A/N: Apparently, the farther we get into the story the longer each chapter becomes. Huh. Also, PSA time here: I am going to be away at camp from the 16th to the 27th, which means there won't be any new chapters for the next three Firdays. However I will be writing while I'm there, so I may update every day after I get back until I'm on track for Fridays again.

Enjoy!

Chapter Five - The League of Extraordinarily Strange and Unsettling Individuals

At his words, the room burst into loud and angry chatter. Everyone began clambering at once, outraged at what he was implying. Accusations and dismayed shouts began bouncing off the walls from various occupants.

"Please everyone," Mr. Cotton tried to he everyone's attention over the ruckus, "If you would please settle down, I will explain what I mean."

After a few moments, the aggrieved members of the group settled and waited impatiently for the man's explanation.

Amy, on the other hand, was not infuriated by the idea. The entire time the other occupants of the room were shouting and arguing with each other, she sat in her seat in stunned confusion. As if the hunt itself wasn't dangerous enough, now they had to give up everything they had fought so hard for just to escape yet another threat to their lives? It just didn't seem to make sense at all. If she wanted to survive, the family that had been feuding for centuries had to work together and give up years of secrets, which had about the same chance world peace had of being established.

Unbeknownst to her, Ian couldn't help glancing in her direction every few moments. He had seen her initial reaction to the statement and was worried for her. She and her brother had been thrown into this competition and even though it had been a while since then, she and Dan still did not have the kind of training and preparation the other teams had had. We're this whole deal to go sour and everyone would have to deal with death threats for the rest of their lives, at least the other teams would have the fighting and evasion skills or the money and power to possibly survive. Amy and Dan didn't and the thought that they might not survive left a cold feeling in his chest.

"Everyone just-" Mr. Cotton was continuing to struggle with quieting down the shouting assembly. As if knowing how hard of a time he was having, the doorbell suddenly went off, stunning the group into silence. At once everyone began to look around the room again, trying to figure out who they could be missing to no avail.

As Athelia skipped out of the room to answer the door, everyone began to whisper hurriedly as to who they thought the mysterious final guest could be.

Turning to Dan, Amy wondered aloud, "Did the man in black, er, Mr. Cotton say that we were the last guests? When he opened the door I could swear he said we were the last ones."

"Maybe the person at the door isn't a guest," Dan replied, "Maybe they're the one in charge of arranging this whole thing. I mean, I doubt the man in black had access to Grace's will. Plus, he and the goth porcelain doll were too busy following us at the airport to organize this whole thing. There has to have been someone else behind the scenes on this."

"Wait," Nellie interjected, "Did you just say they were following us at the airport? Why didn't you say anything?"

As Dan explained the strange feeling he had had and how he saw them down at the luggage carousel, the door to the main hall slowly creaked open.

There, being led by a suitcase-carrying Athelia, was a shockingly familiar face.

"Mr. McIntyre?" Dan asked incredulously, "What are you doing here? Did they kidnap you too?"

Adjusting his bowler hat and removing his coat, Mr. McIntyre shook his head briefly before answering.

"Ah no, that is not exactly the case, master Dan. You see, as executor of Miss Grace's estate, it is my job to make sure all obligations of her will are fulfilled and, well, this family reunion, so to speak, is part of that."

He moved to stand in the middle of the room, slightly in front of Athelia and Mr. Cotton.

"You see," he continued, "Miss Grace insisted that a certain section of her will was crucially important and must be included at all costs."

Reaching down to his briefcase, he pulled out a folder from which he withdrew a copy of said will and began to read from it.

"I, Grace Cahill, also set the rule that, should the hunt for the thirty-nine clues include any fatal casualty, all participants shall be required to assemble in Blackhouse Manor in the English countryside to come to an agreement whether it is safe to continue the hunt or whether all should pool their clues together and henceforth work as one team. Should the assembled have possession of all thirty-nine clues as a group, they must decide whether to turn them over to the Madrigal branch representatives or continue their lives with the possibility of death following them forever."

Replacing the file, he straightened up from his briefcase on the floor and said, "We will discuss the agreement after supper. Until then, feel free to visit your rooms or explore the house. Should you need assistance, Miss Athelia and Mr. Cotton will be able to help you. But," his voice suddenly growing darker, "Should you come across any locked doors or suspicious objects, I urge you to continue on your way and to not engage them in any way."

He then left the room with one final wave, leaving the families to sit in confusion as to what exactly just happened.

"Well," declared Natalie, standing up and smoothing down her skirt, "I am going to go find my room. Are you coming as well Mother?"

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Isabel Kabra stood up to join her daughter. "Yes Natalie," she approached Athelia, who was in conversation with (presumably) Mr. Cotton on the intercom on the wall. "Girl," Isabel ordered, "show us our rooms now."

Turning away from the wall, Athelia raised one eyebrow in contempt at Isabel's attitude before schooling her face into a perfect mask of obedience with a slightly condescending smile. "Of course ma'am," she effused, her voice tinged with fake seeming happiness, "I would be happy to show you and your daughter to your rooms. In fact," she added while turning to the rest of the group, "I can show everyone their rooms now, if that is more convenient. All your rooms are on the same two floors and it would be easier if I can help you all at once."

Eventually all the groups had gathered their various belongings besides their suitcases, which had been taken to their rooms already, and began their ascent of the large wooden staircase in the main hall. The victorian gothic decor only seemed to get darker the further they got up the stairs. Lined with portraits of probably now dead people, the borderline-rickety staircase creaked with every step, only helping to increase the already heightened sense of paranoia and suspicion of everyone there aside from Athelia, Mr. Cotton and Mr. McIntyre.

Everyone was shaken, understandably as these two old men and one little girl had been able to permeate and infiltrate their incredibly tight security and kidnap some of the most powerful people in the entire family. Someone they had been able to sneak them away so quickly and efficiently that not only had no one been sent to tail or find them, but possibly no one had even been alerted to their disappearance.

They were gone, right off the map. And they might never get back.

A/N: Please review, favorite, all that good stuff! Thanks, and see you in either 7 or 25 days!