After a year of not posting, is the first thing I write another Sector Z thing, which I last wrote about 4 years ago? Yes, of course, who do you think I am? (This isn't related to Recommission Mission/Memories of the Lost Sector, btw)
Please enjoy this three-shot! I will post the next part in three-four days! :D
~Emily Believes xoxo
One
"This can't be real," he whispered.
Lenny stared at his hands, his own hands, hands that had to be moving independently from the others'. He wasn't peering at them through some mental peephole from within that horrid hive mind; he saw them with his own two eyes. Gingerly wiggling his fingers, he looked out the bathroom door. Sure enough, none of the others stirred.
Was he finally free from the hive mind of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane?
He directed his attention to the bathroom mirror, where glowing icy blue eyes gazed back at him through the shadows of his football helmet. A sense of unease washed over him, his breath hitching in his throat. If he were truly free, he wouldn't be wearing that stupid helmet and that stupid uniform. His eyes would be brown, not creepy-kid blue.
So this wasn't permanent. He could turn back into a mindless brat at any time.
Even still, being back temporarily was better than not being back at all. His chest filled with sudden purpose: he needed to tell someone about this, someone in the Kids Next Door. Even if he would eventually rejoin his friends in delightfulization, this could be the beginning of the end for the Delightful Children, a new beginning for Sector Z.
After a moment of thought, Lenny slowly closed the bathroom door. Unfortunately, the rest of his sector was still delightfulized, and he couldn't let them know that he was acting independently, if he could help it.
He hastily turned the sink on to where the temperature was boiling hot. Steam rose to the top of the room and slowly trickled its way down. Soon enough, the entire bathroom was full of steam, and the mirror had fogged over.
Perfect.
On the mirror, Lenny wrote a message for the Delightful Children.
I appear to have been severed from our connection.
I intend on using this to our advantage, to gain top secret information on the KND.
Lenny cringed at his handwriting, silently hoping it was neat enough to fool them. However, he didn't exactly have time to dwell on the subject.
Quickly, he exited the bathroom and made his way downstairs as quietly as he could. As if it were instinct, he guided himself to the nearest module in the mansion, which just so happened to be in the basement.
Strange. Did he still retain his memories from when he was delightfulized, or was this simply muscle memory?
Focus.
He turned on the module, typing in the access code of the module he wanted to communicate with: the Moonbase Module. Surely, whoever the Supreme Leader was at this point would understand. They had to understand… they needed to understand…
He stood with his arms crossed as the connection request went through. Suddenly, a visual of two operatives popped up on the large screen. Both were female.
The one standing on the left had blonde hair and blue eyes—natural blue eyes that didn't glow creepily like his. She appeared to be wearing a spy outfit of sorts, if he had to guess. To the right was a girl with kinky red hair and a lot of freckles. Her attire consisted of a baggy green sweater, an orange skirt, and a peeved expression.
He wouldn't have known who they were if he didn't have his memories from being a Delightful, but thank goodness he did. The two girls were Numbuhs 362 and 86, high-ranking and skilled operatives, if he remembered correctly.
He watched as the the two girls' faces grew in surprise. Hastily, he asked, "May I speak with the Supreme Leader?" His voice sounded much different than he was used to, as in his Delightfulized form, he had an atrociously awful mouth brace for some unholy reason.
"No," said Numbuh 362 immediately.
Numbuh 86, on the other hand, let out a crude laugh. "Ha! Like we'd let the likes of you speak to the Supreme Leader!" she bellowed.
Lenny rolled his eyes, gripping the edge of the module tightly. Maybe he should've known this would happen... He sighed, taking off his helmet, revealing well kept hair and the reason for his impeded speech, neither of which he liked.
"Listen," Lenny started, trying to keep his tone as professional as possible, "something really strange has happened. I'm not the guy you think I am. Please, I need to speak to the Supreme Leader now."
"How do you even know the access code to contact this module?" Numbuh 362 asked, her eyes narrowing. "Only certain sectors have the direct access code for this module, and we trust them to keep it a secret."
"The only explanation here is that ya stole it, ya Delightful Scum!" Numbuh 86 spat.
Lenny opened his mouth to explain that he didn't steal the access code, that he knows it because it was given to him, because he's not a "Delightful Scum" and in fact a member of Sector Z, but someone else off screen cut him off before he had the chance to even utter a single word.
"Who's calling the direct line?" they asked.
That voice caught Lenny off guard. Some of his memories were jumbled and mixed together, so he couldn't exactly remember who the Supreme Leader was, but he definitely knew that voice.
...Could it really be?
When the person stepped into view, Lenny's suspicions were confirmed. It really was his best cadet from his days as Kids Next Door Drill Sergeant, the kid who worked his way to the Moonbase Command faster than any operative he had ever seen,
Chad Dickson, Numbuh 274.
He was the Supreme Leader.
However, Lenny's delight was quickly squandered when Chad stared at him with cold eyes, something that made the latter tense uneasily.
"I want you to explain yourself," Chad demanded sternly.
