Part 21: Ancient History
2011 – New York

1 : Michael

"Why didn't you move on?" Michael pointedly asked as Ray took the wheel of their stolen car with newly shifted plates. Luke sat with Michael in the backseat, right where Michael could see him.

"Move on?" Luke asked, confused.

"Once we died, once Zan was gone."

"But you're not dead, General," Luke answered with raised eyebrows.

"Don't play dumb with me," Michael warned, irritated. "Kings fall and rise all the time, in all five planets. What is it about him that you can't let go?"

"He saw the future before anyone else," Luke said, above a whisper.

"For all the good it did him," Michael muttered, frustrated. "No one wanted Zan's ideas and policies when he was king. I fail to see them wanting them now."

"You wanted them," Luke pointed out.

"And I still advised against them."

"You did?" Ray asked from the front seat, clearly taken aback.

"Of course, I did. The change Zan wanted had to be done slowly, but he had no patience for people to catch up to what he knew was right. Not easy, not popular, just right."

He could see it so clearly: Max reading his father's early declarations while making notations on the sides, muttering to himself about the things that needed change. He wished he could've stopped Zan, slowed him down, something.

"I don't know if you can picture this, sir, but it's been seventy years of going backward. Khivar destroyed everything that could threaten his throne, and most of that came with a high price for our civilization. But you knew Khivar, you knew them both. You were by Zan's side, and although all we have are a few records, half of our planet still remembers Zan's actions."

"And the Rebellion spread the news he was alive, didn't it?" Michael asked. Rath had been a military man, and this was nothing but tactics and politics. Khivar needed to win an ideological war that had turned into a guerrilla war that he could no longer push back. But that also meant the Rebellion needed support—plenty of it. Resources of all kinds, like money, equipment, and men, were not easy to get. The only way Rath could see for the Rebellion to survive was to have a hero to follow. A dead hero was good, but a live one waiting on the sidelines to reclaim what was his? That was golden.

"Very few believed you would come back, including the Queen Mother. The bodies of the Royal Four had been taken decades ago, and no news ever came from Earth. Then Van was born, the first real chance of getting the Rebellion going. By that point, Khivar had already attempted to take over two planets, and the alliance was in jeopardy. All four planets boycotted trade with Antar, and things started deteriorating fast. And since his greed knows no boundaries, all peace treaties fall through."

Khivar. In Michael's memories, Khivar looked like the miserable idiot that had been "abducted" on Isabel's honeymoon. Still, he knew that was just his mind playing tricks. He remembered despising that man's smile, that all-knowing, cynical smirk that knew he was getting under Zan's skin and gaining popularity with the kingdom.

Antar didn't deserve Zan if they had so cheerfully sided with his exact opposite.

"And then, eleven years ago, a signal," Luke said, hope shining for a moment at the memory. Michael remembered all too well what that had felt like. How hearing he had a purpose in life, a whole planet to take care of, had given him closure to so many open wounds. And later, it had given him so many questions, right there with months of arguing with Max about how to handle things. They had both been so at odds with each other back then.

"Those microwave signals?" Ray asked from the front. It was odd to talk about life before Dave and the compound and their offer. For eight years, it had always seemed as if Dave, Ray, and Jake knew everything there was to know about them, everything but their memories of Antar.

"Yeah. We were barely kids playing with things we didn't know," Michael honestly said.

"Because you didn't remember back then," Luke said.

"But you do now," Ray said, meeting Michael's eyes in the rearview mirror. "This is about that, isn't it? The test Luke mentioned earlier, about Max's memories?"

"How do you know about that?" Michael asked.

"Jake said something about it earlier. Don't ask me how or when, but Dave thought Max wasn't going to pass. Jake said he was wrong. I'm beginning to think Jake was right—General."

"Don't start," Michael said, glaring. That Dave had been running with aliens was clear from the moment Luke had confessed the Rebellion was using Dave's network. Still, Michael would deal with that later, there were more pressing questions that needed answers. "What happened after the signal arrived? What did Khivar do?"

