DISCLAIMER: I absolutely do NOT own Unnatural History or any of its characters; it/they belong to the rightful owner(s).I ALSO do not own certain plot ideas such as the one that inspired this chapter. The CREATOR of Unnatural History, MIKE WERB, revealed his season 2 plot ideas he had ONLINE that he WOULD have used had Unnatural History not been canceled, but it was, so I did NOT STEAL them, I was simply inspired by them, as they were only a few words and gave me the idea for everything else. I only own how I put it into words, and my OC's. Just wanted to make that clear; thank you for your time (:

FULL SUMMARY FOR EPISODE ONE: In their last week in Mongolia, Henry, Maggie, and Jasper uncover clues to the centuries-old mystery of Genghis Khan's tomb while exploring the desert, but someone else is doing whatever they can to stop them from finding it. Hopefully you think the story is better than that summary (: Yes, I do realize the characters are a bit OOC, this is only my second fanfic and my VERY FIRST Unnatural History story, so be nice, I promise I'll get better! (If I continue, of course.) Rated T to be safe. Read & Review please!

And just in case your wondering, NO, I have never written a mystery story before. So don't kill me if it's lacking in any type of suspense at all, I tried! It was fun to write, anyway! :) IF there is a typo, an error, or something that doesn't quite make sense somewhere in here, sorry! I tried to edit it as much as possible but 12,000+ words is a LOT! Thanks :)

-Unnatural History-

-Season 2-

-Episode 1: The Lost Tomb-

"Ugh! Henry, can we please stop for second?"

Henry Griffin rolled his eyes and turned to who the complaint had come from; none other than his cousin, Jasper Bartlett, who was so far behind him he almost had to yell to be sure Henry had heard him.

"We just did! It's only been ten minutes!" Henry called back in a matter-of-fact way, but paused and waited for his cousin to catch up. Out of breath, Jasper almost immediately sat down on the hot sand and took out his canteen, trying to get whatever water was left in it. It obviously wasn't much at all because a moment later he groaned and threw it to the ground. Henry sighed and held out his own canteen to him, and then felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, realizing it was his best friend, who looked almost amused.

"You do know this is the fourth stop in two miles, right?" Maggie Winnock smiled, and Jasper shook his head miserably, apparently too tired to say anything in response. "Don't worry," Henry said reassuringly, "Only one more week and we'll be back in Washington."

"Yeah, just in time for school to start." Jasper muttered with mock excitement, giving the water back. However, he got to his feet a few moments later and the group began walking again. They weren't too far from the campsite that they and Henry's parents had made. They'd moved around a lot during the last nearly two months to explore more areas, and right now, the camp was in the Khentii Province of Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, or as Jasper referred to it, nowhere. It was at least four miles in every direction from any civilization; perfect for exploring and researching, which was exactly what Henry and his parents had been doing almost non-stop since they'd arrived with Jasper and Maggie at the beginning of the summer. "I don't believe," Jasper began, "that you actually know where you're going. We've been walking for ages." Of course, he himself knew the way back even less, so it didn't mean much coming from him.

Henry glanced back quickly and smiled. "Of course I do." A pause. "I think."

Jasper stopped dead, and Henry laughed. "Joking," he said cheerfully, and Maggie giggled softly.

"Not funny!" Jasper grumbled. It was honestly as if neither of them even cared it was like three hundred degrees out. He fumbled with the strap on his canteen, trying to get it back over his head, not realizing he'd walked completely off to the right—until he tripped over an unseen object and hit the ground with a thud. "Ow!"

The other two turned around and went over to help him up. "Ack, pleh!" Jasper spat, a deepening frown etched on his face. "I could have gone without tasting the sand this summer." he said with an irritated sigh. Henry was no longer paying attention to him, however; instead he was suddenly extremely interested in what his cousin had just fallen over: a raised pile of sand. He bent closer to it, reached a hand out to move it, and silently gasped as he realized it wasn't sand at all—it was a person. Henry raised an eyebrow; or else, it had been a person. It was hardly recognizable now, though the dry conditions of the desert had practically mummified it.

"Gross…" Jasper said as he and Maggie realized what it was as well. He stepped back from it, while Maggie only watched as Henry, intrigued, reached for the bag around its waist. He unhooked it and then turned it over in his hand for a moment. It was made of animal skin and had a small opening in the top, so he held his palm out and emptied the contents into it. Only two things fell out; one being a small pocket knife with cloth wrapped around it, and the other being simply a tiny piece of old, very wrinkled paper. He gently opened up the paper, his eyes widening at the drawing of on it. "What?" Maggie asked, noticing this. Without answering, he gawked at the little weapon, fumbling with it until he brought it in front of him, his mouth open as he inspected the cloth.

"What?" Maggie asked again, both of them wondering why the objects were so interesting. Henry got to his feet, taking several steps back from the body and showing them the knife and paper. "I've seen these before." he began, and then shook his head, gesturing at the knife. "This belonged to…" he trailed off, a funny look on his face.

"To who?" Jasper asked, and after a moment of hesitation, Henry answered.

"…Genghis Khan."


Henry stood next to his parents, who were kneeling on a blanket, inspecting the body the kids had just dragged the last mile or so, and he frowned as his father shook his head. "What?" Maggie asked. "Is it…him?"

"No." Zafer Griffin said at last.

"He had these in his bag," Henry grabbed the items on the table, not quite sure what he was trying to prove, and pointed at the paper. "That's the symbol that was on Genghis Khan's original armor. And this," he held out the pocket knife. "It's made of—"

"Iron, yes, I'm aware of that. They have, what I'm now guessing is a replica, of it in the Brooklyn Museum. But he also has a plane ticket." Zafer held it up, and Henry lowered his hands, blushing. Now that he thought about it, he felt foolish for ever believing it was the old ruler, even for a moment. The body, had it really been Genghis Khan, would have been much more decomposed after the hundreds of years of being there, and anyway, no one would have simply thrown him out in the desert; sure his grave was unmarked, but it wasn't under only two feet of sand.

"I highly doubt there were airports in the early 1200's." Zafer continued, gently taking the items from Henry and placing them back in the mummy's bag, which was once again around its waist. Then, he turned so he could look at all three of the teens. "But, you did uncover something of a mystery—this man, Nikolaevich Andreev, came here from Russia ten years ago, and disappeared without a trace. He was an explorer; looking for Genghis Khan's tomb, but no one ever heard from him again."

Maggie shivered. "They didn't send search parties or anything?"

Zafer shook his head. "Only about a handful of people even knew he was coming here at the time."

"So how'd we find him now?" Jasper asked, his eyes on the mummy as if expecting it to jump up at any moment.

"Maybe the dust storm last night unburied it." Henry said, and his father nodded. "Most likely. We've been everywhere around here, I think we would have seen it if it was there before."

