Just as he spun on his heel, Kyle and Tess appeared from behind a tree, matching expressions of fear on their faces.

"What the hell was that?" Kyle yelled, grabbed Tess, who looked like she was about to faint.

Alex pressed his lips together in fury. "Isabel."

"What's going on Alex?" Tess demanded.

"No time to explain. We have to get back there." Alex sprinted back in the direction he had just come from. Dammit! He berated himself. You knew you shouldn't leave them alone!

But he had trusted Liz not to do anything foolish.

Stupid, stupid! Liz was anything but reasonable when it came to Max. When Max was involved his usually level-headed best friend was the first to jump in head first without looking.

It took less then five minutes to get back to the cave where the hot spring was located.

Or where it had been located...

Alex slammed to a halt so suddenly, Tess stumbled into his back, sending him flying. She landed on top of him. Neither bothered to get up.

They just stared at the spot where the cave had stood in horror.

Alex finally managed to crawl to his knees. "Oh my God! Isabel!" He whispered.

Kyle had stopped a few feet behind him. He was staring at the rubble in front of them dumbfounded. "What the hell is going on?" He finally managed to choke out.

"They're all gone." Alex replied quietly. "I left Liz and Isabel alone and they tried to go after Max....I knew they would do it and I left them anyway."

Tess climbed to her feet, wrapped her arm around Alex comfortingly. Alex stared down at her, blinked. "It's not your fault Alex."

Who knew I would actually want comfort from Tess Harding, he thought stupidly.

He realized that he was in shock.

It was then that he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

Alex turned his head, caught a flash of gold.

The just rising sun illuminated Isabel's blonde hair so that it shone like a halo around her head.

She had been thrown about a hundred feet from the cave. She was now climbing unsteadily to her feet. Her hands flew to her head and she bent over at the waist in pain.

"Isabel!" Alex was at her side in an instant, managed to catch her before she fell over. He gently laid her back on the ground. Her beautiful dark eyes were closed, but they fluttered, opened to stare up at him. "Where's...where's Liz?" She finally managed to ask after licking her lips.

Alex raised his head, searched the surrounding area frantically.

And then he saw her.

Liz was sprawled atop a pile of rubble on her stomach, her dark hair covering her like a shroud. "Kyle!" Alex yelled, pointing towards his friend. "Liz is over there."

Kyle stared in the direction he was pointing, was at a dead run in less then a second.

Alex heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Kyle turn Liz over. He could hear her groaning.

He looked back down at Isabel, who was trying to sit up. "Isabel! Stop it! You're not going anywhere." Alex ordered, his anger returning now that he knew she was going to be alright. "What the hell were you doing?" He demanded, getting ready to launch into a full-fledged lecture. "You broke your promise to Max and you almost got yourself killed. What the hell were you trying to accompish?"

But Isabel was definitely not listening to him. She was starting past him, tears beginning to appear in her eyes. "Alex, look!"

Alex followed her gaze, did a double-take.

Just appearing out of the trees was Michael Guerin - and in his arms he was cradling the most beautiful sight Alex had ever seen.

Maria.

All thought of pain had obviously fled Isabel's mind at the sight of her almost-brother. "Michael!" She stumbled to her feet, had thrown her arms around the spiky-haired boy and the precious bundle he carried in his arms before Alex had truly processed the sight of them.

"Whoa Iz!" Alex heard Michael croak, clearly practically suffocating due to Isabel's constrictive hold on his neck. "Oxygen...please."

Alex managed to reach their side just in time to catch Maria as Michael lost his grip on her. Maria's eyes were closed, but she opened them almost immediately, stared up at Alex. "Thanks Alex." She sounded exhausted. "Where's Liz?" She managed to say before closing her eyes again.

Alex turned to see how Kyle was doing with Liz. He was pleased to see that his other best friend was on her feet, leaning on her ex-boyfriend for support.

He saw the exact moment that Liz noticed that Maria and Michael had returned. Her eyes widened with joy.

Liz rushed forward threw her arms around Maria, whom Alex had gently placed on the ground. Alex could hear the tears of happiness in her voice as she said, "Oh my God Maria! We were so worried."

Isabel was still wailing on an uncomfortable looking Michael's chest. Michael was staring over his head at Alex helplessly. Alex just shrugged, a grin breaking out over his face.

The look of complete horror at the scene Isabel was creating on the other boy's face told Alex exactly what he needed to know.

The REAL Michael Guerin was back.

Finally, the happy reunion began to simmer down.

"What happened to you guys?" Tess, who had joined them by now, asked curiously. "Maria, your hair is like a foot longer."

Alex stared at his friend in surprise. It was true. Maria's blonde hair WAS longer, actually almost halfway down her back...

It was then that he noticed that both Michael and Maria were also wearing strange clothes- Maria a long white gown, Michael some sort of weird green tunic and - this was the part Alex really couldn't believe - some sort of tights.

Michael Guerin was wearing tights - and looked pretty darn comfortable doing so...

Michael and Maria exchanged a brief look across the crowd of friends gathered around them. "It's complicated." Maria replied evasively, quickly glancing at Liz.

And it was then that Alex realized what he could not have believed they had missed for so long.

He looked at Liz. An expression of fear had appeared on her face.

The immediate tension that had claimed the group doubled when his best friend finally managed to whisper the question that was haunting them all, "Where's Max?"

Maria swallowed, exhanged another look with Michael, who actually looked like he was on the verge of tears. Alex noticed that Isabel was clutching Michael's sleeve tightly, her face beginning to crumble as dawning realization came to her. Michael did not even flinch, only put his arm around her in support.

"Maria?" Liz asked again, thrusting herself away as Kyle put his hand on her shoulder, clearly aware that she was going to very soon need someone.