The S.U.B.U.R.B.A.N touched down with a final flare of its thrusters, rustling the surrounding trees. Rachel was first out, grimacing as the rain battered her. Ashley was next, and then the rest of Sector Z followed her out into the night.

It had only been a few moments since a flash of orange-red had darted through their searchlight, headed for the forest. Now the sector was looking for Fanny's footprints or similar, trying to pick up a trail. They had to find her before anyone else realised that she was without backup.

"Over here!" Lenny called out, standing with Constance over to one side with a flashlight in hand. Within the circle of the beam were depressions in the soggy earth, footprints left by Numbuh 86. They led away into the trees.

"We need to go in after her," Rachel said firmly. "0.4, 0.5, you two are on point."

"You've got it," Lenny said, taking Constance by the hand and moving into the forest. Rachel and Ashley came next, followed by David and Bruce bringing up the rear.

Rachel let out a long sigh as they trudged into the woods, squelching through ankle-deep mud. She had been favouring Nigel, despite all the good he had done; Fanny did deserve more credit than she was given. The way she'd exploded though: there had to be more to this than simple jealousy over prestige.

The tracks continued into the darkness, seeming to stretch on forever. 86 had to have stopped eventually, right? She couldn't still be running, lost and alone, amid the trees.

The thought sent a chill down Rachel's spine; Fanny could be in mortal danger right now, all because of her not noticing how upset she really was. She kept her head down and continued to walk, not wanting to seem weak in front of the newly-reinstated Sector.

"It's not your fault," she felt the hand of her still-very-slightly-older sister resting comfortingly on her shoulder, "And don't worry; we'll find her."

The footsteps ran on into the undergrowth, finally coming to a halt at the top of a steep, muddy verge. Rachel hurried to catch up with the leading pair, only to be grabbed by the sweater by Constance to prevent her from barrelling down the slope. Instead she pulled out a flashlight, sweeping the ground below with the beam.

She dropped it in surprise; that had been her. Lenny saw it too, and moved his own light to centre on what Rachel had seen. A series of gasps emanated from the operatives of Sector Z. They'd found their target, and it didn't look good.

Fanny was lying on her back at the bottom of the hill, mud splattered across her clothing and face. Her jumper and skirt were torn by brambles, and her red hair was tangled with a few scraps of branch. Blood was trickling from the back of her head, resting against the trunk of a tree, and staining the mud red. She wasn't moving.

"Oh my goodness," Rachel started to panic, trying to move down the ridge as carefully as her shuddering legs would allow. This was her fault, regardless of what Ashley said, and she had to fix it. Her friend was seriously hurt, all because of her.

"She's still breathing at least," David was suddenly by her side, "Looks like a minor concussion and a gash to the head probably."

"How can you tell?" she demanded, kneeling down in the dirt and trying to hoist the unconscious girl up.

"I'm medical officer," he shrugged, picking Fanny up in his arms with some difficulty, "It's, uh, my job. Lenny, come give me a hand; we need to get her back to the ship." He was there in a second, carrying Fanny by the feet while David took the upper half. "Don't worry sir, uh, it's better than it looks."

Getting her up the verge proved to be a challenge, but ultimately they were able to get their charge to the S.U.B.U.R.B.A.N. There she was placed across a row of subway seats, and David immediately set to work bandaging her head. Rachel sat beside her the whole time, a forlorn expression etched onto her face.

Three years earlier

The faint sound of sobbing echoed through the door. Two figures stood outside, waiting for the person within to open up. It wasn't happening.

"C'mon kid," the eldest of the pair sighed, "Rachel just needs to be left alone right now."

"But yer Supreme Leader," the cadet with him protested, "Can't ya order her t' open up or something?"

"It doesn't work like that," Chad Dickinson let out a long, deep sigh. "I'm sorry Fanny."

But Fanny wasn't about to give up that easily. She didn't need his help or permission. She waited until Chad had wandered away, dragging his feet, and slipped into the room.

Inside the cramped chamber sat a single bed, the sheets a crumpled mess. A child was curled up on the far end, her eyes red and puffy from crying. A small photo frame was clutched in her shaking hands, a frame which Fanny already knew the contents of.

"Rachel?" she asked softly, walking over to where her friend sat.

"Leave me alone," Rachel managed to choke out between sobs. But Fanny was in no hurry to turn back. Instead she scrambled up onto the bed, placing a reassuring arm across her friend's shoulders. Rachel reacted by shrugging it off, but Fanny was nothing if not persistent, and tried again to comfort her friend.

Rachel didn't resist that time, her crying dying down to a whisper. She took another look at the photo, one of her with Ashley and Harvey the day that she'd been allowed to follow in her older sister's footsteps and join in the Arctic Training Program. Nobody had told her that Ashley's whole sector would disappear a few weeks later.

"It's gonna be alright," Fanny said slowly, "They'll find yer sis someday."

Fanny stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. Where was she? This certainly wasn't the forest, but the white chipped paint on the ceiling and patterned blue fabric under her told her it wasn't a hospital either. It most resembled a… subway car?

A S.U.B.U.R.B.A.N dropship: she'd been found by the Kids Next Door. She was probably due for decommissioning after that little stunt, she thought dryly. She looked around, fully expecting to see a half-dozen Decom Squad operatives aiming at her.

