I do not own Hey Arnold. This is the prequel to The Secrets we Keep

Chapter 1-Loss

"I am not going to tell you anything. You might as well kill me." A man said. He was chained to a wall. Both of his eyes were swollen shut from the constant beatings he had been taking. His nose was also broken and some of his teeth had been knocked out.

"What if I travel to the U.S., kidnap your bouncing baby boy, bring him here and beat him in front of you." An accented man said. "I guarantee that you loosen your tongue."

You kidnap us, chain us up in a dungeon, and beat my husband like a ragdoll. Now you threaten my child!? A woman spoke. "I agree with my husband, you might as well kill me. She was chained to the wall like her husband. Unlike him though, she hadn't been touched.

"They aren't going to tell you anything. They are loyal to the Green Eyes" A second accented man spoke.

"Eduardo, you fucking traitor!" The beaten man spoke. "You told us they were in trouble. We left our son because of you. We thought you were our friend."

"The two of you are so predictable." The man known as Eduardo spoke. "I figured you would bring the map though."

"Unlike you, we can get there without the map." The woman spoke.

Eduardo walked over to the woman and smacked her. As he rose his arm to smack her again, a strong hand grabbed his wrist.

"Eduardo, we do not hit women in my home. The accented man said. He let go of his arm. "I would not do that again if I were you."

"Such a gentleman." The woman spoke.

Ignoring her sarcastic response. The man spoke. "Eduardo, do you think you can find the temple without a map."

"Yes, I do. I just need time. Eduardo spoke. "Sombra, those jungles can be extremely dangerous."

"You have two months. Sombra spoke. "And Eduardo, if you fail me or cross me, you are going to end up like these two. Sombra pulled a gun out from his waistband and pointed the barrel at the chained man's head.

Feeling the metal against his head, the man accepted his fate. He looked over to his wife. "I love you Stella."

BANG!

Miles! Stella yelled. She fought against the chains, trying to reach her husband. Realizing it was futile, she dropped to the floor and began to cry. The gun was now against her head. She spoke. "You won't hit a woman, but you will shoot one?"

"As you said before, I am a gentleman. Sombra said.

BANG!

Arnold shot up from his sleep. His heart was beating so fast that he could feel it in his ears. He looked up through his skylight, then over to his potato clock. It was a little past three in the morning. He looked down at his bed. Everything soaked in sweat. He got up from his bed and stripped. He threw the sweat soaked clothing into a pile on the floor. He walked over to his closet and picked out some basketball shorts and a shirt and put them on. He walked back over to his bed and starting stripping the sheets off. He smelled them to make sure that it was all sweat. It was. He grabbed the clothing off the floor and left his room. His destination the laundry room.

Arriving in the basement, he opened a washer and placed his clothing and sheets inside. After adding laundry soap and starting the machine, he walked across the room and sat on a dryer. He let his thoughts wander to the dream he just had. He never had dreams that violent. He was prone to nightmares just like every other eleven year old but, he never thought his imagination was capable of something so dark. He always stayed optimistic when it came to his parents. Watching them die, that scared him. The buzzer of the washing machine brought Arnold out of his thoughts. He hoped off the dryer to grab his clothes. He put them in a dryer, added a dryer sheet and started the machine. "I'll come back down later and get them." He said to himself. He walked out the basement. Arriving up to the first, floor Arnold heard movement in the kitchen. He went to investigate. He found his grandmother sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Morning Grandma, what are you doing up so early?"

"I wake up every morning at 4 am to have a cup of jasmine tea." She said to him. "I enjoy the peace of the early morning hours. What were you doing in the basement?"

"I had a bad dream Grandma." Arnold said. "I woke up completely soaked with sweat. I decided to wash my pajamas and sheets.

"Was it all sweat? Gertie said, looking at her grandson with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, it was all sweat Grandma." Arnold said, embarrassed at the assumption his grandmother was making.

Noticing his embarrassment the old woman spoke. "You said you had a bad dream. What was it about?" She took a sip of her tea.

"It was a dream about my parents. They were murdered in the dream. Double crossed by their best friend." He said. I've never had a dream like that.

Gertie paused at her grandson's comment. Though she did wake up at four every day to have tea, a nightmare similar to her grandson's is what woke her up this morning. She didn't want the boy to worry so she let him continue.

