The buzz of electricity was still raging though Miracolina as the putrid smell filled her nostrils. For at least a solid minute she thought that her situation had only gotten worse. Not only was she in pain, but now she was gagging, and that wasn't even the worst part. The Delightful Children had lost the remote to that horrible device, but not before accidentally pressing the voltage all the way up.
Miracolina was in so much pain, the poor girl almost choked on her own spittle.
Everyone else in the dinning room was dazed from the Skunk spray, but Number 4 had a clearer head. The entirety of Sector V had to undergo stink training where they all had to preform task while Number 6's spray filled a closed-off room. His natural toughness had served him well and although he had blurry eyes and the stench was making him cough, he still had some of his wits about him. Looking around, he saw that the Delightful Dorks had dropped the remote to the girl's electric probes under their chair where he couldn't reach it. Even worse, the girl was flailing about and gasping for breath. Without the remote, there was only one option.
"Holy Crud…" Wally coughed as he staggered towards Miracolina. Why was he doing this? For a cruddy teenage girl he didn't even know? He saw the girl convulse on the floor, took a deep breath(which was a bad idea because the skunk fumes were already making his eyes sting) and ran right over to her. Without even hesitating, he gave the live wires attached to Miracolina a firm yank. A shooting hot pain jolted up Wally's arm, making him drop the wires. He hissed out every swear word he knew(some of which he had completely made up).
It was a great relief for Miracolina to have the probes off, but a bad bit of spittle went down the wrong way and she was choking again. In the last minute she had felt the pain of electricity, then the sweet relief of not being shocked, then choking and finally a rough punch to the back as Wally tried to get her to swallow the spit. It worked.
While a stumbling Miracolina gasped for bits of putrid skunk air, another figure was up and active. Number 3 had her signature sweater sleeve over her nose and mouth like a gas mask and was trying to force open a window without uncovering her mouth. She looked at Number 4 and her eyes went huge. He was trying to send the half-conscious teenager over to her.
"Kuki, get her out." Wally coughed on a mouthful of skunk scent.
Kuki looked at him through her blurry tear-filled eyes. His blonde hair was sticking up at weird angles and even with the tears in her eyes she could see two rows of angry red lines on his hand from the wires. She didn't want to leave him behind, not here."
"Wally..."
He looked back at her. "I gotta go get the others out. You know she's gonna die if she stays here. Now go!"
Miracolina stood up. She was shaky on her feet, but she somehow managed to put her weight against Kuki, who held her up with the practiced skill of a medic. The two were dazed and dizzy, but things got better as they moved slowly towards the window and caught a breeze carrying a breath of fresh air.
Kuki had just propped up Miracolina safely next to the open window when she heard Wally say "I'm going to give these Delightful Creeps the worst wedgie of their lives."
There was a smile in his voice and Kuki DID NOT like it. Wally could be a bit… Aggressive with his payback. Some kids and a whole bunch of teachers would call Wallabee Beatles as dumb as a brick, but the kid was a prodigy when it came to wedgies.
Number 2 and Number 5 barreled down the stairs as fast as they could. They had taken a shortcut that was much faster than the path that went through Father's study. They moved fast towards the den where Number 4 was waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase. Everyone was already close to getting sick from the smell.
None of them brought gas masks with them. The plan was to do their job, let Number 6 detonate and then leave in the chaos. Things were not going according to plan.
"What happened?" Number 5 asked, holding her nose in an attempt to block the smell.
Number 4 ran a hand over his mad scientist hair.
"Me and Number 3 got nabbed by Jenkins. We had to call in Bradley."
Number 4 didn't even mention the girl in white yet. He already derailed the plan when he summoned Bradley. No need to mention helping a teenager (who was apparently affiliated with the Delightful Children given her outfit), right?
All of them heard cries of pain coming from the dinning room.
"What's going on in there?" Number 2 asked as the three operatives made a break for the front door.
Numbuh 4 had a devious grin on his face. "Oh, nothing. The Delightful Children are just in a little shock right now, that's all."
Number 4's smirk disappeared when he saw Jenkins curled up in a fetal position with his hands on his face desperately struggling to keep his nose closed. Number 4 lingered behind as Number 2 and 5 opened the front door.
