A gasp escaped her lips as she did one last eye check. Max's gaze met hers directly, his eyes bright with life.

He sat up, then swung himself out of bed and strode over to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Liz almost fell into his arms, but then he started talking, and his words made her freeze.

"I was relieved that you broke up with me," he told her. "It saved me the hassle of trying to come up with something to say to you."

"What?" Liz took an involuntary step backward and smacked into the door, the knob digging into her spine.

"It was fun for a while-having a human girlfriend," he continued. "But now, through the consciousness, I've gotten to see what life's like at home, my real home. All I can think about is getting back there. And it's not as if I can take you with me, so…" He shrugged. "It's just as well we're officially not together."

"What?" Liz said again. It was Max talking. She was sure of it. Whenever the consciousness was in control of him, his face was totally lifeless. But now his eyes were blinking and sparkling; his skin looked healthy. He was totally there. But how could he say these things to her?

"What?" Max mocked with a smirk. "Listen. I'll spell it out for you. I don't love you. I never did. It was fun, but it's time for me to go back where I belong. I need the Stones. With them I can open a wormhole for the return trip."

"You never loved me?" The words felt edged with razor blades as they came out of her mouth. She was almost surprised not to feel blood on her lips.

"I. Never. Loved. You. Did I say it slowly enough for you to understand that time?" he asked. He was so close to her, she could feel his breath against her forehead as he spoke, smell the familiar Max smell of his body, see the subtle flecks of a deeper blue in his light blue eyes. Everything about him was so familiar. But it was as if he were a complete stranger.

"You're lying," she said, determination settling over her face. "I don't know why, but you're lying. Are you trying to protect me from something? Because I know that you love me. There was no way you could have been pretending. I would have felt it."

Max laughed, shaking his head as if she were a child. "There are a lot of girls who've said exactly those words to a lot of guys. What makes you think you're any smarter? Now, tell me where the Stones are, and I'll be out of your way."

Slowly Liz's brain regained some of its ability to function. The Stones. This was about the Stones. He'd said it twice now.

She narrowed her eyes and studied him. Yes, he looked awake, but she'd never seen his eyes so hard or his jaw so tight before. This wasn't Max standing in front of her, not really. It was the consciousness. The consciousness was trying to manipulate her emotions to get her to reveal the location of the Stones.

Liz was half relieved, half disgusted.

"I don't know where they are," she answered. Which was true. Not that she would have told the consciousness where to find them if she had.

"If you're thinking that you can change the way I feel about you by keeping me around, you're wrong," Max said harshly. "The longer I'm with you, the more clear it is to me that we could never have been anything more than short-term. My abilities, my capacities are so beyond yours that I'd never be satisfied by you."

It's not Max, she told herself. It's not him. But the words cut her to the bone.

"Tell me where the Stones are, Liz," Max pressed.

The sound of her name on his, no, its, lips sent a shudder through her. "I don't know!" she screamed.

Then the Max thing blinked and crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

Max fought against the ocean of auras above him. He had to break to the surface. He had to get to Liz.

But he wasn't strong enough. The auras bore down on him with the pressure of billions of gallons of water, pushing him deeper and deeper into the consciousness, farther and farther away from Liz.

"Liz!" he screamed with his mind. "Liz!"

But there could be no answer.

Max shot images out at the closest beings, images of pain and violation, trying to express how it felt for his body and brain to be used without his consent.

He felt some flickers of sympathy from the most distant beings. Clearly he was being kept away from any that might be tempted to help him. Then an image filled his mind-a picture of him using one of the Stones of Midnight to open a wormhole and return both Stones to his home planet. This image was immediately followed by another one-Liz's stricken face.

The image of Liz multiplied, each vision of her a knife slicing through his soul. The message was clear. Either Max returned the Stones to the home planet, or he would be made to hurt those he loved again and again.

Max let out a howl of fury. He hurled himself at the auras above him, using every ounce of energy and determination to fight his way through. He had to get out, find Liz, tell her he was sorry, tell her he loved her until his throat was raw.

But there were too many of them. Billions to his one. When they slammed him back down, he didn't bother trying to get up again.

THREE

Alex snapped his combination lock shut and headed down the hall. Whatever transformation had happened to him in the wormhole hadn't worn off. He was still getting looks from every girl he passed, looks that made him feel edible or something. It was kinda freaky. And very cool.

He caught sight of Maria turning the corner. She smiled when she saw him, and when she got closer, she started to fan her face.

"I don't know what it is," she said in a breathy voice. "Whenever I'm near you, I just turn all hot and swoony." Her eyelashes fluttered, and she dropped into a half faint.

"I'll have to start carrying those, whatdoyoucallems," Alex said as he caught her by the shoulders and pushed her upright. "Smelling salts."

Maria giggled and smoothed her blond curls behind her ears. "You better. Otherwise you're going to start getting sued by hundreds of girls who injure themselves fainting at your feet."

Cracking a grin, Alex crooked his arm around Maria's neck. "I want you to know that even though I'm a babe and everything, you're not going to have to slap me around again," he said, growing serious. "Anything that needs to be done to shatter the consciousness, I'm there."

Alex was still a little embarrassed by the way he'd abandoned the group when they were gearing up to go head-to-head with DuPris. He'd gotten so caught up with his newfound babe-magnet status, he'd forgotten what was important. At least until Maria had pulled him out of a theater in the middle of a date and reminded him.

"I know that," Maria said, looking him directly in the eye. "We all know that. Hey, everyone's entitled to an occasional screwup." She shrugged, lifting her hands. "If I'd suddenly become a sex goddess, I'm sure I would have been as big an idiot as you were."

"Gee, thanks," Alex replied. Arlene Bluth winked at him as she headed by. Alex winked back. Winked. Who did that?

"I didn't mean that in a bad way," Maria said in a rush. "Why not take advantage of what life gives you? I mean, life is short. Very short."

"Uh-huh," Alex said, trying not to laugh as Maria babbled.

"Unbelievably short. Like that." She tried to snap her fingers and failed. "Too much moisturizer," she muttered. "Anyway, you know what I mean. Short."

Her voice was starting to tremble, and her blue eyes were shiny with unshed tears. Whoa. Talk about going from zero to sixty in three seconds.

"Short, yeah," Alex answered, deciding that agreeing was a good strategy. "But Maria, you're only sixteen. I mean-"