Nina woke up the next morning with a smashing headache. She grabbed some ibuprofen from her bedside table and swallowed it with some water. She looked over to the other beds in the room. Patricia was still asleep, snoring slightly. Mara, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found, her bed made up nice and neat. Typical Mara, they still had one more day before school started and she was already up in the early hours.

Nina got up and walked over to her wardrobe, grabbed some clothes and made her way out of the room aiming for the bathroom. On the way, she accidentally bumped into Joy.

"Joy, sorry I didn't see you there," Nina apologised.

"It's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going either," Joy admitted.

The two stood there awkwardly, "Well, I should go shower now," Nina said.

"Uh yeah of course," Joy replied.

Nina started making her way over to the bathroom, "Nina wait," Joy said.

"Yeah," she turned around.

"I just wanted to make sure we're on good terms, I know we sort of made up after everything but I don't think I ever really apologized for all those things I did."

"It's fine Joy, I forgive you."

"Good, because I was kind of hoping now that you're back and we don't really to act like rivals anymore, we could be friends?"

"I'd really like that," Nina smiled at her.

"Cool," Joy smiled back. "I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Nina finally made it into the bathroom and put her stuff down. Being friends, instead of enemies, with Joy would be much easier.

While in the shower she thought about what the spirit meant by 'find the box'. Where was she supposed to find the box?

'That spirit lady could have been a lot clearer if she really wanted me to find it,' Nina thought to herself.

Once showered, she went back to her bedroom, to find Patricia awake and on the phone.

"Morning," Nina greeted.

"Morning," Patricia grumbled.

"You really aren't a morning person, are you?" Nina giggled.

"Never have been, never will be."

"Mara seems to be though."

"I don't understand her at all," Patricia said. "We don't actually have to get up and yet she still willingly gets up."

"Maybe she has a lot to do?" Nina suggested.

"Like what? It's not like we have homework, school hasn't even started," Patricia replied. "Although, knowing her, she's probably found a way to get homework."

"I don't remember having any time to do homework while here, always something more urgent to sort out like an unsolved mystery."

"Did you miss it? You know the whole, Sibuna thing?" Patricia asked.

"I kinda did, I mean never a dull moment, amirite?" Nina answered. "I didn't miss life the threatening situations though."

"They never seem to end," Patricia said. "But since you bring up danger, I didn't even think to ask yesterday, but how are you here? The chosen one and the Osirian can't be together."

"It's a long story," Nina replied. "One that definitely calls for a Sibuna meeting."

"We really need to find a better place to meet," said Alfie as he brushed a cobweb of his shoulder. "Somewhere less creepy than the attic."

"And less dusty," KT added.

"This is the only place that was free," Nina defended. "Plus, I missed this place."

"Only you would miss an attic, Nina," Fabian chuckled. Nina gave him a soft shove on the shoulder.

"Enough talking about the meeting place," Eddie said before looking at Nina. "How are you here? No that I'm not happy to see you but we can't be together, remember?"

"Well it started when I had this really weird dream," Nina began. "This woman, she was talking to me and then she gave me this necklace. She told me it would allow me to be with Osirian."

Nina reached up to her neck and pulled something over her head. It was a necklace; it had a thin gold chain and hanging on it was a small gold pyramid.

"When I woke up, the necklace was hanging around my neck."

Eddie reached over and delicately touched pyramid, as Nina held the chain. It began to glow and Eddie quickly retracted his hand.

"Why did it do that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's absorbing our energy, more specifically, our dangerous energy," Nina answered.

"So you can be here and nothing bad will happen? That's why you came back?" Fabian asked.

"Yes...and no," she replied. "In my letter, I said that I also wasn't coming back because Gran was ill. I thought she was going to get better but she didn't, she just kept getting worse and worse until…"

Nina had begun to cry so Fabian went over and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry Nina."

"It's okay, she went peacefully," Nina pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. "I came back here because it was this or foster care because I'm not eighteen for another couple of months."

"Are you okay?" Patricia asked.

"Physically? Yeah. Mentally? Debatable. Emotionally? I could be better," she joked. "In all seriousness though, it was really hard. She was my only family and now she's gone."