Maggie was suddenly very interested. "So…does that mean the tomb is around here?"

Zafer shook his head. "There have been a hundred or more searches that took place around this area, and I believe all were unsuccessful at finding anything."

Henry turned to his friend as she shrugged. "It's supposedly in the Khentii Mountains…"

"I know," Maggie snapped, and then apologized. "I just thought it would be interesting if we could find something on it."

Rosie smiled. "Well, remember we were planning on going to the mountains tomorrow, so if you want to ask…"

"Really?" Henry said, and Zafer gave him a look. "Henry, you are not going to go around interviewing people like you did in—"

"I was eleven!" Henry interrupted.

Zafer frowned. "You almost got yourself arrested!"

"That woman overreacted, I never stepped in her garden!…And I wasn't interviewing! I was simply asking people why they wouldn't vote for the new…constitution…" Henry trailed off, realizing his cousin was looking at him with an amused smirk. "Let me guess, you were in…Cuba?"

"It was Kenya." Henry corrected, not detecting the sarcasm, and Jasper closed his eyes, shaking his head in an exasperated way. It seemed to him that not only had Henry been everywhere possible in the world, but also had a story to tell from each of those places; and he wasn't completely sure this was wrong.

Maggie turned to Henry's parents after a moment and asked, "Are we just going to keep him here? Or…"

"Who, Henry?" Jasper smiled jokingly, looking up, and Maggie punched him hard in the arm. "Ow! I was kidding!"

Ignoring her nephew, Rosie said, "Of course not. There's a town about four miles away; we'll bring it there. I'm sure they'll be very interested in it."

Before anyone could say anything, Rosie glanced at Jasper. "You don't have to go," she pointed out, and Jasper frowned; had it been that obvious he'd been thinking that? Maggie rolled her eyes and watched as a Zafer turned to Henry, waiting, and the teen half-smiled. "I'm going to stay here."

Zafer nodded swiftly, grabbing both his canteen and his wife's before he grabbed the body.

"I think I will, too," Maggie said slowly, and Rosie shrugged. "Alright, we'll be back in an hour or two, hopefully. Please, don't leave camp!" She added, looking directly at her son.

"Alright." Henry nodded, and then sat down as their parents hauled off the half-mummy, seeming almost uncomfortable. He had his hand behind his back, and Maggie saw this, but said nothing until the two were far enough away they wouldn't hear. "What's wrong?" she asked, and Henry looked up at her somewhat innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about." he said, but Maggie continued to stare at him until he showed his hand, which Maggie gasped as she saw. In his grip was the knife and piece of paper he'd apparently swiped once again from Nikolaevich's bag. She gazed at him, still unable to understand how he was able to do such things without anyone seeing. "It means something, Maggie, and you know it." Henry murmured.

"I don't know it," Jasper said from behind them, taking a drink from his newly-refilled canteen. "And, I think I'd rather not."

Henry stood and turned to the two. "I'm going to look around. Do you want to come?"

"But they said…" Maggie stopped, casting a glance to where Henry's parents were now only specks on the horizon, and smiled slightly. "I suppose so. Though…I'm not really sure what you think you're going to find."

"Neither do I." Henry admitted. "But Nikolaevich was heading the opposite direction of any people, so he must have known something was out here or else he would have turned back."

"How do you know he wasn't just lost?" Jasper asked, coming to stand beside his cousin.

Henry didn't reply, half because he didn't have an answer, and started out towards where they'd found the explorer. Maggie gave Jasper a glance as they passed, wondering if he really was going to stay alone at the camp for however long they'd be gone, but a moment later, he sighed loudly and reluctantly began to follow them.

"Which way?" Maggie asked casually, and Henry was silent for a moment. "Well," he said finally, "we should start the way he was heading."

Jasper rolled his eyes. He didn't know why he'd expected anything less from his cousin, the kid who made everything into a mystery needing to be solved, even if sometimes he was right. He cast a glance back, wondering if he should have stayed. Whatever Henry was getting himself into, he wasn't sure he wanted any part in it. And he could have used the rest, anyways.

After twenty minutes or so of walking, Henry abruptly dropped to his knees next to a very small plant—one of the first Jasper had seen. Maggie began to question if he was alright, but Henry was looking at the plant, not at all hurt. He reached out to it, dug for a moment in the sand beside it, grabbed something, and then held it up. It was a piece of very rusted and old metal.

"Wow." Jasper said, mocking amazement, the only thing mildly amazing being how on Earth his cousin had seen the small—and apparently half buried—little object while walking.

Henry didn't reply, using his thumb to rub some of the rust off on either side. He let out something resembling a laugh; on it was a carving of the same symbol from the paper. He turned back to the plant and stared at it, as if expecting to find something else.

Jasper sighed. "There's nothing there, Henry!" he snapped after a moment, his patience a bit tried already because of the heat and such.

Maggie, for once, had to agree, and she murmured, "We should probably head back…"

Henry pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head. "I don't understand…" he murmured. "Why would he just leave this here if it wasn't a clue?"

Jasper groaned, annoyed. "Who's he?"

"Nikolaevich." Henry answered softly, showing them the symbol, and Maggie tilted her head. "Henry, just because it matches the paper…"

"Doesn't mean it's his." Jasper interrupted her. "And if it was him, he could have just dropped it."

"But he was coming this way, not from it."

Jasper paused for a second. "He really was lost. This just proves it."

Henry frowned. "It proves nothing, Jasper."

Jasper hung his head; leave it to Henry to think there was more to everything than what he saw. He had to admit; it did seem a bit weird why this Nikolaevich guy would have just randomly left something like that out in the open, but then again, who knew if it was even his? It'd been ten years since they guy had died; anyone could have come this exact way and dropped it.

"Just…leave it alone, okay?" Jasper shook his head and turned, beginning to walk back to camp. Maggie hesitantly did as well, and Henry sighed, flipping over the metal in his hand, trying to make sense of it. He ran his finger over the carving and sighed. Why would he leave it if it's not a clue? He wondered again silently. He looked at his friends, and then slowly turned around, wondering if he should continue by himself. He started forward, staring at the metal.

His skin prickled suddenly as the wind picked up, and he raised his head. The sky in front of them having gone from blue to brown in an instant, and he realized what it was almost immediately.

"Jasper!" He shouted, and both of them turned around, their mouths falling open as they saw what was behind him; a sand storm, much bigger and violent-looking than the ones they'd endured before.

"We've gotta get back!" Maggie shouted over the growing roar of the wind, ignoring Jasper's sarcastic reply of, "Really?". She turned to Henry, who shook his head. "No time!" He said loudly, casting a glance back to see the storm gaining fast. He covered his mouth and nose with the scarf around his neck, gesturing the other two to do the same. As they did so, he looked around desperately, and caught sight of a large rock in middle of the sand, pointing and waving both to follow. "Run! There!" He shouted, and all three rushed off. Only a minute after they'd started, the dust cloud overcame their pace, and they were instantly blinded in the strong winds.

