Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure or any of the characters. I only own Arabella.

Chapter Thirteen: The Treasure

We all stood there a moment, contemplating the probable truth to Riley's statement.

" It's going to be okay, Riley." Ben said turning to him. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me. " I'm sorry I yelled at you and Riley." He then walked between us, back towards the lantern.

" It's okay, kiddo!" Patrick said, putting a hand on my shoulder and then smiling at Riley before he followed Ben.

" Okay, Ben, Patrick, what's going on? The British came by sea. It was two lanterns. You know that." I said following them, Riley and Abigail close behind.

" Ian needed another clue, so we gave it to him." Patrick said as he and Ben began to search the walls again. I smiled.

" You smart, smart dudes." I muttered, hearing Abigail giggle in disbelief.

" It was fake!" Riley said in realization.

" Indeed it was." I said smiling at Riley. He smiled back. " It was a fake clue!"

" The All Seeing Eye…" Ben muttered. I walked over and helped him clear the dust away from the faded painting on the wall.

" Through the All Seeing Eye." I said. Ben began to lightly knock against the stone. I helped him in trying to find a hollow space of some sort.

" But… that means by the time Ian finds out and comes back here, we'll still be… trapped… a-and he'll… shoot us then… either way we're going to die…" Riley informed us. I saw an odd looking lump of dust on the base of the stone and began to dust it off. There was a stone button.

" Nobody's gonna die." I said nudging Ben's arm and pointing to the button. He grinned at me. " There's another way out." Riley walked over, looking hopeful.

" Where?" Riley asked.

" Through the treasure room." Ben said, still grinning. He pushed a smaller eye shaped button and there was a puff of dust as the door dislodged from where it had been sitting for two hundred years. Ben grinned at all of us and handed his torch to the grinning Riley, who happily took it.

" Here!" Patrick said handing his torch to Abigail, and he and I walked over and began to help Ben push the door open. The door was extremely heavy and we all grit our teeth and pushed harder. Eventually we got the door open.

" Riley." Ben muttered, taking the torch from him. He walked in and I followed close behind. But as we walked in, our smiles fell. There was nothing. There was a small table coated in dust, dirt and cobwebs. A discarded vase lay on the floor and there were fallen lanterns and an ancient looking metal chandelier. Ben and I stood in the middle of the room, staring at the empty space around us.

" It looks like… someone got here first." Riley muttered.

" I'm sorry, Ben, Arabella." Abigail told us.

" It's gone…" Ben muttered, still in shock.

" We spent our whole lives looking for it…" I muttered. " I can't believe it…" I said running a hand through my now messy hair and let it rest on the back of my neck.

" Listen, Arabella, Ben-" Patrick began.

" It might not have been here been here before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates…" Ben muttered.

" It doesn't matter." Patrick said.

" We know…" Ben muttered.

" You were right." I added.

" No I wasn't. This room is real, Arabella, Ben. And that means that the treasure is real. We're in the company of some of the greatest minds in history because you two found what they left behind for us to find and understood the meaning of it! You did it, kids! For all of us!" Patrick looked specifically at Ben. " For your grandfather, and for all of us. And I've never been so happy to be proved wrong!" Patrick said with pride in his voice. Patrick had once told me he felt like I was the daughter he never had, and I always felt like he was my second father. I smiled at him and let out a breath that I had apparently been holding. Ben smiled a bit then let out a sigh, leaning against a small table for stability.

" I just… really thought we were going to find the treasure…" Ben said. I walked over to him and sat on the table beside him.

" So did I." I admitted.

" Okay. Then we just keep looking for it." Patrick said. Ben and I looked up at him in surprise. Was he really implying he was going to help us?

" I'm in." Abigail said. Ben looked over at her and we both began to smile.

" Okay." Ben and I said together.

" I hate to be Johnny Rain Cloud here," Riley said from where he was sulking in the corner. " But that's not gonna happen, because as far as I can see, we're still trapped down here." He pointed out. But that didn't make sense… there had to be some way out. Like… an emergency door in case of a cave-in or something.

" Yeah…" Abigail said with a sigh.

" So. Ben. Where's this 'other way out'?" Riley asked.

" You see that's were it doesn't make sense. There should be another way out. Like an emergency door." I said.

" Exactly. The first thing the builders would have done after digging down here was cut a secondary shaft back out for air." Ben said as Patrick began to search around.

" Right!" Patrick said.

