Operation: F.A.T.E.D.
Friendship
And
Time
Evolve
Devotion
The dark night sky sprinkled with some of the brightest stars to shine in a long time didn't do much to calm her frayed nerves. Abigail Lincoln had known this day was coming for a long time, but she hadn't imagined really getting here. She'd imagined staying here in this tree house with her teammates forever... a foolish dream, but one she'd clung to. Now that the reality was here, she felt completely unprepared for it.
"I thought I would find you out here." She turned her head to the side slightly as Nigel Uno walked up beside her, looking up at the night sky. "Only one hour left." He commented.
"I know." Abigail replied. Tomorrow was her thirteenth birthday, and she would be forced to leave the Kids Next Door. "Nothin' lasts forever, I knew it was comin' when I signed on for this."
"But not everything has to end." Nigel told her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and he looked down the side of the tree house. Neither of them was too good at being open and speaking from the heart like Kuki. "I mean, even if you can't be one of the Kids Next Door anymore, you'll still have our support if you need it."
"Thanks anyway, but like you said once, bein' a grown-up means takin' care of yourself." She reached into her sweater and took out a candy bar, pulling the wrapping open. She took a bite, staring down at the street far below. She moved to take another bite, then stopped and let it drop to the ground far below with a soft sigh.
"It seems like just the other day we were busy celebrating your eleventh birthday..." Nigel shook his head. "Where has all the time gone?"
"Where all time goes I s'pose." Abigail smirked and looked over at her lifelong friend. "I should go finish packin' my stuff up for tomorrow." She turned to leave, but Nigel stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll come help." He offered. Abigail nodded and they walked through the Kids Next Door base to her bedroom. There were already suitcases full of clothing and personal items scattered around the room, but there were still various pieces of clothing and items scattered around here and there.
They gathered up her things in silence and stuffed them in the one remaining suitcase. They moved rather slowly however. They were in no rush to get it done. The sooner they finished, the sooner she would be gone from this tree house forever. They stopped completely when everything was gathered up and it was time to close the suitcase.
Abigail turned and walked to the window, where she stared up at the moon with a slight smirk on her face. "I wonder if thinkin' weird things is a part of growin' up? If it is, I don't like it."
"What are you thinking about?" Nigel sat down on the bed, watching her.
"Some philosophical crap about the moon mostly." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm thinkin' like one of my teachers now." She and Nigel both gave a small chuckle. "How it comes up for a while, and then goes back down to let the sun take over for a while. 'Cuz when they're up at the same time the moon is covered up, y'know."
"And you're thinking, you're like the moon. About to set and let a sun take over." Nigel guessed. Abigail sighed and nodded, not looking back at him. "But that's not the case at all." He walked up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "If anything you've always been a sun, lighting the way for all the rest of us."
"You'll be fine without me. I should just get over it and find a new life." Abigail sighed and lowered her head, with her shoulders beginning to shake slightly. Nigel didn't know what to say, so he stood silently with his hands on her shoulders.
Suddenly the floor beneath them rocked hard, throwing them both to the ground with Abigail on top of Nigel. "What the blazes was that!?" She exclaimed.
"I don't know..." Nigel replied. Suddenly the ground shifted again, hard enough to roll them across the floor. "Come on, let's go find out!" When the earth stopped moving they lunged to their feet and ran out to the main section of the Kids Next Door base, where Wallabee Beatles, Kuki Sanban, and Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. were at the main computer. "What on Earth is going on around here!?"
"There's nothing around the base, nothing in the air. There's nothing nearby causing it." Wallabee replied.
"We think something is still making the earth shake though. Hoagie added. The earth lunged again, throwing them all to their feet. "Yep, something is DEFINITELY making the earth shake."
"Thanks for the news flash Numbuh 2." Abigail snapped as the ground once again threw them to the floor.
"Whatever's doing this, it has to be underground somewhere." Nigel announced as he stumbled back to his feet. "Kids Next Door, battlestations!" He shouted.
"Right!" The others replied instantly.
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[Kids Next Door Vehicle: E.A.R.T.H.M.O.V.E.R.
Extremely
Accurate
Revolving
Triple
Hydro
Mechanical
Oscillating
Voluntary
Earth
Rider]
The Kids Next Door dug into the ground as fast as possible, with the three drills on the front of their machine digging through the ground like a knife through a piece of cheese. The earth still shook occasionally, but their Earthmover was more than able to keep going regardless. The kids inside didn't fare so well however. They were forced to hold onto anything within reach.
"Do you see anything Numbuh 2?" Nigel asked.
"Rocks... and I think I see a root over there." Hoagie pointed to one side of the front windshield where a root was stuck in the glass. He turned around in his seat to look up at his leader. "It doesn't look like there's anything down here Numbuh 1." The earth rumbled again, throwing the kids around like balls in a pinball machine.
"I'm getting seasick..." Kuki moaned from the floor, putting one hand over her mouth.
"This is getting ridiculous." Numbuh 4 growled as he crawled back up to his seat. "Earthquakes with no apparent source centered right around our base. It's unbelievable."
"That's exactly why they have to have a source Numbuh 4. There's literally no chance of these earthquakes popping up right around our base without a cause. We keep looking." Nigel ordered. They all froze when they heard the sound of metal digging into metal. The hull of their Earthmover started vibrating violently, throwing them around.
"What is that...?" Kuki's face was green, and she was clearly struggling to keep from throwing up right there in the vehicle.
"The drills!" Hoagie looked through the windshield, to see them scraping against a piece of metal in front of them. "They hit a pipe, but they're not designed to go through metal!"
"Stop them, before we-" Nigel was cut off when the pipe in front of them collapsed, sending the Earthmover hurtling downward into the shaft. The three drills impaled themselves on the steel floor, holding the Earthmover at a 90 angle to the floor. The kids flew forward onto the windshield, piled on top of each other in a big, moaning heap. "Fall... through..." Nigel groaned.
Suddenly the window shattered under their weight, dropping them onto the pipe floor in a heap. "Ugh... sorry..." Kuki muttered from somewhere in the heap.
