A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the long delay, everyone! Please don't throw things at me!

I had the first part of this (the Kelsie running part, up till Riley calls Ben) written not long after I posted 9, and then I was stuck. That's why the first part after that is kind of sarcastic; I was forcing myself to write. Then, I wrote off and on in spare moments and got it written out, but not typed. Then I kinda forgot. Yes, I forgot about my story! I got caught up with school and work and just...forgot. Sorry! But! Here is proof of the power of reviews: I got a 3 last week begging me to update (PropheticIllusion even reviewed on chapter 7, just to get another one in) and it REMINDED ME! See, they really do help!

Oh, and at the end, they're all sitting at a table. You kinda need to know where they're all sitting to understand some of the stuff in this chapter and the next one. I tried to explain it in the descriptions in the story, but just in case, they're sitting around a big round table in this order, going clockwise: Kelsie, Larry, Melissa, Abigail, Ben, and then Riley. (so Riley's still sitting next to Kelsie) I hope that makes sense!

Disclaimer: I fully disclaim anything to do with the original National Treasure movie, and/or the sequel (which is out in 27 days!!!), and also Larry. And the museum.

Have fun with Chapter 10, finally!

Oh my gosh, it's real! – No, it isn't! – Yes, it is! – No! It's just a silly children's story! Kelsie turned all her attention to running, pushing all the contradicting thoughts out of her mind and preventing herself from being able to fully absorb what had just happened. She wasn't even paying attention to where she was going; she was simply moving as fast as humanly possible away from the frightening truth, away from reality. Until now, she had never believed the old stories her mother used to tell; she thought they were just that – stories. But every myth, every legend is born from a grain of truth; this legend had remained whole and intact, untainted by the alterations that time all-too-often bestows on similar tales.

Out of breath and out of energy (she never was much of an athlete), Kelsie slowed to a stop to rest her lungs. She happened to notice that she had stopped right in front of Riley's Ferrari. How on earth did I end up here? she said to herself, not realizing she'd spoken aloud. For reasons she couldn't begin to explain if she tried, she whirled around, prepared to ignore the painful protests of her burning lungs and aching legs, and start running again.

She had barely moved a step when a pair of hands caught her by the shoulders, holding her firmly in place. "Kelsie, what's wrong?" Riley asked. "Why did you run off like that?"

"I…I-" Kelsie stammered, looking at her shoes. "It's real," she finally whispered, and she broke down sobbing.

"Shh, calm down," Riley soothed. "Come here, it's okay." He pulled her to him, put his arms around her, and just let her cry.

-OK, I'll tell you what. Next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, you make the call on the finder's fee.

-That's not as funny. What do you care? You got the girl.

-It's true.

-It's true.

Ben got the girl. And that made all the difference, Riley realized. That's why the money didn't matter as much to him. Riley got it now. He would gladly give every penny of his "half of one percent" if it would help Kelsie stop crying. And yet, that wasn't quite it, either – he wanted to fix whatever was making her cry in the first place.

After a few minutes, the tears stopped, but Kelsie didn't move for fear Riley would let her go. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to stay there and have him continue to hold her, because she had never felt safer anywhere than right there, in his arms.

But he did let go. They couldn't stand there forever, no matter how much Kelsie wanted to. Riley pulled back and asked, "Now, what's going on? What's 'real?'" Kelsie said nothing, but lifted her gaze to meet his. Deep sapphire eyes met bright (albeit red and puffy), green ones and an understanding passed between them. Something in her expression told Riley that whatever was going on, it was big. It was, "Riley, buddy, how would you like to blow this windowless cubicle and help us find a ship?" big.

Here we go again…

Riley lifted his hand and used his thumb to gently wipe the remaining tears from Kelsie's cheeks. "Do want to tell me about it now, or wait and tell everyone all at once?" he asked.

Kelsie took a deep breath and looked away. "I just want to do this once," she admitted in a small voice.

"OK," Riley murmured, equally softly. He unzipped his hoodie, pulled it off and wrapped it around her shoulders. Guiding her the five steps to his car, he opened the passenger side door. "Here, get in," he prompted. "We're going to Ben's." He closed the door, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed.

