Max was standing about ten feet to his right staring off across the darkening desert, a strange look on his face. Kyle hated when he did that. It was at times like these that Kyle remembered that Max was NOT human. His tendency to become spaced out on a regular basis was so much more understandable now.

"I’ve been here before." Max said, not to Kyle but to the air in general.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Whoopdedoo. The question is: have Liz, Tess and Jennetta been here recently?"

Max turned to eye him, a slight frown on his face.

Well, that made it official. Max might not remember him, but he DID know that he and Kyle WERE NOT friends. Sure they trusted each other - but there was too much history there for them to ever really become close.

Kyle still had not forgiven Max for stealing Liz from him or for preoccupying Kyle’s father on a regular basis- nor had he forgiven him for being who he was…the one person standing between he and Tess.

Although, Kyle thought bitterly, its unlikely that Tess would want to be with me even if there was no Max Evans.

"Liz is nearby." Max replied, staring into the distance again. Kyle scowled again, shivered slightly. Max really was a freak…and he had turned Liz into one as well. Kyle would never get used to the connection that existed between the two of them.

He had never stood a chance with Liz.

"Lead on oh mighty one." Kyle muttered as Max took off at a steady pace.

Kyle was almost positive that Max was leading him on a wild goose chase - until Evans stopped so abruptly Kyle almost rammed into his back. "We’re here." Max told him unnecessarily.

"We’re where?" All Kyle saw was desert. It was almost dark and the occasional scrub brush was shadowed and barely visible. Kyle wondered how he and Max were going to find their way back to the Reservation in the dark. "We’re in the middle of nowhere." His eyes widened as Max’s hand suddenly lit up, brighter than any flashlight Kyle had ever seen. "Jesus!"

Max crouched near a large rock, seemed to be peering under it. He turned back and smirked at Kyle. "Are you game Valenti?"

It was then that Kyle noticed the hole in the desert floor. It was almost hidden by the boulder, but was clearly visible now due to the light thrown by Max’s hand. The shadows thrown by the darkening sky had hidden it from view.

"One hundred and seventy pounds of Greco-Roman wrestler at your service." Kyle replied, setting his jaw.

Max’s expression was amused. "Fine. I’m in charge here. If you can’t accept that then I suggest you stay here and wait for Michael, Isabel and the others."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "I’m not stupid Max." He paused and met his former nemesis’ eyes straight on. "You can trust me."

"I knew I could." Max replied seriously. "I have a feeling that we might now have gotten along in the past but I don’t doubt that you care about Liz and Tess - and so I can trust you."

Max turned away, stared down into the hole again. "Well, I might have been here before but I DON’T remember how far a drop it is." He muttered wryly.

Kyle pushed past him. "There’s only one way to find out."

Kyle was through the hole and had dropped the ten feet or so to the stone floor of the cave it led to before he could think about it.

If sports had taught him one thing it was to go with instinct first and think about the consequences later. He had landed himself in trouble a few times but had also ended up on more All-Star teams than he could count.

Fear was the enemy.

Fear would stand between he and saving his friends.

No fear.

Max landed softly beside him a moment later. He used his lit-up hand to examine the walls of the place in which they found themselves.

Kyle realized it was not so much a cave as it was a tunnel. The walls were completely smooth, had clearly been polished at one time as well. Dust covered the etchings that spread off in both directions.

The symbols on the wall were familiar to Kyle. He had seen Isabel wearing a necklace with one of them and he had also seen it on one of those damn blue orbs. He thought he had seen several more on some papers over at Tess’.

"Which way?" He whispered to Max.

Max motioned to footprints in the dust on the floor. "Follow me."

They walked for what felt like forever. Kyle knew that they were headed deep into the earth.

It was clear that this tunnel was NOT natural - and that it had been here for a long time. It was humbling to reflect on how long that meant Max’s people had been connected to or on Earth.

Aliens had been among them for a long time - proving that the human race was pretty darn out of it.

The Crash of ’47 had not been a beginning…more likely if had been an ending.

