I AM HYPERVENTILATING.

Before I tell you the reason why, let us thank our awemazing reviewers: dear Guest (I know, I'm waiting for my insomniac mind to conjure Amian, too XD), clara0414 (thank you, thank you! I seem to have that disease, don't I? The tense disease. I shall edit when my eyes are drooping no more!), Daughter of Oceanus, Reginaa2111 and addicted2reading9! Thank you, thank you so much! Oh and BTWs, I get Daughter of Oceanus' and Reginaa2111's point. I'm like that, too. XD

It's like minutes away from twelve o'clock midnight and I'm typing up this AN with adrenaline rushing through my sugar-induced veins. (Blame ice cream) So, if you're a long time 39 Clues Archive-r (see, what I just did there?) or even if you're a newbie, you probably heard of The Madrigal Awards. Yes, that super cool website (found here: .com) where "the best, from the best, to the best" stories are found and awarded with their respective genres. Oh gosh, I'm still hyperventilating. Feel my heart, come on, it's gonna explode right out of my chest. Anyway, so my amazing co-author with Fabula Secunda, FascinatingRhythm, nominated The Start of Train for Best Multi-Chapter. And the results came. I received an e-mail that informed me that the winners are up and so, I clicked on the link and BAM! It's right there! The Start of Train won Best Multi-Chapter! Oh my gosh! *fangirl scream which will last for a whole hour*

AngelicSpring doesn't own –

Aaaaaahhhhhh!

Anything. Please enjoy this chapter.

oooooOooooo

Chapter 8

"I'm just saying," Hamilton started again as they continued to trek the streets of Kyoto, Japan, "Amy is not going to buy you a new phone." He kept both of his hands on the back of his neck, gazing at the temples and shrines around them. That loud, auburn-haired girl back home would have exploded into endless trivia about them that he couldn't care less about if she was here. He shrugged, looking at the many creases on his red, striped polo shirt. He would've gotten an earful out of that, too.

Jonah and Ian glared at him as they dragged a still sulking Dan along. They were both firmly gripping his arms. "You ready to explain yet, D-dawg?" Jonah asked and you could hear in his tone that he was trying not to get mad. Dan pointedly glared at the granny who was selling cherry blossom bookmarks and said nothing. He shuffled his scruffy sneakers on the cobblestoned steps.

Hamilton is not done with his ranting, completely oblivious to the atmosphere around him. "I mean, what were you thinking? Just because that phone of yours turned out to be all bugged and stuff, you could've just asked me to pummel it! Oh wait, there's no difference," he realized, sniffing the air as the mouth-watering smell of those golden-brown balls reached his nose. "What are those, you think?" he asked them without looking away from the small stall with a widely grinning old man as the vendor.

"We're ready to listen to your wise explanation," Ian said through gritted teeth, not bothering to hide his annoyance unlike Jonah, "on why in the world we're in Japan and not in Germany as we originally planned." Ian couldn't believe that this kid... this –

"If you didn't want to come, you could've just dropped me off," Dan grumbled sullenly.

"I would have literally dropped you off," Ian growled, tugging Dan along the road. The bad things in his life are now piling up into a tumbling tower of bad things that would soon topple over and totally ruin his sanity.

Jonah shot Ian a warning look. "Don't start," he pleaded, feeling the start of a migraine.

"What does ka-ko-ii mean? Those girls kept on saying that while looking at us," Hamilton asked, popping one of the golden-brown balls in his mouth. "Oh wow, this – whatever the freak this is – is heaven."

"When did you get that?" Jonah asked, turning sharply to look at him weirdly.

"While you were talking," Hamilton said while chewing. "Want one?" He handed him a toothpick with one of the takoyaki on top. Jonah took the toothpick and finished it all in one bite, chewing with a very thoughtful expression. "Wow," he breathed, looking at the empty toothpick in wonder and completely forgetting that he was supposed to stern and on the verge of losing it, "that is some serious snack right there!"

"I know, right?" Hamilton yelled, pumping his fist in the air happily. "You want some, Kabra?" He looked at the grumpy amber-eyed, raven-haired British boy.

But, Ian was looking at something inside the temple in front of them. Something flickered deep in his eyes, glinting in the flecks of gold in his melted amber eyes. It was gone as soon as it came though, and with a flick of his hair, he shot all of them one of his cocky, world-famous smirks. "What do you think of eating on one of those quaint sushi restaurants we passed by?" he asked them with a very out-of-character, wide and friendly smile. Dan mutely scanned the surroundings with narrowed eyes, his expression extremely bored. "We're surrounded by them," he said casually, pointing his lips all around him. "We have many choices."

