Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Alright, who out there is not reviewing? Please review if you read the story. Now, I'm not just asking. I'm begging! My writing life is so boring without second opinions! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll continue with the story.
~*Chapter 4*~
Numbah 3 stood, listening to the deafening silence that filled the hallways. She had heard something explode and Number 3 scream. The splinters and scratches in her skin numbed her all the way down to her toes, making her head ache. She took a step forward. The pain sizzled up through her spine, and she felt dizzy. She took another one. The pain was worse. She didn't know what was hurting her more: the splinters and scratches, her hurt feelings, or the haunting silence bouncing throughout the tree house. She looked out the window. The beautiful winter day had now turned into a harsh, cloudy blizzard. Numbah 3 didn't know what to do. She heard a cry for help. She was hurt all over. Something she had worked so hard on was ruined. Nothing made sense. There was nothing else for her to do. She dropped to her knees and wept.
She sat in the middle of the floor and cried herself to sleep.
"Wake up, sweetness," somebody said gently. "It's okay."
Numbah 3's eyes fluttered open. She found herself looking in the face of her mother. She slowly rolled her head from side to side to get the juices flowing in her brain again. Her head felt too heavy for her shoulders.
"Mama?" she asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Sanban replied. "Are you alright, dear?"
"Birthday party," Numbah 3 mumbled, "balloons, music, caffeine-rich soda,"
"What?"
"Dan, party, mad,"
"You're not making any sense."
Numbah 3 shook her head wildly and jumped up.
"Where's Dan?" she exploded, frantic.
"He must have gone home," Mrs. Sanban reasoned, "because he's not here. You've been sleeping for a long time. It's a good thing Nigel and the rest of your friends found you. You look so hurt!"
"Uh, I was in a fight," Numbah 3 whispered.
"A fight?" Mrs. Sanban repeated. "With who?"
"Nobody,"
"Kuki, dear, tell me."
"It was no one! Seriously! Now, I have to go for something important with my friends," Numbah 3 pouted. She turned and ran out of her house, all the way to Number 1's house and up into the tree house.
Inside the tree house, nobody was looking too happy, especially Number 1. Not only had she caused all this, but there was nothing anybody could do to prevent the inevitable from happening. Number 1 sank low into her beanbag chair with her arms crossed and her face stained with tears. She couldn't stop crying no matter what.
{I did it,} she thought. {He's gone.}
"Number 1?"
The leader of the TND looked up her counterpart staring her in the eyes above his sunglasses.
"You okay?" he asked. "You look more bummed than usual."
Number 1 didn't reply. She turned her head so that she wasn't looking at her kid friend.
"Fine," Numbah 1 said simply, "I just wanted to cheer you up."
Number 1 looked up with a jolt at her KND counterpart. She shut her eyes tightly and squirmed in her seat until it happened.
She jumped up from her seat, big tears running down her face.
"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" she shouted. "It's just not fair! This whole thing is my fault! It's my fault Number 3 is where he is!"
"What are you talking about?" Numbah 5 asked.
"Calm down!" Number 4 ordered.
"Calm down?" Number 1 repeated. "How am I supposed to calm down? All this is my fault!"
"Why?" Numbah 2 questioned.
"You idiots!" Number 1 screamed. "I did it! I admit it! I set up the whole thing with the cake! I fixed it up!"
"Yeah, you did," Number 5 said matter-of-factly.
"Not like that!" Number 1 yelled. "I told Numbah 3 to phone a certain bakery at a certain time after I set up a gig with Grandma Stuffums!"
The TND and KND gasped. They couldn't believe it. Their leader turned on Number 3, Daniel Triplets, the strongest member of the Teens Next Door.
At that moment, Numbah 3 came storming into the tree house.
"What I miss?"
More tears ran down Number 1's cheeks. She buried her face in her palms and ran up the stairs of the tree house to her room.
"Okay, now I really need to know what I missed."