"He tried to play it as a hoax, of course, even if all the other planets confirmed the signal had come from here. By the time the Summit came not even a year later…You have no idea what that meant for us, General. Not just us, the Rebellion, but to everyday citizens. The other leaders all said the Summit had been a waste of time, that Zan was not the Zan we all thought. That Khivar was very much still playing behind the scenes. We had no way of knowing what was true and what was lies. At the risk of his own life, Van arranged to talk with Larek, just to hear three devastating words: he doesn't remember. And yet, with the same breath, he added, 'but he has the Seal.' That was all we needed to know."

"What Seal?" Ray asked puzzled. They were finally leaving New York behind, even if Michael's mind was light years away from there, literally.

"The Royal Seal of Antar," Luke and Michael said at the same time.

"It's stenciled in his brain or something. It certifies Max is the rightful king," Michael clarified.

"It also certifies that Zan is alive," Luke added. "But yes, whoever has the Seal is the rightful king of Antar. Khivar doesn't have it and has been trying for decades to diminish its meaning. He couldn't risk anyone remotely connected to Zan having it, so he wiped out every single member of the Royal House of Antar."

"For real?" Ray said. Luke nodded somberly.

"Nowadays, he's been trying to produce his own, but decades of destroying the science and the scientists behind it has left him with no answers. Besides, the Rebellion is dead set against him gaining a Seal, so we've made it our main target to destroy every advance on that. He would turn us into mindless creatures otherwise, waiting for his every whim. A secret police like no other. Shapeshifters have been steadily abandoning Khivar's side in the last decade, and we're all rooting for Zan."

An army of shapeshifters would be useful, but Michael knew Khivar would have never allowed their numbers to grow that much. Shapeshifters had to be bioengineered, after all.

"And then," Luke said, "we had a reality-check: the Queen arrived."

2 : Luke

"The Queen?" Ray asked frowning. "Liz was in Antar?"

"Tess," Michael said.

"Ava," Luke corrected.

"Oh right," Ray said as both men looked uncomfortable. "I'd forgotten about her."

"What sort of lies did she tell you?" Michael asked, visibly angry. And when Michael got angry, things tended to explode.

Back in Antar, the General had his own security personnel. Not as impressive or as skilled as the Royal family, but certainly guards of the highest quality. Here on Earth, though, the Rebellion just didn't have any more to spare. The good news was that Rath usually walked with Zan, so the Invisible Guard had a rounded idea of who Michael was. Best of all, Zan and Rath talked about Antar when they were alone, and from those conversations came their most valuable information.

And their hope.

"I don't think they were lies," Luke said, thoughtful. "She was quite pragmatic about her situation. She knew she was a symbol, maybe not as well-beloved as her husband had been, but Ava knew she had power. She had every intention of working with Khivar, though, and that didn't sit well with the Rebellion."

"You wanted Ava to fight," Michael said. Behind them, New York City shone with a million lights over the river. They had crossed one of its many bridges, but Luke was anxious to go back. Van was there, somewhere. Zan was, too.

"Yes. To avenge her death, at the very least. She was no Vilandra, so Khivar didn't consider marrying her. Ava had no Royal standing without Zan. Her son, on the other hand, was a perfect puppet-in-waiting. A gift to unite Antar's many factions in Zan's name."

"Why did Khivar reject that plan?" Michael asked, clearly seeing the same value as Ava once had.

Luke chuckled. "We might have said a thing or two before Ava's child was born. You see, Khivar is against all genetic manipulation, proclaiming it's against nature and the natural way of life. That's how he keeps us enslaved because we're not natural. And people in general thought that Zan had escaped to Earth but was still Antarian. Cloned, sure, but still one of them. So we let it slipped that Zan was far more alien than Antarian, just as Ava, and their son was not going to be of Royal blood. He was going to be an alien."

"You created a PR nightmare," Ray said, approvingly.

