i don't own house of Anubis or its characters

The students began shuffling onto the school grounds, running up to join their friends or looking around nervously trying to figure out where they're supposed to be. A black cab pulled up in front of the main door. Meanwhile, the Anubis students were bringing their bags in through the front door as they arrived. "Trudy!" Alfie shouted, leaving his bags by the door and headed for the kitchen. "Oh Alfie, all you ever do is eat!" Willow complained lightly, a smile on her face, Fabian beside her chuckled. "He's almost as bad as Mick." "Almost," Jerome was helping Joy bring in her bags, along with his own. She walked in with a large suitcase. "Be careful with those, I have some breakable items in there," she cautioned. "And you're almost as bad as Amber, what's in all of these?!" Jerome set the bags down and rested on the stair railing. Joy raised an eyebrow at the comparison. He was yet again comparing her with Amber, but she knew this time he wasn't saying it to make fun of her. "I went on a bit of a shopping spree this holiday, and I couldn't decide what to take with me so I took it all." "Oh cut it out, that is NOT what happened!" Patricia and Eddie were making their way through the door now, both laughing in their own little world. "No, no, it's true! Here, I'll show you proof," he rolled his sleeve up to reveal a red line going up his arm. "See, I had stitches there. Believe me now, Yacker?" "Hey guys!" Fabian greeted them, and patted his best friend on the shoulder. "So how was your holiday?" They made their way into the living room with the others while they talked about their summer break. KT made her way down the stairs, having already put her things in her room. She walked into the living room, joining the rest of the students, waving to everyone, and shut the door behind her. "Hey guys, did you know there are 3 beds in each room upstairs?" "Really?" Joy asked curiously. "Yeah, and considering Mara got accepted to that geek school on that science scholarship, I guess we'll be expecting two new girls this term." Patricia said. "Every new kid that comes along, you end up despising, Patricia. I feel bad for them already," said Jerome. Joy nudged him in the rib. "Oh shut up," she made a face at him. Eddie laughed, holding her hand harder. He was glad to have his girlfriend back. He was glad to have his friends back, too. He was afraid he never would again.

While the students were in the living room, chatting happily, the front door creaked open. "Why couldn't Daddy send the limo to get us? I mean hello, fashion designer here." "I doubt anyone even saw you, Amber. I didn't see anyone I know when we stepped out of the cab." "But Neens, I've been driven to the school in my limo EVERY year. It's like a tradition." Nina smiled and shook her head. She missed Amber and the school. Sibuna. Fabian… The thought of seeing him again made her nervous. "It'll be alright you know, he misses you too." "That may be so, but what if he moved on like I told him to? I can't believe I wrote that to him. But I had no other choice at the time…" "It'll work out. Trust me. Now let's go put our bags away in our room. OUR ROOM!" Amber squealed. She missed sharing her room with Nina, she was like her sister. "Shhh! We don't want them to know we're here yet, remember?" "Oh right….Sorry." They quietly made their way up the stairs. It wasn't easy with all of Amber's suitcases. "So, who do you think the new girls will be?" Alfie asked. "PLEASE, not another American with powers." Jerome held his hands together in a begging motion, he cracked a smile toward KT and Eddie. "And what's wrong with American's, Jerome?" KT asked, crossing her arms and smiling at him. She found his tone amusing. Eddie smiled. Even though he had many reasons not to, he loved being the Osirian. "It's just…haven't you guys noticed every new kid is an American? And every American that comes has some weird tie to all the Egyptian stuff." That hit a nerve. Fabian cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. Even now, he hates hearing anything that reminds him of her. Joy noticed Fabian's discomfort. As much as she loves Jerome, she still has a place in her heart for Fabian. After the chaos from last term, she was explained to that that wasn't really Fabian who said all of those cruel things to her, and was able to pretend like it hadn't happened. "Isn't it funny how there's still so much we don't know?" Joy said, hoping to ease the conversation to a different topic. Fabian still looked down uncomfortably. He began toning everyone out, thinking about his memories with her. Eddie was his best guy friend, and he didn't want him to leave. But at the same time, he wanted Nina to be there instead. Mara was a good friend to him, but he just couldn't get himself to move on with her. Fabian looked up at his friends laughing and talking, and quietly left the room.