" In case of cave ins." I added. We all began to search the walls and eventually we Ben pointed out a few circular metal pieces with carved designs on it on the wall. Ben handed his torch to Abigail and I helped him brush the dirt and cobwebs off of the metal pieces. Everyone else crowded around as Ben found a hollowed out piece. Ben seemed to recognize the shape seeing as he was staring intently at it, tracing the outline with his finger. He reached into his coat and took out what must be the meerschaum pipe.

" Could it really be that simple…?" Ben muttered. He looked down at the two pieces in his hand.

" The Secret Lies With Charlotte…" I muttered. We looked at each other for a moment before Ben placed the white ship-like carving into the carved out metal space. It fit perfectly. Everyone was silent with shock as Ben pressed the scroll half of the pipe's handle into a small circular hole. He took my hand and placed it on the handle and together we began to turn the metal piece. At the top of the circle, we heard a click and then we pushed the metal piece in. There was a gust of wind as another door opened. We all turned to where the gust of wind had come from and saw an open door. Patrick quickly walked through, followed by Abigail and Riley. Ben and I stood there in shock a moment.

Ben grabbed another lit torch off the wall and together we slowly and cautiously began to walk towards the door. As we rounded the corner and saw where Patrick, Riley and Abigail were standing, I felt my breath leave me. We walked into a crowded room full of statues, chests, candles, and countless other things. I covered my mouth. It was real. The treasure was real! I felt a few tears roll down my face as everyone began to walk off to explore, shock still evident on their faces. I turned to Ben and gave him the tightest hug I had ever given him. I looked at him.

" It's real. Ben, it's real! We found it!" I said with a grin on my face. He grinned back and hugged me again. I happily hugged back and wiped the tears off my cheeks. I pulled away from him and took a shaky step forward, into the treasure room. I saw Abigail marveling at what must be scrolls from the Library of Alexandria, judging by the hieroglyphs on the shelf they were placed on. I walked towards a table, and on top of that sat a large mask that I recognized as an Ancient Greek theatre mask. I smiled and gently brushed the dirt from it, revealing chipped paint. I stood there and thought about what plays this mask could have been used in. I looked back at Riley and saw him walking over to a tall jade (or it looked like jade) Egyptian statue of Osiris.

" It's a big… bluish-green man… with a strange looking goatee…" Riley grinned. " I'm guessing that's significant! He grinned even more and hugged the statue. I laughed and watched him. He pulled away from the statue, dust and cobwebs on his purple hoodie. He grinned and walked over to me and gave me a tight hug, which I returned, disregarding the dust.

When we pulled back we saw Ben looking down at a small dish in a small column. He put his hand in, picked up some black powder and let it fall through his fingers. Using the torch, he lit the black powder and there was a hissing sound as the flames traveled down a set path in a small wall. The fire traveled down the small wall, down a set of stairs, between two stone foo-dogs, and it continued winding for what seemed like forever, illuminating a bigger room full of even more treasure. I covered my mouth in shock as Riley and I ran to the railing.

There were treasures from all over the world. Patrick grinned.

" Yes!" I said in excitement, giving Ben a one armed hug before he hugged me. I then hugged Ben again, gave a quick one to Abigail and turned to face Riley. He opened his arms for another hug.

I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him. He seemed surprised for a moment, but came out of shock and kissed back. I wound my arms around his neck, and I felt his arms wind around my waist. I had never felt happier in my life. Riley's lips were soft, and I had expected nothing less. I pulled him closer and began to feel a bit light headed.

We both heard someone clear their throat. We both pulled back, but still held each other as we looked over at Ben, Abigail and Patrick. All of them were staring at us. Ben had an eyebrow raised, and was clearly the one who had cleared their throat. Ben was like my older brother, and he acted like it too. Patrick also acted like my father, so both of them were giving me the 'we'll talk about this later' look. Ben then looked at Riley and gave him another look, which clearly said 'and I'm talking to you later'. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks and I looked down at Riley's converse clad feet. I glanced over at Abigail, who smiled at me. I smiled back.

" Well now that that display of clear affection is over…" Ben muttered. Riley blushed and ran a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his head. Riley and I stepped away from each other and faced the room of treasure again. Riley spotted something and his eyes began to tear up.

" Riley?" I asked.

" Are you crying?" Abigail asked, still smiling.

" Look…" Riley said. " Stairs." We all spotted a set of stairs on the opposite side of the treasure room. Riley wiped at a tear on his cheek and I shook my head, resting it on his shoulder.