"Numbah 3, I don't know how to tell you this," Numbah 1 began, "but Number 3's been kidnapped."
"It was Number 1's fault," Numbah 4 added.
"What?" Numbah 3 cringed back in surprise. "Tell me what happened!"
"Yesterday,"
"What do you mean 'yesterday'?" Numbah 3 snapped to Numbah 4.
"You were sleeping," Numbah 1 announced, "and you eventually blacked out. The team and I found you; we took you back to your house in the TND G.R.A.B.B.E.R."
"Well, okay," Numbah 3 rubbed the back of her head. "Continue, please!"
"As I was saying," Numbah 4 began, "yesterday, after the little party disaster, we heard you and Number 3 fight. He left your room. The cake exploded and Liver and Onions popped out!"
"They were hiding in there," Number 2 added. "Yes, they're adorable, but they were so mean and scary! They grabbed Number 3! He screamed and they took him away."
"We tried to track him down," Numbah 5 chimed in, "but Numbah 5 says that they were already long gone."
"So, Number 1 tricked me with the cake?" Numbah 3 asked.
"Well, um," Numbah 1 fumbled with his words, "yes."
Everybody stood in the silence. The moment was long. Blank stares looked at one another.
A voice came and ruined the moment.
"Nigel!" Lizzie called from the front yard. "Come out! You promised me a date the other day!"
Numbah 1 sighed heavily and went to the window nearest to Lizzie. He activated his rocket shoes and flew down to the yard to meet her.
"Look, Lizzie," he began, "this is a really bad time."
"Is this another one of those stupid Kids Next Door missions?" Lizzie asked. "You never come to see me anymore! All you do is go out playing with your horrible friends and never paying any attention to me!"
"Lizzie, this time, it's serious. One of our Teens Next Door has been kidnapped!"
"So? You're not a Teen Next Door."
"The Teens Next Door are our friends, Lizzie! We try to help each other out as much as we can!"
"I thought you guys were against teenagers." Lizzie snapped, crossing her arms.
"These are different!" Numbah 1 explained.
"Fine, Nigel!" Lizzie gave in. "But next week, I want a date from you! No excuses!"
"Right,"
Lizzie walked away from the tree house. Numbah 1 sighed long and hard. He reactivated his rocket shoes and flew up back into the tree house. He looked at his team and sighed long and hard.
"Take my advice, Boys: never get a girlfriend."
"Especially when that girlfriend is Lizzie!" Numbah 4 announced.
"I wonder if she'll stay that way her whole life," Number 2 thought aloud, "and if she does, I wonder who she'll marry."
"With my luck, it'll be me," Numbah 1 sighed, "but enough of that. We need to find a way to get Number 3 back!"
"And make Number 1 pay for what she did," Numbah 5 added.
Speaking of Number 3, he wasn't so sure where he was when he woke up. He felt sick, extremely sick. He held his head in the palm of his hands.
"What happened?" he mumbled. "I feel so sick."
Number 3 rubbed his head. The room he was in was light. There was one door, no windows, and tons of food all over the floor. He looked to a corner of the room to see a wastebasket. He got up and walked over to it. He took a tiny peek inside.
"Gross!" he shouted. "Who threw up?"
"You!"
Number 3 turned around with a jolt to see Liver and Onions standing next to the single door of the room. Liver smirked. Onions laughed.
"You were throwing up all of last night!" Liver yelled, laughing harder. "Apparently you don't have such a great appetite for Granny's food."
"I ate some of that disgusting food in the middle of the floor here?" Number 3 asked in disbelief.
"You were forced to," Onions explained, "and it was funny to watch you try to resist!"
"So that's where you get your cheap laughs!"
"Uh-huh!"
Liver and Onions cracked up as they left the room. Number 3 had a mix of anger and embarrassment bubbling through him. He sat back down in the middle of the floor and held his head in his hands. That didn't last long.