"Henry!" Maggie cried, terrified, right next to him but unable to see. Henry reached out and grabbed her wrist, squinting behind him. "Jasper?" he shouted, but his voice was lost in the wind, and he faced the direction he'd been heading; the rock hadn't been that far—had it? His other hand out, he finally touched the hard surface a second later. "Get behind it!" he said, next to Maggie's ear, and she nodded.

He turned back, fighting to keep his eyes open as he walked, though it hardly made a difference. "Jasper!" He exclaimed, and suddenly something bumped into him. "Ack!" Jasper spat, blinking dazedly. Henry yanked his cousin's scarf back over his mouth, grabbed his shirt, and faced him towards the rock. "Walk forward!" He ordered, and he helped Jasper stumbled towards their meager shelter. Hoping the rock was right in front of them, Henry released his hold, almost immediately tripping and falling to his knees. He managed to get back to his feet, staggered another step or two, but only fell once more as the ground seemed to suddenly disappear from underneath him, and it seemed like forever until he finally hit sand again.

He struggled to stand again, his head throbbing. Unsure exactly where he thought he was going, he stumbled forward, slower than before, coughing despite the cloth. He trekked on for ten minutes as the wind and sand and dust whipped almost painfully at his bare arms and legs, and then suddenly, he collided with something solid. Feeling a tiny flicker of hope inside him, he put his hands out to maneuver himself to the other side of it, and once he took a step behind it, the sand stopped pounding against him, as if it'd abruptly stopped. He collapsed to his hands and knees, removing the scarf and gasping. When he'd caught his breath he raised a hand to rub his eyes, blinking, and realized that, instead of behind another rock like he'd thought, he was in a small cave. He looked behind him, the sand still blowing past the entrance with great speed, and weakly tried to get to his feet, knowing it would be useless. The wind was too strong for him to turn back, and he wouldn't be able to see even if it wasn't. He stopped and fell back, the only thought going through his mind being of his friends. Please have found Maggie, he thought hazily, tiredly leaning against the cold stone, unable to do anything wished he could be sure both of them were safe, but at the moment could do nothing more than hope and wait for it to clear up outside.


Maggie had covered her eyes with her hands, only looking when she felt someone grab her shoulder. "Jasper!" she exclaimed, helping him to get behind the stone, which surprisingly did block most of the sand. Coughing and gasping, Jasper slid to the ground. "Henry…" he murmured, and then tried to get back up, not quite managing it. "Where is he?" Maggie exclaimed, a hand on his shirt.

"I don't know! He was just behind me!" He shook his head, incredulous, but could do absolutely nothing as Maggie clung to him and the wind roared above and beside them.

Finally, after who knew how long of huddling together, Jasper realized the wind was no longer as loud around them, and he opened his eyes. He tapped his friend on the shoulder, and she, too, glanced about them, blinking sand from her eyes. She almost instantly got to her feet, helping Jasper to his, and peering out from behind the rock. The storm was certainly nearly over, if not already done, and she shouted out as loud as her scratchy voice would let her, "Henry!"

There was no answer.

"Oh no…" Maggie murmured, desperately scanning the sand, but saw nothing. Jasper stood next to her, and then said, "Maybe he got back to camp?"

"And how exactly do you think he got so far in that?" Maggie snapped, but hoped more than anything he was right. They had no other lead on where to look first, and so she sighed and both began walking back.


Henry opened his eyes, groggily raising his head and looking around. Sunlight now poured into the cave's opening, and he sighed, relieved the storm was over and then—Maggie! Jasper! He pulled himself to his feet, a hand on the cave's wall. He felt something rough under his fingers, and he turned to look at it—and found it was the same symbol from the paper and piece of metal. He blinked several times to be sure he'd seen right, and then curiously made his way towards the back of the cave. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something glisten in the sunlight, and he bent down. It was a silver watch, badly rusted and stuck on the time of 11:55, but a watch nonetheless. He picked it up, scattering the circle of pebbles that had been around it, flipped it over a few times in his hand, and then placed it in his pocket with the other objects, walking outside.

He squinted against the harsh light, scanning the land but seeing nothing. "Jasper?" Henry tried to shout, but it didn't come out even half as loud as he wanted it to; his throat felt like it was coated with sand—and it probably was. He reached down for his canteen, only to find it wasn't there, realizing he must have lost it before. He swallowed with difficulty and headed the way he'd been heading before he'd hit the wall of the cave, praying it was the right way. But with the storm having completely messed up his sense of direction, he couldn't be sure. He wanted to explore more around the cave, but he needed to be sure his friends were safe before anything.

Finally, however, he saw shimmering figures walking on the horizon. Thinking—or more so, hoping—it was them, he picked up his pace a bit. He heard his name shouted, and he waved his arm in an almost-casual way as the two rushed down the small hill of sand they'd been on to greet him. Maggie nearly knocked him over with the force she hugged him with, and then pulled away a moment later, blushing. "Are you okay?" she asked, and Henry nodded. "Fine!" He whispered hoarsely, and Jasper held out his canteen to his cousin, who gratefully took it. After a moment, Henry gave it back, his throat less sore. "Thank you." He said, already sounding a bit better.

"I owed you from before," Jasper said.

Henry suddenly looked at him, concerned. "You did make it behind the rock, right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you. Where'd you go?"

Henry sighed in relief. "I don't know. I fell…and found a cave." His eyes widened.

Maggie visibly became less tense. "Good, I was so worried you were caught out in it."

"But I did find something. The symbol that keeps showing up everywhere? It was carved into the wall. And then there's this," He held out the watch.

Maggie gently took it, watching the parts not covered in rust shimmer in the light. "Do you know whose it is?" she asked, and Henry tiredly shook his head. "I couldn't find anything else, but that has to be a clue."

Jasper only stared. "A clue of what? Someone else got caught in a storm, stayed there, and lost their watch? Not exactly a mystery."

Henry looked at him, amused. "Possibly, but…" he said, smiling slightly. "Look at the back."

Jasper leaned over Maggie's shoulder as she did so, and in the very corner of the dusty and old metal were two small letters carved into it: N.A.

Both looked at him quizzically, and Henry shrugged. "Nikolaevich Andreev?"

Maggie laughed softly. "So he was here."

"Yeah, if that really is what that means." Jasper said. "And it was ten years ago! Whatever he was after is probably long gone."

Henry looked at the sand. "Or maybe it's not." He glanced up again, seeing both were staring at him. "Well, why leave both the watch and the symbol in the cave if it didn't mean something?" he shook his head. "I've got to go back."

"Are you joking?" Jasper demanded. "I know it's been two hours already!"