" Well, I say we get out of here, call Agent Sadusky, catch Ian and start trying to get this treasure out of here." Ben said smiling. I smiled back.

" Sounds perfect." I said.

We wound our way through the huge treasure room, occasionally stopping to look at a statue or at something else of interest- I could spend days looking at everything in that room. We followed Ben up the rickety stairs, and I was gripping onto Riley's hand, afraid of falling again. We walked through a door and up another passage way. We found a small crawl space, which must have been a fake tomb judging by the small space. Ben gave me the torch and he crawled up into the space. We heard Ben kicking something, and then a loud crack.

" Hi." We heard Ben say. " Do you have a cell phone I could borrow?" Ben asked. After a moment he said, " Thanks. Okay guys, you can come out." Ben called to us. We stamped out the torches and crawled through the tomb, back into the Trinity Church. I let out a happy sigh.

" We did it. And we're alive. This is the best day ever." I said grinning. Riley kissed my forehead and grinned back. Now all we had to do was wait for the FBI show up, and wait for our fate to be decided.

OOOO

Agent Sadusky was a very official looking man. He was wearing a pristine suit and tie, and he walked with a purpose. Riley, Abigail, Patrick and I all sat in a pew, and Ben sat at the front of the church. Sadusky walked up to Ben, who was holding the Declaration. Ben stood and as Sadusky walked up to him, he held it out to him.

" Just like that?" Sadusky asked.

" Just like that." Ben agreed with a nod.

" You do know you just handed me your biggest bargaining chip?" He asked again. Ben shook his head.

" The Declaration of Independence isn't a bargaining chip." Ben said truthfully. I nodded and crossed my arms, watching them. " Not to me."

" Have a seat." Sadusky said nodding to the stairs in front of the pulpit. Both Ben and Sadusky sat down. " So what's your offer?" He asked.

" Oh, how about a bribe?" Ben asked. What the Hell was he talking about? " Say, uh, ten billion dollars?" Oh, so he was referring to the treasure. Sadusky looked over at Ben.

" I take it you found the treasure." He said.

" It's about five stories beneath your shoes." Ben told him.

" Hm… you know, the Templars and the Free Masons believed that the treasure was too great for one man to have. Not even a king. That's why they went to such lengths to hide it." Sadusky said. Ben gave him a look of surprise.

" That's right." He said. " The Founding Fathers believed the same thing about government." I saw Patrick smile. " I figure the solution will work for the treasure too."

" Give it to the people." Sadusky clarified.

" Divide it amongst the Smithsonian," Ben sent a small smile my way, and I smiled back. " The Louvre, the Cairo museum… there's thousands of years of world history down there and it belongs to the world, and everybody in it." Ben said.

" You really don't understand the idea of a bargaining chip." Sadusky chided. Ben smiled and laughed a bit. Abigail, Riley and I laughed quietly as well. Ben certainly had a way of stalling things.

" Okay, here's what I want. Dr. Chase and Arabella Fletcher's records stay completely clean. Not one post-it note on their service records." I smiled at him and at Abigail.

" Okay." Sadusky said.

" And I want the credit of the find to go to the entire Gates family, with the assistance of Mr. Riley Poole and Miss Arabella Fletcher." Ben said. Riley and I smiled and I gave Riley a hug.

" And what about you?" Sadusky asked. Ben let out a sigh.

" I'd really love not to go to prison. I can't even begin to describe how much I would love not to go to prison…" Ben told Sadusky. He laughed quietly.

" Someone's got to go to prison, Ben." Sadusky said.

" Well, if you have a helicopter, I could help you with that." Ben said. I smiled. Looks like Ian was going to get what he deserved.

" I can get a helicopter. Who are we going after?" Sadusky asked.

" Ian Howe." Ben told him.

" Well, let's get right on that." Sadusky said standing. Ben smiled over at us and I smiled back and gave him a nod, still hugging Riley. This was turning out pretty well after all.

Afterword: WOO! This chapter is DONE! And officially on of my favorite chapters in this story! =D Soooooo there was more kissing XD They like each other! GO RIBELLA! (I give full credit to the name 'Ribella' to Phillipfan24. =D ) So I would like to thank my reviewers: Hawk's-GaL4077, ShayJaytheDJfromtheBay, and HeraOfTheStars. Thank you guys so much for reviewing! It always makes me happy to see reviews! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Reviews would be loved and cherished! Thanks!