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 Max pulls out the apron and immediately has a flash to the day Liz got shot. He feels the immediate shock and burn Liz felt, the metallic taste in his mouth. He almost buckles as Liz crumbled and fell to the floor of the Crashdown. He drops the apron back into the bag.
"Where did you get this?"
"It was not an accident Liz was shot."
"How long have you known?"
"The ancestry of the Parkers had been a deeply guarded secret for a very long time."
"Did Nasedo know?"
"Of course. Our intention was always to bring you to Roswell."
"But someone didn't want that to happen."
"No."
"So I'm responsible for Liz getting shot."
"No, Max. You're not."
"Is that why Liz and I have this special connection?"
Charles smiles.
"I think that's called love, Max."
"And Tess, did I love Tess, too?"
"Zan and Max are two different people, Max."
Max nods.
"I don't remember anything about Antar ... except for what Tess showed me. Is any of it real?"
"I can't tell you that, Max. Only you know ... in your heart."
"Why can't I remember anything on my own?"
"You will."
"What I have with Liz ... I don't want to lose that."
"You won't."
"How can you know that?"
"You didn't love Tess, did you?"
 Maria and Liz descended the stairs at the Crashdown. Breaktime was over. Maria straightened her apron and checked the pocket for her order book.
"Don't forget the order book," said Liz.
"I got it. It's right here."
"Not THAT one."
"Oh, yeah, right."
"Now all I have to do is ... "
Mr. Parker walked in from the kitchen.
The girls pull up short.
"Liz, I need to talk with you."
Maria and Liz exchange a furtive look.
"Yeah, sure, Dad."
Maria put her hand on the door to the front of the restaurant, hesitating to see what was going to happen. Liz pushes Maria through the door and whispers.
"I'll catch up with you later, after shift."
Liz turns to face her dad.
Michael flipped a couple of burgers on the grill as Maria shouted out for an order.
"I'm going as fast as I can," said Michael, filling an order of Saturn Rings.
"Not the Saturn Rings trick," complained Maria.
"Just give it to them."
"They're not going to be happy," Maria warns.
"It's free. No one objects to free."
Michael turns back to the burgers and swears. He's burned them again.
Liz and her dad are sitting on the couch.
"Your mother said you wanted to ask me something."
Liz frantically tries to remember. Her head's in a whirl.
"Something about a class assignment."
A light bulb switches in her mind.
"Oh, yeah, right. We have to do this project on our families ... who they were, what they did, kind of like a family history."
Mr. Parker's face brightened.
"Well, I know that Grandpa ran Parker's in the 1940's," continues Liz gingerly, trying not to raise any suspicions, " but I don't know anything about his parents or even Grandma. I was kind of hoping you might be able to help me."
He nodded.
"I think we can find a few things that might help you out. Where do you want to begin?"
Maria enters the kitchen.
"I told you they wouldn't be happy. They're asking for you."
"It's not my problem. Send Liz's dad out."
"He's busy."
"All they're going to do is bust my chops. I don't need that. I get that from you."
Maria whacks his head.
"Get out there. I'll watch the grill." Maria grabs the spatula and pats the burger until the grease pours out and sizzles on the hot grill.
Michael reluctantly steps back from the grill and takes off his apron slowly.
"Go, go," said Maria, "I've got customers out there to serve."
Michael enters the restaurant and heads to the booth where there are three men and a woman sitting with an empty basket of Saturn Rings. Great, tourists, he thinks when he sees all three in sunglasses and the latest in runway fashions.
"You the chef?" says one, his shades hiding his eyes.
"Something wrong with the food?"
"You are Michael Guerin, aren't you?" says the woman looking very trendy, very smart.
Michael suddenly realizes this is not about food. He pauses, and then says, "Yeah, what of it?"
"You called us."
Max wanted desperately to see Liz. He felt totally out of his depth with this alien who he knew so little about. Charles apparently loved his position ... that is, to intimidate Max. He was at a decided disadvantage with this lack of memory.
"You're afraid of who you are," said Charles, a statement of fact.
Yes, Max thought to himself, he was. He was so petrified of his past, that in becoming Zan, he would lose Max and in turn, Liz. Sometimes he didn't want to remember. He took "Among Us" from Charles' offered hand and reshelved the book.
"Don't be," continued Charles. "In spite of what you have heard, Zan was a good man."
Max flushed a little. He wasn't sure this wasn't some attempt at flattery, a ploy to make Max let down his guard.
"If you are going to fulfill your purpose in life, you must embrace Zan, Max."
"Is that a good thing?" asked Max. "Zan ... I brought about chaos to my world. I know nothing about Antar and its problems. I'm not a leader."
"But you are," returned Charles, "even if you don't acknowledge it. Who do your friends and family turn to for answers? You. Who makes the decisions? You. With time and good advice, you will be a great king. We are all here to help you, Max."