"It'll only take…" Henry trailed off, looking behind them. They turned around saw several dark figures coming towards them. Henry wondered for a moment if it was his parents, but as the figures drew closer, he saw it was definitely not them; instead, it was a group of six people, all of their faces covered by thick cloths so barely just their eyes were visible. Henry frowned as they saw the teens, and the man in front shouted out an order in a foreign language. Henry didn't bother translating it because the other four suddenly came at them, holding knives, and he raised his arms, ready to fight, his friends getting beside him. "Get back," Henry said, but they didn't. One of the men jabbed at Henry, and he dodged the weapon, clamped his hand down on the man's wrist and ducked under it, twisting it behind him, and then shoving him roughly to the ground where he lay groaning. Jasper grabbed the knife from the downed man's hands and gave it to Maggie, glaring at two guys who were now more interested in them than Henry.

Henry eluded another stab from one of them, but brought him down as well, only now seeing out of the corner of his eyes that the other two men were in front of his friends, while Jasper swung at him and missed. Henry scowled and backed up as the one still standing swiped at him, and he kicked out, connecting with his hand and knocking the knife from it.

With a movement almost too fast to see, Henry had bent down and grabbed it, pointing it towards the man, who hesitated for a moment. It was long enough for Henry to lash out with his foot and kick him between the legs, grabbing the other knife as well, rushing over to the others, and handing Jasper one of the weapons. The only man still on his feet stared at the three, all with weapons, and held up his hands, smirking. Henry sensed someone behind him, and jumped forward as whoever it was stabbed at him.

"Gah!" Jasper exclaimed, elbowing the man back to the sand.

Henry tumbled forward, nearly bumping into the man in front of him, who threw him to the ground and kicked his side. Gasping, Henry managed to get to his knees, but the man only shoved him to the ground again, a hand around his neck this time to keep him there. He tried to kick the man, but he just applied more pressure to his throat, and it was suddenly impossible to get any air at all. Maggie and Jasper both took a step to help him, but the man gripped the knife and held it above Henry. "Drop them!" he ordered, barely coherent due to a very thick Russian accent. The two released their knives, and he turned his attention back to Henry. "I should kill you right now," he growled. "You already know more than you should." He moved himself so his mouth was right next to Henry's ear. "But I will give you one more chance—"—he paused as Henry gave a small cough, still struggling—"—to stop trying to solve something that is not yours to figure out."

His vision darkening, Henry grabbed the man's hand, merely trying to get himself released but instead injuring the man with the knife he'd forgot was in his grip. He hadn't intended on using it at all, but it did in fact make the man let him go. Scowling and clutching his hand, the man made one last attempt to kick the teen, but Henry caught his foot before it could strike him, shoving him back with a grunt. The man glared down in hatred at him and then the other two. "You've been given a warning; I suggest you take it. We'll be watching." he snarled, and then rushed off to the others, who were just getting to their feet.

Rolling onto his stomach and breathing heavily, Henry weakly looked up and saw that all five were hurrying off in the other direction. He tried to get up in case they attempted anything else, but his arm wouldn't support his weight, and he groaned, allowing his head to drop to the sand for a moment, nearly exhausted. "Henry!" He heard his cousin cry, and then his friends bent down next to him. With their help, he managed to stand, shaking his head. "I'm fine…" he said breathlessly.

"You're bleeding," Maggie gasped, and Henry touched his throbbing right shoulder, seeing his fingers stained red when he looked at them. He frowned and looked at the wound he hadn't realized was there. The ripped clothing around it was bright red, giving off the impression of it being much worse than it was, but he looked closer and saw it wasn't too bad; a bit deep but not serious. "It's nothing." He assured the two who were looking at him, concerned. He tugged the scarf around his neck off and tied it tightly around the gash, looking back to where the men had gone off to, but they had already disappeared.

"What did they want?" Maggie asked, shaking slightly.

Henry shrugged and then winced. "I…I don't know. They said…to stop trying to solve…" he trailed off for a moment. "The mystery." His expression was one of shock.

Jasper cringed. "I knew this whole thing was a bad idea!"

Henry shook his head and looked at him. "No…that means there is something out here! Something someone doesn't want anyone to know about. They said we've been warned…" He paused. "What if Nikolaevich went too far?"

"What do you…?" Maggie began, and then abruptly got it. "If he was looking for Genghis Khan, and he saw something he wasn't supposed to see…"

All of them were silent for a few moments until Henry looked at the two seriously, biting his lip, finally breaking the silence.

"He found where Genghis Khan was buried, and someone murdered him for it."


"Let me get this straight…" Zafer began, staring at Henry as he stood awkwardly in front of him and and his wife. "You stole the knife back, and deliberately left camp after we told you not to?"

"Y-yes." Henry said hesitantly but truthfully. Rosie sighed and put her hands on her hips, her eyes going to her son's shoulder, which Henry had bandaged more properly right before his parents had arrived back. "What happened to your arm?"

"I fell."

"Mmm." Rosie pursed her lips, and Henry wasn't sure if she believed him or not. She moved her gaze to Jasper and Maggie as they stood off the side uncomfortably. "Did you two leave camp, too?"

"No," Henry said quickly, before either could even blink. "It was just me." He wasn't exactly sure why he had lied twice now, although he wanted to be sure his cousin and friend didn't get blamed for anything. He also had some feeling, deep inside him, that they should keep the whole attack and clues to themselves. His parents were obviously not fond of him having anything to do with such.

Zafer sighed and placed a hand on his forehead for a moment. "Come on, Henry!" He held up the knife. "You can't keep this!"

"I know…I just…I'm sorry."

Rosie let out a long breath. "Alright. You can return it at town when you leave next week." She shook her head. "Were you all at least safe when the dust storm hit? We'd just barely got to town when it got to us!"

"Well…yes." Henry said. It wasn't exactly a lie, all three had found shelter; he just…wasn't going to mention where. He glanced at his father, who, with a sigh, set the old pocket knife on the table, shaking his head but no longer looking as upset. "I'm glad you were safe." he said.

Rosie waved her hand at the three of them. "You should get straight to sleep after dinner, remember—Khentii Mountains tomorrow."

How could I forget? Henry thought, exchanging a glance with Maggie.

After all five of them had eaten (some strange but surprisingly decent dish Henry and his parents had made, as usual) the teens made their way to their tent. Maggie watched as Henry winced and sat on his sleeping bag. He gave her a half-smile, but it wasn't hard to tell it was fake.

"We're walking right into what they said not to." Jasper said, pretty much summing up anything Henry was thinking.

"Well, we don't know if they're actually going to be there," Maggie said, frowning slightly. "And anyways, it's only for a day."

Henry nodded in agreement and laid down on his back, his eyes closed. After a moment, Maggie asked, "Why didn't you tell your parents?"

"I didn't want to worry them." Henry replied, not moving. "I doubt they'd like to hear about how we were attacked."

