Title: AURA: Book One: Trials and Tribulations

Author: Zia

Rating: Teen

Disclaimer: Roswell does not belong to me. How sad.

Summary: In an Alternate Universe: Maria, Liz, Alex, and Kyle are the aliens, the group formerly known as the Pod Squad, is now human.

Author's Note: This idea, came about 7 (almost 8) years ago, when the Amazing AlexEvans came up with an RPG.

Second Note: I plan to write this as a series of 'books' which will really just be multiple fics, following the same story.

Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter One

Maria DeLuca, a short blonde pixie of a girl was waiting tables at Roswell's infamous Crashdown Cafe. Clad in the usual teal colored uniform, with a skirt that was obscenely short. Topped off with a pair of bobbing silver antennas. The restaurant was busy. A normal Saturday afternoon rush. The usual local teens, along with the Alien-Obsessed. She'd spotted her best friend Liz showing a picture to a pair of them. The Obsessed thought it was an alien, but Maria knew the truth. It was a doll. A sad little baby doll with a melted face.

Sometimes, it made her a little queasy. Cashing in on their heritage. Liz swore by it, considering it got her better tips. But Maria loathed it, and considering her mother owned a local shop that sold all things alien – suckers, dolls, stickers, hats, T-shirts, the works. Anything you could think of, Amy DeLuca had it. As long as she lived in Roswell, New Mexico, she would never be able to escape it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maria spotted Michael Guerin watching her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she slammed into an empty table. "Ow." She bit out, cursing the table silently, when she looked back up, Michael was looking at his friend Max Evans. "Idiot." She mumbled.

"Can I get a refill?" She heard an annoyed voice demand and turned her head.

"Sure," Maria nodded and fixed the chair at the table and darted behind the counter to get another coke for the annoyed girl.

She glanced up hearing a few guys at the corner booth arguing, the volume steadily growing louder. "Liz." She called, then nodded her head towards them.

"I'll go get Dad." Liz said, and turned to walk away.

Suddenly the men were standing. Maria saw a gun. She heard a scream, and a moment later realized it was her own. Everyone else hit the floor. Maria ducked behind the counter.

Pop.

The sound exploded through the air. "Lets get outta here!" Maria heard and peeked around the corner of the counter and saw the two men running out the door.

"Liz." Maria said, and slowly started to stand up, her eyes searching the room for her friend. And there she was. Laying between two tables closest to the counter. "Liz!" Maria screamed and ran for her friend. Blood was gushing everywhere. Maria pressed her hand against the wound as firmly as she could. "Liz!" She begged. "Do something." She hissed quietly.

"Can't." Liz whispered.

"Try." Maria cried, trying to connect to her friend. Trying to let her own energy flow into her friend, to give Liz the energy to heal herself. "You have to. I can't do this alone. I just can't." Tears were streaming down her face.

"I love you, best friend." Liz smiled weakly.

"Love you too." Maria whispered, her fingers slipped in the blood. In the distance Maria heard sirens. "Hold on Lizzie, just hold on."

And then there was nothing. She was dead. Maria knew it. She could feel it. Part of herself died. "Liz." She whispered.

The petite brunette girl's eyes were open part way, but empty, her mouth slack, head tilted to the side. Maria couldn't move, she just sat there, staring. Suddenly she was being pulled away from her friend. "No!" Maria screamed, she felt another set of hands grab her arms, gently, but firmly. The Paramedics went to work on Liz. Trying to revive her. But Maria knew there was no hope. She was dead. And Maria felt empty.

"Call it." One of the paramedics said.

"One-Twenty-Three."

The reality came crashing down on Maria. It was true. She spun around and came face to face with Michael Guerin. Her head was spinning. She felt sick. Blood was sticky between her fingers. Still warm on the front of her uniform. She wondered how it had gotten there. "I have to find Alex." She told him, and pulled away from him. A second later she bolted out the front door.

"Alex, Alex, Alex, where are you?" Alex was her other best friend. And he was like herself, and Liz.

She couldn't figure out why there was so much blood on her. So much. She looked down and touched the blood, then winced as pain exploded through her body. Her knees gave out and she hit the sidewalk, hard. "Damn it!" She screamed out. She couldn't function. She couldn't even walk.

