A/N So sorry! I said that I was going to update in the beginning of March, but it's now the end of March.
I didn't forget about this story, I just didn't get the chance to update.
I blame two things: School and Writers Block
Anyways, here's the next chapter! You guys finally get to see what happens after the cliff-hanger and a part of Hamilton's competition.
Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues series or any of these characters. :)
~*~Reality~*~
Part 2
Hamilton watched the epic fight between Ian and Dan. Personally, he was rooting for Dan to win. The poor boy didn't deserve to be attacked by Ian, even if the competition was rigged.
No one even bothered stopping the two from fighting; everyone was taking sides, rooting for one of them.
Hamilton already had his prize planned out. He decided that he was going to pull the ultimate prank on certain Cahills. Dan, of course, was all for this idea. He even offered his ideas.
This is going to be fun, he thought.
A thought kept on bothering him. He remembered how Amy said that it was unfair. He had to admit that the competition was rigged, but it was sort of fair.
If only Ian knew how difficult my riddles were, Hamilton thought. Then he'll know how I feel.
Hamilton sat on the bench and tried to collect his thoughts. He thought back to his competition, just to make sure that he did won fair and square.
Like Ian, Hamilton was standing in the middle of a sweltering, artificial jungle.
He looked at his surroundings and felt relaxed. Hamilton loved the outdoors. It brought back good memories of spending time with his family.
He made a mental note to himself that after this reunion was over; he would ask his dad if they can all go hiking.
Hamilton walked deeper into the jungle. Fortunately for him, he didn't have any trouble maneuvering in the jungle. He was wearing insect repellent lotion, so the mosquitoes weren't bothering him. A Holt was always prepared.
He passed so many trees that he started getting irritated. Where was the action? Is it possible that this is his task? How long he could stay in the jungle without getting fed up?
He tried to keep his expression, emotionless.
Hamilton felt like he was walking for forever. He was on the verge of giving up when he spotted a pond. His spirits were lifted and he sprinted towards it.
He went on his knees and washed his face with water. Hamilton felt a breeze coming. He could finally feel the cool air.
He got up and noticed a bunch of rocks at the end of the pond. He ran towards it and found that it was placed in a weird formation.
The rocks were carved to look like numbers and additions and equal signs. Great, a math puzzle! Why couldn't it be something more athletic?
He looked at the puzzle and noticed that it was a pattern:
2+3=8
3+7=27
4+7=32
5+8=60
6+7=?
He would have to guess what the missing number was.
Hamilton stared at the puzzle in confusion. It didn't seem to make sense. How did they get 8 from 3 and 2?
He tried to think back to when he did his Algebra homework for school –which was rare, he usually got the answers from online or not do it at all.
Then he got an idea. He remembered that they learned something about exponents in class once. He tried 2 to the power of 3, and he got 8.
Maybe that's it! If it works for the next one, then it must be true!
Excited he tried doing 3 to the power of 7, but stopped before trying to solve it. No, it can't work. The answer will be a very big number. It will never add up to 27…
Hamilton was ready to give up until he remembered that this problem was very familiar. He knew that he saw this before. Then it hit him –this was on Dan's math homework!
Hamilton smiled. He remembered that during one of their reunions, Amy made Dan do his homework before playing on the Xbox 360. Since Hamilton had nothing to do at the time, he watched Dan solve it. He was amazed that Dan was able to solve this quickly. Fortunately for him, he remembered how Dan solved it.
Hamilton wrote out the equation using a stick and the ground. He tried the equation out on the first one, just to make he remembered correctly.
x+y=x*[y+(x-1)]
2+3=2*[3+(2-1)]
The answer was 8. This formula was correct.
Hamilton grinned. Now that he knew what to do, this would be easy. He skipped the other numbers and tried to find the missing number.
6+7=6*[7+(6-1)}
"The answer is 72," he said out loud. He found rocks shaped like a seven and a two. He replaced the question mark-shaped rocks with his answer.
The rocks glowed and the water in the pond started to sink lower and lower. After a couple of seconds, there was no water. Hamilton looked down at what used to be a pond and found a trap door at the bottom. He jumped down and opened the door.
And they say a Holt isn't smart enough to solve a math riddle…
Hamilton snapped out of his thoughts and decided that the competition was fair. His sister was right. He got difficult riddles and easy tasks while Ian got the opposite.
The rest of his competition was the same. He had to solve some more math problems and he finished. Each math problem required more thinking than the next.
He noticed that Dan and Ian were still fighting.
