Act 1: Super-Un-natural
Young Samantha Winmester sighed as her fork danced between her fingers, a favored pastime of hers. It kept her fingers from becoming a jittering mess while her nerves pecked away at her mind. It was all she could bring herself to do, honestly. While true that the alluring aroma of her mother's pot roast was quite tantalizing, any appetite she had acquired was being suppressed by her anxiety.
Her eyes peered up behind timid lashes as she peered across the table, taking in everyone already seated, before casting a flick over towards the only noticeably empty chair. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip. She was the only whom seemed to care. That wasn't to say no one else did, but they didn't know what she did.
Of course, she didn't really, really know what it all meant, exactly. But it was something. Something strange. Strange enough to warrant higher action than she could provide. Her parents dismissed her concerns as paranoid nonsense, so if they weren't going to help, she'd just have to call in someone else who would.
And call she did. The annoying problem was that "someone else" was taking a gazillion years to arrive.
"Come on," she mumbled, risking a glance at her watch. There wasn't risk at all, to tell the truth, but as far as Samantha was concerned, the whole situation had disaster written all over it; with highlight penning. "Why can't they be here now…"
"What was that, Samantha?"
"Um, nothing, mom," Samantha muttered, shyly returning her attention to her food. Shifting gears, she began idly picking at her slice of tender roast while tuning in to whatever table conversation was happening.
"Well anyway, as I was saying," Mrs. Winmester continued, unconsciously twirling her utensil, "The meeting would have gone so much more smoothly if that Winters fellow organized the Patterson file, but of course, he just shirks that off to one of the interns. Unbelievable, no one wants to take responsibility anymore."
Mr. Winmester only replied with a affirmative grunt as he focused on his meal.
"Thanks for showing so much interest, honey," his wife snorted. The man gave a thumbs up, resulting in the woman targeting her attention elsewhere. Her eyes narrowed as the landed on the lanky teen across from her. "Bob, how many times have I told you not to bring your mp3 to the table? Dinner time is family time."
The shaggy haired youth paid her no mind, for he was lost to the world, earphones thumping in his ear and his head nodding along with a beat only he would ever know.
Mrs. Winmester pouted, shooting her husband a knowing glance. His expression, however, seemed to silently reply, "What?"
"Ugh!" the woman huffed. She would have persisted with the boy's reprimand, but her attentive eyes were finally drawn to the empty seat next to her daughter.
She frowned, clearly displeased, and snapped up towards the ceiling. "Jeanie Winmester, get down here this instant young lady!" She waited, expecting to be greeted by the sound of hurried footfalls as her second child rushed downstairs. Unfortunately, no such thing ever happened. "Samantha, where is your sister and why is she not present at dinner?"
Samantha flinched at her mother's tone, even though she knew that the woman's chaste tone was not directed at her. She looked towards her sister's chair, then up to the clock itself. They still weren't here. Though once she felt the weight of her mother's scrutinizing stare, she knew she couldn't hold out for much longer. "Um, she uh, n-never came home."
"Never came home? You both are supposed to be home by six on school nights!"
"I know, but…"
"Still at that Casey's house I bet," Mr. Winmester muttered. She abruptly rose from her seat, marching over towards the wall phone. "She is not getting away with this sort of behavior anymore, once she gets home, she is grounded!"
"Hey," Bob suddenly roused, his hand waving in a slight circle to call attention, "Can someone pass the salt?"
Swallowing back his mouthful, Mr. Winmester spoke for what seemed the first time since dinner started. "Sammy, pass Bob the salt."
The child nodded as she complied, her mind abuzz with possible approaches she could take to stall her mother. It wasn't Jean's fault –she believed it wasn't, at least– but if her parents didn't pay any heed to that story the first time, there was no point in playing the same card twice. All Samantha needed to do was keep her mother from sealing Jean's fate until they got here and fixed everything.
But why weren't THEY here yet?
Samantha groaned, her frustration and nerves bubbling into one big mess at the pit of her stomach. She reached for the salt shaker, fully intending to pass it to her cousin, but it wasn't going to work out that way. The moment her fingers graced the shaker, she immediately wished they didn't, for the entire world around them woke with a sudden quake.
Everyone froze, save for Bob, who continued to jam out to his music. Mr and Mrs. Winmester shared nervous glances, and Samantha drew her hand back, fearing she did something wrong. The sudden jolt they all felt didn't even last a second, but the eerie silence that followed was more than enough to keep them on edge.
CRASH!
"Ah!" Samantha screamed. She, along with the rest of her family, slipped into a justified panic attack after someone tossed round, blunt objects through their windows. The strange balls rolled along the pine floor, releasing plumes of smoke that blanketed the entire dinning room.
Samantha huddled in her seat at the smokescreen enveloped them, coughing uncontrollably as the clouds obscured her breathing and sight. She couldn't even see an inch in front of her, but she could hear the sounds of struggle that raged in the background as someone attacked her parents.
"Now see here–WHOA!"
"H-Hey, what are you doing with–" SNAP! "YEOWW-ooop!"
The smoke had cleared, but Samantha kept her eyes covered, too fearful to see what the attackers had done to her family. Steeling her nerve, she gulped and slowly lowered her palms, baring full witness to the chaos before her.
"Messy" was the first word that sprung to her mind. The room was a complete mess. The table had been flipped over on its side, one of the legs broken in the process. Food had been flung everywhere. Corn was sprinkled all over the floor, the mashed potatoes were dripping from the ceiling fan, and the lovely pot roast was currently stuck to the wall, slowly slipping to the floor. And for some odd reason or another, the kitchen sink had been smashed and water was now leaking all over the place.
Samantha then began shaking when she finally noticed that they had some new "guests", if you could call them that. Not big, muscly, hairy brutes like she expected, but in fact, mere children just like herself. There was a raven haired girl innocently humming to herself as she kept an odd weapon trained on her dad, a short blond boy growling at her mother, just daring her to try and escape, and another boy –only more portly– helping himself to whatever he could salvage of the pot roast while trying to look serious.
Before Samantha could even begin to question the three –or take note of her family's state– a loud crash from behind nearly caused her to jump several feet into the air. She snapped around, her nails digging into her chair as saw a red capped girl marching into the kitchen after kicking the door down. She entered, stopped, and leaned against the wall as another kid came in behind her.
A bald boy walked in, his hands clasped squarely behind his back as his cold, calculating eyes scanned over the room behind his sunglasses. After a curt nod, his head leaned towards the hat girl. "Status report, Numbuh 5."
The girl, who Samantha guessed was Numbuh 5, glanced up lazily as she spoke, "The dad's been tied up."
Samantha blinked, then finally looked over to see what became of her father. He had been tied up with skipping rope and was now idly swinging upside-down from the ceiling, his face going red; whether it was from rushing blood or anger was hard to say.
"Mom's been contained."