"He had them caged in a dungeon. My father had been beaten badly. My mom hadn't been touched." He said. "He wanted a map from them. When they said they didn't have it, he shot them both.

"That is very unlike you, Kimba." The old woman got up, filled the tea kettle with water and placed it on the stove to heat up. "Have a cup of tea with me. Calm your nerves." Gertie sat back down at the table with her grandson. Once the kettle started to whistle she brought it to the table and poured them both a cup. She could tell by the look in his eyes, that dream really bothered him. Hell, it really bothered her.

"Grandma. Do you think that my parents are dead?" He asked, disappointment could be seen in eyes It was a question that he really didn't want to ask.

"Arnold." Gertie placed her hand on her grandsons. "After all this time, it is a possibility, it's just one possibility that I will not entertain." She took a sip of her tea. She could tell her answer uplifted the young man. At this point his parents, had been gone for eight years. She wasn't going to let one bad dream destroy the boy's faith in seeing his parents again.

"Thanks Grandma." Arnold finished his tea. He got up kissed his grandmother on her cheek, left the kitchen and headed towards his room. Once he got back to his room, he looked at his bed. There was still a large wet spot on it. He walked over to the ladder on his wall. He climbed up to the window to open it. There was a light breeze and he figured that it might help his bed dry faster. He climbed down and walked over to his closet. He got out the extra pillow and blanket that he had for guest. He grabbed his remote and pressed the button that folded out his couch. He pressed another button that cut on his stereo. Soft jazz started playing through his speakers. He threw the pillow and blanket down on the couch then plopped down on them. He looked over at his clock, it was 5:20 am. He turned on his back and stared at the sky, he couldn't shake the feeling that today was not going to be a good one. Arnold closed his eyes, attempting to go back to sleep.

Back in the kitchen Gertie finished her third cup of tea. Her conversation with her grandson playing though her mind. She had always been an intuitive woman, she could feel when something bad was going to happen. Her dream wasn't as dark as Arnold's, hers was just ominous. She put the kettle in the sink and looked out the window. The sky was covered with thick dark clouds. She opened the window. The air outside was thick. Something bad was going to happen today.

A bright green flame surrounded by a ring of fire. The flame and the ring of fire were surrounded by larger ring of fire. Suddenly, the inner ring of fire extinguished. Leaving only the outer ring and the bright green flame...

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Susie Kokoshka reached over to her night stand to silence her alarm. She looked at her clock. It was 6:30 in the morning. Before she got out bed, she thought about the dream she just had. There was something familiar about it, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She got up and stretched. She looked at the man that she shared a bed with, currently hogging all the covers. She grabbed the blanket that she slept in, folded it up and placed it under the bed like she did every day. She walked over to her vanity, gathering up all the items she would need for her shower. She grabbed her towel then headed towards the bathroom. None of the other boarders were awake at this hour, so she could take a long hot shower undisturbed.

She reached the bathroom and started the shower. Getting in she let the water hit her body. As steam started filling up the bathroom, Susie found her thoughts going back to her dream. There was something special about that dream, she knew that she had it before. She let her mind replay the dream over and over. It was better than thinking about the cheating husband. She didn't know how it happened, but he found another woman that catered to his every need and didn't ask for anything in return. Susie knew the woman's name, she even knew what the woman looked like. Susie didn't care though, as far as she knew, their marriage was over.

Two years ago Susie after receiving a promotion at work, making her assistant manager she decided to change her life. She stopped letting Oskar walk all over her. (That was probably when the affair started) Susie enrolled nursing school. She was currently two years into her Pediatric Nursing degree. At one point she wanted kids, but Oskar was shooting blanks. She was currently saving to get a good divorce lawyer to end this marriage. They hardly spoke to each other, and Susie made it a point to see as little of him as possible. She didn't want to leave the boarding house, but she would if she had too.

Finishing her shower, she dried off, put on her robe then walked back to her room to get ready for work. Once she was dressed and ready go to, she looked at her clock. "7:10. I go get some breakfast and..."

"Oh Vanessa!"

Susie froze and look at the bed. "He didn't just say that! That's it! I have had it!" She walked over to the bed and pushed Oskar out of it.

