It had been less than a day ago when he moved to Rhode Island. He came here with his mother. He came here with an idea, not a dream, and idea. It was the idea of joining the Kids Next Door. Cassie took a seat beside the sulking boy, handing him the torn flyer. Nolan stared at the torn flyer in his hands. He had so many questions. "Why is it like it here?" Nolan turned to Cassie, a girl his age he'd just only met recently.

Watching the cars drive by, Cassie played with her ball, trying to find the words to describe life in Providence. "They don't let us talk about them, him, because they don't like to be reminded that they, he, exists."

"'They', as in other teenagers? Not just that one guy?" Nolan asked, holding his bruised cheek. Cassie nodded. Nolan hung his head low.

"Usually, you just don't say anything, if you don't things are normal, they just tease you, loiter around the park and only occasionally pick on us kids. But if you do…" Cassie trailed off, not needing to explain to Nolan the consequences.

"What about him though, why's there only one of him?" Nolan asked. Cassie shrugged.

"Not really sure, moved here myself a year ago…you can ask him in person though." Cassie suggested, pointing to the large tree fortress with a giant letter 'Q' on the front.

"Uh…my mom doesn't let me talk to strangers…" Nolan said, visibly afraid of the tree fortress.

"And yet you're talking to me. So go on then, it's like selling Girl Scout cookies, you just ring on the doorbell long enough and he'll have to show up."

"But it's a tree…"

"And yet he like lives there…so go, you got questions, I can't answer them. He can though."

"You're not coming with?" Nolan asked, slightly hurt.

"Nope. Nuh uh. Sorry Nolan, but, I ain't getting involved with this one." Cassie said, holding her ball to her knees, unable to look Nolan in the eyes. "Sorry."

Nolan sighed. "It's alright." He'd rather have company, a friend to stand by him, but this would seem not to pass. So he pulled himself off the curb and crossed the street, looking both ways of course, lest be hit by some bus.

Nolan walked, he walked, and he walked, sun directly overhead, solar rays against his forehead. It wasn't unbearable, but it made him glad he had the foresight to go against wearing heavy clothing.

The tree wasn't too far now, it certainly looked imposing, however. It goes unsaid that every neighborhood has that one house people dare not near. That there is some old story about the house being haunted by the souls of its previous owners. By that logic, one could infer that the tree was the house. I was large, imposing, could blot out the sun in the right angle, yeah, the tree was the house alright.

In less than an hour, Nolan found himself at the feet of the tree house. He looked around, seeing what looked like the remains of a house. It seemed as if the tree had sprouted out of it. Except the tree was too much, it'd ripped the house apart when it grew. Time to find some sort of entrance. Nolan searched for a door, a ladder perhaps, even an elevator. Somehow the KND had to go in and out of this tree house. He soon found a door, it was in the back. He knocked on the door four times, hoping for an immediate response.

Nolan waited there for an hour, just sitting outside, staring at that door. He sighed. The sun was going to set soon in a couple of hours by the look of it. Nolan would have to go soon. His mother would be worried sick if he didn't.

He was almost about to get up when the door began to budge. The boy from earlier, with the tin can armor, poked his head out. "Have you really been sitting out here for an hour?" The boy asked Nolan. Nolan nodded, looking up to the boy. "…So what do you want kid?"

"I told you earlier…I'd like to join the Kids Next Door." Nolan dug into his pocket, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper. "See…I'd like to join."

"You're definitely new here." The boy asked, opening the door wide open. "Come on, what kind of host would I be, letting a kid just sit outside."

"Thank you sir." Nolan said, barely able to form a smile out of his bruised face.

"I'm not a 'sir'." The boy bluntly stated as he let Nolan into the tree house.

It was like stepping into a mall for the first time, Nolan couldn't help but look amazed by the sheer scope of the tree house. There as an elevator and multiple floors. What looked like personalized rooms, a hangar with metal bodies that looked like planes and helicopters. The wood was old, old but still alive. There was dust, trash on the floor too. No one cleaned up after themselves, at least not for a long time.

"This. Is. Amazing." Nolan cracked a pained smile.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Come on." The boy gestured for Nolan to follow him to the elevator. Nolan nodded and took off after the boy. The boy hit a button, bringing down the lift, the doors opened and they stepped inside. "So, what's your name kid?" The boy asked as he hit a button on the directory panel.

"Nolan, sir, Nolan York." Nolan answered, causing the boy to frown at the 'sir' remark.

"Not a sir…" The boy rolled his eyes. "Not 'yet' anyways."

"And you?" Nolan asked.

The boy mulled over the words to say. He asked a question, it was fair to answer one. "They call me Numbuh 416. That was my operative designation, my code number. My real name is…Dylan. Dylan Buchanan…"

Nolan took a look around, noticing how empty the tree house was. It was just them by the look of it. "Where's everyone else?" Nolan asked as they hit their floor.

The doors opened and Numbuh 416 left the lift first, followed by Nolan. "Everyone else? They don't talk to me." Numbuh 416 led Nolan to what he assumed was the kitchen. "They're all in different states, other countries…The Moon…but besides that…I'm the only one out here in Rhode Island…besides her."

It took Nolan a couple of seconds to get what Numbuh 416 was talking about. He heard a television, sounds of possibly one of the greatest shows ever made, Kipper. He peered into another room, seeing a girl with dark hair, a pale complexion, bound to a wheel chair, enjoying a bowl of cereal as she enjoyed her choice of television.

