Part 6

The room was silent after Tess left.

Michael started to speak but Max lifted a hand to silence him, and then strode across the room to watch Tess get in her car and drive away. He sighed and turned back around to the solemn, confused group.

"Do you believe all that?" Michael asked with a perplexed look, and raked another hand through his hair.

Max walked back over to the book Tess had left for them, but didn’t touch it. He didn’t think that book would tell them anything more than Tess wanted them to know.

"I feel some of it may be true." Max stated softly, and when he saw Liz stiffen, he walked closer to her and took her hand and met her eyes. "But not about Tess being my future bride since birth."

"You…how do you know? Max how do we know if any of it’s true or if all of it’s true?" Isabel asked eyeing the book on the table, almost afraid of it.

"You feel it Is. I know you do. You feel that some of it makes sense. Deep down it seems right." Max said in a low voice, meeting Isabel’s eyes and then Michael’s. Neither one denied it.

"Then how do you know that it’s not all true?" Michael asked, starting to believe it. He was a warrior? He shook his head trying to absorb it all.

The three humans hadn’t said anything. They didn’t know what to think. This was about the three aliens and their destiny. Maria, Alex and Liz exchanged frightened looks but waited for the trio to decide what they believed.

"It can’t all be true." Max said seriously, staring at the book for a minute, and then turning back to Liz, he met and held her eyes. He still had her hand.

"But how can you be sure!" Michael sighed in frustration.

"Because Michael," Max said in his low voice and lifted his free hand to gently caress Liz’s cheek and jaw. He saw Liz’s eyes soften, heard her intake of breath, and then her lashes lower, as passion drew her closer toward him. It was the same reaction they both felt every time they touched.

"I would not feel this way about Liz if what that book said was true. Tess can’t be my future. It feels wrong. The moment I saw Liz I KNEW she was my destiny. Even though I fought it for so long. When I see Tess, I feel nothing." He stated.

"Didn’t seem like that the other day Max." Michael couldn’t help but throw out at him.

Max turned toward Michael and dropped the hand caressing Liz’s face. "We both know that wasn’t real Michael. She used mind control to accomplish that. What I feel for Liz is real. I don’t need mind control to make me feel what I feel for Liz." He said in a soft but angry voice.

Michael nodded, knowing that was true. He just didn’t know what to believe. "But what is true? Everything but that Tess is your intended? And if that’s true, what is her purpose in all of this then? Why would she lie? What does she have to gain?" Michael threw up his hands in frustration knowing none of them knew the answers. He paced again.

"Max, Michael." The heard Isabel gasp.

They all turned to see Isabel with the book open in her hands. Isabel shook her head and dropped the book back on the table.

Michael quickly picked it up and skimmed the pages Isabel had open. "What the hell!" he swore and the hair on the back of his own neck started to stand up.

Max leaned over Michael’s shoulders and Michael handed him the book and shook his own head and paced again.

"None of that can be real! It’s all crap." Michael said trying to convince himself as much as the others.

"Max?" Liz whispered, watching Max look at the pages with a dark frown.

Max finally lifted his head, looked at both Isabel and Michael who were both out right disgusted and appalled, and then turned to the three humans as well. This involved them all.

"It shows the four of us. Michael, Isabel, Tess and myself." Max began, and then looked at the book again and back to the group.

"We knew that." Maria finally said. Her fear only growing. She felt something was very wrong as well. "Now tell us what we don’t know."

"These pictures go on to show us our future supposedly. It looks like Isabel and I are sister and brother, but we’re not related to Michael or Tess." He said looking over the pages with his own frown, and disbelief. "It shows how Tess and I are supposed to …get together and create a new life." He paused and didn’t meet Liz’s eyes when he heard her suck in her breath in shock. He wouldn’t be able to finish if he looked into her eyes. "And…it shows Michael and Isabel…in the same way. With each other." Max finished, then put the book down and watched Maria pick it up in shock.

"But how is that possible?" Alex finally voiced, just as shocked. He watched Isabel with a fist to her mouth and a shocked, disbelieving look in her eyes.

"It’s not possible! None of it! Max is right! I would…we would feel something… would have felt something all these years other than brother sister feelings if this was true! The way Max would know if it was true with Tess. This is all bull, Max!" Michael swore and then went over to Maria finally, and took the book out of her stiff hands and tossed it back on the counter. Then he took her cold form into his arms. This felt right he thought. And he closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head.

"Michael’s right. I wouldn’t see him like a brother if this was true…" Isabel kept shaking her head, and reached for Alex’s hand.

Alex saw her fear and confusion, and took her into his arms.

Max turned back to Liz and took her in his arms as well.

None of them said anything for a few minutes. All just holding onto the one they needed the most.

Then Max walked over to the book, closed it and stared down at it in thought.

"So what do we do now Max. Obviously it’s all a set up somehow. It’s all a load of crap!" Michael stated waving a hand at the book.

"Not all of it I think." Max said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Isabel asked looking scared again.