"You have us," Fabian told her. "We may not all be family through blood but we're a family nonetheless."

"Aww, group hug!" KT exclaimed before wrapping his arms around Fabian and Nina. Alfie and Eddie joined in. Patricia rolled her eyes but joined as well. Fabian was right; they were family.

Patricia was the first to pull away, "As much as I don't want to ruin this oh so sweet moment, you never really said who the woman was."

"That's the thing, I don't know who she was," Nina answered. "I've never seen her before and I've never actually seen her in real life, only in the dream."

She contemplated telling them about the dream she had the night before but decided not to. She knew that a new mystery was evolving and she had no idea how safe it would be for the others. She had put everyone in danger before and she wasn't going to do it again.

"So some random woman just gave you a necklace so you could come back...for no reason at all?" Alfie asked.

"I guess so," Nina lied.

"Why am I not even surprised?" Alfie said. "Weird things just seem to happen to you, Nina."

"You're saying that as if I don't already know it."

The group laughed before Nina spoke up again, "Well we better go back down before Victor comes and catches us... actually speaking of Victor, where is he? I haven't seen him."

"You didn't know?" Eddie asked. "He left at the end of last year, something about fulfilling his destiny."

"Oh, so who is taking his position?"

"I don't think anyone is," Fabian said. "We've still got Trudy, who basically does everything in the house which makes me think. What was Victor's point in being here? All he really did was look creepy and drop a pin."

"I think he was only here for the elixir of life and making sure no one else discovered the secrets of Anubis house."

"He wasn't even good at that." The group laughed once again and Nina felt a sudden overwhelming feeling over home settle over her.

"Even though Victor isn't here, I still don't want to spend my whole day in an attic, so I'm going to bounce," KT told the group.

"I'm going to go too, Willow's going to be wondering where I am," Alfie said.

"I'm leaving too," Patricia said. "Eddie, you coming?"

"Uh, actually yacker, I have to talk to Nina about something important," Eddie replied. Nina looked at him curiously.

"Oh, I'll see you later I guess," Patricia answered. "Fabian, you coming? I'm assuming you meant in private Eddie?"

"Uh yeah, thanks," Eddie said.

Fabian looked put off but walked over to Patricia anyway, "Um, I'll you later Nina," he smiled at the girl, who did the same back.

Patricia and Fabian made their way downstairs and out of the attic, leaving Eddie and Nina alone.

"What did you want to talk about Eddie?" Nina asked.

"That woman you were talking about, what did she look like?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Just answer the question."

"I don't know, she had dark hair, almost golden skin and...well this is going to sound weird but I think she was a spirit of some kind, she was kind of blurry and translucent."

"I had a dream about her too," Eddie told her.

"What?! Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I wanted to make sure it was the same woman."

"When was this dream? Have you dreamt about her more than once? Do you know who she is?"

"Okay let's slow down with the questions," Eddie said. "No, I don't know who she is but I've dreamt about her twice. The first time was when I was back in America, she kept saying something like 'she will return and set me free' and I'm not going to lie, I had a suspicion she might've meant you but I didn't want to assume. After I saw yesterday, I knew she meant you."

"So, you sort of knew I was coming back?"

"As I said, I didn't want to assume anything, she could've meant anyone but my Osirian senses were tingling a bit."

"What about the second time you dreamt of her? When was that?"

"Last night actually," Eddie answered. "She kept telling me to -"

"Find the box," the pair finished together.

"She told you that too?"

"I didn't tell the others but I've dreamt about her twice too, my second dream last night as well."

"This is crazy!" Eddie exclaimed, trying to take all the new information in. "This is the start of another mystery isn't it?"

"I think so," Nina replied. "Did she tell you any clues about where this mystery box may be?"

"Sort of - she said it had been stolen and taken to a place of domestics."

"Why do the clues always have to be so cryptic?"

"You're telling me."

The pair tried to rack their brain as to what the woman could have meant. "A place of domestics would mean a house wouldn't it?" Nina asked.

