Salutations to whoever has stumbled upon this story. Well this is more of an attempt story, so it might be good, it might not be good; I'll leave that to you guys to tell me. It's an un-betaed story. Critique is whole-heartedly appreciated. Let's see, what else was I going to say . . . ? Oh, read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own The 39 Clues
A Sudden Glitch: Switched
~ONE~
The Vespers
Nellie Gomez is a person of adventure. She can fly a plane, stunt drive, and speak six different languages. She found all her talents very exciting, but riding a boat into the Bermuda Triangle made her excitement plunge through the roof.
Anybody who didn't know about the Cahills would wonder why it would be so exciting to enter an area of water where people mysteriously disappeared. Nellie on the other hand, has been tied to the Cahills for as long as her family can remember. She knew about the Ekat stronghold in the Bermuda Triangle. She also knew it would be the coolest thing she'll ever see in her entire life.
Being with Amy and Dan throughout the hunt, she's entered two different branch strongholds: the Ekat stronghold in Egypt, and the Tomas stronghold in South Africa. She found the Ekat stronghold very nice and awesome with all its museum-like features and modern inventions, which is why she couldn't wait to enter the Bermuda one.
Nellie looked down into the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She gripped the railing of the passenger liner they had taken and stood on her tippy-toes to feel the cool breeze. She smiled.
This is going to be awesome! She thought.
Fiske must've noticed her excitement, because he walked towards her and stared down into the waters as well. "Enjoying yourself Miss Gomez?" he said. His gray clothing sort of messed up the effect of the sun's "it's-summer-so-wear-bright-colors" greeting.
"I can't help it sir," Nellie said. "It's not everyday you get to visit a top secret lair of masterminds and geniuses. Don't forget the whole 'disappear into thin air' bit. The outside people don't even know the half of it."
Fiske did what was the farthest of a smile he can manage. "And that's the way it should be," he said, and his grim little expression returned. "But don't forget that this trip isn't supposed to be what you call 'fun'. We're here to find out if they've gotten the Ekats as well."
By "they", Nellie knew he meant the Vespers. After Amy and Dan collected all the clues, after they'd left Ireland, they went back to Boston to live a normal life. Fiske told Amy and Dan to be children, have fun, do what other kids do, the hunt was over anyways. He told them not to worry, but Dan and Amy were no fools. They won't just let everything drop and pretend that nothing was going on. They knew that the Vespers were coming. The Madrigals estimated maybe a year or so. Not two months after finally settling into the normal mode.
The poor kids, Nellie thought. After the news was brought to them, Amy, Dan, and Nellie left for Switzerland to train for the fight that's going to happen. Amy also called their clue-hunting relatives to tell them about the training, or as Dan calls them, "hunt buddies". Now that the Vespers have dominated all the Madrigal strongholds, they had to see for other branch strongholds too.
Nellie sighed. "I know it's not a vacation, but don't you think it's easier to just pretend that everything is normal? Everyone's stressed and someone needs to be the bigger person here and lead," Nellie explained. Fiske stared at her, and "smiled" at her again.
"This is precisely why the Madrigals look up to you, Miss Gomez," Fiske said. "You're all about the leadership." He saluted Nellie and walked back inside the ship while the others walked out on deck.
"Yo, that's tight!" exclaimed Jonah Wizard. His father, Broderick Wizard, wheeled him on the deck. He was on a wheelchair, cast on one leg and an arm. It's been two months since Nellie last saw him and he's changed so much. He's never afraid to be himself to the public. Nellie had to admit, she started becoming his fan again after the hunt.
"Are you sure you're going to be safe, Jonah?" Broderick asked. "You shouldn't have come on this voyage." He looked at Jonah, face masked with concern. After all, Broderick was the only one Jonah has. Cora made it clear she'll finally talk to Jonah when pigs fly.
"Hey Reagan, Madison! Look at that island over there!" Hamilton Holt yelled. He was pointing to an island slowly getting more and more visible. Right now, it was only the same size as a ping pong ball. "Bet you I can swim there first!" He put on a cocky grin and brought out his big muscular body, a sure sign of a threat. Nellie rolled her eyes.
"No way! I can do it first!" yelled Reagan.
"No I can!" countered Madison.
"No you can't!"
"Can-not!"
"Can so!"
"Can-not!"
"Can so!"
"Girls!" Eisenhower cut in. "I order you to silence or none of you will get to swim there!"
"Your father's right," said Mary-Todd. "Give your sister's a break Ham." Hamilton grinned at his sisters, who in turn, stuck their tongues out at him.
Nellie looked away and smiled. The Holts can disguise themselves as tough people, but on the inside, Nellie knew they'd gotten soft. That was practically the reason why the Madrigals recruited more than fifty Tomas agents after their trip to Mt. Fuji. And why they have all of them snug in their cabins inside the passenger liner as back-up. They were definitely on the good side.
"F.Y. Information Dolts, you can't swim all the way to the island," Sinead said. Her brothers Ned and Ted accompanied her on both sides. They grinned robotically at the same time. "First of all, you can't survive the current. Second of all, the stronghold has an electric force field around it that can only be shut down by the Ekats. And third, swimming would just be plain stupid when you have a big boat to take you there." Sinead crossed her arms and stared at Hamilton.