"Eeeewe..." Abigail and Wallabee groaned in unison. Slowly the children untangled themselves and the two soiled children wiped themselves clean.
Hoagie looked up at the wrecked vehicle and shook his head. "We just can't keep a digging machine working can we?"
"Better it than us I say." Wallabee commented.
"This pipe looks like it's been polished up recently, but last time I checked it was abandoned." Nigel commented. "This place must have something to do with the earthquakes."
"But I don't see any machines." Hoagie pointed out. "How could they cause an earthquake with an empty tube?" The others all sat in silence for a moment, trying to think. Suddenly Kuki perked one ear curiously.
"Does anyone else hear something?" She asked. The others all listened, and soon heard a rumbling in the distance. "Is it another earthquake? I don't think my stomach can take any more..."
"That's no earthquake... that's a sound wave comin' down the tunnel." Abigail replied. "We better get to cover."
"A sound wave? What's so bad about that?" Wallabee asked.
"You know that echoing noise you hear when you yell in a big empty room? Imagine that multiplied by about a million." Abigail replied.
"That's bad." Hoagie commented.
"Quick, everyone behind the Earthmover!" Nigel shouted. The Kids Next Door darted behind the vehicle and hunkered down just before the sound wave passed over them. A boom washed over them that sounded like a million jet engines igniting at the same time, even with their hands over their ears. The ground shook violently around them, only adding to the extreme noise that bombarded their sense.
Finally the sound subsided and the Kids Next Door risked unblocking their ears. They looked around in confusion, then all jumped up in celebration. They could see each others' mouths moving, but none of them could hear anything. Kuki started screaming in a panic, but Abigail grabbed her shoulder.
She shook her finger reproachfully and gestured for them to go down the tunnel. The others looked at Nigel, who nodded in consent and started down the tunnel with the others following him. They couldn't hear each other, which was bad... but they couldn't hear the sound waves either, which was probably what saved them since the ground shook several more times beneath their feet.
They finally reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a huge domed room with a machine in the center that looked like a satellite dish. Nigel signaled for them to get to a side room, so they found a closet and shut themselves inside.
"Can anyone else hear yet?" He asked. He sounded like he was whispering, even to himself, but at least he could hear at all.
"WHAT?" Kuki shouted.
"SSSHHHH!" Abigail clamped her hand over Kuki's mouth. "Do you wanna get us caught?"
"WHAT?" Hoagie asked.
Finally Nigel signaled for them all to shut up again while he peeked out the door to make sure nobody had heard them. "Okay, there's one exit to this room, we make a break for it and find out who's behind this." He slapped one hand over Kuki's mouth before she could speak again. Then he made little hand signals as he spoke. "We go to door softly. See who made the earth shake. Okay?" The others nodded. "Okay, let's go."
They crept out of the closet and made for the exit, finally escaping the sound waves and creeping into a much smaller hallway. They walked down the hall side by side until them emerged into a larger chamber with a series of steps leading up to five thrones, though they were all empty.
"Five guesses who those belong to." Wallabee smirked.
"The Delightful Children From Down the Lane. I should have known." Nigel said. "But where are they? It's not like them to not stick around to see how their plans turn out."
"Hey, look over here." Kuki shouted from another door off to their right. The others walked up and saw a staircase leading upward. "Where do you think it goes?"
"Probably to the Delightful Children's mansion." Abigail replied. "But we don't need to deal with them. I say we go back, blow that sound wave generator, collapse the tube, and go home."
"Sounds like a plan to me, but with the Earthmover destroyed we need to find an alternate exit." Nigel replied. "Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4, get to work looking for a way out that doesn't take us to the Delightful Children. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5, you see if you can set the sound waver generator to explode and collapse the tunnel. I'll head up these stairs and make sure the Delightful Children don't interfere."
"Hey, let me do that." Abigail interjected.
"What? Why?" Nigel asked in surprise.
"You're better with that technical stuff than I am. I'd rather be doin' somethin' more interestin'." Abigail replied.
"Alright, you head up the stairs and make sure the Delightful Children don't come down. We'll signal you when we're ready to make our escape." Nigel handed her a Walkey Talkey in the shape of a Rainbow Monkey. She quirked one eyebrow. "Numbuh 3 was in charge of their design."
"Right." She grabbed it and stuffed it into her sweater. "I'll see you guys in a little while." She turned to walk up the stairs, leaving the others downstairs to go about their assigned tasks. She walked for what seemed like half an hour before she finally reached the top. Her legs were aching and she was panting, but otherwise she was fine.
She stepped out into a large, luxurious room with soft pastel lights of different colors surrounding the room. "Funny, this doesn't look like the normal Delightful Children kinda place." She stepped out into the room, looking around.
"That's because it's not ours, Abigail." She whirled when she heard the voices of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane coming down from a balcony right above her. "This place actually belonged to our uncle, who owned a drilling company a while back. But that's not relevant now."
"I don't care who this place belonged to. And it's Numbuh 5 to you, chumps." Abigail shot back.
"Is it? Aren't you a little old to still be playing childish games?" The Delightful Children pointed at the wall behind her. She turned around, and gasped when she saw a large clock on the wall. Its hands read 12:15... it was past midnight. She was thirteen years old. "The Kids Next Door will kick you out of their group no matter what you do here tonight."
"I knew that when I joined, but at least I did what I could to help children everywhere, unlike you." Abigial snapped.
"All that effort and what has it gotten you?" The Delightful Children moved to a lift beside the balcony and slowly descended toward the ground. "You will be pushed aside and forgotten just because you're too old."
"Shut up!" Abigail yelled.
"You know it's true. The Kids Next Door will forget about you, and find someone else who fits their ideals better. And you call us cruel." The delightful children smirked. "It's really rather humorous."
"What are you tryin' to do? Because it ain't workin'." Abigail growled.
The Delightful Children stepped off the lift when it reached the ground and approached her. "We're offering you a chance to join us Abigail. The Delightful Children from Down the Lane never forget a friend, and we never replace them." All five of them put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "We'd be with you forever."