"She was callin' for backup," the blond boy growled as he glared at Mrs. Winmester. She had been plastered to the wall, being held up with a gross, gunky material with the house phone still stuck in her hand. She tried to wiggle free, but the gunk wouldn't relent. The blond boy chuckled as he looked on smugly. "But I stopped 'er!"
"As for the teenager…"
Samantha let her eyes trail over to her cousin, Bob. He had been strapped down in his chair with silly string, but he was still rocking out to his tunes and apparently wasn't even aware of the fact he was trapped. Despite the circumstances, everyone present rolled their eyes.
"Well," Numbuh 5 waved him off, "It ain't like he's gonna bother us."
"Good work, team," the boy praised as he walked towards her. Samantha regarded him with extreme caution, and he must have noticed, for he remained a comfortable distance away. "Are you Samantha Winmester?"
"W-What do you people want?" Samantha demanded, her nerves boiling over, "Who are you?"
"We are the Kids Next Door. I am Numbuh 1, leader of Sector V. This is the rest of my team, Numbuhs Two through Five," he introduced, the rest the kids greeting the girl in response. "We came as soon as we got your call."
"Wait, the Kids Next Door? So you did get my message," Samantha breathed in relief, her expression pulling a one-eighty. Thank goodness. "What took you guys so long? I've been waiting forever!"
"We acted as swiftly as we could, but I apologize that we cut it close there," Numbuh 1 formerly stated, turning his gaze to the destruction before him. "Dinner time. Some kids never return after facing the horrors of adult cooking."
"We got here just in time, chief," the portly boy spoke up from across the room. He moved over towards the stove, and sampled a spoonful of leafy-green mush straight from the pot. "Seems like they were about to break out the spinach casserole."
"Disgusting," Numbuh 1 sneered. Forcing kids to eat spinach casserole was downright cruel. He rested his hand on Samantha's shoulder, relaying comfort with the gesture. "Don't worry, Samantha. Now that we're here, we're going to make sure these adults answer for their crimes against childhood."
"Our crimes?" Mr. Winmester spluttered, outraged, "You barge in here and ruin our dinner and accuse us of crimes? When I get out of here, I'm suing you brats for what you did to my house!"
"Just the house, dear?"
"A-And us too," he quickly recovered, sending his wife a pathetic look. "I was getting to that, too!"
"Oh, um, while we're on the subject of suing," the portly boy meekly spoke, "Your impala outside? I TOTALLY didn't graze the fender when we came in for a landing. That, uh, dent? It was there when we got here! Heh heh…"
"Let's try to remain on track on, shall we?" Numbuh 1 intoned before clearing his throat, "Numbuh 3, prepare to take down a statement."
"Sure thing!" the midnight haired girl grinned as she appeared instantly at Samantha's side. She whipped out a purple notebook, and began scribbling furiously. "O-kay! I'm going to need your name, age, and your opinion on my new coat."
"Numbuh 3, not that type of statement…"
"Aw, but no one's commented on it yet! How am I supposed to know if it's cute or horribly tacky on me?"
"Ugh! It looks pretty, now can you please focus?" Numbuh 3 glowed at the compliment, and nodded vigorously while Numbuh 1 groaned, "Great. Now Samantha, we're going to need you to tell us every atrocity your parents committed against you."
"What?" Samantha was confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's alright, you don't need to hold anything back," he comforted as he softly patted her back "You don't have to fear retaliation, we have the finest witness protection program in the whole school district."
"Yeah," Numbuh 4 agreed, "We only lost, like, two and half witnesses this year."
"We could have gone without sharing that little gem of information, Numbuh 4," Numbuh 1 deadpanned.
Numbuh 3 solely concentrated on her task, her tongue jutting out as she focused on her pen strokes. "'Retaliation' only has one L, right?"
"Stop, stop!" Samantha called out, trying to reign in the situation before it got even more out of hand, if such a thing were possible. "My parents didn't do anything to me, honest!"
Numbuh 1 paused, clearly not expecting that. "…They haven't grounded you?"
"No."
"Sent you to bed without dessert?"
"Never."
"Forced you to watch educational programming instead of cartoons?"
"Nope."
"Yet…you called the emergency KND 'Help-Me!' Hotline?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then I'm not following," he frowned to mask his confusion "If they've done nothing, then why did you call us for help?"
"Well maybe she'd actually tell us if ya let her get a word in, boss," Numbuh 5 grumbled, agitated. She moved towards Samantha, and calmly motioned her to follow. "C'mon girl. Let's get some fresh air and you can tell Numbuh 5 what's wrong."
They watched the two girls exit the room without a fuss. Just like that. After a minute to regain their senses, the others eventually tagged along; Numbuh 1 muttering about "only following proper procedure", Numbuh 3 trying to jot down the remainder of the conversation, and Numbuh 4 keeping his weapon trained on the adults as he backed out the door.
That only left Numbuh 2, who was left alone with the subdued Winmesters.
"Sorry about the little misunderstanding folks, but these things happen, am I right?" he questioned awkwardly, trying to slowly slip out of the room while trying to avoid their scowls. "Uh, your pot roast was heavenly!" And after that high note, the boy darted out of the room.
Mr. Winmester let the events sink in before he doubled his efforts to free himself. "When I get out of this thing, those kids are going to get it–what?" he stopped, noticing his wife pouting in his direction. "What's wrong?"
"How come you never compliment my cooking like that?"
"You're kidding me. You want to start this now?"
"Hey!" Bob grunted, still somehow oblivious to the fact he was strapped down to his chair, "What's a guy gotta do to get some salt around here?"
~00~
"I'm so glad you came," Samantha professed, walking down the street with the entirety of Sector V in tow, "I thought I was out of options. My friends think I'm crazy, and my parents won't believe a word I say!"
"Adults just don't understand things like we kids do, girl," Abby softly stated. Samantha looked like she was about to freak out at the slightest impulse –which is why she advised to keep Wally a safe five feet away. Just to be sure, of course. If they wanted to get the bottom of her distress, she needed to calm down. Abby only wished their first impression had gone more…subtly. "Don't worry, we got your back. Now sit down, and don't pass out on Abby."
The gaggle of kids had ventured out of the Winmester residence and into the streets, passing the KND C.O.O.L.B.U.S and wrecked impala –which Hoagie had absolutely nothing to do with, what-so-ever– and were casually strolling through the neighborhood. The evening air had a crisp chill which only served to make the kids grateful that their parents had urged them to wear heavy clothing.
The irony of that last statement was not lost on Nigel; he was still taking it with a grain of salt.
Nigel, Hoagie, Kuki, and Wally were wise enough to follow in Abby's shadow for now. She was clearly the only one capable of smoothing over any rough patches they created with their grand entry. Despite their anxiousness, none were about to speak up against her. With that in mind, they all shared a breath of relief when she stopped at a bench and ushered Samantha to sit down. Maybe the mission would finally make some headway now.
"So lay it on me," Abby said as she stretched out, relaxing herself while she waited for Samantha to speak up, "Whaddya need our help with?"
