I don't have the rights to Kids Next Door. Oh, for those who were wondering, no, as far as I know none of the Delightful Children have been given official names. If they ever do get names, somehow I doubt the chances of 'Dolores' actually being correct are very high. I just thought it sounded like a 'delightful name'… (That and its meaning seems fairly appropriate.)
The worst part of holding down the fort was waiting for her friends to return.
Numbah Five drummed her fingers absently against the counter. The typically calm and collected operative was concerned about the rest of her team. The last time she'd heard from them was when Numbah One called to inform her that they were almost to their destination, and that they would be landing a safe distance away to avoid the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. getting wrecked again.
She wasn't one to worry needlessly. It was just that Five had gotten a bad feeling about the situation from the moment the signal first arrived. The intuitive girl usually turned out to be right; her hunches rarely went unjustified. If she got the impression that something was going to happen, then something would happen – usually something that complicated matters for the Kids Next Door.
There wasn't much she could do now, though, except wait for the others to make it back. At the very least, they should call or something…
Numbah Five looked over at the only other occupant of the Treehouse. After her teammates departed to confront the four rampaging Delightful Children, the fifth member of that creepy clan had withdrawn to a corner of the room, where she'd spent the wait staring into space. As the capped girl watched, Dolores shifted her weight, clasping her hands a little tighter, though already they were white-knuckled from gripping each other so fiercely.
Five shook her head slowly. She couldn't believe that this trembling slip of a girl was related to the quartet of eerily similar children. It wasn't simply that she wasn't wearing the silly sailor suit styled school uniform that those brethren always wore. It had more to do with her eyes than anything else. Numbah Five simply couldn't equate the other girl's haunted sky blue eyes with the emotionless glassy eyes that all the Delightful Children shared.
Dolores then looked over at her. When she noticed that the stealth operative was watching her, the petite lass hesitated. She stared down at the floorboards for a while, slowly raising her gaze to meet the other's deep brown eyes.
Numbah Five did nothing except wait, sensing that the pale child was having some sort of internal struggle. Knowing better than to pry, she waited patiently for the other girl to start the conversation.
"…Um…"
That, however, was all Dolores got out before the console Five was sitting at beeped. The Delightful Child immediately fell silent again and looked at the screen, and Five swiveled in her seat to see what was happening.
The S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. had returned, and was in the process of landing. Numbah Five adjusted the brim of her cap again, pressing her lips together in a thin frown.
(Something ain't right here… Why didn't they call and say they'd beaten those Delightful Children from Down the Lane or anything?)
Hearing a soft sigh, Numbah Five glanced swiftly at the other occupant of the room. To her surprise, the pale blonde looked vaguely relieved at the notification that the rest of the Kids Next Door had arrived. However, before Five had a chance to fully process the thoughts that flash of relief triggered, the door swung open.
Both girls turned around and saw Numbah Four walk into the large chamber. Immediately the capped girl's sense of unease increased: the Australian didn't exactly look too thrilled. Instead of striding in with his head held high and bragging loudly about how he'd kicked butt, the blond boy was glaring at the floor, bangs covering most of his face. His B.A.T.T.A.R. dragged along the floor instead of resting over his shoulder the way he normally carried it.
Unfortunately, Dolores wasn't nearly as attuned to such things as the dark-haired agent. Though she saw the same signs, she misinterpreted their meaning.
"Numbah Four? …Are you injured?" she asked, standing and taking a hesitant step forward.
Five noticed the unexpected note of compassion in the lass's voice. Four didn't. The fighter raised his head and glared at Dolores, dark green eyes flinty.
"It's your fault…"
Suddenly, with a wordless scream of rage, he lunged at the startled girl. Dolores didn't even have time to blink before the shorter boy slammed into her. Numbah Five sprang from her seat, but wasn't able to do anything more before Four brought his fist back and punched the fragile child in the face.
"It's all your fault!" bellowed the furious Four, driving his fist home.
Dolores cried out and collapsed. Both hands flew to cover her cheek, and her blue eyes filled with pained tears as she stared up at the fighter. An enraged snarl contorted the visible part of his face, making it a terrible thing to gaze upon, yet Dolores was unable to look away.
