This is a song-fic based off of the song "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables" from Les Miserables. This Kuki reflecting on life when she is the only member of Sector V who still has her memories. I do not the song nor Codename Kids Next Door.
Numbah 3 stared at her favorite picture. It was of her friends. It was the last picture ever taken of the original Sector V. Nigel was in the middle holding up to peace signs, Hoagie to his right holding a thumbs up, Abby behind him with to fists raised, herself on the other side yelling into a phone, and Wally behind her pointing a gun. Looking at the photo was bittersweet as it brought back memories of death.
Sure they weren't dead but they had a worse fate then death; adulthood. Her friends might as well be dead. Sector V died the moment Nigel stepped on the cake rocket ship and left earth. Nigel was their leader; sure he could be a pain in the butt sometimes, but Numbah 3 wouldn't change a thing.
Nigel left first, then Hoagie was decommissioned, then Abby and then Wally. Each event felt like Numbah 3's heart was being ripped out and put back in wrong. She hated being the youngest member of her sector. She saw the all of her friend's childhoods being ripped apart. She felt as if she was a witness of childhoods being destroyed. Numbah 3 felt like she had watch the end of happiness and live on like nothing ever happened. She was the silent witness of the screaming void. That's poetic. That's pathetic.
Numbah 3's life was ending and she wasn't even thirteen. When you sign up for Kids Next Door you're signing away your childhood. Sure you fought for a great cause but once you hit adulthood you loose it all. You are stripped of part of your life and you don't even know it. You forget everything.
Numbah 3 wondered was life after decommissioning was like. Would there be chunks of her childhood missing? What would happen if you looked back? Could you move on?
Numbah 3 looked over at their meeting place. There they made plans, fought, and most importantly had fun. Oh, the fun they had. She had wonderful dreams at night of what they could do. Many a night she lay in her bed too excited sleep because of her wonder of what might happen.
And they dreamed; the dream of a place for kids to be kids and have fun. Oh, the dreams they had. The planned and fought for a better tomorrow for everyone, adults and kids alike. Although they knew they might never see it in their childhood, it didn't stop them. They were strongest dreamers in all of the Kids Next Door. Nothing could stop Sector V.
They were misfits as Numbah 362, or Rachel, had once described. Thrown together a the last second, the runts of the litter. Nigel was a kid who barely made it through training, Hoagie didn't do so hot either but could build anything, Numbah 3 herself was a nurse with little combat skills, Wally had a huge anger problem, and Abby, well Abby was suppose to lead them. Yes, Abby was the original Sector V leader. Since she had a sister who betrayed the organization nobody wanted her. But as the team grew closer it was decided that Nigel was a better leader. In fact at first they all hated each other, but as time wore on they grew to love each other.
Numbah 3 recalled how the team worked. Numbah 1, Nigel, was leader, Numah 2, Hoagie, was the brains, she was the cheerleader, Numbah 4, Wally, was the brawn, and Numbah 5, Abby, made sure everything went smoothly. Sometimes Kuki wanted to be more useful, but the more she thought about it more she wanted it more. She didn't want to the stupid girl; the "most useless member of Sector V" as Father once said.
"Are you ready Numbah 3?"
Numbah 3 turned away from the window of her room to the sound of the voice. The three boys stood there waiting for a fight, but it never came. Numbah 3 had asked for this, but sometimes kids changed their mind. It had happened more often then one would think.
When Numbah 3 turned from the window she turned away from her childhood. She was giving up. She was choosing less pain over her childhood. Everyone was calling her a coward for her decision.
And they were right.
Would there be pain after her decommissioning? She just always thought of it as a void. A giant, big, black void that teens fell into. It was a long fall, but who would catch her? She had no friends now. She needed her best friends, but they were gone like the wind. Blowing a million different directions.
Hoagie only hung out with nerds. He didn't even look in Numbah 3's direction, but only Abby's. Yes, Hoagie still had his crush on Abby that only Numbah 3 knew of. Hoagie was a total nerd, knowing everything there was to know about technology.
Wally was a jock now. He only hung out with anyone on any sports team and nobody else. Wally was so mean that it took her all not to run up and smack him. He would push people like Hoagie out of his way.
Abby was the 'nice but popular' one. She sometimes stand up for people like Hoagie and made people like Wally grumble. At least she still smiled at Numbah 3 making hope rise in her chest then deflate when she walked on.
"Numbah 3?"