"Come on Amber," Nina and Amber quietly walked down the stairs, still hearing chatter going on in the living room. Fabian had just shut his bedroom door. "Everyone sure sounds happy," Amber commented. "Yeah, they do, don't they?" She was really beginning to think her friends didn't miss her as much as she missed them. They tiptoed out the front door. Eddie noticed Fabian had left the room. He got up, and quietly said, 'be right back' to Patricia as he left the room. He felt as if something was pulling him toward the front door, but when he looked he saw nothing there. He slowly opened the door to his bedroom, and saw Fabian on the end of his bed with his head in his hands. "Dude, what's wrong?" he asked as he went over and sat on his own bed. "Nina," was all he could say. "Ahh…" Eddie understood. After what he went through last year with Patricia's soul being taken from her, almost as if she wasn't there at all, he could understand Fabian's pain. "We never figured out what 'danger' Nina was referring to when she said the Chosen One and Osirian couldn't be together. Maybe we could find a way around it, so she could be here too. I'm sure by now her Gran's okay." Fabian never bothered to look up while he spoke. Seeing everyone happy with someone was a constant reminder to him. "Why don't you message her then, buddy? It's what, 6 in the morning where she is? She'll see your message in a few hours when she gets up." "Yeah…yeah…maybe somehow we could figure it out together. Thanks, Eddie." Fabian smiled at Eddie, but it didn't reach his eyes. "No problem." Eddie got up and pat Fabian on the shoulder and started for the door. "Hey. Don't worry, you'll see her again. And if I can, I'll help you two figure it out." Fabian nodded and reached for his laptop. He hadn't checked Nina's profile in months, he was afraid of what he might find there. He took a deep breath, and went to her profile. He saw her "single" status first, and exhaled in relief. Then he started browsing her pictures. He saw she got to spend the summer with Amber in New York, and smiled. He was happy that they could still stay together. He just wished he could be with her too. As Eddie walked down the hall, back toward the living room, he heard a voice whisper, "find her."

"Find her?" Eddie whispered, puzzled. Who's 'her'? Eddie glanced toward the living room, and then headed out the front door, as that's where he felt he had to go. "Why are we coming out here, Nina?" Amber asked, being careful as to where she walked in her new designer shoes. "I don't know…. I just have this feeling. Like I'm being drawn here." They were headed toward the summer house, where Eddie and KT found the artifact not very long ago. Nina and Amber had not known what went on then, but Nina had felt that something was not right. It was part of her reason for returning to the old Anubis House. Patricia was looking around toward the kitchen to see where Eddie had gone off to, but all she saw was Trudy cooking in the kitchen and Alfie stuffing his face with Trudy's peanut butter cookies and blueberry muffins. "Are you okay, Patricia?" KT came and sat by Patricia where Eddie had been earlier. "Yeah…. Do you know where Eddie went to?" she asked, still looking around for Eddie. "No…no, I don't. I saw him go toward his room, but that was quite awhile ago." KT looked over at Willow and Alfie, talking about the hedgehog Willow adopted. They were just so adorable. She looked around and noticed how everyone was a couple but her….and Fabian. 'Where was he?' she thought. She made her way down the hall to Fabian's door. She knocked and opened it, not giving him anytime to respond. Fabian looked flustered as he quickly shut his laptop. "Hey, why aren't you with the rest of us?" KT asked as she walked in and sat at the chair at Fabian's desk. "Ah, I'm uh, just taking care of a few things." Fabian quickly said while clearing his throat. "You okay? You don't look like yourself." KT looked at him, concerned. Besides Eddie, Fabian was her best friend here, despite all the craziness and mistrust from last year. Though, she had a feeling she knew just what it was about. Nina. Sometimes last term, Fabian would be in his room lying on his bed thinking about her. "Uh yeah, I'm fine." Fabian wasn't very good at hiding his feelings. "It's Nina, isn't it?" she rested her head on her hand, her elbow on the table. "Yeah…. Do you have anyone back in America, KT? Someone you miss when you're away?"

