"I think. Where'd the light go?" Alex felt Isabel's hand on his shoulder and pulled her close to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Isabel whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Give it to me." Max struggled with Tess. "Incase anyone is wondering, the gun didn't go off. Ouch! You bite me again and you'll be sorry." He warned shoving Tess's face against the cold floor. "Amazingly Maria and Liz both dropped their lanterns at the same time." He held Tess down with his weight as he searched her for the gun.

"Sorry, I just freaked. What was I supposed to do? She had a gun." Maria apologized.

"Sorry." Liz repeated.

"Come on, where is it?" Max sat up, reaching under Tess.

"That's not it!" She yelled kicking him.

"Sorry about that." He wrenched the gun out of her hands. "Can someone get another lantern please."

"I got it." Michael sent a spark from his palm and quickly lit the only remaining lantern.

"38, where'd you get it?" Max handed it to Michael, as he pulled Tess to her feet.

"Valenti." She smiled feeling Max's arms on her. "I like when you put your hands on me. It kind of reminds me of the way it's supposed to be don't you think?" She laughed trying to lean against him, but instead of feeling his open arms she felt his shove. "Oh, I bet getting rough with me turns you on."

"Shut up. The only dumb blonde we need here is Maria, okay?" Michael examined the gun in the dim light from the lantern.

"What?!" Maria crossed her arms over her chest furiously. After all they had been through he still thought of her as some blonde bimbo.

"Kidding." He smiled kissing her on the cheek. "You know I love you." Maria watched him astonished. He had admitted he loved her and there were even witnesses!

"You don't love her!" Tess kicked Max as she yelled out. "Maybe you like screwing her, but love? There is none. She is not like you. Isabel is. You can't be with Maria!" She coughed her throat and voice getting scratchy.

"You're really sick you know that?" Michael held the gun out next to the lantern for Kyle to see.

"Yeah, it's one of Dad's." He said returning the gun to Michael.

"Being with her would be seen on our planet as a king marrying his horse, an animal that is made to break its back serving its master!" Tess tried screamed trying to kick her way free.

"Don't listen to her!" Nesado hollered over her screams. "Your destiny is what you want it to be. You control it."

"Oh yeah?!" Before Max could do anything Tess kicked him in the groin and she ran free. The commotion startled everyone, and this time Alex dropped the lantern.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Maria screamed feeling Tess's desperate hands on her neck. In a rush, Alex reached around on the dark floor for the lantern. He picked it up in a flash. Luckily, the lantern was still in one piece.

"Max are you okay?" Liz gave him a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Maria?!" Michael ran towards the darkness with Alex right behind him with the lamp. They both stopped dead in their tracks when they approached Tess. "Stay right where you are." She bit out, holding Maria's fragile neck up to a large, jagged piece of glass from a broken lantern.

"Tess, don't." Michael wanted to break her legs. He could see the tears in Maria's eyes.

"Why not? We were brought here for a reason, to save our home planet and all they are going to do is get in the way. It us four and that's all. If you're all too stupid to realize it, I have to get rid of them for you." She looked at Maria in hatred. "Maybe if I do this, you'll understand that we are all meant for each other." She stuck the glass lightly up against her neck to see a drop of blood fall.

"No, stop please." Max pleaded hearing Maria's whimpering cries. "Don't do this."

"I have to. You love me Max. You don't love Liz and Michael you don't love Maria. We all have our destiny and it doesn't include them." She edged the glass closer into Maria, listening to her squirm.

"Please." Maria cried, tears sliding off her cheeks. Michael squeezed his hand into a fist to feel a cold piece of metal. He looked down into his hand to see the gun Tess had brought. Taking a breath he mouthed 'olive juice' to Maria before swiftly bringing the gun up to his temple.

"Michael no!" Isabel screamed. He was her brother. She loved him.

"If you kill her, I'll kill myself! Fuck your destiny! Without me your destiny doesn't exist!" He cocked the gun and gently held his finger on the trigger.

"Put it down or I'll slit her throat!" She threatened listening to Maria cry.

"Stop! Please!" Maria wailed, horrified, with tears continuously flowing from her eyes.

"Do it then! Even if I put the gun down you'll still kill her! You'll never stop!"

"Michael!" Max yelled out to him. He couldn't lose Michael.

"If she leaves this world, I'm going to accompany her to the next! I love you Maria." He shut his eyes feeling the tears pour out as he eased his finger in the trigger and gradually put pressure.

"If you want to die, so be it!" Tess sliced through a layer of Maria's skin, but before any blood could be seen she felt a warm hand on her back. So warm it started getting hot-so hot it burned! In agony, she let Maria's limp body fall to the floor as she concentrated on turning her powers against Nesado. "NO!!" She screamed feeling her internal organ start to melt. Seconds later she fell to the ground beside Maria.

"You-you killed her." Isabel picked up the back of Tess's shirt to reveal a fresh silver hand print.

"I had to." He looked down at Tess in disgust. She had almost cost them the loss of the second in the command and his wife-to-be.

"Oh God, Maria!" Michael yelled as he picked her up out of the puddle her blood was forming around her. "Somebody help her." He looked up at Max and Nesado as he held her pliant body in his arms. "Max!"

"It's okay Michael." Max kneeled beside him and covered the slit in Maria's neck that the gushing blood was flowing from. He shut his eyes making the connection. Once inside her he repaired the damages and returned to his own body looking down at Maria as she laid still.

"What's wrong with her?" Michael shook her, some still moist tears falling on her nightgown.

"Augh!" Horrified, Maria flew up into Michael's arms grabbing a tight hold on him.

"It's okay." He slid his hand over her hair, setting gentle kisses on her head as she cried into his shoulder. "You're okay." Maria wiped her tears away to see Alex and Isabel in a tight-knit hug and Max and Liz beside them in a similar position.

"Everyone else okay?" Michael looked at them all hanging on each other.

"We're all gonna be okay." Max held Liz close, so close it was almost as if they were one. "It's over."

"We're gonna be okay." Michael whispered in Maria's hair as he held her tightly against him. "We're together."