Little Miss Bump- Hey! I'm glad you enjoyed it. –blushes- You're doing it again. : P And I'm glad you find it exciting, it means even the lest exciting parts aren't boring. XD Your feeling is correct. Something terrible is going to happen. Thanks, I did. Stuffed myself with potatoes. : P Till the 20th? Ouch. My last day of classes is the 12th, and I thought that was too far away.

err... who am i? - Yep, Lady P has a part to play in this. As a matter of fact, she does have a good sized part to play during the rescue. I won't tell you how big, I don't want to spoil it. XD Yep, Alex is going to be shown. No, he's not dead yet. He's just shy of 100. : P And besides that there is still more bugging to come, even worse then what Saadia had the guards do earlier. Oh, there will be some good news coming very soon, along with a lot more bad news. Well, I'm glad you like where it is heading. It's okay, I usually never see some of them even after triple checking the chapter. Indonesian and Javanese? That's so cool! I wish I could speak more than one language, but I have a hard enough time with English so it's probably not the best idea. :P Don't worry, nothing could distract me from that plan, especially a big fat bird. XD

Gilian 101- Yep, things are getting serious. And yes, that is very harsh. It's coming. It's still about seven or eight chapters away yet, but it is coming and it will be a big owie for Alan. XD Sorry you're getting restless. As always, I will update as soon as I can.

Pinkranger888- Yep, Yuja wants to sacrifice them. XD I'm glad you like her for there is a lot more of her to come. And I'm glad you liked that part. Yep, they are going too and they are going to be extremely helpful during the journey to Amarna. Three say drive? Ouch. But good luck! Ha-ha! That's good! When an update appears in my inbox and I don't have time to read it, it drives me mad until I can. : P Thank you, I did have a good Thanksgiving and good luck with the move!

Chapter Eighteen- Alexander O'Connell
September 9th, 2024

Late the next morning found John and Evelyn walking towards the front desk in the lobby of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Kent. It had been decided not long after the group from Tracy Island had arrived at Lady Penelope's mansion that it would be better if only those related to Alex went to the hospital to see him. So while the two siblings had taken a rental car to the hospital, the rest of the party was a few blocks away in FAB 1, waiting for a phone call from the siblings.

The lobby of the hospital was bright and clean, with fresh flowers set on tables on either side of the door, and brightly colored paintings hung on the walls. A sterile clean smell filled the air. John and Evelyn lowered the hoods of their jackets and shook off a bit of the rain onto the mat just inside the door before making their way towards the front desk, behind which a kind faced nurse looked up and smiled towards them. "Hello there. Can I help you?"

John smiled at the nurse, his hands setting on the edge of the counter. "Yes. My names is John Tracy and this is my sister Evelyn," he said, motioning to Evelyn beside him. The nurse's eyes widened at their last name, though she said nothing. "We're here to see our grandfather, Alex O'Connell."

The nurse looked startled at the name. "O'Connell?" she repeated, looking curiously between the two siblings. She frowned in concentration as she looked at the two of them. "Yes, I can see the resemblance. You-" she motioned to John. "Have the same eyes as Mr. O'Connell. And you young lady, have his smile."

John chuckled and set a hand on Evelyn's shoulder, who in turn smiled up at him. The nurse stood up from the chair and walked around the desk to stand before the siblings. "Now if you will follow me," she instructed with a bright smile. "I will take you to your grandfather."

"Thank you ma'am," John replied. The nurse nodded before heading back around the desk and through a set of double doors behind it, the John and Evelyn a few steps behind her. The hallway through the double doors was similar in décor to the lobby, though instead of the marble floor in the lobby, the hallways was done with beige carpet. Doors lined the hall on either side, though there was a good distance between them.

The nurse glanced back at the siblings as they walked. "This is the wing of the hospital where all our permanent patients live," she explained. "They are able to decorate the room to suit their own tastes, while the staff here take care of everything for them. Ah, here we are."

She paused before the door and looked back at John and Evelyn. "Just be warned, he believes that such things as mummies and yeti are real and will quickly come to their defense if anything is said against them. So tread carefully."

John and Evelyn glanced at each other as she turned back around and knocked on the door. "Come in!" a voice yelled from inside the room. The nurse then pushed the keypad beside the door and it slid open. The trio stepped through the door and stepped into the living room with a small kitchen, while an attached doorway led to the small bedroom. Both were painted a deep red with cream trim while the floor was a rich mahogany. On the walls and on several pieces of furniture around the living space were pictures, quite a few containing a young man with a striking resemblance to John.

In the living room, an elderly man in a wheelchair turned away from the television to face them. Though he was obviously quite old, he still was not quite a thin or helpless looking as expected. His hair was neatly trimmed, short, and pure white. Piercing blue eyes scanned the two unfamiliar figures in his room. After looking at John and Evelyn for a few moments, he grinned towards the nurse. "Hello Ruby."

