C3: An awkward reunion

Oh God…she can't breathe.

What's happening?! What's HE doing here?! What about all these men?!

'Many…many questions.'

He was silent for a moment as he looked down at her and seemed to be doing the same thing as she. Looking at her face, mapping out the change and the similarities from the years they had been separated. Wondering if he moved and tilted his head, he could-

"Are you alright?"

'Not the same thing.'

She snapped herself out of her daydream and took a quick step back, dropping the sword to her side and feeling very startled.

"I-I am," she nodded hurriedly, feeling her heart beat rapidly inside of her, "but what-"

"Later. Come, I fear the others are in grave danger."

He turned from her and for a few seconds, she did not understand his words. But then remembered that, of course, there were other people in the house.

"Oh, God!" She exclaimed and quickly moved after him, "Evy!"

"There is no disturbance above yet, so we can assume they are not fighting, but we must hurry. Catch them by surprise."

Whilst he was speaking, his warm voice washed over her and despite her panic, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander. She saw his simple black robes had been replaced by a dark blue, covered with the most beautiful, silver patterns. She knew these designs meant a symbol of status. Of power. Somebody who had been chosen to lead. She had remembered what lay beneath those robes. A strong, muscular body that had held her and caused her to cry out, bringing her own body to the brink-

She pulled herself away from those thoughts, knowing this was not the time.

"Ardeth, what is happening?" She kept glimpsing behind them, afraid they would get ambushed by more of those brutes, "Who were those men and why-"

He held up his hand and stopped.

"Shh," he gestured with a nod of his head that up ahead, there was something occurring, "listen."

They walked slower, sneaking their way into the main foyer of the manor.

"Whoa mum, maybe not the BEST idea," she heard Alex first and readied the sword she had stolen from the man who had first attacked her.

"Alex, get back there!" Evy urged her son and Aida prepared herself for the attack.

"Definitely not the best idea," Alex sounded worried, "I think it's time to yell for dad now."

"Now I will kill you and take it anyway," an unknown voice said, just as Ardeth and Aida walked into the room.

"I think not."

Without any hesitation or fear, Ardeth walked off, in front of Evy as Aida then stood guard in front of Alex, who was standing and holding the chest for dear life.

They were confronted by at least eight other men in red, all with their swords drawn. But Evy was also armed, protecting her home, herself, and her son.

"Alex, you stay behind me," Aida told the boy and didn't wait for a reply as she held her sword up in what she hoped was a threatening manner.

"Ardeth, what are you doing here?!" Evy asked, just as perplexed as Aida but perhaps a lot calmer.

"Perhaps Explanation are best kept for later."

Aida scanned the group and knew the man that stood at the front as the leader. But his focus was solely on Ardeth. And he smiled in such a way that she just knew they had met before.

"Ardeth Bay," he said slowly, as though the name itself was poison on his tongue.

"Lock-Nah."

They know one another. And it sounds like they aren't on the best of terms.

There was a beat of silence as everyone readied themselves. Waiting.

And then Lock-Nah shouted one simple command and immediately, the group of men charged towards them. Two split off to Ardeth and the others ran for Evy, Alex, and Aida.

"RUN, ALEX!"

She glimpsed over her shoulder and luckily, Alex listened to her for once and he did just that. She turned back and concentrated on the men coming at her, their swords held high.

She spun around with her sword and with a powerful thrust, deflected the blow and elbowed the man in his gut.

A flurry of swords meant she had to fight two at a time, but she kept up nicely. Once she felt confident enough, she managed to catch glimpses of the others as they fought. Ardeth was, of course, fighting with his usual elegance and she had to quickly remind herself not to look too much, encase she get distracted.

Once she caught Evy though, she was as surprised as Alex was when he asked her how she learned some of the flips and swordsmanship she was showing. She'd seen some of the moves in training, but nothing as impressive as this!

Xx Five Years Ago xX

"Keep your guard up!" Rick shouted from the side and Evy just had time to sweep Aida's legs out from under her before she managed to land a blow. Unfortunately, both their legs got tangled up, and as Aida fell, so did Evy.

They ended up in a heap on the floor, but O'Connell was not so kind.

"You two ok? Good, you're still fighting!" He clapped them eagerly, urging them to get up, "Come on, attack!"

"Maybe making him coach was a mistake," Aida grunted and tried to turn herself over, but Evy had already swung herself on top and was pinning her friend down to the floor by her wrists.

"True, I think he gets more of a kick out of it," Evy struggled against Aida's grasp and made the mistake of straightening her back to look at her husband, "how is this?"

"Good, except," he waited until Aida actually managed to get her legs up and grasp Evy between them, pushing her back down before he continued, "now she's got you. You've got to stay alert."

Evy and Aida shouldn't really have complained, especially since it was their fault, they asked him to teach them. Since arriving back home and having their children, Evy had been worried about her inability to protect Alex. Aida and she immediately decided to do something about it and consulting Rick, he promised to not only teach them how to fight with their fists but with swords and guns as well. Today's training was hand to hand combat and whilst they did go easy on one another, it still left them exhausted and sore.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Evy said as both women laid flat out on their backs, trying to get their breathing steady again.

