"Yeah, I'll be fine, this is kind of weird," Jim said.

"Do you want me to keep going?" Maria questioned.

"Yeah, I guess I feel like I have to know now," Jim said nodding.

"Okay, you're the boss, sheriff dude," Maria said clearing her throat for the final time.

"Look when I agreed to do this I didn't agree to be up at the crack of dawn," Isabel said groggily.

"It's beautiful out here!" Maria cried from the back of the jeep. "I feel bad for Max and Liz and Alex and Michael Kyle who decided to take the Jetta."

"At least we can girl talk," Tess said. "Besides, I know Kyle is regretting the decision, look at him in the Jetta, he looks ready to die in there."

"It's cold," Isabel whined.

"Are you ever happy?" Maria demanded.

"No, I like the mall better than the sunrise."

Maria laughed, "Are we getting close?"

"Yeah the chamber is right up here," Tess said as Isabel veered left.

"What are you doing?" Maria demanded.

"Ah, I see you ride with Max and Michael most of the time," Isabel said to Maria and Tess were clueless. "This is called a scenic short cut," she said pointing to a canyon that was next to the road. Isabel went around it and in five minutes the found themselves at the pod chambers.

"How the hell do you always do that?" Max demanded coming up behind her twenty minutes later.

"Do what?" Isabel questioned.

"You always get here faster than me!" Max cried.

"It's a secret," Isabel, Tess, and Maria said together. Max rolled his eyes.

"Let's start," Michael, said excited.

Maria hoisted herself up on to a rock and sat on it waiting for the others to walk up. "Can we climb?"

"No," Liz said.

"Yeah!" Kyle and Michael cried.

"Please, no," Isabel begged.

"I'll do it," Tess offered.

"Maria's really good, right Liz?" Kyle said, Liz pretended she couldn't hear him. "In fifth grade we came out here and climbed up these rocks and Maria went up faster then anyone.

"Okay, I'll need help though," Tess, said.

"Me too," Michael said.

"Okay," Maria began but was cut short by Max.

"No," he said sternly. "You guys are turning our Saturday of work into a field trip."

"Yes captain!" Maria cried. "Anyway place one foot on a rock and the opposite hand of that foot on one and pull yourself up, like this!"

Within 10 minutes, Michael, Tess, Maria, and Kyle were sitting on a rock in front of the chamber waiting for Max, Liz, Isabel, and Alex to catch up. "Told you," Maria and Tess said in singsong voices.

"Where'd you find the rock?" Liz snapped egger to get things done.

"Over there somewhere," Max said his finger stalling.

"Wow, you two are grumpy!" Tess cried scanning back where Max's finger was.

"I'm tired," Isabel yawed falling back onto a rock.

"So what's the plan?" Kyle asked clasping his hands together.

"Well, I go over there and touch rocks until I get a flash, or we look around for clues, like a funny shaped rock?" Maria said.

"That's your plan?" Max yelled.

"Hey, it's better than nothing!" Michael yelled defending her.

"That's enough of the testosterone acts!" Maria snapped stepping in between the two. "Max, you and Liz clearly are unhappy here, so go, we don't need you, we can throw rocks down the mountain with out you," she calmly added. Michael stuck his tong out.

"I'll help," Max finally sighed.

"Good, okay, lets begin!" Kyle said clasping his hands together.

"What do I do?" Alex demanded looking around the rocks.

Maria and the others had gotten so bored with finding nothing, they had begun to have a contest to see who could throw the biggest rock the farthest.

"Guys we've been up here for hours, we aren't going to find anything," Alex sighed after coming out of the pod chamber with Max and Isabel.

"Did you find anything?" Maria called picking up a large brown rock. She examined it for a moment and then hurled it out into the desert.

"Very nice," Tess said.

"Guys!" Liz yelled. "I've been sitting here scratching the ground for hours and you're having a rock throwing contest?"

"Who's winning?" Alex asked. Isabel whacked him on the back of the head. Maria, Michael, and Tess pointed to Kyle who bowed.

"Okay this is a funky looking rock," Tess said. She handed it to Maria.

Maria ran her hands over the texture of the rock. She handed it to Kyle, who didn't see anything. "Okay, go for it." Kyle took the rock and threw it out into the desert where it disappeared.

"Way to go," Tess teased.

"You guys are having way to much fun," Isabel said rolling her eyes.

Maria giggled and picked up a rock to throw. She felt the feeling in her stomach grow to such a force she couldn't take things anymore. She felt something erupt inside her that caused her to begin to see things no one else could.

"Uh, Maria, I think you can throw the rock now," Kyle said. "Maria?" Her eyes and gone almost white and her hand had gripped around the rock. The rest of her body went limp and she fell over.