Dan was on top of Ian, pinning his hands to his sides. Ian tried to move, but was unable too.
"You can never defeat a ninja," Dan told Ian.
"Dan," Hamilton said, getting up from his seat. "Let Ian go."
"What?" Dan asked. "Why? He doesn't deserve it. First, he refused to do what I told him to do. Then, he attacked me. What makes me want to give him mercy?"
"Remember my reward?" Hamilton told Dan. A look of realization appeared on Dan's face.
Dan grinned, and then got up. He helped Ian up. "Everyone! You're dismissed! Hamilton and I have some important matters to attend to."
Ian got up and gave Dan a glare. "You'll regret this, Daniel. I'm not done with you just yet."
"If I we're you, I'd leave at once," Dan replied. "Unless, you want to feel the wrath of the ninja lord?"
Ian looked like he wanted to retort but simply smirked. "Watch your back," he said as he left with the others."
Once everyone left the building, Hamilton said, "Ready?"
"Of course," Dan replied. "This is going to be awesome!"
Ian Kabra was in the kitchen was making himself a cup of tea.
He wasn't pleased with the fact the Cahill boy humiliated him in front of everyone. It was bad enough to be beaten by a post. He'll make Dan rue the day he was ever born.
Ian also didn't like the fact that he had to make his own tea, all by himself. It was outrageous! Ian couldn't understand the Cahills. With all their money, they refuse to hire a maid.
Americans, you can never understand them.
He placed two spoons of sugar and stirred it. Then he took a big gulp.
He spit the tea out of his mouth.
It was bitter. He didn't understand. He placed two spoons of sugar in the cup. Then he realized the truth. He looked at the container and took out the label. Underneath the label, it read salt.
"Dan," he muttered. He dumped the remainder of the tea into the sink and left the kitchen. He was going to barge into Dan's room and give him a piece of his mind.
He walked up the long flight of stairs. As he reached the last step, he didn't notice that he triggered a trap. Gallons of milk dropped down from the ceiling and landed on him. He was soaking wet.
Ian groaned. He just took a shower an hour ago!
He went to his room and grabbed a change of clothes. He was about to enter the bathroom that was in his room until he noticed a sign.
Bathroom is under repairs. Please use the other bathrooms.
He sighed. Great.
He got out of his room and went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. He found the same exact sign.
This is getting ridiculous, he thought. He decided to use the downstairs bathroom.
Fortunately for him, everyone was outside in the yard. He would die if anyone saw him like this. The good news was, the bathroom didn't have a sign on it. He walked right in.
Ian was pleased that the bathroom weren't small. He couldn't stand those kinds. The Cahills finally have good taste when it comes to interior design.
He took a step inside and closed the door.
That was when he was taken by surprise.
The shower curtains suddenly opened up and standing in the bathtub was Grace's cat, Saladin.
Ian let out a scream. He couldn't stand the Cahills' cat. Saladin would never treat him properly.
Saladin walked slowly towards Ian. Ian knew that he had to get out of here and risk being seen drenched in milk by the Cahills. Anything is better than being locked in a bathroom with a beast.
He quickly unlocked the door and got out of the bathroom. Only to be found by Hamilton and Dan carrying ketchup and mayonnaise dispensers. They were grinning evilly at him.
Ian became pale. He was trapped. It was either the cat or ketchup and mayonnaise.
"Hi Ian," Dan said.
"Don't you dare do this," he said to both of them. "Or else, I'll sue!"
"Sorry Ian," Hamilton said. "But I won. If you admit defeat, then you'll be spared."
"Never," he said.
"Have it your way," Dan replied.
Ian ran away from them but wasn't fast enough to escape the horror of having ketchup and mayonnaise on his Armani shirt.
The next day after breakfast, Dan called everyone to the living room.
Everyone arrived, except Ian. Ian still hasn't recovered from yesterday's unfortunate event. Dan didn't really care that he wasn't here. It was better this way, not having to worry about getting attacked by a Cobra.
He looked at Hamilton and smiled. Just this morning, they found out that the video they posted on YouTube last night was a hit. They already got a million views in a couple of hours! Dan knew he had to make more videos. This time, he decided that he'll upload the video of the entire competition.
"Ready for day two of the competition?" he asked.
Everyone groaned. Dan ignored them.
"The next two people are going to be chosen," he said. He took out his hat and pulled out two names.
"The two lucky contestants are," he paused, "…Natalie Cobra and Amy Cahill! May the odds be ever in your favor."
Hope you enjoyed this! Like always, reviews and constructive criticism!
Next chapter will (hopefully) be soon!