I'M BACK! hugs all reviewers Sorry it took so long. As a graduate of the class of 06, I have an announcement. College has started for me! Yay…which means less time for updates….boo…oh well, I'll do the best I can.

To one of my recent reviewers: The J.A.M. aka Numbuh I who wrote:

The story is getting good, but this seems to be a bit of a stretch. Hoagie IS an investigator and he SHOULD have seen some inconsistencies in Mashi's story (or he should, if he starts looking carefully).

Thanks for the insight! You're right about 1 thing, Hoagie is like the 'dectective' of the show; however, Hoagie's investigative skills shall emerge later on in the story, which I had already planned anyway. But I needed someone to have a strong attraction to Mashi, and since Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 4 are like "Bestest Best Friends" in the show, I knew Numbuh 2 would be the perfect candidate because that would cause a LOT of tension to rise between him and Numbuh 4, and maybe even cause a ripple in their friendship, so that was my original intention.

I just wanted to say that before the next chappie, which starts now…

And I haven't done this in a while…let's hope I've still got it!

Nigel held the door open as Kuki emerged, then he led the way into the meeting room. Abby was sitting on an arm chair, leaning back on the armrest with her hat tilted over her eyes. Hoagie was in the kitchen getting a Chilidog. Kuki came in and layed down on the couch. Nigel sighed as he stood in front of the two arm chairs and the couch. (like… the furniture is in a semi-circle around him…) He ran his hand over his clean shaven head and put his other hand on his hips. Abby looked up.

"Well?" She asked, tilting her hat back to look at her leader. Nigel tilted his head forward and peered over his glasses at Abby. He then looked at Kuki who had layed down fully and had buried head in a couch cushion. He moved over to Abby and leaned down just for her to hear.

"This is insane…and intense. Things haven't been this bad sense we faced those negatives…"

"Yeah, but at least then we could tell who was deceiving us…" Abby said.

"Not right away, if I hadn't dived after Lizzie, I probably could have proved that Negative Numbuh one from taking my place and fooling you guys; and I could have kept the other negatives from taking you guys to the negaverse." Abby shrugged.

"Lizzie's your girlfriend, you did what you had to do; you had to save her. Besides, things turned out alright." Abby said, with a smile.

"You got -86 to stand up to -4, that was something." She added, winking. Nigel blushed.

"Still…you and the others were in danger…I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you…" He said. Abby looked at him and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Nigel caught himself and quickly added,

"Guys! Erm…uh…if, if I lost you guys. Heh, heh.." He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"I mean, you're my best friend Abs…you and the others are like family…I don't know what I'd do if you guys were hurt." He said. Abby smiled at him.

"Didn't know you cared so much, boss." She said. He blushed a bit darker.

"Yeah well…I'm worried that with 202 around, someone might get hurt again…I can't have that…I…" He started, when Abby reached up and put a hand on his hand to stop him. He looked at her.

"Yo, Numbuh 1…just chill…" She said, smiling. She reached up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Thing's will be fine…just fine!" She said. He smiled at her.

"Thanks Abby…er…Numbuh 5…" He said. She nodded and neither noticed that Hoagie had come in. He frowned at the scene…Nigel and Abby were two close to each other for his liking. He began to smack loudly, to make his presence known.

"Yum….these Chili dogs are good! Are they the new ones that just hit the market! They're like 75 juicier!" He said. Abby frowned at him and stood.

"Boy, you better take dat mess back in da kitchen, you dripping Chilidog juice all over da place…and Numbuh 5 ain't gonna be cleanin' up after you!" She said, with her hand on her hips. Hoagie stared at her.

"Did I say you would clean up after me?"

"You shouldn't be eatin' in her anyway!" Abby cried. Nigel rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Guys, that's not why we're here." He said. He looked over at Numbuh 3, who had completely turned over on the couch so that she was facing the back of the couch and that so her own back was facing them. Everyone looked at her sadly and sighed.