Jasper shrugged. "We might not have to go tomorrow if they know."

Henry blinked at him. "No. My parents have been looking forward to those mountains for the whole summer…I wouldn't want to ruin it for them."

"And us being killed wouldn't ruin it?" Jasper said, noticing Henry frown as he continued. "Maybe you can convince them to let us stay here."

Maggie spoke before Henry could. "Oh, so we'll have no one to help us if they come for us?"

"It's better than—"

Henry sat up, putting his hands out. "Please, just stop!" he said softly, and both looked at him. "Look, we don't even know if they're going to be there! Just because that's supposedly where Genghis Khan is buried, doesn't mean it is, and doesn't mean—"

"That there are people waiting to kill us if we go near it?" Jasper said. " But what if they are?" he shook his head. "I knew this whole thing was a bad idea!"

"Are you blaming me?" Henry asked, his voice very quiet, and Jasper stared at him. "I told you to leave it alone." he said softly.

Henry flinched and closed his eyes, laying back down on his left side, facing away from them. Maggie gave Jasper an irritated look and then also turned onto her other side, a hand under her head.

Jasper sighed, half regretting what he'd said, and laid down on his own bed, putting an arm over his eyes.


Long after both of his friends had fallen asleep, Henry lay awake, thinking. He turned onto his back and stared up at the tent's roof. What if Jasper was right, and the men who had attacked them were at the Khentii Mountains? After all, they had been heading that way. If they were some kind of guards for the lost tomb, then what would happen if they accidentally drew closer than they meant to it? Would they try something else to make them stay away? What would it mean this time, injuring one of them more than a simple cut?

Henry cringed at the thought; they hadn't seen their faces, and wouldn't even be able to recognize it was them until it was too late. He definitely hadn't wanted anything like this to happen—he'd merely been trying to solve…something that wasn't mine to figure out. He sighed and closed his eyes. He'd just begun to slip off into slumber when he heard what almost sounded like soft footsteps outside, and then a soft clang! of metal hitting something. He snapped his eyes open, very much alert, and carefully got to his feet, bending down and walking towards the tent door. He unzipped it enough to peer out, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He frowned, but closed the flap again and laid down, unsure if he should have taken a look around, but before he could think much of it, he drifted into sleep.

When he opened his eyes, it was morning, and he raised his head as he heard his father call his name from outside the tent. As Maggie and Jasper stirred, he walked out and greeted his parents with a smile. But it faded quickly when he saw the look on their faces. "Come on, give it back." Rosie said calmly, and Henry stared at her. "Give what back?" he asked, and Zafer sighed, obviously irritated. "The knife, I put it on the table last night."

Henry groaned inwardly. "It's gone?" Someone had been there earlier!

Rosie looked at him, as if waiting, and he shook his head. "I didn't take it, I promise!"

"Then who did?" Zafer asked, and Henry hesitated. "I…think someone came by this morning and stole it."

"And who would want to steal an old pocket knife?" Rosie demanded.

After a moment, Henry finally confessed. "The same people who attacked us before."

Rosie put her hands up. "Whoa, wait. Someone attacked you? When did this happen?"

"Yesterday, when you were in town and…"

Rosie let out an annoyed laugh. "So you lied about that, too?"

"I—"

"Is that what really happened to your arm?"

"…Yes."

Rosie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

Maggie spoke up, coming to stand next to Henry. "He didn't want to worry you…"

"Oh, is that so?" Zafer said, staring at his son. "Well, it didn't work very well." He placed a hand on his forehead, turned around, and slowly took two steps forward. When he faced them again, he didn't look as frustrated. "Okay, it was nice of you to try, but honestly Henry…you know you should tell us anything if it puts you, or anyone else in danger!"

"I know, and I'm sorry." Henry said truthfully.

Rosie sighed. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"No." Jasper said, and Henry glanced at him. His cousin was being mostly truthful; they really didn't have proof anything was going on, except for…

"Well, there's this," Henry reached into his pocket and held out the piece of metal, deciding to leave the watch. Zafer narrowed his eyes and took it, flipping it over in his hands and giving the three a confused look until Henry pointed at the small symbol. His father sighed. "Henry, it doesn't mean anything."

Henry frowned. "I think the same people who attacked us murdered Nikolaevich." He saw Zafer's confused expression, and added, "Well, you even saw he had a knife wound!" His friends looked at him funnily—neither of them had known that before. Henry looked at them briefly, as if reading their thoughts, but said nothing.

"Yes, he did," Zafer said, "but that doesn't mean he was killed. He could have—"

"Fallen on the one in his bag? It was a pocket knife, and it was closed when we found him!"

Zafer sighed, looking at Rosie for a moment before turning back to him. "He very well could have been. But do you have any proof at all that it even might have been the same men?"

Henry put a hand on his shoulder, and Zafer briefly closed his eyes. "I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm simply stating that you don't have enough evidence to assume anyone did kill him."

But I will. Henry thought, solemnly nodding.

"Alright." Rosie said, smiling and struggling to get back into a happier mood. "If you're all ready, we should probably head out."

"Can't wait," Jasper muttered to himself, and Maggie cast him an almost-sympathetic look as they began walking. Henry stayed at the site for a moment or two, and when Maggie turned around to see where he was, he was already heading towards her, a hand in his pocket. She didn't notice and fell behind the others to be beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just great," Henry forced a smile, and she returned it, but none of them spoke anymore.

Finally, after about an hour of almost completely silent walking, the group reached the edge of the mountain range, and instantly were greeted by a man in a white shirt and shorts.

"Hello," the man said. "I am Andrei. Welcome." Henry frowned.

Rosie smiled at him, and the man asked, "Would you like a tour of the mountains?" Henry looked him over; he didn't look he was a guide, but then again, they'd never been there, so he couldn't be sure.

"Oh, no. Thanks." Rosie said, and Jasper looked at Henry with a sardonic smile before turning to the man. "But I do have a question. Is it true that the tomb of Genghis Khan is hidden here?" His voice got mockingly higher as he spoke.

The man gave him a strange look. "No one has ever succeeded in finding it." He said, monotone, not exactly answering the question. "It would be a waste of time."

Henry frowned again, trying to figure out why his Russian-accented voice sounded so…familiar to him. A moment later, he jerked back from the man as if he'd struck him. Jasper glanced at him, but Henry's eyes were on the ground where the guy was standing.

"Andrei." The man turned around and walked over to the guy who'd spoken, whispering in Russian. Then he faced them again as the other went away. "Alright." he said. "I have to go, but I hope you enjoy your time here." He walked past Henry, smiled, and subtly clapped him on his hurt shoulder in an almost-friendly way. Henry grunted and bent forward slightly, his eyes closed, and then blinked, glancing at the man's hand. "Be careful." Andrei said casually with a smirk. "You would not want to get into any trouble." Henry let out a sharp breath of pain as he removed his hand and walked off. After a moment, he turned around, only to find Andrei had vanished into the trees. He took a step and almost immediately heard his father's voice. "Where are you going?"