Numbah 3 could here her friends voices tell her not to do this. How in every way this was absolutely ludicrous. How she turn back as she followed the three boys out her favorite place in the world, the treehouse. Oh god, the treehouse. What wouldn't Numbah 3 give to spend one more night there with Sector V? But then again what did she have to give?
There was 132 steps from Numbah 3's room to the hanger where their ships were held. 132 steps. Steps she would soon forget. She had counted on the recent nights when she couldn't sleep and had nothing better to do. Now she would give everything to count every step again and again for forever.
Numbah 3's pain, steps, and heart began to beat faster as she grew closer to the hanger. Her head screamed for her to turn back and live with the pain. Just to live her childhood ride a little longer. Just another month. But what would a month do if she was going to forget it? What did time have to do with anything anymore?
Her head still screamed at her, but her heart told her otherwise. And Numbah 3 always followed her heart; it had yet to be wrong. She prayed to a higher being that her heart wasn't wrong. But, in a way she wished that her heart was wrong.
Numbah 3's steps echoed loudly in her ears as she boarded the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. She took her seat in between two of the boys. She closed her eyes as they flew away.
"We're going to miss you Numbah 3."
Numbah 3 slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the sound of the voice. It was the boy on her right. he was slightly leaning into her, talking to her in a hushed whisper. She didn't know if the boy on her left could hear him or decided to ignore him. Last she heard the anyone on the decommisioning team besides the main decomissioner couldn't talk to a decommisionee. had that changed? Well, she hadn't really been talking to anyone in the K.N.D recently.
Numbah 3 studied the boy. He had a child like face that she had grown out of. He had mousy brown locks that fell just above his eyes and big brown eyes. He seemed conflicted and pained. She could tell that by his eyes. He had the eyes of a child who had seen to much darkness.
It took her all not to move his hair from his eyes; Numbah 3 did that to everyone. She loved to do comforting things like that when she was stressed. If she could make other people calm down it helped her calm down. Or at least that's what she told herself. It sounded reasonable in her head.
Numbah 3 looked into the boy's brown eyes. She lifted half of lip upwards to show she was thankful. She couldn't bring herself to smile completely. How could she? Numbah 3 couldn't be happy when she was facing the end of her childhood. And being happy was Numbah 3's thing. She was the cheerleader. Her happiness was a mask though, she wasn't happy anymore.
Oh gods in heaven what the hell was Numbah 3 doing? Was this the right thing to do? Somebody please stop her if she shouldn't do this. Send her a sign, a hint, anything.
1,2,3, nothing.
"We're here." A voice floated through the vehicle like it weighed nothing. But to Numbah 3's heart it weighed so damn much. It was almost too heavy.
Almost.
Numbah 3 stood and followed all three of the boys out of the ship and toward the decommissioning chamber. Two stayed at her sides while the other stood behind her. They all waited for her to change her mind and try and flee. Deep in each of their hearts they wished she would. They didn't want to be the ones who gave her decommissioning, and yet they were honored to do so.
Numbah 3 was led to the chamber where people were to say their finals goodbyes. She had been there a few times and knew the normal procedure, however today was not a normal day. Normally the operative was given a cupcake for their birthday, but however it was not Numbah 3's birthday.
Today many a kids came to see Numbah 3, yet none came to her. They were only here to be a witness to the end of Sector V, not to see her off.
Since nobody was there upfront to see her off Numbah 3 was whisked away to the decommissioning chamber. She was sat in a seat and strapped in.
Numbah 86 put her foot next Numbah 3's hips and leaned in close. She was almost like Fanny was taunting her, but there was to much pain in her eyes. "Any last words Numbah 3?"
Gods, she wanted to scream. Numbah 3 knew if she said anything she she wouldn't shut up. She knew she would pour her heart out to Numbah 86 and Fanny would laugh at her. She wanted something but she didn't know what.
Numbah 5, she wanted Abby. Abby was her best friend and knew Numbah 3 like a book. She would know what to say while she comforted her. She would hold her close and tell her everything was okay even though it wasn't. She needed to be lied too, so she she lied to herself.
Numbah 3 shook her head.
Numbah 86 sighed and went to the device. the two girls locked eyes for a moment and somehow connected. They somehow shared the pain each other felt. Then the connection was lost and Numbah 86 turned the machine on.
"Numbah 3?" A voice asked.
And Kuki responded with, "who is Numbah 3?"