I am so sorry for breaking my seven-days-till-updating streak. But, on the plus side, I updated! Yeah! Haha. And also, this is a pretty long chapter. Six pages on Word without the ANs. Thanks for the new Story Favorites and Follows!

Speaking of thank you's (kinda weird... using the apostrophe like that), our awemazing reviewers shall never go unnoticed: TheUltimateArtist (you're welcome XD thanks for reviewing), Reginaa2111 (aww... thanks! Oh gosh! Are you okay? I saw that ride when we went to EK, but it was closed so we ended up in Viking XD haha), hollysta1 (I watched the ride and it was creepy! XD where would you hold on to during the ride?), Daughter of Oceanus (omgosh! The rides you mentioned are so like the theme park's rides we went to! XD kinda like they want to fling you up in the sky XD), dear Guest (aww... thank you! I'm a proud Janus! XD my baby panda says thank you!), addicted2reading9 (I added you as friend! XD thanks, btw!), clara0414 (I know, right?! That's how I typed it at first but then green, squiggly lines appeared on both the things you mentioned and was autocorrected. Yep, that's right! Alex is kinda the youngest, but only by a little bit. Did I mention otherwise? I tend to overlook those kinda things), Kaze no Firework (oh that sounds so cool! Yep, that's what it means! Aw... thank you), emmelinekat (poor you! Do you have an upcoming recital or something? Good luck! Oh and thanks for the support!) and amianrox (aww... thanks! You're questions shall now be answered!).

DISCLAIMER:

Ian Kabra steps inside the room, donned in his 'casual' clothes of long-sleeved white Armani polo paired with black slacks from a store which is surely just as expensive. Not even gonna mention the shoes. He clears his throat as if he was the most important person in the world. Which you, fan girls in the background, are proving true with your screaming and squealing. (Here is where I say, "Thank you oh so very much" real sarcastically.) "Obviously, AngelicSpring can't own anything which has something to do with the 39 Clues. Especially the people in it, god forbid!" Ian exclaims with his gaze trained upwards.

Please enjoy this chapter and ignore Ian Kabra. Whatever he does won't change what I have in mind for –

Just on with the story.

oooooOooooo

Chapter 9

Sinead, Amy, Evan and Jake simultaneously bit on their apples with a very sour expression. They had agreed to take a little break before they set off again to follow the forest trail that would lead them – hopefully – towards a hidden entrance to the hospital. The trail they are following is the only untracked way to the place where Alistair Oh was last seen since it was this thick forest with tall canopy of trees that nobody in their right minds would think of going through, so suffice to say that it could be a hoax or a trap. Whichever of the two does not look good, but all the other paths have high surveillance.

Evan rested his back on a moss-covered tree trunk, a feat that you could never make Ian Kabra do. "How much do we still have to trek?" he asked, stretching his legs.

"Approximately two more metres," Sinead answered, glancing at a stopwatch-shaped gadget in her hand that held their exact coordinates and that of their destination. She gave him a dubious look. "Tired yet, Tolliver?"

Evan glared at her. "No. I just have to estimate how much poisonous vines I have to hack through," he said in an acidic fashion.

Jake slapped his shoulder, hard. "Oh, come on! Man up." The glasses-clad boy shot him a look that said, Don't push me. Jake raised his hands defensively.

Amy sighed dejectedly. "I wonder if the others are okay," she murmured out-of-the-blue.

Evan studied her for a long moment. This was why they called off their relationship in the first place. Because no matter how much that Ian guy hurts her and lies to her, Amy still worries, still frets about him. Ian sneakily goes and visits his mother in prison, Amy worries if he's okay. He disappears to god-knows-where without leaving anything behind to know if he's still on their side; Amy frets if he's doing fine on his own. Evan didn't mind, no, sir. He wasn't going to be one of those overly possessive, jealous boyfriends. But the thing is, it's not only Amy who worries. He saw it every day before that Brit boy left the HQ. Ian would stare at multiple screens for those who are suspicious enough to be part of the Vesper Council. At one call for help from the Cahill siblings, Ian would whip not one, not two, but three phones all at once, talking to connections all over the world for access in this museum, or the Prime Minister's room, or anywhere.

Evan wasn't stupid. He knew that's how Ian shows just how much he cares. And it was too much for just someone who is working for the sake of cooperation. Evan asked Sinead about it – that one time when she 'accidentally' dropped a sleeping pill in Ian's Earl Grey – and with her prompt answer, he felt a strong punch of insecurity. Their past was huge, if not scarred. He knew that he was no match for that Brit boy anyway. Starting from the looks, the attitude, Evan stood no chance. But it was the connection that doomed him. It was unfair in all aspects because of the two of them, the Jerk Meter is pretty much won by the other boy. Evan pursed his lips and said nothing.