Hamilton stiffened at that, but Jonah was quicker to recover. He's an actor after all. Jonah put on his thinking expression. "I'm hungry now," he whined, rubbing his stomach. Jonah adjusted his huge, dark sunglasses and shifted the anime hat they found for him to minimize the chances of somebody screaming, "Jonah-sama!"The grey fox ears on top of his head became lopsided with his fussing that he looked like a fox listening for something. "Hey, Hammer!" Jonah slapped Hamilton on the back none-too-gently, successful in making him topple to the right just a little bit. "You bringing that lucky charm Sinead made you?" he asked in a sing-song voice, sounding like he was another ordinary teasing teenager while his eyes said otherwise.

Whatever tension Hamilton felt when Ian started talking evaporated when Jonah mentioned her name. "I promised myself I would use it for emergencies only," Hamilton shot back, looking at his empty container of takoyaki. He suddenly felt that thing feel heavy in his polo pocket. "Ugh. That snack didn't even reach my stomach. I'm still starving."

"Let's head back to that family restaurant," Ian said, turning around and taking Dan along with him. He was sure the message is safely passed on with longer and superfluous words than what Ian was used to when he shared hidden messages with Natalie. "Before we get any unnecessary exercise," he added amusedly.

All of them were about to head the other way when half a dozen muscular men in black suits with black glasses and polished black shoes blocked their way. In a swift second, the four of them were surrounded, all six of these mysterious guys forming a circle around them. With trained and keen eyes, one could easily see the figure of a gun with silencer each of their attackers have, tucked safely in their tuxes.

Ian gripped Dan's arm a little bit tighter and stepped in front of the younger kid a little bit. Dan wrinkled his nose at this but didn't complain when he saw Hamilton and Jonah do the same thing. Hamilton stepped in front a little bit and slanted his posture; Jonah did the same with opposite side. All of them were in total defense mode, yet their expressions still betrayed nothing. Dan looked around for any bystanders who probably are ogling at this by now. His jade green eyes widened as looked around. "Hey, Kabra," he whispered, using that coveted indoor voice Ian and the others always tell him to use. Ian tilted his head just teeny tiny bit in acknowledgement. "The Japanese people around us awhile ago... They're gone."

It was four teenagers against six with no audience. It was the perfect stage for a thespian crime.

"Daniel," Ian said through gritted teeth. His jaw is tightened as he analyzed their enemies. "I'll let you explain why we're here later – much, much later," he considered, "under one condition." Dan looked up at him, ready to get a scolding or something. Probably a smack on the head for getting them into this serious trouble. But, Ian's face is donned with a slightly amused, yet serious smirk. "Accomplish the mission and meet the three of us on top of the Tokyo Tower and I'm giving you only one day," Ian held up a finger to emphasize his point. And by some miracle or something, Ian actually smiled... or something like that. His lips twitched upwards and for that moment, it looked like he actually trusted Dan. Then, it was gone. Ian shifted his attention back on the matter at hand.

Still unsure, Dan looked at their impatient enemies and wondered if the three of them alone could really take them. I mean, sure, he could probably not do much anyway even if he stayed, but still. As if on cue, Hamilton gave Dan the thumbs-up from behind his back and Jonah twisted around and under his glasses, he winked in encouragement.

"But, still," Dan protested when all hell broke loose. Hamilton darted forward and landed solid kicks in the chests of the two attackers in front of him. Jonah followed suit and landed his fist on a jaw and his foot on a chest.

"Now, Dan!" Ian yelled pushing him forward. Dan hesitated for one second, but that won't do. Cahills never hesitate because hesitation gets you a poisoned dart on the forehead. Seeing the looks on the faces of his very distant cousins, Dan's feet propelled him further forward. But, one of the goons saw him and prepared to attack. He pulled out a gun and positioned for shoot to kill when, just like a viper, Ian appeared behind him and pressed his fingers once he located the attacker's collar bone and forced the man – double his size and weight – to the ground. The attacker and his gun cluttered to the ground like rocks.

Hamilton whistled somewhere on Ian's right, but wasn't successful. Apparently, whistling isn't one of his many talents. "Wheet-whoo! You think Dan-o would make it?" he asked loudly, ducking quickly when the first guy he kicked rose back up and produced a glinting knife. Hamilton stretched his foot out, tripping the attacker flat on his face.