________________________________________________________________________________
"One more moment Numbuh 1, and this thing will be ready to blow." Hoagie said as he worked on the sound generator. They were both wearing headsets with padding to keep the waves from blowing out their eardrums, but the sound was still quite painful. They couldn't risk shutting it off however, or they might alert someone to the fact that they were there. "Got it!" Hoagie shouted.
Nigel moved one of the earpieces of his headset so he could put the Rainbow Monkey walkey talkey to his ear. "Numbuh 4, we're ready here, how about you two?" He waited a few moments for a reply, but none came. "Numbuh 4? Are you there?" He tapped a few buttons and put it to his ear again. "Numbuh 3? Is anybody there?"
"I don't like this Numbuh 1." Hoagie shook his head.
"Agreed, we have to find out what's going on." Nigel put the walkey talkey away and turned to head into the room beyond with Hoagie following behind him. They both stopped when they entered and saw the Delightful Children from Down the Lane sitting in the five thrones, each grinning ear to ear.
"What's going on here?" Nigel asked. He looked to the side and noticed that Wallabee and Kuki were already attached to the wall with thick chains over their wrists and stomachs.
"What does it look like, Numbuh 1?" The Delightful Children retorted with a grin. "Your Kids Next Door are being rounded up one by one. You're all that are left."
"You're wrong. Numbuh 5 is still around somewhere, and she'll save us no matter what you do..." As Nigel spoke steel chains came out of the walls to pin him and Hoagie beside their teammates.
"You mean, the former Numbuh 5?" The Delightful Children turned their head slightly to the side. The Kids Next Door followed their gazes until they saw Abigail standing in the far corner with her back to the proceedings. "We're afraid Abigail Lincoln won't be coming you your aid anymore."
"Numbuh 5... what's going on?" Kuki shouted. "You have to help us!"
"Come on Numbuh 5, get these annoying Delightful Children and teach them a lesson!" Wallabee shouted.
"I'm not Numbuh 5 anymore." Abigail said over her shoulder, not looking at them. "It's past midnight... I'm thirteen. I can't be part of the Kids Next Door anymore..." She lowered her head.
"No..." Kuki muttered. "But Abby, we need you!"
"Numbuh 5, I order you to help us!" Nigel shouted desperately. Abigail didn't respond at all however.
"Isn't it ironic Numbuh 1, that your own strict policies regarding employment would lead to your eventual destruction? After all, if it wasn't for her, we might never have known you were here." The Delightful Children chuckled in that same uniform monotone they always used. "Now, who should we eliminate first? Well, the answer is obvious." They each pointed a strange device at Nigel.
"Abigail... listen to me." Nigel shouted forcefully. "You're not part of the Kids Next Door anymore, but that doesn't mean we're going to forget about you."
"Yeah!" Kuki chimed in. "We liked you because you were our friend, not because you were a part of the team! We love you!"
"Eh... what she said." Wallabee grumbled.
"Yeah they're right. We hung out with you because you were our friend, not because you're a member of the team!" Hoagie exclaimed.
"I know you don't want to watch this happen Abigail." Nigel said softly. Abigail turned her head slightly to the side. "Part of the team or not, you'll always be important, to all of us." She turned around to face him directly. He was staring at her over the rims of his sunglasses, looking completely serious and open for the first time. "Without you... we would have no light."
"Very amusing Kids Next Door, but we're getting impatient." The Delightful Children each pressed a button on their weapons, making them whir with energy. "Say goodbye, Numbuh 1."
Suddenly Abigail grabbed the wrist of the one wearing the football helmet on the far right. They all looked at her in surprise. "Get away from my friends..." She grabbed his weapon and back fisted him, sending him flying down from the thrones. She took aim and fires the weapon, tearing apart all of the other kids' weapons since they were lined up perfectly.
"Yeah, go Abby!" Kuki shouted happily.
"You fool, it doesn't matter." The Delightful Children said together. "It's still five against one, you cannot escape."
"Now Numbuh 2." Nigel said. Hoagie nodded and pressed a button that popped out of his sleeve. They all heard the explosion from the other room. It was powerful enough to send ripples of sound into this room, and collapse the wall the other four Kids Next Door members were chained to. They were buried under the rubble from the wall as the dust obscured everything.
"The tunnel is collapsing!" The Delightful Children shouted in unison. They all ran for the stairs that spiraled up toward the upper level. "Goodbye Kids Next Door, we hope not to meet again." They locked the door and turned to begin their ascent away from danger.
"Guys!" Abigail ran down the steps to start digging through the rubble furiously. "Come on, I'm supposed to leave the Kids Next Door before you do!" She exclaimed. Finally she caught site of Nigel's arm, so she redoubled her efforts and soon had him dug out completely. He had scratches all over his body, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
"Thank you Num... Abigail." Nigel said softly. Abigail smiled slightly as the others dug their way out of the rubble. The ground was beginning to shake more and more with each second.
"I thought we destroyed that ruddy machine!" Wallabee shouted over the rumble.
"We did, but it was also supposed to trigger a tunnel collapse!" Hoagie shouted back.
"I hope you found a way out Numbuh 3!" Nigel shouted.
"This way!" Kuki turned and darted into another side passage with the others following behind her. The ground was shaking so furiously it was difficult even to see properly, but Kuki seemed to have thoroughly mapped the place out in her head. She took them through a maze of tunnels, but some of them had already begun to collapse in on themselves.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity they emerged into what looked like an old subway system. They were just in time too, for the tunnel collapsed right after they fell to their knees on the railroad tracks. Nobody said anything for several minutes, but both Kuki and Hoagie put their hands on each of Abigail's shoulders.
"I'm sorry guys..." Abigail began.
"We'll sort it all out when we get home." Nigel interrupted as he stood up from the track. "It's very late... and I'll sure we could all use a good night's rest." Nobody argued with that sentiment.
________________________________________________________________________________
Abigail was sitting on her bed in her bathrobe, looking around at her now mostly empty room in the Kids Next Door headquarters. She felt like an outsider now, she shouldn't be here, she should be in her bed at home. The Kids Next Door headquarters was a place for Kids Next Door... not for her...