He jumped up and threw up in the wastebasket.
That night, at the TND tree house base, things were a little worse than usual. Number 1 went to bed at 6:00 that night. That was a little too early even though it was a school night. When it was his bedtime, Numbah 1 gently walked up the stairs and slowly got into his sleeping bag just in his day clothes and shoes. He set his sunglasses down next to him, but couldn't sleep until about one o'clock A.M. Numbah 2 slept on the biggest stuffed animal in Number 2's room like he usually did. For once, he took his flight cap and goggles off; he set them next to Number 2's glasses. Numbah 4 slept on the rug underneath and quilt in Number 4's room as per usual. Numbah 5 took the couch while Number 5 snuggled underneath the sheets in his little cockpit like he usually did. The room with a giant three painted on the door stayed empty. Numbah 3 went home to sleep that night.
Numbah 3 was up late thinking about how the day had gone. She had lost her counterpart, the TND leader had totally lost it, and she lost everything that made her who she was. She wasn't all that happy or sweet anymore. She was too busy thinking. She looked to the clock on her nightstand that read 2:27 in the morning. She sighed.
It must've been loud because there was a knock on her door.
"Kuki!" somebody called.
"Go away, Mushi!" Numbah 3 called back, tugging her sheets over her head. "Shouldn't you be sleeping anyway?"
"Shouldn't you?"
"I hate it when she does that," Numbah 3 mumbled to herself. "Alright, come in."
Mushi creaked the door open and peeked inside the room.
"Mama said you got in a fight."
"It wasn't a fight, Mushi! It was just a little argument!"
"You need a hug."
Mushi climbed up on Numbah 3 bed and hugged her big sister the best she could. Before Numbah 3 knew it, Mushi had fallen asleep against her. For one moment in the entire day, Numbah 3 smiled and tucked Mushi under the covers of her bed.
"Get some sleep," she whispered, and she kissed her on the head. "Big Sister's going on a search and rescue mission."
~*End of Chapter Four*~
Alright, who out there is not reviewing? Please review if you read the story. Now, I'm not just asking. I'm begging! My writing life is so boring without second opinions! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll continue with the story.
~*Chapter 4*~
Numbah 3 stood, listening to the deafening silence that filled the hallways. She had heard something explode and Number 3 scream. The splinters and scratches in her skin numbed her all the way down to her toes, making her head ache. She took a step forward. The pain sizzled up through her spine, and she felt dizzy. She took another one. The pain was worse. She didn't know what was hurting her more: the splinters and scratches, her hurt feelings, or the haunting silence bouncing throughout the tree house. She looked out the window. The beautiful winter day had now turned into a harsh, cloudy blizzard. Numbah 3 didn't know what to do. She heard a cry for help. She was hurt all over. Something she had worked so hard on was ruined. Nothing made sense. There was nothing else for her to do. She dropped to her knees and wept.
She sat in the middle of the floor and cried herself to sleep.
"Wake up, sweetness," somebody said gently. "It's okay."
Numbah 3's eyes fluttered open. She found herself looking in the face of her mother. She slowly rolled her head from side to side to get the juices flowing in her brain again. Her head felt too heavy for her shoulders.
"Mama?" she asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Sanban replied. "Are you alright, dear?"
"Birthday party," Numbah 3 mumbled, "balloons, music, caffeine-rich soda,"
"What?"
"Dan, party, mad,"
"You're not making any sense."
Numbah 3 shook her head wildly and jumped up.
"Where's Dan?" she exploded, frantic.
"He must have gone home," Mrs. Sanban reasoned, "because he's not here. You've been sleeping for a long time. It's a good thing Nigel and the rest of your friends found you. You look so hurt!"
"Uh, I was in a fight," Numbah 3 whispered.
"A fight?" Mrs. Sanban repeated. "With who?"
"Nobody,"
"Kuki, dear, tell me."
