A platform clad foot exited the limousine parked in front of the Kabra mansion. A teenage girl dressed in skinny jeans and a white halter top stepped out. Her dark brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders and if she was even a bit apprehensive, she didn't show it.

"Daniel Cahill, if I have to say it one more time, so help me, I am going to kill you," she said dangerously calmly.

"Sheesh. Touchy, touchy. A true ninja is patient." A brown haired boy exited the limo and rolled his eyes.

"I saw that, Dan."

"Are you going to tell Fiske?"

"No. But you're going to be nice to Natalie for the rest of the week."

"Week? That's…that's…a whole seven days!"

"So? If you don't want me to tell Fiske that you brought your ninja swords, you're going to be nice."

"You cannot order a ninja lord around! You have dishonored your family! You must now commit seppuku."

"Dan!"

"Coming."

They made their way up the steps. Amy pressed the doorbell and waited.

"Typical Cobras, making everybody wait."

"Dan, you're not allowed to call Ian that. Or Natalie," she added as an afterthought.

"Awww…you mean I can't annoy your boyfriend or Prada princess? This sucks."

"He's not my—Ian."

"Of course he's not your Ian. He's your snuggly bug."

"Dan!" Amy looked horrified and her cheeks flamed.

"What?"

"Snuggly bug? You couldn't come up with anything better, Dan?"

"Cobra."

"Dan! Apologize to Ian, and tell him what you meant."

"I'm sorry…Kabra," Dan said through clenched teeth. "And Amy and I were talking about how I wasn't supposed to call you Cobra and things got out of hand."

"Because?" Amy prodded.

"Because I'm a ninja lord!"

"DAN!"

"Oh, look, there's Hamilton! Hamilton! Hammer!" Hamilton turned around.

"Dan-o!" Hamilton yelled.

"Sorry about…him." Amy shook her head despairingly.

"It's fine."

"So, Sinead has some sort of…invention?"

"So it seems, yes."

"It was nice of you to let her present it here."

"It's the least I could do for my girlfriend, as you Americans call it."

"Sinead's your girlfriend?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no. I haven't seen…erm…Natalie. Yet. I haven't seen Natalie yet. Excuse me." Amy fled the scene.

"Hi, Natalie!"

"Hey, Amy."

"Is it true that Ian's dating Sinead?"

"Yes. She's thrilled." Natalie smirked. "For a chance to date my brother! When it's obvious that he loves someone else. How sad. Sinead could do better. She could have somebody who loves her." Natalie smiled. "And, Amy, thank you. For everything. I know you didn't have to forgive us after the hunt. But the fact that you did, and became my best friend…That means a lot. Sinead thinks so too. And the rest of the girls."

"Oh, Natalie. You were under the influence of Isabel. You've changed. That's what matters."

"Thank you. Oh, Dan's waving to me. Should I go over?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll talk to Hamilton."

"Sure…talk to him. You'll find a way to win Ian back."

"I don't want Ian. And definitely not back. I never had him in the first place."

"Sure, that's what they all say. Go on." Natalie sauntered off.

"Hamilton! Hamilton, I need a favor."

"Sure, anything for you."

"Good. Because I think you'll love what I have to offer."

"You want me to do WHAT," Hamilton whisper-shouted.

"Kiss me."

"Why?"

"Because Ian and Sinead need to think we're dating."

"Why?"

"Because I know you like Sinead."

"I do not!" Hamilton sputtered. "And anyway, what about you and Ian?"

"That's different."

"Sure." Hamilton stretched out the word.

"Fine! I like Ian! Now will you do it?"

"I never said I wouldn't."

"Ugh! Never mind." Amy twisted on her heel.

"No, Amy. Wait." Hamilton grabbed her arm, and she looked around. Then he kissed her. With everybody looking on. "Forgive me?"

"Okay." Amy said, breathless.

