I'm Coming Home

by Shortstakk7932

After having a rocky start in the BAU during 'Who Are You', Alecta and the team head back to her home town for a birthday bash; it's part of the two week vacation that they have been granted by Strauss. While they are there, the team starts to learn even more about what has made Alecta the woman she is today. Nothing very sexual. Rated M to be safe for possible foul language.

50. Chapter 50

I'm Coming Home Chpt 50

"NEPHILIM!"

That was the cry heard round Topkapi Palace. Michael and Raphael ran to their stations to gather their men and weapons and get to the ready. Alecta's wings were out, large, black as soot, so shiny they had a blue sheen to them; she was wrapped in a red tunic that could have been as old as she was. She cradled Radar's head in her lap, running her hands over his face, his forehead, stroking his hair. St. Christopher, as Radar was born, was now dying. The man who once carried the baby Jesus across the river, with the weight of the world on his shoulders….he was dying. One of Alecta's dearest friends, and he was gasping his last breath. Speaking to her in some long ago dead language that only the rest of their friends would clearly understand, he was breathing his last hope for their cause.

Alecta's tears came, ugly and hard down her cheeks; suddenly sharp sounds could be heard all along the roof of Topkapi.

"What the devil…? The Sultan ran out into the courtyard some of the others following him. It was raining, raining harder than it had in anyone's living memory; the seas were choppy. If you listened carefully, you could hear the men in the ships cursing the bad seas. It was raining so hard you could not have seen three feet in front of your face. The BAU team members all looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders, then they looked at the Sultan.

"I have never seen such a deluge in all of my days,' was all he said, never having taken his eyes off of the weather.

"It rains because she cries." Everyone turned to look, the sound came from Simon. He had spoken rather matter-of-factly, 'Although, if we don't get her to stop soon, it may make things out on the battlefield rather dicey to say the very least; this entire battle could turn into a naval skirmish."

The sound that accompanied her tears sounded as though it had been ripped from the depths of time. Her BAU team could do little but stand and watch as she mumbled quiet words that none of them understood; Reid could almost work it out, but the language was above his head even.

Seeing them stand in wonder, Selim took pity on their limited knowledge.

"She is lamenting his death; what she is saying….it's something about him being a dear friend, and how much she loves him…that the universe will be better for receiving him….This is only a working translation. Many of the words are from the original Aramaic and are just dead, not being easily translated."

Simon took the bullet for everyone else and went to try to pull her away from Radar; with one arm she tried to shove him away…she wanted to be with her friend as long as she could.

"We must go, M'lady; dry your eyes. We have much work to do. He will receive the proper burial, we will see to that, all in good time. But for now…for now…They must pay." The last words were said quietly through seething teeth, as if Simon was spitting venom. He had finally gotten close enough to be able to rub Alecta's back to calm her a bit. Her furious sobbing had quieted almost to sniffles. Radar's body was going cold, his blood had stopped flowing, and his cold dead eyes were staring out into the world, unmoving.

As Alecta slowly stood up, everyone could sense a change had been made.

Leaning her head from side to side to pop her joints, she turned to Simon, "You're right old man. They will pay."

Selim seemed to almost quake, whether it was from fear or excitement was yet to be known, 'She's back! She's back!" A wicked gleam crept into his eyes and a smile that would have blacked out the sun spread on his face. "As one of your people would say, shit is about to get real, momentarily."

"What do you mean Selim?" Emily asked carefully.

"Anat has finally been able to come out to play. Gone is whatever mortal ties to feelings like sympathy and reason. They will all pay and it will be the lambs to the slaughter by the time she gets through with them. She is about to get Neolithic on them. This should be good. I think I'll take my place rather above ground. As much as I like to see her in action, damn sure wouldn't want to get caught up down here when it all goes to hell." Selim chuckled a bit as he walked away; he returned a short while later in armor. It was black, not the same sort of sooty black as Alecta's…damn it Anat's wings….It was the sort of black that had silver undertones, as if it had been burnished by fire. It still had a shine to it when the light hit it just right. With his lightly swarthy complexion and his dark curly hair that hung to his shoulders he was a striking figure at no less than 6'3, add to that the red cape that hung from his shoulders, and he was quite a handsome figure.