She looked up when she heard her door creak open. "Mind if I come in?" Nigel asked. Abigail shrugged and gestured for him to come in. He slipped in and closed the door behind him before moving to sit beside her on the bed. They sat in silence for a moment before Abigail spoke.
"You know... I actually did want to join the Delightful Children from Down the Lane for a while there..." Abigail confessed softly. "I was... just so..."
"I know..." Nigel put one arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. "You were angry... you felt betrayed... like we were throwing you away." She looked up at him. "Every Kids Next Door operative who turns thirteen feels the same way." He pulled his sunglasses off and looked down into her eyes. "But very few of them ever forgive the Kids Next Door like you did."
"Lucky me..." Abigail sighed. Suddenly she leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. He ran his hand along her back, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "Do all of the other operatives try to join their friends' greatest enemies?"
"No... but after hearing you tell what they said... I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing." He stroked her arm, staring at the opposite wall. Without warning Abigail stood up and walked to the window, where the moon and stars were now alone in the deep black sky. Nigel stood up and followed her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Y'know... I didn't come back because of the team, or any friendship..." She said.
"Then why did you?" Nigel asked.
"It was what we talked about... the moon and the sun..." She blinked and turned around to look into his eyes. "With them I might have had friends forever... but I wouldn't have been a moon OR a sun, just a star... one of many."
"That would be a pity." Nigel commented, putting his hand on her cheek. "You're capable of shining too bright to be contained within a mere star." Nigel told her comfortingly. Abigail shook her head and looked down at the floor again.
"I don't feel like much of anything." She said.
"You'll find something... I'm sure you will Num... Abigail." Nigel smiled and pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back. "You've always been the brightest one of us... you'll be just fine I'm sure." He pushed her back slightly, staring into her eyes over his sunglasses. "Just don't forget all this time we've spent together... remember it. And treasure it."
"I will." Abigail nodded sincerely. "I couldn't forget it if I wanted to." Nigel nodded and patted her shoulders one more time before turning to leave. "Yo..." He stopped and turned around again. "What do you plan to do, once you're too old to be a Kids Next Door operative?"
"I haven't really thought about it." Nigel admitted. "I guess the best answer is... be what I am." He smiled and turned to leave, leaving Abigail sitting against her windowsill alone. She sighed and turned to stare out the window, lost in thought.
________________________________________________________________________________
The following morning Abigail found herself standing next to the entrance of the tree house, facing all of her soon-to-be former teammates. Kuki looked like she was on the verge of going into a nervous breakdown, though she tried valiantly to hide her tears. Wallabee looked aloof and uncaring with his arms across his chest, but his eyes were constantly downcast. Hoagie seemed to be taking it the best of all of them, even if his bottom lip kept quivering against his will.
Nigel tried to be as formal as possible while he gave the speech that thanked her for her years of service and commitment to the Kids Next Door. She could tell that he was just barely keeping up his front however. After last night she was able to notice the little things, like his finger twitching ever so slightly or his voice quaking every now and again.
"So... Abigail Lincoln, Numhbuh 5..." Nigel paused to gulp. "I hereby declare that... that you are free from the commitment of the Kids Next Door... that you should go on to the world... become what you will... and always... always remember these days. For these... these are the days when we fought... together... for what we all believed in." He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear the tears from his eyes that were hidden by his sunglasses.
"Now... we should hear some words from her former teammates..." Nigel stepped back to let Kuki rush forward.
"Abby I'll miss you I'll miss you I'll miss you!" Kuki grabbed her and hugged her tightly, crying into her chest uncontrollably. Abigail smiled slightly and stroked her hair in a comforting manner. "Things just won't be the same around here... it'll be so lonely. Wallabee's mean, why can't he have to leave instead of you?"
Seeing that Kuki was finished speaking since she was too busy crying into Abigail's shirt, Wallabee stepped forward. "Well... what can I say really? You've been a help to all of us... and I guess in a way... an inspiration... but not in any important way." He stepped back the same way he stepped forward.
Hoagie opened his mouth to speak, then burst into tears and charged at her, pulling her into a massive bear hug. He also caught Kuki inadvertently, so he wound up squishing the two girls together. "It really won't be the same around here Abby... I hope you come around as much as possible..." He sniffled and released them to run into another part of the tree house, crying.
"Wuss..." Wallabee muttered before he turned away from them to wipe at his eyes furiously with one sleeve.
Abigail stumbled, trying to regain her breath and her sense of balance after Hoagie had squeezed both right out of her. Kuki had fallen to the floor panting. When Abigail regained her senses she noticed that Nigel had stepped forward, but hadn't said anything.
Finally Nigel opened his mouth, not looking at her. "I knew you before we became Kids Next Door operatives. Since back then you've always looked out for me, and I've looked out for you." He finally looked up, looking at her over the rim of his sunglasses. "I can only hope that... now that we cannot be teammates anymore... we'll continue to be able to rely on each other."
Abigail smiled and grabbed his hand. "'Till ice can burn." She said. Nigel smiled back and nodded. He squeezed her hand slightly harder than should have been appropriate before he stepped back into his role as the leader of the Kids Next Door.
"Now... Abigail... as the official spokesman of the Kids Next Door organization... I bid you goodbye, and the best of luck in everything you do in the future... unless it involved subjugating children." Nigel said.
Abigail smirked and shook her head. "I'll keep that in mind." With that, all of the formalities were done, she was no longer a part of the Kids Next Door. "Well... I guess I'll hit the road huh? Have a lot of unpacking to do at my house."
"Goodbye Abby..." Kuki waved sadly as Abigail turned to leave the Kids Next Door tree house. Wallabee refused to look at her lest he break down like everyone else. Nigel stood up straight and gave her a solid salute.
Abigail kept walking, not wanting to look back. Her childhood was officially over in more ways than one. It was time to take on the world on its own terms. She didn't know if she could do it, but she knew better than to give up. She would do everything she possibly could... because the possibilities for the future truly were endless.
