The Dark One

Isabel stumbled to the sink. She turned on the cold water full blast. If she could drink some, maybe-

And her throat was clear. Her nose was clear. It was as if the mold had never been there. As if it had been a horrible…

Nightmare.

But she was awake. Wide awake. And she'd been awake the whole time. Slowly, carefully, on legs that felt too weak to carry her, Isabel crossed to the kitchen table and lowered herself into the closest chair.

This is what happened to Max when he began to enter his akino, she realized. Heightened physical sensation. Physical sensation-like touch, like smell.

Isabel lowered her head into her hands. Max would tell her not to worry. He'd tell her that connecting to the collective consciousness and sharing your life with all the beings of the home planet-living and dead-was awesome, that it made you appreciate all the little things in your life when you felt the beings experience them with you.

To Isabel it sounded like prison. Always being watched. No privacy. No choice about who you let into your life.

And Isabel would rather die than be in prison.

***

Liz sighed as Max rapped the top of the table at Flying Pepperoni.

'So since we're all here, I guess we should talk about what we're here to talk about,' he said.

He looked around the booth, but his gaze skittered over Liz. She didn't think he'd really looked at her once since she broke up with him.

'What about Alex?' Isabel asked.

'He said he had plans,' Maria answered.

'Plans more important than figuring out how to deal with a sociopath who now has two-count 'em, two-of the three Stones of Midnight?' Michael picked up the pepper shaker and shook some directly onto his tongue.

'We can fill him in later,' Liz said. She didn't want to waste fifteen minutes debating the subject. Working together to find Kevin after he'd been kidnapped was one thing. But sitting this close to Max without a life-or-death situation as distraction was killing her. She was as far away from him as she could get, but in a booth that was still close.

It didn't help that Adam was looking at her as much as Max was avoiding looking at her. Liz had the feeling that Adam was hoping her breakup meant there were… possibilities between them. She flicked a glance at him and was unsurprised to find his green eyes on her.

Lucinda Baker strolled up to their table. 'Okay? What?' she asked, tapping her order pad with her pen.

'Half everything. Quarter veggie special. Quarter meatball and pineapple,' Max told her.

Lucinda rolled her eyes. 'Hey where's the cute one?' she asked.

'I'm right here,' Michael bragged, leaning back in his seat.

'No, the cute one. Um, I always forget his name,' Lucinda said. She frowned, concentrating. 'Alex! So, where's Alex?'

'Alex? Alex Manes?' Liz asked.

She loved Alex. He was her best boy bud. But the reason that Lucinda didn't remember his name was that most of the girls at school had always been oblivious of just how great Alex was.

Maria leaned close. 'The wormhole beauty treatment,' she whispered in Liz's ear.

Liz nodded. DuPris had tricked them into sending Alex through a wormhole and back to the aliens' home planet in DuPris's place. When Alex had come back through another wormhole-followed by Trevor-he looked, not different exactly, but just more. Hair a richer red. Eyes a deeper green. Body somehow thicker? Stronger? It was hard to pinpoint all the changes, but the overall effect clearly made an impression.

Liz realized Lucinda was still waiting for an answer. 'Alex had plans,' she said.

'Well, tell him I said hi, okay?' Lucinda licked her bottom lip, then headed off.

'She would eat our little Alex alive,' Michael commented.

'I don't know about that,' Isabel answered. She sounded a bit depressed by the thought. Liz wondered if she had regrets about breaking up with Alex.

Maybe she's just tired, Liz thought. Isabel had the look of someone who'd experienced a very bad night. Liz had seen that look on her own face often enough lately, after nights thinking about how the collective consciousness was pulling Max away from her and-

'So does anyone have any suggestions?' Max asked, again doing a check of every face at the table except Liz's.

Michael did another pepper shot. 'I don't even know why we're here. Like I said, DuPris has two of the Stones. Plus a new sidekick, my brother. When he had one of the Stones and was the Lone Ranger, he almost killed us all. What could you possibly think we could do? Start a petition?'

Maria and Liz exchanged a look. Michael was never exactly Mr. Sunshine, but his tone was so bitter, it made Liz's stomach curl up. His brother's betrayal had clearly devastated him.

'Michael's right,' Adam agreed. He was speaking to Max, but his eyes kept darting to Liz. 'DuPris is too strong to fight. He could take over any one of us anytime.'

Adam didn't sound bitter. He sounded resigned. Maybe that's what happened when you grew up the way Adam did, Liz thought. After spending most of his life being held prisoner by Sheriff Valenti in Project Clean Slate's underground compound, Adam probably just assumed that very bad things could happen at any moment.

'And he would only decide to take us over if he felt like using the subtle approach,' Michael jumped in again. 'Otherwise we could all just be pushin' up friggin' daisies before we can blink.'

Adam looked a little confused. There were still a few gaps in his education on life in the real world.

'What Michael is trying to say, in his tactful manner, is that we'd be… dead,' Maria explained.

'So are you saying we should just give up? Roll onto our backs?' Max demanded.

Isabel pulled a ragged napkin out of the metal napkin holder and adjusted the one beneath it so it was tightly tucked. 'There's something I want to discuss before we talk about destroying DuPris,' she announced.

'What could be more important?' Max snapped. He shoved his hand through his blond hair. 'You heard DuPris. He and Trevor are going to try to shatter the consciousness-'

'Exactly,' Isabel interrupted. 'I don't know about the rest of you. But I'm not sure shattering the consciousness is such a bad idea.'

Thank you, Isabel, Liz thought. She'd been wanting to say the same thing, but she knew if she did, Max would just accuse her of hating the consciousness because it interfered with their kissing. He just didn't understand how much he'd changed. How when he was in the deep connection, he wasn't Max anymore.

'Good point,' Michael said. 'I for one don't want to walk around like a pod person.' He turned to Max. 'No offense.'

'I'm not a pod person,' Max protested, obviously frustrated. 'I choose when to deepen the connection.'

'Sometimes you choose,' Liz corrected, unable to hold back. 'Not always. Not lately. More and more often you… go off, whether you decide to or not.'

Max looked like he was about to snap, but Michael cut him off.

'Like at Kyle's,' Michael said. He picked up the pepper shaker and twirled it between his fingers, appearing fascinated by the movement. 'Was it all you who tried to kill my brother? Or did you have help? '

'In case you've forgotten, your brother was trying to kill me. Or doesn't that matter since I'm not a relation?' Max snatched the pepper shaker out of Michael's hand.

'All I'm saying is that it's not like you to set your phaser on kill, you know?' Michael said. 'Usually you would go for something less extreme. Like containment.'

'DuPris is evil,' Maria cut in. She nibbled the end of one of her blond curls, something she did only under extreme stress. 'Are you and Isabel saying we should just, like, send him a muffin basket and wish him the best on annihilating the consciousness?' she asked Michael.

'What I'm saying is that the scenario we have going is bugs and Raid. We're the bugs,' Michael answered. 'Whether we agree with what DuPris is trying to do or not-he's got all the power.'