, he killed our parents. I tracked him down after that day and beat him within one inch of his life. I let him live because I was not like him, but my brother is not one to forgive.”

“So, he came after Max?” Liz asked him.

“He somehow found out that I had kids and found out about Max. He must have found out about Max from Nasedo, and when Nasedo was killed, he decided to take over the mission. That is the only reason I can figure that he is here.” John turned around and looked out the front window. He thought about his brother and Max, and then if hit him: the real reason why Adam wanted Max. “Alex step on it. We don’t have much time.” Alex looked at him, then at the road and stepped on the accelerator.

Michael crawled over to Max who was still unconscious. “Max, come on wake up, Max.” Michael slapped Max across the face in hopes that it would wake him up.

Max grabbed his head and opened his eyes. “What happened? It feels like I got run over by a train.”

“That guy had guards come in and shock you,” Michael replied.

Max suddenly remember what had happened and the anger flowed through him again. “I’m going to find him and kill him for what he has done to me and those around me.” Max’s eyes started to glow green as he stood up. Michael stood up with him but he walked over to the wall because he didn’t want Max to attack him again.

Max looked at him and then at where the door should be. He stood there for a minute thinking about something, then walked over to the door and put his hands on the wall. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his powers. His hands glowed and smoke came from the wall. A giant hole started to form where Max’s hands were, and when it was big enough he walked through it. “Get out of here Michael. I don’t know how long I will be able to stop myself from attacking you. You’re not the on that I want to hurt,” Max said as he entered the hallway. Michael didn’t think twice. He ran through the hole and ran in the opposite way.

Michael stopped halfway down the hall and turned to see Max who was walking down the hall now. He is going to need my help. I don’t know how, but he will, Michael thought to himself. Michael walked after Max but at a safe distance behind him, as Max walked down the hall destroying every door and searching every room for Adam. I would hate to be Adam when he finds him, Michael thought.

Alex drove for a little while longer until they came to a warehouse type looking building, “Does every bad person hang out at a warehouse?” Alex asked everyone. Everyone’s mood was a little on edge and Alex of course was there to lighten things up some. He parked the car a little ways from the building and everyone got out and looked at the building.

“They are in the there,” John pointed to a corner of the building. “I think if we can get there we’ll find them.”

“How do you know that?” Maria asked.

“I can feel Max and the change inside of him is almost complete. I feel the hatred inside of him that Adam has conjured up for Max.” John grabbed Liz’s hand and looked at her. “I’m going to save him.” Liz looked at this man who she didn’t even know that well and trusted him whole heartily.

“Let’s go and have some fun,” Alex said as he opened the glove compartment and pulled out his gun. “I don’t have any powers so I need something if something comes after me.” Alex took the safety off the gun. They all looked at each other and tried to comfort each other with their looks. They didn’t know what was going to happen in there, or even if Max could be saved when they reached him. John said that he would save him, but was he saying it to give them some hope?

Adam stood by and watched as they got the chair ready for Max because in less then two hours, Max would be dead and Adam would have the power to rule. “Are you almost done there?” Adam was impatient with the guy. The guy looked at Adam and saw the fury in his eyes. The man stepped his pace up before he would regret taking to long.

“Finished sir,” the man told Adam.

“Good, now go get Max and strap him into the chair. I want to get this over with and get off this damn planet.” Adam looked around himself and felt dirty in this place that so many humans called home. The man shook his head and walked out the door. No sooner had the man exited the door than his body was thrown back through the door. With a thud, the man’s body hit the far wall. Max walked through the door with a piece of the man’s torn shirt in his fist.

“There you are? Who in the fuck do you think you are?” Max’s voice echoed in the room. Adam’s eyes bulged out and he was taken back at the appearance of Max.

“I’m here to kill you Max, and steal your power. You are not the chosen one that so many Yaz think you are. You’re just a stupid little Yaz with no idea as to how powerful you are, and you’re to ignorant to realize that.” Adam’s eyes started to glow the familiar bright green as he walked towards Max.

