It's over. This is the end. I'd like to thank everyone who managed to make it to the end with me. This is the longest fanfic I have ever undertaken and definitely the most elaborate universe I have ever concocted.

Thank you for the feed back, thank you for reading, thank you to those of you who sent emails that busted my butt into finished this thing. I enjoyed writing and I hope you enjoyed reading.

Mariah

Epilogue:

As the ship traveled along its course, Liz glanced out the window of the viewing station in her office. When not fleeing psychotic aliens or on accidental trips across the galaxy, the trip was actually beautiful and fairly calm.

Except for the bickering Michael and Maria had settled back into. Well, it was a little different from their previous tiffs because Maria now had a tendency to light Michael's hair on fire if he truly pissed her off.

Reasons for her annoyance included Michael's grumbling that the Granolith had not only rewritten her DNA, it had increased the bossiness quotient substantially.

The volatile couple amused Liz and Max most of the time, but they sent the royal staff maintaining the huge ship into fits. It was worse when one of the poor crew found them necking- or worse- in various parts of the ship.

Liz leaned back in her seat, temporarily ignoring the speech she was revising for the hundredth time and focusing on the overwhelming beauty just out the window.

Her eyes refocused on her faint reflection. A hand went up to her hair, smoothing the already neat strands down.

It was still disconcerting- the deep indigo hue her hair now held. Even more so was the violet tint her eyes had taken on and with the slight loss of the whites around them. Her vision much stronger, her hearing better and her taste buds definitely different, Liz blinked and again wondered how much of her the Granolith had changed. What was left of the girl who had left Earth mostly-human a year ago?

"I told you, you look more beautiful than ever," Max's deep voice came from behind her.

Liz straightened and a blush stole over her. She recalled that her blushes tended to appear blue instead of red and the problem weighed her down again.

"That's not it," Liz muttered. She knew that Max thought she was pretty. Just as his purple-tinted hair and altered eyes just made him that much more attractive to her.

All of their group had had their appearances changed by the Granolith. A week after its power went through them, after they had slept for a few days and begun processing memories and relearning their powers, they at last noticed what was going on. Maria still checked for antenna once in a while when she thought no one was looking.

"What is it then?" Max sat down and took her hands.

"I'm just afraid," she finally looked at him. "I'm not the same person. I'm not just Liz, small town girl from Roswell, New Mexico, any more. I'm worried what my parents are going to think when they see me. And I'm more worried about how I can be both L'arala and Liz with them. Plus, I'll never be able to explain being a mystic without sounding completely nuts. I, I just don't know if they'll understand."

"Liz," Max kissed her knuckles gently. "I'd be surprised if they did understand right away. We're coming back after mysteriously disappearing for more than a year, as the royal representatives of an entirely new planetary system with some totally Star Trek technology, like Maria says. Plus, we're getting married without finishing high school."

Liz smiled as she reflexively looked at the diamond ring on her left hand. Engagement rings weren't really part of the Antarian or B'ril traditions, so very few people other than Maria, Isabel and Tess understood why she constantly gestured with that hand and could chatter for hours about the small piece of jewelry.

"We're high school dropouts, Max," Liz sighed.

"Technically, if you include our past lives now that we remember them, we both hold doctorates from the finest Antarian University," Max pointed out.

"I don't think that will make much of an impression on my parents," Liz let go of Max's hands and closed the screen with her speech.

They'd visited each of the planets in the Antarian system and a number of new trade partners on the first leg of their journey. Now, they were very near Earth.

In fact, they'd basically been in a very wide orbit for a week and change while Liz gathered her courage and they negotiated with the proper Earth authorities.

"Well, we dealt with the potential disapproval of billions of our citizens and we made it through. They consider us married and good role models. Did Noril tell you how many girls have been named Elizabeth on B'ril?"

Liz smiled. That was the only time Liz had been particularly grateful for the Granolith's manipulations with their appearance. They looked just enough like their people to gain some initial trust. And with their triumph over Khivar and Tess and Kyle's potential heir, the people embraced them enthusiastically. The few die-hard Royalists would be swayed eventually.

"I know. There are now 405 Elizabeths on B'ril and 547 on Antar. Maria has the lead on me on B'ril with 502 Marias born last year. And I'm sure Isabel is counting, too."

Max watched Liz straighten her desk- mostly double-checking the rows of vials tightly sealed with soil samples and seedlings she'd been working on before he came in.