After Riley left to find Kelsie, the other four decided that it might me a good idea to go somewhere, instead of just standing outside on the grass doing nothing. So they all went to Ben's house, or mansion, or whatever it was, where they could sit around the massive, tastefully decorated room, and still do nothing. At least they all felt like they were being more productive.

The silence was broken by a vaguely familiar tune – it sounded strangely like the theme song to the Indiana Jones movies. Both Larry and Melissa looked around, wondering if they were hearing things, but Abigail threw Ben an incredulous look. "You didn't," she accused. Ben had the decency to liik slightly sheepish as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "One reporter," Abi went on, "from one stupid article suggested once that you could possibly be compared to a modern-day Indiana Jones, and you go and make the movie's THEME SONG your RINGTONE?!?!?" She spoke in that really calm, controlled voice that is scarier than shouting, at least until the end when she actually shouted.

Ben blinked. "Um, yeah," he confirmed. "Can I answer it now? It's Riley."

Abigail sighed. "I suppose so." She would have to remember to have a talk with him and his over-inflated ego later.

"Okay. Hello? Yeah, uh-huh….well, actually, we're already over here. Yep, all four of us…okay, no problem. All right, see you soon. Bye." He put the phone away to give them all the update. "He found Kelsie – she's okay, but she seeps pretty shaken up about something. They're coming back here so she can tell us something. I have no idea what, and neither does Riley, so…that's all."

Larry looked around for a second, then said, "Um, I have a suggestion. Abigail, this is going to sound really strange, but I think you should take your ring off before they get here."

Abigail twisted her engagement ring around her finger absently and said nothing. Ben was more suspicious. "Why? What do you know?" he demanded.

"Look, I'm not going to pretend to know exactly what's happening here, okay, although I do think I might have an idea," Larry defended. "Either way, it's Kelsie's story, not mine, and all I'm saying is I think Abigail should take off her ring and put it somewhere safe before Riley comes back with Kelsie, okay?"

Ben was not satisfied by this, though he did not show it. Only Abigail noticed the subtle signs that he was still suspicious. She knew, though, that he was just being protective of her and that he was still on-edge from the events that evening. It had to have been absolutely nerve-wracking, asking her something so big, not knowing how she'd react. For all her feminist ideals, Abi was secretly glad that society still considered it the man's job to propose marriage. She knew she would never have the guts to put her heart on the line like that.

"I think he's right," she found herself saying, still fiddling with her ring. Slightly startled to realize she'd spoken aloud, and just a bit alarmed to find everyone looking at her, Abi explained, "Well, Kelsie was perfectly fine one minute, then she all of a sudden gets upset and runs away when I'm showing off my ring. Maybe she has a fear of jewelry. I don't know if that's really what made her run off, but I don't see what it would hurt to put this away for an hour while she talks to us." Abigail slipped the band off her finger and handed it to her fiancée. "Keep this safe for me, sweetie," she whispered so only he could hear. "And don't you dare lose it – I want it back." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and stood up. "I'm going to go make tea," she announced. "We could all use a warm drink right now."

"I'll help!" Melissa quickly offered. "What does everyone want?"

"Coffee," said Ben and Larry at the same time. They looked at each other strangely, then they both burst out laughing, the unspoken between them now gone. Melissa very wisely ignored them both and followed Abigail.

"So, what would you like?" Abigail asked her. "Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?" She poured water into the coffeemaker and hit "Start."

"Chamomile tea is fine. But I know Kelsie would prefer hot chocolate."

Abi nodded, grinning. "Riley's the same way. That third door there is his, it should have hot chocolate in it."

Melissa opened the closet and found it jam-packed with chips, candy, Nesquick, and various other snacks. "Does Riley live here?" she asked, shuffling through all the junk foods until she found the can of hot chocolate mix.

