Thanks for all those who pointed out mistakes. (: Please excuse me for not having a beta, and for updating so late in the month. I was gone for two weeks with no opportunity to write. I hope none of you have been very impatient. But at least I actually have a plot figured out, and I can let you know that there are going to be three more chapters. Wasn't that exciting to learn?

The darkly clothed figure crept stealthily along the dim corridor. Flickering torches cast strange shadows against the wall. Moonlight created twisting designs on the stone floor as it shone past towering trees and through elegantly carved windows. It was a dark night that promised a storm, but the individual paid no attention to that. He had one mission to accomplish here, and he was going to do it right. Nothing could bring him down now that he was so close to his goal.

Dan was completely wrapped up in the intense theme music and blood on the castle walls as he carefully navigated his ninja avatar across the television's screen. He had just successfully defeated a long series of low level monsters. Many would have succumbed to the fear of so many adversaries charging seemingly at random and all at once, but not Dan. He recognized the pattern easily and knew that this was only the beginning of the end. This. . . was level 57.

Oh, what hardships and trials Dan had endured to reach this moment of triumph! (Namely, his bedtime.) It had taken all his wits and concentration to pass from one level to the next. Patience, courage, wisdom, and awesome ninja stunts had all aided him equally. Now, he knew he was at the most perilous and imperative part of his journey to become the ultimate ninja master.

It was time to face the Big Boss of the Bad Guys. This last epic duel for light and general cool stuff would be difficult, but the risks would be well worth it.

Dan held his breath as the theme music came to its peak. This was it— his last challenge. The final stand. It was all or nothing. The screen began to darken as he passed beneath an arch to enter into a new room. . .

"DAN! Would you answer the phone already?"

Dang it.

He suddenly became aware of an obnoxious ringing sound and an even more obnoxious older sister shouting from the other room. Sighing, Dan pressed the pause button on his game console. "Why can't you?" he hollered back.

"I'm busy!" was Amy's tart reply.

Dan rolled his eyes and grumbled as he stood up to answer the phone over in the kitchen. "What?"

"Oh, thank goodness you picked up. That simplifies things." The speaker had a British accent. Great. "We have an issue."

"Come on," Dan whispered viciously into the phone as he began walking back towards the couch. "Couldn't you have waited ten minutes? Look, I'm about to beat the last level of-"

"This is important, Daniel," Natalie interrupted. "It's about the project."

"What, did Ian find it already and get you grounded?" He plopped back down into his seat and made a mocking pouty face that he knew would have set her nose wrinkling. "Oh, boo-hoo. Poor Natawie! She's gwound-"

"Shut. Up," Natalie snarled through clenched teeth. "Just get over here. Now." Click.

Dan sighed and tossed the phone lightly onto the cushion beside him. He should probably do what Natalie said. But glancing down at his game console, he shrugged and was ready to return to his game. The blog could wait a little while, and this would only take him a few minutes, after all. . .

"Who was that?"

Amy stood in the doorway, panting slightly. "Was it for me? I-"

"It was just. . . a friend." Dan shrugged. Yeah, right.

". . . Oh." Amy looked almost disappointed. "What did they want?"

"Um. . ." Well, at least he could get away from Amy without her suspecting anything. His last battle was just going to have to wait, or he would seem suspicious. "They wanted to hang out. I was just gonna' go over to their place. . ."

Amy nodded absent mindedly. "Okay. Just be home by six. We're having dinner then." She left, and with a reluctant sigh, Dan turned off his beloved video game.

[Censored] was one of the grandest buildings in [censored]. Furnished with the finest [censored] to be found, the [censored] were a view to behold. The [censored] were decorated with exotic [censored], the [censored] dotted with amazing [censored], and the [censored] was elegant and shone with perfection. It was expected of the Kabras, of course, but few could help feeling a little jealous when they saw it. Barely anyone ever had the privilege to enter, however. All in all, it was safe to say that [censored] was not only mysterious, but intimidating. Some viewed it as a thrill, others as a threat, very similar to the family who owned it.