"To…look around." Henry answered, looking at the woods. "Well, we just got here…" Zafer looked at Rosie, and she sighed, shrugging. "Okay. But, please, be careful!" he said. "And stay close!"

Henry glanced at his friends, who didn't make any move to follow him. He turned, half thinking it was for the best they didn't come, and walked off in the direction he'd last seen the man. He frowned and, after he'd stepped into the woods, looked at the ground. In front of him was an indent in the grass that matched the man's boots, which he'd carefully eyed before he'd walked off with the other man. He raised his head and then bent down next to a tree as he saw Andrei. He was with four other men and were walking straight towards him. He was about to move, but suddenly a hand clamped over his mouth and then pulled him behind the bush next to him. Henry grabbed the person's arm and began to try and get away until he heard a very soft voice whisper, "Chill, it's us!" Henry lowered his hands as the men passed, talking in Russian, and when they'd gone Jasper removed his hand. "What are you doing?" he demanded, watching as his cousin turned around and staring at him like he was completely insane. Henry frowned and replied quietly, "Those were the men who attacked us yesterday!"

"How do you know?" Maggie inquired.

"…His voice, and—"

"Oh, great!" Jasper said sarcastically. "Does that mean you're going on your instincts again? You know, the same ones that got us into that whole situation?"

"No!" Henry protested. "I'm sure it's him! I accidentally cut the man's hand yesterday. Andrei has a gash in the same spot!"

"Okay. If it is the same guy, why are you following him?" Jasper asked, frustrated. "Isn't one injury enough for you?"

"I…" Henry sighed. "I know they're up to no good, and all I wanted to do was make sure they—" he abruptly stopped, listening, and Jasper mistook it for him not having a reason, and he shook his head, beginning to speak until Henry put his hands out, his eyes wide. "They're coming back," he hissed, "Go! That way!" He pointed behind them.

"What?" Maggie exclaimed, but they obeyed and the three ran further into the concealment of the trees. Finally, they stopped, breathing hard, and Henry looked behind them, sighing in relief. "Are we good?" Jasper asked, and Henry turned to him, confused.

Jasper closed his eyes, annoyed, and corrected himself. "Are they gone?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded. He glanced around and realized they were in something of a clearing, and Maggie stared at Henry. "What if they saw us?"

"They didn't." Henry said hesitantly.

Jasper sighed and walked a few paces forward. "Great! Now we've got to—ow!" He trailed off with a grunt as he stumbled over something. Irritated, he frowned and opened his mouth to finish, but instead jumped back as Henry was suddenly in front of him, looking at the ground where he'd just been standing. "What?" Jasper asked, and Henry raised his head to him. "You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jasper groaned, and Henry stomped his foot on the dirt Jasper had just stepped away from. A barely audible noise echoed under it, and all three of them looked at each other. "It's hollow?" Maggie began, and Henry bent down, beginning to dig. After a few minutes, he gasped and murmured, "Look,"

The two did, and saw that now, instead of ground was metal, very old and rusted. Henry ran a hand along his forehead, not caring he'd just smudged dirt on it, and looked up at his friends, his mouth open. Then, he shoved his hand into his pocket and bringing out the piece of metal he'd kept there the whole time he'd had it. He bent down, brushed off the spot more, and held the piece to the metal on the ground. It was nearly an exact match, and Maggie gasped. Intrigued, Henry placed it in a small slit towards the lower right edge of the metal. Amazingly, it seemed to fit in it, and after a second, a loud click! was heard, and Henry yanked the piece, hoping to actually get it back, but instead, it stayed in place, and the whole thing creaked and then opened. "Help me," he grunted, tugging on it a bit harder. Maggie grabbed an edge, and, reluctantly, so did Jasper. With one more yank, the metal swung up and to the side, like a door. Almost not believing it, he looked back at his friends with a slight laugh.

"Henry, don't!" Jasper warned, wondering if he meant to go down into it.

Henry glanced around almost nervously for a moment before turning his attention back to them, amazed. "I think we just found his tomb," he said quietly.

"Yes, and we thank you for doing so."

All three of them turned around to where the voice had come from, and saw that four men were walking towards them, all holding knives. "You really saved us the trouble." Andrei smirked at them. Jasper took a step back. Great. It's yesterday all over again. He thought.

Henry frowned. "I don't…you wanted us to find the tomb?"

"Yes." Andrei said, running his finger along the blade of his weapon. "At first, we merely wanted you out of the way so we could find it ourselves." He gripped the knife a bit tighter as Jasper shifted, as if he expected him to do something. "But after too many failures of my own men trying to find it, we decided to simply wait until you did the work for us."

He took several steps towards them, pausing when he was a few feet away. "I'm sorry it has to end like this…" he murmured, pointing the knife at Henry. "Too bad you did not take our warning…" he said with mock sympathy. "Now…" he extended his arm completely, the knife just barely brushing against Henry's chest. "Give me what you have found."

Slowly, Henry reached into his pocket and held out the watch. When the man tried to reach for it, Henry pulled it back, and chucked it over Andrei's head. All four of the men's attention went to the object for a quick second, and in that very moment, Henry kicked the knife from Andrei's hand. As the others rushed at them, Henry grabbed his cousin and friend and shoved them into the tomb's opening, following them and disappearing just as the men reached them. He reached up, one of them narrowly failing to catch his arm, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut before they could stop him. Wasting no time, Henry helped his dazed friends up, quickly apologizing, and desperately looking around. The only source of light was coming from a small hole in the door, which they had to get as far away from as possible. "Henry!" Maggie pointed towards the darkness, which wasn't a wall like the other sides, and seemed to be a hallway of some sort.

"Are you kidding?" Jasper whispered, flinching as one of them men above them pounded loudly on the door, struggling to get it open. "How do you know it's not a dead end? Or a trap? We can't see!"

"We can, they can't." Henry said softly, reaching into his pocket and holding out the flashlight he had taken before they left camp and that he'd almost forgotten about. He clicked it on, and all three of them hurried in the direction she'd pointed. The door behind them suddenly opened, pouring light into the small corridor, and Henry looked at them with the silent order: run!

Andrei dropped into the tomb first, cursing loudly in Russian and scanning for the teens, placing the watch in his pocket. He held his knife out, irate that he could have been so stupid as to forget how resourceful and skilled the one boy was. Scowling, he waved his hand at the guys still above him, and then began slowly walking into the blackness.

Three minutes or so after they'd began running, Henry stopped abruptly and grabbed Maggie's wrist before she could continue, placing his arm in front of Jasper when he joined them a second after. "What?" Jasper demanded, out of breath.