Lenny regained his composure, standing up straighter. His current predicament had caught up with him: the Delightful Children from Down the Lane were one of the largest threats to the Kids Next Door, probably next to Father himself. Ergo, these Kids Next Door operatives saw him as their vehement arch nemesis, a villain. His current task was to convince them otherwise.
Easy enough, right?
When Lenny didn't start talking right away, Chad repeated, "I said, I want you to explain yourself," once more, his voice practically dripping harshness.
Lenny held his arms respectfully behind his back, taking a deep breath before starting his wild explanation,
"Sir, this is Numbuh 0.4 of the lost Sector Z. Years ago, me and the rest of my sector were captured and delightfulized by Father. Our minds linked into one, and our individual consciousnesses were trapped away. Unknown to the rest of the Kids Next Door, we became known as 'The Delightful Children From Down The Lane.' We could not hear each other in this hive mind, except for when the Delightfuls cared to notice our existence. For some reason, I've been severed from that hive mind; that's why I stand before you alone.
"I don't know how long my individuality will last, but I need to at least try to get my friends back. I need the Kids Next Door to know what happened to Sector Z. Who, by the way, were given the access code to contact this module," Lenny explained, looking pointedly at the two female operatives on screen.
"Bullhuey!" Numbuh 86 exclaimed. Numbuh 362 simply raised an eyebrow, an irritated look settling on her face.
Chad raised his hand, signalling for Numbuh 86 to stop before she started some sort of rant. She huffed.
"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Chad asked skeptically, leaning forward. "For all we know, you and the other Delightfuls could be trying to sabotage us."
"The way the Delightfuls' hive mind works doesn't allow us to act independently unless under intense emotional stress," Lenny explained, "and that typically doesn't last very long. That's why we—they—talk in unison. Plus, I don't think the Delightfuls retain our individual memories, and even if they did, they would have forgotten or discarded them by now. Instead, they lock those memories away with us and let us suffer with them…"
As he trailed off, the old operative looked up at Chad, the mighty Supreme Leader who he last remembered seeing as a seven-year-old cadet. It was so hard to wrap his mind around. If he was Supreme Leader now… how long had Sector Z been delightfulized?
Lenny sighed. Focus.
"I know you don't trust me, but ask me anything. I'll prove to you I'm Numbuh 0.4," he said.
Chad looked at Lenny doubtfully, but nonetheless asked Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 86 to leave the vicinity so he could interrogate Lenny. The two girls gave Lenny callous glances as they left, but they left all the same, leaving Lenny and Chad alone on the transmission.
Once he knew the other two operatives were gone, Chad wasted no time starting his inquiries. "Who was Supreme Leader when you were an active operative?" he asked seriously.
"Numbuh 447," Lenny responded in an equally serious tone to show Chad he meant business. Though, the correct answer hardly seemed to phase the Supreme Leader, much to Lenny's dismay.
"What position did you hold in and outside of your sector?"
"In sector? Hand-to-Hand Combat Officer. Drill sergeant for out of sector."
"Why were you demoted from your drill sergeant position?"
"Numbuh 447 said I, quote unquote, 'gave out too many chances.'"
"There is a secret organization within the KND that you were told about upon promotion. What are the initials of that organization?"
"TND."
Chad paused momentarily before going back into his barrage of questions. "What number am I thinking of?" he asked skeptically.
"97."
Lenny couldn't help but smirk as Chad's eyes widened in surprise. While to an outsider this question may seem completely unfair and even random, Lenny knew the answer like the back of his hand. It was a question that Chad had constantly asked him while in training, and it was the same number every time.
"Who was your top cadet from your time as drill sergeant?" Chad asked, his stare narrowing, not wanting to believe the mounds of evidence that were piling up.
"You, Chad Dickson."
After that answer, Chad's face fell. Static filled the atmosphere as neither of the operatives spoke. After a brief minute or so of thinking, Chad broke the silence and asked, "Do the other Delightfuls know of your current status?"
Lenny blinked as he processed what Chad had just said. The question was much kinder than the previous ones, though still serious in tone. Chad's gaze even seemed to soften slightly.
Lenny almost couldn't believe it. Chad had believed him… Chad actually believed him, even though the odds were stacked wildly against him.
Lenny cleared his throat, attempting to hide his excitement. "No, sir. In order to divert suspicion, I left them a message," he responded in the most professional tone he could produce.
"Which read?"
"Er… 'I appear to have been severed from our connection. I intend on using this to our advantage, to gain top secret information on the KND,' I think."
Chad nodded in approval, thinking once more. Eventually, a grin crept onto the Supreme Leader's face.
"Numbuh 0.4, how would you like to take part in a mission for the Kids Next Door while you still can?" he asked. "You would be perfect for this one."
Lenny's eyes widened. The request seemed surreal. After what felt like an eternity of being trapped inside the mind of some awful, bratty zombie children, he was free... in a sense. Just the thought of actually helping the Kids Next Door instead of harming them, if only once, made him ecstatic.
"Of course! Uh, sir."