"It's your fault," he snarled. "This wouldn't have happened if you Delightful Dorks weren't so STUPID--!"
He swung back his arm again, but his second strike was arrested when Numbah Five grabbed his wrist.
"Hey there, calm down!" she ordered. "Numbah Five doesn't know what's going on, but you shouldn't just start throwing punches…"
"You don't understand!" roared Four, glaring furiously at his teammate. "Her stupid family just kidnapped Numbah One!"
Numbah Five's eyes widened with shock under the brim of her cap, both at the enraged boy's words and the startled gasp she heard from Dolores at his explanation. Figuring he'd made his point, Four tried to yank his arm free, and glared at the stealth operative when she held firm.
"What're ya doing? Lemme go!" he demanded.
"Look, Numbah Five knows you're mad, but you don't hafta take it out on her, you know."
Four stared at her, his facial expression screaming 'you've GOT to be kidding me'. Dolores had a similarly dumbfounded look on her face, and she stared at Numbah Five, still covering her injured cheek with both hands.
That was when Numbah Three burst into the room. The normally cheerful girl was in a frightful tizzy, and her long black hair flared behind her while she raced over to her fellow female operative.
"Numbah Five, Numbah Five, it's terrible! The Delightful Children from Down the Lane kidnapped Numbah One! We tried to stop them, we really did, but we couldn't reach him at all! And now we don't know where he is, and he's in big trouble, and we've gotta save him, and, and…"
Her chest heaved as she began to sob, expressive cinnamon eyes brimming with tears. Numbah Five tried to soothe her as best she could, but didn't let go of Four's arm, knowing he'd try to knock Dolores' block off again.
"We hafta do something!" insisted Three, waving her arms in the air.
"I know, Numbah Three," Two agreed, entering the room.
The pilot was carrying his shoes, wearing only his sand-covered socks. Turning his footwear over, he shook all the sand he could out even while looking nervously at the rest of the Kids Next Door.
"What exactly happened back there?" Numbah Five asked, looking to the mechanic for answers.
"Well, basically, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane set a trap for us," he reported, grimacing. "They caught Numbah One off guard by distracting him so that he didn't notice that something was coming in behind him 'till it was too late. He fell into this sandbox filled with something like quicksand, only it turned out to be a cage in disguise. We tried to get him out, but they took him out of reach and took off. The S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. was too far away, so we couldn't get to it in time to track him."
"Hmm…" Numbah Five rested her chin in one hand and frowned thoughtfully. "Now, how are we gonna go get him back…?"
"It'll be easy, at least," declared Four, grinding his now freed hand into his palm. "I mean, we've taken that mansion before without any of our weapons, so all we have to do is…"
"Um, actually, Numbah Four? I'm not so sure that's where they've taken him…"
"What?!" Four turned and glared at the mechanic. "Whadd'ya mean by that?!"
"Well, uh," Two twiddled his fingers anxiously, looking over at Five rather than face the fuming Four directly, "When they took off, I noticed they weren't heading in that direction. In fact, it looked like they were heading away from it."
"Well, where else could they go?!"
"They're probably at some secret base somewhere. I mean, they gotta know that we're gonna come after Numbah One, so they wouldn't wanna go someplace we'd immediately check, right?"
"Well that's just great!" Four threw his hands up angrily. "How the heck are we 'posed to find 'em if they're off hidin' like a bunch of rats!"
"There can't be too many places where they could hide," muttered Numbah Five pensively. "Now how are we gonna find them before they can do anything to Numbah One…"
"…Um…"
Dolores shrank back as her soft interjection caused all of the Kids Next Door to immediately turn and look at her.
"SHE can tell us," growled Numbah Four. Taking a threatening step forward, he snarled, "You'd better start talkin' now, or else I'll…!"
Before he could finish his threat, however, Numbah Five grabbed his wrist again. The Australian looked back at her, and the capped girl shook her head.
"No way, Numbah Four. Not like that."
"Why not?! She's one of them, remember?! If it weren't for those prissy pansies, Numbah One'd be fine right now! You can't expect me to… Hey!" he shouted as she brushed past him and started toward Dolores. "Don't ignore me when I'm yelling at you! I'm not finished! Hey--!"
