Master and Apprentice

A/N: Sara, Felix and Bosco (Later on to be known as Numbuh's 1989, 1990 and 1991) were designed and created by me. Numbuh 50 is being used as the current Drill Sergeant at the Arctic Base considering Numbuh 60 would technically be a cadet when this story takes place. This is my first ever fanfic on here, heavy criticisms are welcomed.

Disclaimer: I will never ever own the KND. It belongs to Mr. Warburton

Chapter One: Young Determination

It was just another ordinary cold day at the Kids Next Door Arctic base or as some liked to call the "Arctic Prison". It was early in the morning (about 0600 to be exact) when a bell sounded. The distant sound of doors opening could be heard all throughout the residential corridors as members of the CND or Cadets Next Door began to file out of their rooms to the training area. It was drill time again and most of the cadets dreaded this. It was Friday after all; couldn't they sleep a little bit longer? As the Cadets walked silently to the training area they were greeted by Numbuh 50 who stood at a podium. Glances of confusion and quiet whispers could be heard throughout the crowd of children. Finally, Numbuh 50 spoke, his voice loud and booming.

"My fellow Cadets Next Door!" He said, his voice echoing off the walls of the room. "Today is a special day! The Supreme Leader himself, Numbuh 274, is stopping by for a visit."

Ooo's and ahh's could be heard from the crowd. Numbuh 50 shushed them again.

"I want you all to work extra hard today! No slacking, no loafing around and most importantly chickening out of simulations!" Groans could be heard amongst the kids. Numbuh 50 sighed. "C'mon now you bunch of babies! Get out there and practice! Who knows, maybe Numbuh 274 may select one of you to join him at the Moon Base if he's impressed by your displays." And with that said Numbuh 50 dismissed the Cadets.

Among the children in the crowd were three cadets named Sara, Felix and Bosco. The trio had been recruited by members of sectors in their hometowns the following year and shared a mutual friendship with each other. Sara, an eight year old girl with blue eyes, brown hair and a boyish haircut crossed her arms in annoyance. "He can't be serious." She said with a sigh, her arms still crossed. "Like Numbuh 274 would pick any of these lazy bums to join him at the Moon Base. I mean just look at them." She gestured her friends at some of the other Cadets in the training hall. Some were missing their targets with their 2x4 training weapons while some others were just loitering around without a care in the world. Her two friends remained silent. Sara blew away a small strand of hair out of her face. "My point exactly. C'mon you guys let's go practice our hand to hand combat skills." As Sara and Bosco began to walk away, she turned around to see Felix still watching some of the Cadets train. She walked back and stood in front of him, waving a hand in his face.

"Hellooo, earth to Felix!" She said in annoyed tone. "We're going to go train now, are you coming or not?" It took a minute for him to respond as if he was lost in some kind of day dream. He finally spoke.

"I want to go to the Moon Base Sara." He said with determination. "I want to work alongside Numbuh 274." Sara stood before him wide-eyed for a moment and then started to laugh hysterically.

"You can't be serious Felix!" She said still laughing. "Why would you want to work for an egotistical jerk like him? Wouldn't you rather aim to be the leader of your own Sector instead?" Felix remained silent for a moment, taking in her words. He then uttered a very low key "No" and walked away. Sara watched as he walked off to the melee combat area. He picked up a set of wooden knuckles and began punching a training dummy. She looked over at Bosco who still remained silent. "Don't you have anything to say about this Bosco?" Sara asked her. Bosco looked at her with a blank expression. Sara sighed walked towards the area Felix was training in, Bosco shortly following behind her.

It was nearing two o' clock now and the Supreme Leader hadn't arrived yet. Numbuh 50 was starting to get nervous and a bit agitated. The boy had a short temper and he had no tolerance for ignorance or stupidity. After all, it was Numbuh 65.3 who had informed him earlier this morning that Numbuh 274 would be paying a visit to the Arctic Base. Maybe it was some kind of cruel joke, or maybe Numbuh 274 was just running a little late. Whatever the case was, Numbuh 50 was now pacing around his quarters waiting to hear a knock on his door. A few minutes later he heard a swift and hard knock. Numbuh 50 snapped out of his pacing and quickly opened the door to find Numbuh 274 on the other side. He wore a very stern expression but that quickly changed as he saw Numbuh 50.