"Good morning Mr. O'Connell," she greeted in return, speaking a bit louder than normal. A bright smile formed on her face. "I see you have your dentures in."

"I need the damn things, no matter how much I hate them," he replied, his accent mostly American but with slight hints of British seeping through. "And no need to yell. I'm a hundred not deaf," he added with a frown. Ruby flushed and mumbled and apology.

Alex set down the television remote on the stand beside the small couch before turning the chair and rolled towards her. "It's alright. And how many times have I told you to call me Alex?"

"I've lost count," Ruby shrugged, though her lips turned upwards into a small grin. She glanced back at the siblings and motioned for them to step forward. "Anyway, this is John and Evelyn Tracy. They are here to see you, their grandfather."

The grinned disappeared the instant Ruby said their last name and was replace with surprise. Alex's blue eyes, so similar to John's and Alan's, quickly transferred to them as they stepped forward. He first took in John's appearance, studying the young man whose appearance intently for a few minutes before looking towards Evelyn. A ghost of a smile formed on his thin lips. "Last time I saw either of you was when you and your twin were just over a month old," he murmured, wheeling closer to them. Ruby stepped out of the way and with a small smile, stepped out of the room.

Evelyn watched the elder women leave the room and the door slid shut before looking back towards Alex. She quickly glanced over at John with an raised eyebrow, who nodded in response to her silent question. "First things first," she began, looking back towards Alex. "We know that you were put in here when thought insane, but we know that you are not. For we have had our own trouble with a mummy, that I was tricked into resurrecting."

The shocked expression that had formed on Alex's face at this declaration only lasted a few seconds, before turning into a wry smile. "Seems that rising mummies by accident is a family trait, which seems to have skipped Lucy and gone on to you."

"So the rumors were true," Evelyn stated softly. "The books were based on her adventures in Egypt."

Alex smiled, glancing over at a picture on the wall. The black and white picture showed a man with his arms around the women in the picture, the man showing much resemblance to Alex. Around the women's neck was a familiar looking locket. "My mother's first book," he began, smiling fondly at the picture of his parents. "Is the story of how my parents met. I was born one year after this picture was taken."

With a heavy sigh, Alex looked away from the picture and towards Evelyn and John. "How about you two sit down," he suggested. "And tell me about your own mummy problems."

"Exactly how many mummies have you encountered?" John asked as he and Evelyn moved past Alex and sat down on the small couch.

Alex wheeled his chair around to face them. "Well, there was Imhotep when I was eight," he began, ticking them off on his fingers. "That was the second time my parents faced him. Then there was the Dragon Emperor in China when I was twenty two, it was during that adventure I met Lin."

Alex motioned to an second photo that sat on the table beside the couch, one that was familiar to Evelyn for it was the same picture in her locket. It showed Jeff and Lucille, newly married with her parents with them. One of them of course being Alex, whose hair was beginning to go gray and beside him was an petite Asian women, who was smiling brightly at her beaming daughter.

"After that was the one in Peru. Uncle Jon moved there, thinking he could get away from them, but it seems our family is a magnet for them," he chuckled, his eyes distant as he stared down at his hands for a few moments. "Anyway, what's the deal with the newest mummy to come into contact with our family?"

Evelyn heaved a heavy sigh and sat forward on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees. "It started the day before mine and Gordon's birthday, when I received an e-mail from Adrien Ness," she began. "He was the successor to George Carnarvon, under whom I have learned how to read hieroglyphs. He offered me the chance to be part of the dig he was financing at Amarna."

"Turns out the entire thing was a trap all along and he tricked me into reading a tablet that was an excerpt from the book of the dead. He was allied with a man that had tried to kill our family four years ago and a women who says she is Meritaten reincarnated," she continued. "Both she and the mummy, who is called Yuja, seem to think that I am Henuttawy reincarnated. It was for his hand in her murder that Yuja was subjected to the Hom Dai."

Alex sighed and sat back in his chair. Evelyn glanced over at John beside her as she sat back against the couch. John watched his sister for a few moments before looking back towards their grandfather. "What do you know about our father's business?" he asked.

Alex frowned at the question. "Tracy Industries? What does that have to-"

Evelyn cut him off, leaning her head back against the couch and closing her eyes. "Tracy Industries doesn't have anything to do with this. But International Rescue does."

"International Rescue?" he repeated, looking between the two siblings in confusion. "What do they- Oh." Understanding dawned in the elder man's eyes. Evelyn and John nodded, confirming that he had indeed come to the correct answer.

"So you?" Alex asked, motioning to the two of them.

John nodded. "Yes, we are. Dad came up with the idea for International Rescue the year after mom died," he explained. "I spend a good portion of the year up in our satellite station, Thunderbird Five."