The fragile girl trembled, staring down at the floor. She'd barely moved since Numbah Four's blow had knocked her down, save to hold her stinging cheek. When a shadow fell over her, she winced and turned her face away, eyes tightly shut, waiting for the next strike to come.
Instead, gentle hands closed over her badly shaking wrists.
"Here, look at me," a smooth voice asked plainly. "Let me see that…"
Dolores didn't resist as Numbah Five turned her around to face her and slowly guided her hands away from her face. The stealth operative frowned: she could see clearly where Numbah Four had smacked the badly shaken lass, for there was a sizable red imprint on her left cheek. Tears of pain streaked down the bruised flesh, and Dolores regarded the other girl with wide, terror-stricken blue eyes.
Numbah Five knelt in front of the Delightful Child so that they were on the same level. Releasing one of the pale girl's hands, she tipped back the brim of her cap, then gently pushed Dolores' chin up so that their gazes made contact.
"Listen, Dolores," she instructed softly. "Numbah Five knows that you're supposed to be one of our enemies. I know that your Father doesn't like us too much, and we've fought before who knows how many times."
Numbah Four snorted, but Numbah Two clamped a hand over the shorter boy's mouth before he could add his own opinion to the conversation.
"But you know that this isn't right," Five continued, apparently not even noticing the near interruption. Her attention was focused entirely on Dolores as she went on, "You probably know better than any of us what your family's capable of. You know that they don't exactly have the best of intentions for Numbah One."
Behind them, Four snarled indignantly behind the muffling hand.
"Girl, if you know anything… anything at all… about where they might have taken Numbah One, please tell us. We have to rescue him as soon as we can…"
Dolores stared at Numbah Five for a long time, studying the capped girl's face for something. All she saw was complete honesty and conviction. Her deep chocolate eyes met her searching blue eyes firmly, keeping the desperate appeal hanging between them.
Finally, Dolores closed her eyes, breaking the contact. She bowed her head, and for a few seconds total silence filled the room.
"A…all right."
Dolores opened her eyes, but still didn't raise her head to look back up at the Kids Next Door while she nodded once, almost imperceptibly.
"I… I can help you get him back."
(That's all I can do, though. Please don't ask me for anything more.)
"Thanks," Numbah Five smiled even though the petite girl wasn't looking up at her.
"Wow, Dolores, you're really gonna help us?" exclaimed Numbah Three, wide-eyed. Clapping her hidden hands, she cheered, "Yay! You'll help save Numbah One! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"That's all I can do for you, however," Dolores qualified, finally looking up at the small team. "It's just so you can get your friend back, nothing more."
"That's fine, that's fine!" assured Numbah Two, waving his hands. "So, where do you think they could have taken him?"
"…If they were headed in the opposite direction of home, like you said, then there's only one place that makes sense." Dolores shakily pushed to a kneeling position, looking at the pilot. "They must have taken him to the factory."
"Factory?"
"The place where Father had his mechanical versions of playground equipment built. He took us there when he first proposed the plan to us. If you bring up a map, I should be able to point out…"
"Map, shmap! You're comin' with us!" Four crossed his arms and glared. "I don't trust any directions from any Delightful Dork! You'd probably just guide us into a trap or somethin'!"
"My intention to assist you in the recovery of your friend is genuine," insisted Dolores, standing up and placing one palm against her chest. "I don't appreciate that you'd dismiss my assistance so quickly."
"Look, rather than argue about it, why don't you just come along with us?" suggested Numbah Five. "That should shut up Four, at least…"
"Hey!" protested the fighter.
"But Numbah Five, what about the W.A.T.C.H.?" Numbah Two asked.
"That's right," and Dolores gazed down at the band encircling her right wrist. "He did say that he was the only one who knew the code to release this contraption, and while I have it on, there's no way I can leave your base."
"That's easy enough to take care of…"
With that, Numbah Five stepped over, grabbed the lass's arm, and with a quick flick of her thumb popped the W.A.T.C.H. right off. Dolores stared at her in amazement, rubbing her now bare wrist with her other hand.
"How…" she began, blue eyes full of questions.
"No time to explain," Five replied simply. Turning to face the others, she stated, "We have to get going now. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can save Numbah One. Numbah Two, is the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. ready?"