Michael was about to open the door and witness the showdown between the two when he heard gunfire and people running towards him. He looked down the hallway and saw Maria running towards him followed by the rest of the gang. “Maria!” Michael yelled at her as he ran down the hallway. Maria saw Michael running towards him making her run faster down the hallway towards him. Isabel, Alex, Liz and John were at the back of the group fighting some of the Yaz that were chasing them. Michael met Maria halfway down the hall. The impact of them hugging each other about made them fall to the ground.

“I missed you so much,” he told her.

“I don’t think as much as I missed you,” she returned. She hugged him tighter while burying her head in his chest.

“I hate to ruin this reunion, but we must be going,” Alex shouted as he, Isabel, John, and Liz ran down the hall.

“In here. Max is in there with this guy,” Michael said while he led them to the room.

“Let me go in first everyone,” John recommended. They all shook their heads in agreement. John opened the door and closed it behind them. He covered the lock with his hands and welded them shut using his powers. Michael tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hey, what is going on here, John,” Michael shouted through the door.

John looked through the small window and said “I can’t watch all of you while I try to help Max. He is with Adam and there is no telling what will happen if all of us are in here. Please forgive me.” With that said, John stepped away from the door and into the room. In the background John could hear Liz yell “no!”, but he didn’t turn around no matter how much it hurt him.

John was now in view of all that were in the room, but he couldn’t stop what had already started to take place. Adam had already had Max in the chair and was starting to drain him of his powers. John started to walk towards Adam and was almost there until Max looked at him, making Adam turn around.

“I was wondering when you would show up John,” Adam smiled. “As you can see, you are too late now. Your son is mine and so is the planet.”

“Not if I can help it, Adam,” John responded, making Adam’s smile faint. “This is what you really wanted Adam. You and me and that’s it. Well here I am!” John was finally tired of all the years Adam had blamed him for him being evil. John eyes started glowing as his power was being concentrated.

Adam saw his brother start to concentrate his power and it finally hit him as to why he hated his brother. “You know brother, I’m going to enjoy this fight because only one of us will be stepping away from this,” Adam smiled while gaining strength for his attack.

“Enough talk!” John shouted as he began his attack on his brother. Adam dodged the first attack as the wall behind him exploded leaving a giant hole. Adam returned his fire, hitting John making him fly backwards. John jumped to his feet and was catapulted into the air. With a giant yell he threw an energy ball towards his brother. The ball hit Adam in the head, knocking him to the ground with a giant thud.

John landed inches away from Adam’s head. “Your reflexes were always slow, Adam.” John let out another ball of energy but missed because Adam kicked John’s legs out from underneath him. Adam jumped to his feet and attacked his brother, knocking him in the head with a blast of energy mixed with actual hits to the head with his fists. John managed to throw his brother off using his powers. He jumped to his feet and automatically released energy towards his brother who jumped out of the way. The energy ball hit he wall by the door making a giant hole in the wall.

Michael’s head appeared from the other side of the wall. “Well, we found a way in.” Michael stepped through to the other side followed by the others. Liz was the first to see Max tied to the chair. Max’s body lay there motionless as if he didn’t have the strength to even open his eyes.

“Max!” Liz shouted as she ran over to him. “Max open your eyes for me, please? Max!” Liz was on the verge of tears.

John saw the others come into the room causing him to become distracted from the fight. Adam took that opportunity to get a hit in and he did. From the impact of the last attack, John’s body was thrown against the wall like some kind if toy doll. John gave out a yell of pain as his body slid to the ground. Michael and Alex saw this attack and they couldn’t just stand there and do nothing, so they ran after Adam.

Alex fired off a shot, hitting Adam in the shoulder and Michael used his powers to throw Adam against the wall and hold them there. Adam winced in pain as the bullet hit him, but he had no time to react because before he could blink, he was against he wall. Adam managed to laugh as he easily broke Michael’s power. Adam reached his hand out and Alex’s gun flew towards Adam until it was in his hand. Adam fired a shot hitting Alex in the shoulder making him fall to ground. Adam saw Michael still charging him so he fired another round hitting Michael in the chest.

