Wheeee! I like writing this! Ok, now, who IS Bradford's mortal enemy exactly? Why is he using Numbuh Three as bait? What will become of her? Ok, I got a flame asking why a girl would be wearing boxers to sleep. Let me explain this for anyone else who doesn't understand. It's not really uncommon for girls to wear boxer shorts OVER her underwear as a pair of sleeping shorts. That and as for Numbuh Three being able to fight, didn't anyone see the episode vs. Nightbrace? She can fight; she just doesn't do so often. So for anyone else, who wants to ask me about things seeming OOC, tell me, but so far everyone seems to be enjoying this, which kinda makes me feel good. Thanx for all the feedback. And Muchas Gracias to Flame Extinguisher. I felt kinda bad about my story after Death flamed me, but when I saw your review, it kinda gave me a boost.
Chapter 3: Revelations
"Alright troops! We'll each take one route and try to find Numbuh Three. I don't know what those brats were thinking, but they'll pay." Numbuh One said as he stood by the door. They all stood ready to leave but quickly took to remembering the video note sent to them.
-Flashback-
"Ahh, you're all here now." The Delightful Children From Down the Lane said in their normal tones as they watched Numbuh Four entre the room. They smiled at the angry looks on their faces. They even noticed that Numbuh Four's was particularly angry. "Now. We have something that belongs to you I believe." They said sinisterly. One of them hit a button, and a video feed popped up. Everyone gasped in fear. It was Numbuh Three. She was chained to a wall, and blood was dried to her neck and in her hair.
"What have you done to her?" Numbuh Five asked upset.
"If she's dead, I swear, I'll make you wish you'd never heard of the Kids Next Door! Now where is she?" Numbuh Four asked jumping to the screen ready to punch it in. Numbuhs One and Two held him back while Numbuh One asked,
"Where are you?"
"We're at our old warehouse hideout on the edge of town." They said. "But the only way to save her is..." The Kids Next Door listened intently. "There isn't. If you come here, we'll capture you too." They finished laughing.
-End Flashback-
"Ok, troops, we're goin' in. Numbuh Two, stay out here and guard. Send up the signal flare if you see anything suspicious. Numbuh Four, you take the ventilation systems. Numbuh Five and I will each take one of the entrances. Kids Next Door! Battle stations!" With those words, they all headed off to save their friend.
"Ohhhh... Dammit this hurts. Why was I brought here in the first place?" Numbuh Three asked groggily as she awoke. She could feel that she was suspended in mid-air, and she could feel and smell dried blood matting her hair to her face and neck. She tried to get down but couldn't.
"No, no, Kuki. You can't struggle. It won't help. But I will tell you why you're here. You're here to exact my revenge! I'm going to draw out my arch-nemesis using you." Bradford said walking over to her.
"Why do you want Numbuh One? What did he do to you beyond the others? He didn't do anything..." Numbuh Three mused.
"IT'S NOT HIM! WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT I WANT STUPID NIGEL UNO?" Bradford yelled. The he calmed down. "No, it's not him. I want to make the one who took what I hold most dear to me suffer. I was only Nine years old and he came and swept..."
"What are you talking about? What did who take?" Numbuh Three asked, obviously confused. Bradford turned to her and shrugged.
"Nothing darling. All will come to light in due time." He said to her caressing her face. He abruptly turned on his heel and left, leaving Numbuh Three looking more bewildered.
"That slimy, bloody git. How dare he pull her into this? And for something that happened six years ago too! (A/N: For those of you who don't feel like doing the math that means that they're fourteen.) I'm gonna make him pay!" Numbuh Four grumbled to himself from within the vent above her room. He had heard everything and wasn't happy. He pressed himself back inside the vent to make sure she was really alone before he went in. As he did, he let him mind wander. Particularly to Numbuh Three. For some reason, she could talk him into anything. Even to going to the Anime convention dressed as Quatre, while she herself dressed as Duo, or to save a group of Rainbow Monkey obsessed girls from a trip to Pluto. And then his hands went to the picture in his pocket. Did she really think of him that way?
As she struggled to get free, Numbuh Three thought of her friends. Numbuh Four most of all. He was her Samurai. He often went out of his way to protect her during missions, and would just be nice to her. She couldn't help but miss him. She missed them talking in his room late at night or wrestling until someone gave up. He was the only one who knew that she wasn't as dumb as she let herself sometimes seem. Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice in her ear.
"You look cozy. Feel like coming down now?" Numbuh Four asked her with a smile. She turned to face him asking how he got in there. "Dumb luck!" He told her shrugging. "How about before we get you down, you explain this?" He held up the butterfly picture.
"You found that? Where?" She asked hurriedly. He smirked.
"It was on your desk. I was looking to see if you left a note." She sighed.
"I wrote it in a moment of boredom. I'm not sure why though." She lied softly. Numbuh Four looked at her oddly. He couldn't read her expression.
"Ok then, well, let's get you down." He gently unchained her and placed her on his back. She clung to him and he set off through the door. "We're going this way, because I don't want you in the vent." He told her as she began to protest. She relaxed again and hummed as they began to walk out of the warehouse. Everything was ok, until they reached a rather long room.
"Well, well, my nemesis arrives." Bradford's voice cut through the dark. The lights suddenly came on, revealing him sitting at a desk, almost as if expecting them.
"Numbuh Four? He's your nemesis? What did he do to you?" Numbuh Three asked angrily.
"Bradford! How can you draw her into something that happened when we were nine! Honestly, she has nothing to do with it, so leave her outta this! Plus she's not just some plaything that you can say belongs to you, or was taken away, she's a human!" Numbuh Four yelled drowning her voice out. Bradford laughed evilly.
"So you remember what I'm talking about. Well, if I can't have what I want, on one can!" (A/N: OOOOO! Evil Bradford!) He pushed a button next to him and a laser came out and started firing at them. Numbuh Four dodged it easily, only for more to come straight at him. "Put her down. The target is Kuki." Bradford told him. "Drop her and you live."
"Never! Are you nuts? You'll kill her!" Numbuh Four yelled.
"I'm only nuts for one thing, and if you put her down and leave her here, you'll live!" Bradford said. As they argued, Numbuh Three saw that the wall behind them was solid steel.
"Put me down and back away." She said softly in Numbuh Four's ear. He gasped as her breath tickled him.
"What, are you crazy too now? You'll be killed!" He shouted.
"Do it, and I can get us outta here." He relented grudgingly, and backed away. The beam automatically headed for the small Japanese girl. Waiting until the last second, she jumped out of its path, causing it to hit the steel wall behind her. Part of the beam reflected back towards Bradford, destroying his laser and the other part blasted through the wall, spewing debris everywhere. The parts fell around them, and Numbuhs Three and Four were showered with it. Without thinking, Numbuh Four jumped over Numbuh Three and covered her body with his own. (A/N: Collective awww on three. 1,2,3! AWWWWWWW!) As a rather large chunk hit them both, they blacked out. But before he did, Numbuh Four whispered in Numbuh Three's ear,
"I'm sorry I'm not your Samurai." Then everything went black for them both.
(I am speaking very fast as I write this) OK! That Chapter's done! I hope you like it! What about Three and Four though? They aren't dead. I promise. But what'll happen when they wake up? Will Numbuh Four explain why he and Bradford are enemies? And what about Butterfly? I hope you guys are enjoying this! R&R!