"It was no one! Seriously! Now, I have to go for something important with my friends," Numbah 3 pouted. She turned and ran out of her house, all the way to Number 1's house and up into the tree house.
Inside the tree house, nobody was looking too happy, especially Number 1. Not only had she caused all this, but there was nothing anybody could do to prevent the inevitable from happening. Number 1 sank low into her beanbag chair with her arms crossed and her face stained with tears. She couldn't stop crying no matter what.
{I did it,} she thought. {He's gone.}
"Number 1?"
The leader of the TND looked up her counterpart staring her in the eyes above his sunglasses.
"You okay?" he asked. "You look more bummed than usual."
Number 1 didn't reply. She turned her head so that she wasn't looking at her kid friend.
"Fine," Numbah 1 said simply, "I just wanted to cheer you up."
Number 1 looked up with a jolt at her KND counterpart. She shut her eyes tightly and squirmed in her seat until it happened.
She jumped up from her seat, big tears running down her face.
"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" she shouted. "It's just not fair! This whole thing is my fault! It's my fault Number 3 is where he is!"
"What are you talking about?" Numbah 5 asked.
"Calm down!" Number 4 ordered.
"Calm down?" Number 1 repeated. "How am I supposed to calm down? All this is my fault!"
"Why?" Numbah 2 questioned.
"You idiots!" Number 1 screamed. "I did it! I admit it! I set up the whole thing with the cake! I fixed it up!"
"Yeah, you did," Number 5 said matter-of-factly.
"Not like that!" Number 1 yelled. "I told Numbah 3 to phone a certain bakery at a certain time after I set up a gig with Grandma Stuffums!"
The TND and KND gasped. They couldn't believe it. Their leader turned on Number 3, Daniel Triplets, the strongest member of the Teens Next Door.
At that moment, Numbah 3 came storming into the tree house.
"What I miss?"
More tears ran down Number 1's cheeks. She buried her face in her palms and ran up the stairs of the tree house to her room.
"Okay, now I really need to know what I missed."
"Numbah 3, I don't know how to tell you this," Numbah 1 began, "but Number 3's been kidnapped."
"It was Number 1's fault," Numbah 4 added.
"What?" Numbah 3 cringed back in surprise. "Tell me what happened!"
"Yesterday,"
"What do you mean 'yesterday'?" Numbah 3 snapped to Numbah 4.
"You were sleeping," Numbah 1 announced, "and you eventually blacked out. The team and I found you; we took you back to your house in the TND G.R.A.B.B.E.R."
"Well, okay," Numbah 3 rubbed the back of her head. "Continue, please!"
"As I was saying," Numbah 4 began, "yesterday, after the little party disaster, we heard you and Number 3 fight. He left your room. The cake exploded and Liver and Onions popped out!"
"They were hiding in there," Number 2 added. "Yes, they're adorable, but they were so mean and scary! They grabbed Number 3! He screamed and they took him away."
"We tried to track him down," Numbah 5 chimed in, "but Numbah 5 says that they were already long gone."
"So, Number 1 tricked me with the cake?" Numbah 3 asked.
"Well, um," Numbah 1 fumbled with his words, "yes."
Everybody stood in the silence. The moment was long. Blank stares looked at one another.
A voice came and ruined the moment.
"Nigel!" Lizzie called from the front yard. "Come out! You promised me a date the other day!"
Numbah 1 sighed heavily and went to the window nearest to Lizzie. He activated his rocket shoes and flew down to the yard to meet her.
"Look, Lizzie," he began, "this is a really bad time."
"Is this another one of those stupid Kids Next Door missions?" Lizzie asked. "You never come to see me anymore! All you do is go out playing with your horrible friends and never paying any attention to me!"
"Lizzie, this time, it's serious. One of our Teens Next Door has been kidnapped!"
"So? You're not a Teen Next Door."
"The Teens Next Door are our friends, Lizzie! We try to help each other out as much as we can!"