Michael fell the to the ground in pain. Blood started to seep through the wound. Maria saw Michael get shot and she screamed in fear and ran over to him. Adam fired another bullet, but he was out of ammo. Adam threw the gun on the floor and started to surge with power. John saw what Adam was going to do and he couldn’t let that happen. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his power and using all of it. He opened his eyes and they were a glowing red. John stood up and waved his hand at his brother causing Adam to fly towards him. John walked over to his brother and picked him up with one hand. He looked him in the eyes and red beams from John’s eyes shot Adam in his eyes. Adam screamed in pain as John started to kill his own brother.

“I’m your brother, John. You’re going to kill your own brother?” Adam shouted as the pain started to get unbearable.

“My brother died years ago, and was replaced by the hating and killing of a Yaz,” John told him as his power increased. Maria looked up from Michael and watch what John was doing. Isabel who had run over to help Alex also watched on, as did Alex and Liz.

Adam gave out a final scream before his body turned to clay in John’s hand. John released Adam from his grasp causing his body to fall to the ground. Adam’s body lay on the ground for a few moments before it started to dissolve. When Adam’s body was fully gone, John walked over to Michael and put his hand over his chest. With a surge of power he healed Michael, but Isabel waved him off as she had already healed Alex.

John looked over at a tear stained Liz who had her head in Max’s lap. Max still had his body limp. “Liz, he’s in his final hour of the transformation. This is where he decides his fate. His body doesn’t react to anything so that his mind, soul, and spirit can finish their transformation. All we can do is wait and see what happens.” John grabbed Liz and hugged her so that she would know that she was not the only one scared for Max.

Max opened his eyes to find that he wasn’t with everyone, but was in a dark room with only a light shining down in the middle. The room was cold with an eerie silence that only happens when something bad is going to happen. Max looked around the room and saw no one, but he could hear Liz and everyone saying things to him. He wanted to scream to them to let them know that he could hear them, but every time he tried to scream, nothing would come out. He carefully walked towards the center of the room where the light was shining so that if something happened, he was prepared for it.

When Max reached the center of the room he felt a cold steal object materialize in his hand. He looked down to find that he was holding onto a sword. “How did I get that?” he asked out loud.

“It’s your weapon Max,” a voice said from the dark. A pair of glowing green eyes appeared from the dark. “It’s time to decide, Max; time for you to face your destiny, time for you to fight for what you believe in.” A body stepped into the light and Max was face to face with himself.

“Do you really think that you can beat me, Max? With all the anger that you have built up and shown, you have made me stronger than you.” He smiled at him. Max looked around for the other person whom he had fought during the times he had watched this fight inside of himself. Max turned around in hopes that he would find him, but then it dawned on him that he was the other side; he was the good, and he had to fight the evil inside.

Max turned around to face his other side and was met with the clank of their swords clashing together. “You maybe stronger than me, but you won’t win. I won’t allow it,” Max said with the tone of a hero. The other Max pushed him away and attacked him again, bringing his sword down, cutting Max on the shoulder. Max let out a groan and hit the sword away with his sword. He returned the attack but it was no use. The other Max just hit the sword away, causing Max to lunge forward and fall to the ground.

Liz looked at Max and saw his shirt rip and blood start to seep through the rip. “Oh my god! He’s bleeding,” Liz put her hand on his shoulder and applied pressure to it. “What is happening to him?”

“He is fighting the battle inside of him. If he gets injured while he is fighting, the wound will appear on him.” John put his hand on her shoulder and said, “You just have to wait and see what happens, and hope for the best.” Max’s head flew to the left and to the right, and then his body started to shake uncontrollably. A few more cuts appeared on him making Liz start to cry. All she could do was just watch while Max was fighting something that only he could win.

She kneeled in front of him and looked at his face, which was now showing bruises around his eyes. “Come on Max, I need you.”