Nellie felt sorry for Ned and Ted. Being so young and experiencing blindness and migraines. Nellie thought that's why Sinead can sometimes be mean. She thinks it's unfair for her brothers. It's a good thing we had room for Flamsteed on the boat. At least she's only being mean to Hamilton because she likes him. Otherwise, she's realized her mistakes.
"Sinead, your parents left me in charge of you and your brothers while they are away. Please be respectful to your peers," Alistair said.
Sinead flushed red. Nellie smiled.
Alistair might be a wise Ekat, but not when it comes to the problems of teenagers, maybe even twenty year-olds. He obviously didn't experience help from his parents in his teens, or rather, his uncle Bae, since Gordon died when he was only four. Nellie noticed that Alistair's breathing easier ever since Bae Oh's arrest. He even seemed less depressed.
Oh Uncle A, Nellie thought. If only you could understand Sinead.
Hamilton grinned at Alistair. "That's right Uncle A. Give 'er the ole one, two." He punched the air with his fists, one after the other.
"Everything just has to include physical activities with you, Hamilton," said Natalie. "I can't even imagine all that sweat you produce everyday." Natalie pretended to feel ill and put her hand on her forehead dramatically.
Ian rolled his eyes and stared at Natalie disgustedly.
"Really Natalie, would it hurt you to be more realistic with your acting please?" he said. "We already have to deal with your drama all day."
Natalie gave Ian a death glare.
"Is that so? Well if you want me to spill your little secret . . ."
"Alright, alright, I apologize. Go about your business and I'll leave you alone," Ian said. He looked out into the island, which was larger now, and clenched his fists.
Nellie smiled at the sight of the Kabras arguing.
Typical Kabra quarrel, she thought. Ian and Natalie were the two people Nellie noticed that changed a lot. With Isabel in jail, they made their own decisions, planned their own life, and even made their own money thanks to their parents' multi-million dollar art dealership. They've also become much nicer, and by "nicer", Nellie meant they only insult people from time to time. Nellie even knew that Ian's secret was about liking Amy.
"Hey Ian!" Dan said. "Don't let this little she-devil scare you! We're men, and we have to be strong!" He held up a fist and raised it high.
"Men? I wouldn't consider someone who wears Pokemon underwear a 'man'," Amy pointed out. Everyone on the deck laughed. "You're hardly mature enough to be left alone in a house by yourself."
Natalie smiled at Amy thankfully and turned to Dan. "You should really listen to your sister more Daniel. What she said are words of wisdom." She turned away with a graceful flip of her hair. Nellie heard Jonah say "You just got dissed!"
Dan stuck his tongue out at Amy and Amy smiled back.
Ah, the dynamic duo, Nellie thought. She felt like she did back in China. Wanting to assure them nothing's wrong, but also knowing what was at stake.
Nellies thoughts were interrupted by Fiske's voice.
"Mr. Oh, have you contacted ahead?" Fiske asked.
"Yes, but no one has contacted back. I've tried every signal, and still no answer," Alistair replied. Fiske looked at Nellie with a masked face. She inhaled deeply and swallowed hard.
"We'll have to deactivate the force field ourselves." Alistair took out a remote-like object with a big red button in the center.
Fiske stared hard at Alistair. "Let's go for it."
He took out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Contact the Tomases and tell them to get ready, over." Fiske waited a couple of seconds until someone answered. "Roger that," the voice crackled back.
"Miss Gomez, please round up all Cahills on board," Fiske said. "It's time."
"Whoah!" Dan exclaimed. He ran down the ship's ramp and onto the dock. He was staring at the giant, metal building that stood twenty meters away from the huge crowd of Cahills.
Ned and Ted stood at either side of him.
"That, cousin, is the brain of all Ekaterina inspiration," said Ned.
"The Bermuda stronghold of the Ekaterinas," Ted said.
Dan looked around. It was the type of place he'd wish was an arcade. It was that cool. And he wanted to get inside the laboratory so bad.
He looked around for Amy and Nellie. They were over by Uncle Alistair and Fiske. He saw Ian looking over at her.
Dan rolled his eyes.
Honestly, they make me wanna puke.
He ran over to the laboratory and yelled over his shoulder.
"Amy, I'm going to check out the lab thingy, I'll be back in a nanosecond!" he said.
Amy's head shot up and she ran after him. "Dan wait! You're not supposed to be leaving our sight!"
But Dan didn't care he ran for the laboratory as fast as he can, and didn't dare look over his shoulder for Amy.
He reached the door to the lab. There was a handle that begged, "Open me! You won't regret it." Dan reached for it, expecting it to be locked. To his surprise, it was open.
He went in quickly and left the door open. He remembered the Ekaterina stronghold in Egypt. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.
The lights were closed. He felt around the walls for a light switch. It was metal and hard. He brushed something soft. He took his hand back in shock.
The lights opened. And Dan felt like he did back in the gauntlet when he saw the glowing green vial.
"So we meet again Dan Cahill," the person in front of him purred.
It was Isabel Kabra.
Well there it is. Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I'm too shy to ask anyone to be my beta, so . . . Do you guys know any good betas? Feel free to point out any mistakes and thanks for reading!
~Blue