Jonah laughed somewhere on Ian's left. "I'm sure he would!" he yelled back. "I mean, he'd better!" he added when he saw a dozen more attackers closing in on them. "Hey, I-dawg! This isn't looking very good for my insured face!"

Ian smirked, his eyes darkening as four of the attackers walked closer to him. "I bet it's time for those things the girls put in our pockets," he said, his smirk turning into a death-insuring sneer. "Don't you think?"

Oh wait. This is where all hell broke loose.

xxxOOOxxx

Sinead sharply turned to look at something behind her as if somebody just said her name.

"Is something wrong, beauty queen?" Jake asked, stopping to wait for her. His face is streaked with mud and his pants are tattered from hacking strange vines. He was on the lead at first, but then Evan said he recognized the curling plants in front of them now, so now he's on the lead with Amy behind him.

Sinead shook her head with an exasperated glare and retied her ponytail. "I thought I felt something..." she murmured as she smoothed her auburn hair out. "Probably nothing. And don't call me that." Jake shrugged and followed after the other two. Sinead walked after him grudgingly, still unable to shake off that bugging feeling. Probably just the sun, she thought. It's getting pretty sweltering in this freaking forest. Sinead wiped the sweat off her forehead, willing her legs to move on forward. She didn't even notice Amy had fallen behind to walk beside her. "Everything okay?" Amy asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Never better." Sinead gave her the thumbs-up as they trudged along. Then, she suddenly stopped, looking at her outstretched hand and upright finger. She felt that bugging feeling again. "Something's weird."

Amy ran a finger through the choker Ian gave her during the Human Chess Game which she tied twice on her wrist instead of her neck. "Tell me about it. Do you think something happened to them...?" she whispered.

"With those guys, there's always something happening," Sinead replied casually. She perked up, remembering something. "You think they saw the gadgets we slipped inside their pockets? Or in Jonah's case, made him wear?" The boys have their strengths, but they are still prone to overlooking stuff.

Amy laughed at that. "Probably. Ian noticed his before they even left, I think." She placed a finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "I saw his expression change when he began smoothing out his sweater. He probably filled the others in about it."

Sinead threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Well, just like him! Noticing things he wasn't supposed to and goes blabbering about it to people!"

"Do you think they'd figure out how to use them?" Amy worried as Evan hacked through the splintering roots and waved them along.

Sinead waved the worry away with a flick of her hand. "If they work together," she said in a narrator's voice, "and stop yelling at each other and get into each other's throats every second they get, they would figure out how to make them work."

Amy chuckled nervously at Sinead's almost comical expression. "I-If you say s-so..."

"I know so!" Sinead exclaimed. "Angelle helped me design them before the Human Chess game and you pitched in. If they really were paying attention to what we say, they'd know how those things work." She nodded wisely at her statement.

"That's the problem," Amy said to herself as Sinead whistled away. "Those three aren't really for listening, are they?"

oooooOooooo

Okay. I'm okay. I'm done squealing. I probably came off as over reacting to some of you, but please cut the childish girl some slack. This is my first time to actually get awarded, much less nominated, on something that I wrote. But, what I'm really trying to say is that, THANK YOU. The Start of Train wouldn't even be up there if it wasn't for your support and reviews and encouragements and reprimands and all that. Now, I'm not even writing just because I love the fandom, but also because I know you guys are there. Wait, there are Japanese people talking outside on the street. *ADHD moment* Also, thank you for that. For putting up with my ADHD *Ryan Higa moment*, my long ANs which sometimes are longer than the chapter itself and my ranting. Thank you so much. Seriously, thank you. Very, very, very much. I love you guys very much. XD

So, how was your week? Mine was amazing as you could probably tell. This week, I had a realization. Roller coasters don't scare me. I mean, they don't make me scream or yell and/or burst into tears. Well, that's true for the past roller coasters I've been on anyway. I just sat there with the wind slapping my face and my sisters screaming their lungs off until the ride was over. I've been upside down ten times, slammed to and fro probably twice as much. Nada. But, this weekend, we'll probably go to another theme park and the rides are way scarier so... we'll see.

QUESTION of the DAY:

Have you ever been on a scary ride? If yes, tell me what it was and I'll look it up and watch how it goes, or describe it if there are no videos available. The scariest will be mentioned on the next chapter. If you haven't, however, would you want to? Send me a PM or place it on the Review section.

Oops, I'll reply to PMs tomorrow... uh, later.

Read, re-read and review?

Have a rockin' nice week, everybody!

Muchos Love, Peace Out!

AngelicSpring, less than three