Ian stared at her. She was supposed to be his. When did this get so out of hand? He was only dating Sinead to make her jealous. He didn't know the Holt Dolt was dating her. And now they were kissing in front of everyone. It made him look like a fool. And Kabras don't look like fools. Ever. He looked over at Natalie, who's eyes were wide, and a smile stretched across her face. Why was she happy? Dan, who was standing by Natalie, had a disgusted look on his face, but his eyes were amused. Wait…why was he standing by Natalie? And more importantly, why were they holding hands? Sinead. He must find Sinead. She would be level-headed. But when he looked at her, she had the same horrified face that he did.

The Holt Dolt and Amy were talking now.

"Forgive me?" The Dolt asks.

"Okay." Amy sound dazzled. But that's not right. She should only be dazzled by him. And as soon as the moment ends, everybody's unfrozen. Natalie is the first to break the awkward silence.

"You didn't tell me you were dating Hamilton!"

"You didn't tell me that you liked Dan!"

"Touché."

"Forgiven?"

"Forgiven." Natalie smiled. "Obviously we need to talk."

"Agreed," chorused all the girls.

"Let's go up to the penthouse, first." Sinead jumped back to the topic at hand. "Ned recently designed a time machine. Ted drew it, and I built it." She led the way up the stairs.

"Will it help defeat the Vespers?"

"I'm not sure. But this is an important part of our lives." Sinead opened the door to a metal circle on a stand. Next to it was a control panel with various other colored buttons.

"This is a-"

"Time machine. It-"

"Allows you to travel through time."

"However, we're not sure-"

"Of the mechanics."

"So think of this-"

"As a test drive."

"Ned! Ted! Shut up and let me talk. You're confusing everybody. Okay. So, this is a prototype. It should work. We haven't actually tried it out on humans, but we were able to use animals. Nothing came back harmed."

"Start it up, Sinead. Give us a demonstration, my dear." Alistair Oh beamed.

Sinead pressed a button and the power surged. Natalie screamed, and Amy grabbed Hamilton's hand. Instinctively, Hamilton intertwined their fingers.

In the end, there was a cloud of smoke over the machine.

"Let it clear. Just give it five minutes," Sinead shouted.

Ian noted that Amy and the Holt Dolt were holding hands. Honestly, he was so not right for her. She deserved somebody romantic, somebody suave, somebody smart, somebody…like him.

As the smoke cleared, dark figures emerged. Amy let go of Hamilton's hand and stepped forward.

"Who are you? I am Amy Cahill, Madrigal leader."

"Amy Cahill?" The name rippled through the figures, and an older version of Amy stepped forward.

"Oh my god! It's Amy! How is this possible? You're so young! Madrigal leader? Already? What year is this?"

"It's 2011. What year is it for you?"

"You're only 16? Wow. I'm 30. I feel so old. It's 2025. Or was…Okay, now I'm confused."

"Duh, Amy! We're from the future. Take us to your leader." An older Dan walked out of the crowd. "Hey, me."

"This is sooo cool! There are two of me….or two of you…confused. Whatever. Let's go put whipped cream in Amy's pillow!"

"Yeah! The ninja lord will prevail!" The Dans high-fived.

"DAN!" Both Amy's shouted.

"Sorry," they muttered.

Ian felt that it would be time to step in.

"So there is one of each of you from the future, correct?"

"Correct." Ian II stepped from the crowd. "There is a Hamilton, a Sinead, a Jonah, an Amy, as you can see, and a Dan, who would be impossible to miss, along with countless others of whoever else is in this room."

"Ian vs. Ian. This is going to be interesting. They'll be at it for days." Amy II stage whispered.

"Should we intervene?"

"Do we want to sit here and watch?"

"Not particularly."

"Then yeah. Let them go at it later."

"Are you finished?" Both Ians asked at the same time, and turned to each other. "Women." They rolled their eyes.

"Excuse me?" Both Amy's asked, then high-fived each other. "Girl power!"

"Wow. It's like Ian and Amy…doubled." Dan II whispered.

"Yup. Obviously, it's up to the ninja master to break this up." Dan stepped out and cupped his hands around his mouth. "ALRIGHT PEOPLE! THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT! PEOPLE FROM THE FUTURE WILL BE REFERRED TO AS NAME TWO. PEOPLE FROM THE FUTURE, PAIR UP WITH YOUR PRESENT COUNTERPARTS. YOU WILL BE SHARING A ROOM. THERE IS NO TRADING! TWINS WILL SHARE ROOMS, SO NED AND TED AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS WILL SHARE A ROOM ALONG WITH MADISON AND REAGAN AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS. WE'LL START AT GO. GO!"