"I thought you said you'd be airborne." Reid pointed out.

"Yes, boy; but you never know what you'll run into in one of these battles. I've seen a few in my day and I still get surprised. The rest of you who will be participating might want to make your preparations; she won't be kept waiting for long."

With that Selim left to get his horse ready. Almost as soon as he left the others ran to find Ale…Anat wherever she had gone. They found her in a room near the armory. She was standing there in this lovely tiled room….it was a lovely place really, high Turkish style. She glanced at them from the corner of her eye, 'Come, they have something for each of you here. You should get your gear on. Since your kind aren't used to full body armor, I had them come up with something."

"When did you have time?"

"This…this battle…has been coming down the pipeline for generations. My dear Cajun, don't think that this is a banner news day. Hardly."

It wasn't until that moment that they had realized that she was scantily clad at best. She held her arms out and stood stock still as several servants belonging to the Sultan began to dress her. One platted her hair back so as to keep it out of the way. While that was being done, another was retrieving a fresh tunic and pulling it on just as the first servant stepped way. After the tunic had been pulled down over her head, her hair was pulled through to hang down her back in this woven pattern. While the servant fixed the tunic properly, the first one came back and added what looked like small daggers to the platting in Anat's hair; all an outsider would see would be the silver bits sticking out acting as adornment. Soon enough servants were approaching attaching each piece of armor strapping it down properly until she was fully suited from head to toe.

Anat stood there in her armor; gleaming red armor, shining so brightly…her helmet under her arm as she flexed her hands getting used to the feel of them in the gloves again. Her platted hair hung over one shoulder and her black sooty wings poked through. As another servant approached carrying a belt that contained the scabbard for a sword, Anat set her helmet down and helped affix this to her personal liking. While that was being done yet another servant brought over a beautiful sword. The pommel was silver, there wasn't an angle on it that didn't sparkle, it was in the shape of a cross with a huge black opal in the center; the opal had red and green flecks in it that made it look a bit like a volcanic eruption. The blade was some of the finest steel that had ever been manufactured; it had a slight filigree pattern that ran up and down the length.

During all of the excitement, Garcia and the children had been taken away to a safer point, so everyone was led to believe.

"Oh look at you all…."

"If I'm going to be stuck in the 'stash house' with Simon, why am I in this gear?"

"The stash house is safer than the battlefield, but not by much. They have already taken out one of mine…if those bastards sniff you out they will not hesitate to come after you. Simon will do all that he can, but you will have to also rely on your own abilities and fight for your own protection."

"What do we do now?"

"Well the fucking Nephilim have drawn first blood. Dracula and his army have defiled the palace walls. I need to throw that little bastard off his game a bit before I attend to those Nephilim." They all began making their way out onto the field in front of the palace maybe 25 yards away to assess the situation.

Anat could see the Sarmatians taking their positions being led by the Four Horsemen; as it was her friend on the Pale horse came riding over with a horse for her.

"For you M'lady. This steed is as black as your wings I think. He's one of the best that could be found anywhere."

"Thank you. He's wonderful." She rubbed the nose of the horse who had already become quite attached to his new master. He had a snow white diamond pattern in the middle of his forehead, that caused the blackness of him to seem even darker than midnight. She leaned into the horse whispering something into its ear at which the horse merely snuffled and whinnied an answer of sorts.

"Brilliant boy you are. See that he is properly cared for until I must have him." She looked around and saw that Alexander and his men were getting in their positions behind the Sarmatians.

'Horses and elephants….' Anat looked up to the sky shaking her head in humor. Hydarnes was getting his 'Immortals' into position; he turned to Anat and bowed slightly, winking. She returned a courteous bow. One of the Sarmatians broke rank and rode over to her, dismounting his horse he knelt before her offering her a bow and quiver of arrows. He told her that she should have it; it was made by one of their best bow makers. She thanked the man, giving him a talisman which he gladly took and returned to his position. Anat slung the bow and quiver over her shoulder into a comfortable position.

