Wow, it's been a serious long amount of time since I've updated. Sorry! :( Anyway, I've been really stressed with exams, especially with one of them because my pathetic teacher taught me nothing this year. -.-

Also, please know that I haven't read Vespers Rising yet and I'm halfway through Into the Gauntlet…so don't blame me if I made something up such as the last chapter where Fiske has a daughter.

Well thanks for the reviews (YOU GUYS ARE AWESOMEEEE) and I made this chapter longer! Except, I think I kind of rushed through this chapter…..

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Amy POV

My eyes widened. Dan was basically my only living relative besides Uncle Fiske; I can't bear to lose him. My heart was beating rapidly and it was beginning to hurt my chest. I clutched onto the collar of my T-shirt and squeezed it with the rest of my energy. My hand was stiff and I began to feel my nails digging into my skin through the fabric.

"D-die? How can that be?"

The doctor looked at me and nodded. His eyes were sympathetic, but mine were full of sorrow. He placed his stethoscope above Dan's chest multiple times, and shook his head.

I could feel sweat falling down my face. I looked at Nellie. She wore an anxious face. I took Dan's hand and held it softly. His skin felt like ice. Suddenly, Dan was shaking as he was unconscious.

He took a deep breath. "Amy, it seems that Dan has had an overdose of Natrol Liquid Melatonin. I don't understand in whatsoever reason of how he would have received such a large amount, much less with the poison inside this liquid injection. I suggest we bring him to the emergency room at the hospital immediately. He needs surgery as soon as possible with only a day or two left."

Uncle Fiske nodded and gestured his hand over towards three security guards to carry Dan out the hideout safely. I stood up to follow them, but I felt a hand grabbing my arm. I looked over my shoulder to find Uncle Fiske shaking his head.

"But he's my b-brother! It's my responsibility to make sure he's safe. I have to be there with him at the h-hospital!"

"Please relax, Amy. Hopefully, Dan will be fine. For now, we must find why we are being threatened and figure how we can leave safely. We have to use the back-up Madrigal station for now, which each person will be escorted to. Everyone, enter the small entrance at the end of the passageway."

How could he simply assure me Dan will be fine? Tears descended on my face. I looked at the doctor who had just examined my brother moments ago. "Can you at l-least follow Dan? Make sure he's safe, and tell me on m-my cell if he's ok once the surgery is done."

The doctor bit his lip. "Child, it's not a good idea to leave now. I will visit the hospital later, but do not stress, Amy. Dan's chances of surviving the operation are 90%, and he is most likely to live through it. You will have the same Dan in a week." He gave me a hopeful smile.

I instantly felt relieved, but that 10% of failure lingered in my mind. I nodded and thanked the doctor and followed the rest of the group to the escape.

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About five hours later, we finally reached the Madrigal station. We went into a large room where everyone was fed and treated from the wounds caused by the explosion in the headquarters.

I sat down at a table miserably as Uncle Fiske spoke about what we were going to do about this unexpected situation we were at now. It is quite a shock for all of us to be discovered and brought to this crisis.

I began to fidget on my seat. I took out my cell and waited anxiously for a call from the doctor. Uncle Fiske continued to speak about his plans, but I had trouble focusing. My attention was only kept on Dan's safety. Then, my cell phone started shaking and I quickly answered it.

"Is it you, doctor? Is Dan ok? Is h-he alive? If he's conscious, can I talk to him? Please tell me he's fine!"

I heard a chuckle. "Amy, calm down. Dan is fine, he is resting, but he may return in a couple days. I'm sure Fiske is already notified of Dan's operation results. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Please take care of my brother until he leaves the hospital. Bye…"

"…And we will continue with our missions. Amy? Dear, are you paying attention? We will have to continue our duties. Due to Dan's incident, he will start his after you."

"Wait, I have to go to England tomorrow? What about my disguise and…"

"You were supposed to go on Friday, but it is best if everyone leaves this station for safety reasons. Nellie will help you with your disguise. As for Kellie...we'll discuss it later. Everyone, rest for the day. Tomorrow, we will resume back to our duties. End of conference."

I stood up and walked with Nellie to a large room filled with makeup, wigs, and clothes, which matched the one back at the headquarters.

"It's gonna be ok, Amy." Nellie smiled. "I'm going to stay at the hospital with Dan until he's ready for the mission. You know you're going to England on your own, right?" I shook my head, but didn't say anything.

We got ready for my disguise, which was the same as the one I had chosen with Kellie. When we were done, we started choosing my clothes. I really liked the skinny jeans and graphic tees. When we were done, Nellie looked at me. "Look Amy, I know you're going to be ok and everything, but if you need any help call me. I don't feel good about you leaving alone. It's kind of dangerous after today, don't you think?"

Does she still think I'm a little kid? The clue hunt changed me. I am able to take 100% care of myself now. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure dealing with the C-cobras is more dangerous." I laughed. "You know I'm responsible, and it's not like I'm going to have trouble w-with…Ian." My cheeks were getting hot.

She glared at me. "Sure. Just don't fall for that kid. He's not worth it." We left and that's pretty much how our day ended.

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(The next day) :O

I was at the airport, waving good-bye to Nellie. She waved back. "Bye kiddo! Be careful!" She gave me a quick smile and left.

I took a deep breath. The plan was to go to England and go to some kind of boarding school which I was already applied to as Ava Trent. (A/N I love the name Ava L: and I don't think Ian knows that Amy's father had the last name "Trent") Then, I would go watch Ian play his stupid game of polo and "accidently" bump into him. After getting friendly and spying on him, I had to continue the work until Uncle Fiske tells me what to do next. I really didn't see what the point of the mission was.