THE END
Friendship
And
Time
Evolve
Devotion
The dark night sky sprinkled with some of the brightest stars to shine in a long time didn't do much to calm her frayed nerves. Abigail Lincoln had known this day was coming for a long time, but she hadn't imagined really getting here. She'd imagined staying here in this tree house with her teammates forever... a foolish dream, but one she'd clung to. Now that the reality was here, she felt completely unprepared for it.
"I thought I would find you out here." She turned her head to the side slightly as Nigel Uno walked up beside her, looking up at the night sky. "Only one hour left." He commented.
"I know." Abigail replied. Tomorrow was her thirteenth birthday, and she would be forced to leave the Kids Next Door. "Nothin' lasts forever, I knew it was comin' when I signed on for this."
"But not everything has to end." Nigel told her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and he looked down the side of the tree house. Neither of them was too good at being open and speaking from the heart like Kuki. "I mean, even if you can't be one of the Kids Next Door anymore, you'll still have our support if you need it."
"Thanks anyway, but like you said once, bein' a grown-up means takin' care of yourself." She reached into her sweater and took out a candy bar, pulling the wrapping open. She took a bite, staring down at the street far below. She moved to take another bite, then stopped and let it drop to the ground far below with a soft sigh.
"It seems like just the other day we were busy celebrating your eleventh birthday..." Nigel shook his head. "Where has all the time gone?"
"Where all time goes I s'pose." Abigail smirked and looked over at her lifelong friend. "I should go finish packin' my stuff up for tomorrow." She turned to leave, but Nigel stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll come help." He offered. Abigail nodded and they walked through the Kids Next Door base to her bedroom. There were already suitcases full of clothing and personal items scattered around the room, but there were still various pieces of clothing and items scattered around here and there.
They gathered up her things in silence and stuffed them in the one remaining suitcase. They moved rather slowly however. They were in no rush to get it done. The sooner they finished, the sooner she would be gone from this tree house forever. They stopped completely when everything was gathered up and it was time to close the suitcase.
Abigail turned and walked to the window, where she stared up at the moon with a slight smirk on her face. "I wonder if thinkin' weird things is a part of growin' up? If it is, I don't like it."
"What are you thinking about?" Nigel sat down on the bed, watching her.
"Some philosophical crap about the moon mostly." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm thinkin' like one of my teachers now." She and Nigel both gave a small chuckle. "How it comes up for a while, and then goes back down to let the sun take over for a while. 'Cuz when they're up at the same time the moon is covered up, y'know."
"And you're thinking, you're like the moon. About to set and let a sun take over." Nigel guessed. Abigail sighed and nodded, not looking back at him. "But that's not the case at all." He walked up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "If anything you've always been a sun, lighting the way for all the rest of us."
"You'll be fine without me. I should just get over it and find a new life." Abigail sighed and lowered her head, with her shoulders beginning to shake slightly. Nigel didn't know what to say, so he stood silently with his hands on her shoulders.
Suddenly the floor beneath them rocked hard, throwing them both to the ground with Abigail on top of Nigel. "What the blazes was that!?" She exclaimed.
"I don't know..." Nigel replied. Suddenly the ground shifted again, hard enough to roll them across the floor. "Come on, let's go find out!" When the earth stopped moving they lunged to their feet and ran out to the main section of the Kids Next Door base, where Wallabee Beatles, Kuki Sanban, and Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. were at the main computer. "What on Earth is going on around here!?"
"There's nothing around the base, nothing in the air. There's nothing nearby causing it." Wallabee replied.
"We think something is still making the earth shake though. Hoagie added. The earth lunged again, throwing them all to their feet. "Yep, something is DEFINITELY making the earth shake."
"Thanks for the news flash Numbuh 2." Abigail snapped as the ground once again threw them to the floor.
"Whatever's doing this, it has to be underground somewhere." Nigel announced as he stumbled back to his feet. "Kids Next Door, battlestations!" He shouted.
"Right!" The others replied instantly.
________________________________________________________________________________
[Kids Next Door Vehicle: E.A.R.T.H.M.O.V.E.R.
Extremely
Accurate
Revolving
Triple
Hydro
Mechanical
Oscillating
Voluntary
Earth
Rider]
The Kids Next Door dug into the ground as fast as possible, with the three drills on the front of their machine digging through the ground like a knife through a piece of cheese. The earth still shook occasionally, but their Earthmover was more than able to keep going regardless. The kids inside didn't fare so well however. They were forced to hold onto anything within reach.
"Do you see anything Numbuh 2?" Nigel asked.
"Rocks... and I think I see a root over there." Hoagie pointed to one side of the front windshield where a root was stuck in the glass. He turned around in his seat to look up at his leader. "It doesn't look like there's anything down here Numbuh 1." The earth rumbled again, throwing the kids around like balls in a pinball machine.
"I'm getting seasick..." Kuki moaned from the floor, putting one hand over her mouth.
"This is getting ridiculous." Numbuh 4 growled as he crawled back up to his seat. "Earthquakes with no apparent source centered right around our base. It's unbelievable."
"That's exactly why they have to have a source Numbuh 4. There's literally no chance of these earthquakes popping up right around our base without a cause. We keep looking." Nigel ordered. They all froze when they heard the sound of metal digging into metal. The hull of their Earthmover started vibrating violently, throwing them around.
"What is that...?" Kuki's face was green, and she was clearly struggling to keep from throwing up right there in the vehicle.
"The drills!" Hoagie looked through the windshield, to see them scraping against a piece of metal in front of them. "They hit a pipe, but they're not designed to go through metal!"
"Stop them, before we-" Nigel was cut off when the pipe in front of them collapsed, sending the Earthmover hurtling downward into the shaft. The three drills impaled themselves on the steel floor, holding the Earthmover at a 90 angle to the floor. The kids flew forward onto the windshield, piled on top of each other in a big, moaning heap. "Fall... through..." Nigel groaned.
Suddenly the window shattered under their weight, dropping them onto the pipe floor in a heap. "Ugh... sorry..." Kuki muttered from somewhere in the heap.