As Anat and some of the others walked around getting the lay of the land, their attention was drawn to Rumelihisarı Palace, across the straight by some cannon fire that struck a bit of Topkapi's walls mere yards from them. Looking up to the battlements they saw that Dracula himself was standing atop the battlements.

It was still a bit dark outside, since it was during the pre-dawn hours, but a lot of their way was lit by torches and other things. However the sky was lightening little by little as the sun struggled to rise.

"You in a hurry to die?" Anat shouted up to Dracula.

"Hardly,' He shouted back. "Just thought I would show you some new trinkets I picked up on a recent excursion." He turned to some of his men that were crowded around the battlements and waved for some of them to step forward. As they did so, the BAU team members gasped. Dracula's men had somehow managed to grab Garcia and some of Anat's girls (Oona and Cossette were among them), as well as a few others.

"Now, I am prepared to trade."

"I don't negotiate with terrorist…."

He walked over to Garcia menacingly, 'Not even for this one? What if I were to just kill them all?"

Anat grabbed Morgan's arm before he could run past her, shaking her head slightly, forcing him to stay still.

"You do what you must." She watched as Dracula began to take action against Garcia. "But, before you do….Perhaps I should show you what my men brought back to me from their time around the city."

Anat arched an eyebrow Dracula, trying to keep from begging him to take the bait.

"What could you possibly have that I would want?"

"Why don't you tell me? You were the one wanting to trade." She turned to look at some of her men up on the battlements of Topkapi and waved at them. "Stand them up!"

Immediately stakes were raised; there were twenty of them. Tied to each stake was a woman.

"Let them go." Dracula began to threaten.

She began pacing "Hardly. My men and I have wracked our brains for hours…days really. How could we get Dracula where it hurts the most? Then we hit the idea of capturing some of your 'creations'….and some of your very own concubines no less. When my men brought me news of the capture, I could have shat myself from happiness. From what I understand they haven't acquired the ability to move about during the day however. You've been remiss in your attentions." She clicked her tongue making a disapproving sound.

"Let them go or I will kill all of the captives."

"As I said….Go for it. But it would be a shame to make any snap decisions until after sunrise."

"You wouldn't dare. It's inhumane."

"Dracula wants to give me a lesson in humanity? A fucking vampire? Really? I think I'll take my chances…Oh look, sunrise. It's a good thing. That corner of the battlements was getting so dark. Nothing burns quite as bright as vampire skanks."

As the sun rose over the Bosphorus, the women that had been struggling against the stakes began screaming in agony as their skin burst into flames.

Anat smiled deviously, 'Mozart. Fucking Mozart bitches."

Dracula gave the order for his men to dispatch Garcia and the other prisoners. As they began to do so, Garcia leaned back slightly; suddenly the man was picked up by his feet, dangling from the clutches of a snake's tail before being bashed into the floor of the battlements. Dracula, hearing the screams for mercy from his men turned to see hell breaking loose.

"Garcia!" Morgan yelled.

"Oh calm down. She was never actually in any danger. She and the others are still being kept safe. I will tell you where as soon as it is prudent to do so."

"How did you know for sure that he didn't have the real one?"

Anat saw the exasperated faces of her friends, "Garcia has brown eyes. My friend there has green. That's for one. And besides, I sent many of my girls to other places to shore up their efforts. Cossette is in Paris. He grabbed someone that is not Cossette."

As soon as she said that the figure that had looked so much like Cossette had morphed into a stunningly beautiful blonde with more curves than 40 miles of bad road. She had a shield and sword in her hand and a bit of archaic Greek style armor.

Anat smiled, giggled, and turned to the rest ready to walk back into the palace walls, 'I'll bet you never expected the mighty Aphrodite to want anything to do with a war, Aphrodite being the goddess of love and all. But really, love is war essentially, so it stands to reason. And I mustn't forget my dear girl Medusa. She's had an ax to grind for centuries." Anat raised her hand and gave the ladies a salute to which they both bowed and continued fighting.