Sinead and Jake noticed Evan's sudden preoccupation. They looked at each other when Jake shrugged. "Better leave him alone," he told her. "A penny wouldn't be able to buy his thoughts."

"He's moved on, though," Sinead replied, feeling that she needs to state the obvious.

Jake shrugged again. "Doesn't mean he forgot, I guess," he said, his tone taking on a weird edge as if he's also talking from a personal perspective. Sinead waited for him to explain what he meant, but Jake fell silent after that. All of them finished their snacks in thoughtful silence, only standing after half an hour passed and they felt the need to continue on their journey.

xxxOOOxxx

Hamilton panted as he flopped beside Jonah on the corner of the dingy, dark and narrow alleyway. The walls are packed with crumbling Japanese posters. His clothes had long tatters from near-death encounters from a bullet and a knife. He also had a huge gash on his shoulder and while the blood is already starting to clot, it was still dripping on the floor in thick, dark red droplets. Jonah isn't looking much better either. There was a tender bruise on his jaw and it was turning a bright violet. His ankle is sprained pretty badly, almost as if it was broken. Ian leaned back on the wall, for once not caring if his clothes are getting filthy from doing so because he was busy nursing his broken arm. They didn't attract that much attention since apparently and conveniently, there is a cosplay convention in town.

"Did we lose them?" Hamilton asked as he placed a hand on his side, wincing as he did so because of the sudden lance of pain that shot from it up to his head. He mumbled a curse as he remembered the solid kick one of those idiots landed on his rib cage. "Please tell me we lost them."

Jonah leaned his head back. "All those stunts they taught me back in my gangsta days looked like rock-paper-and-scissors compared to what I did back there," he complained, flexing his fingers.

"I think we've lost them for now," Ian said, sneaking a quick look on the bustling streets outside the alleyway. "Although I'm sure they are still looking for us."

"How did she even make this kinda thing?" Hamilton asked in a totally random note, bewildered. He tossed a bronze, expensive-looking ballpoint pen up in the air. As soon as the pen reached the highest point it could, the pen lengthened to the size of his arm and two sharp, double-edged blades erupted from both of its sides. Hamilton caught it on mid-air and twirled it around his wrist.

"At least you got the pen," Jonah whined, loosening his skinny, white tie with his pointer finger and it drooped down low in his chest. He gripped the part near his neck and tugged at it, successful in removing it entirely. With a swift flick of his wrist, the tie hardened into a thin sword. "I get this tie that doesn't go well with all my clothes." Jonah sighed dejectedly.

Ian raised an eyebrow at him. "You know that Angelle made that, right?"

"You know that she won't hear that last comment if you two are maimed, right?" Jonah shot back, using the same tone Ian used. He looked at him curiously. "What did you get?"

Ian held up a coin. It was something either of them wouldn't recognize even if they look at it closer and notice the ancient pattern. "This," he said, flipping it high up in the air. Nothing happened.

Hamilton and Jonah looked at each other. "Is it just me or nothing really happened?" Hamilton asked, pointing at the weird, old coin.

Ian sighed impatiently. He gave the wall behind him a quick punch. It cracked.

Hamilton and Jonah whistled. Well, Hamilton did his "Wheet-whoo!" thing while Jonah whistled.

Ian rolled his amber eyes. He studied the mischievous coin in his hand, all-too-familiar with the replicated pattern. "The coin absorbs the energy from the velocity it acquired while being flipped. Then, it generates energy through the entire arm, powering up the nerves," he explained. Ian turned to look at them after his monologue, only to see their confused and somewhat spaced out expressions. He sighed. "The coin is a magical thing that makes your arm stronger," he tried again.

"Oh..." Hamilton and Jonah said together, nodding their heads in understanding.

"Quite ingenious of my young niece, is it not?"

The three of them immediately tensed and Ian poised to flip the coin again. The entrance of the dark alleyway is blocked by an aging man wearing a long trench coat that didn't look like it was tailored in Japan. Both of his hands are placed atop a diamond-tipped walking cane.

"Don't bother, young Kabra," he said happily. "My darling niece upgraded my cane as well. Now if you don't mind coming with me..." He turned around, not even checking if the three are following after him. Because they would.

As if in a trance, Ian, Hamilton and Jonah followed Alistair Oh, who they all thought was dead, out into the open.

xxxOOOxxx

"Eat as much as you like," Alistair said with a mild smile. He placed the tray filled with three bowls of steaming hot ramen and glasses of iced tea on top of the table where Hamilton, Jonah and Ian are seated together. "You three looked like you've been through a lot this morning." He appraised their tattered clothes, bright bruises and bleeding wounds. The medical kit he asked for has yet to come.