"Eeeewe..." Abigail and Wallabee groaned in unison. Slowly the children untangled themselves and the two soiled children wiped themselves clean.
Hoagie looked up at the wrecked vehicle and shook his head. "We just can't keep a digging machine working can we?"
"Better it than us I say." Wallabee commented.
"This pipe looks like it's been polished up recently, but last time I checked it was abandoned." Nigel commented. "This place must have something to do with the earthquakes."
"But I don't see any machines." Hoagie pointed out. "How could they cause an earthquake with an empty tube?" The others all sat in silence for a moment, trying to think. Suddenly Kuki perked one ear curiously.
"Does anyone else hear something?" She asked. The others all listened, and soon heard a rumbling in the distance. "Is it another earthquake? I don't think my stomach can take any more..."
"That's no earthquake... that's a sound wave comin' down the tunnel." Abigail replied. "We better get to cover."
"A sound wave? What's so bad about that?" Wallabee asked.
"You know that echoing noise you hear when you yell in a big empty room? Imagine that multiplied by about a million." Abigail replied.
"That's bad." Hoagie commented.
"Quick, everyone behind the Earthmover!" Nigel shouted. The Kids Next Door darted behind the vehicle and hunkered down just before the sound wave passed over them. A boom washed over them that sounded like a million jet engines igniting at the same time, even with their hands over their ears. The ground shook violently around them, only adding to the extreme noise that bombarded their sense.
Finally the sound subsided and the Kids Next Door risked unblocking their ears. They looked around in confusion, then all jumped up in celebration. They could see each others' mouths moving, but none of them could hear anything. Kuki started screaming in a panic, but Abigail grabbed her shoulder.
She shook her finger reproachfully and gestured for them to go down the tunnel. The others looked at Nigel, who nodded in consent and started down the tunnel with the others following him. They couldn't hear each other, which was bad... but they couldn't hear the sound waves either, which was probably what saved them since the ground shook several more times beneath their feet.
They finally reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a huge domed room with a machine in the center that looked like a satellite dish. Nigel signaled for them to get to a side room, so they found a closet and shut themselves inside.
"Can anyone else hear yet?" He asked. He sounded like he was whispering, even to himself, but at least he could hear at all.
"WHAT?" Kuki shouted.
"SSSHHHH!" Abigail clamped her hand over Kuki's mouth. "Do you wanna get us caught?"
"WHAT?" Hoagie asked.
Finally Nigel signaled for them all to shut up again while he peeked out the door to make sure nobody had heard them. "Okay, there's one exit to this room, we make a break for it and find out who's behind this." He slapped one hand over Kuki's mouth before she could speak again. Then he made little hand signals as he spoke. "We go to door softly. See who made the earth shake. Okay?" The others nodded. "Okay, let's go."
They crept out of the closet and made for the exit, finally escaping the sound waves and creeping into a much smaller hallway. They walked down the hall side by side until them emerged into a larger chamber with a series of steps leading up to five thrones, though they were all empty.
"Five guesses who those belong to." Wallabee smirked.
"The Delightful Children From Down the Lane. I should have known." Nigel said. "But where are they? It's not like them to not stick around to see how their plans turn out."
"Hey, look over here." Kuki shouted from another door off to their right. The others walked up and saw a staircase leading upward. "Where do you think it goes?"
"Probably to the Delightful Children's mansion." Abigail replied. "But we don't need to deal with them. I say we go back, blow that sound wave generator, collapse the tube, and go home."
"Sounds like a plan to me, but with the Earthmover destroyed we need to find an alternate exit." Nigel replied. "Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4, get to work looking for a way out that doesn't take us to the Delightful Children. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5, you see if you can set the sound waver generator to explode and collapse the tunnel. I'll head up these stairs and make sure the Delightful Children don't interfere."
"Hey, let me do that." Abigail interjected.
"What? Why?" Nigel asked in surprise.
"You're better with that technical stuff than I am. I'd rather be doin' somethin' more interestin'." Abigail replied.
"Alright, you head up the stairs and make sure the Delightful Children don't come down. We'll signal you when we're ready to make our escape." Nigel handed her a Walkey Talkey in the shape of a Rainbow Monkey. She quirked one eyebrow. "Numbuh 3 was in charge of their design."
"Right." She grabbed it and stuffed it into her sweater. "I'll see you guys in a little while." She turned to walk up the stairs, leaving the others downstairs to go about their assigned tasks. She walked for what seemed like half an hour before she finally reached the top. Her legs were aching and she was panting, but otherwise she was fine.
She stepped out into a large, luxurious room with soft pastel lights of different colors surrounding the room. "Funny, this doesn't look like the normal Delightful Children kinda place." She stepped out into the room, looking around.
"That's because it's not ours, Abigail." She whirled when she heard the voices of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane coming down from a balcony right above her. "This place actually belonged to our uncle, who owned a drilling company a while back. But that's not relevant now."
"I don't care who this place belonged to. And it's Numbuh 5 to you, chumps." Abigail shot back.
"Is it? Aren't you a little old to still be playing childish games?" The Delightful Children pointed at the wall behind her. She turned around, and gasped when she saw a large clock on the wall. Its hands read 12:15... it was past midnight. She was thirteen years old. "The Kids Next Door will kick you out of their group no matter what you do here tonight."
"I knew that when I joined, but at least I did what I could to help children everywhere, unlike you." Abigial snapped.
"All that effort and what has it gotten you?" The Delightful Children moved to a lift beside the balcony and slowly descended toward the ground. "You will be pushed aside and forgotten just because you're too old."
"Shut up!" Abigail yelled.
"You know it's true. The Kids Next Door will forget about you, and find someone else who fits their ideals better. And you call us cruel." The delightful children smirked. "It's really rather humorous."
"What are you tryin' to do? Because it ain't workin'." Abigail growled.
The Delightful Children stepped off the lift when it reached the ground and approached her. "We're offering you a chance to join us Abigail. The Delightful Children from Down the Lane never forget a friend, and we never replace them." All five of them put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "We'd be with you forever."
