Dan Cahill woke up feeling out of place. He was lying down on a comfy bed, streaked with blue and black. The walls were painted with the same color, but a collection of ninjas decorated the walls, giving the 11-year old room feel. A desk was found by the side of the bed, filled with notebooks and books left opened. A lamp was left opened, a small shade of blue filling the table it was placed on. Three swords hung decoratively on the wall. He was even wearing pajamas: a clad of blue with a decoration of his favorite ninja design. He was home.

He was totally out of place

"Aahhh" He screamed. 'I ain't suppose to be here!'

It was true. He wasn't suppose to be at home. He was suppose to be anywhere but home. He should be out of the house, travelling to who knows where to get this clue. His should be in danger already, tied up in double-knot ropes by three assassins or dangling by a foot by the side of the Golden Gate bridge. He should be on the run already, away from an angry mob of monks or after a speeding car about to get away with lead. He should be stretching his brain already, figuring out a puzzle so many people would quit on the first try or squeezing it out for ideas to get out of the near-apocalyptic situation. No matter what the reason, he wasn't suppose to be just at home.

'What the heck!' he thought to himself rather angrily 'am I dreaming?' but the thought of dreaming after waking up couldn't be more absurd, right?

Amy opened the door and barged in. "What happened?" she asked him, worry written all over her face.

"Aaahhhh!" he screamed again, now looking vaguely at Amy.

"What?" she asked with concern as she scrutinized herself "What's wrong?"

"What the heck are you wearing?" he screamed. He was shocked. But to be shocked with what Amy was wearing mean he was totally out of his mind.

"What?" she asked innocently, looking through herself again "I don't see anything wrong" It was true, nothing was wrong. Well, at least in Dan's eyes, there is.

"Are you kidding?" he growled "I mean, look at yourself. You're wearing Pajamas!"

"So?" she retorted, offended "You are wearing some too!"

"I know! Why are we wearing some?" his eyes looked confused, barely able to grasp what is the truth

"You must be kidding me" she put her hands on her hips, the same thing she did when she was angry "I can't believe you're going to use that trick again"

"I'm not! Honestly, what the heck is going on?"

"Just get up. We've got school, dweeb. It's best we leave early."

"School? What are you talking about?"

"Stop kidding, dweeb. You're getting on my nerves. Again"

He looked at her, still confused as ever. "What?"

She went to Dan's bed. Then, unexpectedly, she rammed her hand behind his head. "That jog your 'memory'?"

"Ow!" he yelled "What was that for?"

"Gosh, your impossible!" she ran out of the room and slammed the door shut. Dan stared at the door. Then, it hit him

Well, for one thing, the ram in the head did jog his memory. He got out from bed, putting on the slippers that were messily left on the floor. "Hmm...I guess it worked" he said as he went out of the room


Dan met a fuming big sister by the time he reached the bathroom

"What? Got your memory back?" Amy asked with annoyance in her voice

"Yeah, I guess you can say that" he replied casually

She entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut in front of his face.

"What's her problem?" he murmured to himself. 'Oh right. I'm one to talk'

He went down the stairs, into the most obvious place to go to: the kitchen

"Mornin', kiddo" Nellie greeted. She was cooking something exotic, judging from the ingredients on the counter he couldn't even recognize "You're up early"

"It's early?" he asked as he took a seat

"Yup. 6:35 in the morning. Why you up so early?" she asked curiously

"I dunno, really. I just knew that I woke up with short-term amnesia"

"Again?" Nellie replied, putting a pinch of salt on the exotic dish "Gosh, when would you stop doing that. It's not even believable"

"I know" he paused "But I wasn't kidding this time"

"Yeah, we'll believe that for now" she took a tasting spoon from the side and sampled the food "Too salty" she said

"Watcha makin?" he asked nonchalantly

Nellie turned back to him and smiled "You wouldn't know it in the first place"

Dan nodded. He sat back from his seat 'Wow. We're really back to normal'

When Dan got his "memory" back, everything came to light. He was 12 years old now, a year since he and Amy won the 39 clues. By the time they got back to Boston, things started coming back to the way it was. Their uncle Fiske took custody over them along with their au pair Nellie Gomez. Because of that, they now live 3-story mansion. Of course, it is not without Madrigal protection. The mansion had a secret Madrigal stronghold just below it, accessible only through a secret door in the basement. Every second of every hour of every day, he was watched from afar by Madrigal agents. Some were teachers from his school. Others, not that undercover. Some just wore black coats like what uncle Fiske did when they were still in the clue hunt. Others, a little too bright. Nonetheless, he and his sister were watched 24/7.