"No, not really." KT answered. "I mean, there was this one guy I kinda liked, but no one special." "Oh." He paused for a moment. "What should I do, KT? Nina said she can't come back because the Chosen One and Osirian couldn't be together, or bad things would happen. But they lived in the same house for a year, and nothing happened…. Well, nothing that was caused because of that, anyway." "I could ask my great grandpa, I'm sure he'd know the answers." "That's brilliant!" Fabian was grinning now. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. He was certain Robert Frobisher-Smythe would know the solution to his problem. KT shrugged. "Glad I could be of some help." She smiled and turned for the door. As she walked toward the living room, she bumped into Patricia. "Is Eddie in there?" she asked. "No, just Fabian. He's down about Nina again." "Oh…poor Fabian." She looked toward his door sympathetically. 'It's been a year since Nina sent that letter….' "I'm going to try to see if my great grandpa knows anything about it that could help." "Good idea, KT. I'm going to go look for Eddie." "Good luck finding him." She said, walking towards the stairs to get her cellphone. "It's around here somewhere, I think. Over there, by that summer house." Nina said absentmindedly. "What is?" Amber asked her. "I'm not sure. At least, I think I'm supposed to be looking for something." The girls began searching around for something that might look like an artifact or a clue. Eddie walked toward the summer house, memories from last year creeping into his mind. Evil Fabian. Evil Patricia. Almost the end of the world…. He shuddered and continued looking for a girl. "Find Nina," said the voice. "Nina?" Eddie was even more confused. "Eddie?" Nina said, surprised. "Nina! What are you doing here?" Eddie ran up to her, even more surprised than she was. "I had to come back. I felt like there was something wrong, I couldn't let my friends get into danger. That's the reason I left in the first place, to keep you all out of it. Also, Fabian…" Eddie stifled a laugh. "Being away didn't help." "What do you mean?" Nina looked over at Amber, and then back at Eddie. She started feeling a bit panicked. "I'll fill you in on the way back. Come on." Amber and Nina walked on either side of Eddie as he explained what happened after Amber left Anubis.

"Are you serious?!" Nina was shocked, that was the worst thing to happen yet. 'Well, I guess me staying away didn't do any good after all.' She thought. That was a whole year she could've spent in England…. "Yeah, it was a disaster. I still have nightmares about it." "Fabian was evil? That's really hard to believe." Amber said. "I know, but he was really bad. He made Joy cry." "He's done that before you know." Amber pointed out, she wasn't buying the fact that Fabian had in fact been evil. "Would the Fabian you know tell someone he can't stand them, or that they're a joke? Intentionally be mean to Joy, or Alfie?" "No…."Amber said. "He's okay now, right?" Nina asked, concerned. "Oh yeah, he's fine now. Everyone's fine. KT and I were the only ones who were never affected. I was afraid for a bit there that they'd get us too." "I'll bet, just hearing about it makes me shudder. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and that I wasn't here to help. I would've come if I had known…." "No, I mean I did think about calling you, but I didn't want to put you in danger. It IS my job to protect you. And well, I didn't think you'd react well to your friends having their souls taken from them. It's hard to be rational when everything's falling apart around you." Nina sympathetically patted Eddie on the shoulder. She understood the kind of horror he had been through. Being the Chosen One and Osirian had its toll. They were almost at Anubis House. 'Whose bags are these?' KT thought when she walked in the room. Patricia, Joy, and Willow were sharing the room at the end of the hall, so KT would be sharing with whoever owned the bags. KT was headed down the stairs when Eddie walked through the door. "Oh good! Where is everyone else?" Eddie looked pretty psyched. "In there, why?" she looked confused. "I have a surprise. Come on," he said, leading her into the room.