"How can I trust you? We trusted Nasedo ... and even, Tess. If it hadn't been for Liz, Maria, and Kyle, our own people would have turned us in to Kivar for what? Power, money?"
"Trust yourself first, Max. Then you will know who to trust."
"Who are you people?" asks Michael.
"You're the one who activated the underground, Commander. You should know who we are, Michael, or should we call you Rath?" said the second man. "But for the formality of address and this world, this is Zandra, Martin, and I'm John."
"This isn't the place to talk."
"Come to this address," chimes Zandra, handing Michael a slip of paper.
"Come alone," adds John. "And about those burgers...”
So what had she learned from her conversation with her dad thought Liz. Only that there was nothing apparently unusual about her family. Peter Parker had been a strong, but kindly man who had lived and died in Roswell. No interaction with aliens. Nothing to even suggest that he knew anything about his heritage. He lived in ignorance of who he was, just as her father. In fact, it appeared that way for generations. The Parkers were partly of Native American ancestry, but like most Americans, she was a Heinz 57 variety citizen -- a melting pot of many ancestral mixes. No one famous, just shop and saloonkeepers, merchants, farmers, and hunters. No royalty here. Nothing to even suggest that Liz was even remotely tied to one of the most fabulous mysteries of the southwest, "the Star Child." But here, in her hand, was her DNA analysis making her a bonafide alien and a bonafide human. Whatever alien history existed in her family had to be long before 1928. It was ancient and forgotten history. Liz would probably never know the truth. ... Yet somehow Grandma Claudia knew. She was a 17-year-old budding archeologist with a huge secret, a member of an underground railway that was protecting EBEs. An archeologist who studied ancient Native American populations and examining its lost treasures all the way back to pre-Columbian times. All this time, Liz had been looking for a physical object like the healing stones and here it was, she, Liz Parker, was the missing 5th treasure. Did someone in the underground tell her about the Parkers? Did she find out on her own? Was that why she studied Native American archaeology? To confirm the anthropological history of the Parkers? And what did she know about Liz's own destiny? "You remind me of me when I was your age." The phone ringing broke Liz's thoughts.
"Hello."
"Liz, it's Max."
"Max, what's up? You sound worried."
"I'm at the UFO Center. Can you meet me here at four?
"Yeah, sure. Is anything wrong?"
"I have something I need to tell you."
"So do I," said Liz, picking up the her DNA analysis.
Maria stuffs her uniform into her locker as Michael comes in from the kitchen.
"Rough day?" asks Maria.
"What?"
"You seemed to been having a bad day in the kitchen ... you know, burning burgers and what not."
"I have a lot on my mind."
"Like what?" asked Maria, closing her locker and leaning on the door, all ears.
"Alien stuff."
"What's going on, Michael? Come on, you know you can't hide anything from me."
Michael looks at Maria. He knows that Maria won't let go unless he spills his guts.
"You promise to keep your mouth shut."
"Promise," confirms Maria, holding her right hand up and crossing the fingers of her left hand behind her back.
"I've been contacted."
"What do you mean, 'contacted'?" says Maria, straightening up.
"The underground."
"WHAT? When? Where?"
"You know those touristy types that were complaining about the service?"
"Yeah, so ..."
"They weren't tourists. I'm meeting them at four."
"Michael, you can't. Not alone. Let me go with you."
"No, it might be dangerous."
"Then call Max."
"They said, 'Come alone.'"
"Michael, there's three of them. You might need help."
"They're friends, okay. Like Riverdog."
"You are going to get in sooo much trouble."
"Well," said Michael, slamming the door of his locker, "I can handle it."
"Michael!"
He ignores Maria and walks out the back exit. Maria looks at her clock. No time. She follows Michael out the back door and runs for her Jetta.
Liz descends the stairs of the UFO Center. It always seems creepy and claustrophobic at night. Sickly green and sinister. No tourists, no carnival atmosphere at night. And there seemed to be aliens everywhere. Max was out front adjusting one of the lights.
"Is Brody back, yet?"
"No," said Max.
"Aren't you worried about him?"
"He said he'd be gone for two weeks."
"And who knows when he'll be back. You said he thought that he was going to disappear again."
"He's in safe hands with Larek."
"Now that Larek knows who you are, I should think that he'd want to stay here."
"Maybe there's some interplanetary conference going on."
"Not funny."
"I know."
Max pauses in his work.
"I have something of yours," says Max.
"Mine?"
He gives her the bag that he hasn't let out of his sight since Charles gave it to him. Liz looks inside and sees the apron. She doesn't know whether to be shocked or relieved.
"How long have you had this?"
"Today."
Alarm spreads across Liz's face.
"Where did you get it?"
"Mr. Seligman's friend. He's an alien. He dropped by the UFO center today. He knows."
Liz pulls the her DNA analysis from her oversized bag.
"Then that could explain this."
Max reads the first page. Liz is surprised by Max's reaction when it dawns on her. They stare at each other and in unison, say ...