Everybody rushed around the room. After the pairs were organized, everybody shuffled to their pre-assigned room.

"Nice job, Dan," the Amy's chorused, while walking out of the room.

In Amy's quarters, Amy II collapsed on her bed. "So…where are you in relationships right now?"

"I'm dating Hamilton."

"Oh, that was a bad time. Don't worry. I can't tell you anything…just to follow your heart. It will lead you to the right place."

"What if I know who has it? I just don't want it back."

"Does Hamilton have it?"

"No."

"Is it harder than that?"

"I don't know if I can trust him…the holder of my heart, that is."

"If he's worthy of you, he will gain your trust."

"What about you? Are you dating anyone?"

"No! I mean, no. I'm not dating anyone."

"Are you, like, a virgin?" Amy said curiously. "It feels so weird asking myself that."

"I'm not a virgin. I'm married to my college sweetheart."

"Really? That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, I know."

"How'd you guys meet?"

"I'd had a crush on him for a long time, and I finally decided to make him jealous. Needless to say, it worked. I'm still not sure what happened."

"That's amazing. Thank God I have something to look forward to."

"Well, not everything is set in stone. The future changes."

"I want to be an author or an editor when I graduate. What do you do?"

"I'm an editor, and I write on the side. I've published five books already."

"That's so cool!"

Meanwhile, Ian II was lounging on the couch.

"So, what have you been up to?"

"Accounting, selling paintings, the usual," Ian II replied.

"Really now."

"Yes. Dating anybody?"

"Sinead."

"Ah…it'll get better, and then before you know it, you'll be married to the most amazing girl on Earth."

"I already know the most amazing girl on Earth."

"I don't think you do. You don't really know any girl until you've married them."

"Really…who did you marry."

"Her name is classified, but she's my college sweetheart."

"That's cliché."

"Yes, but it works."

"I suppose…you do still live in the Kabra mansion, correct?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Is your wife a Cahill?"

"More so than most. She's got a foot in two branches."

"That must be hard."

"Not for her. She can handle anything."

"It takes a strong-willed girl to be an agent for two branches."

"Oh, no. She's an agent for all of them."

"Amazing. What a special girl."

"Yes, yes, she is."

Later, at dinner, the Amy's and the Hamilton's sat next to each other, across the table from the Sinead's and the Ian's. The Dan's sat next to the Natalie's who sat across from the Jonah's. The Madison's and Reagan's stared at each other from the other end of the table, and the Ted's and Ned's sat next to them. Alistair's sat at the ends of the table.

As the dinner was spread out by servants, they chattered amongst themselves.

"So, Ian, feeling any more conceited now that there are two of you?"

"Yes, yes, I am, love."

"Don't call me that."

"When the sun sets, love."

"Isn't it weird to be called Ian II?"

"Yes, I should be first. I am older, after all."

"Amy II. It has a nice ring to it." They shared a small smile.

Later, after dinner, they retired to their rooms.

"Actually, I'm not feeling all that well. A little nauseous, actually," Amy II replied. "I'm sure I ate something that disagreed with me."

Across the room, although Ian II showed little to no worry, ever so slight frown lines creased his brow. "Do you need me?" He mouthed. She shook her head ever so slightly.

As the two Amy's walked back to their rooms, Amy asked, "Do you have any children?"

"No."

"Have you ever considered it?"

"We don't want to try. We just want it to happen. We thought…we thought it had a month or so ago, on our anniversary. But it was a false alarm."

"That's too bad."

"Yup. But maybe this time around."

"Aren't you already late? I had my *cough* last week."

"Yep. I've been crossing my fingers."

"Does he know?"

"I think he's realized I haven't been as cranky, but he locks himself in the office that one week every month."

"Oh."