Max heard Liz call to him making him look around and lose concentration about fighting his other half. “Liz?” he said hoping that somehow she would hear him, “I need you with me.”

Liz didn’t see his mouth move, but she heard him call to her. She looked around at the others to see id maybe they had also heard him. Alex and Isabel where snuggling in the corner while Michael and Maria were sitting on the other side together. They all looked like they didn’t hear him and the look on John’s face told her that he hadn’t heard him either. Liz grabbed his hand and looked at him, “I’m here Max.”

Max heard that and it gave him strength that his real other half was there with him. Before the blade of the attacker met Max, he rolled away from him and jumped to his feet. He brought his sword up to attack position and attacked him. Their swords danced around like two people dancing, until Max got a hit in. He stabbed the other Max in the shoulder and lunged the sword forward until the sword was coming out the other end. He gave out a scream and fell to his knees and said, “It looks like you are stronger than I thought you would be.”

Max pulled the sword out and looked at the other Max. “I have people who love me, who give me strength, and no matter how much hate I have built up, they will help me defeat it.” Max turned around and walked away from him.

Max squeezed Liz’s hand making Liz look at him again. His face was still lifeless but it made her feel better that he was still there. “Something is happening; he squeezed my hand,” she announced to everyone. When everyone heard that, they ran over to Max and Liz. They all watched him with great interest.

“Do you think you can just walked out of here and that is it? You have no idea what you have to do. You are the answer to one sides freedom and the end of the war. You may think that you have beaten me but you never will get rid of me,” the other Max belted out. He got to his feet and charged Max with his sword in hand.

Max heard him running at him, making Max turned around swinging his sword. The sword sliced through the other Max like butter. His head rolled on the floor and the body collapsed to the ground. Max stood there looking at what he had just done. “Well, I have people who will help me. I’m not alone.” The dead body disappeared, leaving Max there by himself.

Liz felt Max’s body jerk and she watched as he opened his eyes. “Max!” Liz about jumped into his lap. She hugged him while tears of happiness strolled down her cheeks. Max brought his hands on each side of her face so that he could look at her.

“Thank you,” Max said.

“What for?” Liz asked him.

“For being there for me when I needed you to be.” Max kissed her, tasting the tears that she couldn’t stop from falling. Max pulled her away but still kept her close to him and looked at everyone else around him. They all had a look of concern on their faces. “I’m fine everyone, the good side won.” They all took a sigh of relief and smiled at him.

Max stood up from the chair with Liz tied around him. “John, what do I need to do? If I’m the only one that can bring an end to this war, what do I have do to?”

John looked at his son and said, “You will need to go back home and put an end to this.” He didn’t want to say it because he knew that Max wouldn’t want to leave everyone.

“I have to leave Earth and return to Yaz?” Max asked him, but he already knew the answer. John shook his head, “I’m afraid that is the only….” John stopped talking when it hit him.

“What is it, John?” Liz said breaking the silence.

“You don’t have to leave Max, but you will have to give someone your Yaz powers. You would be giving up all your powers, Max. You would be human,” John told his son.

The word human echoed throughout Max’s body. The idea of being human and never having to be afraid of being some kind of science experiment brought tears to his eyes. “What do I have to do?” Max let go of Liz and walked over to John.

“Just put your hand on my forehead and let me do the rest.” Max shook his head and did as John told him. John closed his eyes and concentrated on Max’s body. A red light started to shine from Max and also from John. The two lights joined as one. Then before anyone could form a thought of how beautiful the red was, it disappeared.

John opened his eyes and looked at his son. “It’s over, Max.” Max smiled and looked at everyone.

“How do you feel?” Michael asked him

“I feel different; like there is something missing inside of me, “ he returned.

“That would be the power of the galaxy,” Alex put in. They all looked at him with murderous eyes, but when they heard Max laugh, they all joined in.

“I’m afraid to ruin this, but I must be going,” John told them all.