"And you look good for somebody who rose from the dead," Hamilton replied, taking a bowl for himself and shovelled food in his mouth, ignoring the chopsticks and using the spoon beside them instead. "Do you know how worried Sinead was?"

At this, Alistair raised both his eyebrows. "So, it's Sinead now and not Starling?" he said with a greatly amused expression. Hamilton choked on his iced tea.

"Well, that's one of the many perks of being in the dating zone. You get to be in the first-name basis," Jonah said casually, blowing on his noodles before taking a huge mouthful. Ian noticed the confused look in Uncle Alistair's face and quickly explained. "Holt and Starling are now dating." Hamilton had his head bowed close to his ramen bowl but his ears are turning a bright shade of pink.

"How long have I not seen you children?" Alistair asked himself disbelievingly. Then, he looked at Ian curiously. "So, what I'm hearing is, this young Tomas managed all this before you did, Kabra?"

Jonah and Hamilton spluttered with their iced tea and quickly dove into their ramen before Ian could see their shoulders shaking in laughter. It was a very innocent question, but it strikes a nerve. Ian refused to say anything and looked out the window instead.

Alistair raised his eyebrows in Jonah and Hamilton's direction. "I'll take that as a yes then, eh?" he said while chuckling.

"The two of them are not very... compatible at the moment," Jonah admitted, enjoying both of his cousins' discomfort. "I-dawg got on Amy's bad side."

"Doesn't he always?" Alistair agreed with a nod of his head.

But, Jonah isn't done yet. He has gone to total gossip mode and Alistair is drinking it all up. "I know, but this time he went a little too far and Hammer here ended up getting on S-dawg's bad side, too," he informed the old man.

Alistair leaned in closer, still nodding his head understandingly. "You do not want to get on Sinead's bad side."

Hamilton looked at the two of them incredulously. "I didn't get on her bad side!" he exclaimed defensively. "It's just that she wants this and I want that and it wouldn't meet halfway!" He threw his hands up in exasperation and slammed his forehead on the table.

Ian forgot his shunning mode and smirked at Hamilton. "Wow, that was deep," he murmured appreciatively. He took a chopstick-full bite of his ramen, expecting more of Hamilton's words of wisdom.

"I mean, what was I supposed to do?!" Hamilton asked them. "She's just so darn stubborn and now she's probably getting herself killed just to prove she's right!"

Ian glanced at Jonah amusedly. Jonah winked at him and slipped a phone out. Ian raised both eyebrows at this. Jonah pointed at Alistair. They both chuckle deviously.

"Why are girls so annoying? This is why I never bothered in the first place!" Hamilton declared, still oblivious that his loud rants are being recorded. His cool, bright blue eyes shone in accordance with his indignity.

Alistair rested both his hands atop his walking cane. "So why are you bothering now?" the old man asked.

That made Hamilton stop. He opened his mouth to respond, only to have it closed again. He pursed his lips in thought.

Oh, this is gonna be good, Jonah mouthed, chuckling to himself. Ian had to agree.

"I..." Hamilton started thoughtfully. "Because I... huh. Why do I bother?" He fell silent after that, still musing to himself.

Alistair turned his attention to the other two, knowing that Hamilton would surely take his time with this one. "So what brings you to Japan?"

"We were originally headed to Germany, but Daniel helped me man the jet, insisting that we head to Japan instead," Ian told him. "After he got a very persistent text message." He perked up at that, finally realizing a huge piece he missed. "I should have asked him who it was from!"

"That is not good," Alistair murmured. "He might be receiving messages from suspicious people just like the last time."

"Well," Jonah intercepted. "We can't do anything else aside from waiting for D-dawg to come back, right?"

Ian buried his head in his hands, remembering his last-moment decision. "Amy is going to kill me if she ever finds out I let her moronic brother go out there alone," he said, his words slightly muffled. He sighed sadly. "Never mind that. How did you escape Wyoming? From what Starling said, you were pretty much doomed." Ian raised an eyebrow at Alistair's direction.

Alistair laughed. "It's amazing how Cahill teamwork could save lives," he replied, his eyes twinkling like a child's.

Jonah made a face. "Wha?"

There was a knock on the sliding door and was opened none too gently. A neatly dressed man, probably in his late thirties or early forties, strode inside the room. He had a darker shade of skin than Ian which was the only striking similarity Jonah saw. The man noticed Ian as quickly as Ian recognized him. "It's you," was all he said to acknowledge Ian.

Ian shot up from his seat. "You're Natalie's doctor! You –"

"Yes, yes. I was the one who delivered that younger Kabra," the doctor replied airily in a highly superior British accent. He had every bit of arrogance as the Kabra family.