"Oh god," Michael whispered. He placed his hands around her shoulders and sat behind her. He pushed her back so she could lay on his lap.

"It's the rock," Tess said. She crawled around and tried to pry it out of her hands. "What the hell?" she questioned.

"What is going on?" Liz questioned dropping tools and coming over.

"I wish I could tell you," Michael sighed.

Kyle ran his hands over her eyelids so they were closed. "This is the last time I skip school," he sighed.

"What do you think happened?" Alex asked.

"I can't say," Michael admitted. "Well oh-fearless-leader, do something," he smirked.

Maria looked around seeing where she was. She couldn't tell. She just knew that the rock, had some how been touched by the man. She looked back; there was a lake behind her. The blond man was holding a rock and standing next to a short black haired woman. He was throwing stones into a lake, making ripples.

"Keep one," the woman said.

"Why?" the man asked.

"To remember, everything," she said. The Maria watched the scenery change and the man was up at the cave. He pulled a small blond girl out, Isabel Maria supposed. The rock crashed out of his pocket and onto the ground and crumpled into the others. The she watched as the rocks and cave swirled taking her to a small room where the man was having a job interview.

"We think you deserve the runner up spot. We were going to give you the head position, but you see Daniel had much more experience than you, and first come first serve," a perky short round woman said.

"No problem," the man said.

"We need to ask you a few questions, first of all for reference, do you have any blood diseases or terminal illness, asthma, diabetes?" she questioned.

"No," the man said shaking his head.

"Wife, children? To know where to send you?"

The man closed his eyes, something in his heart hurt. She watched a scene replay in his mind, of him, and his wife picking up a small beautiful girl. Playing with the blue-eyed child and cradling her in his arms. And the thought of his wife all-alone with out him, but she had someone, she had that child, who would grow to be a beautiful woman. "Not if I want them to live, no not anymore," he muttered.

"What was that?" the perky woman questioned.

"No, just trying to think of where my closest family is," he lied. "No wife, no kids." Maria looked at the man and she realized who he was, and she began to wish she hadn't. Once again Maria felt herself looking at someone else. It was Kyle's mother running towards the blond man.

"Are they after us?"

"No, they're too stupid to figure it out, go run from here, get out of Roswell," he said.

"I can't leave you here, you're my brother, I have to stay, got it? Besides, I think I'm sick of listening to Carl and Missy, I think I found a real person," she said.

"Me too, remember, we may have to walk away at any time," he said and smiled.

"Show me something happy! Don't show me anymore of everything that will keep me up all night!" Maria cried. "Show me something I want to see!" she yelled as tears flew down her face. "Show me that happy ending I always dream of!"

"How the hell should I know what to do?" Max demanded furiously as Maria woke up. She opened her eyes and found her self-sitting on Michael's lap.

"You are the leader, you kind of took that role upon yourself," Isabel reminded him.

"Don't turn on me!" Max cried.

"Hey!" she snapped back. "I'm not taking a side."

"Guys, come on," Maria pleaded, "don't yell my head hurts," she sighed.

"Maria!" Tess squealed. "Sorry," she added quickly.

"At hem!" a voice behind them said.

The others turned to see a man in sunglasses standing behind them.

"Can I help you?" Max asked.

"Yes, what the hell are you doing up here?" the man demanded.

"No one owns the desert, I can do whatever the hell I want up here," Max snapped.

"I see," he said taking a glance at Maria and Michael. "They've taken matters into their hands clearly."

"Hey, watch it," Michael warned.

"Down boy," Maria ordered.

"Nicholas stay in the car!" the man hollered down to a boy at the bottom of the reserve. Tess and Isabel exchanged worried glances. "My stupid kid wants to come along of every desert scan. So, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Tess said smiling.

The man looked up at Max. "Why are you here?"

"Just to hang," he said and placed a sober grin on his face.

The man nodded slowly. "What's your name son?" he asked.

"Max," he said silently praying.

"Good, then I didn't get the wrong group of kids. I'm Agent Pierce's replacement."

"What?" Michael yelled. "Who's that?" he asked playing dumb.

"Don't act all stupid with me," the man warned.

"Who says he's acting?" Kyle questioned.

"Uh, Johnson? Your kid is down there messing with the siren in your car," a man said jogging up behind him.

"Shit, keep an eye on them," Johnson said to the other man and raced down the cave platform.

"Okay, I'm actually in charge of the special unit," the man said. "Now that Mr. Daniel is gone, " he added quickly. "So your Max, he left quite a file on you Max," he said smiling warmly.

Maria swallowed hard trying not to make eye contact. She had so much to say, couldn't you call, couldn't you write, you never even said good-bye.