Maria pulled herself to her feet and stepped down one of the alleys between two buildings, and ripped open the front of her uniform. The blood was coming from her. There was the start of a small hole in her stomach, that blood was oozing out of. "What the hell." She swayed slightly and touched the wound. Her mind flashed to Liz. Bullet hole in her stomach.

Suddenly the pieces came together. She had connected with Liz, giving her energy, while trying to take away the pain. And somehow, in that connection, she had taken away part of the wound, and given it to herself. Suddenly she was mentally yelling and screaming at herself, berating herself for not being stronger.

She had to find Alex. She had to get home.

"What the hell?" Maria jerked her head up and saw Michael standing in front of her. Staring at her. More precisely staring at her stomach. Maria quickly pulled her uniform shut. "You were hit?" He asked confused. "The gun only went off once." His hand reached towards her, and Maria darted away from him, stepping out of the alley. "Maria." He demanded and grasped her arm.

"It's nothing."

"You're bleeding." He hissed.

"I cut myself... when I ducked... broken bottle." Maria tried to come up with an explanation.

"Then why does it look like a bullet hole."

"You're delusional." She snarled at him, then felt his hand yanking hers away from her uniform and pulling it open again. "Pervert!" She smacked him as hard as she could, which really wasn't all that hard, considering she had no energy left in her body. The smell of the blood was making her head float.

Her knees gave out again, but this time there was no concrete sidewalk to catch her. A warm pair of arms held her securely. "Let me take you back to the Crashdown, the paramedics can take a look at you."

"No... have to find Alex. Please, just find Alex." Tears were rolling down her cheeks and Michael sighed, he lifted her up and carried her back into the alley so no one would see them, and then he grabbed Maria's phone and found Alex at the top of her list.

Two and a half rings later he picked up.

"Hey Mars, aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Whitman, it's Michael Guerin. Get down to the Crashdown, now."

"Where is Maria? What are you doing with her phone?" Alex's voice sounded panicked.

"Just get your ass down here. We're in the alley about two blocks down from the Crashdown. Get here. Now." He slammed the phone shut and tucked it back into the front pocket of her uniform.

Michael looked back down at Maria's face. She was pale. Paler than usual. He wiped his bloody hand on his jeans before stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open slightly and she forced a small smile onto her face. "You stare at me." She whispered.

"Maybe." He answered, then gently pulled her headband off and stroked her hair. "Don't you dare go to sleep on me." He wasn't sure how much of the blood was hers, and how much was Liz's.

It felt like an eternity before he heard Alex's voice at the end of the alley, but he knew it hadn't been more than ten minutes. "Maria!" The voice called.

"Over here." Michael called, sticking his head out from around the edge of the dumpster that they were hiding behind.

Alex bolted towards them. "Maria?!" He asked in a panic. "What happened?" He knelt down beside her and touched her face, then saw the blood. "Tell me what happened."

"Liz died." Alex's stomach lurched. "I tried to help. But... I think I hurt myself." She whispered, carefully parting her uniform to show him the hole. About the size of a pencil eraser. Blood was steadily dripping out of it though. "Liz got shot. She died. I was trying to help her, but she died."

Alex pretty much shoved Michael out of the way and scooped Maria into his arms. "Thanks, Guerin, but I got it." He headed back towards his car.

"What the hell is going on." Michael demanded.

"Nothing that concerns you." Alex set Maria down in the passenger seat and buckled her in before running around the car to the drivers side. Then he pulled away quickly before Michael had a chance to ask any more questions.

"What did you tell him Maria?" Alex asked concerned.

"That I fell on a broken bottle."

"What really happened?"

"Liz got shot. I tried to help her heal herself, but it didn't work. But... I think I took some of the pain away from her." Maria looked down at her stomach. The hole. "Michael knows I was lying."

"Well he doesn't know the truth. That's all that matters." Alex reached over and gently grabbed his friends hand. "Lets just take care of you for a minute, then we'll worry about everything else. Is your mom home?"

"She had a convention this weekend in Texas."

"Good." Alex nodded and drove to Maria's house.

Alex helped Maria into the house, and laid her down on the couch. "I don't think I can heal this Maria."