"Hey you cruddy—cough—Butler! Threaten Kuki like that!" Wally kicked Jenkins several times between his legs ; hard . He had to be dragged of by Number 5 had who smiled at Number 4.
"What?" Number 4 said coughing. "She still owes me that quarter ! "
Bradley escaped from the cooler and was sitting tight just like he was ordered when he smelled Number 3 on the air. Apparently the plan had changed and Number 6 wasn't just going to leave his teammate (and human mommy) all alone. He followed his nose to just outside of the Delightful Children's dining room where he saw his Mommy and an older girl laid out on the grass.
Apparently Number 3 was lying when she said that his spray made a pretty smell.
He went over to Kuki and gave her a light nudge with his nose. No response, out cold. He nudged the older girl, who stirred slightly. He sniffed her face trying to identify her smell.
Miracolina sat up, rubbing her head and looked around. For a moment she though she was back at the Cavenaugh mansion, but this place was too well-maintained. Then she remembered.
Groaning, she looked down expecting to see the girl who helped her climb out the window, but instead she was face-to-face with a skunk.
Moments later, every ice cream man on the Mansion's grounds heard an ear-splitting scream.
Numbers 4, 5 and 2 heard the screams as soon as they stepped off the mansion's landing and into the front yard. The laser blast from Bradley that came after it was enough to bring them all running. The Ice Cream men came in droves, pouring out of the Mansion no later than half a minute after Bradly sprayed the first time. They had been lingering outside without purpose until they heard the scream.
When Miracolina screamed, they swooped in like vultures, but when they saw the skunk they knew they had a target. It was really lucky that Bradley had bothered to reattach his bulldozer arm because the ice cream men came on so thick and fast that the laser wasn't enough. Every time a wave of them would come too close, he would sweep them away. Still there were just so many of them…
After just a few minutes, they had him and the two girls surrounded. The little skunk was already panting. How long could he keep this up?
Number 3 finally woke up and drew her ice cream pistol. Miracolina had gotten the idea too and picked up an ice cream riffle that an Ice Cream man had dropped when Bradley tossed him clear over the mansion's roof . She might not have been trained like Number 3 or her friends, but she fought with the fury of a cornered beast. That's exactly what they were: trapped animals surrounded on all sides by predators .
Bradley hissed angrily and raised his tail, making the front lines of the ice cream men back up. He was bluffing and he desperately hoped they wouldn't figure it out. It would be another 10 minutes before his stink recharged and things weren't looking good.
Then he smelled them. The rest of his family.
Acting purely on instinct, Bradley scooped up Number 3 and Miracolina into his bulldozer arm and catapulted them over the ring of ice cream men and into the rest of the Sector, who caught the two girls before they hit the ground. Then, using his bionic paws, he leaped over the crowd like a motorcycle rocketing off a ramp.
Jumping the shark if you will.
The Ice Cream men were just standing there with wide eyes, stunned to see the world's first flying skunk. The distraction was just enough time for Sector V to get a head start.
Number 4 was running at top speed, but Number 5 caught up to him, tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the teenage girl in the white robes.
"Some—cruddy—teenager." Wally said, panting. Number 5 looked back at the girl, who Number 3 was helping.
The girl looked weak and tired, but Number 5 instantly noticed she was wearing the exact same white robes as the Delightful Children...
as Rachel...
What was going on?
Numbuh 4 must have misunderstood her silence, because he started apologizing before she could even get a question out.
"I'm sorry Number 5, it's just those Delightful Dorks were torturing her and I just couldn't stand it and—"
Number 5 shook her head. "Later, run."
The truth was, she wasn't listening. She was too caught up in her own mind trying to connect the dots.
"Where... are...we ... going?" Number 2 wheezed, falling behind Kuki and Miracolina. He stumbled, caught his breath and put on a burst of speed to catch up to the others.
The Ice Cream Men ran after the kids, getting closer and closer. Bradley had taken the lead and to everyone's horror, he led them right into a brick wall.
"Oh crud!"
Number 4 summed up everyone's thoughts.
There were around 50 ice cream trucks, over four thousand ice cream men and countless Knightamatons cornering only 6 little figures backed up against a big wall.