"Come, we should rest a little before the ground war begins." Grinning mischievously as she walked back towards the palace, Anat grabbed Hotch's hand to lead him back into the palace. Everyone followed after them, they reached the room where Anat had been meditating when she still had some of her 'Alecta' tendancies.

"Are you ever going to tell us where Garcia and the children are?" Morgan asked worriedly.

"Aaron, do you remember that statue of Jesus that I showed you?"

Aaron nodded, 'Morgan, they are being kept within the catacombs. Are the travelers with them?"

"Oh yes, as well as a few of the Templars….oh and the women that protected the nursery. They're quite deadly you know…descended from Amazons. They will fight to the death."

"So you have a statue of Jesus, Templars, some travelers from the time of the Crusades, and a group of militant women descended from Amazons protecting our people?" Rossi was mulling this over to the room.

"Yes. They are currently some of the most highly guarded people in the entire Mediterranean. The Pope should be so lucky. Rest now; there will be time for all of this later. I hope." She turned and walked away dragging Hotch down behind her. Hotch looked back over his shoulder at the rest of the team; in spite of everything Rossi and Morgan couldn't help but smirk at him….shit eating looks on their faces.

"Alecta…"

"Alecta isn't in at the moment; please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEP!"

Hotch grabbed her by her upper arms, turning her to face him, 'Alecta damn it!"

There was a look that crossed her face, almost like a silent warning….Hotch let go of her arms none the less….it was as if the color of her eyes had changed for a split second; Hotch couldn't have put his finger on it, but it worried him.

"After the last few days, you had to know this would happen. But don't worry…"

"Don't worry? Did you really just say that?"

"Look Aaron…Alecta is still in this body….somewhere. Yes, I am Anat. I am a Neolithic war goddess from around Mesopotamia; well the same geographical area. Once upon a time, a long time ago, that meant something. But, I was also born as a mortal woman; much like our girl Alecta…I had a real mother and father. I don't vividly remember them, but they were real. I was saved from certain death by my friend Michael, who coincidentally is an archangel. I became one of them initially; maybe not in the 'Christian' sense, or even in the Pagan sense; but they adopted me as one of their own in so far as I became an immortal being with certain powers, privileges, and responsibilities. Over time, as the various tribes and ethnic people of mankind began to share ideas, etc, I became a war deity. Over the years I have held a lot of different functions for various religions. I protected the holy family, especially the boy, when the time called for it…I got his wife and unborn baby out of the country when the political climate became too lethal. I have fought in eight apocalyptic battles and thousands of less important ones.

Alecta's…hell even my own mortal tendencies…our mortal hearts, our attachment to your kind….things of this nature, make her ill-equipped to deal with this particular situation. There would likely be times that she would not be able to follow through with some aspect of battle when it's demanded of her. I will admit that there will likely be times that certain things about these weak moments will make me question myself and my judgment. But, in the end, I…Anat, will be more able to stick to the program. I am not likely to shy away from what needs to be done for the greater good. At least I'd like to think so; someone out there thinks I can, or I wouldn't be here."

Hotch stood listening as she had been pacing the room; now she was standing at the window looking out across the Bosphorus Strait at the horizon…ships sitting in the sea beyond…Greek ships, as well as many ships of undetermined origins, they were poised to strike at each other when the order was given.

"But don't worry. When this is all over, I will go back to my own world. Anat will return to being some dusty old Babylonian god that only the boy, Reid, would read about in some book he got off of the fourth shelf. You'll have our girl back. I had a mortal body once, identical to this one actually. But my time in your world…at least permanently…it's long gone. I only come back in times of dire need. Other times, like during the Holocaust, my assignment at the death camps was strictly as a guardian….I walked around with these…' her wings spread for just a few moments. "Most people never knew I was there. Those of us who were assigned to those poor people stayed invisible…at least until one of our charges were dying, and then we would sit with them until the end. We had to be damned careful. The Nazi's could not learn of our existence. Can you imagine what would have happened if they had found us out? It was bad enough that they had scoured the earth for the damned Ark of the Covenant in the first place. We would have destroyed ourselves before we would let someone like Hitler and others like him try to control us…."