"If we both try, we can." She insisted, and Alex rested his hand against the wound, and then Maria's rested on top of his. They both closed their eyes. Warmth flowed through both of them. A peaceful feeling. Warm. Comfortable. Safe.

Maria's eyes fluttered open. The pain was gone, she pulled her hand back, and so did Alex. There was just a faint trace of where the hole had been. "I think that is the best we can do." Alex said, and watched as Maria sat up, then climbed onto the couch beside her.

"She's dead, Alex. She's really dead." Maria's voice came out just barely a whisper. Alex could feel the pain rolling off of her.

"I know." He sighed and wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her close. She went willingly, wrapping herself around him, her face buried in his chest, breathing him in, then a moment later sobs wracked her body.

"Shh." Alex cooed against the top of her head, one hand smoothed her hair, while the other gently rubbed circles on her back.

Over an hour passed before either of them moved. Alex simply sat there, trying to comfort his friend. While in the back of his mind, he was trying to figure out what they were going to do about Michael Guerin. He had seen too much. He saw Maria bleeding. He saw the hole, and he was there, he knew she wasn't shot. She didn't fall on a broken ketchup bottle.

The front door flew open, revealing a frantic Amy DeLuca. "Maria!" She cried seeing her daughter sitting on the couch.

"Mom." Maria sat up and cried. A moment later she was thankful for Alex's quick flick of the wrist, her uniform was securely buttoned shut again.

"I heard about the shooting at the Crashdown, I sped the whole way home, are you okay? Oh god, you're covered in blood." Amy was frantic. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest.

"It's Liz's." Maria whispered. "She's dead." Maria choked on the words. They made her stomach churn, but she couldn't stop saying them. "She's dead." They repeated in her head, like a mantra. She's dead. She's dead. Liz is dead.

"Oh, baby." Amy walked over to her daughter and pulled her into her arms. "You're okay. It'll be okay, I know it doesn't feel like it now... but it'll be okay." She whispered. Liz was like her own daughter. Liz, Maria and Alex were inseparable. Amy thought it contributed largely to the fact that they were found together in the desert. They were kindred. And now one of them was gone.

Maria broke down into a new fit of tears, and Amy rocked her gently, then reach out with one hand to grab Alex's. She could see he was trying to be strong for Maria.

"I've gotta go." Alex suddenly spit out. He stood up and kissed the top of Maria's head. "Call me if you need anything." And then he was gone.

Maria stayed curled up in her mother's arms, listening to her as she hummed a song that she used to when she was just a child. Every time Maria had a nightmare Amy would climb into bed with her, or let her climb into bed, and sing a soft little song, and it never failed to calm and soothe Maria.

Maria was trying to let it calm her. Trying to let it soothe. But it wasn't working. The sobs were still bubbling from her throat, and she was clutching one of her mother's arms that was wrapped around her.

Maria had her eyes closed, and Amy wasn't sure if she was asleep or not. "Baby?" Amy asked softly, and Maria's eyes popped open.

"Hm?"

"Why don't you go climb into bed." Amy suggested, and smoothed a lock of hair back from Maria's face.

"No."

Amy sighed. "Let me go grab something really quick." She stood up and disappeared into her room, then came back a moment later and sat beside her daughter again. "Open."

Maria looked at the little vile, and then opened her mouth.

"Tongue up." Maria obeyed, and then felt a cool liquid drop under her tongue. A bitter taste flooded her mouth and she squinted.

"Gross."

"It'll help you sleep." Amy sighed and put the bottle on the table before cupping Maria's face. "You need to sleep. Why don't you go take a shower, and crawl into bed."

Maria nodded a little. She looked down and realized she was still wearing her bloody uniform. She made mental note to burn it the first chance she got. "Okay." Maria whispered and got up from the couch. She walked down to her room and stripped off the ruined green dress and threw it on the floor near her hamper before walking into the bathroom.

She lit a few candles that always helped to calm her and turned on the water. Maria climbed in and let the hot water beat down on her skin. Warmth enveloped her, but she felt cold on the inside. She spun the knob all the way to the left. The water grew hotter and hotter. Her skin was pink. But she still felt cold. There was still blood on her. Dried to her skin. She grabbed the soap and started scrubbing as hard as she could. Till her skin was raw.