________________________________________________________________________________
"One more moment Numbuh 1, and this thing will be ready to blow." Hoagie said as he worked on the sound generator. They were both wearing headsets with padding to keep the waves from blowing out their eardrums, but the sound was still quite painful. They couldn't risk shutting it off however, or they might alert someone to the fact that they were there. "Got it!" Hoagie shouted.
Nigel moved one of the earpieces of his headset so he could put the Rainbow Monkey walkey talkey to his ear. "Numbuh 4, we're ready here, how about you two?" He waited a few moments for a reply, but none came. "Numbuh 4? Are you there?" He tapped a few buttons and put it to his ear again. "Numbuh 3? Is anybody there?"
"I don't like this Numbuh 1." Hoagie shook his head.
"Agreed, we have to find out what's going on." Nigel put the walkey talkey away and turned to head into the room beyond with Hoagie following behind him. They both stopped when they entered and saw the Delightful Children from Down the Lane sitting in the five thrones, each grinning ear to ear.
"What's going on here?" Nigel asked. He looked to the side and noticed that Wallabee and Kuki were already attached to the wall with thick chains over their wrists and stomachs.
"What does it look like, Numbuh 1?" The Delightful Children retorted with a grin. "Your Kids Next Door are being rounded up one by one. You're all that are left."
"You're wrong. Numbuh 5 is still around somewhere, and she'll save us no matter what you do..." As Nigel spoke steel chains came out of the walls to pin him and Hoagie beside their teammates.
"You mean, the former Numbuh 5?" The Delightful Children turned their head slightly to the side. The Kids Next Door followed their gazes until they saw Abigail standing in the far corner with her back to the proceedings. "We're afraid Abigail Lincoln won't be coming you your aid anymore."
"Numbuh 5... what's going on?" Kuki shouted. "You have to help us!"
"Come on Numbuh 5, get these annoying Delightful Children and teach them a lesson!" Wallabee shouted.
"I'm not Numbuh 5 anymore." Abigail said over her shoulder, not looking at them. "It's past midnight... I'm thirteen. I can't be part of the Kids Next Door anymore..." She lowered her head.
"No..." Kuki muttered. "But Abby, we need you!"
"Numbuh 5, I order you to help us!" Nigel shouted desperately. Abigail didn't respond at all however.
"Isn't it ironic Numbuh 1, that your own strict policies regarding employment would lead to your eventual destruction? After all, if it wasn't for her, we might never have known you were here." The Delightful Children chuckled in that same uniform monotone they always used. "Now, who should we eliminate first? Well, the answer is obvious." They each pointed a strange device at Nigel.
"Abigail... listen to me." Nigel shouted forcefully. "You're not part of the Kids Next Door anymore, but that doesn't mean we're going to forget about you."
"Yeah!" Kuki chimed in. "We liked you because you were our friend, not because you were a part of the team! We love you!"
"Eh... what she said." Wallabee grumbled.
"Yeah they're right. We hung out with you because you were our friend, not because you're a member of the team!" Hoagie exclaimed.
"I know you don't want to watch this happen Abigail." Nigel said softly. Abigail turned her head slightly to the side. "Part of the team or not, you'll always be important, to all of us." She turned around to face him directly. He was staring at her over the rims of his sunglasses, looking completely serious and open for the first time. "Without you... we would have no light."
"Very amusing Kids Next Door, but we're getting impatient." The Delightful Children each pressed a button on their weapons, making them whir with energy. "Say goodbye, Numbuh 1."
Suddenly Abigail grabbed the wrist of the one wearing the football helmet on the far right. They all looked at her in surprise. "Get away from my friends..." She grabbed his weapon and back fisted him, sending him flying down from the thrones. She took aim and fires the weapon, tearing apart all of the other kids' weapons since they were lined up perfectly.
"Yeah, go Abby!" Kuki shouted happily.
"You fool, it doesn't matter." The Delightful Children said together. "It's still five against one, you cannot escape."
"Now Numbuh 2." Nigel said. Hoagie nodded and pressed a button that popped out of his sleeve. They all heard the explosion from the other room. It was powerful enough to send ripples of sound into this room, and collapse the wall the other four Kids Next Door members were chained to. They were buried under the rubble from the wall as the dust obscured everything.
"The tunnel is collapsing!" The Delightful Children shouted in unison. They all ran for the stairs that spiraled up toward the upper level. "Goodbye Kids Next Door, we hope not to meet again." They locked the door and turned to begin their ascent away from danger.
"Guys!" Abigail ran down the steps to start digging through the rubble furiously. "Come on, I'm supposed to leave the Kids Next Door before you do!" She exclaimed. Finally she caught site of Nigel's arm, so she redoubled her efforts and soon had him dug out completely. He had scratches all over his body, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
"Thank you Num... Abigail." Nigel said softly. Abigail smiled slightly as the others dug their way out of the rubble. The ground was beginning to shake more and more with each second.
"I thought we destroyed that ruddy machine!" Wallabee shouted over the rumble.
"We did, but it was also supposed to trigger a tunnel collapse!" Hoagie shouted back.
"I hope you found a way out Numbuh 3!" Nigel shouted.
"This way!" Kuki turned and darted into another side passage with the others following behind her. The ground was shaking so furiously it was difficult even to see properly, but Kuki seemed to have thoroughly mapped the place out in her head. She took them through a maze of tunnels, but some of them had already begun to collapse in on themselves.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity they emerged into what looked like an old subway system. They were just in time too, for the tunnel collapsed right after they fell to their knees on the railroad tracks. Nobody said anything for several minutes, but both Kuki and Hoagie put their hands on each of Abigail's shoulders.
"I'm sorry guys..." Abigail began.
"We'll sort it all out when we get home." Nigel interrupted as he stood up from the track. "It's very late... and I'll sure we could all use a good night's rest." Nobody argued with that sentiment.
________________________________________________________________________________
Abigail was sitting on her bed in her bathrobe, looking around at her now mostly empty room in the Kids Next Door headquarters. She felt like an outsider now, she shouldn't be here, she should be in her bed at home. The Kids Next Door headquarters was a place for Kids Next Door... not for her...