"Ok, let's talk about this…" He said, as he began pacing. Abby sat back down in her Armchair and Hoagie sat in front of the couch Kuki was on, leaning back against it.

"So…who's telling the truth?" Nigel said, getting right to the point. He saw Kuki cringe but didn't acknowledge it verbally. No one said anything at first. Abby decided to open up the floor.

"Look…the problem is, we don't have somethin' on either one of them to prove they're lyin'. We have no proof that Numbuh 202's fibbin', 'cause we've just met the guy. We can't place judgment on him like that…it's not morally right. As for Wally, we've known him for the longest…so we know he wouldn't lie to us…that's EXACTLY where the conflict comes in." She said. Hoagie chewed his Chilidog and swallowed.

"Well look…since we've got nothin' on Mashi, I say he's tellin' da truth. At this, Kuki's eyes grew wide. She sat up and looked at Hoagie angrily.

"What, and Wally's lying! How could you even say that! And you call yourself Numbuh 4's best friend!" She cried out. Hoagie stared back at her with frustration.

"Of course YOU would defend Numbuh 4…YOU have a CRUSH on him!" Hoagie said. Kuki got mad and sat up on her knees.

"That's besides the point! Even if I DIDN'T have a crush on him, I'd have sense enough to know that my best friend that I've known since before I was 8 would never lie just because we met someone new that he didn't like! He's never lied before he's got no reason to start now!" Kuki cried.

"Well, what about the time he told you Mr. Fishy was hurt by Ninja Sharks when really he had shaken him up? Or the time he tried to make it look like Mr. Huggykins was ok when he had tore it up!" Hoagie cried. Kuki felt her face going red.

"That doesn't count! You know why! Because he was fibbing for the sake of our friendship! Friendship has always come first for Wally and always will, but it seems like YOU'VE forgotten that!"

"Don't you talk to me about Friendship! I'm Numbuh 4's best friend! I've known him longer than you, so I know how he is! He gets jealous very easily and there are times when he'll do or say anything for attention! Remember the time he wanted to lead us while Numbuh 1 was gone?"

"Yes, I do…and as I recall…WE were the ones who didn't give him a chance. Numbuh 4 came up with the idea of a Clam Cannon, and WE brushed it aside like it was no big deal! That is, until Numbuh 1 came home, after which, we completely forgot about Numbuh 4! He wasn't being the leader for attention! We were slacking off and he was just protecting us, trying to do something for the good of the team like optimizing our defenses with a Clam Cannon! We also didn't even consider him for the job when Numbuh one was Rainbow Monkey-fied and we really should have! He saved our butts from those negatives and he saved all of those girls from being blasted to Pluto too! Wally may not be bright, but he's very reliable, trustworthy, and dependable…ESPECIALLY when it comes to the safety of his friends! And if YOU can't see that Numbuh 2, you really don't know him as well as you thought you did!" Kuki said. She had given herself a headache and felt lightheaded. She sighed and leaned back on the couch, her head tilted to the ceiling. Numbuh 2 stared at her with wide eyes before speaking.

"Look Numbuh 3, I know Numbuh 4 is a fantastic friend, but we can't just go and accuse Mashi of something that we have no proof of. Like Numbuh five said, that's not right…"

"Oh, so it's right to go and place all the blame on your friend who you've known to be truthful and trustworthy for over 5 years?" Kuki asked.

(I'm taking into account the fact that they probably knew each other before KND)

At this, Hoagie grew silent. Kuki took a breath.

"Wally once told me…that when he went to flush Mr. Fishy…right before he was going to do so, he had called Mr. Fishy his beastliest bestest best friend ever…and then you came up and told him that you were his best friend…and he believed you…" She brought her head up and looked at Hoagie. Then she stood.

"But honestly Numbuh two, I don't know if I believe that now…and the way you attacked Wally today…he may loose faith in that notion too." She said. Hoagie sighed.