"Look!" Henry whispered, his eyes in front of them, and both did. Though it had just been so dark they'd not been able to see two inches in front of them without the flashlight, there was now a dim light coming from ahead. It was very small, but enough they could see the outline of each other even as Henry turned the flashlight off.

Henry heard something from behind them, and he ushered them forward. They rushed towards the light and gasped as they saw where it was coming from: the corridor had widened out into a fairly big room, and towards the top of it was a large hole about the size of a baseball, covered with grass from outside but still able to allow light through. In front of them were five different, new hallways, and Jasper groaned softly. "It's like the pyramids in Egypt." Maggie whispered.

In the moment of hesitation and not knowing where to hide, Henry felt something sharp pressed into his back, and he froze. "Do not move." Andrei growled, and none of them did. He, without warning, whacked the back of Henry's head, causing him to stagger forward with a groan, dropping the flashlight. "That is from before." he said, grabbing Henry by his shirt, dragging him into the middle of the room and putting the knife at his back again. "Since you seem to like mysteries so much, solve this." He gestured at the hallways. "Which one is the right way?"

Henry didn't answer, cringing in pain as he applied more pressure to the knife. "I am not in the mood." Andrei said.

"I don't know!" Henry replied honestly.

Andrei scowled, obviously not believing him, and then chuckled, as if enjoying this whole thing. He forced Henry to turn around and look at his friends. The men had their own weapons at their necks. "If you need some encouragement…" Andrei began, "that can be arranged."

"Don't!" Henry exclaimed, and Andrei glared at him. "Then which way?"

Henry looked around desperately, and then his eyes darted from the ground to the man's pocket, suddenly realizing something. "The watch!" he said, and Andrei frowned. "What?"

"I—I think it shows the direction!"

Andrei released him for a moment to reach into his pocket, shoving the object into his hand. Henry looked at the watch and glanced at Andrei, who was holding the knife right next to his neck. He held his other hand up and took a step. In front of him was a small circle he'd noticed when they first walked in; it was made with a few pebbles, exactly the same size as the body of the watch, and exactly the same thing he'd found the watch in. He bent down and pressed it against the dirt. Both hands were stopped on the eleven, and Henry looked in the direction they were pointing—directly at a hallway. Of course, he couldn't be one hundred percent sure it wasn't just a weird coincidence, but in this situation, he didn't care; all he needed was an answer to give the man. He pointed. "There."

Andrei smiled chillingly, seemingly pleased, and bent down to grab the flashlight, handing it to Henry. "You are going first." he said, and Henry grunted as he shoved him before he could move himself. He staggered and looked back. Andrei walked up to him and put the knife at his back again. "Go!" he ordered, and Henry, taking a deep breath, started forward, now wishing he could be sure it was the correct way.

Almost as soon as he'd stepped into the tunnel, he tripped over something, and heard a loud snap, jerking back and narrowly being missed by whatever shot out at him. It's just like the pyramids in Egypt, Henry repeated Maggie's words silently, widening his eyes and taking a step back. Before he could speak, he felt Andrei once again shove him. Not regaining his balance in time, he once again felt something snap under his shoes, and he closed his eyes, putting his hands in front of him.

-South Korea, Africa-

Henry stood in front of his mentor, Lee, his eyes closed and his arms out in a stance as if to block a hit. "You must clear your mind and listen." Lee continued, and Henry took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He heard—or more so, sensed—something whiz towards him, and he reached out, closing his fingers around the object right before it could hit him, opening his eyes to see it had been a very small pebble. He looked at Lee, who nodded.

"Again."

Henry blinked, looking at the thorn-type dart he'd caught in his fingers. He shone the flashlight on it and then turned around. Andrei was scowling at him, and he held up the dart, not quite sure what he expected the man to do about it. Would he make him continue anyway? He hadn't looked, but he was pretty sure those hadn't been the only traps. But Andrei only grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop it, wrenched the flashlight from his other hand, and half-dragged him back to where his friends were standing. The man not holding anyone grabbed him and forced Henry's arms behind his back. Andrei turned off the flashlight and looked at the teens. "We do not need to get through it to get the reward." he said, and then gave a strange smile, looking at the three of them. "You are no longer useful to me."

He barked an order in Russian, and the three men turned them around and began to haul them back down the hallway, but they stopped dead as suddenly the man holding Henry crumpled to the floor, leaving the teen glaring at him. Andrei took a step, his knife out, only to have it kicked out of his hands by Maggie, who yanked herself out of the man holding her's grip, kicking him to the ground and turning back to Andrei. He scowled as Jasper brought the the other man down, and he realized he was the last one standing. Without hesitation, Henry stepped towards him.

"Whatever you are thinking, boy, do not do it." Andrei said, his hands clenched. He swung at the teen, who dodged it just in time and brought his own hand up, hitting Andrei directly in his chest. He swore, staggering back, once again surprised at the teen's strength. But a moment later he smirked, suddenly standing up straight as though nothing had happened. Before he could block it, the man brought his fist down as hard as he could on Henry's injured shoulder. He cried out in agony, almost completely doubling over and clutching at it. In the moment of his distraction, Andrei bent down to grab the knife, but, despite the pain, Henry flipped himself and brought his leg down hard on the man's head. Andrei snapped back, stunned for a moment, and Henry stumbled away from him, suppressing a groan. Andrei recovered fast, however, and hit him once again. Reeling, Henry fell back onto the ground, and Andrei once again reached for the weapon.

"Henry!" Jasper exclaimed, angered, and he jumped towards Andrei, trying to land a blow on the man. He only blocked it and punched Jasper instead, chuckling as he hit the wall and slid to the ground, blinking hard and holding his cheek. "Foolish—uh!" Andrei staggered and dropped to his knees, revealing Maggie, who jerked her hand back and stepped away. Jasper pulled himself to his feet, running a hand along his cheek to wipe off the blood, and looked at Andrei as he began trying to get back up. He put his hands out, half ready to fight and half ready to dodge another blow, but his attention was now on Maggie, who he jabbed at with the knife he'd somehow got back. "No!" Jasper gasped, frozen, but Maggie managed to dodge the blade, and before he could attempt it again, the Russian collapsed with a groan as seemingly out of nowhere, Henry hit him square in the jaw. Gritting his teeth, Henry got to his feet and placed his hand back on his shoulder. Maggie stepped over the man's motionless form and hugged the two, pulling back a moment later. All three of them looked down at the man, as if expecting him to get up, but he didn't move, and after a moment Henry turned to them, taking a breath. "Let's go."

They walked back towards the entrance, not casting one look back, and climbed the almost-unusable ladder to outside. Henry closed the hatch door and managed to yank the metal piece out. "We'll give it to the police to get them out." he said, and they walked silently and quickly for the ten minutes it took to get out of the woods.


