Continuing Transmission

As the room was filled with a blinding light caused by the electrical currents cutting through the air, they zoomed towards their target with unbelievable accuracy.

When they hit, a pain-filled cry came forth, bouncing off the walls and with resound precision, causing a great echo around the room.

But Numbuh 5 was surprised to learn that she felt no pain, and that the voice of the cry was not her own.

Suddenly, the cries ceased as the light dwindled down, allowing all to see the room around them. Blinking slightly, the dark agent rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.

She gasped when she saw Numbuh 1, shakily standing in front of her, his back turned to her.

"Numbuh 1!" she said.

He didn't respond. Instead, he fell to his hands and knees.

Forgetting about her own fatigue, she hurried over to him, kneeling down next to him.

"Numbuh 1…" she said softly.

His breathing was heavy, his chest heaving as he tried to take in the air he had lost. He trembled, almost violently, as beads of sweat appeared from the pain and the obvious effort to stay conscious. His clothing was smoking and tattered from the voltage that damaged his body.

"N-Numbuh 5…" he said suddenly, his voice racked with pain. "A-are you…alright?"

Her eyes widened with surprise at his question. He could he ask her that when it was he who took the blow of the electricity…for her?

"I'm sorry…" he continued, his voice straining, "that I didn't notice you were missing until later. I should have realized…what happened…before…when you averted the beam away from us…trapped here by yourself."

"I did it so you could get outta here!" she said, more upset than angry. "You shouldn't have come back for me! If you had just left…!"

"Abigail is right, Nigel," the five Children said within their robot hiding place. "If you had just left, without looking back, you wouldn't be hurt now. You're much more imprudent than we thought."

With his arm around Numbuh 5's neck, Numbuh 1 was hoisted onto his feet, leaning on his dark teammate for support. "If you think," the Leader said, his voice stronger than before, "that I would leave a teammate…a friend…behind like that, then you don't know me in the least. If that makes me foolish, then fine, I am, but I would never abandon someone when they need me the most."

'Numbuh 1…' Tears were beginning to fill into her eyes as she looked at her best friend.

The Delightful Children smirked. "No matter then. I wanted to get rid of all of you Kids Next Door anyway. This way, I can dispose of two at once."

The robot's arm aimed at the both of them, as another ray of power shot forth.

"Look out!" With all the strength he had left, he pushed Numbuh 5 away from him, just as the current of energy consumed his body.

The Quiet One landed on her back, her eyes widening with fear and horror as she witnessed the site.

"Nigel!" she cried loudly.

Again, the firing ceased, and Numbuh 1 fell to the ground, unconscious.

The dark girl quickly crawled over to him, placing her hands on his back, trying to shake him awake. 'He…he can't be…!' Numbuh 5 couldn't…wouldn't…accept the fact that he…'NO!'

"Numbuh 1!" she said, almost hysterically, small beads forming in the corner of her eyes once again. "Numbuh 1, please! Wake up! Wake up, Numbuh 1!"

But there was no response from the comatose boy.

She couldn't stop the tears that began to stream from her eyes. She cried into her arms, her tears dampening her friend's red shirt, singed from the electric blows. Gut-wrenching sobs escaped from her throat.

She didn't care anymore. She didn't care that she didn't seem like the calm, collected Numbuh 5 anymore. She knew she seemed now to be a very afraid-looking 11-year-old, and she was. She was very afraid. She was afraid of what would happen to her friend…not her leader, but her friend, the friend she had known for six years, the greatest six years a kid could ever have. No, she didn't care that she didn't seem like Numbuh 5 anymore. She was just a scared Abby.

"Don't be upset, Abigail," the Delightful Children said, obviously enjoying her grief, though greatly surprised by it. But they ignored the fact, letting the smirks on their faces get the better of them. "You will be joining him soon enough."

Her cries ceased, though some tears still remained in her eyes. She lifted her head up from her arms and Numbuh 1's back, looking at the Delightful Children with unconcerned eyes. Though she noticed that the robot's blaster was charging up again, her eyes revealed that she didn't care.

Just as the electric beams were fired, something seemed to hit the robotic arm, causing it to point upwards.

The beam hit the ceiling, causing it to crumble. The blast went through the ceiling creating an opening, revealing the sky above.

Numbuh 4 landed on the other side of Numbuh 1, facing his dark associate. "You alright, Numbuh 5?" he asked.

She nodded solemnly, her eyes fixed on Numbuh 1's limp body.

Looking at his lifeless leader, Numbuh 4 growled, clenching his fists.

"Nice of you to join us, Wallace," the Children said. "Would you like to end up as Nigel is?"

"You freaks!" he cried, turning to face them. "Ah can't believe you're tryin' ta do this! Even afta what Numbuh 1 was tryin' ta do for ya!"

A slight, dull chuckle was heard. "Nigel has never done anything for us, except to lead you annoying Kids Next Door to be great thorns in our sides."

"Ya don't know anythin'! Ya've been tryin' to get rid of tha one guy that was tryin' ta help ya!"

"What are you talking about, you fool?"