Max looked up from the book to meet Isabel’s eyes, then all of their eyes. "I mean. I can FEEL some of it is true. I think we are here to help our people. That we are warriors or some kind of hope, but not the rest." He shook his head.

"Then what do we do?" Isabel asked, raking a hand through her own hair.

"We play along with Tess and try to figure out what is really going on." Max finally said.

"What!?" Maria said, and Michael came back to her and hugged her again. He had a feeling he knew what Max was saying.

"We pretend to go along with Tess. That we talked about it and we believe she’s right. We pretend to give up you three humans and spend time with Tess learning our destiny. We get Tess to trust us enough to meet with her and Nasedo and get closer to them. Then we will find out what is REALLY true and what’s not. Something tells me the enemy part is true. They are out there. The only thing we need to figure out is who are they and which side are Tess and Nasedo really on?" Max said to them all.

Liz bit her lip. She knew he was right. But the thought of Max spending time with Tess, pretending to be in love with her, made her shiver in revulsion.

Max met her eyes, knowing her thoughts, and came back over to her. He took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"The six of us will be working together though. We will make it look like you three are out of our lives so that you can go about the other spying for us."

"Do Michael and I have to pretend…?" Isabel couldn’t help but ask as she swallowed in distaste.

"No." Max said. "That would actually be too suspicious. Considering we’ve always thought of each other as siblings, it would not seem right to them if we all of a sudden embraced these ideas completely. We will say we are slowly learning to deal with our destiny. Make it seem like we are willing to think about it, but we’ll say we are not ready for relationships as they are destined to be as yet."

Liz sighed and Max smiled at her as she blushed. She knew it was silly to be glad Max wouldn’t even have to pretend he was with Tess. After all, she did know she had Max’s heart. But she couldn’t help but NOT want to see Tess with his body either.

"What do you want us to do?" Alex asked, also relieved that he didn’t have to watch Isabel and Michael pretend to be in love and be all over each other.

"Surveillance mainly. Alex, you’re good with that kind of equipment, we will bug Tess’ house and anywhere else we have to, anywhere we are taken for our training or whatever they have planned for us." Max continued.

"So Alex, Liz and I watch the three of you. How do we communicate with you if you are supposed to be pushing us away at school and in public?" Maria asked.

"We should have a place to meet." Michael said. Then pointed a finger at Max and got a gleam in his eyes. "The UFO Center!" We can all meet there after hours."

Max nodded. "That would work."

"When? Every night? Every other night?" Isabel asked still not liking the whole idea.

"We will try for every night. To make sure that the surveillance is still working, and that we are all okay. I still don’t trust Tess with Liz. She still might try to hurt her." Max said in a tight voice.

Liz sucked in her breath. She hadn’t considered that.

"But if you ignore Liz and let Tess think you are giving her a chance, why would she want to bother Liz anymore?" Maria asked with a frown.

"I don’t trust her with any of you. I don’t like the way she talks about the ‘humans’." Max explained.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. I definitely got the creeps when she used that word like it was a disease, and the look in her eyes when she glanced at the three of us." Alex shivered.

"Then how are we going to leave them alone at all!? What if something happens to them!?" Michael asked with fear of his own. He wrapped Maria in his arms tighter, not even wanting to imagine what could happen to her.

"Because, I’m pretty sure during the days we will be training with Nasedo and Tess. So we will know where they are. And at night, we all meet. So we know you three are safe. And that nothing suspicious has happened. If you suspect anything you tell us. Let us know if any strange people come around or you notice any unusual behavior toward any of you three." Max looked at them and saw them nod.

Then he took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay then. That’s the plan for now. Alex, do you think you can get a hold of some equipment?" Michael asked.

"Yeah. Yeah there’s this guy at school who is into all that stuff. He’s weird, but harmless. I could probably get some from him without letting him know why." Alex nodded liking the idea of being involved and able to help. Plus he liked the idea of being able to see that Isabel was okay.

"I worry about the three of you too." Liz voiced Alex’s concerns. She looked at Michael and Isabel and then met Max’s eyes. "If they are your enemy, you could be in danger as well." She swallowed.

"As long as we make them believe that we believe them we should be okay. They obviously need us or they wouldn’t bother with all of this. If they were strictly our enemy, then they would have just killed us by now." Max said and held Liz tightly to him to reassure her. He didn’t want her to see how much more worried he was for her.

"Where should they set up the surveillance equipment?" Isabel asked, leaning against Alex. He made her feel safe.

"I know of an old warehouse not far from Tess’ place." Alex answered.

"Then it’s settled. We go tell Tess that we’ve thought it over." Michael sighed.

"Tomorrow. Can we do it tomorrow? I want…I want one more night with Alex. Before we have to pretend…" Isabel didn’t finish.

Max and Michael only nodded, wanting the same thing.

Max met Liz’s eyes and hers were mixed with anxiety and yet the promise of tonight together. Max answered her eyes with hooded ones, letting her know how he felt as well.

After tonight outwardly, everything would change.