He hit the floor and instantly woke up. "What! What! I'm up". He said sleepily.

"You bastard!" She yelled. "How dare you call out that woman's name in my bed?"

"Susie, I don't know what you are talking about." He said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

She walked around the bed and stood over him. "I am going to make this real simple for you Oskar." Instead of yelling, she lowered her voice so that her point got across. "If you are here when I get home tonight, I am personally going to cut off the one thing that you really care about." She got up grabbed her purse and walked out the door.

All Oskar could do was stare at the door.

On the other side of the door, Susie took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Damn, that felt great!" She was walking on sunshine even though it was a cloudy day outside. She walked downstairs turned into the kitchen and froze. Five sets of eyes were staring at her. Two sets she didn't' recognize. It must have been a serious situation because all conversation stopped when she entered. "I'm so sorry. I'll pick up something on my way to work." She backed out the room, and once she felt the front door against her back, she turned around and exited the boarding house.

Before she took her first step off the stoop, she noticed two men spying on the family from under the kitchen window, which was currently open. Voices could be her from inside.

"Ernie! Mr. Hyunh! What are you doing?" Susie said.

"The two men in there." Ernie said. "One is from the FBI, the other is a lawyer. We figure it has something to do with the kids parents."

Arnold's parents was a VERY sensitive subject, only talked about by the family. Susie knew his parents, they were wonderful people. She felt so bad for Arnold when the anniversary of day they left came around. Susie saw herself of something of an aunt to the boy. He was such a good kid he didn't deserve this.

"We shouldn't be listening to this." She said. She wanted to do the right thing, but her body had something else in mind. She found herself walking over to the window with the two men.

In the kitchen…

"As I was saying. I am Special Agent Lucius Quick with the FBI. This is Derrick Anderson. He is your parent's lawyer." The man shook Arnold's hand. "We have some information concerning your parents. The man looked to Gertie and Phil, then back to Arnold. "I am sorry to tell you that your parents were murdered, eight years ago on a flight back to the USA."

Gasped could be hear around the table. Even from Derrick Anderson. He wasn't just Miles and Stella's lawyer, was also their friend. He was just at curious as everyone else at the table. Special Agent Quick didn't go into that much detail when he called to inform him that the Shortmans had passed. Derrick asked the agent when he would be visiting the family. The agent said the next day around seven in the morning. Derrick told the agent that he would meet him there. After the phone call Derrick found the files that held the Shortmans life insurance policies and will. Seeing as he was the executor to their will, he knew that Arnold's life was going to change in more than one way today.

CRACK!

Arnold eyes widened. His thoughts went back to the dream that woke him up that morning. He got up from the table and walked up to the agent. He hit the man with hook so hard he knocked the man out of his seat. Arnold straddled the man's torso and started repeatedly punching the man directly in the nose with both his hands. Blood gushed from the man's face. Arnold just kept punching, and punching, and punching, and punching….

"Arnold!" A deep voice said. A large hand waving in his face brought Arnold back to his senses.

Arnold immediately looked at his hand and then to the agent's face. There was no blood or damage of any kind. "What the hell was that" Arnold thought to himself.

Are you ok, Kimba? Gertie placed on hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I am fine, Grandma. He turned back to the Agent. What happened to my parents?

Agent Quick looked at the boy and then started to rub the bridge of his nose. "Do you really want to know son, it's a pretty disturbing story. The agent knew it was against protocol, but after eight years of waiting, the kid deserved to know the truth if he wanted to hear it.

"Yes, yes I do!" Arnold said, crossing his arm waiting for the man to begins. All eyes in the room were on the agent.

"Ok." The Agent Quick said. "Your parents only spent two weeks in the helping the hidden tribe. Apparently a few years earlier a sacred relic was stolen by a man named Rodrigo Sombra. Your parents stole it back and returned it to the tribe. The only thing was that they didn't know that Rodrigo Sombra was and still is a notorious drug dealer. Major power in San Lorenzo. When he learned that they were back in San Lorenzo he placed a price on their heads. Assassin from all over the country were searching for you parents. They were so deep in the jungle that none of the other Assassins could find them. A bomb had been placed on the chartered plane that was waiting for them when they got back to civilization. The bomb killed your parents, two other passengers and the pilot.