Henry stood next to his friends in Terelj National Park awaiting the officers who'd arrived to come back with the men who'd attacked them. He glanced at Maggie and Jasper, and then at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Both looked at him. "For what?" Maggie asked, and he shook his head. "If I had just stopped when…" he trailed off.

"We wouldn't have found the tomb." Jasper said slowly. "Or almost gotten killed, b-but that wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, Henry, we just solved an eight hundred year old mystery!" Maggie said, and Henry raised his head.

Jasper stared at him, suddenly confused. "Hey…how did you know about the watch?"

Henry cleared his throat. "When I found it, it was in the same circle like on the ground in the tomb. And…" he hesitated for a moment. "It had stopped on the time of eleven-fifty five, and…"

"Genghis Khan was born in that year." Maggie gasped, and he nodded, the small smile that had appeared fading as his eyes locked on something behind them. The two turned their attention back towards the woods—where each of the four officers hauled one of the men towards them, all in handcuffs. Henry took a few steps towards them, and Andrei glared at him as the officer walked close to him. "You are lucky I—"

"Be quiet," the officer holding him said, so Henry finished for him. "You what, didn't kill us? Like you killed Nikolaevich Andreev?" He wondered what man's reaction would be to the name, but he didn't have to wait long; Andrei smirked. He murmured a sentence in Russian, and then the officer pulled him away from the teen, shoving him into the jeep they'd arrived in along with his men. Henry backed up, repeating the words to himself in an effort not to forget them, and walked back to his friends, who were now joined by his parents. Before they could say anything, he looked at Maggie. "You know Russian, right?"

"A little bit, but…" Before she could finish, Henry repeated the words to her. "Can you translate that?"

Maggie hesitated for a few moments, murmuring to herself before looking at him, confused. "It means…'you are a clever boy.'" She said slowly.

Henry turned back to where Andrei and his men were walking off with the officers to the closest town, and then faced his parents. Rosie asked, "Henry, who said that?"

"Andrei." he glanced at his cousin. "And I think he just admitted to killing Nikolaevich."

Rosie frowned sadly, looking at all of them. "I'm sorry we doubted you. About any of this."

Henry half-smiled, and then turned around as someone behind him cleared his throat. The officer held out his hand for a moment, revealing the metal key, and shook his head, disbelieving. "I don't know how you kids did it." he said.

"What exactly did we do?" Jasper asked, coming to stand behind his cousin, along with Maggie.

He laughed softly. "Exactly what you thought; you uncovered the lost tomb of Genghis Khan." He smiled. "There is certainly going to be a reward of some sort for your troubles."

Henry hesitated for a moment. "Actually…we didn't find it."

"Excuse me?" the officer stared at him.

"Ten years ago, a man named Nikolaevich Andreev did. But he was murdered before he could tell anyone." Henry gestured with his head towards where the jeep had gone. "And I'm pretty sure it was by them."

The officer looked surprised for a moment before nodding. "I am impressed."

All three of them gave him a confused frown, and he smiled. "I would expect most people to simply claim the reward themselves." He glanced behind him and then turned his attention back. "Even so; all of your names will be on the plaque put up by it."

"That's very kind of you," Rosie said with a smile, glancing at Henry, who nodded. "Thank you."

Jasper looked at the officer curiously. "But you know, if there is, you know, money or something, maybe you could—" Maggie elbowed his arm. "What? I was just asking…" he said, a hand on the spot she'd hit. Maggie gave him a look and he glanced at the officer. "Never mind." he murmured, and Henry smiled slightly.


-Four Days Later-

Jasper Bartlett stood facing the mirror in the Washington National Airport's bathroom, unsure exactly how he was going to explain the half-healed gash on his cheek to his father. "Hey, Dad!" he said sarcastically to his reflection. "Our trip was great! What'd we do? Oh, nothing, just were almost killed by some completely insane guys and found the lost tomb of—H-Henry!" Jasper turned around to face his cousin, who was looking at him strangely. How long was he…?

"I was just…I was…" Jasper stopped, blushing, and Henry laughed. "Well, if you're done, Uncle Bryan's here."

Jasper nodded and followed him out, where Bryan Bartlett stood, smiling. "Dad!" Jasper exclaimed, suddenly realizing how much he'd missed him and rushing over to hug him.

"How was your summer?" He asked, and Jasper pulled away gently, casting glances to Henry and Maggie, who just now was joining them after getting her bags back.

"Ah…well, it was…" Jasper began, but as if on cue, the television above them, which was on the news and at a fairly loud volume, explained for him. "And in other news," the woman was saying, "after centuries of searching, the tomb of 1200 ruler Genghis Khan has finally been discovered in Mongolia last week by a."

Bryan looked up as she continued to talk, and Jasper blinked, surprised that he hadn't even gotten one word about it in. His father looked back at him, then at the two beside him. Henry smiled innocently back, and Maggie laughed nervously, as did Jasper. "About that," Jasper said uncertainly. He swallowed as Bryan turned to him, stunned. "You…you found…?"

"Yes," Maggie said almost before he'd finished.

Henry nodded, still smiling. "And kind of proved a man from ten years ago was murdered." He added, but Bryan only stared, his eyes going back up to the T.V.

Jasper cleared his throat, and Bryan finally seemed to notice the cut on his cheek, and Henry's shoulder. He shook his head and smiled. "That is…quite an amazing accomplishment." he said after a moment. "I…don't even know what to say about it."

"You could say it's amazing enough to get two weeks no homework?" Jasper asked hopefully.

Bryan gave him a look and said, "Nice try, but no."

Jasper cleared his throat and shrugged; he'd expected no less, though it hadn't hurt to ask. Bryan waved a hand and began to walk towards the entrance, "Come on, you've got school in the morning."

"Yay." Jasper said with a small laugh, and Henry noticed that, although it'd been sarcastic, it almost sounded relieved. Adjusting the strap on his messenger bag, Henry glanced at Maggie as she smiled and returned it, and then the three followed Bryan out of the airport.

A/N: Whoa! I think I've done more research for this than I think for any other thing I've ever written! But I like how this turned out, I really do x) Hopefully no one got annoyed at the length, it was so fun I got carried away with how long I made it :P I'll try to make the other episodes shorter! I want to make this 10-13 or so "episodes" in one like an actual season 2 of the show, just in words, but I'm not sure yet. It took me, as I said, quite a long time to write this, and though it was probably the most fun thing I've done this summer and I WANT to do more, I don't know if I'll continue it if no one wants me to.

SO, if you liked it, and want me to continue it, PLEASE review and let me know! VIRTUAL COOKIES TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS…NICELY! ;) Thanks for reading!

OH, and btw, I am totally beyond not sure if there ACTUALLY is a replica of the knife in the Brooklyn Museum, I couldn't find anything on it so I made it up. :P