“Where are you going?” Liz questioned

“I’m returning home to end this war. It’s time.” John turned to walk out of the room.

“Dad?” Max asked. He didn’t want to think of John as his father, but after what he had done for him, Dad was the only word he could call him.

John turned around to look at his son one last time. Max just walked over to him and hugged him. “Thank you.”

John put his hands around his son and said, “No, thank you, Max. You have no idea what it means to me that you have people who will look after you. When the war is over, I’ll return with your mother and we can catch up.”

“I would like that,” Max pulled away from his father and looked at him. “You be careful when you go home.” John smiled and walked out of the room leaving Max with the people who cared for him as much as he did.

Max turned around and saw everyone looking at him. “Lets go home. We have a wedding to plan, don’t we?” Liz joined him and so did the others. While they walked out of the building, they all thought that they could do anything with all of them together.

All of the waiting and preparations finally came to an end, because in less then ten minutes, Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca, and Isabel Evans would be walking down the aisle to marry their true loves. Liz stood in front of the mirror with a giant smile on her face. “I just can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Me either, Liz,” Maria said while putting the finishing touches on her dress. Isabel shook her head while she joined Liz at the mirror.

In the hallway Alex was heard, “Please Mrs. Evans? I just want to see her. Come on, please?”

“No Alex, you can’t see her before the wedding, it’s bad luck. Now go get Max and Michael and get ready.” The three girls looked at each other and laughed.

“You would think that seeing your future wife on your wedding day would not be so hard,” Alex said while walking into the room where Max and Michael were.

“I told you my mother wouldn’t let you see her. She is completely infatuated with wedding legends and stuff.” Max finished tying his bow tie and then went to help Michael. Michael threw his hands down in frustration as he was getting nowhere fast with the tie.

“Turn around, Michael,” Max ordered him. “Here, let me do it for you because if we wait for you to do it, then we’ll be here forever.”

“Ha, Ha, very funny Maxwell,” Michael sarcastically expressed. Max just smiled at him while finishing up the tie.

A knock came from the door and Mr. Evans came in. “Are you three ready?” Alex, Max, and Michael all looked at each other and suddenly felt their hearts fall to their feet. Mr. Evans saw their faces turn very pale. “Now is not time to get cold feet men. Suck your stomachs in and march your asses out there.” Mr. Evans sounded like a drill sergeant as he ushered the men into the church.

Amy DeLuca and Mrs. Parker came walking into the room to catch a glimpse of their daughters. “You three look like perfect angels,” they said together. “Here Julie, take a picture of all of us,” Mrs. Parker told her niece.

“Sure aunty,” Julie grabbed the camera from her aunt and waited as the three mothers and daughters got positioned. “Ready?” They shook their heads and Julie snapped the photo.

“Well, it is time girls,” Amy said, looking at her watch. The girls looked at each other and smiled, but the sobbing sound coming from Amy, interrupted them.

“Mom, please don’t cry. You’ll make everyone else cry,” Maria hugged her mother.

“I’m sorry, Maria, I’m just so happy for you. My little girl is getting married and only yesterday I was changing your diapers,” Amy said through the tears she was shedding.

“Mom!” Maria looked at her mother, which made Amy smile.

“Lets get out of here before we all take after Amy,” Mrs. Parker laughed. One by one, the girls left the room while their future husbands were waiting for them.

The organist starting playing, making all three men straighten up and pay attention as Isabel started to walk down the aisle. Alex’s heart suddenly started to grow and grow until it exploded, making his love for her radiate to everyone around him as he saw Isabel being escorted by her father. When Isabel reached Alex and took his hand, she couldn’t help but smile at the love he was showing her.

Maria came walking down the aisle with her mother right next to her. She didn’t want anyone other than her mother to walk her down the aisle. Michael watched Maria walk down the aisle and he suddenly remembered why he loved her. She was his angel and with his way of not thinking, she was different because she made him seem normal. She reached her hand out when she was just steps away from Michael. He took and held her hand with all the love he was feeling at the moment.