"Because we love our children and want to be strong and independent for them?" Aida groaned and rolled herself over, pushing herself up on all fours, "My back hasn't ached like this since after I gave birth!"

"Rest over, up!" Rick clapped his hands together and squatted down to look at them, "Come on, up, up, up!"

Both groaned but got themselves back up.

They fight again and again, until Sunset. Because no matter how sore they get, they will do it for their children.

Aida swung around and blocked a sword with one hand and with all the strength she could muster, but her other hand around to punch the man in the stomach.

When two more ran at her and she knew she couldn't take them both on at the same time, she ran for the nearest chair and jumped over it. Using her weight, she pushed it at the right moment, so it flipped up and then, smacked one of the guards in the legs. He tumbled forward and in an almost comedic manner, the other followed right behind him. But whilst they were down, she showed no mercy and kicked both in the faces, knocking them out.

She moved and stood close to Evy, making sure to protect her and Alex.

Speaking of…

"What's in the chest?!" Ardeth yelled out, almost as though he had read her thoughts.

"The bracelet of Anubis!"

"Do you ALWAYS have to bring back the stuff that might be cursed?!" Aida grunted and shoved a guy when he tried to wrestle her, kneeing him in the stomach and then, using the hilt of her sword to knock him out.

She could also hear sounds of heavy thuds from above, which meant Rick and Jonathan possibly had their own trouble.

"Mama?!"

Above the noise, an all too familiar voice called out to Aida.

Oh God…she'd forgotten about Amina!

She looked to the top of the stairs where her daughter was standing, looking down in bewilderment at the scene below.

"Amina, go back!" She called out, but it was too late. Unfortunately, her presence had been noticed by another one of the men and he immediately darted up the stairs after the child. With a scream, Amina fled, and the sound reached deep within Aida.

"AMINA!"

Like an animal, she ran and fought her way through, almost cutting a man's head off when he tried to get in her way.

Without looking to see if she was followed, she bounded up the stairs and caught up with the man, JUST as he had cornered her daughter at the end of the long hallway.

"HEY!"

He swiveled in surprise and just managed to raise his sword when Aida brought her own down. In a fierce stand-off, she let her anger come to the front and glared at him.

"Get away from my daughter!" She hissed and before he even knew what was happening, she kicked out one of his legs, pushed him off balance, and immediately caused him to fall over the side of the banister.

He screamed as he plummeted, but it wasn't the ground that broke his fall. Sadly, it was one of the Reich tables which splintered into him. He didn't get up after that.

"Woah!"

Aida looked back at her daughter and was relieved to see she was unhurt. For now. She immediately ran to her and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, this way!"

"Mama, what's going on?!" Amina let herself be led away, knowing JUST from the look her mother gave her that she was not to argue.

Instead of answering, Aida quickly got Amina into her room, shut the door behind her, and grabbed her daughter by the shoulders.

"Amina, I PROMISE we'll talk about this later, but right now, I need you to hide!"

"But Mama, where did you learn to fight-"

"Over here!" She pulled her daughter again, over to her little closet that had a secret space at the back. Usually, Amina and she would sit in there with flashlights and tell stories, but now, it was to be a safe place for her daughter.

She gently coaxed Amina inside, but she could feel her daughter's resistance and tried to stay calm.

"I'm going to lock the door. Get into your closet and don't come out unless it's one of us, ok?" She quickly gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and gently pushed her back until she voluntarily sat down, "I love you. I'll be back soon!"

"Promise?!"

Just before she shut the doors, she smiled and nodded.

"Promise."

Once her daughter was safe, she hurried back outside, her sword gripped tightly in her hand. Despite it all, she hadn't dropped it.

Hurrying back downstairs, the sounds of fighting had desisted. Had they won?

Looking at the carnage, she would have said yes, but Alex was on the floor and Ardeth was up against a wall and he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

And Evy…Evy was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?! Where's your mum?!" She first ran to Alex and hoisted him up, but before she could run to Ardeth, Alex wrapped his tiny hand around her wrist and tugged her with him.

"They took her, they took mum, come on!" He yanked her as hard as she could, and she glanced behind her to see that Ardeth was sucking it up and quickly moving with them.

"Alright, let's go!" She switched the pulling and hurried out with Alex next to her and then, looked down at him.

"Are you alright?! They didn't hurt you?"

"No, they got the chest and mum and that was it!"

She looked briefly at Ardeth as they got outside.

"You?"

"I am unharmed. Yourself?"

She nodded at him, a little breathless with everything currently happening.

"The other one? The girl, is she alright?"

For a moment, her heart jumped into her throat.

"Yes, she's fine."

From the very bottom of the stairs, she hoped he hadn't been able to see Amina's features. If he had, he would have seen his own strong browline. His own eyes and a dark complexion.

She tried to calm herself and focus on only one thing at that moment. The sounds of gunfire outside let the small group know that danger was still near and they waited by the side of the door until the sounds stopped.

