"FREEZE! WE'VE GOT WEAPONS!"

Cheren and the others stiffened, and Rachel could see the boy's arm reaching for a SPLANKER on his belt, alert and ready.

Suddenly, Sector V burst into the room in various poses, holding 2x4 weaponry, which they pointed at the kids. Hoagie looked a bit surprised to see the triplets, but nonetheless, he said, "You're cornered, whoever you are."

"Heh. Whatever you say, D-Hoagie." Haylee smirked, and suddenly pulled out a metallic cobra, which hissed and flared out his hood. "Sic em, Amy!"


KIDS NEXT DOOR: K.O.B.R.A.

Katastrophic Object Based on Reptilian Animal


The KOBRA hissed menacingly, advancing on the operatives slowly. While Haylee and her brothers smirked and high-fived, Hoagie and the others – except Nigel, Fanny and Rachel – were scared silly as they inched away slowly.

"U-uh… we surrender!" Wally held up his hands.

Nigel facepalmed. "UGH! You guys never learn!"

"Relax, you guys, they're good guys!" Rachel explained, casting a glance at Haylee. The girl hurriedly whistled for the KOBRA, and it retreated, giving another hiss before disappearing into her pocket. "OK, for starters, this is Cheren, Aurora, Haylee, Harry, Artie, Mason, Haruka, Sheila, Panini and Francis. Did I miss anyone?"

Suddenly a boy emerged from the shadows. "How 'bout me?"

"Uh… I never really got your name." Rachel said.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm Dillon York."

"OK… and this is Dillon." The CURRENT Supreme Leader finished with relish, glancing at each of them in turn before turning to Nigel. "So, what are you worried about?"

Nigel stood straighter as he reported, "Numbuh 362, we've found some operatives in our treehouse trying to contact Moonbase, so we brought them here." At this signal, Hoagie and Abby exited the room for a few moments. Then, they came back, handling a group of familiar faces.

Dillon's eyes widened. "Leanne! Lee!"

"It's Kirie and the others!" Haylee cheered, running up to hug the Japanese-Australian. Kirie smiled, and sign-languaged something that the others didn't quite catch.

"Uh, excuse me?" Rachel asked. "What did she say?"

Kirie repeated what she said, and Cheren translated this into, "She said they just came from Lee and Leanne's grandfather's house."

"Ahem." Abby coughed, tapping her foot.

Cheren sweatdropped. "Oh yeah, sorry. This is Leanne and Lee, the Grayson twins," At the sound of their names, they both waved in sync, making Sector V shudder for some reason. "Then this is Lulu and Denny Whitby," The two children hopped around, giggling. "And this is Kirie. She's mute." Kirie only waved, a smile gracing her lips.

"OK… so why'd you run to our treehouse?" Wally asked cluelessly.

Ash rose from the floor, and Wally let out a girly squeal as he hid behind Kuki, who giggled while patting his head. Leanne blinked behind her bangs, and then drew out, "What, haven't you guys seen a shadowbender before?"

"A bender!" Instantly everyone except Rachel froze into position.

Rachel wanted to bang her head against the wall. "Good God, everyone, calm down! They're GOOD guys, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" The others murmured their agreement, dropping their weapons.

Lee rolled his eyes, and Damien simply scoffed silently as he avoided Ash, who was again cooing like a little dove. Leanne whacked her shadow, making Ash scowl, before the two shadows faded back into place.

"So, what are ye guys really doin' here?" Fanny asked skeptically.

Lee jumped right in. "We were escaping from Grampa's fiery wrath!"

"Yeah! He was so pissed off because we spoke some profanity!" Leanne continued. "Something about his 'Delighted Children' learning bad words or something!"

Nigel perked up. "Are you talking about Father and the Delightful Children?"

"Yeah!" Lulu giggled shyly. "Mama was shivering on the floor, and Daddy was really protective of her."

The other blinked, then slowly inched away. "Riiight…" Abby said.

Cheren gestured for the little girl to come to him, and she followed, with Denny hot on her heels. Then, he discussed something severe with the two, making them nod vigorously before they faced the others.

"Guys, we kinda need your help." Cheren explained. "We need to get back to the future, and fast."

Kuki scratched her head. "Why?"

Aurora stepped forward to explain. "Well, just being in the past is simply unnatural for us future guys, and if we stay for more than one month, we start to… um… well, I'll say pixelate."

"We'll go KABLOOIE!" Denny laughed, clapping his hands together to emphasize his point.

Panini cocked her head. "That's why we need yer help ta get back to the future."

"Why does that sound familiar…" Rachel fleetingly glanced at Fanny, but the Global Command officer had her gaze fixated on Francis, who looked uncomfortable to be stared at by his mother in the past.

Sheila, on the other hand, was nonetheless peppy. "Orright mates, let's hoist up the main sail and get sailin' towards the future!"

"Sheila," Mason said slowly. "We don't have a time machine."

The raccoon girl drooped. "Oh. Well, that sure is a bummer."

"But," Haylee drew out slowly. "If I had the right technology, materials and equipment, I could build a time machine in this timeline. D-Hoagie, do you have any 4x4 technology on hand?"

"Only 2x4." Hoagie said apologetically, doubting her tone as she said his name. "Kinda outdated for you."

Haylee shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll have to downgrade a little. Haylee's on the case if you can provide me materials."

"List away."Abby declared.

Harry's eyes flashed, and he held on to the rim of his cap. "Brace yourselves."

"OK, I'll need…" Haylee pulled out a long scroll out of her pocket. And when I mean long, I mean LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LOOOOOOOOONG scroll. "I'll need some 4x4 screwdrivers with the knife capability, then at least ten kilograms of metallic thingamajigs, blah blah blah blah blah, and I'll need some good ol' fashioned soda, and maybe a cupcake if you can."

Wally's head was spinning. "Uh, what?"

"Basically, I need screwdrivers, ten kilos of metal, some other stuff, soda, and a cupcake for my snack." Haylee deadpanned.

"Oh."

Nigel smirked. "Consider us on the case. All right team, let's move out!" And with that, Sector V ran out of the room, dragging Fanny along with them. That left Rachel and the future kids.

"So… can we stay up on Moonbase or something?" Haruka asked.

Rachel nodded slightly, then started staring again at them, but this time, she was conceptualizing some thoughts in her head as she scanned Cheren and Aurora.

Hmm… Her eyes narrowed as she took in her future children which she didn't recognize. Cheren… looks like Nigel with hair… and MY brown eyes. Peculiar… Then… Aurora… practically my mirror image, but with Nigel's blue eyes.

"Uh… M-Rachel?" Aurora nearly slipped.

Rachel's eyes widened. She was about to call me something! And it's…

At the realization, Rachel fainted.

Cheren looked at Aurora, slitting his throat with an imaginary knife as he glared at Aurora, his eyes casting a clear message to his sister: Darn it, Aurora, you made Mom faint!