Max stood in awe as Liz came walking down the aisle with a proud Mr. Parker escorting her. Everything was in slow motion as Max watched Liz walk down the aisle with her father: Max watching Liz at the Crashdown as she took customer’s orders, Max healing Liz from the gunshot, Max and Liz on her balcony kissing, Max watching Liz as he walked to the spaceship, her face as Max walked out of the dark when he came back to Earth, Max rescuing her from Nasedo. All of this flashed in his head as Liz reached her hand out to Max. He took her hand and finally felt at peace, because from what they had all been through, she had been there for him.

The six of them stood there and listened to the priest talk and as they all watched the priest talk they took sighs of relief and smiled at how perfect that moment was. The men pulled out the rings from their pockets and placed them on their woman’s hand. Liz, Maria, and Isabel looked up at Max, Michael, and Alex with tears of happiness in their eyes.

“Do you, Michael Guerin, take this woman, Maria DeLuca, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?” the priest ask him.

“I do,” Michael responded.

“Do you, Maria DeLuca, take this man, Michael Guerin, to be your….” The priest was interrupted by Maria blurting out, “I do.” A chuckle from the audience was heard.

“Do you, Alex Charles Whitman, take this woman, Isabel Diane Evans, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?” the priest questioned.

“I do, with all my heart,” Alex said while looking at Isabel.

“Do you, Isabel Diane Evans, take this man, Alex Charles Whitman, to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” Isabel couldn’t say anything else or she would have started crying whole heartily, and she didn’t want to ruin her make up.

The priest finally made his way over to Max and Liz. “Do you, Max Phillip Evans, take this woman, Elizabeth Anne Parker, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?”

“Since the first time I saw her,” Max ran his hand over her cheek.

“Do you, Elizabeth Anne Parker, take this man, Max Phillip Evans, to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you shall both live?”

“He’s my soul mate. Of course I do,” Liz smiled at Max.

“As the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husbands and wives. You may kiss the brides now.” The priest smiled at the three couples.

The audience in the churched clapped and hooted at the couples; their first kisses as husbands and wives. Maria and Michael were the first to exit the church followed by Isabel and Alex, and then Liz and Max. All of their mother’s had to go to the bathroom because they had cried so much their make-up had run.

At the reception, everyone had lots of fun dancing and enjoying themselves to the fullest. All three couples went around to all the guests and thanked them for coming, while sharing memories and embarrassing stories. Max was about to thank his uncle for coming when he heard the music stop and someone start to talk.

“Excuse me, can I have everyone’s attention please,” Michael announced to everyone. “I know that there were not any best men at the wedding, but there still has to be a speech.” Michael pulled out a piece of paper and started to read, “I have known Max and Isabel since I was in the third grade and I call them my family. Max is like a brother to me, and Isabel, a sister. When Max Evans first met Liz Parker in the third grade, I heard of nothing but her about until our sophomore year in high school. One day I had had enough, so I accidentally pushed Max into Liz, “Michael winked at Max. “From then on, you couldn’t separate them. I guess you can say it was love at first shove.” Everyone laughed. “I can’t imagine two people more made for each other. I guess it was written in the stars for them.”

Michael shot his gaze from Max and Liz to Isabel and Alex. “As for Isabel and Alex, who would have guessed, the computer genius of the Silicon Valley falling in love with the most popular girl in high school and then getting married. I guess it is true what they say, opposites do attract.” Alex shot his head up and paid full attention to Michael while Isabel threw a napkin at Michael. “Honestly, they are perfect for each other because no one can take Isabel’s little fetishes about shoes, clothes, and make-up, but Alex.” Michael smiled at them. “I think that it was fate that brought Isabel, Alex, Liz, Max, Maria, and I together. I think I speak for all of us when I say, we couldn’t live without the others in our lives.” Everyone clapped when Michael put down the microphone, hopped down from the stage and over to a waiting Maria.