"Are you a Cahill?" Jonah asked hesitantly.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "How should I answer that question? Alphabetically or chronologically?" he shot back. "I'm not here for small talk. How is that younger sister of yours doing?" He nodded at Ian's direction.

"She-She was taken," Ian said. His hands clenched into fists.

"And you let a little kid save her?" The doctor looked at the younger boy, clearly unimpressed.

Ian's amber eyes glinted. "I didn't have a choice!" he answered defensively, too defensive to take note of the doctor's sudden knowledge of his decision. "We were surrounded by –"

The doctor waved a hand. "I don't care. How about that scary witch of a mom you have?" he continued, apparently not seeing anything offensive with his words.

"I don't know and I don't care," Ian snapped, his temper rising by the second at the nerve of this doctor. It doesn't matter if he's a Lucian just like he was. The coin Amy gave him chooses nobody.

"Well, you should," the doctor replied just as snappily. He crossed his arms over his chest with a disgusted look on his face directed at Ian. "That woman has all of you at the end of her strings. You're nothing but puppets to her and you're playing exactly in her tune."

Ian was about to shout back at him when his mind fully processed what the doctor was saying. His hands relaxed at his sides from the offensive mode they had a little while back. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The doctor smirked. "I guess you have met your 'twin', haven't you?"

Ian said nothing yet the tightening of his jaw betrayed everything else.

"'Remember your childhood, Ian Kabra.'" The doctor levelled his eyes with Ian's. "That's what your father wanted me to tell you."

"M-My father?" Ian stammered, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. A blurred image of a man's shadow entered his mind as he thought of the possibility that this man knows who this mystery father was.

But, Ian's mistaken. "Your father, my brother, that idiot Lucian leader who's in hiding," the Lucian doctor, Adhiraj Kabra, glared at his nephew. He turned to leave. "I know that your father's not much, but he's still a Lucian and he's no complete idiot. Maybe a little bit. Remember that, brat." Then, he left.

Ian bent his head and slumped on his seat, his face darkening exponentially.

Jonah whistled low under his breath. "Tough dude for an uncle," he muttered in his own tone of sympathy.

Alistair smiled. "That's Adhiraj's own way of encouragement. I'm sure," he glanced at Ian, "that he understands his point."

Jonah put on his confused face. "That crazy doctor had a point?" he asked incredulously. "I thought he just wanted to stomp on I-dawg's optimism."

"Nevertheless, Adhiraj was – coincidentally – in the same hospital as I was," Alistair continued. "The triplets' doctor was with me as well. As my private doctor. All three of us got out safely."

Jonah nodded his head. "Oh, I see. But how did y'all –"

"I got it!" Hamilton jumped from his seat. He had been completely oblivious of Ian's uncle ever since Alistair's last question. He had been racking his mind for an answer. His eyes were suddenly twinkling and frankly, it was creeping the whole room out. "I bother because she's not like other girls! Although, that could be in a good and in a bad way." He looked at them for support and when he got none, he agreed with himself anyway, muttering happily while he finished his noodles.

"I'm never going down that road," Jonah told Alistair, making a face at Hamilton's weirdness.

oooooOooooo

Aww... Oh, Hamilton. Sweet, naive Hamilton. And Alistair's not helping is he? Whaddaya think about Vikram's surprise brother? I like him, to tell ya the truth. He's so... harsh and frank. Yep, he's a Lucian, alright! I dunno if Vikram's an only child in the series or what... but either way, just remember that TSP and TST are kinda AU. Whaddaya think about the gadgets? Too fictional? Can you tell where I got the ideas? Haha.

On a completely useless note, I have just recently watched Avalon High and wheet-whoo! I wanna read/watch more of King Arthur and Merlin and Guinevere and Lancelot. I know I've watched a film about King Arthur and Lancelot was there and I think, he's new to the place or something because then, people started pushing him forward to this literally killer obstacle course. There were huge traps and cutting stuff and Lancelot passed through them unscathed. Guinevere was there, too. I don't remember King Arthur that much, and I have zilch memories of Merlin. There were lots of burning villages, though. *sigh*

QUESTION of the DAY:

School is nearly starting with only a few weeks left. What are the most common scenarios at your school every first day of school? I got my homework for the first term and does anybody know what the freak Fermat's Last Theorem is about? I read a lot of stuff about it and finished my research, but all the math-sy stuff is beyond me. Blech.

Tell me what's wrong, what sound weird and what... you're thinking right now by filling the Review space down there.

Read, re-read and review?

Wishing you nice and rockin' days before school starts!

AngelicSpring