Hey. I was wondering: Should I finish this adventure all in one story? Or should I break it up into two stories. Because if I keep doing this as one story, It might end up being forty chapters long. Hope you like it!

"Dan, stop it!" Amy yelled. But it was too late. Dan was already bringing his hand back to hit Zai in the face.

Zai's eyes flashed. Lightning-fast, his hand shot out and grabbed Dan's wrist, which was mere inches from his nose. Dan's eyes opened wide as Zai's fingers dug into the base of his hand.

"Listen," Zai hissed, his voice as hard as steel. "I don't who you think you are, but I've experienced more pain and suffering than you can ever imagine." He squeezed tighter. Dan's eyes were huge with fear as Zai burned into him with his intense glare. "You don't even know the meaning of the word!" Zai spat.

Whoa, thought Amy. I've never seen Zai display much of any emotion. I didn't know people could even get this angry! I'd better stop before this get's violent.

"Zai, I think-"

"Stay out of this!" Zai snapped, not looking at her. Dan turned white in terror as Zai's hand squeezed tighter and his eyes narrowed. Dan tensed and closed his eyes. Would Zai hit him? Zai's eyes flashed dangerously. Then, he gave Dan's wrist one final hard squeeze, shoved his hand away, and spun around. He noticed his swords leaning against the wall. He had left them in the Hummer back in Hong Kong, and Nellie was going to give them to him. Zai grabbed them and stormed out, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Dan stood frozen where he was. Elias stood up angrily.

"Elias, wait." Amy began. "Dan didn't mean-" Elias whipped around and glared at her threateningly. Amy shrank back and stopped talking.

"I can't BELIEVE you, Dan!" he shouted. "After all I've helped your sister?" Elias shook his head. "Zai's right. You're messed up." He turned and stalked out the door, slamming it again.

"Dan?" Amy whispered, her voice quivering "What did you do?"

Dan didn't answer. He was just standing there, his feet glued to the ground. Nellie went over to him and shook him gently by the shoulders.

"Dan?" she asked again. This time, Dan seemed to snap out of his daze.

"I'm fine." he said quietly. He turned and climbed into bed. "I just want to be alone."

An hour later...

Zai was fuming in his room.

Who does he think he is? He's lucky I didn't hurt him, he thought. Next time, I might not be so gentle. He flung himself onto his bed. If he even tries saying something like that to me again, I'll-

Zai was interrupted in his train of thought by a knocking at the door.

"Come in!" he called. The door swung open and Natalie walked in.

"Hello." she said.

"Hello." Zai replied.

"Hello." Natalie said again.

"Can I...help you?" Zai inquired.

"No, I was just checking to make sure you were settled in fine." Natalie replied, smiling sweetly.

"Oh. Well, I'm doing fine, thank you." he replied, smiling politely.

"Good." Natalie hesitated.

"Is everything okay?" Zai asked.

"Yes, yes, everything's fine. It's just that, my brother didn't mention it to you."

"Mention what?" Zai asked. He was getting impatient.

"Tomorrow night," Natalie began, "Is the Kabra New Year's Ball."

"Annual...Kabra New Year's Ball?" Zai echoed. Natalie nodded.

"Well, I guess there a lot of things I could do tomorrow night during the ball." Zai said.

"Well, that's just the thing." Natalie hesitated again. "Ian wants you and Amy to attend the ball." she said.

"Ian wants Amy and me to attend...a ball?" Zai echoed again. .

"Oh, you don't have to." Natalie added quickly. "But Ian said it would nice if you could make it. There's someone he wants you to meet."

"Okay, I guess could try." Zai said slowly. It's the least I can do, after he saved us, he thought. Natalie nodded again and walked out.

That was weird. Zai mused. Then again, Natalie's always been weird. Zai got up and went over to his window. London was out there, calling to him.

Amy was just leaving her room. Just a few minutes ago, Ian had invited her to the Kabra New Years' Ball tomorrow night. If she was going to attend, which she thought she might, she would need to go shopping. Amy hated shopping. She never went shopping in Boston, except for books. Aunt Beatrice had bought all her clothes, without bothering to ask what she wanted. The experience might be fun. She reached into her pocket. She had a small wad of money that Nellie had given her.

All I need is a nice dress and some shoes, she told herself. I won't spent too much money. She ran walked down the sweeping staircase to the front door. She stopped. Zai was there, opening up the door.

"Hey. What're you doing here?" she said. Zai whirled around.

"Nothing. What're you doing here?" he challenged.

"I-I'm going shopping." she replied. "How about you?"

"What's it look like?" he replied. "I'm going out." With that, he walked out. Amy hurried after him.

Just outside the door, a limousine sat parked. A man in a tuxedo was standing next to it, holding the back door open.

"Sir, Madam, your ride." He said. Zai stepped back warily.

"Ride?" he asked suspiciously.

"Mr. Kabra told me you needed a ride."

"Oh...okay." Amy said hesitantly. She and Zai climbed into the limo. The driver climbed into the front, and started the engine.

"Why are Ian and Natalie being so nice to us?" Amy whispered.

"How should I know?" Zai whispered back. "But we should keep an eye on them, just in case."

"Where to, Sir?" the driver's voice came over a speaker in one of the walls.

"Where is it you we're going?" Zai whispered to Amy.

"Harrods." she replied loudly, so the driver could hear her.

"Harrods? Are you serious?" Zai hissed. Shopping at Harrods was not what he wanted to to tonight. "Do you even have any money?"