"It's my sister, Jean," Samantha started, missing the sympathetic glint that appeared in Abby's eyes, "She's been acting so weird lately, and doing stuff that's even weirder. My mom told me it was just one of those 'phases', but I know it's not. Something strange is happening, I just know it."
"Is your sister a teenager?"
Samantha snorted at that. "No, but she acts like one. She thinks she's some big mature know-it-all, even though I'm a year older than her!"
"So what's so weird about her?"
"She's just been acting all moody lately. All dark and brooding, kind of like those goth kids at the middle school. But it's weirder than that. Whenever she's home, she keeps to herself a lot and I sometimes hear her mumbling."
"About what?"
"I don't know, she always stops when she knows I'm listening. But…it sometimes feels like she talking with somebody. It isn't me though, and there's never anyone else around," Samantha explained, bundling her coat together to fight off the shivers. "Of course, that's when she's home, and she hardly ever is. She hangs out with her new friends more, especially Casey," she grumbled, then as an afterthought added, "I don't like Casey."
"Why not? Who is she?"
"Jean's oh so perfect new best friend," Samantha spat with contempt, "I just don't like her. She's weird and makes Jean do weird things too."
"Aw, are you jealous?" Kuki asked earnestly, "Don't be jealous, she's still your sister. Mushi was the same when I got new friends, but we stayed super close and always loved each other!" she gushed. "…then again, that was before she went cuckoo and stabbed my doll and ran away and married a sand king…"
"I'm not jealous! Something's wrong, and I know it!"
Wally loudly groaned as he flopped his arms. "Well would ya puh-lease get to the point already?"
Samantha only stuck her tongue childishly at the boy before turning back to the much nicer-and-not-a-complete-jerk-face Abby. "Jean and Casey started this club with some other girls. At first I thought it was stupid because they wouldn't let me join, but then they started calling themselves a religious chapter. It's still stupid, but mom said they shouldn't be calling themselves something like that."
"So what you're saying is, that your sister started a…cult?" Nigel questioned skeptically. At her nod, his brow inched upwards a tad. "In that case, I would assume they have a regular meeting place? Why haven't you gone there to find out what's really going on?"
At his suggestion, Samantha visibly shook. "B-Because I'm…I'm too scared to. They meet up in the creepy, abandoned manor–after dark!"
"What creepy abandoned manor?"
"That one over there," she pointed out, causing all five children to turn their gazes towards the horizon.
They were greeted by the sight of a three story house that stood lopsided upon a sinking, rotting foundation. There were the two main stories and the third was an attic. It was constructed from wood that was losing a war against the cyclic changes of weather and the linear path of age. The terre verte colored paint had flaked off ages ago, and the only remnants of its presence were its staining on the wood boards. As the late night wind brushed by, the house complained as it gently swayed threatening that, at any moment, the foundation would fail and the house would collapse.
All the windows were cracked or broken, blanketed with the vile of its violent history. Green and brown ivy branches stretched up from the crumbling soil, encasing the house in a web of vines, a net, trapping the house so that it could not escape its eventual fate: being pulled down into the earth. Globs of moss were suctioned onto the remaining roof shingles and hovered about the chipped brick chimney. It was indeed a creepy, off-setting manor. The children even swore they heard the tell-tale thunder clap and caught a glimpse of a lightening flash in the background.
"…Huh," Hoagie uttered to break the silence, "You would think we'd notice that coming in."
"So wait, your sister starts up some lame club and meets up in some big creepy place?" Wally asked, beginning to draw his own conclusions about the whole ordeal. "Next thing I know, you're gonna start talking about ghosts and cruddy phantoms hauntin' the street."
"When there's something strange, in your neighborhood," Kuki hummed humorously, "Who you gonna call?"
"Not us," Nigel answered dryly. "We're the Kids Next Door, not Mystery Incorporated."
Samantha's eyes widened with dread. "You mean you won't help me?"
"Nah, girl. He ain't saying dat," Abby quickly debunked before giving Nigel a stern glare, "Right?"
"Dealings of the 'supernatural' aren't exactly on our resume, Numbuh 5."
"Well helping kids is, and we're helping her."
"Speak for yourself," Wally scoffed, "I ain't going in that rundown dump."
Kuki gasped surprisingly. "Numbuh 4! Why didn't you tell us you were scared?"
"HEY! Jus' cuz I don't wanna go in that mansion don't mean I'm scared of anything!"
Hoagie chuckled to himself at the blond's flawed reasoning. "Gee, coulda fooled me, pal."
Samantha visibly slumped as the team of "experts" she had requested dabbled into petty arguments and squabbles. Wasn't that just peachy. The girl's hopes of helping her sister dashed with each passing second. She eventually tuned out whatever the children were fussing about, and placed her head squarely in her palms as she released a huff of hot air. Her brows knitted together as she thought on the whole problem. It all stunk.
"I hate this," she griped, kicking her legs in frustration, "I wish she never even found that stupid rainbow monkey!"
Then suddenly, silence. All talks, spats, and quarrels screeched to a halt, as if she said the magic words. She curiously peeked up and was more than a little startled to find all of sector V giving her puzzled looks. Thinking she offended someone, she already had her apology on the tip of her tongue, but was interrupted.
"Sorry, did I hear that right?" Hoagie asked, wiggling a finger in his ear, "Did you just call a rainbow monkey stupid?"
Samantha only frowned at the mention of that thing. "Yes, I hate that stupid thing. It's all its fault!"
"That's impossible!" Kuki squawked, running up to Samantha. She placed her hands tightly on the girl's shoulders, and the others were honestly worried she would shake down the poor kid. "Rainbow Monkeys are NOT stupid, and i-it's logically impossible to ha…h-ha–extremely dislike one!" she supplied, not even capable of using rainbow monkeys and the H-word in the same breath. "That's blasphemy! Rainbow Monkeys are cute, cuddly, symbols of sharing, caring, and love!"
"Not this one!" Samantha retorted, firmly holding her stance on the matter, "This one just feels wrong. All wrong!"
"A girl hatin' a rainbow dorky?" Wally mused, much more invested in this conversation then he was previously, "Now this I gotta know about."
Abby shook her head before calmly prying Kuki away from the girl. "What's…'wrong' with this rainbow monkey?"
"Everything," Samantha said, "That scary manor? It used to belong to someone who collected all kinds of dolls from around the world, and Jean found that rainbow monkey when she was dared to go in there the first time. It's got creepy beady eyes that seem to follow you around the room, and its fur feels stiff and almost prickly. But the worst part is its…smile."
"What? Is it crooked or something?"
"It's…it's like a grin you would see on the bad guy from a slasher movie. It makes me think it's going to…" she trailed, hugging herself as began rocking slightly. "I-I don't wanna talk about it…"
"And just when it was gettin' good too," Wally clucked as he snapped his fingers. "I never thought I'd say this, but that kind of rainbow monkey actually sounds kinda cool!"