"I hope you also remember the white room," the man said with a surprising coldness in his voice.

"Good-bye," Maria muttered under her breath.

"What was that, uh miss?" he demanded turning to her.

"Maria," she snapped.

"Calm down," Michael whispered into her ear.

"Okay, I'll take it from here," a boy said behind them.

"Nicholas?" Tess cried. "We've killed you like four times!"

"What?" the man yelled. "Nicholas?"

"Yes that's me, stupid FBI, special unit, moron," Nicholas said rolling his eyes. "Okay, now who wants to go first, my friend FBI agent, or Maxy-waxy?" Nicholas questioned.

"You are getting really annoying," Isabel sighed.

"Vilandra, we meet again."

"My name is Isabel!" she cried her voice full of ice.

"Nicholas, I found them," the man said smiling.

Maria felt her stomach turn to ice. She felt that feeling fly out. She was certain of everything now. She opened her mouth to begin to scream but Kyle slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't do anything stupid," he warned.

"Oh, I thought you were that stupid man for a moment," Nicholas said smiling. "I don't recognize you."

"Uh, Kivar sent me here to help," the man said.

Liar! Maria thought as Kyle slowly removed his hand from her mouth. She waited a moment, and before anyone could do anything else she let a horrifying scream out of her mouth. Tess slammed her hands over her ears from the noise. Kyle slapped his hand back over her mouth to muffle the screams.

"Wait, leave her alone, she'll tell me where the granolith is," Nicholas said grinning. Maria was beginning to wish Max had closed the pod chamber.

"Sir, are you sure that's a good idea?" the man said.

"So now you remember," Maria snapped.

"What is wrong with you?" Alex demanded really annoyed.

"Remember what?" the man questioned. Maria rolled her eyes. "Let me interrogate her before we have to do something stupid like a mind read," he pointed out.

"Good idea, I'm not feeling well today," Nicholas said rolling his eyes. "Take her back there to talk to her and I'll watch the kiddies over here."

Maria was pushed over behind the pod chamber and sat down on a hard cold rock. "This isn't very nice," she said.

"Look, make this easy on yourself Lonnie, where's the granolith, tell me something, and I'll make something up," the man said.

Maria felt her heart surge, he had been faking, but he thought she was Vilandra. "I'm not Lonnie," she said calmly.

"Then Ava, come on, I don't have a lot of time back here," he said really annoyed.

"I'm not Ava, my name is Maria DeLuca," she said praying she had been right.

The man's jaw dropped as his eyes opened wider than Kyle's had been earlier.

Okay kiddies, shall we play a game?" Nicholas asked.

"Cut the crap," Tess warned.

"Who is this kid anyway? Why's he scare you anyway?" he asked amused.

"Alex, he is the strongest skin that we know of, shut up," Isabel warned.

"Kivar is stronger," Nicholas, said, "I really wish you would have agreed on my offer."

"What offer?" Max demanded.

"It's not important, I said no," Isabel said rolling her eyes.

"If he does anything to hurt her," Kyle and Michael said together.

"Chill, no pain, unless she refuses to tell us about the granolith," Nicholas said with a grin.

"Stop smirking, you aren't making things easy," Liz warned.

"Quiet, human!" Nicholas spat.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Max warned.

"Or what?" Nicholas snapped.

"Maria DeLuca?" he whispered as if he couldn't believe it.

"None other," she said smiling. "You should know where the granolith is by the way."

"They didn't send it with us, them, how do you know the royal four?" he asked.

"Uh, the leader saved Liz, it wasn't exactly her time to go," Maria said.

"I'm going back there," Nicholas sighed. He walked back to where the girl and the man were standing. "Becoming interment with a human? One who's plenty younger than you?" he snapped, the girl wrinkled her nose.

"Okay lets go!" Tess cried.

"We can't, remember Maria?" Liz asked.

"Well, we can at least get out and then worry about her later," Tess said.

"Are you crazy! She'll die!" Liz yelled.

"She's smart, she can do it!" Tess snapped back.

"Traitor!" they heard Nicholas cry. The 7 rushed back to find Nicholas and the man yelled while holding Maria still.

"Leave her alone!" Kyle and Michael yelled together.

"Rambo's stop," Max said. "That's my line anyway," he warned.

"Remember me?" Maria questioned. Nicholas smashed his hand over Maria's mouth.

"You're not really a skin are you?" Nicholas questioned.

"Well no, but I do want to help you, kill these evil people," he said smiling.

"Please, I'm not falling for that again, you think you're the only one who wants to help the skins?" Nicholas questioned. "I'm killing all of you, after I get the location of the granolith," he said.

"No!" Maria cried her voice muffled from Nicholas's hand covering her mouth.

"I'm only looking for one thing."