"Babylonian or Mesopotamian; which is it?"

"Oh, my darling, it's practically the same thing really. They're both buried in centuries of dirt. Books about them are covered in dust on the top shelves in every library in the educated world. We've been largely forgotten until it serves mankind's purposes."

"And you're alright with going back to that existence; being forgotten and covered in dust?"

"In all honesty? No. Just once it would be marvelous to be remembered for something…anything. But it's the nature of things. It's just the way it is. Troy was a myth until a ruined city was uncovered that reportedly has a lot in common with the fabled city, leading some to believe that it might actually have all be real. Pompeii was buried under tons of volcanic ash for centuries until some guy with a shovel dug it up; the events that led to its burial and the demise of its people largely forgotten. Look at any cemetery in the world. It's filled with the forgotten. Oh, someone will go and place a nice flower arrangement for a few months or even years. But eventually that person will get too old to travel, or maybe even too old to remember even to eat a meal let alone to visit a grave. The grave sits lonely, forgotten, moss covered in an overgrown plot; the person under it oblivious to the world now. But if their soul is anything like they were in life, they want to know where everybody went that was supposed care so much.

We all want to be remembered by someone, somewhere….for good or bad…we want to be remembered.

But that's not up to me to decide. I am merely here to save you and your kind…and try to bring us all out of this in one piece."

"Does Alecta know about you? Does she…?"

"Oh yes. Since we share so much…you know a body and all…There were times over the years that I was with her when nobody else was. How do you think she survived that whole mess with the Russians? Or those nights she used to sleep on the bench in that bus terminal in Las Vegas? It was Vegas, anything could have happened to her without someone to watch over her. And all those years trapped in that house with her father…when she thought her mother was dead? I first got assigned to her when she was two and had been knocked out of that high chair, getting that scar above her eye. The night that she thought he killed her mother…I was there. After that, I couldn't have left her…no matter what orders I was given. It would've been like ordering me to leave 'the boy'. I couldn't do that either, not entirely.

You see, I do have a sentimental side sometimes. It's just that it gets buried under so much…war.

But I promise you, with a little luck, when this is all over, I will peacefully go back to wherever it is that I come from and you will have the Alecta that you know back in one piece, with barely a scratch on her…well relatively."

"It feels a little like cheating to tell the truth…me with you."

"I know. I didn't intend to actually do anything naughty this time, if you didn't want to…if you do, more the better. But, I too, felt a bit like I would be double crossing her if we did. But, I also know that everyone out there, everyone that knows me…they expect nothing less of me really."

Anat flopped back into the middle of the bed, some of the pillows tumbling over onto her, 'I have quite the reputation for my tastes in mortal men actually. But, hell, what can I say? I earned most all of it honestly. But I couldn't help it. Some of you are so worth every moment spent in your world,' She glanced over at him; just for a moment Hotch felt as though something of Alecta was shining through, some form of love that they had built on over the last few weeks. "….oh maybe not worth the demon offspring that I was stuck with later….present company included….bastard shot my friend Radar….I will have to put him in 'time-out'. He never did listen to me."

"The Nephilim are your children?"

"Not all of them…Aphrodite and Zeus are responsible for some of that shit, as well as a few others. I just get stuck cleaning up the mess they made. Did you know that…technically speaking your man Jesus was a Nephilim. I mean his father was the boss, and his mother was that young girl Mary…so by the very description of the word Nephilim, that's what came out of that whole liaison. I mean, the boy grew to achieve great things; as far as I ever knew him there wasn't an evil bone in his body….I mean except for the one time they say he pushed a boy off a roof. That has never satisfactorily been proven; at least not to me. He did bring the boy back to life after he had fallen off though….just a little trick I taught him. His father said he was too young to start learning some of the heavy stuff." Anat rolled her eyes when she remembered this.