"That's Mara…she was a member of the Kids Next Door like me." Numbuh 416 whispered, hoping not to disturb Mara.

"But…she doesn't look like a teen…" Nolan whispered, catching the hint.

"That's because she isn't." Numbuh 416 motioned Nolan over to the fridge, grabbing a couple of root beers. "You drink soda?" Nolan nodded. Numbuh 416 tossed him a can and took a seat in an arm chair. "Mara…she quit the KND…that's we call it, the KND…it's an acronym, so she quit…after the accident. She hangs out around here, nowhere else really, just here."

Nolan walked around the Kitchen, inspecting it all. There was trash everywhere. It seemed Numbuh 416 wasn't too big on cleaning. But what caught his eye was a framed photo nailed to a wall. It was Numbuh 416, he looked about Nolan's age in the photo. There he was, kneeling beside four others, two girls one of them Mara, she had this grand smile and wasn't really pale, she was actually tanned and seemed athletic. The other girl stood proudly, smirking. Two other boys were in the photo, one had a goofy expression Nolan could help but find funny, and the other just sat there with a meek smile.

"What happened to them?" Nolan asked, holding up the photo. "The people in this photo?"

Numbuh 416 sighed, squeezing his temples. "Some of them died, the two boys. Mara got too hurt, so she quit. The last one, no, neither dead nor missing. She saw it all through." Numbuh 416 shook his head. "She got what we call 'decommissioned'. It's a process where once you turn 13, we wipe your mind of all things KND."

"Then why the face?" Nolan asked Numbuh 416, reflecting on his sad facial expression. The operative merely slumped in his arm chair, pulling out a pixie stick from his pocket. He placed the end in his mouth and slit the other end. He sucked and puffed.

"…There are things I've seen kid, things that make me cry at night. Sector Q, this place, it's a fortress. Made from eight treehouse seeds, the tree sprouted and will forever stand the test of time. But us…we grow older, every second, every day we all grow up…just like her. She got old, she was a teen. Next thing we knew she was working for those she swore to fight. They call her 'Prom Queen' now."

Numbuh 416's head hung low as he huffed and puffed on the pixie stick. "She broke our hearts. Then our bones…I'm all that's left…I can't put another kid through this…that's why no one's joining the KND, not here, not ever." Numbuh 416 sucked on the pixie stick once again, puffing shakily.

Nolan looked down at the trash ridden floor, eyes narrowed, unable to look at the operative. "When you're gone…you're one of them then?"

Numbuh 416 looked up over to Nolan, tears in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt kids." He spoke softly.

"That tornado guy, he said he'd be back at the park tomorrow…are you going to fight him?"

"Might as well." Numbuh 416 let out a weak chuckle. "If I'm going to work for them, if I won't have control of my life later on…I might as well leave them something to remember me bye."

Nolan just stood there. Numbuh 416 just sat there. In the other room, Mara zoned out, watching a marathon of Kipper.

So this was the Kids Next Door. This was the person Nolan wanted to be. There, sitting in the arm chair, sulking over his inevitable fate. That is who Nolan wanted to be. A member of the Kids Next Door.

Join the Kids Next Door!

Meet New and Exciting People!

Go On Amazing Adventures!

Protect Your Fellow Kids!

…

…

…

"Do you still want to join now?" Numbuh 416 asked as darkness drew closer.

Nolan thought for a moment. "How many people do you think are going to show up tomorrow…he said he'd bring Prom Queen…who else?"

Numbuh 416 raised a brow. "They'd bring a lot more, yeah. I'm something that they really want to stomp out. So why not bring more."

"Good." Nolan turned to face Numbuh 416. "I'm going to help you tomorrow." Numbuh 416 raised a brow.

"What do you mean?" Numbuh 416 leaned forward, cautiously of course.

"Look…I don't know if I'll ever be able to get you to let me in the Kids Next Door, but you're supposed to help kids! They hurt those who are unlucky enough to speak of you! And the only way I can see you, us, helping everyone else here, is if we beat them tomorrow, in front of everyone. We beat them back so bad, we humiliate them, make them laughing stocks of the whole state. Make their fear obsolete; bring hope back to these kids!" Nolan exclaimed firmly.

Numbuh 416 scratched his chin in thought. "That's not all I'm fighting here Nolan." He said glumly.

"You said it yourself! Give them something to remember you bye! Why not this. So that when you are one of them, make it even difficult for you!"

Numbuh 416 spat out the emptied pixie stick. He thought for a bit. Thinking if it could actually be done, actually work. "You know what this means right?"

"…Maybe." Nolan said with a serious look on his face."

"If we do this, after tomorrow, you'll forever be a part of this. There will be no leaving. They'll hate you forever; they'll jump at any chance to get to you." Numbuh 416 made no light of the situation. This was serious.

"I might as well leave them something to remember me bye." Nolan smirked.

"Alright then…" The sun began to fall. "When do you need to get home?"

Nolan popped the can of his soda and took a swig out of it. "Not yet, mom's working till dawn."

"Then pull up a chair, Nolan. We've got planning to do." Numbuh 416 jumped up from his seat, running to pull a table over as Nolan ran for a foldable chair. Nolan took a seat across from Numbuh 416. The operative pulled out a makeshift map of the park. "Hey, Nolan."

"Yeah?" Nolan looked across the table to the operative.

"If this works, I mean, if this works…I'm going to need help around here." Numbuh 416 smirked.

"You mean…?"

"Welcome to the Kids Next Door."