With a sigh she climbed out once the blood was washed away, and wrapped a towel around herself. Maria walked into her room and sat down on the edge of her bed. There was a picture of her, Liz and Alex sitting on her dresser. She could feel tears burning her eyes. What were they supposed to do without Liz?

Maria found her pajamas and pulled them on slowly, she ran a comb through her hair and then climbed into bed. In the morning, she had to work. Go back to the place where her best friend died. She laid down on her stomach, and shoved one hand under the blankets and fished around for a moment until she found the small stuffed creature. She stuffed him under her chin and buried her face in her pillow. Seconds later she was sound asleep.

Michael Guerin was laying on the bed, in his foster home, angrily staring up at the ceiling. He was angry because he knew Maria and Alex lied. Something happened. He wanted to know what. Liz died. He saw that, but Maria... that wound. Was not from a bullet. He stood up quickly, but as quietly as he could. His current living arrangement left him with a young foster 'brother' who was sleeping soundly in the bed five short feet away.

Carefully he tiptoed to the window. Dylan – the boy in the bed – let out a loud snore. Michael froze for a second, his eyes darted to the kid, who was still sleeping. Once he was outside he let out the breath he had been holding. The foster care system sucked. This one, wasn't too bad. Compared to some of the others. Compared to Hank. The thought of it made him shudder. Hank had beat the shit out of Michael the first day he was there.

The next day Hank was carted off to jail, and Michael was dropped into another foster home. And now, eight and a half foster homes later, he was sneaking out of the Pascal's house. He hoped that Dylan didn't wake up. Or that Mrs. Pascal didn't decide to check up on them. He'd been living there a few weeks, but he wanted things to just be calm.

He walked away from the house, and when he got to the street he started a slow jog towards Maria's house. Her bedroom light was off as he approached the house, silently she walked down the alleyway and saw the light turn on. Cautiously he watched her. She sat on the bed. Eventually she got up and pulled on a pair of pajamas. He caught a glimpse of her naked back and he swallowed hard.

He watched as she shut off the light, though the street lamp was providing a soft glow in her room. She crawled into her bed and he walked closer. Watching. She shoved some stuffed thing under her chin with her hands and within seconds she was asleep. And Michael just stood there, and he watched her. Stared at her.

Her breathing was even. Slow and steady. A lock of her hair fell over the side of her face and his fingers itched to brush it back.

Truth of the matter was, he did stare at her. All the time. He wasn't in love with her, like Max was with Liz. Something about her was drawing him to her. He remembered a day, so many years back, before Amy DeLuca adopted Maria. They were both in the orphanage. All of the kids were outside playing. He was standing against a wall brooding. None of the kids liked him. He didn't care.

And then he saw her. Bouncy blonde curls, attached to this crying girl. She was sitting on the grass, her knees pulled up to her chest, sobbing quietly. And then he'd spotted the reason for her tears. Two boys that were a year or two older than him were picking on her. One was poking her with a stick, the other calling her names.

Michael wasn't sure what caused him to do it. He wasn't sure why he ran across the playground and slammed his fist into the faces of one of the boys. The other boy's mouth dropped and Michael shoved him down. And it started an all out brawl. Fists were flying. He could hear Maria's screams to stop. But they didn't. Until an adult realized what was happening and yanked them all apart.

Michael, himself of course was the one that got into trouble. No excuse, they told him. No excuse for what he did. He had tried to explain that they were picking on Maria, but they didn't listen. Later that evening, Maria deposited herself beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "My Hero." She whispered.

And then she was adopted by Amy a few days later. When school started she clung to Alex and Liz, and occasionally offered him a smile, but nothing more than that. She was this warm and bubbly person, and he wanted inside of that. He wanted to have that kind of person in his life.

He had Max, Isabel, and Tess. And they were his friends, but something about Maria. He had talked to Tess on occasion about Maria. About his attraction to her. His pull towards her. And Tess would go on and, with some psychobabble about soulmates. Which Michael thought was a load of crap.

Michael knew he should leave. It was way too late to be standing out here, lurking outside of her house. Someone was going to see him and call the cops, and that was definitely not what he needed. Tess' dad picking him up for being a peeping tom. He'd never let Tess near him again.