She looked up when she heard her door creak open. "Mind if I come in?" Nigel asked. Abigail shrugged and gestured for him to come in. He slipped in and closed the door behind him before moving to sit beside her on the bed. They sat in silence for a moment before Abigail spoke.
"You know... I actually did want to join the Delightful Children from Down the Lane for a while there..." Abigail confessed softly. "I was... just so..."
"I know..." Nigel put one arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. "You were angry... you felt betrayed... like we were throwing you away." She looked up at him. "Every Kids Next Door operative who turns thirteen feels the same way." He pulled his sunglasses off and looked down into her eyes. "But very few of them ever forgive the Kids Next Door like you did."
"Lucky me..." Abigail sighed. Suddenly she leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. He ran his hand along her back, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "Do all of the other operatives try to join their friends' greatest enemies?"
"No... but after hearing you tell what they said... I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing." He stroked her arm, staring at the opposite wall. Without warning Abigail stood up and walked to the window, where the moon and stars were now alone in the deep black sky. Nigel stood up and followed her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Y'know... I didn't come back because of the team, or any friendship..." She said.
"Then why did you?" Nigel asked.
"It was what we talked about... the moon and the sun..." She blinked and turned around to look into his eyes. "With them I might have had friends forever... but I wouldn't have been a moon OR a sun, just a star... one of many."
"That would be a pity." Nigel commented, putting his hand on her cheek. "You're capable of shining too bright to be contained within a mere star." Nigel told her comfortingly. Abigail shook her head and looked down at the floor again.
"I don't feel like much of anything." She said.
"You'll find something... I'm sure you will Num... Abigail." Nigel smiled and pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back. "You've always been the brightest one of us... you'll be just fine I'm sure." He pushed her back slightly, staring into her eyes over his sunglasses. "Just don't forget all this time we've spent together... remember it. And treasure it."
"I will." Abigail nodded sincerely. "I couldn't forget it if I wanted to." Nigel nodded and patted her shoulders one more time before turning to leave. "Yo..." He stopped and turned around again. "What do you plan to do, once you're too old to be a Kids Next Door operative?"
"I haven't really thought about it." Nigel admitted. "I guess the best answer is... be what I am." He smiled and turned to leave, leaving Abigail sitting against her windowsill alone. She sighed and turned to stare out the window, lost in thought.
________________________________________________________________________________
The following morning Abigail found herself standing next to the entrance of the tree house, facing all of her soon-to-be former teammates. Kuki looked like she was on the verge of going into a nervous breakdown, though she tried valiantly to hide her tears. Wallabee looked aloof and uncaring with his arms across his chest, but his eyes were constantly downcast. Hoagie seemed to be taking it the best of all of them, even if his bottom lip kept quivering against his will.
Nigel tried to be as formal as possible while he gave the speech that thanked her for her years of service and commitment to the Kids Next Door. She could tell that he was just barely keeping up his front however. After last night she was able to notice the little things, like his finger twitching ever so slightly or his voice quaking every now and again.
"So... Abigail Lincoln, Numhbuh 5..." Nigel paused to gulp. "I hereby declare that... that you are free from the commitment of the Kids Next Door... that you should go on to the world... become what you will... and always... always remember these days. For these... these are the days when we fought... together... for what we all believed in." He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear the tears from his eyes that were hidden by his sunglasses.
"Now... we should hear some words from her former teammates..." Nigel stepped back to let Kuki rush forward.
"Abby I'll miss you I'll miss you I'll miss you!" Kuki grabbed her and hugged her tightly, crying into her chest uncontrollably. Abigail smiled slightly and stroked her hair in a comforting manner. "Things just won't be the same around here... it'll be so lonely. Wallabee's mean, why can't he have to leave instead of you?"
Seeing that Kuki was finished speaking since she was too busy crying into Abigail's shirt, Wallabee stepped forward. "Well... what can I say really? You've been a help to all of us... and I guess in a way... an inspiration... but not in any important way." He stepped back the same way he stepped forward.
Hoagie opened his mouth to speak, then burst into tears and charged at her, pulling her into a massive bear hug. He also caught Kuki inadvertently, so he wound up squishing the two girls together. "It really won't be the same around here Abby... I hope you come around as much as possible..." He sniffled and released them to run into another part of the tree house, crying.
"Wuss..." Wallabee muttered before he turned away from them to wipe at his eyes furiously with one sleeve.
Abigail stumbled, trying to regain her breath and her sense of balance after Hoagie had squeezed both right out of her. Kuki had fallen to the floor panting. When Abigail regained her senses she noticed that Nigel had stepped forward, but hadn't said anything.
Finally Nigel opened his mouth, not looking at her. "I knew you before we became Kids Next Door operatives. Since back then you've always looked out for me, and I've looked out for you." He finally looked up, looking at her over the rim of his sunglasses. "I can only hope that... now that we cannot be teammates anymore... we'll continue to be able to rely on each other."
Abigail smiled and grabbed his hand. "'Till ice can burn." She said. Nigel smiled back and nodded. He squeezed her hand slightly harder than should have been appropriate before he stepped back into his role as the leader of the Kids Next Door.
"Now... Abigail... as the official spokesman of the Kids Next Door organization... I bid you goodbye, and the best of luck in everything you do in the future... unless it involved subjugating children." Nigel said.
Abigail smirked and shook her head. "I'll keep that in mind." With that, all of the formalities were done, she was no longer a part of the Kids Next Door. "Well... I guess I'll hit the road huh? Have a lot of unpacking to do at my house."
"Goodbye Abby..." Kuki waved sadly as Abigail turned to leave the Kids Next Door tree house. Wallabee refused to look at her lest he break down like everyone else. Nigel stood up straight and gave her a solid salute.
Abigail kept walking, not wanting to look back. Her childhood was officially over in more ways than one. It was time to take on the world on its own terms. She didn't know if she could do it, but she knew better than to give up. She would do everything she possibly could... because the possibilities for the future truly were endless.
THE END