"Numbuh 4 liking a rainbow monkey? Must be the end times," Hoagie teased in good spirit before he noticed Kuki's distant look. "What do you think, Numbuh 3?"
"Huh?" she blinked, coming out of whatever thought she was lost in. "O-oh, nothing."
"You may not believe it, but it's the truth! Jean didn't start acting this way or doing all this stuff until after she found that doll. She never lets it out of her sight, and she even threatened to hit me when I looked at it funny!" Samantha pressed, "And she always makes sure to take it to her club meetings too."
"I say we go for it," Wally suggested, earning him shocked gazes from his teammates, "What? S'probably gonna be lame, but I gotta see a rainbow monkey creepy enough to freak a girl out."
"I agree with Numbuh 4," Kuki quietly added, "I…would like to see it too."
Abby rubbed her chin as she studied the manor in question. "Numbuh 5 don't know about any rainbow monkey, but she's all for going to find Jean."
Hoagie's lips thinned as the wind created an unsettling whistle through the air. "So you guys want to check out the foreboding mansion where a cult hangs out?"
"We're clearly outnumbered, Numbuh 2," Nigel muttered, "Besides, it would go against our code to ignore Samantha's somewhat legitimate concerns."
Samantha clasped her hands together as she smiled, "So you'll really knock some sense in Jean?"
"We'll bring your sister home, but next time, leave the family counseling issues to the professionals." Nigel adjusted his sunglasses as he looked forward. Lifting his chin up, he took his role in the lead as he marched towards the manor. "Let's move out, team."
Hoagie sighed as his friends walked ahead, him catching up once he built up his nerve. "Why can't we ever explore a cheery looking mansion? I mean yeah, still empty and abandoned– 'but hey look, bunnies!'."
"Relax, man," Abby brushed off, "It's just some weird girls against the five of us, what's the worst dat could happen?"
~00~
The door to the manor slowly creaked open, the collected mass of five children moving as one as they entered. Sector V stuck closed together as they moved along the planked floor, cautiously looking for anything that would jump out and give them the willies.
Hoagie tinkered with his wrist-watch, setting the brightness at its highest setting and holding it up as a makeshift light. Still, it did little to alleviate the darkness of the room. "We shoulda brought a flashlight, I can't see jack in here."
Nigel took off his shades and squinted his eyes as he looked around. His gazed turned upwards when he noticed something dangling from the ceiling above. "Seems like there used to be some lighting in this place. " He then reached into his coat, and pulled out a glow-stick. Shaking it around, the small tool began to illuminate. Nigel then turned to Hoagie and motioned for the boy to follow. "Come on, Numbuh 2. Let's try and find a switch or something."
As the two ventured off further into the room, Abby took a few more steps forward before stopping, placing her hand on her hips as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Wally and Kuki soon came up behind her, taking positions on her opposite sides.
Wally glanced around, studying the protruding shapes and objects in the shadows. "Hn. Gotta give 'em some credit, those girls got some guts coming to a place like this."
Despite herself, Abby smirked. "What's the matter? Feelin' a little spooked, sport?"
"No, just most girls are too wimpy to ever come into creepy places like this, that's all," he tersely grumbled, not wanting to give Abby the wrong impression. He wasn't scared. Not even a little bit! Wanting to take attention off himself, he grinned as he turned to tease Kuki. "Ain't that right, Numbuh 3?"
Kuki didn't comment. In fact, he doubted she even heard him. Her eyes were narrowed slightly and her arms were crossed as she stared at the floor, heavily debating something in her head.
Now that was creepy. "Hey, Numbuh 3! You going deaf, I was talkin' to ya."
She blinked, then looked at him blankly. A sweet smile broke out on her face, but he could tell it was forced, even in the darkness. "Whatever you say, Numbuh 4!"
Wally gaped when Kuki immediately dropped her smile and went back to thinking about…whatever the crud she was thinking about. Shaking his head, he leaned in to Abby and whispered, "What the heck is up with her?" Abby only shrugged.
"Jackpot!" they heard Hoagie call from the shadows.
"You found the light switch?"
"No, but we did find a fuse box," Nigel's voice floated this time, "We've almost got it working…"
The seconds slowly ticked by, but the wait paid off when after a few sparks and hisses, the lights of the foyer flickered to life. They didn't shine as if they were fresh out of the package, but present company would agree it was a much better improvement over what they had when they first came in.
Nigel backed away while Hoagie stood on his feet, dusting off his hands while looking proud of his handiwork. "Heh heh, it's amazing what you can do with a shoe-string, a penny, and a chunk of old bubble–"
"AH!"
The boys spun on their heels at Kuki's startled scream, and dropped into defensive positions. However, when they saw no one else beside their other three friends, they only stood confused. That is, until they finally got a look of the foyer now bathed in light.
It was what you expect of building in a state of disrepair. The tables had collected colonies of dust and grime, and glass decorated the floor where the windows had been shattered long ago. But beside that, a few floor boards missing, and the railing of the main stairs in crooked shape, the place was quite orderly for a manor that had been abandoned for so long.
But, as the kids were now noticing, the mansion itself wasn't the only thing that had been abandoned.
Stuffing the shelves and lining every wall in the room were dolls. Hundreds upon hundreds of dolls. There were ballerina dolls, princess house dolls, priest dolls, soldier dolls, small dolls, big dolls, dolls with three eyes, dolls with no eyes, just an massive array of unnerving uncanny dolls that seemed to go on endlessly. The kids didn't quite know what to make of it.
"Oh look at that, a horde of ancient dollies. Yep, that's not totally freaky or anything," Hoagie said sarcastically as he joined the others.
Nigel looked disgruntled as he took in all the lifeless figures around them. "Well, Samantha did mention the previous owner kept a…sorted collection."
"Call it whatever ya like, it's still nuts," Wally balked. He had a tolerance level for dolls, Numbuh 3 kept tons of them for Zero's sake. But her collection didn't hold a candle to the pure obsessiveness he was witnessing here. "Just look at how many there are! Whoever used to live here had serious problems."
Abby shivered. This was just way past creepy. And the cherry on top? A cult frequented the place. If she wasn't so committed to her job… "Yeah, well, Numbuh 5's gonna find Jean and get the heck outta creepy town. You guys wanna stay here and admire these things, that's your business."
"She's right, we have a job to do. Best get to it."
Wally gave the room a second look, it now looking much spacier in the light. "It's gonna be a lotta ground to cover. They could be anywhere in here."
"Good point, looks like we're splitting up into groups," Nigel ordered, "Numbuh 3 and 5, you check the basement. Numbuh 2 and 4, you scour the upper level while I investigate this floor. The moment you find Jean, call the rest of us. Given Samantha's briefing of her deposition, she's likely to give us trouble."