Alex nodded, indicating that he was following what they were saying with little confusion. If it was things that seemed impossible to normal people, Alex usually believed it. For he had seen and fought against things said to be impossible as far back as he could remember. So being told that his grandchildren were members of International Rescue wasn't that hard to believe.

"Four years ago," Evelyn began, opening her eyes and lifting her head off the back of the couch. "A man called the Hood shot a missile at Thunderbird Five. While dad, Scott, Virgil, and Gordon headed up to Five to help John, he invaded the island. He wanted revenge for being left behind in a collapsing mine, thinking dad had left him to die while in truth there was no way to reach him safely."

"So he has allied himself with Yuja," Alex stated after a few moments of silence, looking deep in thought as he pressed the tips of his fingers together in his lap. Alex sighed and looked up from his hands. "From all that I have seen in my dealing with this sort of thing, is that when the creature is taken down his allies always go down with him."

"And in his quest for revenge and as part of the deal," Evelyn sighed. "They captured our family when called to a fake rescue in Hamunaptra. They are taking them back to Amarna as a ploy to draw me there, and to raise the army of Ramesses."

"Yet another 'raise army and take over the world' deal," Alex muttered darkly, rolling his eyes. "Joy. "

Evelyn sat forward on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees as she looked forward. John set a hand on her shoulder and Evelyn shot a small smile over at him before her expression turned serious. "Which leads to why we are here," she began. "We need the golden Book of Amun Ra. We know you were there when it was moved, for we had our own run in with the Medjai."

Alex blinked in surprise before chuckling. "Not surprising that you ran into them. The Book is in O'Connell Manor, in London. Though I do not know where the key to the chest it is hidden in is."

The hope that both Evelyn and John had felt rising within them at the revelation on where the Book was hidden, was slightly dampened by this revelation. "What happened to the key?" John inquired.

"The key was my mother's locket," Alex replied. "Which she gave to Lucy when she turned eighteen."

John and Evelyn gaped at Alex before John looked towards his sister, who had immediately went for one of the chains around her neck. Finding the correct chain, she pulled the locket out from underneath her shirt and showed it to Alex. "Is this the locket?"

Alex shook his head, chuckling. "I should have known that it would have been passed on to you."

"Dad gave it to me for Christmas four years ago," Evelyn replied, fingering the locket around her neck with a fond smile on her face.

Alex smiled at her for a moment before moving his chain and heading to the small table in the kitchen, grabbing a pen and piece of paper from the counter. John and Evelyn stood from the couch and followed him. "In order to get in, enter this code into the alarm system," Alex began, glancing up from the paper to look at the siblings. "I am also going to write down how to get where the Book is hidden in the mansion."

"Sounds good," John nodded, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and walking back towards the living room. "I'm gonna call Lady Penelope and update them."

"Okay," Evelyn replied, glancing over her shoulder at her older brother for a moment before looking back to where Alex was writing. As they heard John beginning to talk on the phone, Alex stopped writing and moved away from the table, heading into the bedroom. Evelyn followed him into the room and stopped in the doorway. Alex went to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, pulling from it an dark brown, leather bound journal. He set it down on the desk and motioned for Evelyn to come in.

"This is something you must keep to yourself," he whispered, flipping through the journal in search of something particular. After a few seconds of searching, he stopped. On the page, the writing was faded and very sloppy. He ripped the bottom half off, folded it up, and handed it to Evelyn. "This is the incantation I used to resurrect my mother when I was eight and Anck-Su-Namun stabbed her. I wrote it down the English pronunciation of it shortly after we returned to England. Hopefully you will not need it."

Evelyn glanced back through the doorway, where they could still hear John talking on the phone. Evelyn pursed her lips, hating the idea of hiding something so important from her brother. She turned back to Alex and took the paper from his hand, putting it into the front pocket of her jeans. "I won't tell anyone of it," she whispered.

Alex smiled as he replaced the journal back into the drawer before heading out of the room. "Thank you Evelyn. The Medjai would most likely have my head if they knew I had written it down."

As Alex finished writing the directions to find the Book, John snapped his cell phone shut and joined them by the table. "Lady Penelope says to call her again once we are in the car. She'll give us directions on how to get to the mansion. They will meet us there."

Evelyn nodded. "Sounds good."

Alex looked up as he set the pen down. "There you go," he stated, pushing the paper towards Evelyn and John. "After you get the Book and you head to Egypt to go after them, make sure to take transportation that is quiet, not necessarily speedy. Getting caught and killed in one of the creatures sandstorms before you can reach them will get you nowhere."

Evelyn handed the paper to John before bending down and hugging Alex. "Thank you," she whispered before standing up again. "We'll be sure to get in touch again once this is all over."

"Maybe we can even get you out to the island sometime," John added, folding the paper and stowing it in his pocket.

"Sounds great," Alex replied with a smile. "Good luck you two."