Everything was black, Maria couldn’t see a thing, but she could sure as hell feel the throbbing in her stomach. Someone was screaming in her head incoherently, chanting a desperate plea. MariaMariaMariaMaria…. Michael, she thought numbly, she hoped he wasn’t feeling the pain with her. Concentrating hard, Maria opened her eyes. Michael was kneeling over her, his eyes closed as he rocked himself slowly back and forth. Slowly and with a lot of effort, she lifted her hand to his jaw. His eyes fluttered open and Maria looked directly into them. Reigning kisses over her face Michael whispered softly to her “Oh god! I thought I’d lost you!” As Michael continued to kiss her cheeks, forehead, lips and neck, Maria glanced at the ceiling; the shining stars draped against the darkness of night glittered back at her. Where’d the ceiling go? she thought giddily. “Michael, move back” Max’s words were clipped and sharp. Maria stared at him in wonder and looked at the others all standing around watching the two on the floor. “What happened?” her voice was croakey and it hurt to breath in. “Necedo! He…he...hurt you guys….” “Its all right sweetie!” Isabel knelt beside her taking her hand. Maria saw her do it, but couldn’t feel the contact. “He’s gone! Along with Nicholas and the suits and… and the rest of the house!” Maria raised her head slightly, taking in the truth of Isabel’s words, only the eight of them were there and Maria could see the trees of the front yard and the guard’s station beyond it. How the hell? “The Orb” Michael responded to her puzzled expression. “It saved us…revived us…” he shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of not understanding but not really caring about the how's and why's of it all. Maria just nodded her head, a floor without a house, the notion was so absurd she wanted to laugh The pain was all consuming though and as Max knelt down beside her she closed her eyes. The warm buzzing over took her as Max concentrated on healing her. Abruptly it stopped, and Max pulled back gasping for air and holding his hand to his head. “Don’t stop! Why’d you stop?” Michael’s voice was loud and angry. “Silver” Max gasped “The knife was made of silver…” Maria felt the fear wash over her at his words, silver was poison to Alien DNA, irreversible and untreatable. Once it entered the blood stream it travelled to the heart slowly poisoning it and stilling it to a stop. Maria could feel the communal wave of horror from the others around her. Michael was back beside her in an instant. His fingers brushing the hair from her forehead and Maria saw her fingers were interlaced with his own. I should have known she thought. Her own thoughts were bubbling around her and the hysteria she felt before was returning as the voices around her raised in a similar fashion. “No way! Maria’s a fighter she’ll pull through” Kyle’s voice was loud and forceful but lacked conviction, Maria was sober enough to realise how odd that was. Kyle never spoke without the utmost belief that what he was saying was the absolute truth. “This is bad…this is really bad…..” Tess whispered to no one in particular. “So what? Let’s get her to a hospital! Why are we just standing around?” Liz didn’t understand Maria realised. Someone needs to explain it all to her, she deserves the truth. “Al..Alex?” “I’m here Maria, what can I do?” his voice was close and Maria saw him sitting beside her. “Tell Liz…” “Tell her yourself! She’s right here!” Maria ignored him, staring directly into his eyes continued; “Tell Liz my story, I didn’t mean to bring her into this but she deserves to know the truth.” Alex’s eyes glittered as he nodded. But Maria wasn’t finished. “Where’s the Orb?” “It’s over there…do you want it?” “No, it can’t help me now. We should have guessed though shouldn’t we?” She smiled at him, at his look of confusion. “That I was here for a reason that is…I go against every other law of the universe…“ “Yes…” his voice was shaky. “You’re the warrior.” “I’m sorry” Alex’s eyes shadowed over and Maria could see him doing the math. Four less one two worlds divided.[/i] “Don’t be, you didn’t ask for it, for any of it. It’s not your fault.” Gently kissing her on the cheek he moved away hurriedly, sobs racked his retreating body and Maria felt bad for bringing him into this too. Everything she touched turned to dust; everyone she loved got burnt. “Stop it!” Michael’s voice was harsh and sharp. “You’re blaming yourself for all this, but it isn’t your fault!” Maria just nodded, wanting to wash away the pain she saw etched in his haunted eyes. All of a sudden her vision started to sway and she felt dizzy. Her eyelids were heavy and she couldn’t resist the urge to close them. Immediately though she felt Michael grab her shoulders and shake her. “Maria, Wake up! Don’t go to sleep, whatever you do!” Slowly opening her lids, Maria watched as tears streamed down his face. “I feel warm” “No you don’t!” He said it in almost a growl. Maria looked around at the others who were all kneeling now beside her. In the distance the sun was staring to dawn and Maria marvelled at the light it was casting on them all. “You’re so pretty” she told them “like angels.” Tess started crying hysterically at this and Kyle pulled her into his chest. Maria stared in wonder at the sight of the two of them. “You’re soulmates!” Maria’s voice was soft but they both heard and turned to stare at her and each other in turn. “Michael!” Maria raised her eyes to the boy beside her “Don’t you see? They fit, two halves of a whole!” Maria was pleased at her own cleverness but the look it drew from Michael was no reward. “They’ll never be complete without the other” he whispered. What he was really saying she realised, was that he’d never be complete without her. “I’m sorry” she whispered back. “Don’t be sorry! Goddammit Don’t you dare give up on me!” “But… silver” “Is poison to Other Worlders, I know! But your only half an Alien, the human side of you is strong enough to fight this! I know it!” Maria felt her neck get slack, felt Michael pulling her towards himself and felt the others touching her legs and arms, whispering words of love and encouragement. But she wasn’t there with them anymore. The world around her was golden and she was alone, but their love washed over her, basking her in light making her glow brighter, turning her into a part of her surroundings. Maria saw a glowing figure in front of her, We match she thought. Maria only had to think about it and she was moving towards the glowing figure, through the mist and glow. And then through the mist, the clouds, and the golden haze, came a voice loaded with rage and fury. “DON’T YOU DARE DIE ON ME, MARIA! DON’T YOU DARE! Or I’ll follow you to the next world and KILL you!" Suddenly, in the pretty gold mist, she could see something else. The only thing in this universe that wasn’t golden. It was a silver chord. “You come back and you do it right now!” Michael was screaming in her ears and mind. “Right now! Do you hear me?” The peace was shattered. Nothing seemed quite so warm and peaceful anymore. And in front of her stood the bright glowing chord. Its sheer beauty drew breath from her and she knew that the other end was somewhere in Michael’s heart and that he was trying to drag her back to him. All right. Maybe if I just grab on… One arm after another Maria pulled herself up the chord, back into a body that ached and hurt,.Michael was there though and he was kissing her, hugging her, and crying all at the same time, she knew it would be allright. “She’s breathing again! She’s breathing!” Liz’s voice came from somewhere behind him, but Maria was too exhausted to pay much attention. “I love you, you stupid human,” Michael gasped against her cheek. “I can’t live without you. Don’t you know that?” Raising one hand to his chin, she guided it to her own. His lips were salty and she used her tongue to lick the tears away. A soft moan escaped Michael’s lips, but before she could do anything else; Maria fainted. TBC

Part 18