"You know."
Maria was getting good at tailing cars. Currently, she followed Michael ... a car or two behind him, so he couldn't see her red car. But she knew he wouldn't be looking. He'd be too preoccupied with making the meeting. She fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. Once in her hand, she deftly turned on the phone, pressed the speed dial for Liz.
Liz's phone rings. She pulls it from her bag and answers.
"Maria, what's going on?" Max moves closer to Liz when he hears the tone in her voice.
"It's Michael," she says to Max. He takes the phone.
"Thank God, Max, you're there. Michael's gone to meet these people. I think they might be aliens or something. He and I went up to the cliff dwelling ..."
"What? I told him to wait."
"You know Michael."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know where's he's going, but I'm tailing him, boss."
"Where are you now?"
"Citrus and Vine."
"Okay, I'm putting Liz on the phone. We're leaving right now. You tell Liz where you are and we'll be right behind you."
He hands the phone to Liz and they run for Max's car.
Michael pulls into the empty parking lot of what appears to be an empty warehouse building. He looks around. He sees none. He turns the engine off and dismounts, looks around the side for an entrance. He tries a couple of door before he decides to open it, alien-style. He scans the area to make doubly sure he is alone before he unlocks the door. Michael slips inside. The room is large, cavernous even. His steps echo on the floor.
"Hello," he shouts. Silence.
"Hello," he repeats. "Anybody! Are you here?"
"You don't have to shout," says Zandra.
Michael whirls around. He had heard not her steps.
Martin and John step up from behind, left and right to the side of Zandra.
"It's a great honor to finally meet you," says Zandra. "We've been waiting a long time for this day."
"Who are you people?" asks Michael.
"We are friends," says Zandra.
"Of the underground," explains Martin.
"We knew you would find us one day," continues Zandra.
"It's your destiny, Michael," states John, "that you should finally come to us. We have come to you to help you secure your rightful place."
"We are, were friends of Courtney," says Martin.
"Courtney. You're Skins."
"She said you would come to us one day," says Zandra. "Courtney always knew. She believed."
"What do you want from me?" asks Michael.
"We are here to serve you," said John.
"Serve me how."
"We can take you back." says Martin.
"To Antar." says Zandra.
"We have an army in waiting," conveys John. "Large enough to overthrow Kivar and make you king."
"That is what you want, isn't Michael?" asks Zandra.
"Michael!" It's Max's voice.
"You were followed!" exclaims John angrily.
Michael turns to face Max, Liz and Maria are with him. He turns back to Zandra, John, and Martin. All three have disappeared.
"Michael, what are you doing?"
"I had to find out who they were, Maxwell."
"And just who are they?"
"Friends of Courtney,"
"Michael worshippers?" says a surprised Maria.
"Skins," says Max. "How do you know it wasn't a trap?"
"How do you know Chuckie isn't cheese?"
Max frowned.
"We'll talk about this later. A lot has happened today. We should just all head back to your place and regroup. I'll call Isabel and tell her to meet us there."
Zandra, Martin and John sat in the moisture chamber, feeding their skins the necessary moisture needed to adapt to desert living. Their skins itched fiercely, but it was all they had for the moment. They did not have much time left before they would die or have to leave. Either way meant a certain death, especially if they returned to Antar without Michael. Kivar would easily overrun their scattered army. They needed Michael to unite their forces. Their rebellion was failing.
"What do you think of our leader?" asked John.
"We've planted the seed," said Zandra.
"Do you think he will act?" asks Martin.
"We will have to see where his loyalty lies."
"You're a fool, Michael," chides Isabel, visibly upset.
Here it comes, Michael thought.
"What made you think you could do this on your own? What about the rest of us? Didn't you THINK?"
"We just can't sit on the sidelines anymore, Isabel, whatever you and Max and Liz and Maria think. We're exposed. We can't hide anymore. We have to act."
"Cool your jets, Space Boy," says Maria.
"What do you suggest?" asks Max.
"The people in the underground are here to help us. I say we contact them head on."
"You're already done that ... to the endangerment of all of us."
Michael frowned.
"Max, maybe Michael is right," says Liz. "
"I can't believe you're saying this," returns Max.
"Listen to her, Max."
"You know what Charles told me. We can't trust these people. Too much time has passed."
"And yet you trust him?" says Michael.
"It does give us one advantage," says Liz. "We can learn a lot from them, the good ones and the bad ones."
"It's too dangerous."
"Yes, it's risky, but Michael's already summoned them. It's too late to stop them from coming. It's better if we know who they are -- Skins, humans, aliens."
"They know who we are," says Isabel. "We won't always know them."
"Maybe, at first. But when they do come, then we can learn their agenda ... if they have one. And maybe, we'll find out what's really happening on Antar."
"Know the enemy, Maxwell," said Michael.
"And keep friends close. My friends are here in the room."
"Then we're agreed?" asks Michael.
"For now," says Max.
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