"Um... a little." Amy admitted. Then she spotted something.

Look." Amy whispered. On the seat next to her was a white envelope. Zai picked it up and opened it. There was a note inside.

Amy and Zai. I told Drew to take you anywhere in the city you need to go. Enclosed in the envelope are two Visa Gold cards, each with one thousand pounds on it. Enjoy. Ian and Natalie Kabra.

Zai turned the envelope upside-down. Two credit cards fell out. He handed one to Amy.

"That takes care of the money." he said. Amy nodded, staring at the card in her hand. After riding in silence for about ten minutes, Amy broke the silence.

"Look, Zai, about what happened back with Dan-"

"Drop it." Zai interrupted.

"No, really, Zai. I think Dan-"

"I said drop it!" Zai hissed. "What happened was between Dan and me. It's none of your business, so just butt out and don't mention it." Amy slumped back in her seat, dejected. Neither Dan nor Zai wanted to fix things.

"Sir, Madam, we're here." the driver told them. He got out and opened the door. Amy and Zai climbed out.

"Well, okay, let's go." Amy said.

'Let's'? Zai thought. I don't think so!

"Actually, Amy." Zai started, "I'm going to look around a bit. I'll catch a cab and meet you back at the Kabras' in, shall we say...two hours?"

"But Zai-"

"Great. Later!" Zai tossed over his shoulder as he ran off. Amy just stood there, staring at him run off. She shook her head. Sometimes, she thought she would never understand boys.

2 hours later...

Zai was sitting in a taxi. He smiled to himself. He had gotten a lot of things done that night. First, he had gone to a bank and withdrawn all the money on his credit card, so Ian and Natalie couldn't track where he'd been. He'd bought a few essentials that he'd lost in Hong Kong, in case he ran into any trouble. Finally, he had bought some new clothes. The ones he was wearing were really dirty, and even though Ian and Natalie had provided him with some, he preferred to buy his own. He had also bought a new backpack.

"Okay, we're here." The taxi driver said. Zai looked out the window and the sprawling grounds surrounding the Kabras' mansion.

"Thanks." Zai told him. He handed the driver a few bills.

"Keep the change." he said. He jumped out and walked up to the house. Amy was just going in.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey." he said quickly, running up the stairs to his room. He shut the door and hung his new clothes up in the closet. He looked out the window. The sun was peeking above the horizon. Zai yawned. He was extremely tired. He undressed, then fell into bed.

14 hours later...

Amy was getting ready for the ball. She looked at herself in her full-length mirror again.

I look ridiculous, she sighed to herself. She was wearing a dark purple knee-length dress, and her reddish-brown was loose, flowing past her face. She didn't dare put makeup on. The thought of stuff smeared on her face disgusted her.

Well, here goes. The first guests had already arrived, and Ian wanted some of his guests to meet Amy. Dan was in bed, being looked after by one of the Kabras' private doctors. Amy walked out of her room and down the stairs. There were a lot of people down there, many of them chatting. Amy had no idea who any of them were. She spotted Ian speaking with an older woman in the corner. He was wearing a silk tuxedo. She signaled to him. He nodded slightly, the hurriedly excused himself from his conversation.

"Amy, you look stunning." he breathed. Amy glared at him. He coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. "Um, have you seen Zai?" Ian asked quickly. "He should've been here by now."

"I haven't seen him." Amy told him. "But I can go up to his room and check."

"Thanks." Ian smiled. "I need to get back to my guests." Amy looked around. More and more people were arriving, and the vast living room and dining room started filling up. Amy hurried back up the stairway to Zai's room. She knocked.

"Who is it?" a voice called.

"It's me!" Amy replied.

"What do you want?" Zai asked, a little irritably.

"Ian wants to know why you haven't come down yet." she told him.

"You go on." Zai called back. "I'll be there in a few."

"Okay." Amy said as she walked back downstairs.

I wish Nellie could be here, she thought. But she's out, probably at some weird restaurant trying weird food looking checking out boys. She was just about to go look for Ian again when she caught sight of Zai. He was wearing a soft, light gray Indian-style shirt with a black vest and loose, dark gray pants. Amy smiled to herself. Only Zai could come up with a way to dress up for a ball in those clothes. She pushed her way over to him.

"Hey, let's go find Ian." she said quietly. "I think he wants to talk to us."

"Okay," Zai agreed, "but then can we leave? I don't want to be here for more that fifteen minutes."

Amy nodded hastily and dragged Zai through the growing crowd to where Ian was chatting with some teenagers from his school.

"Hi, Ian." Amy greeted him

"Hello," Ian beamed. He gestured to the teenagers he was talking to. There were two boys and one girl. "Meet my classmates. Amy, Zai, this is James, Walter, and Olivia. James, Walter, and Olivia, this is Amy and Zai."

"Hey." Zai and Amy shook hands with Ian's friends.

"Well, see you later!" Ian called to his classmates. He led Zai and Amy a little ways away.

"There's someone I want you two to meet." he told them. "You might already know him." He led them to the dining room and up to a tall, blond man drinking a glass of wine. The man's brilliant green eyes opened wide in shock when he saw them.

"Amy, Zai, I'd like you to meet Matthew Brooks." Ian introduced them.

I've seen this guy before, thought Zai. I'm not exactly sure who he is, but I'm sure I don't like him.

Sorry. I know that I took too long to update, and I know that this chapter was kind of slow and boring. But I really needed it to set up the events for the coming chapters. Please review!