"It's been there, you know. The symptoms. I threw up yesterday morning, and the slightest whiff of anything, and I feel queasy. I had a hard time eating anything tonight and keeping it down."

"You didn't talk much at dinner after the food came out."

"That was me trying not to lose my lunch."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. If I'm right, this will be a miracle."

As they reached the room, Amy flopped on her bed, and Amy II eased onto the couch next to the bathroom.

"Just in case," she explained.

"Do you feel nauseous?"

"Yes."

"That's too bad. Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll probably just listen and give you advise from time to time."

"Okay. What do you want to talk about, Amy? Amy?" Amy II had gone white and rushed into the bathroom. Two seconds later, loud retching came from the bathroom, along with the sound of somebody projectile vomiting. Amy rushed in.

"Are you okay?"

"Not particularly," Amy II groaned, and heaved the contents of her stomach into the toilet. "I reached the bathroom, though. For a second, I didn't think I'd make it. And I don't feel queasy anymore. I mean, my stomach feels like it's curling in on itself, but I don't think there's anything left to get rid of." She moaned, leaned over and puked. "Now there's nothing left to get rid of."

"What do you want me to do if you get sick again in the morning?"

"Get Ian."

"Ian?"

"As in Ian II." Amy II stood up, and rinsed her mouth.

"Are you okay?"

" Yeah. What do you want to talk about?"

"I was going to talk about our favorite foods, but…" Amy II went pale, and her hand flew to her mouth. "that's probably not a good idea."

"Yeah, probably not. Sorry, I'm not feeling all that talkative."

"Okay. Barfing always makes people unresponsive. Want to go to bed?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Amy turned off the lights, and they fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in Ian's room, Ian confronted Ian II. "Why were you so worried about Amy II?"

"Because she's not feeling well."

"Why do you care?"

"Wouldn't you care if Amy got sick?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. You're married, and she's married."

"Ian, honestly, now you're just being stupid."

"Stupidity is FLO."

"Yes, so go to bed."

"Fine."

Both Kabras were asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillows.

The next morning, Amy awoke to loud retching noises, and Amy II puking. Amy walked over to the bathroom, and tied back Amy II's hair.

"I'm going to call Ian, okay?" Amy II nodded.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Don't leave," she groaned, before losing the battle with her stomach and returning her head to the toilet.

"I won't. I'm just going to call Ian from my cell phone." Amy II groaned and laid her head against the porcelain.

"I'll be quiet. But hurry, because I don't think my stomach will be calm for long."

Amy dialed Ian's number.

Ian turned over in bed and reached for his ringing phone.

"Ian Kabra speaking. May I ask who is it?"

"Amy Cahill?" He sat bolt upright. "Amy, love, what is it?"

"Can I talk to the other Ian?"

"Yes, of course. Wait a while." He turned to the other bed, covering the receiver with his hand. "Ian! Wake up! It's Amy." Ian II groaned and took the receiver.

"Amy?"

"Hi, Amy II told me to call you."

"What about?"

"She's…indisposed."

"This early in the morning?"

"She…couldn't keep down the contents of her stomach last night, she's experiencing nausea…Can you just come over? She'll be much better at explaining than me."

"Yes, yes. Can I speak with her?"

"Yeah, sure." The receiver changed hands, and a door shut.

"I feel sick. What do you want?" His wife's voice filtered through the phone. "Make it snappy, I can just feel bile coming up my throat."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"What do you-" She was cut off as somebody-he suspected her- puked in the background. "What do you think? I'm away from my husband, I'm barfing up my guts, I can't keep anything down, I missed my period, and I'm pretty sure it's your baby!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold on a minute while I come over." He hung up, passed Ian back his phone. "I'm going over to Amy's room, Amy II wants me."

"Do you want me to come with you? You don't know where she's staying."

"Yes." He said shortly, "Let's go." They walked down the hallway.

"Here we are…Wait a bit." Ian put his thumb to the scanner, and the door opened. A shriek came from a girl inside.

"IAN!" Amy came to the door. "I could have been changing!"

"But you weren't." Ian II pushed past them both.

"Where is she?"