"Sir you're finally here!" Numbuh 50 said, some of his anxiety being lifted. "What in the name of Sam Hill took you so long?" Numbuh 274 stepped into his quarters and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Numbuh 50's desk and took a seat in his swivel chair.

"We had a bit of engine trouble." He said flatly. "We needed to pull over and have Numbuh 22 take a look at it." He put his feet up on Numbuh 50's desk, which intern shuffled all of his paperwork which he kept nice and neat. This caused Numbuh 50 to cringe a little. After a bit of silence between them had passed Numbuh 274 started up the conversation again. "How are the Cadets doing?"

"Not as good as you expect Sir." Numbuh 50 felt his anxiety creeping back again. "We have a lot of slackers this year. However, there are a few operatives who are doing exceptionally well though they are few and far between." Numbuh 274 began to rub his chin.

"I see… So you're getting soft on me now Thomas?" Numbuh 50 looked at him in shock and was a bit taken-aback by his statement. He was anything but soft, especially when it came to training the Cadets. Thomas could feel himself sweating, especially his palms.

"N-no sir!" He said almost breathless. "It's… just been a bad year for us. You know how children are, all play and no work. But I assure you we do have a few exceptionally gifted Cadets in training this year." Numbuh 274 stood up suddenly and walked over to Numbuh 50, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked him square in the eyes.

"For your sake Thomas, you better hope to Zero they're gifted." Numbuh 274 exited the room without a word leaving a stunned Numbuh 50 behind him. He was heading towards the training hall. After a few minutes passed Numbuh 50 shook his head and hurried after him.

He finally caught up with Numbuh 274 as the giant steel doors to the training hall opened before him. Numbuh 50 quickly returned to his duty's leaving 274 to walk around and observe the cadets training. He was mostly unimpressed by the displays, though there was one area that caught his attention. The Melee Combat area. He stood at a distance and watched two cadets spar each other in hand to hand combat. One of them, a boy about age eight with auburn hair, was dodging and avoiding punches from his training partner. Numbuh 274 observed the two very carefully as they continued to spar and marveled at the skill of the boy. The girl continued to throw combinations of heavy punches though they proved to be ineffective. The boy saw a surprise hook and held out his palm forcefully, catching the girl's fist in mid-punch. Numbuh 274's eyes widened which was then followed by a grin. The boy before him, merely eight years old, was fighting with the skills of a professional boxer. The fight continued as the boy gripped the girl's fist tightly, maneuvering her arm behind her back and forcing her to the ground. This was the signal that the fight was over. The two cadets shook hands for good sportsmanship and went over to a nearby bench for some refreshment. Another girl had handed both of them a towel and bottles of water. Numbuh 274 slowly walked in their direction.

"Oh no…" said Sara suddenly. "Here comes Mr. Hot Shot Supreme Leader." Sara wasn't very fond of Numbuh 274. She believed that he was too haughty and arrogant for his title and that someone much more respected should carry it. Someone like her. Felix and Bosco looked up as Numbuh 274 approached them sporting a big grin on his face.

"You there!" he shouted suddenly. "That was amazing. What is your name?"

"Sara Hartford." Sara said with a boast of confidence. Numbuh 274 shot her an angry glare.

"Not you! The boy." Sara's response came in the form of a "hmph" followed by the crossing of her arms which is something she did often to show her annoyance. Numbuh 274 looked back at the boy, a grin returning to his face.

"Felix Garamond, Sir." He said saluting his Supreme Leader.

"Felix huh? A lucky name you have boy." He put a hand of Felix's shoulder and moved next to his ear. "I'll be here for a few days for more observing." He said quietly. "After training is over come and find me in Numbuh 50's quarters. We much have much to discuss." With that being said Numbuh 274 walked away leaving Felix stunned. He took a few moments to digest what the Supreme Leader had just said to him. Then, he did something Sara and Bosco would never think he would do. He hugged both the girls and smiled. Sara was taken off guard by this gesture her friend was showing, none the less she hugged him back even if she was secretly jealous that Numbuh 274 hadn't addressed her. Bosco remained silent but returned the hug.