Natalie was pacing when Dan entered the room they had occupied only a week before. She only stopped and turned to him when he plopped down on the couch.

"So, did we get a lot of comments?" he asked.

"Yes," she said slowly. "Most of them asked one of two questions."

"Let me guess." Dan grinned. "Why is Dan, the coolest ninja in the world, hanging around with a dweeb like her? Or maybe, when can we see those two weirdoes break up?"

Natalie's face nearly twisted into a disgusted snarl, but she held back the impulse. "No. Think for a moment, Daniel." She began pacing again. "Who are the ones viewing this blog?"

"Um. . ."

"It was a rhetorical question," she snapped. "And the answer is either my acquaintances or your acquaintances. Mine are most likely familiar with Ian, as he is my brother. Yours are most likely familiar with Amy, your sister." She turned to him again with a cold stare. "Are you connecting the dots?"

Dan blinked. "Um. So they know who we're talking about. That's a good thing, right?"

"No, you idiot!" Natalie threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Half of them don't know who Ian is, and the others don't recognize Amy."

"Oh."

She nodded, satisfied that he now saw their dilemma. "I should have seen this coming."

"No kidding!" Dan snorted. "Honestly, you always brag about being so smart. . ."

"I do not! Do you ever hear me claiming to be some filthy Ekaterina?" She glared. "No, no you do not." She let out a quick breath through her nose. "The point is that we need to introduce our siblings to our audience."

Dan nodded slowly, thinking about it for a moment. "You know, I think I have the perfect way to do that."

"Our deepest, most sincere apologies," Natalie said to the camera graciously.

Dan let out a laugh. "Well, at least one of us can say that honestly. She's never felt bad for anyone but herself in her life!"

Natalie sent him a cutting glare. "Shut up," she hissed. Turning back to the camera, she smiled winningly. "Daniel here failed to recognize that half of you do not know Amy, and the rest of you do not know Ian."

"Stop calling me Daniel. You're making me sound like a pompous git. Ow!"

"As I was saying," Natalie continued, "we now plan to introduce to you our. . . 'dear' siblings." At a sign from Natalie, Dan held up a picture for the camera to view. It was a stunning portrait that had obviously been taken professionally. "This is Ian Kabra," she said, "my elder brother who has fallen far and surprisingly fast in the past few months."

"He's a two-timing jerk who can't stand anything bought for less than a hundred bucks," Dan supplied. "He hates dogs, cats, and people."

"And the reason he is beginning to slip?" Natalie cut in. "His sister."

Dan held up another picture, this one of a monkey which Nellie Gomez happened to use on her Cliqueme account. "This is my big sister Amy. She's lame. And I think she's secretly an alien."

"She's frighteningly poor and never wears anything in style." Natalie shuddered. "She is certainly not worthy of attention from a Kabra, even one such as Ian." She stopped suddenly, having glimpsed the photo of the monkey. "What is that?"

"It's the most accurate picture of Amy I could find," Dan said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, you have a point. . . Do you have a school picture of her?"

"Doesn't Ian?"

Natalie blinked. "Amazing. Another intelligent thought." She stood up from her seat on the couch. "Let's go look in his room for one. He isn't here at the moment."

Dan eagerly agreed, and with the camera, they soon made their way to Ian's spacious room.

"Hold this," Natalie commanded, dumping the video camera into Dan's hands. He shrugged and obeyed as she turned to shift through the items in Ian's dresser. "He's got to have a picture of her somewhere," she muttered.

"It's probably under his pillow." He swung the camera towards the queen-sized bed. "Oh. Pillows. Plural."

Natalie looked up. "Well, cliché as the notion is, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check." She walked over and stared at the pillows for a moment.

". . . What are you waiting for?" Dan asked.

"I'm trying to remember the order of the pillows. Obviously. If even one is out of place, Ian could find out and realize what we're up to."

Dan waved a hand dismissively. "Come on! I've got photographic memory. Stupid to waste it on pillows, but I can tell you what order it goes in."