Only part of their work for their worlds was diplomatic. Over the last year, they had rebuilt the growth formula that L'arala and Zan had devised in their first life. It had already been implemented with great success on Antar and they were tinkering with its application for Earth's agriculture.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Kyle and Tess had come with us," Max said. He and Kyle had become good friends and Liz and Tess, not quite as close as true sisters, were steadily rebuilding their friendship. "Michael and Maria are busy being… well, themselves, with cabin fever. With Alex and Izzy are down there breaking the ice for us on Earth, it's been pretty quiet. Plus, I miss Zander."

"Me, too," Liz smiled. It was definitely fun being Aunt Liz and Uncle Max. But parenting responsibilities and the need to keep at least one royal couple on planet bound them to B'ril for this trip, much to Kyle's disappointment.

Liz glanced at the holo-vid on her desk of the eight of them on the day of their coronations, Max and Liz as high king and queen of Antar and Tess and Kyle as high queen and king of B'ril. Michael returned to the position of Prime for Antar while Isabel surprisingly stepped up to be Prime for B'ril. Maria seemed content to wear the crown of princess and perform some of the more public royal functions Liz didn't like in the least. Alex began teaching Isabel all he knew and proclaimed a temporary early retirement, at least until he got bored.

She and Max headed to the two-room suite they had shared for the duration of the trip. Liz flipped on a vid screen, snuggled up to Max and tried to get the ship to pick up a satellite news feed from Earth.

After a few minutes of a fuzzy CNN broadcast, the image of Noril cut into the screen.

"Lady L'arala, Lord Zan, we need you in the communications bay," announced their captain. The only person Kathana claimed she would trust to care for them on this journey. "The people of Earth have decided on a representative and are ready to speak with you."

Liz sighed, happy the wait was over, but her nerves building again.

"Thank you, Noril, we'll be right there," Max snapped the screen off and they changed quickly into formal attire.

His fiancé opened one of the drawers and with a quiet giggle pulled two light, silver woven crowns out. Max bent down and Liz put his on him, then he returned the favor before scooping up Liz's tablet, synced to the speech in her desk computer files.

As they entered the comm room where most of the crew, as well as Maria and Michael, were gathered. Liz went to Maria, suddenly more nervous than before.

"What'll you pay me not to streak, yelling 'hi, Mom,' at all those important Earth people?" Maria asked with a grin. Her newly cat-like eyes made her look a little too like the Cheshire cat.

"Maria, I love you," Liz gave her a hug while Max and Michael began a deep discussion about some hockey game Michael had managed to get on the vids. "Are you sure you don't want to give this speech?"

"Um, no. If you're looking for a singer or a party planner or someone dance with very clumsy diplomats at boring social functions, I'm your girl. Speeches before billions, that's your side of things. Me and Spaceboy are definitely here just for the moral support. And the free ride home," a forlorn expression flitted across Maria's face. "I mean, to Earth."

Maria glanced at the image of Earth on the monitor. "I think I understand that whole you can never really go home again thing."

"I know," Liz nodded.

"But I am looking forward to seeing my mom," Maria announced with a goofy smile. "Since she and Jim tied the knot while we were gone, Kyle told me to ask if they wanted to come back with us for a grandparent visit with Zander."

"That sounds great," their conversation was interrupted by the announcement that the transmission was almost ready.

Liz and Max moved forward, toward the seats in the center. Max took Liz's hand and squeeze.

Thank you, came Max's gentle mental whisper. For believing in me, for being there and for doing this. For loving an alien in the middle of Roswell.

Thank you for that day in the Crashdown, Liz responded And every day after that.

Liz gave Max one last kiss for good luck and an intense flash overcame her. She saw a long stretch of future, a small wedding on Earth, Queen Kathana at last surrounded by grandchildren- two of which had Max's amber eyes and two of which sported her violet gaze. Her parents, the Parkers, learning to love something other than normal. A long road, difficult with some sorrow but much love. A new line of mystics and the rejuvenation of both of her homes. And many years with Max by her side. Liz smiled.

"Liz, are you okay?" Max asked quietly. Everyone in the room seemed to be looking at her worriedly. Liz realized she was still leaning toward Max.

"I'm fine, I'm completely fine," she answered, sitting back in her seat. Liz took the tablet from Max, but she had the speech virtually memorized. The man at the controls gave her a clear nod to begin.

"Good day, people of Earth. I am Queen L'arala, High Mystic of Antar. I'm also Liz Parker of Roswell, New Mexico and three years ago I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life..."

The End