Number 4 and 2 were bravely preparing to go down shooting. Number 3 was ready to be a human shield for Miracolina, who was hysterical at the thought of having to go back inside that mansion. But where were Number 5 and Number 6?
That question was loudly answered when the wall that they were backed up against came crashing down. Number 5 held four explosive marbles in her hand with the shards of the fifth one at her feet.
"Never give up."
She sounded cool, confident and in her element once again.
While the rubble was still crashing down, Number 6 snuck his way to the front of Number 2 and 4's firing line and directed his rear end to Father's assembled security detail.
He was fully recharged...
The shock of the Ice Cream men at the explosion was only topped by the smell generating from Number 6's raised mop tail. The Ice Cream men collapsed in a scene of revulsion on top of each other.
Then Number 5 threw her marbles, not into the crowd, but just in front of them as the five KND operatives and one teenage escapee made their way though the smoldering ruin of the wall. A large crater was right in front of the Ice Cream men's line and the Knightamatons who would have pursued Sector V(smell or no smell) walked right into the crater. They were safe.
..For now...
Aboard the Scamper Number 4 struggled to explain himself.
"You should have seen what they were doing to her Number 5, it was horrible, me and Kuki couldn't stand..."
Number 5 sat in the command chair as they flew back to the treehouse. She barely even noticed Number 4 as he was ranting with his mad scientist hair, she had so much on her mind…
Miracolina was in the medbay with Number 3, who was treating her the best she could. Number 5 stood up and began to walk towards the rear, accidentally ignoring Number 4.
"Number 5?"
Abby turned around and put an arm on Number 5's shoulder. "You did good, sport." She said with a smile. "You have command, Number 5's going to check on our guest."
For the first time since they had escaped the Mansion, Number 5 noticed his frizzy hair and the burn marks. He looked like he stuck his finger in a socket.
"You've seen Number 3?"
"She says she'll take a look at me back at the treehouse."
Number 5 nodded, gave Number 4 another gentle pat on the shoulder and headed back to medbay.
Number 4 plopped himself down in the command chair that Number 1 used to sit in just a couple of weeks ago. Would it have to be thrown out? Everyone on board smelled horrible and despite Number 2's assurances that all they would need to get the smell of them in a hurry was a two-hour soak with a special bubble bath, it still stunk. Bad.
But hey, so did Father's house now.
In the back of the Scamper Number 3 tended to her patient. She had Miracolina on an IV, but the poor girl was in shock. What did the Delightful Children do to her?
The new leader of Sector V stepped through the entrance and looked at the patient's bed.
"Hi Number 5!" chirped Number 3 cheerfully. She was worried, but she never let that show around a patient.
Number 5 wasn't fooled. "She's going to be alright?"
The medic nodded. Number 5 relaxed a little.
Number 3 went to get something out of a cabinet. Not wanting to leave this girl by herself in a strange new place, Number 5 stood next to her. The older girl was breathing steadily, but she looked exhausted(like when Number 1 tried to stay up 6 days in a row, only he at least ate and drank.) She must have been trapped in the Delightful Mansion longer than anyone thought.
The girl moved suddenly, and for a minute Number 5 thought she was having a nightmare(or a daymare?). But she wasn't asleep. She just rolled over on her side and looked right at Number 5 with a mix of relief and curiosity and maybe something else that Abby couldn't identify.
Her clothes were stained and torn from the fight, but they obviously used to be pure white. Abby looked at the white robes and wondered why Numbuh 362 was wearing the same robes.
"Rachel Mackenzie." Abby said softly, taking a seat at Miracolina's head. She didn't even realize what she'd said out loud until Miracolina blurted out something she never expected to hear.
"Abby would never let you do this." Miracolina insisted. Abby jumped in her seat. Wouldn't let who do what? Who was this girl?
"You know my name?" Abby asked her carefully. Maybe the teenager was just tired and dehydrated. Maybe Numbuh 3 or 4 mentioned Abby's name to her.
Miracolina blinked a couple of times and sat up. She was shaky and Number 5 almost told her to lay back down. Instead she listened to the desperate girl's plea.
"Nigel Uno. Stop Nigel Uno!"
TRANSMISSION HIJACKED...