Max halted abruptly again. Kyle stumbled, scowled. "Will you please warn me the next time you’re going to do that?" He growled softly.

Max shot him an annoyed look. "Quiet. We’re close." He stared at the smooth walls on both side of the tunnels. "I can feel Liz nearby…" He started to feel the walls for an opening of some sort.

Kyle did the same on the opposite wall. "Are you sure we shouldn’t keep going?" He asked several minutes later.

"No." Max replied shortly. "Wait a minute…." Kyle turned to watch as Max started to pass his hand gently over the wall, careful not to miss a spot.

"I don’t think this is the time for dusting Evans." Kyle finally said when Max looked like he was never going to stop.

At that exact moment a silver handprint appeared suddenly under Max’s hand. Kyle blinked.

Max shot him a look over his shoulder. "Stay here and keep watch."

"The hell I will!" Kyle replied urgently. "You need me to watch your back."

"I don’t know what we’re going to find in there Kyle. If I’m not back in fifteen minutes I want you to head back to the surface and find Michael and Isabel." His gaze was steady. "You said that I could trust you."

I just knew he was going to throw that back in my face! Kyle reflected, annoyed. "Fine." He said shortly. "Fifteen minutes."

Max nodded, satisfied. He lifted his hand, fit it squarely on the silver handprint. Kyle watched amazed as the stone wall slid away, revealing another smooth tunnel.

Kyle would never get used to all this alien hocus pocus.

Max was gone a moment later. Kyle sighed and pressed his back against the smooth wall, sliding down until he was seated on the floor of the tunnel. He was suddenly extremely weary.

It was pitch black now that Max had left with his magic hand. He was going to have to feel his way back up the tunnel if it came to that.

Kyle wondered how he was going to see his watch to know when fifteen minutes were up. *************************************************************************************

Jaxon made his way carefully down the smaller corridor. He heard the wall slide back into place behind him but he ignored it.

All he was worried about was what was at the far end of this tunnel.

He knew Liz was nearby. He had sensed her flash of fear when he and Kyle had stopped to find the handprint.

If he had doubted their connection before this, their was no doubt now.

There was a bond between he and this human that could not be explained - nor could it be denied. He understood now why he had fallen in love with her when he was Max Evans…and he also understood why he could not resist her now.

They were two halves of the same soul. There was no other explanation.

He did not know what game Sabrya was playing, but somehow he knew that she was behind Liz and Jennetta’s disappearance - had known it the minute he had become aware of the fact that they were missing.

Jaxon almost stumbled upon them without meaning too. The tunnel was still dark when it suddenly opened up into a huge lit cavern. The light was blinding after the blackness of the rest of the complex.

He heard Sabrya’s voice before he saw her. "She is taken care of." Her tone was harsh.

"Good work Tessie. Now come here and help me get Jennetta prepared for the transformation."

Jaxon felt his heart stop. He was concealed behind a stone overhang, but he could hear everything that was happening. The voice of the other girl was familiar to him, just on the edge of his memory.

"I still don’t understand why Jaxon wants me podded again. I don’t know if my mother is going to like this." It was Jennetta. Jaxon allowed himself a slight breath of relief that she was apparently healthy at the moment. But when her comment penetrated his mind, he grimaced. They were using Jennetta’s love for him to control her.

It was time to find out who was betraying him. He had to save his sister before they did whatever it was they were planning to do to her.

He was also concerned by the fact that he could no longer feel Liz anywhere. Had they moved her?

Jaxon stepped out from behind the overhang. "I don’t want you podded sweeting."

Jennetta was across the cavern. Sabrya was standing next to her, a hand on his small sister’s shoulder.

Sabrya turned her blonde head, stared at him her eyes wide. She turned to her companion in confusion. Jaxon could not see the other girl as she was hidden by a bank of five transformation pods.

Jaxon frowned when Jennetta ignored him completely. She was waving her small hand across a lit pod. The organic sides opened and she stepped into it. It’s side melded together behind her.

"Jennetta!" Jaxon rushed across the chamber, but it was too late. The pod had begun to fill with the clear liquid that was the transforming agent.