"No." Abi smiled. "Neither do I, but we're both over here so often, we each have our own collection of our favorite things." She opened the pantry cupboard next to Riley's, revealing a few containers of herbal tea and several other healthy snacks, though one shelf was devoted entirely to German chocolates. She took two bags of chamomile tea from one of the boxes. "So, Melissa," Abigail added, closing the door and turning to her friend, "you and Larry seem to be getting along pretty well." Leaving her comment hanging in the air, Abi grabbed the kettle from the stove and filled it up with water at the sink.

Melissa set the can of cocoa down on the counter. She didn't seem to notice quite how loud she'd set it down. "Where are the mugs?" she asked, ignoring the playful, teasing grin on Abigail's face, or the hint of color in her own cheeks.

"That cupboard over there," Abi told her, pointing. "Middle shelf." She watched, amused, as the young girl stalked indignantly over to the indicated cupboard, pulled out six mugs, and set them all on the counter next to the cocoa. Abigail shut off the water and set the kettle back on the stove, then continued with her teasing. "There's nothing wrong with that. I actually admire your taste. Larry's pretty good-looking, and he's got that fun, cheesy sense of humor."

"Shut. Up." Melissa muttered. Ripping the plastic off the teabags, she dropped them into two of the mugs and dumped hot chocolate powder into two more.

"He likes you, you know. Larry."

"He wha- Kelsie!" Any thought of the cute security guard and his potential feelings for her were forgotten when her friend appeared in the doorway. Kelsie was wrapped in Riley's navy blue hoodie and she clearly was still upset. She was followed closely by Riley, who had one arm around her shoulders protectively. Ben and Larry brought up the rear. "Are you okay? Are you all right? Do you want some hot chocolate?" Melissa asked.

Kelsie nodded and gave Melissa a small smile. "I'll get it," Riley told her. "Just sit down, right here." As he walked by her at the counter, Melissa searched the young man's face and saw only worry and concern. She sighed in resignation; Riley didn't know anything more than she did. None of them knew anything more.

Or so she thought. Larry had been watching Kelsie carefully. Outwardly, he appeared concerned, but his mind was flashing over all the legends he'd had to research in order to keep order at the museum, and one story in particular. He'd had his suspicions earlier, but now, looking at Kelsie, he felt more certain. "It's her, isn't it?" he asked her quietly. "Eistir."

Kelsie's head snapped up and she looked at him in surprise. "How do you–" she started to ask, but Larry shook his head.

"I'm familiar with the story," was all that he said. Riley handed Kelsie her mug of hot chocolate, then sat down next to her. Larry took a seat on her other side. Abigail and Melissa gave Ben and Larry their coffee before taking their chamomile tea and sitting down as well.

Everyone looked at Kelsie. Riley picked up her hand, squeezed it gently, and gave her a reassuring smile. She drained her mug of cocoa, took a deep breath, and stood up.

"Hi, everyone," she said. "I know that I've freaked all of you out tonight. I didn't mean to and I'm sorry. I've just had a bit of a shock to the system. One of those "my past has come back to haunt me" kind of things. Now, what makes this even stranger is that, except for Melissa, I've only just met all of you tonight; yet, except for Melissa, you have all managed to become deeply involved in this – well, whatever it is.

"I'm going to need your help, all of you – that is, if you agree you want to get involved. But in order for you to understand, I'm going to have to tell you a little story about my family. We're not exactly from around here. Okay, well, I was born in Ohio, but my parents and my older brother weren't born here in America." She took a deep breath before looking across the table, locking eyes with each of them one at a time, before making her next statement. "My family is from the planet Krypton."

A/N: A couple things...my brother Dylan mentioned breifly in chapter six...yeah, he's gonna be my older brother and his name won't be Dylan. That's what happens when your story runs away from you and does unexpected things. I wouldn't have even mentioned Dylan if I knew it would go and do what it's done...

About the name contest...er...I kinda messed up. Or my story messed up without me. I actually don't know if I'll need an Irish girl's name anymore, so E-clairs to everyone! Yeah...

So, new contest! Why does Larry seem to know so much? First person to guess correctly gets E-clairs and E-cookies!

The Randomist, signing off with one last note...please review!