"Alfie, go get Fabian please. Tell him it's important." Eddie said, smiling. Alfie looked a bit confused, but got up off the couch and left the room. "What's going on, Eddie?" Patricia was worried. He disappeared for an hour without a word, and suddenly he looked as if he's on Cloud 9. "You'll see. I'll say more once Fabian and Alfie are here." "What's this about, Eddie?" Fabian said as he came back into the room. Some of the students had no idea he had even left. "I have a surprise. Well, two surprises actually." Eddie opened the door leading to the entryway, and opened the front door. Amber walked in, and into the living room. "Amber!" Patricia exclaimed, and stood up to hug her fellow Sibuna member. "Hey Patricia! Hey Joy!" Joy stood up to hug Amber as well. "Amber!" Fabian shouted, happy to see one of his best friends again, he really missed her. He gave her a hug before thoughts of Nina crept back into his mind. He let go, shying away from everyone. KT didn't know Amber too well, but hugged her anyway. Willow sat on the chair, unable to meet Amber's eyes. After all, Alfie had been her boyfriend before she left to New York. "Hey Willow," Amber greeted her. She knew about Walfie, and accepted them. Even though she still loved Alfie, he was happy with Willow. That's what mattered. "Hi, Amber," Willow said timidly. "Where's Mara?" Amber asked the group. "Some special school specifying in science or something," Patricia shrugged. Amber nodded, acknowledging what she said. "Amber, can we talk?" Alfie asked, he loved Amber, but he adored Willow. He didn't want to end up like Jerome, breaking both of their hearts. "Later Boo- I mean, Alfie. Sorry, old habit." Amber walked over to Eddie, and went on the other side of the door. Amber was trying to refrain from squealing. "I have one more surprise for everyone…" Eddie turned toward the door.

Nina walked into the living room then. Her style had changed, both hair and clothing. Amber had been sending Nina different outfits that she designed at fashion school specifically for her. Not many girls had their own personal designer. Nina smiled at the sight of her old friends. Memories began to flood her mind. She felt like she was home. "Hey guys," She said, and glanced around. Nina spotted Fabian then, he looked as if he were keeping his distance from the rest, over near the dining table. His facial expression changed drastically. At first, he had a smile on his face, left over from seeing Amber again, and then utter astonishment washed over his face. Finally, she was here again, standing a couple meters away, smiling as if the past year had never happened. Like the letter had never been written. Like she was still his. "Nina…," he barely whispered. The corner of her mouth went up in response to her name; she looked at the ground, then back to his face. She knew things would never be the same after what she told him, but she wasn't expecting how happy he'd be to see her. She had been convinced that he had moved on with Joy. Maybe he still had. "Nina," he said again, louder this time. It was finally sinking in that she was there. He couldn't believe it, after all the nights he dreamt of seeing her again, she was here. She was finally here. Fabian quickly made his way to her. He hugged her so tightly that she could barely breathe, spinning her around. "Fabian…can't…breathe…" she managed to say. He set her down, laughing. "Sorry," he spoke, "it's just, I was afraid I would never see you again…and you're here….I'm so glad you're back." He looked into her eyes. The same eyes he called beautiful what seems like a lifetime ago. "Why would you think that, Fabian? Of course you'd see me again," she said, looking back. "The letter, I thought you and Eddie were seeing each other…." Nina opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "You should've seen him, Neens, he was about ready to attack Eddie right there and then. I had to hold him back." Alfie said enthusiastically. "Really?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "Fabian? Attacking someone? Was this during the whole evil thing?" There were some uncomfortable coughs around the room. Even though they couldn't remember anything from when they themselves were soulless, they could remember their friends being so. "No, uh, I wasn't…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I pretty much lost it when I thought 'We can't be together' in your email meant you couldn't be TOGETHER as an item. That over the holiday you were seeing him." Nina looked seriously into his eyes. "I would never do that to you." "Does that mean you haven't moved on, then?" he asked, hopeful. Nina was quiet for a moment. She looked down at the ground embarrassed, but managed to say, "I haven't. Even trying, I could never be over you." He leaned down and kissed her for the first time in what felt like forever.

