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Well, that was very anticlimactic. I could tell Natty-boy was disappointed the second he laid eyes on the Flamel guy.

He was exactly like I said; very ordinary. He was pale and red-haired, pretty healthy-looking for a guy his age, suspicious little brown eyes, wearing commoner clothes. Nathaniel gave a sigh of disappointment. I rolled my eyes and shoved him inside, closing the door behind us.

Flamel was sitting on the edge of his bed, his back facing us. He glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowing further. I opened my mouth to speak, but surprisingly, he beat me to it.

"Well, what do you want? I suppose you're from Britain, correct?" he asked flatly.

"Um… well, yes, but—"

"Ah. You want that stupid rock, don't you?" he snapped bitterly. Nathaniel and I glanced at each other.

"Not officially…" I mumbled. "Or, perhaps, legally, either. Just let me talk, won't you?" Flamel gave a quiet grunt, turning away from me. "You are Nicholas Flamel, right?"

There was much mumbling, but finally, I caught something along the line of "yeah, what's it to ya?"

"Good. Nath—uh, Mandrake and I are from London. The PM sent us to tell you to stop showing off, basically."

"You think I meant for this to happen?!" Flamel snapped, whirling around to glare at us. "It wasn't even my fault! I was pushed!"

Nathaniel blinked. "What? The witnesses said you fell," he said, an adorable look of confusion on his face.

Flamel chuckled bitterly. "They either weren't paying attention, or were one of his men. He's been trying to get rid of me for years now. I guess he thinks shoving me out in the open will work…" He began mumbling to himself, sounding like the mad man he is.

"Who is 'he'? A hit man?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Any assassin would have a spot of trouble trying to kill off Flamel, obviously.

"Yes! An assassin, out to get rid of my wife and I and take the stone and use it for evil!" he groaned, rushing everything together into one long mumble. I glanced at Nathaniel and swirled my finger in a circle beside my head.

"Do you know who this man is?" Nathaniel asked, ignoring me.

"No. I've never heard his name, nor seen his face. Only his men. He doesn't want to be discovered, you see, so he sends others out to do his dirty work. Though, he is quite relentless." Flamel glanced at us slyly. "Why should you care, anyway?"

I sighed and dragged Nathaniel over to a couple of chairs near the bed, and we sat down. I pretended not to notice when Flamel flinched when we passed close by. "Mister Flamel," I began, leaning forward conspiratorially, "we are going to get you out of this hospital. Not legally, of course. You don't really have a choice in the matter, but I just thought you ought to know. I am a djinni. I will cast an illusion over you, and you will stick close to us on our way out. Then, we would like to talk to you in private. Of course, this part you do have a choice in. As long as you promise to be very careful, we will tell the PM about your situation. I can promise you, you and your wife are not in any danger." Nathaniel looked a bit surprised that I could sound so serious.

Flamel simply looked skeptical. "Hm. Alright, then. I'll leave with you. But I'm not guaranteeing anything," he added hastily when Nathaniel broke out in a grin.

"Great! As long as you get the plan, it shall commence!" I said cheerfully. I stood up, grabbing Nathaniel's hand and towing him towards the door. I remembered just in time that I'm supposed to be his father and let go of his hand when a nurse peeked in the door.

"Are you through with your visit?" she asked. I nodded and bundled Nathaniel through the door, muttering things like 'if you don't move any faster, I'll whip you, boy' and such. I glanced back as the nurse shut the door.

"Oh, wait! I forgot my pen inside. Let me just get it," I said, running back inside. I gave Flamel a meaningful look and pretended to pick something up. I really made a hand motion, Flamel suddenly disappearing from sight. I stood and walked a bit slower than necessary for the door. I kept it open about a foot, enough for Flamel to slip through, but small enough for the nurse to be unable to see inside. After a few good seconds, I closed the door and tugged Natty-Boy towards the exit, thanking the nurse for her time and such, being the elegant gentleman I am.