"Yes, and so much more. We had to do whatever it took to prevent Khivar from legitimatizing his power. But in the process, we brought Ava's reputation down, along with the romanticized idea of the Royal Four."

Luke always looked back at those days with despair. Zan's heir meant Van would have no direct claim to the throne. Ava, the Queen they had been waiting to return with Zan, was nothing like they expected. Ava had been known for being resourceful, though. Part of him respected her, even if she'd sided with the opposite crowd. She'd played her cards the best way she'd known how in a situation where she was utterly alone. No one to trust, no one to help her.

"And when Khivar rejected the kid for being too human," Michael said, "she managed to get herself back to Earth."

"Yes," Luke sighed. "In reality, we don't know if once Zan dies his son will get the Seal—"

"He won't," Michael said. "The Seal goes to me if Zan dies, so you don't have to worry about that," Michael said seriously, and then his eyes glazed over. He turned to look behind as if he could hear something that no one else could. "Maria is coming this way, too."

"As she should," Ray said. "Everyone should be coming this way."

"What about Zan?" Luke asked, anxious. Michael concentrated for a moment. "He's moving, but I can't tell if he's coming this way or not. He's alert, though. He must be safe." Another pause. "Isabel is…right ahead," he said, confused.

"She must have arrived first," Ray guessed.

"If she did," Luke cautiously started, "there might be something you should know first, General. We didn't just bring Ava's reputation down. We brought Vilandra's crimes to light as well. As far as the Rebellion is concerned, she's a wanted war criminal. If she got here first, she might not be all that well."

"You better pray she's unharmed," Michael said with deadly intent. It was easy to see Rath lurking behind those eyes. It was easy to see why the Guards reported that Zan and Rath remembered and that those memories were the answer to end Khivar.

What was not easy, though, was to think Luke had come all this way just to die in the General's hands. He hoped with all his being that Vilandra was well and alive.

3 : Dave

Daniel wasn't joking. He honestly expected Max Evans to drop everything and willingly and cheeringly place his hand on his body and heal him. Whatever ailment Danny was dealing with, it had to be something beyond modern medicine. Or maybe he was just looking for a shortcut. That was Danny's modus operandi, indeed.

"Max doesn't heal," Dave said. They were barely getting out of Manhattan, but it already felt as if they had been driving around for hours.

"He does. When he thinks it's worth it, he does heal," Daniel stubbornly said. "Look, I got you out of there because I know you can bypass all the Antarians and get me a minute with Wonder Boy there. Otherwise, his Invisible Guard or whatever you call it will have my head in a platter in two minutes. What? You think I didn't keep an eye on your conversations? You're the one who told me I reminded you of yourself at my age. You would have followed yourself at that age."

Yes, I would, Dave fleetingly thought. "Is there something you actually don't know about Antar?" he asked. After all, soon they would be at Dave's warehouse, meeting with the Rebellion face to face. And if Van or Max are not well and alive, what exactly am I walking into?

"I don't know what the attempt on Max is going to be, but I'm sure if I don't hurry, he might be either dead or gone. So, I hurry."

"Why do you need Max? What kind of sickness do you have?"

"None of your business," Daniel evasively said. "But I know Max can heal it. Theoretically, Jake thinks Max's healing abilities are far-reaching. That's all I need to know."

"Jake thinks? What do you know about what Jake thinks?"

Daniel tried to suppress a smile, which just ended up being a smirk. "You never peeked, did you?" he asked quietly.

"Peeked? Peeked what?" Dave asked, thoroughly confused.

"Jake's files. He sent a report to you but kept a private one to himself."

Uneasiness crept on Dave's back. "Jake sent whatever was relevant to me. I have no interest in his private notes."

Daniel chuckled condescendingly. "Whatever. You might be interested to know a few things, though. Like the fact that Max—"

"No, I don't," Dave said firmly. "I don't care what you got out of Jake's hard drive."

Silence invaded the car, the sullen, oppressive kind.

"Max heals," Daniel said at length. "He doesn't like it, but he does it."