Maria woke up before her alarm even went off. She glanced at the clock. She honestly had an hour before she had to get up. But she got up anyways. She took her time getting ready. Moving as slowly as she could. She stood in front of her closet. Staring at the teal green uniform. This one clean, pressed. Just waiting for her to put it on. "I can't." She whispered. She closed her eyes tightly. "Liz, help me." Maria breathed out. Desperately hoping for something. Any hint that Liz was somehow with her. Helping her to get through the day.

Slowly she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the hanger and pulled the dress out of the closet. Each move was done meticulously. One button at a time she undid them. Then she slowly pulled the dress on. First up one arm, then the other. Wrapped it around her. Button it down. Press. Snap. Press. Snap. The Alien head apron, vacant black 'eyes' staring at her. She wrapped it around her waist, tying it carefully. Her white socks, and then tennis shoes. Cross. Loop. Wrap around. Pull through. Tighten.

Her eyes caught her reflection. She looked hollow. Empty. Exactly how she felt. How could she possibly plaster a smile on her face and go about her normal day, knowing that her best friend wasn't there to share it with her. She picked up her spare headband and pulled open her bedroom door and nearly jumped a mile when she saw her mother standing there.

"Oh! You're awake." Amy looked alarmed. "Mr. Parker just called. He closed the restaurant for now."

"Oh." Maria looked down at her headband and dropped it to the floor.

"Let me help you Maria, please, let me do something." Amy begged softly. She was worried for her daughter. Maria had never lost anyone before. Not like this.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"Okay." Amy nodded and walked away from the door. "Take your phone with you." She called back to Maria.

Maria closed her door again and ripped off her uniform as quickly as she could and found a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She grabbed her phone and took off quickly out the front door.

She started out walking. A steady pace. Just walking, away from her house. And then she started to jog. Slowly. One step at a time.

Then she was running, as fast as her legs would carry her. Pumping. Step after step. Taking her faster and farther away. Her heart was slamming in her chest as she reached the outside of town. Her breathing was uneven. But at least her heart was beating. She was breathing. She took a deep breath and started back towards the center of town.

She reached the park and found a bench, and her legs gave out. She collapsed onto the bench and hung her head, face buried in her hands she began to sob. Maria had been hoping to run from the pain. From the heartache. From what she was. But she couldn't get away. She couldn't escape it. Maria was trapped. Surrounded by the deafening reality that she was an alien, her best friend was dead, and her life would never be normal.

A hand touched her back and she jumped, nearly falling off the bench. When she turned her head she expected to see Alex. But it wasn't him. It was Michael.

"What." She demanded, wiping her face with the backs of her hands.

"Just wanted to see if you were okay." She pinned him with a look that said 'are you stupid?' and he sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant..." He wasn't sure what he meant. Michael scratched his eyebrow. He'd just seen her sitting on the bench and wanted to be near her. "How is your stomach."

"Fine." She told him, sitting herself back on the bench, but as far from him as possible.

"What happened Maria?" He looked over at her and saw her whole body stiffen.

"You were there. You saw everything."

"Yeah, I saw you with a hole in your stomach, bleeding. You didn't fall on a bottle."

"Yes, I did."

"Then where is the hole in your uniform?"

"How do you know it wasn't there? You were too busy staring at my boobs to see anything else."

"Maria..." Michael sighed heavily.

"I"ve got to get home." She stood up suddenly.

"Would you just wait-"

"I'll see you at school." Maria said and then took off running again. She jogged at a slightly slower pace all the way home. She walked inside and saw her mom sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea.

"Better?" Amy asked, and Maria shook her head. "There is tea in the kitchen."

She didn't move for a very long minute. Just stood there. Then she took a breath and walked over and crawled onto the couch beside her mom, and laid her head down in her lap. Gently Amy stroked her fingers through Maria's hair. "I know you hurt baby, but, you can't just lay around the house forever."

"I know." Maria whispered.

"You going to school tomorrow?"

"Do I have to?"

"No, I'll call and excuse you in the morning."

"Thank you." Maria whispered and let her eyes slip shut.