"In the bathroom. She's really cranky…We both woke up at, like, five, because she nearly threw up all over her bed." Ian II rushed to the bathroom, only to find that it was locked.

"Amy? Amy, love, let me in."

"No." Retching came from the room.

"Please, love?"

"Fine." The door opened. Amy II, wrapped in a blue bathrobe with disheveled hair and a pale face stood in the doorway. She went from pale to a light green, and rushed to the toilet. Following her, Ian II hurriedly closed the door, just as vomiting came from the bathroom.

"Want to listen to their conversation?"

"Not particularly. It's just barfing and Amy snapping."

"On my phone."

"No. That's wrong."

"So? I'm a Lucian."

"Then you do it. I'm just going to stand here as an innocent bystander who happened to overhear."

"Suit yourself." Ian played the conversation until "I'm away from my husband, I'm barfing up my guts, I can't keep anything down, I missed my period, and I'm pretty sure it's your baby!"

"She's having an affair? With you?"

"He's married."

"She's married. She said her marriage was going great."

"Everybody's marriage is great. Even Vikram and Isabel's marriage was great, and they only saw each other on holidays to have sex!"

"Oh." Just then, Amy II and Ian II exited the bathroom.

"You're having an affair?"

"No!"

"So you're not married?"

"No!"

"I'm confused."

"I'm married, and I'm not having an affair."

"Neither am I."

"Then how are you having a baby?"

"I'm having a child with my husband?"

"Then how is it his baby?"

"Because he's my husband?"

"But he's Ian!"

"Excuse me?" Both Ian's chorused.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Everything! You're a Kabra. And what's more is, you're dating Sinead!"

"You're dating the Holt Dolt!"

"Hamilton's very smart!"

"You're dating him! Of course you're going to say that!"

"We've been dating since I found out that you were dating Sinead!"

"Why would you go out and get a boyfriend just because I'm dating Sinead?"

"To make you jealous!"

Amy II muttered to Ian II, "I do not remember being this dramatic."

"Why would you need to make me jealous? I already love you! You know that, and you won't even give me the time of day! I'm not just going to sit around and mope!"

"Wait. You love me?"

"Yes! Why do you think I call you love?"

"Because it annoys me?"

"Because I love you."

"I love you too." They stared at each other for a moment, then Ian kissed her.

"That's so sweet." Amy II whispered.

"Of course it is. I always was a romantic."

"Really? How come you never kissed me like that?"

"I am! Look!"

"Oh, that's right. Do it now."

"No need to tell me twice." He dipped her back. "I've always been told I'm an amazing kisser."

"Oh, yeah? Let me be the judge of that."

"Gladly."

A week later...

"Goodbye, master!"

"Goodbye, ninja lord."

"So long, Hammer!"

"So long, old buddy."

"I'll miss my shopping partner!"

"I'll miss my outfit evaluator."

"It was a good project. Make sure to fix the flaws we talked about!"

"I won't forget. Goodbye, fellow Ekat."

"Dude, that was-"

"So awesome!"

"We should do it-"

"Again some time!"

"Holt twins, out, peace."

"Holt twins squared, out!"

"Bye, Amy. I'll name the child Grace if it's a girl."

"Okay. I can't say that I'll miss the hours of morning sickness. They should really call it all day sickness."

"You didn't even do anything! I'm the one who's sitting there puking up my guts. You're just standing there. But I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"Farewell, Ian. And remember; your wife is always right; even when she's wrong, she's right."

"Very well. Don't forget; Kabras remain on top."

"The child will be a Cahill, not a Kabra."

"Kabra blood, my dear Ian. Kabra blood. That will make all the difference."

They all shared one last smile before the future disappeared before their eyes.

Ian joined Amy.

"Have you...done what you needed to?"

"No need. He was...compelled to tell me that the plan had worked and that he was no longer in need of my services...nor was I in need of his."

"Same to me, it seems, and furthermore, I am under the impression that I am coming off on you."

"Really."

"You seem almost English; formal, British boyfriend...although, I must say, England has never seen such a beautiful lady with such lovely eyes. I do so love your eyes."

"Do you, now."

"Ever so much.