"I thought you guys were against teenagers." Lizzie snapped, crossing her arms.
"These are different!" Numbah 1 explained.
"Fine, Nigel!" Lizzie gave in. "But next week, I want a date from you! No excuses!"
"Right,"
Lizzie walked away from the tree house. Numbah 1 sighed long and hard. He reactivated his rocket shoes and flew up back into the tree house. He looked at his team and sighed long and hard.
"Take my advice, Boys: never get a girlfriend."
"Especially when that girlfriend is Lizzie!" Numbah 4 announced.
"I wonder if she'll stay that way her whole life," Number 2 thought aloud, "and if she does, I wonder who she'll marry."
"With my luck, it'll be me," Numbah 1 sighed, "but enough of that. We need to find a way to get Number 3 back!"
"And make Number 1 pay for what she did," Numbah 5 added.
Speaking of Number 3, he wasn't so sure where he was when he woke up. He felt sick, extremely sick. He held his head in the palm of his hands.
"What happened?" he mumbled. "I feel so sick."
Number 3 rubbed his head. The room he was in was light. There was one door, no windows, and tons of food all over the floor. He looked to a corner of the room to see a wastebasket. He got up and walked over to it. He took a tiny peek inside.
"Gross!" he shouted. "Who threw up?"
"You!"
Number 3 turned around with a jolt to see Liver and Onions standing next to the single door of the room. Liver smirked. Onions laughed.
"You were throwing up all of last night!" Liver yelled, laughing harder. "Apparently you don't have such a great appetite for Granny's food."
"I ate some of that disgusting food in the middle of the floor here?" Number 3 asked in disbelief.
"You were forced to," Onions explained, "and it was funny to watch you try to resist!"
"So that's where you get your cheap laughs!"
"Uh-huh!"
Liver and Onions cracked up as they left the room. Number 3 had a mix of anger and embarrassment bubbling through him. He sat back down in the middle of the floor and held his head in his hands. That didn't last long.
He jumped up and threw up in the wastebasket.
That night, at the TND tree house base, things were a little worse than usual. Number 1 went to bed at 6:00 that night. That was a little too early even though it was a school night. When it was his bedtime, Numbah 1 gently walked up the stairs and slowly got into his sleeping bag just in his day clothes and shoes. He set his sunglasses down next to him, but couldn't sleep until about one o'clock A.M. Numbah 2 slept on the biggest stuffed animal in Number 2's room like he usually did. For once, he took his flight cap and goggles off; he set them next to Number 2's glasses. Numbah 4 slept on the rug underneath and quilt in Number 4's room as per usual. Numbah 5 took the couch while Number 5 snuggled underneath the sheets in his little cockpit like he usually did. The room with a giant three painted on the door stayed empty. Numbah 3 went home to sleep that night.
Numbah 3 was up late thinking about how the day had gone. She had lost her counterpart, the TND leader had totally lost it, and she lost everything that made her who she was. She wasn't all that happy or sweet anymore. She was too busy thinking. She looked to the clock on her nightstand that read 2:27 in the morning. She sighed.
It must've been loud because there was a knock on her door.
"Kuki!" somebody called.
"Go away, Mushi!" Numbah 3 called back, tugging her sheets over her head. "Shouldn't you be sleeping anyway?"
"Shouldn't you?"
"I hate it when she does that," Numbah 3 mumbled to herself. "Alright, come in."
Mushi creaked the door open and peeked inside the room.
"Mama said you got in a fight."
"It wasn't a fight, Mushi! It was just a little argument!"
"You need a hug."
Mushi climbed up on Numbah 3 bed and hugged her big sister the best she could. Before Numbah 3 knew it, Mushi had fallen asleep against her. For one moment in the entire day, Numbah 3 smiled and tucked Mushi under the covers of her bed.
"Get some sleep," she whispered, and she kissed her on the head. "Big Sister's going on a search and rescue mission."
~*End of Chapter Four*~