"She's been ready and waiting since we touched down," reported Two, saluting.
"All right then." Five nodded, then smiled fiercely and declared, "Kids Next Door, battle stations!"
#####
A short time later, the skycraft was shooting through the air, cutting a swift path to the factory. The ride was conducted in relative silence: for once the agents on board didn't feel like chatting. The band of friends was too busy preparing for the rescue mission, their thoughts primarily of their lost leader and what the Delightful Children might have in store for him.
Sitting off by herself, Dolores gazed out the window at the passing scenery so far below. Like the others, she was lost in thoughts, but hers took a very different tack.
(Why am I helping them? Was I just too afraid of what they'd do if I didn't tell them where their leader was?)
She shuddered, remembering the raw, naked fury she'd seen blazing in Numbah Four's dark green eyes. But, somehow, even that was overpowered by the memory of the tears brimming in Numbah Three's eyes, the worry that the pilot had shown, the sharp conviction in Numbah Five's expression…
(Could this be… pity? Do I feel sorry for them…?)
All of their reactions had been bound together by one common thread: concern for their leader. …No, for their friend. Numbah One… Nigel Uno… it didn't matter. He was in serious trouble, and they'd immediately decided to go after him.
They didn't have any clue what they might have to face. They didn't have any spy cameras they could send to case out the area beforehand. The only information they had was whatever she told them, and if she misled them in any way, that could be potentially disastrous for the remaining Kids Next Door.
They didn't care. Despite all the dangers, they were charging headlong into the unknown to help one of their own.
(This isn't pity. I… honestly want to help them. I want to… help…)
Trembling, she closed her eyes.
(What's wrong with me…? I… want…)
"We're here," announced Numbah Two grimly.
Dolores opened her eyes and looked down: the smooth metal roof of the warehouse spread out underneath the flying craft. Numbah Two draped one arm over the back of his seat and looked back at the Delightful Child.
"Any air defenses we should know about?"
"N…none," she shook her head in the negative.
The S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. set down carefully, and one by one the unlikely group stepped out onto the roof. Numbah Four was first, B.A.T.T.A.R. at the ready, while Numbah Five and Dolores brought up the rear.
"You all right, girl?" inquired the temporary leader, noticing that the pale girl was clenching her hands together so tightly that the knuckles were turning white.
"…As fine as I can be, considering," came the meek reply. Glancing from side to side, she murmured, "You must be extremely careful. Father didn't bother to set up sky defenses, but that doesn't mean there aren't traps up here."
"Hah! I don't see nothin'!" Four declared. Swinging his metallic club from side to side, the pugilist went on, "There's absolutely nothing up here that could hide a trap, 'cept the door down over there!"
Leading the way over to the doorway, Numbah Four frowned when he saw the bar bolted across the front. Raising his weapon high, he prepared to knock it clean off.
"Don't!" Dolores warned urgently.
Four ignored her completely and brought the B.A.T.T.A.R. down hard. Though the blow did knock the bolt off on the left side, causing it to hang from its weakened supports on the right, a loud alarm blared across the rooftop. As the group looked around, several previously concealed shafts opened, and long chains shot out.
"What the?!" shouted Four, swinging his club and knocking the closest chain away.
"Careful! These are based on the same design used in the equipment to make their supports move!" cried Dolores.
Immediately the kids scattered, dodging away from the clinging chains. However, one of their band, being far less used to direct combat, was snared around the ankle. With a startled cry Dolores fell to the ground, and the metal links snaked up her body.
"Dolores!" Numbah Three shouted.
The blonde girl shrieked as her shackles yanked her backwards into a large shaft that had opened. Her cries echoed through the tunnel as she vanished from sight, the cover sliding back into place over the opening.
"Oh great!" cursed Numbah Four. "So much for our guide!"
"Dolores!" Three screamed again, staring at where the other longhaired girl had vanished
"We can't do anything about that right now!" Five shouted, dodging away from the chains seeking to bind her. "We got enough problems of our own to deal with…"
Numbah Two nodded agreement, as the remaining four members of the Kids Next Door faced off with their first challenge in their mission to save their leader, now without the added assistance of having someone along who could warn what they'd be up against…