"Wow, first we go in the scary mansion and now we're splitting up? You're going for every cliché in the book, aren't ya?" Hoagie pointed out. Everyone's glares were enough to silence any further argument from here. "Hey, I'm just joshing, guys."
"Joke on your own time, let's get this over with," Wally grumbled as he started up the stairs. He stuffed his hands in his hoodie pouch as he waited for his mate to catch up with him. Once Hoagie fell in step with him, the Aussie looked towards a passing shelf of dolls with a mildly interested look. "Gotta admit, I can kinda understand why people are scared of these things."
Hoagie nervously gulped as he tried to ignore them. "Yeah, well, all the movies about killer dolls don't help either."
"That's the thing, y'know? Makes ya think they could actually be alive and junk."
Hoagie gulped a bit harder this time. "Yeah."
"Their eyes on ya, no matter where you go."
"Yeah…"
"Jus' waitin' to corner ya all alone."
"Y-Yeah…"
"Making you think you're all safe, gettin' ya in a dark room where no one can hear ya scream."
"I-I know… B-But that's crazy, right?"
"Of course it is. Otherwise we–HOLY CRUD NUMBUH 2 IT'S GOTTA KNIFE!"
"AAAH!" Hoagie screeched, rattling the entire manor and nearly suffering a heart attack. He panted like a dog, eyes shifting all around for the murderous toy that wanted to end his short life. But then he blinked, realizing Wally was still walking along, busting a gut at the stunt he just pulled. "Oh hardy har har, you're a riot."
Downstairs, a stray rodent skittered across the floor, its gangly paws digging at the decayed wood. Its nightly search for edible substance would soon be interrupted when its ears caught the clacking of feet against the floor. It peered up towards the door, and quickly sprinted out of sight the moment two girls entered the room.
Abby's face scrunched as she saw the rat disappear into the wall. "Now dat's just nasty." Her hand hovered against the wall, feeling for a light a switch. When she finally found it, she released a groan when it failed to function. "Guess hoping Numbuh 2 got the lights working for the whole place was askin' for too much."
Kuki ignored Abby as she journeyed further into the basement, her fists frittering worriedly underneath her mittens. Samantha's words just wouldn't leave her alone. All rainbow monkeys were supposed to be beacons of glowing, positive emotion. They embodied the spirit of generosity, kindness, and all around lovey-dovey feeling. The way the Winmester described this particular rainbow monkey though…it was all wrong.
But at the same time, it sounded familiar.
"–girl, you listenin'?"
"Wha?" Kuki gasped, now realizing Abby had been calling for her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the girl giving her an odd look. "What was that Numbuh 5?"
Abby frowned. It normally didn't take that long to get Kuki's attention. "Hey, you alright? You've been acting strange ever since we got here–Numbuh 4 even thought something was up."
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," she smiled, trying to downplay Abby's concern. But when she only continued to stare her down, Kuki relented. "It's just…I was thinking about what Samantha said about the rainbow monkey. It doesn't make sense! No rainbow monkey should be like the one she was talking about."
"Well, it ain't like this is the first time we've came across an 'un-loveable' model," Abby pointed out as she slowly opened a random door, only to sigh when she found it be nothing more than a storage closet.
Kuki shook her head in negative as her thoughts drifted to their find in the stars. "The Rainbow Monkey Corporation has a strict quality control policy, they wouldn't let something like that happen again." She then walked forth, at least trying to put an effort into looking for Jean. However, she failed to watch her step, and ending up catching her foot on something. "Eep!"
Abby popped up at the sound, and quickly found herself at Kuki's side, helping her get back on her feet. "You okay there?"
"Yeah, I just tripped on something. Clumsy me," the raven haired child giggled halfheartedly. Her doe eyes then widened considerably as she took a look at what she stepped over. "Hey, that looks like a secret hatch."
"Looks like we found 'em," Abby commented. Her hand strayed to her wrist, pulling up her communicator. "Yo boss, we found a trapdoor down here," she reported while Kuki hopped down into the cavern, "Me and Numbuh 3 are gonna check it out, we'll leave it open for you guys to follow."
"We'll meet you shortly. Don't engage them, Numbuh 5, we don't want to provoke confrontation unless we have to."
"Roger that, baby," she replied as she clicked off. With that settled, Abby held on to her cap as she hopped forth, mimicking Kuki and diving in feet first.
She landed with a soft 'plop', standing upright after she regained her baring. She then quickly stepped back when a ladder swung by out of nowhere. Kuki only smiled sheepishly as she placed the ladder against the wall, leaving a way for the boys to climb down and for them all to get back up once the mission was over. Abby shrugged, heading down the corridor with the Oriental coming in behind.
The girls carefully traversed the winding hallway, brushing past cobwebs as they made their way. Abby looked down to the floor, noticing worn footprints in the dust. Someone had definitely already been through here.
A faint sound entered the girl's hearing, causing her to stop her pace. She held her hand up, blocking Kuki from walking in further. She brought a finger to her lips, then pointed towards the door near the end of the hall. Nodding in understanding, Kuki paced forward on her tip-toes as she shadowed after Abby, not wanting to alert whomever was already there.
Abby pressed herself against the door, trying to catch whatever was going on inside, but it was too muffled for her to comprehend. She attempted to open the door, but it wouldn't budge an inch. "Aw, come on."
"…of the rainbow way, a cold…"
Abby perked up. "You hear that?"
"Look," Kuki exclaimed as she motioned above them. Over the door was a cubby hole that seemed large enough to hold them both. "Maybe that leads inside."
"Better than nothing," Abby muttered. She proceeded to bend down, holding her hands out in front of her. Kuki understood the cue, and placed her foot in Abby's hand, the girl giving her the proper lift to reach the cubby. Once she was in, she reached down to hoist Abby up. Making progress, the operatives turned to crawl further down the hole, hoping it would lead them somewhere.
They came to a halt when the path ended, a set of rusted bars blocking their way. Abby reached out to grip the metal, noting how loose it seemed. "A few good hits might knock these down."
"Wow," Kuki awed as she peered into the room. From what they could see, the entire place was set up like a miniature sanctuary, the floor lined with ominous markings with incense lining the the paint. What the room served to worship, was yet to be seen. "My basement doesn't have a room like this. You think they had to pay extra for that?"
"All Numbuh 5 knows is that the guy who built it musta been into some freaky crud," she said, studying the odd décor. Her brows inched towards her hairline when she spotted moving figures around the shrine. "Don't look now, but it looks like we dropped in on the cult meeting."
The girls looked on from behind the bars, watching wearily as the figures who had their full attention moved into view. A group of several of the neighborhood girls, all children and all wearing dark violet robes. They positioned themselves in a circle around the makeshift shrine, all bowing down and muttering some foreign chant Abby's ears failed to pick up on.
Kuki looked on hesitantly. "They sure are weird."
"Got dat right. Which one do you think is Jean?"
"Um..."
"We forgot to even ask what she looked like. Didn't we?"
"Uh, well-wait, I think someone else is coming."