Chad chuckled slightly. "You don't have to call me 'sir', Numbuh 0.4. If anything, I should still be calling you that." Almost immediately after, though, his tone grew professional once more. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to save catching up for later. I think you're on a time crunch. So, here's the plan…"
After that, the interrogation of a Delightful Child turned into the debriefing of a temporarily recommissioned operative. Chad explained the plan: Sector V was planning on investigating something in the Arctic surrounding the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. There, Lenny would "accidentally" ruin the Delightfuls' scheme, meeting Chad at the Moonbase as soon as possible afterwards.
Then, he would help bring down the Coffee Rig, run by the nefarious Cuppa Joe. All the while, he would hold "super top secret files" that in actuality were a popcorn bomb to be given to the Delightfuls. Hopefully his separation from the other Delightful Children would last that long…
Lenny listened intently to the Supreme Leader's instructions. Though, in the middle of the debriefing, he heard the distant noise of footsteps. Many synchronized footsteps.
Oh, crud…
Lenny hastily interrupted Chad by holding up his index finger. He gestured to the stairs in the background, muting the monitor shortly after. While he knew it was disrespectful, what with Numbuh 274 being Supreme Leader and all, certainly Chad would understand, given the situation…
He straightened his uniform, putting his helmet back on carefully so he didn't hit his mouth brace. (Though, if by some unfortunate happenstance he knocked it out of his mouth, he wouldn't exactly be upset). The rest of his sector—who Lenny had to remind himself were not actually his sector, not really—were coming, and he had to appear as if he were still delightfulized along with them.
Though, he wasn't so sure if he was ready to see the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. It was one thing to see them from inside the hive mind, but seeing them up close and personal was something totally different. They were his sector, his friends, turned into obedient little creeps. It was so unfair.
But, alas, lots of things were unfair. He couldn't stop himself from being demoted. He couldn't stop his sector from being delightfulized. He couldn't stop the Delightfuls from making their eerily long journey down the stairs.
When they finally reached the basement floor, however, it took all of his willpower to not audibly gasp.
Bruce, the leader of the greatest sector ever known, was front and center of the heinous pod. His face that would typically be forced into a frown (because everyone knew he always tried to act high and mighty) was expressionless and gaunt. That secret sparkle in his green eyes that showed he actually cared deeply for his sector? Gone, dulled by the icy blue of delightfulization.
Slightly behind him was Constance, sweet Constance, whose unruly pigtails had been turned into neat braids. He was surprised to see her mouth so naturally closed—typically, she talked nonstop and had to consciously keep her mouth shut, lest she wanted to be reprimanded by Bruce. Her sunglasses were turned into regular, boring, un-Constance-like circular glasses. The reflective glint bothered him.
Ashley stood behind Constance. Typically, Lenny could catch a few glimpses of her in his peripherals when the Delightfuls turned right, but that didn't make her any less unsettling. Her skirt was the most obvious thing out of place. It would take more than two hands to count the hours she had spent ranting how much she hated skirts and bows and other frivolous things. The bags under her eyes also stuck out like a sore thumb. He'd never seen her look so… not herself before.
And in the very back was David. Seeing him emotionless and malevolent was probably the most gut-wrenching of the four. He could never picture David being angry, let alone doing undue harm to someone else. David was kind and paranoid and nervous, not evil. Though, there he was, standing tall and sinister behind the rest, his hair thankfully covering his dazed eyes.
These were not his friends. This was not Sector Z.
"You know you're not supposed to be in Father's sanctum, Lenny," the Delightful Children warned in perfect unison, their ice blue eyes cutting into his conscience. The voices of his friends were melded together… He tried his best not to grimace at the sound.
"Did you receive my message?" Lenny asked, attempting to make his voice sound creepy and unsettling like theirs.
"Yes," the Delightful Children responded gleefully. Their stern faces turned into evil grins, causing Lenny's stomach to drop. "You plan on using our pitiful pasts as Sector Z to get top secret information from the Kids Next Door?"
"Precisely. I am in the middle of arranging it right now," Lenny said. Curiosity washed over the faces of the Delightful Children as their heads turned to the monitor where Chad remained, looking at the scene with a raised eyebrow. "Do not worry. He can't see or hear us. Now if you don't mind, I do not wish for the leader of the Kids Next Door to become suspicious."
"Of course, Lenny. Take all the time you need," the Delightful Children responded, grins returning to their faces as they made their way back upstairs.
Lenny listened to the fading footsteps. Once he knew the Delightful Children were gone, he unmuted the monitor.
"Sorry, I didn't expect them to wake up," Lenny said somewhat sheepishly. However, his tone was mostly filled with dejection. His eyes briefly travelled back upstairs, where the Delightful Children had gone, where his trapped friends unwillingly followed.
If anything, he was doing all this crazy nonsense for them. For Bruce, for David, for Ashley, for Constance. For Sector Z.
Suddenly, the Supreme Leader's voice boomed from the monitor, causing Lenny to swiftly turn his head. Chad was standing tall with a determined expression.
"Don't worry. The Kids Next Door will find a way to get your sector back, no matter how long it takes," Chad assured. Lenny nodded in affirmation.
"Oh, and Numbuh 0.4?" Chad asked.
"Sir?"
"Welcome back."