"You're tha fools!" he retorted angrily. "While you dimwits were thinkin' of ways ta get rida us, we were thinkin' of ways ta get rida you! Before we got 'ere, we set up a bomb. We were plannin' on blowin' ya to bits.

"But Numbuh 1 didn't want to. Even afta all ya did ta 'im, and ta us, he didn't wanna kill ya! When we were runnin' away, he was hopin' ya would follow us, so that you could escape with us, and that you would get out safe!

"And this is 'ow ya repay him! By tryin' ta kill 'im! Ah'm sure your precious "Fatha" taught ya betta than ta kill someone who was jus' tryin' ta help ya!"

The Delightful Children were stunned, even if they emotionless expressions didn't give that away. Nigel…was trying to help them? After they had told him their plans to annihilate his friends, after their plot to turn them against each other, he wanted to help them?

It could be a trick. Wallace could be making the whole thing up. The story of the bomb and Nigel trying to help them could be a deception, trying to lead them into compunction in an attempt to get an edge over them.

But as they looked into the young Aussie's eyes, even hidden underneath his blond, messy bangs, they couldn't perceive the idea that he was lying. They knew…Wallace was telling the truth.

There was a large rumble, rattling the worn-down warehouse. Looking at his watch, Numbuh 4 cursed slightly under his breath.

"One minute…" he said. He looked down at the cataleptic figure of Numbuh 1, and Numbuh 5 kneeling beside him. He had to get the both of them out. But how?

"Numbuh 4!" The Tough Kid looked up in the direction of his codename was called, seeing the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. hovering overhead.

He could see Numbuh 3 standing by the open door on the underside of the ship. She threw down a rope ladder, which reached down to where he and Numbuh 5 were.

He steadied the swaying ladder, turning to his fellow operative.

"Numbuh 5," he said, "we gotta climb up tha ladda if we're gonna get outta 'ere!"

But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Numbuh 5!"

Still no answer.

He was beginning to get angry now. "Snap outta it! Numbuh 1 saved ya so that you would be alright! If ya don't climb up the ladda now, he woulda gotten 'urt for nothin'!"

She seemed to snap out of her trance, as she stood up, looking at Numbuh 4.

"Ah'll get 'im. You get up tha ladda."

She nodded once, before taking hold of the ladder, proceeding up.

He watched her go up, but when she was about halfway, the building rumbled again.

"Crud! Numbuh 2," he called, "take 'er up!"

The Aussie was about to go up, when he froze, looking at the unconscious Brit.

As the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. began to lift, Numbuh 4 planted his feet on one of the steps of the rope ladder, holding onto it with one hand. Just as he passed over, the Aussie grabbed the red shirt of Numbuh 1.

He gripped the ladder tighter, feeling as the gravity tried to pulled down the Brit back to Earth. The weight of the dangling boy added with his own caused the rope ladder to sway, making it harder for him to hold on to both the ladder and his leader.

But letting go of either wasn't going to help any. Whether he let go of the rope ladder or Numbuh 1, he would regret if forever.

As they placed a great distance between them and the warehouse, he looked back to see a robot emerging from the broken depot, flying in the other direction.

"There they go," Numbuh 4 whispered silently to the unconscious Numbuh 1. "Tha Delightful Children are getting away safely, jus' like ya wan'ed 'em ta. Ah hope ya're happy, Leada."

His fingers suddenly slipped from the rope ladder. He let out a yelp as he and Numbuh 1 began to fall.

Numbuh 5 gasped as she witnessed the two of them falling.

The Aussie swiftly reached out, grabbing the last step of the rope ladder in time. Gripping tightly, he let out a soft sigh, before looking down, his legs dangling, as well as Numbuh 1.

There was a loud explosion, and Numbuh 4 looked up to see that the bomb had finally gone off at the storehouse. The force of the detonation whipped by him and Numbuh 5, causing the rope ladder to rock dangerously, and the S.K.C.L.A.W. struggled to maintain stability as it fought against the strength of the bomb's discharge.

Numbuh 4 gritted his teeth, doing his best to hold on to the rope ladder and Numbuh 1. Looking up, he called, "Numbuh 5!"

She looked down at him.

"Ya gotta climb up tha ladda! Ah can't climb up tha ladda while tryin' ta hold onta Numbuh 1, but Ah can't stay this way foreva! Ya gotta climb up tha ladda and help Numbuh 3 pull us in!"

Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he could feel the concern and fear that were held there within.

He shuddered slightly. She always seemed to do that, not only to him, but to everyone. For as long as he has known her, and as long as she wore the red cap, he and the others would be able to sense what emotions she had in her auburn orbs, even if they couldn't see them. It was rather strange, but they always knew how she felt through her eyes, visible or not.

But he could feel what she felt at the moment.

"Dun worry! You go on up tha ladda! Ah ain't gonna drop him! Ah got him."

She nodded, looking up and beginning to ascend to the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W.

He looked back down at the unconscious boy who was dangling beneath him as he did his best to hold on to. "Yeah," he said quietly, "Ah gotcha, Leada. That's tha way it's gonna be from now on…"

Transmission Interrupted