I'd Come For You

"So if you're ever lost and find yourself all alone,

I'd search forever just to bring you home.
Here and now,

it's a vow."

I'd come for you, by Nickelback

Ariadne could still taste the chloroform on her lips. She woke with a mild hangover. Her son was sleeping in the little crib beside her. She read over Arthur's note with disgust. How dare he just decide to leave her behind like this? To make it worse, he blamed it on their son.

She couldn't be to angry at him and the others. How would they have managed Alexander while defeating Hecate? Leaving her behind had been sensible. It had also been smart not to waste time trying to convince her to stay.

She heard noises on deck. The Architect took a quick look at her son to make sure he was still sleeping, before going to greet her husband and the Team. Hopefully they would have good news.

Sybil snapped open her eyes. The world she had created was gone and the harsh reality of the waking world was all around her. She was breathing hard as the power of the dream left her body. She was ordinary again. A shade.

The Control looked around the room at the rest of the Team, waking. They slowly worked themselves out of the dream. She counted them as they returned. Cobb was out, Arthur was out, Eames was out, Nolan was out, Hecate... there was an empty chair beside Nolan.

"Where's Hecate?" Sybil asked, her body snapping alert. A primal animal scream came from beside her as the Beast flew at the Control. Hecate brandished a large hunting knife that rose in the air and fell, Sybil barely had time to react. The first blow of the knife hit hard and barely missed her. Sybil finally felt the rush of adrenaline she had only felt in the dream world before. A need to stay alive.

Her hands were over Hecate's as the two women fought for control of the knife. The Beast was possessed. Wherever it was she had gone through in the dream, had driven her insane. She wheedled the knife again, when gun shots rang out in the room. Hecate's body fell heavily on Sybil as hot sticky blood was let lose to pool over her.

Sybil was breathing hard as Eames was at her side. Arthur and Cobb were pulling Hecate off her. Nolan held the gun he killed the Beast with, securely over Hecate's body.

"She's dead." Cobb said checking for a pulse. Nolan still stood over her, breathing hard.
"Are you alright Little One?" Eames asked, helping Sybil to her feet. She looked down at her shirt, now soaked in hot, ruby red blood.

"It's not my blood." She whimpered. Tears falling down her face. For the first time, since leaving Limbo, she felt something.

"Where are we?" Arthur growled.
"In a hospital." Nolan said as Sybil tried to compose herself. Eames had an arm around her. "Circe." He added pointing to the bedridden woman.

"That's Circe?" Cobb asked in disbelief.

"We have to go." Arthur said standing up, not looking at the sleeping form in the bed. "Those men are still coming after my family."

With a renewed sense of purpose, the Team left the sleeping hospital. The Point Man shed his blazer and gave it to Sybil to put on. They were approaching the heavily populated streets. Her clothes were still covered in Hecate's blood. The last thing they needed was the sight of all the blood to bring unwanted attention.

Ariadne knew right away the men on deck were not her Team. Cobb stomped around when he walked. Eames had a swagger that made shushing noises across the wooden deck. Arthur's footfalls were long, light and purposeful. Who these men were, she had no idea. She stood in the narrow little galley, hidden from view and looked at the hatch to the deck. It had been locked from the outside and someone was testing the knob. They were trying, and failing, to be quite. Ariadne felt her heart start to race.

She thought briefly that it might be the harbor master. But no one had called out for permission to come aboard. The Greeks invented the maritime arts. They, above any other people in the world respected the basic laws of all sea fairing vessels.

Ariadne had went back to the little room she had shared with Arthur. Their baby was still sleeping soundly. As quietly as she could, she locked the bedroom door. Whatever was going to happen, she had to protect her son. She had to protect their son.

Arthur had hidden a small hand gun in the galley that he thought she didn't know about. The door of the Hatch was being worked on. The outside intruders were attempting to break into the galley and when they did, there was no place she could hide. No place she could run to.

'The Minotaur' was a classic sailing yacht. Small areas and tight passages. It had almost none of the grand space and luxuries of modern boats. Almost no technology other then the basics required by maritime law. Which made it the perfect place to go off the grid, but the worst place in the world to be trapped.

Ariadne looked at the hatch door and felt a sick panic course though her veins.

The Point Man had run, flat out from the sleeping hospital to the docks. The rest of his Team were behind him but barely able to keep up. They had reached the crowded docks when they heard the first gun shots.

There was screaming. Arthur found himself pushing past a torrent of people attempting to get away from the harbor. He heard several more shots then. 'Beretta, 9 mil pistol' Arthur thought, listening to the sounds. It was the gun he hid in the galley. 'How did she find it?'

Then he saw it. The graceful little ship at the end of the harbor. There were men on the deck trying to get inside to the lower deck. Trying to get to his wife. Trying to get to his son.

Without clear or rational thought, Arthur had scaled the barriers and leaped onto the deck. The Point Man was on one of the Keepers before the man knew what was happening. He heard screams coming from below decks and more gun shots. The Point Man had no weapon on him as he fought the Keeper off and into the water. Nolan was quickly by his side, shooting at another Keeper who had pulled a gun out. The American Point Man rapidly took the weapon from the dead Keeper and threw it to Arthur.

Inside the tiny claustrophobic living area, Arthur herd his son crying. He heard his wife scream again and shouting as the gun went off again. Then, they were before him. A burly keeper had Ariadne in front of him. Using her as a shield.

Arthur felt Nolan's presence beside him then. The American Point Man was a comfort even though they had just met.

"Let her go!" Arthur barked at the Keeper.

"No!" The Keeper said with dull watery eyes and a frightened look on his face. "You let us go, then I'll release the woman."

Arthur looked down at the Keepers feet. A body of yet another Keeper was there. The Architect had successfully fended off at least one of her attackers. Arthur returned his cutting stare at the man who held a gun to his wife's head.

"It's to close in here, sir." Nolan whispered. Arthur nodded. It was a signal. The American Point Man knew that they should let the Keeper have some room. They were not giving up Ariadne, just allowing the Keeper to think he was being let go. The two men lowered their guns and parted to allow the Keeper and his hostage out of the galley.

"It's okay." Arthur whispered to Ariadne as the Keeper roughly pushed her past the two men. The Keeper hid behind the tiny Architect as he reached the steps leading to the deck. Arthur knew Cobb and the rest of the Team would be waiting. He hoped they would not miss the opportunity.

They didn't miss it. The Keeper and Ariadne exited the galley to an empty deck. To an empty harbor. Neither one of them saw Cob or Eames jump from behind the helm and tackle the cowardly little Keeper to the ground. Sybil appeared just as Ariadne was released and pulled her away from the struggle.

Perhaps Sybil knew something.

Perhaps, as Sybil always seemed to know these things, she pulled Ariadne away for a reason.

Perhaps she knew the fight remaining in the last Keeper.

Perhaps she knew he still had the gun.

She only had time to pull Ariadne away as the Keeper fired his weapon in a futile struggle to break free. The bullet, was just in time to hit Arthur in the chest as the Point Man emerged from below decks.

The next chapter starts with a very lovely poem called "The Death of King Arthur" By Tomas Percy.