"Whatever. Auntie Anat said it was alright. Now, look…you need to lie down and get some rest. I can go for ages without it; but your kind cannot. But, I will stay here with you; it can't hurt for me to sit here and collect myself. Besides, it will allow me to keep an eye on you."

"I want to see Jack. And I'm sure that JJ and Will are going to want to see Henry."

"Look, after we all get some sleep, there might be a little bit of time for a quick visit. I make no promises, but I will try to arrange it; although, it will likely have to take place in one of the chapels here, holy ground and all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rossi was lying back on the bed he had been sharing with Alecta's mother Rachel; she had been taken with Garcia and some of the others to be protected. He never realized how quickly attached to her he had grown until just now. It worried him to think about what would come in the next few hours and what the ultimate outcome would be. The Catholic in him prayed hard for a positive solution so that he could see Rachel again and that they would all be in one piece; these prayers were what finally lulled Rossi into a careful slumber.

Morgan was pacing the room he had been sharing with Garcia. She was going to have his baby…if this war didn't destroy everything. He wanted to see her but he had no clue as to how he would go about finding her. He knew he would have to wait. When it came to the safety of his Baby Girl, Morgan was never a patient man…and it was worse now knowing that she was with child. He fell asleep dreaming of what the possible baby would look like when it was finally born.

Emily was worried about Reid. He was being watched over by Simon at the Sultan's private library, or the 'stash house' as Reid had dubbed it. She knew he was in good hands and would likely spend most of the time he should be resting trying to read everything within arm's reach. That one thought made her chuckle a little; picturing Reid slumped over one of the old wooden tables racing through some of the old books that he would find. She really hoped he wouldn't be hurt…he seemed so young compared to the rest of them and had so much time left ahead of him.

Will and JJ had curled up on the bed thinking only of Henry. They trusted Alecta…well Anat to do the best she could to keep their little boy safe; but knowing what was ahead of them, they could hardly be faulted for worrying a great deal. It's not every day that you are faced with certain apocalypse.

Hotch worried about Alecta and Anat and how smooth the transition would be for them to go back to their normal lives should they be able to do so. Getting to know this Anat was interesting to say the least…she had Alecta tendencies to say the least…but then Alecta had tendencies that somehow had been somewhat like Anat. It seemed that they were quite interchangeable. But his mind also clouded with thoughts of Jack. He knew that he was as safe as possible in the catacombs. He could just picture the group of children with Mrs. Rachel and Garcia being made comfortable near the base of the old ruined statue of Jesus that he had passed earlier. He knew the travelers were keeping watch and that the women of the court were probably sharpening their blades as each minute ticked by.

Reid was in the 'stash house' with Simon. He was sitting in his armor, listening to Simon tell him about a secret passage that should be used in extreme emergencies only. Simon was also schooling him on the fact that, although Reid wasn't an overly religious sort, that perhaps he should try to get right with whatever powers that be that he did believe in. Passing Reid an ancient talisman, Simon walked away to leave him in peace for a few moments to give him time. Besides, there were minor preparations that needed to be seen to.

Out in the menagerie, the two traitors sat in their cage over the pit of doom; Judas was trying his best to make conversation with the thoroughly unpleasant Yuri. Yuri barked at him to shut his mouth or he'd end this quick for the other man. All of Yuri's plans were failing. He had not been able to kill Impatiev, nor had he been able to get rid of Alecta….and now this. Today wasn't his day. He knew that, by now, Impatiev would have been transported as far away from the center of Istanbul as he could be carried. He was an old man and was injured as it was. He would be of little use during the coming war, and would likely only serve as a serious distraction if anything more happened to him. And, Yuri had to wonder what would happen to him and his cell mate. What could possibly be in store for the two of them…apart from the lions circling the pit and that big ass gorilla looking at them like they were just waiting for the lunch bell? And that damned old elephant would rattle the cage with his trunk every so often when he thought the two traitors might have fallen asleep. It was serving two purposes. Both men would be so exhausted that they would probably beg for death later…and that windbag Judas wouldn't shut. the. fuck. up. Yuri would have sold his soul to the devil to be able to shut that loser up for good.