Nina happily greeted her friends with hugs, Fabian never letting go of her hand. "I'm glad you're back, Nina. We all missed you." Patricia said. "I missed everyone too. After two terms here, going back to school in America was pretty boring." "And as much as I LOVE fashion, I'd rather be here with you guys too." Amber and Nina exchanged a look. KT walked up to Nina and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm KT. I started here last term." "So you're KT? I've heard a bit about you from Amber and Eddie." "Yeah, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from everyone." Nina glanced at Fabian and smiled. "So, you're in Sibuna? Actually, who all is in Sibuna now?" She started looking around. Everyone standing in the room has been in Sibuna at some point, so there was no need for secrecy. "Well, actually… all of us." Fabian said. "Willow was the only good one left standing with KT and Eddie, and with her dating Alfie, she became one of us. Joy wanted back in as a part of our gang, and Jerome tagged along with her." "Wow, ten of us then." Nina said in surprise. "The biggest our number had ever been was six. Have the new members done the initiation ceremony?" "No, Eddie, KT, Willow, Joy, and Jerome still have to." "What do you think guys?" Nina asked the group. "Sounds cool," Eddie said. "What do we do at this initiation ceremony, exactly?" KT asked. "Bring an item that's a sacrifice to burn." Amber said. "Just don't bring a huge sacrifice, guys." Fabian warned. He still missed his signed copy of The Solar System is Your Friend. A smile crossed Joy's face. "I know exactly what I'm going to bring. Come on, Jerome." The newbies of Sibuna dispersed, going to their rooms to retrieve a sacrifice to burn to be initiated into Sibuna. Our original five Sibuna members were left standing in the living room.

"It's been awhile since it was just the five of us," said Alfie. "Yeah, like the good old times." Amber looked at her friends, thinking about how she made the right choice in returning. Her friends were worth giving up fashion school for. "Speaking of the good old times, where's Victor?" Nina hadn't seen him once since her and Amber had arrived. Fabian shrugged. "I'm not sure, Trudy just said he was out and would be back later." "Guess we'll have to keep a lookout then. Victor's never up to anything good." Nina's tone was light on the surface, but was serious below it. Victor always ends up being involved in the craziness one way or another. After last term, who knows what could happen next? Eddie walked in then, and put his arm around Patricia. "So Nina, how is it that you're here now? I thought we couldn't be together without some major disaster happening or something." "I just couldn't stay away. I sensed something was wrong and enrolled back at the school as soon as I could. I'm not going to let this Osirian and Chosen One thing prevent me from being where I want to be." "We should probably find out what it means though," Fabian said. "I was actually going to try to find that out myself, with Robert's help, to see if it would be possible for you to come back. But here you are." "So you guys don't think it's a bad idea that I came back?" Nina still wasn't sure if it was really the right thing to do, she cared about her friends more than her own self, but she was afraid something would happen while she was away too. "Of course not. I tried to convince you before that no matter what it is, we can get through it." Eddie gave her a hug, to prove to her that nothing was going to happen. Patricia knew Eddie loved her and only her, but seeing him hug someone else, even if that person is Nina, made her feel uneasy. Eddie was one of Fabian's best friends, but the angry feelings he felt last summer when he thought they had been together were threatening to resurface again as he watched them. Fabian cleared his throat. "So, now that Nina's back, who's going to be the leader of Sibuna?"