"That makes sense," Eddie agreed.

"So it must be in Anubis house!" Nina exclaimed. "Why else would she give me a necklace so I could come back?"

"That also makes sense," Eddie said. "But the real question is why does she need both of us?"

"I don't know but we might get some answers once we find the box," Nina suggested.

"This house is huge and full of secret passageways and rooms. How are we supposed to find it?"

"I don't know but I know where we should start," Nina told him. "You said the woman said the box was stolen and I think we both know who by."

"The Frobisher-Smythes."

"Exactly, which mean we should start where Robert Frobisher-Smythe hid a lot of his things; his study."

"Nice thinking," Eddie complimented her. "When should we go down?"

"Tonight, it would seem a little weird if he disappeared into the cellar, at midday. Even if Victors not here, I don't want the others finding out."

"What's wrong with the others knowing?"

"Look, Eddie, we don't know if this 'quest' is going to be a dangerous one," Nina explained. "As I'm sure you learned last year, something is always at stake when things like this happen. Those guys have put their lives on the line for me before and I don't want to risk them doing it again."

"I understand that but you know how mad they would be if they found out we were doing something like this without them?"

"I'd rather them alive and mad than dead or hurt," Nina said honestly. "You'd be devastated if anything happened to Patricia or any of the others and you know it."

"Fine," Eddie gave in. "We'll meet in the kitchen at midnight."

"Sounds like a plan."

Joy had been avoiding Mara and Mara could tell. Joy was fine when they had texted and video chatted over the summer until she had stopped answering her calls two weeks before they were due back at school. Then when she had walked up to the group to greet them after the holidays, Joy had barely even spared her a glance. Mara didn't know what she'd done wrong,

Mara genuinely couldn't think of a good reason as to why Joy was avoiding her. Eventually, she decided it must've had something to do with Jerome and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

That morning, Mara woke up bright and early as usual, to make her way downstairs for some breakfast. "Morning Trudy," she greeted her house mother as she entered the dining room.

"Good morning, Sweetie!" Trudy replied. "You're up early."

"I always am," Mara answered. "Do you need some help with breakfast?"

"That would be helpful," Trudy gave her a grateful smile. "You can pour the pancake batter into the pan and then flip them once they're ready."

"I'm on it." Mara got down to business and started cooking the pancakes. While Mara loved being at home and spending time with her parents, there was nothing like the smell of Anubis house in the morning when Trudy was cooking breakfast.

She had just flipped the pancakes that were slowly cooking in the pan when Joy entered the room. "Morning sweetie," Trudy greeted the girl.

"Morning Trudes," she greeted back and was about to take a seat when she noticed Mara in the kitchen. Mara smiled at her but Joy stood up straighter, averting her eyes.

"Uh, sorry I'll be back, I need to fix something upstairs," Joy quickly walked out quickly.

"Joy wait!" Mara exclaimed. "Trudy, do you mind if I talk to Joy for a minute?"

"It's no trouble dear," Trudy told her.

She ran out into the foyer just as Joy was walking up the stairs. "Joy, stop for a second."

Joy actually stopped, much to Mara's surprise, "Yes?"

"You've been avoiding me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Joy insisted.

"You stopped answering my texts and calls, you haven't looked me in the eye at all since we got back and you haven't talked to me at all either."

"I've just been busy," Joy answered shortly.

"Too busy to say hello to your best friend?" Mara asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Mara I-"

"It's because of Jerome isn't it?"

"How did-"

"I know you feel bad about what happened last year but it's honestly fine," Mara told her. "I'm happy for the both of you and I don't want history to get in the way of our friendship."

"Uh, yeah, you're right, that is definitely what this is about," Joy said. "I just didn't want to make you upset."

"You shouldn't have to tiptoe around me, I'm completely over Jerome."

"That's good to know."

"So, still best friends?" Mara opened her arms for a hug.

"Best friends," Joy replied, accepting Mara's hug.

"So you going to come for breakfast?" Mara asked.

"Yeah but first I do actually need to get something from my room, I'll see you in a minute."

"Okay."

The two girls smiled and went their separate ways.