Michael placed a kiss on Maria, but he pulled away when Max’s voice could be heard, “Since Michael embarrassed us four, I think it’s only fair to return the favor.” Michael and Maria turned around and looked at Max because they didn’t know what to expect. “What can I say about Michael and Maria? Michael was like the brother I never wanted and Maria was the friend that always had the opinion you didn’t need to hear.” Max smiled at them and laughed along with some other people. “Seriously though, from listening to them fight from the first time they met, you knew they were in love. They wouldn’t have told you this because they were both were too stubborn to admit it. Maria always had a way with Michael that would make him act like a gentleman and strive to be a better person and I thank you for that, Maria. Here is to this happy moment and to many more happy years.” Max raised his glass that was filled with champagne, but when Isabel and Michael rose their glasses, they were filled with sparkling apple cider. They didn’t want to be drunk on their wedding night. Everyone drank to the toast and the guests all clapped with smiles on their faces.

After some more chitchat, it was time for them to cut the cake. That was a big mistake. Michael and Maria got into a food fight while everyone watched in awe and laughter. Max, Liz, Isabel, Alex were boring; they did it the old fashioned way by gently feeding each other cake. Before they knew it, they were on the dance floor dancing to their favorite songs and to the ones they had picked out for each other.

Max danced with Liz as ‘Breathe’ by Faith Hill played in the background. Liz smiled her heavenly smile at Max while Max shined with love. “You make me so happy, Max.”

“I can’t describe how you make me feel, but I can show you, which I will later tonight,” Max teased.

Liz smiled back at him, “I bet you will.” Liz rested her head on Max’s chest as the song continued and they danced. She felt like they were dancing above everyone and nothing could touch them. Liz felt Max wrapped his arms around her and pull her closer to him. She just wanted to feel his warm body against hers, and she didn’t ever think she would get used to him touching her. When the song ended, Isabel and Alex replaced Liz and Max on the dance floor.

The song ‘Now That I Found You’ by Terri Clark played as they began their dance together. Alex wrapped Isabel in his arms, pulling her to him and Isabel rested her face on his shoulder. She took a sigh and snuggled into Alex’s shoulder more; she couldn’t imagine being held like this by anyone else.

Isabel lifted her head to look at Alex. “I love you, Mr. Whitman.”

“I love you, Mrs. Whitman,” Alex kissed her and they stayed that way as the song played.

“I like that Alex,” Isabel told him as the song ended

“Like what?” he asked “I like being called Mrs. Whitman,” she smiled at him as they walked off the dance floor.

Michael escorted Maria onto the dance floor twirling her around into him arms. Maria had picked the song she was going to play to him because she knew if he picked the song, it would be some stupid Metallica song and not reflect what she felt about him. The song began to play and their bodies started to sway to ‘When You’re Not Trying To’ by Reba McEntire.

They danced for a little while, as their two bodies looked like one. “What made you choose this song, Maria?” Michael asked as he brought her head up to look at him.

“I chose that song because even though you don’t show it all the time, I know that you love me and always will. Through all the fights we had when we were younger, to the mistakes I’ve made about us, I knew you loved me,” Maria said before her lips captured his.

“I love you, Maria,” Michael said when they came up for air.

When the song was over, everyone gathered on the dance floor for one last dance before they all headed home. The night was the essence of perfection; right down to everyone’s shedded tears while the Alex, Isabel, Maria, Michael, Max, and Liz made their way to the limo. From the limo drive, the couples were headed on their honeymoons. Max and Liz were heading to the Virgin Islands, Michael and Maria were heading to Europe, and Alex and Isabel were going on a cruise to the Caribbean.

They were all dropped off, one couple at a time. They said good-bye and said that they would call when each of them returned from their honeymoon. The happiness that everyone showed that day was only a glimpse of what was to come for them. The Yaz were gone without a trace, Max was a human now, Isabel and Michael were his family until his father came back, and Alex, Maria, and Liz were their friends forever. It was as if someone had planted theses obstacles in front of them just to show them that they were meant for each other. They had passed them all and their rewards were each other and their friendships.