From the far corner of the room, two more girls appeared. One wearing the standard robes the rest in attending seemed to garnish, and the other wearing slightly more defined cloth; apparently the de-facto leader of the whole order. The only other distinguishable oddity was the object veiled with a sheet the follower was carrying.
"Are you ready to begin the ceremony, Jean?" the leader questioned.
The follower, now recognized as Jeanie Winmester herself, nodded with a blank smile. "Yes, Casey. All our efforts has lead up to this night. Her return is finally upon us."
Abby was put off by how their voices seemed distant and empty. "That's our girl, and it looks like Samantha wasn't kidding about her being off her rocker." She glanced towards Kuki for her opinion, only to look on fully concerned when she saw her wince. "What's wrong, Numbuh 3?"
"I don't know," she said absently, "It's just that something doesn't feel right…"
"Place her upon the alter," Casey ordered, motioning towards the centre piece of the room, "Her grace shall be released onto our realm this night!"
Jean nodded, and moved towards the small alter and carefully sat down whatever she had been holding. Then with utmost caution, she removed the cloth to reveal the object in all its glory. Abby heard a strangled gasp from Kuki, then finally took a look for herself.
There on the alter, was a rainbow monkey. No doubt the one Samantha warned them about. Now that she saw it in person, Abby had to admit she was starting to agree with the older Winmester sister. Normally, rainbow monkeys were cute and harmless. This one was far from cute and looked anything but harmless. Its rough, albino fur held jagged, violet markings around its torso that wound all the way up to its cheeks, and it didn't appear the least bit inviting. Its beady eyes looked on with tiny crimson pupils, as if it were somehow regrading everyone in the room in its own, silent way. The rainbow antenna that would normally have so much vibrant color on any other model was severely lacking. There was no pink and blue, but instead, coal, black, and grey.
But the feature that unsettled them the most was indeed its smile. If you could even call it a smile. The doll's mug gave off a twisted, frightening grin. A grin much wider than humanly possible. Abby didn't know how it was possible, but that one grin spoke of countless foul deeds. Dark promises, sickening desires. The grin relayed so much ill will and malicious intent, and this cult was apparently worshiping it.
It was as if they had stumbled upon the Anti-Rainbow Monkey.
"Oh no." Abby looked away from the doll and to Kuki, who looked like she was about to freak out. "That can't be…b-but it is!"
"Is what?" Abby asked, more confused than ever, "What the heck is going on, Numbuh 3? What's up with the monkey?"
"They found it. They actually found it," Kuki raved on, like she didn't her Abby, "All this time…I-I didn't think she was even real, but they found IT so that must mean now they're gonna–No!" Without warning, her hands gripped the bars, using all her strength to will them apart. "She can't come back, she can't!"
"Who?"
"Oh great Queen, how we bask in your elegance." Below them, the cult went down; groveling as Casey began some sort of ritual. "For many a year have you remained within your prison. Your hand stayed, your legs crippled, your words ignored. But by the grace of the Matrons, your lips are upon our ears, and we have heard your ancient decree!"
"No!" Kuki yelled, thought it seemed the girls couldn't her hair. She doubled her efforts on the bars, but they still wouldn't move. "Agrh, help me with these!"
"Calm down!" Abby tried to persuade, her hands finding themselves around Kuki's shoulders. "We gotta wait for the others!"
"The Sisterhood would have you locked away, your name shunned in all memory. But we have seen the light, we honor your rite of rule! We shall undo the wicked bindings, and shower you with the love you have been so cruelly denied," Casey preached as she spread her arms wide, slowly closing her eyes. "I submit to your creed, my Queen. May you deem me worthy as your vessel!"
"Wait, her what?" Jean suddenly spoke up, breaking from file and coming up on Case, looking none to pleased. "You? The vessel? How come you get to be the vessel?"
"Because, Jeanie, it was my idea to start the cult and I was elected chapter leader fair and square. So as leader, I say I'm the vessel!"
"But that's not fair!" Jean whined, pushing Casey out of the way. "I found her!"
"So? You were too scared to go through with it!"
"But I'm ready now!"
"Too late, I'm the vessel now, so nah!"
"No you're not," Jean spat back, struggling against Casey. "I am!"
"No, I am!"
Their childish argument was the perfect window Kuki needed. Too bad the bars weren't cooperating with her. "For the love of fluff!" she swore, completely fed up. Throwing caution to the wind, she quickly positioned herself back and stuck her legs out first. She then bucked, and sucked in her breath as she readied her power.
Abby caught on to what she was doing, but was too late to stop it. "Numbuh 3, don't–"
"HIYA!"
BANG!
The crash startled the cult, and they looked back to see someone breaking tumbling down onto the floor. The intruder leapt up into a fighting stance, a look of pure determination in her eyes. "I won't let you bring her back!"
Casey blinked before she clued together what was going on. "It's one of them! Don't let her stop the ritual!"
"Oh crud," Abby cursed as she leapt down into the fray. She put herself between Kuki and the cult and tried to cool everyone down before the situation got out of control. "Hold up now, we don't wanna fight! Let's just talk about this and–"
"Silence the non-believers!"
"Believe this!" Abby growled as she sidestepped an attacking cult member before flinging them off to the side. Two more came up to flank her, but she managed to parry their strikes. They were wild and fast, but noticeably untrained. "Now come on–Numbuh 5's asked nicely!"
"They won't listen!" Kuki hollered over the chaos, having no shame in dropping in a leg sweep to blow over several cult members in her way. "Just make sure they don't hug that monkey!"
Abby backed up, her eyes focused on the three girls rushing towards her. When one charged, Abby half-twisted on her heel and sent the girl tumbling pass her. She rose her hand to catch an incoming fist from the next attacker, and quickly tossed her off to the side. As the last girl started blindly swinging her fists, the operative's first instinct was to hike up her leg for a roundhouse. But she resisted, not wanting to severely harm the kid. So instead, she ducked to dodge the girl's hook, and hooked her ankle behind the girls and yanked back to send her falling to the floor.
"Numbuh 5 don't wanna hurt y'all, but you ain't giving her a lotta options!" Abby grumbled as she pushed another girl back. Sadly, her restraint would cost her, for the girls got wise and began ganging up on her. "H-Hey! Lemme go!" Just when she thought her luck would run out, the door to the room was kicked down, and in poured the Calvary.
"Kids Next Door! Nobody move!" Nigel shouted, Hoagie and Wally ready and able at his sides. However when they were able to process the sight before them, they shared a collective blink of astonishment. "What's going on? I ordered you not to engage, Numbuh 5!"
"Does it look like she had a choice?" she seethed, struggling to get free, "Now quit gawkin' and help me!"
Jean and Casey began to feel antsy when three more intruders barged in to ruin their lovely ritual. Before, they were sure they had enough numbers to hold back the two girls, but now they weren't as confident. Even more so when it appeared these were far from regular children. Casey frantically backed up, feeling too crowded. "Are they from the Sisterhood? I thought they didn't have boy members!"