Instead she saw Rachel sitting on the seat next to the one her head rested on. She nearly cried out in surprise, sitting up to quickly and sending a wave of sharp pain through her skull. She blinked back tears of pain, leaning against the back of the seat.

"Don't try to move it too fast," a voice she didn't recognise, the tall one from Sector Z, warned her. She just muttered a half-hearted thanks and looked away. Then someone placed a hand on her shoulder; she turned to see Rachel looking at her with regret in her eyes.

"Fanny," she said in a strained voice, "I'm sorry, y'know, for not noticing your contributions." Fanny blinked in surprise; this wasn't right. Rachel was apologising to her, when in reality she'd been the one whose feelings had gotten out of line.

"No," she said firmly, "It ain't yer fault. I was askin' fer too much, an' I let myself get carried away."

"Was it really that bad?" Rachel looked at her with nearly tearful eyes.

"Not at all," Fanny tried to reassure her. "It's my issue, not yours. It's just… complicated." She paused; she'd almost considered spilling the beans on that little thought from before, the one reason she really despised Nigel Uno. But she couldn't say it, not now.

"We're friends, Fanny," Rachel pleaded, "I want to be there for you, like you were for me, but I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong."

She was referring to the aftermath of Ashley's disappearance, as both of them knew full well. Fulbright took a deep breath; it was now or never. She looked at the rest of Sector Z, all waiting with baited breath for her response.

"How would ya react," she swallowed, trying to quell the sudden butterflies in her stomach; this was it, "If I said I thought ya were the star of the KND?" Almost immediately she wanted to facepalm. That was just such a… cheesy way of saying it; it would never work.

She fidgeted nervously, turning redder each second Rachel remained silent. She'd finally come out and said it; she, Fanny Fulbright, had a crush of her own on Rachel McKenzie.

"Are you saying you… 'like' me?" Rachel said finally, her face frozen in disbelief. There was more silence.

"Y-yeah, I guess," Fanny rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. The rest of the operatives sat, stunned into keeping their mouths shut. "I know, I know, it's stupid," she continued, "And kinda weird, but yeah."

Before she could say anything else Rachel hugged her, dragging her close. She was too stunned to react as the blonde looked straight into her eyes and spoke.

"It's not weird at all," she said with conviction, "Because if you're weird for liking girls, then I'm even stranger."

"You like…" Fanny trailed off, trying to comprehend what she'd just heard. This was far from what she'd expected to happen, and far better.

"Both," Rachel finished, breaking into a grin. "So I guess Nigel's got some competition, since I, maybe, kinda 'like' you too. I just never realised what was right in front of me."

"Aww," Ashley smiled, "Little sis got herself a girlfriend. Best recommission ever."

"So that's really why you hated Nigel then?" Rachel asked, sounding more relieved than anything else.

"It's why I hate boys in general," Fanny admitted, "Since they can do what I can't."

"Couldn't," her partner corrected. "As long as I'm Supreme Leader there isn't going to be any prejudice about that sort of thing in the KND. Only one question; why the exception for Numbuh 19th?"

"He was, I dunno, more girly I guess," she shrugged. "It ain't quite the right word, but ya get the idea. With him I could almost pretend I wasn't kissing a boy. But he was head-over-heels for me, an' I didn't really love him, so decom was jus' the easy way out I guess."

"Well, we will have to bring him back," Rachel admitted, making Fanny look more than a little worried, "Since we're gonna have to update the rules to say it's based on your physical age, and he's like eleven."

"Alright," Fanny looked at her feet, her mood souring slightly. It didn't last long though, because the next second Rachel planted a kiss on her cheek, prompting everyone else to burst out laughing at how flustered she became.

"Alright everybody!" Rachel announced, smiling at the entire assembled KND seated before her. "Today I would like to reintroduce not one, but eight of our ex-operatives to the KND.

"Now I know what many of you are thinking: 'how can somebody leave the Kids Next Door and then come back?' Well, I am sure many of you have heard rumours of teenagers who continue to work with us, and with the decimation of the Teen Ninjas following the destruction of Gihugeacarrier One I am glad to announce that these rumours are true.

"Those who serve this elite role may have had to do some pretty bad things in the past to keep their cover, so I would like you all to forget any transgressions these two made after 'betraying' our cause. Please give a warm welcome back to Numbuh 9 and Numbuh 274!"

Maurice and Chad joined her, the latter appearing notably nervous. The crowd cheered anyway, though there were whispers of dissent.

"I hereby assign Numbuh 274 to Global Command," Rachel continued, her eyes seeking out Abigail in the crowd, "Numbuh 9, however, is to return to Sector V!"

That got a cheer from the crowd. She was sure she could hear Numbuh 5 amongst them, cheering loudest of all.

"Before we get on to the rest," 362 resumed, "There is a change to the rules you need to be aware of. The Supreme Leader now has the official power to veto any decommissioning at their discretion, and, more importantly, the age of decommissioning is now based on your physical age, rather than actual.

"With that in mind, please welcome back Numbuh 19th Century, who is now assigned to Sector W, and finally, at long last, the members of Sector Z!"

The crowd erupted into one final cheer, the loudest of all, as 19th Century and the lost sector entered the stage. Rachel beamed with pride, smiling at the Irish girl who stood next to the podium, whose hand squeezed hers.