"Okay. Let's say he does. What makes you think that by doing a favor to me, you'll be getting a favor from him?"

Daniel's knuckles turned white. He slowly exhaled. "I have information."

Dave raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That I don't?"

Daniel shook his head. "I've been keeping an eye on Max's earthly enemies, something you haven't been doing lately, by the way," he pointed out, taking the exit to the place they were going. "You've been neglecting following McKay and the Unit closely. Although I gotta admit, I didn't know the Unit could work so fast…" he muttered.

Realization hit Dave like a freight train. "It was you! You told them where to find me this morning! Where to find all of them!"

"Not—not intentionally, not exactly. I knew McKay had to have something you, or the rebels, or even Max wanted. Something that I could bargain with. So I started to pay close attention; gave McKay a sense that I was on his side. It all started as a little anonymous tip here, a hint there. McKay is really good at sniffing clues, though," Daniel said, shrugging. As if this was out of his hands, so why should he feel responsible about it?

"What did you do? Daniel, what exactly did you do?"

"Like I said, I have information about the Unit. I can tell you how to dismantle it for good—I think. Look, McKay thinks I'm working to bring you down as a personal vendetta, so he gave me access to a lot of stuff that is useful, okay?"

"What did McKay ask in return? What did you give him back?"

"Don't give me that look. I didn't go selling the only alien on this planet capable of helping me. But I had to trade something to prove myself. I showed McKay the only backdoor I ever found to your network. It's not my fault you left a nice crumb trail for the Rebellion to have a way of tracking down their royalty through their phones. I honestly had no idea that was there! So, that's on you, Dave."

"Charming."

"Look, I might have inadvertently helped McKay pin you today, but I'm also the reason you're free right now. But even if that's not enough, even if the information I'm bringing is not good enough for Max and Van—well, as I see it, you're going to make Max heal me unless you want me to babble to Van and his merry band of assassins that this day has been hell because you were careless with your network."

The threat hurt, but not as much as Dave might have thought. Maybe because Daniel was no longer a teenager and his selfishness was no longer cute or tolerated, so Dave could see this in a practical manner. The only thing he cared about in this confession was that Danny boy had medical reasons to blackmail him, instead of a political agenda or a power-hungry ego. He could work with that.

"To be honest, Daniel, the miracle here is not if Max accepts to heal you or not before his world falls apart. The miracle will be if I'm alive by the end of this day, no matter if you open your mouth or not."

"Well, if there was something you taught me well was that everything is impossible until it's done. So, I'll take you there, and then we'll talk with aliens, and then I'll get healed. Easy-peasy."

Daniel accelerated as they crossed the bridge out of Manhattan—and into Antarian territory.

4 : Max

Ray had taught them well, Max thought as they were slowly making their exit from Manhattan and into the Rebels' headquarter. There are three basic rules to survive out there: Don't panic. Look for opportunities to work with. Always act like you belong.

Max Evans did not belong in this car. King Zan of Antar did. As his Guards drove him out of New York City, Max swiftly recalled every bit of knowledge he had on how the Invisible Guard worked, and what they would expect from Zan in a situation like this.

The first part was easy, but he came up blank with the second one—Zan was never in a situation like this.

"How long," Max asked from the back seat, looking at his driver through the rearview mirror, "have you been guarding me?"

"About six years, your Highness," Ash answered, turning from the front seat. The dark color of his skin was peculiar. Ash reminded him of an African hunter. "Every time you left the compound, everywhere but your private space."

That meant every conversation he ever had outside his room would be known to his Guards. On Antar, they would be bound by a vow of silence to never reveal the many delicate conversations they had to overhear as they were keeping watch. But with Van in the picture, all bets were off.

"That's why Van's here," Max said, "You know we remember."

"He's been looking forward to meeting you for a long time," Violet answered as she looked at him from the rearview mirror. "He knows as well as we do that although you remember, you're conflicted about your dual identities."