When I finally landed, I felt extremely tired. I've been reading my book, To Kill a Mockingbird, for the past few hours and I had to go to school right after. Sadly, this mission wasn't very entertaining.

I took a cab to the boarding school right after I left the airport, and I was immediately escorted to my first class which was English Literature right after I wore my uniform. It was kind of difficult at first when the security guard at the entrance had accused me for being both out of uniform and skipping class. I had to explain how I was a new exchange student and that I didn't even start school here yet. Then, I went to the application office and told the secretary my name. Without any warning, she just shoved me a new uniform and a whole bunch of papers that instructed where I had to go, which was kind of strange because I thought I had to fill out a whole bunch of forms before starting class. It was until later I realized everything was setup for me by the Madrigals.

I probably should've rested before I attended school because I fell asleep during my first class, which gave a bad first impression to my professor. She came up to me and gave me a strong whack on the head. The class was filled with sniggers and laughter as my cheeks reddened. English was not going to be easy for me, especially with the fact that it is my strongest subject.

The day kept going and finally, it was lunch. I went to my dorm to unpack my stuff. A girl with freckles and red hair (which was just like mine) came towards me. "Hello. Are you my new roommate? Finally! I am so excited!"

"Uh...yeah…? My name is Ava-" The girl gasped.

"You're American right? We're definitely going to be best friends! I'm Emily!"

This began to get kind of awkward for me, so I quickly excused myself and walked to the cafeteria for lunch. I brought a book along with me, A Midnight Summer's Dream (I finished To Kill a Mocking Bird), because I really wanted to finish it. It was really interesting, and Shakespeare is amazing, but it feels kind of weird how some like me is related to a genius like him. Just as I was walking to the door, some guy came over to me.

"Hey there, beautiful." He was tall and muscular, probably a jock. A hand went over my face and removed some of the hair that was covering my 'amber colored' eyes. I rolled my eyes and continued walking a bit faster, but that didn't keep him away.

"What's your name?" He gave me a friendly smile, but his expression gave a demand for an answer. I closed my book and sighed in annoyance. "Ava. Ava Trent." I smiled weakly.

"That name suites you perfectly. I am Ryan Anderson." He took out his hand and I reached it to shake it. Right when I was shaking Ryan's hand, a whole bunch of girls in cheerleading uniforms came over to me.

"Look at the new girl. She's the American who made a complete fool of herself earlier." I recognized the speakers face form English Literature. She walked closer to me and examined my hair. "Ugh. Look at this, highlights. I mean, who has this around here? It makes you look ridiculous, not to mention how you can possible look like this next to Ryan."

"Back off, Williamson. " I looked at Ryan. No one had really ever defended me like that in school because I didn't need it back in Boston.

I felt scared instantly. I was never picked on in Boston, and all the popular kids were very nice to me. What did I do wrong? I saw some other students having highlights in this school. Confusion came over me.

Suddenly, the cafeteria became quiet as a particular group of students entered. They were all dressed in designer clothing and went to a specific area in the lunch room. They sat in fancy dining tables and servants in formal wear served them luxurious food. The cafeteria was roaring again after their entrance.

The cheerleader took her attention away from me and found another person. Ian Kabra. She started having those googly-eyes when people are in love, allowing me to leave without any more given criticism from her.

I felt myself watching the Cobra too, but not the same way as the cheerleader was. Kabra was eating his meal and laughing with his friends. For the first time, I saw him truly laugh with heart. No acting of whatsoever was there. He actually looked…normal and I liked him better that way. He seemed ordinary, not a stuck up person who used money for happiness, but I knew better. This was just me trying to convince myself he wasn't an evil person. He might've made some amends in the gauntlet, but nothing would fix his actions of attempting to take away Dan's and my own life just for some divine serum.

I went to get lunch and Ryan followed me. When I went to find a seat, I started a conversation. "So how long have you been here? I've never been in a boarding school 'till now."

He laughed and we continued talking. Some other guys from another tabled signaled him to come, but he ignored them. We kept talking and laughed until we were interrupted by a familiar voice.

Ian POV

I was eating a meal with my schoolmates when I heard a familiar voice. I knew it so clearly because it belonged to the girl I have been thinking about quite frequently these past months. The voice spoke faintly on the other side of the cafeteria, faraway to the people who weren't as rich as me. I've never walked there, but I felt the urge to go there. I got up and my best mate looked at me. "Where are you going? We just started our meals."

"I have to see something. I'll be back in a while." I walked toward the voice. The owner of that beautiful voice laughed and spoke happily, lightning up my feelings warmly.

I was very close to the speaker until a cheerleader who has been stalking me for days had blocked my path. "Ian, dear, I've never seen around you here. What are you- oh! Are you here to see me?" She giggled pathetically. Who did she think she was?

"Move." I shoved her away and an astonished face replaced her giddy one when I stopped at the table where the voice was coming from. When I looked down, expecting a redhead, I saw a girl with dark hair and a couple streaks. I was very sure that the voice was Amy's, but instead, I had stumbled upon a girl who looked nothing like Amy. Her eyes were a light shade of brown, but there was the same glint in them. "Amy?"

She stopped talking and looked at me as her eyes widened. She definitely recognized me.

Her hands balled up into a fist and she squeezed it hard. The girl's cheeks were turning scarlet, just like the way Amy had in Korea. "I…um, my name is uh, Ava. W-who are you?" Stuttering? I looked at her a bit more carefully. I had my full confidence that this girl was Amy, but now, I have no idea. Maybe I was officially losing it…or that I am secretly desperate to meet Amy again. I really want to see her and apologize all I've done to her. I gave her a blank expression and just walked away in confusion. Her voice was identical to Amy's and she looked as if she knew me when we first made eye contact, but she couldn't possibly be her…right?

Thanks for reading! 8D

~urnotspecial~