The next day at school, Michael couldn't focus on anything. His mind kept drifting back to Maria. Was she okay? Where was she? Why didn't she come to school? Was she okay? He kept trying to convince himself she was fine. It makes sense that she wouldn't come to school, her best friend was just killed. But he needed her to come to school. He needed to know she was okay. He didn't know why, but he needed it.

"Michael!" Isabel yelled, staring at her friend.

"What!" He snapped back. "You don't have to yell." He hissed.

"Well if you would have answered me one of the first twenty times I called your name, I wouldn't have. What the hell is your problem?"

"Drop it." He muttered, and hung his head.

"Please don't tell me you were harboring some secret crush on that Parker girl too." Isabel Evans sighed. It may have been a tacky thing to say, but her brother had been fawning over her since... the first day Parker landed at their school. And not once did he make any sort of move. They were lab partners, but he never said anything. And now she was dead. And her brother was a wreck.

She wanted the normality back. Being able to tease her twin brother about his crush on the Science-Girl. But if she even mentioned his name, his whole face would just fall. He'd get this completely dejected look, and zone out. And at the moment, that is what Michael was doing. And it was freaking her out.

"Shut it, Iz." Michael grumbled.

"Michael, talk to him, please." She begged softly. "I don't know how to help him, you're his best friend... Please."

Michael looked at her, then at Max, who was walking aimlessly around the quad. "Yeah." He shrugged. "I'll try." He wasn't good with words. She knew that.

"Izzy!" Both Isabel and Michael looked up hearing the high pitched voice of Katie Wells, Co-Captain of the cheerleading squad. "We've got practice!" The bubbly brunette shook her pom-poms at Isabel and then took off towards the field where the girls were waiting.

"I've gotta..." She sighed.

"Go."

Michael sat there, alone, staring at the table top. Thinking. His mind drifting back to Maria. Max. Liz. All that blood. She was covered. How could she just be okay? Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was in the hospital.

"Kiss." Michael looked up and saw Tess Valenti standing beside him, her finger resting on her cheek. He obeyed, pressing a kiss against her cheek, before she sat down across from him.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Because you love me." She said matter-o-factly.

"Why do I love you?" He asked with a smirk and she kicked him under the table.

"Because you know I will kick your ass if you don't."

"Ow!" He yelped, and rubbed his shin, then smiled a little at her. "Yeah, I know." He nodded. "But, really, what's up?"

"I found something for you." She produced a piece of paper from her pocket, and held it between her fingers, holding it out towards him.

Michael reached up to grab it, but she reacted quick and kept it out of his reach. "Not till I hear you say it."

"No." He grumbled.

"Say it Michael, or you don't get my surprise." She grinned. And Michael couldn't help but smile. Of course he loved Tess. She was his best friend. She was the one he always went to first. She had this happy-go-lucky attitude, always smiling. But he knew she wasn't that way on the inside. Not since her mom died, but she put up a good front.

"Alright, I love you." He grumbled, his voice quiet, almost unintelligible.

"What was that?" She leaned forward a little, a wicked smirk, gracing her features.

"Fine, I love you." He said louder, and clearly, then snatched the paper from her hand. "You know... if your father knew what you did in your free time..." He trailed off raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well he won't." Tess rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't notice, even if he was the one arresting me." She shook her head.

Michael looked at the paper. Maria's address. "How did you..." Michael already knew where Maria lived, but Tess didn't know that. Or maybe she did, and this was just her not so subtle way of telling him to get off his ass and make sure that she was okay.

"How do you think? I have that period before lunch, all the secretaries are busy with their own thing, they don't notice when I wander off." Tess smiled. "Go check on her."

"You know, I do love you."

"I know." Tess nodded. She stood up, adjusting her skirt. "I'm going to go make fun of the cheerleaders now."

"You know, you used to be one!" Michael said as she started to walk away.

"Used to be! I'm entitled to it!" She laughed and took off towards the field. She had been a cheerleader the year before, and all through middle school, but after a fall the Homecoming game last year, she'd decided, with the help of a broken ankle, to quit the squad.

Michael sat there for a few minutes longer, staring down at the paper in his hand. He unfolded it, then folded it again. Unfolded it, and folded it a different way. He had to make sure she was okay. He got up quickly and jogged off campus, and headed in the direction of her house.