Very gently, she propped herself on her elbows then pushed herself into a sitting position, slumped against the slimy wall. Blinking, she brought the world into focus. The room was dark and alternated between black and shades of grey. Every so often, the room would seem to light up unbearably, as waves of pain shot though her skull. Suddenly she could hear a soft, soulless chuckle coming from the far corner of the room.

“Max?” she croaked hesitantly. It was more wishful thinking than anything.

“Morning, sleepyhead” Nicholas purred. “Oh, your Max will be here soon enough. I’m sure he’ll come running to save his precious love. Running right into my trap.”

Liz groaned what was meant to be a no, but the pain and fear was more than her body could stand and she slumped back against the wall into the only peace she could find.

***

The wind had picked up and now whipped at his leather jacket as Max crouched on the roof of the old soap factory. He peered through the grime-caked window looking down onto the main factory floor. He couldn’t make anything out, but he knew Liz was here. He could feel it. Every so often, he could feel her pain seeping into his soul. Squinting against the blowing sand, Max scanned the roof, smiling to himself when he caught sight of Michael’s short wave indicating that all was clear. Nicholas must be so sure of himself that he hadn’t placed any sentries around the building. The seven teens had slipped onto the property as far as they knew undetected. Max quietly unlocked the window and willed the hinges to be quiet as he lifted the pane. Much to his relief the window was not as rusted as it looked and it opened silently.

As he scanned the floor of the factory below, Max felt a presence beside him. He turned and smiled grimly as Tess came to his side.

“Thanks for helping us with this,” he whispered.

“It’s the least I could do,” she answered quietly.

Movement in the factory below drew their attention to the window. Squinting against the darkness, they caught sight of Nicholas pacing back and forth across the floor. Two other skins were standing off to one side talking quietly to each other. Max looked up from the window locked eyes with Michael, who had been waiting for his signal. Max sent him a wave and Michael’s disappeared behind the rooftop. Turning to Tess, he fixed her with a look of concern, “You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

***

Nicholas paced the factory floor, relishing the thought of destroying the great king once and for all, and then he could go back to receive Kivar’s favour and get out of this damn skin. Suddenly a loud crash outside snapped him out of his reverie.

“Go check it out!” he snapped at his minions and they scrambled off at his command.

“Nicholas!”

The skin spun on his heel to find himself face to face with Max, glaring at him with his dark piercing eyes.

“Ah, great king,” Nicholas hissed. “I knew you’d come sooner or later. Are you prepared to meet your demise?”

Max just grinned at his adversary. “Are you?”

***

Tess fought to keep the illusion going. Her head was screaming in pain as she forced Nicholas to see and talk to Max standing right in front of him, while he was actually behind the skin, checking on Liz.

Max’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of Liz, crumpled on the ground, bloody gashes and bruises marring her delicate feature. He fought back the urge to cry, knowing that he was ultimately responsible for the pain she was in. Nicholas regarded her as nothing but bait and the thought fanned the flames of anger in his soul, almost to its breaking point. He snuck up behind him, as Nicholas continued to talk to the illusion of himself.

“You think you can beat me?” Nicholas choked, “I’m a hundred times more powerful than you. You were always weak, even in your former life.” The floodgates of jealousy had opened and there was no stopping Nicholas’ ranting. “You were nothing but a pawn! A figurehead! You had no idea what we were doing behind your back. Even your own sister betrayed you!”

At that, the real Max stopped in his tracks as the illusion also expressed surprise. Nicholas took that moment to pounce. “Vilandra hasn’t told you has she? That little bitch was always a manipulator. She took advantage of you then and she’ll do it again.”

This new information only served to fuel Max’s anger even more. He wasn’t angry at Isabel, but at their lot in life. All they had ever wanted was to live a normal life with a family that loved them. They didn’t ask for this destiny. Isabel didn’t ask to be a traitor in a former life and Liz didn’t ask to have Max save her life, only to have it taken away. Furious, he could feel his power well within him and reach a boiling point. Suddenly he flung himself forward, grabbing Nicholas by the shoulders, whipping him around and placing both hands on his head, snapping him out of his Tess-induced hallucination. On the rooftop, an exhausted Tess collapsed.

Weakened by the hallucination and startled by Max’s appearance behind him, Nicholas was surprised by the surge of power emanating from Max and its force quickly overwhelmed him. His eyes shot daggers at Max as he tried to retaliate against the onslaught of force that threatened to consume him.

“How?” was all he managed to choke forth.

Max’s eyes narrowed as he flung everything he had into the skin, all the pain, frustration and torture of his life came spewing forth in an endless stream of power. “I’ve been practicing.”

“This isn’t over Evans.” Nicholas rasped.

“Oh yes it is.” With that, Max gave it one last surge and Nicholas was engulfed, screaming in a blinding white light.

As the light dimmed and ash rained down from the ceiling, Max fell backwards and slumped against Liz. He closed his eyes as he heard footsteps running towards him. He had nothing left to fight with. As the footsteps neared, he smiled inwardly at the sound of familiar voices calling his name. He opened his eyes to see Michael, Isabel, Maria, Alex, Tess and Kyle come charging into the room. They stopped short at the telltale sign a skin had been destroyed, and then rushed over to Max and Liz.

“Is it over?” Kyle asked hesitantly, as he stared at ash now accumulating on the ground.

“Yes.” Max answered weakly.

“Oh my God.” Maria gasped as she knelt next to her broken friend.