She nodded and then began shifting through the pillows carefully. How many times did the maids come in to make his bed, though? Wouldn't they have found the picture before? Then again, that would only be if the bed was messy enough to have to move all of the pillows in the first place. Or maybe they just did that anyway. Natalie felt sillier and sillier with every pillow she moved. "I don't think he has it under here," she said.

"Come on, where else would he put it?" Dan asked.

"Well, he would have to put it somewhere well hidden," she mused, a red silk cushion still clutched between her fingers. "Servants come regularly to keep our rooms tidied up. They are very thorough, so he must be as well."

"Dang, I wish I had people come clean my room for me. Then Amy might get off my back."

Natalie tossed the pillow she was holding back onto the bed. "We need to look for a clever hiding place."

"Under the bed!" he cried, immediately dropping to the floor to look.

"The camera!" She snatched it from his hands. "This is an expensive piece of equipment, Daniel. You cannot just play around with it!"

"I wasn't!" he protested. "I was looking under the bed for a picture of Amy."

"Oh, like he would really-"

"Aha! I found it!"

Natalie's mouth fell open. Triumphantly, Dan held up Amy's latest school picture. Her hair was riddled with split ends, her sweater washed out her face, and there was a disturbing zit on her chin. Basically, she looked better than usual. But under his bed? Why would Ian ever put it there?

"I can't believe he actually has a photo of her. That's so creepy! He's, like, a stalker. Dude, I bet Amy has a picture of him, too! Gross! Man, we need to get evidence of that-"

"It was really under his bed?" Natalie asked slowly.

Dan blinked. "Yeah."

She stared at the photo for a moment. "That's. . . odd."

"Uh, yeah, I just said that. What else were we going to talk about, anyway?"

Natalie shook herself and focused on the matter at hand again. "Why Ian and Amy are so completely terrible together." She turned the camera so that she and Dan were both visible again. "First, they are in different social classes. That is just wrong."

"Not to mention the fact that he's tried to kill us a few times."

"He doesn't mean that," Natalie said quickly. "He hasn't literally tried to kill them. . ."

It took Dan a moment, but then he understood. "Right! Right, he was just. . . trying to steal our lunch money. Yeah."

Natalie nearly face palmed herself. "Anyway. The point is Ian has been raised to be above the general population of the world. If he associates with Amy in this way, much more than his reputation will be at stake. My reputation is at stake simply from being in the same room with Amy and Dan."

"Besides, Ian's a jerk," Dan pointed out. "I don't want Amy turning into a pompous git. Ow!"

"Can you see now why this is such a catastrophe?" Natalie asked seriously. "Please, do what you can to shun our siblings and keep them from ruining our lives."

"And may the force be with you!" Dan cried.

Natalie stared at him.

"What? It seemed like the appropriate thing to say in such a dramatic moment. . ."

Natalie slowly let out a breath. "No, it really wasn't."

"Come on, it totally was!"

"We're done with this video!" she said through clenched teeth. Her smile was obviously forced. "Good-bye." She ended the recording and turned to Dan with a scathing glare. "Would you stop being such an idiot?"

"Hey, I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. This is serious, Daniel."

". . . Well, you've got to admit that the monkey picture was pretty funny." He cracked a smile and held the photograph up for her to see.

The corner of Natalie's mouth twitched into a near-smile. "It does kind of look like her, actually. . ."

Dan chuckled. "I know, right?"

"And the real picture of her isn't much better. Really, couldn't the photographers have at least patched up the zit?"

"Nah, Aunt Beatrice wouldn't pay for the premium package."

Natalie looked at the picture with renewed disgust. "That is just pathetic. . ."

Dan shrugged. "Not like I care. Anyway, I've got a video game I need to finish up, so unless there's something else we have to do. . ." He started heading for the door.

"We should probably decide what to do in the next video, actually," Natalie suggested.

"Easy! I came up with an idea a couple days ago," Dan said. "We can each tell an embarrassing story about them. That will start to gross them out a bit."

Natalie nodded. "Good. I have a plan for the video we do after that, as well. Let's meet again in three days. Be ready to share a story about Amy by then."

"Done." Dan grinned and rubbed his hands together. "The hardest part will be picking just one story. . ."