"But Numbuh 3, Numbuh 202 is a nice guy. He SAVED Numbuh 4…and Bradley, we saw him! And he's been nothing but helpful around the treehouse, doesn't that count for something?" He asked.

"Sure…but that doesn't mean you should cancel Wally out as a factor altogether and believe Numbuh 202 just because he's nice. Nice people can turn bad, remember the candyman? He's really Knightbrace, and Chad and Cree…they're the same way." Kuki said. Abby spoke up,

"She's right. People can change. Numbuh 202 may act nice now…but…he could turn evil later. …I didn't want to say anything before, but Numbuh 5's got a bad feeling that somethin' bad's gonna happen soon. I don't know what it is…but I can just feel it…and it makes me uneasy." She said. Nigel, who was fully listening in on this conversation and taking it all in deeply, rubbed his temples. He sighed.

"Okay, here's what I suggest we do…from now on, we'll just have to pay even CLOSER attention to Numbuh 202 and Numbuh 4…not just with how they act around each other, but with how they act in general. After evaluating them for a few days, we'll go from there…ok?" He asked. The others agreed. Hoagie looked down at his Chilidog which had gotten cold. He frowned and went to the kitchen to throw it away. He was about to head back to his room when Numbuh 5 stopped him.

"Uh-uh…boy, you better make sure you clean that stuff up off the floor before you go ANYWEHRE!" She said angrily. Hoagie muttered to himself before moving to clean up the mess. Kuki's head hurt and was throbbing, but instead of sleeping in her own bed, she wanted to check on Wally once more. She stood silently and went to the Med Lab. As she walked in, she noticed that Wally and Bradley were sleeping peacefully. That had serene looks on their faces. Kuki smiled. There were bags under her eyes now. She walked forward and pulled up a chair next to them. She then put her hand on Wally's forehead as her other hand gently stroked Bradley. Wally gave a soft moan…

"…Ku…ki…" He said. Kuki smiled at him.

"Wally…I'm here." She said softly. He opened his eyes, partially thinking he was in a dream. He smiled.

"Kuki…Are….you ok?" He asked. She nodded.

"I'm fine Wally…just fine….I'm glad you're alright." She said. He closed his eyes again with a smile on his face.

"Good. Um…Kooks…do you think…you could stay for a while?" He asked, sleepily. Kuki's eyes brightened, then she yawned a few moments later.

"Yes…I'll stay with you Wally." She said. Wally's smile grew even bigger.

"Thank you." He said. She nodded, folded her arms on the edge of the bed, and rested her head on them. She smiled, happy to be close to Wally to keep an eye on him. The others poked their heads in one by one to see what was going on. They saw Wally slowly raise his hand up to play with random strands of Kuki's soft hair. He then sighed, and turned his head over to sleep. Kuki moved to rest her head on his torso, not to far from Bradley. Nigel, Abby, and Hoagie smiled at the couple and closed the door.

"She really went off on you Hoagie." Abby said.

"But she IS right you know…we shouldn't just ignore Wally like that." Nigel said. Hoagie sighed.

"I know…it's just…Mashi's been so cool to me, ya know? I'd hate to think he was evil." Hoagie whispered. Abby put a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand Numbuh 2, but you have to be open to everything…and if Mashi IS evil…well then, who needs him? You've still got us." She said, smiling. Hoagie stared at her and smiled…she was right, he still had HER, and as long as she was there, he'd be alright. Everything would be alright.

Little did they know, Negative Numbuh Four and Mashi had other plans…

Hmm…not bad! I put in some 1/5 ness at the beginning ad slight 2/5 ness at the end. Hope you could catch it 'cause I still don't know if this will be a 1/5 or a 2/5 fic.

Anyway…PLEASE REVIEW

Next Update…Don't ask…my new schedule will keep my SOOOOOOOOO busy, that I have NO IDEA when the next update will be. --

-FoxieSango