Sultan Mehmed was in some of his private quarters, pouring over books in his possession that gave histories of various wars and the techniques that some of the generals had used to win; this included some past wars that he had been involved in in the past. He needed to try to figure out every angle possible if he was going to be any use to Anat on the field.

Selim and Kong had been in one of the rooms of the palace sparring, swords drawn, getting some last minute practice in to try and limber up before the coming battle. They had thought of doing this outside in the courtyard, but thought better of it after they remembered their friend Radar's sudden demise.

Hydarnes took on getting not only his 'Immortals' prepared for what was to come, but he began getting the rest of whatever foot soldiers they had left into some sort of regimen; he ran them through a few drills over the next several hours before letting them break for a meal. There was no way for them to be totally prepared, but every little bit counted, and since most of them had fought under the Sultan for centuries they had some knowledge of martial training….they weren't completely green in the way that a farmer might be.

Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael took it upon themselves to call on more of their kind, hoping that as many as possible would arrive…and quickly. They had to go over formations…not that the formations would mean much once battle broke out. All the formations and arrangements were really good for were the moments leading up to battle; a certain amount of sportsmanship, if you will. Once battle broke out, it was all out of the window. Everyone would be doing the best they could to not die…on both sides…there would be little time for worrying about where you were supposed to stand or who you were to the left of once blood began flowing.

Bilal was safe in his minaret, thus far. He walked over to a trunk that sat against one wall, opening it. He took out a uniform, looking at it. Next, he took out a shield, turning it over in his hands examining it. There were still blood flecks on it from centuries ago. He shook his head as he remembered the day. Lastly, he took out a scimitar, also still with specks of blood along the still razor sharp blade. That centuries old battle had been the last one that he had taken part in. He had seen too much death that day; caused much of it. Bilal had sworn to never pick up a sword again, although he kept it sharpened; he wouldn't actively seek battle, but if war came to his doorstep, he would defend himself and those he cared for to the last breath…he wasn't a foolish man.

The travelers and Templars that had escorted Garcia and the children and any others that were deemed unfit to save themselves were currently saying their prayers; each in their own way. The Christian men knelt at the feet of the ancient statue of Jesus silently mouthing prayers for a safe battle, that their swords and shield be strong enough…that they themselves be strong enough for battle. The Muslims among their numbers broke out any prayer rug they could find and fell to their knees, praying as well, mere feet from the Christians. And so it was with the Buddhists and the Hindu believers as well; they each had their own rituals, and for once they weren't fighting among each other over who was right and who was wrong. If any Gods heard a prayer and answered, that would be enough.

Garcia was listening to the tales the women told; legends that had been passed down through generations largely by word of mouth. Most of what they said was in their own language, except that every now and then they would slip up and say something in English as though they were trying to get her attention and engage her in the conversation. As she listened, Garcia made sure the kids were as comfortable as possible. Jack, Henry, Sophie, and Emma were all playing quietly, listening to whatever sounds could be heard going on in the outside world. Umut was sleeping, typical new baby. Vika, Leta, and baby Michael were lying there, waving their arms around trying to get attention.

"Miss Pellelope?" Penelope turned to see the twins standing there, Emma must have been the one to ask for her, she was so much quieter than Sophie most of the time.

"Yes sweetie?"

"What's all the noise outside for?" Her little forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"With any luck it's the sound of our side winning."

"Winning what?"

"The contest…." And just where had she come up with that? Pen wondered to herself.

"What contest?"

Garcia wanted to scream…they were cute kids but they were beginning to ask questions she wasn't sure how to answer.

"Miss Emma…" The child turned towards the voice that called her name. Yildiz was trying to get Emma's attention.

"Yes ma'am?"

"I think perhaps you and your sister should come over here and rest. We have a long day ahead of us. Come, we will tell stories." Garcia looked at the woman, grateful to her for sidetracking the child.