"I don't know," Jean murmured, clearly worried about the outcome of events. She then paused, realizing she only saw four of them. Where was the other girl? Turning back towards the alter, Jean nearly raged when she saw Kuki making a mad dash for the rainbow monkey. "Don't defile our Queen with your hands!"
"Huh?" Casey blurted, looking back just in time to see Jean chase after Kuki to stop her. "Jean! I'm coming-Ah! Get your mitts off of me!"
"Not a chance, girlfriend," Abby heaved as she wrapped her arms around Casey to keep her in place. "Where's your lil followers now, huh?"
Kuki quickly scampered over to the doll, her hands shaking as she reached to pick it up. She didn't know how it got here, or how these fools even got a hold of it, but she needed to make sure she got it back safe before someone doomed them all. But the moment she was brave enough to pick it up, someone from behind quickly snatched at it as well. "No! Let go!"
"Never!" Jean hissed, tugging at the doll. "You will not stop her return!"
"You can't bring her back!" Kuki argued, tugging back on the doll. The struggle had escalated into a small game of tug-of-war for the rainbow monkey, neither side backing down anytime soon. "Are you screwy in the head? You don't know what you're doing!"
"I know exactly what I'm doing, you will not keep me from my Queen!"
"She's not a Queen, she's a horrible, horrible meanie!"
"How dare you disgrace her!"
"Numbuh 3!" Nigel called out, trying to regain the upper hand over a few of the cult members. "What on earth are you doing!"
"Trying to stop Miss Loco here from making a gihugic mistake!" Kuki heaved, the doll being stretched to its limits. "Hnnngh! Let go already, you'll end up ripping it!"
A distressed look broke out over Jean face before she suppressed it with a smirk. "Now there's an idea! We'll destroy her prison, then she'll be free!"
"NO!" Kuki screeched, horrified of the prospect. In her shock, she jerked her hands away from the doll, releasing it from her hold. While this was precisely what Jean wanted, she was unprepared for Kuki's actions, and lost grip of the doll herself. The said rainbow monkey was then thrown, sailing into the air. Kuki attempted to jump for it, but Jean acted quickly, and grabbed the operative by the heel.
"You're too late!" she proclaimed as she and Kuki went down. She crawled over the girl, keeping her contained as the doll flew over them all. "Casey, hurry! Catch her!"
"Finally!" Casey grinned. Freeing her arm, she dug her elbow sharply into Abby's gut, forcing the girl to release her. While she hobbled over, Casey ran towards the falling rainbow monkey, ready to greet it with open arms to complete the ritual at long last.
"Somebody stop her!"
Abby lifted the rim of her cap to look around her, expecting someone else to come to Kuki's aid. However, everyone else was unable. Hoagie found himself cornered in the far side of the room and would never make it in time, Nigel was surrounded by cult members and was apparently to chauvinistic to bring himself to hit any of them, and Wally was trapped under a dog pile meant to keep him down. And Kuki herself was trying to escape Jean's tight clutches.
That only left her.
Gripping her cap, and quickly cocking her wrist, Abby chucked her hat towards Casey. It was a red blur as it soared through the air, hitting Casey in the jaw with a satisfying 'SLAP'. It just enough to stun her, for when the rainbow monkey landed on her, it only bounced off her head and continued its course through the air. She steeled herself, and the muscles in her legs convulsed as she jumped with a mighty leap towards the rainbow monkey.
Casey tossed Abby's hat to the ground, about to stomp on it before she looked up. Her eyes widened in terror, but there wasn't nothing she could do. "No! You can't!"
"I can," Abby countered as she neared the doll. Opening her arms, it hit her square in the chest as she swung her arms around it, hugging it tightly to her body as she landed into a roll. "And I did, baby!"
She looked down at the precious cargo, and grinned. That's it, she got the rainbow monkey. She supposed that mean they won. Now, there was only the insane cult to worry about.
"Ah, you and me gonna be best friends, chica."
"What the?" Abby jumped, looking all around for the strange voice. "Who said dat?"
The only response she received was a mirthful, echoing laugh fading in her ears. Abby frowned, frustration evident in her expression. "Man, can this get any weirder?"
As if she tempted fate, things did take a turn for the strange when a uncomfortable still fell over the room. All the cult members, including Jean, suddenly froze as if a trance had been broken. Then shortly after that, their eyes hooded shut as they slumped over, knocked out cold on the basement floor. The only ones still standing were Sector V, and Casey, but the so-called cult leader only dropped to her knees, muttering insane gibberish to herself.
Hoagie carefully stepped over the unconscious bodies, having no idea what to make of the situation. "Well now, raise your hand if you saw that coming."
"Just what the crud were they doing down here?" Wally asked flabbergasted, poking one the the girls with the tip of his shoe. "I mean, who suddenly fights one second, then drops down flat the next? Ya think they're playin' dead or something?"
"Given how odd this whole affair has been, I wouldn't be surprised," Nigel commented. The bald boy then went over to his fallen comrade, and carefully pushed Jean's body off Kuki before helping her up. "What happened, Numbuh 3? What could they have possibly been doing that made you go against a direct order?"
"Something bad, Numbuh 1. Really, really bad," Kuki mumbled, shaking her head as she stood on her own. Her eyes shone with some distress as she looked around the room. "Where's the doll? D-Did they get it?"
"Nah, it's cool," Abby spoke up as she continued to hold the doll to her person. Her gaze dropped down to it, and she couldn't help but feel how it seemed to mold into her touch. "I got it right here…"
"Don't hug it!"
"I-I'm not!" Abby stuttered, jerking the thing away from her body and holding it at a distance. Kuki didn't waste any time, and walked straight up to her and rudely snatched the doll out of her hands. "What is the matter with you? You've been acting just as crazy as these freaks ever since we set foot in this stupid place–even worse when you saw that doll!"
"I'm sorry," Kuki sniffed, her voice heavy with remorse, "I can't tell you, I promised to keep it a secret."
"What secret?"
"Um, a secret-secret?"
"Dat ain't what I meant and you know it–"
"Enough!" Nigel roared, having grown tired of all this nonsense. He sent a scolding glance to Kuki, not pleased with the fact she was deliberately withholding information from them. But there was nothing he could do. Their current object was lying right over there at their feet. "Numbuh 3, we're going to have a long discussion about your conduct when we return to the treehouse, but for now, we have a job to finish."
Kuki nodded solemnly, accepting her impending punishment. Wanting to ease up the tension, Abby coughed into her hand. "So, what now?"
"We need to get Jean back home, along with these other girls," Nigel replied as he looked around the room, grimacing at the number of bodies there were. "We might need to call in a nearby sector to help move them all out of here."
"I'll get on the horn about that," Hoagie offered, already whipping out his communicator. Before he could dial anyone, his gaze shifted to Casey. "What about her?"