"That's an understatement," Max said. For a moment, he saw Antar's capital city from his balcony, saw the sun rising, and the many glistering blue and silver banners that adorned their buildings. Antar's colors. His colors.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," he said, knowing full well the weight of the Seal, "but why are you here? Not you, as the Rebellion, but you, as individuals? Why is it worth it to come back for a king that hasn't set foot on his world for seventy years?"

"The Shifter Declaration," Ash said, solemnly.

Max frowned. He knew those words, he knew they were important. "The end of mandatory military service for shapeshifters," he said, the words finally coming to his mind. It had been an unpopular decision back then because people didn't want shapeshifters without the military's leash. They thought they were too dangerous for civilian life. Larek's words at the Summit echoed from the past: I told you, you were trying to do too much too soon, that change takes time. But you wouldn't listen.

No, Zan hadn't listened, not when those decisions were the right ones.

"Khivar brought it back the very next day after he executed you," Ash said, bitterly. "You were—you are the best opportunity we have to be recognized as equals."

"Is that why you are here, too?" Max asked Violet, who was navigating between cyclists, taxis, and unruly pedestrians.

"No, although that is important, of course. We weren't born when you ruled, your Highness, but we've heard the tales, searched the records. Van believes you are the rightful ruler precisely because you did many things like The Shifter Declaration. Antar wasn't ready for it then, but it is more than ready now. Van says it's your vision that guides him, and you should be the one to see it forward."

"You're following Van's dream."

Violet shook her head. "I'm here to see if that dream has a chance to become a reality."

"Smart thinking," he said, making her blush. "What about the others? Shade and…Jet?"

"Jet is…a pragmatic man," Violet diplomatically said. "Basically, he'll believe you're the right ruler once he sees you ruling."

"But," Ash added, "he's here because he believes the Rebellion will win, one way or another."

"So he's basically checking out Khivar's replacement," Max said with the ghost of a smile.

The last of his Invisible Guards was also in the car, Max remembered, but his duty was to remain hidden at all costs, except when Zan's life was in imminent danger.

"Shade," Max called, "you have permission to show yourself."

Out of the car's ceiling, a form dropped on the seat beside him, in the exact creamy color of the upholstery as it took human shape. A Latino teenager with deadly serious eyes formed. Danger emanated from him. This kid was capable of anything, absolutely anything.

He's not a kid, Max reminded himself, and his job is to keep me alive.

"Your Highness," Shade said in a soft voice. Being always invisible had to be hard, Max thought. A rule meant to protect the king that disregarded any discomfort for the shapeshifter. The kind of rule that Zan would abolish.

"Why did you join the Rebellion, Shade? Why are you here?"

"I like playing hide and seek," Shade said with a small smile. "Under Khivar's ruling, I've seen many things while hiding, things that those below him will help blossom. I seek change, your Highness, the kind that scorches evil to its roots. In my wanderings, I found the Rebellion, and I've seen the kind of desperation in their eyes that I've seen in mine. They are my kin, your Majesty, my family. In order to protect them, I protect you."

For freedom, for family, for the future. All heavy burdens on any leader's shoulders, all worthy causes to fight for.

"And you all think that I'm the man you're looking for?"

Violet exchanged glances with Ash. Beside him, Shade tensed. They were dangerously walking a fine line between speaking their minds and committing treason.

"We've watched you for six years, Your Highness," Violet started. "As I said, we know you're conflicted. You built a life on Earth before you knew about Antar, one that taught you about hardships and living in fear of what you are, much the same we live in fear as shapeshifters. We know how fiercely you protect yours, how passionately you love—and how well you can lie. You're a complicated person. Antar is a complicated place that needs a king who's lived a complicated life. Max or Zan, we know one thing for certain: you will do what's best for Antar."

And therein lay the problem, didn't it? It was not about Zan and definitely not about Max. It had always been about the planet that had created him, that fought a gruesome civil war, that still called him back home. It had always been about Antar, and no matter who he chose to be, his decisions would always impact an entire planet.

After all this time, it seemed like his destiny would always catch up with him.