Emma and Sophie initially protested the idea of a possible nap. They wanted to know what their mother was doing and where she was. They didn't care for being left out at all. But at the promise of story time, they began to settle down with Jack, Henry, and the babies and get quiet. Yildiz and the other women began to tell them a story of a different time, of the Crusades. The children listened with rapt attention; the story was almost as good as one Alecta would have told Jack to get him quieted down for bedtime. In only fifteen minutes the kids were all asleep. Garcia could have kissed Yildiz and the other women.

As the children slept the women got themselves prepared, arming themselves with anything; swords were strapped to them, assault rifles slung across their shoulders. Some sat cleaning their weapons, making sure they were in proper working order. It seemed funny….Earlier, you would have seen these women in their lovely colored saris and flowing garments. And now, they were in long pants and tunics with sashes that denoted their rank and importance among the Crescent Guard.

"I don't know much, but the Crescent Guard used to be men. Am I right?" Garcia asked carefully.

Yildiz smiled before replying, 'Oh child, there are still plenty of men among them. It's just the last couple of generations there have been fewer and fewer males being born. Most of us come from families that had mostly girls. Emine was born as a set of twins, one boy and one girl. Her brother died months after birth. Her parents never had more children and they died when she was still quite young. If she didn't take up the cause, it would have died with her father. It is this way with most of us here. I have a brother in the guard…" Yildiz smiled proudly as she thought of him. "Batur, his name means 'warrior'. He will be on the battlefield with the others."

"Doesn't it worry you that he could be killed today?"

"Yes, more than you know. But to die today, it would bring him glory. He would die saving his people, saving his land. He will not die an old man who is far past the age to be respectable. He has children, many children. The cause is safe in them. I love him so, but this is what all of us have been trained for since we were barely old enough to walk. It's what we do."

Garcia went around checking on the children, stroking Jack and Henry's hair as she went around. Soon enough she was feeling quite tired; Yildiz sensed this.

"You should rest yourself. The baby will drain you of energy if you let it. Besides, later you may not have the chance to rest…take it now while you can."

Garcia nodded; when you're right, you're right. She curled up near the feet of the large ruined statue of Jesus, not far from the kids. After she was completely out of it, Yildiz sat closer to her, leaning against part of the statue herself; her arms crossed over her body, one hand resting on the pommel of her sword, Yildiz allowed her eyes to shut for the moment. The other women guards followed suit, taking positions around the small group; even in repose, they were ready for battle if it came.

Alecta was lying there on her back, watching Aaron as he slept. He was lying on his stomach, one arm still curled around her tightly. She studied everything about his face…all the sharp features, the slope of his nose….she committed to memory everything she could about him just from watching him sleep. Eventually she managed to doze off even if it was only briefly. Two hours later she woke up and saw him watching her. Without saying a word or moving a muscle Aaron leaned over and kissed her like it was the last time he was ever going to see her. For just a second her mortal heart broke…..if things didn't go well for them today it just might be the last time. Feeling her heart shatter in her chest at the thought of, not just him, but the others as well being taken away, Anat got out of the bed and began to get ready for battle, stretching out her joints. Aaron rose from the bed to make ready, too.

Turning to face him, Anat walked closer to him and kissed him back, lulling him into a false sense of security. Whenever they pulled out of the kiss, Aaron looked at her with his dark eyes, and she smiled up at him carefully. Bringing her right hand up from being around his waist, she used the first two fingers on that hand tap him on the forehead, right between his eyes, gently. He closed his eyes, collapsing to the floor as if he had blacked out.

"I know you wanted to be there, but I cannot lead you to the slaughter. I will not." Leaning over she kissed him one last time as he lay sleeping in an angel induced coma of sorts.

Standing to leave the room, she stopped at the doorway before walking completely away, speaking to the universe and whoever or whatever might hear her…

"Watch over my sleeping babes. Please don't desert them now."

With that she turned and was gone. Hopefully by the time Aaron woke up this bloody battle would be over, their side the winners, and Aaron would be none the wiser.

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So, I know it's been a long time, almost forever, since I last updated anything. My bad; I just fell into a rut where I didn't have the mojo going as much as usual. But, I was finally able to wrap up chapter 50. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Gotta see what I can cook up for the next chapter….and how long it will take me.