Ever since they won the clue hunt with the help of all the branches, the whole Cahill family seemed united once again. The Lucians started trading clues with the Janus branch and the Tomas set aside the betrayal Katherine did to their ancestor. Ever since they won, the dream of the Madrigal branch has been fulfilled. Although some are still reluctant, most are already willing to throw away the 500 years of murder, betrayal and bloodshed to start anew. The Madrigals were overjoyed with Amy and Dan's triumphant endeavor.

Just because they were the niece and nephew of the Madrigal leader doesn't mean they're excused from the rigorous training of being one. Every day after school, and most of the afternoon during weekends, both Amy and Dan had to undergo training with the watchful eye of the Madrigal agents. They had to run for 5 miles, make 50 push-ups and stretch the farthest they can go, and that was only the warm up. The first few weeks of that made Dan pass out at the 3rd mile. He's making an improvement, though. He could run a good 10 miles without breaking a sweat.

Then, the real training starts. They were trained to crack codes no matter how hard the difficulty. They were taught how to freerun and parkour, which excited Dan during their first lesson. Well, at least he didn't fall on his head now. They were taught to handle a gun, from a pistol to an AK. They were even taught hand-to-hand and weapons combat. Dan yelped when he found out they were going to teach him the way of the sword. Well, it was the closest to becoming a ninja. What the heck? Amy, not as enthusiastic. The only training she enjoyed was, Dan barfed at the thought, history, and boy did Dan get bored with that. He always wondered if they were really related; that she was swapped with his suppose-to-be ninja warlord brother. Then again, he resolved that issue a long time ago.

But they weren't just training because of they're forced to. After all, the clue hunt was over. What more reason could there be to train harder? No. There was another reason for their training. A very...dangerous enemy is approaching. And "Very Dangerous" was a big understatement.

'Vespers' Dan thought to himself

The Vespers were the arch-enemies of the Cahills, so to speak. They are the bloodthirsty family that also know about the clues. They would do anything to attain it. Anything. Isabel Kabra was the perfect example. She was a Lucian-Vesper that tormented the lives of Amy and Dan during the clue hunt. Just the sound of her name sends shivers to his spine. But Fiske himself told them that the Vespers were much more dangerous. In a sense, they make Isabel Kabra look like Mother Teresa. Whoever the Vespers are, then they're 10, maybe a 100, times more evil than Isabel Kabra.

'At least we'll be ready'

Oh how wrong his statement is. They aren't even close from ready

But he had to believe in that. It was his, and probably everyone's, only hope on surviving. They needed the assurance of survival.

'Well, at least it looks like we're normal'

They were going to school. Nellie was cooking food. Amy was reading books. He was practicing his Ninja skills. Yeah, they look normal again.

He stood up from his seat and went upstairs

"Where you goin'?" Nellie asked

"Gonna take a shower" he replied

"Okay. Don't take too long. Breakfast is almost ready"

Dan hurried climbing the staircase.

'One thing's for sure,' he thought 'at least there's no more Beatrice to tell me what to do'

He smirked at the thought


RJS23423 here. I'm finally done. I actually thought of posting this 2 months ago. Only had the time to finish it now. Hehe. Like all my other stories, it's not the start I was hoping to etch in your brain. Still, it was a good start, right? Please let me know. I appreciate the help. You want to Flame me or whatever, do what you want. Just tell me your opinion. I thank you in advance.

Also, I have 2 stories I feel are being neglected. For Pokemon fans out there, I have this fic called "Power Hungry". It still doesn't have reviews. Care to be the first? For crossover fans, I have a PJO and TKC crossover fic called "War of the Gods". The title says it all. It has only 2 reviews, if I recall. Would you be the next?

I guess that's it

RJS23423 signing off.

Peace