His sister was going to be cleansed. She was too young! It would kill her!

And yet there was nothing he could do to stop it. Once the transformation was begun, cutting it off in the middle was a guaranteed death sentence.

He clenched his jaw as he watched the pod fill completely. Jennetta’s eyes closed calmly as the liquid covered her face. She looked peaceful - as though she was asleep.

A flash of intense anger stabbed through him.

Jaxon rounded on Sabrya. "What have you done?" He roared at her. His betraying former bride cringed away from him.

"Max! Please."

Jaxon forced himself to take deep breaths. Completely losing control was not going to solve anything. "Where is Liz?"

"She’s where Tess left her."

The other girl stepped out from behind the pods. Jaxon’s eyes widened. It was the girl from the Crashdown who had approached him earlier that day - Pam Troy.

She was pointing across the cavern.

He didn’t want to turn around. He knew it was going to be bad…

It was only now that he realized that he could not feel Liz’s presence at all.

He stared at Sabrya for a moment longer. "What have you done?" He asked again, softly, shaking his head. Jaxon watched her blue eyes fill with tears. She broke his gaze, turned pleading eyes to Pam.

"Danala! Please! Explain it to him."

Jaxon swallowed. "Danala." He said evenly. "I should have known."

"Tarsus has told you about me I see." She smirked at him, but her eyes were flat with disdain.

"He lied about you - just as he lied about everything." Jaxon replied. He glared at her. "I don’t have time for you."

He forced himself to turn around. His breathing was uneven as his eyes found Liz…

The sight of her felt like a physical blow.

She was curled up near the wall. Her hands were bound behind her and her feet were tied as well.

Her dark hair covered her face, but he knew that she was dead. There was no sign that she was breathing and the black mark in the centre of her chest told him all he needed to know.

He could not feel her…her spirit was not present in this place at all.

She was gone.

The emptiness that welled within him was suffocating.

Jaxon felt his throat closing up. "Liz." His knees were giving out on him. He managed to stumble to the wall to support himself.

He had to go to her. He had to try and heal her. But he couldn’t make his legs move.

His entire body was numb.

His entire being knew that it was too late.

He could not bring back the dead.

"Max!" It was Sabrya. She had moved behind him.

He managed to control his voice when she touched his shoulder. "If you touch me I will make your death VERY unpleasant." He told her through clenched teeth. He felt her flinch away from him. He turned blazing eyes on her. "You are going to die Sabrya - trust me…but HOW is still to be determined. I suggest you keep your filthy hands off of me."

"But don’t you understand? It had to be! She bewitched you Max…Danala told me so! She was standing between us - preventing us from creating the child that is going to save our people." Tess’ eyes were wide and glinting with tears. "I didn’t want to do it - but I had to! Our destiny is to be together."

Tess and Jaxon both whirled as Danala broke into peals of laughter.

"As you can see Jaxon, she is just as stupid in this life as she was in the last…" She was shaking her dyed blonde head. She was laughing and yet it was disturbing because there was no real humour in it.

Jaxon knew that after the cleansing Dernians did not truly understand humour.

"What - what do you mean?" Jaxon could see Sabrya staring at her sister, an expression of horror on her face.

"We’ve already got our chosen one little imbecile." Danala indicated Jennetta, floating peacefully in her pod. "Who do you think this is?"

"Then why?" Tess was staring at Liz’s corpse, her eyes shining with guilt and terror.

"We kidnapped her for the simplest reason in the world." Danala replied. "To get our hands on Jaxon of course. It was just pure chance that she brought the little saviour of Illyria along with her."

She turned her dark eyes on Jaxon. "And you fell right into my trap "your highness." Prepare to die Jaxon Falconer."

Jaxon was listening to her, but his mind was elsewhere.

He could not stop his eyes from returning to Liz’s form, so small and helpless.

How could such a fragile body have contained such a brave spirit…in fact his entire world?

And then he knew…

He had failed…

His sister was going to die…

His Liz was already gone.

He did not want to live without her.