She tried to keep Alex behind her when they went outside, but he let go of her hand and ran off at full speed when he spotted his dad and uncle, taking shelter from the gunfire by a massive stone obelisk.

"DAD!" Alex ran straight to Rick and his father picked him up, holding him close, "DAD!"

"Jonathan," Aida caught her breath and looked her surprisingly wet friend up and down, "you're alright?"

"Yes, I fought them off," he said proudly, but he was a little dismissive so she had a feeling he may have hidden somewhere. Possibly the bathtub.

She turned and got Rick's attention, but as always, he had not a scratch on him.

Rick carefully let Alex back down and turned disbelieving eyes to Ardeth.

"O'Connell," he nodded his head to greet his old friend.

Unsurprisingly, Rick reacted exactly the way she thought he would. He grabbed Ardeth by the edge of his robes and turned him about, shoving him violently against the stone obelisk. Ardeth, still injured visibly winced and Aida had to control herself, knowing that Rick was angry that his wife had literally just been kidnapped.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Rick let Ardeth go as quickly as he grabbed him, but pushed his finger accusingly against Ardeth's shoulder, "No, scratch that, I don't care! Who the hell were those guys and where are they taking my wife?"

Ardeth laid his hands calmly on Rick's shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes.

"My friend, I'm not sure, but wherever this man is," he reached into a pocket and pulled out a photo, holding it up for Rick to see, "your wife will surely be."

All four crowded around a little closer to look at the photo, but surprisingly, it was Alex who snatched it from Ardeth's fingers and looked closely at the figure there.

"Hey, I know him! He's the curator. He works at the British Museum."

"Are you sure?" He reached out to the boy and Aida squinted and realised that WAS the man she'd seen in the past on her visits.

"Believe him, he and Amina spend more time there than they do at home."

Jonathan gasped and his hand flew to Aida's shoulder.

"OH GOD, AMINA-"

"She's not hurt, I checked her beforehand," Aida quickly turned away and said, "Rick, get the car, I'll join you in a second."

"Grab my pack, it's on the side," he took Alex by the shoulders and steered him away towards the car. His 'pack' was his weapons bag, filled to the brim with various guns and weapons. He had it ready all the time. Just encase.

Aida hurried back inside the house, Jonathan following and promising to come up to see Amina as soon as he'd grabbed the pack for Rick. Aida went back upstairs, unlocked her daughter's bedroom door, and went inside.

"Amina?!" She hoped her daughter had listened to her and luckily, when she opened the closet door, her daughter was still there, looking up at her mother in relief.

"Mama, I-"

"I know, you probably have A LOT of questions," Aida knelt down and gently cupped her daughter's face, looking at her and trying to remain calm, "and I can't answer them all right now. What I need you to do is ESPECIALLY important. You're going to call Sophia up and ask her mum to come and pick you up. Use the backdoor, she doesn't need to see the mess in the front. Tell her I had to pop out, medical emergency."

She gave her daughter the key to her bedroom and kissed her on the forehead.

"You lock yourself in until you hear her from the window, understand? If anyone and I mean ANYONE strange tries to come in, you hide for me. Am I clear?"

Amina nodded but Aida felt her daughter shaking in terror. She pulled her closer and knowing that she couldn't stay and comfort her, held her and gently rocked her back and forth.

"Mum, what's happening?" Her daughter clung to her and Aida felt her heart break. Aida only ever called her 'mum' when she was scared.

"It'll be alright. We just need to go and help…help Evy. She went to the British Museum and we need to go and help her. I promise I'll tell you everything once I get back, ok?"

Luckily, before her daughter could convince her to stay, Jonathan came in and scooted down next to them.

"Hello, Amina Beana," his hand stroked the side of her head and he smiled lovingly at her, "we've got to pop out for a bit, but we'll be back as soon as we can. You need to do me a favor and forgive me for not reading you a story right now. I'll do it when we get you, ok?"

Amina nodded and pulled away from them both, looking at them with wide eyes.

"When will you be back?"

"I'll be back as soon as I can be," Aida leaned forward and pressed another kiss on her daughter's forehead, "I promise."

"Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Jonathan chuckled and Amina shook her head. Despite his slight cowardice and inability to stay away from gambling and loose women, Jonathan had always been there for Amina and had never been late for anything. Aida was glad he was in their lives.

They left her in her room, and she locked it immediately behind them. On the way down the stairs, Jonathan looked back up one last time.

"Do you think you should stay? Or-"

"Jonathan, she'll be fine," Aida tried to reassure herself and refused to look back up, knowing she would turn and lock herself in with her daughter, "we need to get Evy. Rick's going to need everyone."

They met up with the others and immediately bundled into the car, Aida wedged between Jonathan and Alex. Although, Ardeth and she were in perfect line of the rear-view mirror and he kept flicking his gaze at the back, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

It would be awkward if it were not for the fact that Evy had been kidnapped. She'll sort out the personal issues later.

First, rescue Evy.