The group was silent. "It sounded like something from a movie." Arnold thought to himself. He broke the silence. "How do you know all this?"

"The man who planted the bomb told us" Agent Quick said. He already knew what the next question would be. "His name I Eduardo Alvarez, your parents so called best friend. He currently in the FBI's custody. "

Gasp could heard from the three adults at the table. All three of them had knew Eduardo. He even translated the vows of Miles and Stella wedding. Phil's fist pounded on the table. Startling the group. "That traitorous son of a…."

"Phil! Gertie called out, using her head to point to their grandson. She thought back to what Arnold told her this morning. "Double crossed by their best friend." She thought to herself. Even with all her intuition, this creped her out.

Arnold had not moved or said anything since the agent started the story. His mind kept going back and forth between his dream and the story. He didn't really know how to feel. A question popped in to his head. "How much?" He asked, looking the agent straight in the eyes.

"You don't wanna know kid. Agent Quick said.

"HOW MUCH!" Arnold screamed, slamming his fist down on the table so hard, the wood splintered. "How much did he kill his best friends for?"

"1.5 Million." Agent Quick.

Arnold didn't say anything. He ran his hand through his blonde hair and exhaled. "Grandma, Grandpa. I am going to go upstairs. I need to be alone for a little while. I don't have to go to school today do I?

"No Shortman." Phil said. "We'll come check on you in a little bit.

Arnold didn't say anything back. He just got up from the table and left the kitchen. He walked up to his room and closed the door. He saw that his bed was still not dry. He walked over to the couch and laid down facing the ceiling. He just stared at the sky.

Back in the kitchen Agent Quick continued to answer questions the rest of the group asked. Once they were out of question for the agent, he gave then his card told them if they needed anything to call. He also said that maybe they should get Arnold some help. The agent exited the boarding house.

Upon hearing the front door to the boarding house open the group eavesdropping under the kitchen window scattered into the alley beside the boarding house. The group stayed silent until they heard a vehicle start up and pull off.

"That is absolutely horrible." Susie said to the group. She felt guilty for listening in on that terrible story. She had tears in her eyes. She wished she could do something for the family but she didn't know how to even approach them about this. She decided that she wouldn't further invade their privacy. "I am leaving she said to the two men. She walked off in the direction of her job. As she was walking the story the agent told kept replaying in her mind. One part in particular, the fact that they had only spent two weeks in the jungle. "Why is that significant to me?" She thought to herself. Then it dawned on her as she walked by a man lighting a cigar with a match. "The dream." She said aloud. "I had it…two weeks after they left. Oh my god, I knew. "

"Mr. and Mrs. Shortman. I was the executor of your son and daughter in law's will. Derrick handed the two a few sheets of paper. One was the Shortman's will and the other was a copy of their life insurance policies. He knew money couldn't make up for a lost parent, but the boys was getting substantial amount. "I will read both aloud, if you have any questions don't hesitate to stop me. He started reading the will.

The will was pretty easy to understand. Everything went to Arnold. Though they didn't have much in the way of material possession, they did have some boxes in the basement. Their joint and personal bank account would know become Arnold's also. After he finished reading the will, he started reading the insurance policy. Phil and Gertie read along with Derrick until they reached the middle of the document, with a very large number on it. "Mama Lonely! Phil said placing his hand on his head. They left him two million dollars.

"Yes." Derrick said. Both Stella and Miles both had life insurance policies in the amount of 1 million dollars. Since they labeled at missing the past 8 years, the policies were still active. Now that they have pronounced deceased….you get my point. One million will be placed in a trust until Arnold turns 18. The other million will be placed in a checking account for Arnold, but will be controlled by you two. That money is for Arnold's basic needs, also to become his when he turns 18. The contents of the deceased bank accounts would also go in said account. After he finished explaining everything, he gave them his card and his condolences. After Derrick the Phil and Gertie allowed themselves to grieve for the son and daughter in law

Arnold's spent most of day in his room alone. He really didn't want to talk to anyone. He mind repeatedly play the dream, the story, and his imagined violent outburst. "Maybe I should ask to go to a doctor. I have never had so many negative thoughts. Is something wrong with me? Then Arnold realized something, for the first time in his life. His optimism was gone.