We strolled casually up to the front desk to sign out. There was a muscular man with swept-back hair interrogating the lady at the front desk.

"Please, this is urgent! I must see him," he said very seriously, leaning into her personal space.

"Too bad, mister. Only family is allowed," she snapped, scowling. The man glanced at us and, with a sigh, turned to walk out, guessing it was easier to give up.

I signed us out, giving the lady a briefing of a fake visit, remembering to add that Flamel was a crazy and should be mentally institutionalized. I thought I felt someone kick at my leg, but Nathaniel was busy inspecting a funny-looking pen in a cup on the desk. When we exited, I opened the door for Nathaniel (and probably Flamel, too), and began making our way towards the hotel in silence.

After multiple attempts at making holding a door open for no apparent reason look normal, we finally made it to the room. Kitty and Jakob were on each side of the room, doing their own thing.

"Hm, I see you didn't take my advice," I said sadly, changing back into Ptolemy. Both beds were still made and the couch's pillows were neat and orderly. "Unless, of course, you did it on the floor…?" I asked innocently. Kitty turned red and chucked a paper wad at me, which I caught easily.

"Back to business!" Nathaniel snapped, elbowing me in the side. I frowned and glanced around the room, lifting my illusion. To my surprise, a man appeared, leaning against the wall with a sour look on his face.

"Don't think I'm doing this out of fear, gratitude, or just sucking up," he snapped suddenly, looking quite hostile for a moment. His lips twisted together oddly, and he sighed. "Alright, you want the Stone, huh?" he asked flatly, not looking directly at us, but at the small air pocket between us.

"Yes, actually," Nathaniel admitted hesitantly. "You see, we're—"

"Gay lovers," I interrupted coolly, grabbing Nat around the waist. "Obviously, I'm a djinni, and living forever isn't all it's made out to be, especially without someone to share it with." We all ignored Nathaniel as he blushed madly and tried to squirm away, squeaking out his protests girlishly.

Flamel stared at us stupidly for a good five seconds, before shivering slightly. "Meh. I guess I've seen weirder," he said casually. "But how do I know that you're not one of the assassins sent after me all the time?" He stared down at the floor as if it bored him, playing with the cuff of his shirt. I was pretty sure he had a dagger hid up there or something, the crazy, innocent-looking old man he was.

"Because. We're, altogether, a perverted, mentally retarded djinni and three hormonal teenagers," Nathaniel said, finally managing to wiggle out of my grasp and sit on one of the beds. I followed instantly, snuggling into his side.

"Not mentally retarded…" I mumbled grouchily. Hey, I wasn't going to lie!

"Once again, I've seen weirder," Flamel said, fighting a smirk.

"I guess you'll just have to trust us then, won't you, Flamel?" Jakob snapped suddenly, looking very ticked off with Flamel's paranoidness. I couldn't really blame the old man, actually. Flamel's eyes narrowed dangerously and stared down Jakob. To my surprise, the kid actually held his ground for a good few minutes. We sat in silence, the tension so thick, not even Eddie Murphy dancing by in a tutu could stop it. I boredly began braiding a piece of Nathaniel's hair. He didn't seem to notice.

"Fine," Flamel snapped, eyes narrowing further.

"Fine!" Jakob countered, obviously forgetting what they were having a stare down for.

"Good!" Flamel probably forgot, too. Or else he was being sarcastic.

"Great!"

"Alright!"

"Yeah!"

"Shut up!" Kitty added helpfully. Jake and Flamel just glared at her. When Kitty glared back, Jakob paled slightly and crawled over to hug her and beg for forgiveness, which was a smart move when it came to Kitty.

"So," I asked curiously, sitting up straight. "What do we do now?"

Flamel grinned with amusement at the thought that just ran through his mind. Or it could have been Nathaniel's new hairstyle.

"Would you like to meet the Missus?"

"Does she bake cookies?" Nathaniel asked excitedly, flipping a braid out of his eyes.

"No."

Poor Natty-boy actually looked a bit crushed at that.