Training had ended a little earlier than usual for a Friday, most likely due to the arrival of the Supreme Leader. Just like Numbuh 274 instructed, Felix made his way over to Numbuh 50's quarters and entered quietly. There sat 274 and 50, talking quietly amongst each other but suddenly stopped as Felix entered the room.

"So this was the one you were telling me about Sir?" Numbuh 50 said as he studied Felix carefully.

"Yes. Have you been monitoring him at all Thomas? His hand to hand skills are amazing, truly beyond that of a mere cadet, even better than most of our current classified hand to hand operatives." Upon hearing this Felix secretly blushed, the tips of his ears turning a little red.

"Well you know how it is Sir, I have so many children to monitor I can't possibly keep watch over all of them." Numbuh 274 sighed angrily but quickly regained himself.

"Thomas, when are the cadets scheduled to graduate this year?"

"I believe its May 1st Sir." Thomas quickly double checked his calendar to confirm his answer.

"I see…" Numbuh 274 sat a little deeper into his chair, pondering. He looked over at Felix who remained at attention. This boy, there was something about him he thought, something about him that made him different from the rest of the cadets. He then thought back to the sparing match Felix had between Sara. He noticed throughout that entire fight that Felix's spirit and will was undoubtedly superior to Sara's. This would benefit him nicely in the battle against adult tyranny Chad thought to himself. He sat up in his chair and looked back at Numbuh 50.

"How long has Felix been at the academy Thomas?" Numbuh 50 scuffled through some papers before finally answering.

"One year and 4 months Sir. He was due to graduate at the end of December but didn't show up for the graduation ceremony. He's advanced faster than nearly three-quarters of the cadets from his starting year." Upon hearing this, Numbuh 274 looked at Felix with an eyebrow raised.

"I felt I wasn't ready to graduate Sir." The Supreme Leaders face demanded further explanation. Felix felt a sudden wave of fear come over him. "W-well you see Sir, I didn't want to leave my two best friends behind. I-I thought it wouldn't be fair to them." Numbuh 274 smiled at him.

"Loyal and determined, I like that." His smiled suddenly faded. "Felix you will graduate this year, with or without your two friends. Numbuh 50 will see to it that you will. I will be stopping by in my spare time to check in with you. Let Sara know I'll be watching her too. The girl's got spunk." He got up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Felix saluted him on his way out.

"Wow kid, I've never seen the Boss talk about a cadet like that before. I should know, I've been the Drill Sergeant here for a long time." Felix sat in a chair that was placed in front of Numbuh 50's desk.

"Numbuh 50, Sir." He said suddenly. "Do you think I'd ever be stationed on the Moon Base?" Numbuh 50 looked at Felix very carefully before answering.

"With the way the Boss reacted to your performance you may end up becoming the next Supreme Leader. But I wouldn't get your hopes up kid. Chad is an… interesting guy. There's a lot even I don't know about him and we've worked together for awhile now. He doesn't make hasty decisions. " Felix felt a little defeated after hearing Numbuh 50's words but somehow he knew he was wrong. In his heart he knew he'd make it to the Moon Base one day. The sound of a bell broke the two from their conversation.

"Alright cadet you heard the bell! Get back to your quarters, its bed time. Dismissed!" Numbuh 50 saluted Felix who in return saluted back. He made his way out of the Drill Sergeants office and back to his dorm-style room. Numbuh 50 sat back in his chair and let out a long and heavy sigh. He had a tough day. Heck if it wasn't for Felix's performance he probably would have lost his job as Drill Sergeant. He quickly shook off the thought and headed to sleep. Tomorrow was Saturday and that meant the Arctic Base would be empty. Thomas loves Saturdays.

***To Be Continued***

A/N: Did you guys enjoy it? Review or send me a PM to let me know!