Nigel frowned as he hoisted the girl up, taking out a pair of plastic handcuffs and placing them on her wrists. "We'll send her to the Arctic Prison so they can hold her until someone from Sector Ph.D can give her a mental evaluation. She's clearly not well."
Casey snarled at that implication. "You fools will regret your interference, my Queen will see to it!"
"Yeah, yeah," Wally grumbled, taking over for Nigel as he led the cult leader out of the basement, "We're shaking in our shoes."
~00~
Some time later, after calling down a fellow KND team who happened to be nearby, the kids had made significant progress. Most of the cult members had been returned home, each operative fabricating their own story as to what transpired in the manor, Jean was safe and sound, and Casey was finally being put up, her reign as cult leader at an end.
"You can't hold me like this, you can't! My Queen needs me! She needs–" her sentence was shut off when Wally slammed the door to the C.O.O.L.B.U.S, having heard enough of her wild spouting for one night.
"Great," he wryly said, "I can't wait to hear more of that on the way home."
"Jean!" a jubilant Samantha cried out as she ran down the street to greet them. She ran straight up to Nigel and boy she didn't recognize whom were carrying her sister. Worried, she took the girl from their hold, and let Jean slump against her. "What happened? Why isn't she awake?"
"Things got a little wild near the end," Nigel explained as he dusted off his turtleneck, "But rest assured, your sister is fine and should come to in no time."
"Oh, thank you so much! I knew you guys would help," Jean gushed. Her eyes then diverted over towards the school-bus vehicle thing they came in, remembering who she saw the blond boy carting inside of it. "Where are you taking Casey?"
"There was more going on than we first expected, and we believe it's best we take her for a mental checkup. But don't worry, as soon as we're sure she's in good health, she'll be returned home."
Samantha rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you can keep her as long as you want. The farther that creep is away from my little sister, the better."
"Unngh," Jean mumbled, her eyes fluttering a bit, "…Casey?"
"It's okay, Jean. She's not gonna bother us anymore," she said soothingly. She got a good grip around her sister, and began to gently guide her back into the house. "Thank you, I'm going to take her inside so she can rest…that and I still need to cut down my parents…"
Nigel only whistled innocently as the Winmester sister disappeared back into their home. He waited until the front door clicked shut before turning to shake the hand of the operative beside him. "And thank you for stopping by to help out, Numbuh 361. I don't know how we would have moved all those bodies otherwise. But you're sure it wasn't any trouble? You guys are a long way from home. I mean, Sector Q is stationed all the way up in Canada after all."
The Sector Q leader shrugged. "Meh, it was no problem, Numbuh 1. We were on the way home from a mission and would've flew right by you guys anyway. Besides, we do need to refuel." He looked over his shoulder, seeing the rest of his own team forming back up. "Looks like that was the last of 'em."
"Not all," Nigel corrected, looking around a tad confused, "Where is Numbuh 2?"
"Calm down mister, I was just bringing her back from–AAH!"
Everyone turned towards the house next door to the Winmester and looked on astonished as Hoagie came barreling out the front door, a furious man in his shadow.
"You stay away from my daughter, you fresh punk!" he raged. The head of one of the cult girls popped out from behind him, flashing Hoagie a coy wink while she giggled. Her father was having none of it, and slammed the door shut.
Hoagie nearly fainted as he returned to the group, his hands on his knees as he desperately tried to catch his breath. After a few moments, he stood straight and gave a violent shiver, looking completely creeped out about something.
"…Something you want to share?"
"Uh," a healthy red blush broke out over the boys cheeks as he twiddled his thumbs, "I'd rather we never speak of this ever again."
"…Sooo, we'll see you guys later," Numbuh 361 responded as he and his team headed back for their ride. "Don't be strangers, now."
"Can we get a move on and head back too?" Wally whined, "I gotta a crud ton of homework to copy off you guys before we go to school tomorrow."
"Yes, Numbuh 4, we're going home," Nigel sighed. He saw the other two members of his team approaching, and he frowned, his expression similar to that of a disappointed parent as he regarded Kuki. "And I have not forgotten about your behavior tonight, Numbuh 3."
She only sighed as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
"Whatddya so sad about? You got a new rainbow monkey out of all this. It may look a tiny bit cool, but it's still a lame-o rainbow dorky," Wally babbled, averting his eyes from the freakish looking doll. Now if only they all looked like that. "Bet ya can't wait to get it home so ya can give a tea party or kiss it or whatever it is you do with those things."
Kuki shook her head, holding the doll an arms-length away. "No, I can't ever love this rainbow monkey," she said with depressing finality, not even looking at the doll as she walked, "Ever."
Nigel gaped at her Un-Numbuh Three like behavior as she got onto the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. He faced Abby, who had been just as quiet since they left the manor. "What really happened back there, Numbuh 5? Why is she acting like this?"
"I don't know, Nigel," Abby answered, her words a bit more clipped than usual, "Those girls were about to perform some crazy ritual, and the moment she saw that doll, she flipped." Her eyes moved passed him, turning her attention towards the end of the C.O.O.L.B.U.S where their newest prisoner was being held. She licked at her lips before voicing her next concern. "Hey, you ain't gonna…y'know…make an appointment for Numbuh 3 too, are ya?"
"No, of course not! I can handle my own team," Nigel retorted. He wasn't about to commit anyone of his team. Besides, they were made up of a paranoid leader, a guy who couldn't tell a joke to save his life, a fangirl, an Australian who named each of his knuckles, and a laid back chick who preferred to speak in the third person. He doubted Kuki acting a bit odder than usual was going to upset the status quo.
The boy then heeded Abby again, a bit worried for her own health. "What about you? You look rather sickly all of a sudden."
She brushed off his concerns. "Eh, I'm cool. Numbuh 5 just needs a little rest now, dat's all."
"If you need medical leave, all you need to do is ask," Nigel offered. He then said no more as turned to board the C.O.O.L.B.U.S.
"Mmm, wanna dance?"
"Do I want to what?"
"U-Uh," Abby pulled the rim of her cap down, trying to cover up the fact she was now beet red. "I was, um, j-just pulling yer chain, boss. Heh heh…"
Nigel still seemed a bit put off, but offered an awkward half-grin. "Uh, yes, well let's leave that to Numbuh 2, okay?"
Abby nodded back with a cheesy smile, and immediately glared at the ground the moment Nigel turned his back. What the heck was that all about. Hoping to repress that little slip up, she proceeded the walk forth and join her friends…and nearly tripped over her own two feet.
'Crud!' she thought as she tried to regain her balance. She felt very dizzy and lightheaded all of a sudden. Shaking her head violently, she slowly put one foot in front of the other, hoping to make to the C.O.O.L.B.U.S sometime this year. 'Maybe I oughta take leave after all, can't even control my own body…' she thought dryly. She just wanted to get home, and crash in bed…
…and throw a huge party, if that made any sense.
Also, Happy New Year, everyone.