From the notebook of a very lonely person:

I don't know how long we can keep doing this. We've done it ever since we were old enough to understand Father, his power, and what he wanted since we were born. We haven't done it because we wanted to, we've done it to stay alive.

Ever since we were 5 years old, we have kept up an act of being perfect, having only one mind, no freedom, no choices, doing whatever Father commands of us. We learned secretly to speak in unison, since Father wished us all to be one, for he is convinced indivuality in children is bad. When my brother HD, (who's real name is Alfred, but he prefers HD) who was only six at the time, disobeyed, Father hurt him. Very badly. He had to go to the hospital for a quarter of a year, and he still wears a helmet to hide the scars. I don't want to talk about it, even in the secret of a journal. But we are quite sure that if any of us disobeyed now, he would kill the person without a second thought.

So we hide our personalities. Our fears, our joys, our hopes, and our sadness. In front of anyone but us, we are a mindless clone, a single symbolic creature of perfection. We hate it. The only emotions we can display are anger, and in front of Father, fear. He enjoys being feared.

Father knows nothing of who we are, and doesn't wish to know. To him, we are just pawns in his game of destruction. He doesn't know of Ginny's love for cats, or HD's fear of heights, or Leah's talent at art, or John's hopes to be a computer grapher.

Most of the time, we are sucessful in creating the illusion of granting Father's fantasies. But once in awhile, one of us breaks under the strain. We are only human, and no one person can bear to hold that much secret. And when they do, they make mistakes. But we cover for them, always.

Why do we cover for them? Because the five of us are all we have. My brothers and sisters are the only people I can trust, who understand how I feel, because they all carry the load of secrecy with me. If I was alone, I know I would become insane from the pressure of hiding to save our lives. Companionship, even if it is only your siblings, eases the pain a great deal.

The Kids Next Door? At first, we didn't care about them one way or the other, fought them only because if we didn't, we would be fed to the dogs. Then we began to truly hate them. We hated them for all they had, for the fact that they had freedom which we would never have in our childhood. For the fact that they, despite all their differences, were accepted and liked by everyone.

And, we admired them. Numbuh One, for his leadership skills and undying devotion to his friends and the rest of the Kids Next Door. Numbuh Two, his piloting skills, and his loyalty. Numbuh Three, who has a heart so pure and good that she radiates joy. Numbuh Four, a true warrior, who hides secrets just like us. And Numbuh Five, a cunning and calm girl, who can get her friends out of any trouble we get them into, much to Father's annoyance and our displayed annoyance, but secret awe.

And they had each other. I have my siblings, and we love each other and care for one another. But having friends, each with their different ways, always willing to back you up, is different somehow. That's what we envy the most.

I just hope that we can keep our act of perfection up. I worry about the others, especially HD. His hate for Father is so great that he can barely control himself, even in the best of times. All of us occasionally lose control, including myself, but he is the most frequent.

But act we must. Until we can leave this wretched house of pain and fear, and step into the world of freedom. Until we can finally have open personalities, to love and to hate and to befriend who we choose, instead of his wishes. Until we can fulfill our own dreams. Until then, we will help each other through. The world is quiet here.

-Lee, from the Delightful Children From Down The Lane

Author's Note/Disclaimer: I don't own KND, or claim to own it, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda, so on and so forth. Anyway, I've always loved the Delightful Children, and I loved reading Operation DOLL and Operation SALE, two of the finest examples of DCFDTL fan fiction, althought SALE would never ever happen, and DOLL definetely needs a sequel! I don't care if they're villains, I love 'em anyway. Flame me all you want, I don't care. They will always be my favorite cartoons characters, although Numbuh Three runs a close second. For the few out there who know what this means, my name is also Number11.5, or the PCFDTL. I have and always will have these names for the DCFDTL drilled into my wreck of a mind.

Tall Kid-Leonard, Lee, or TK

Short Blond Kid-John, or SBK

Blond Girl-Ginny (and yes, she's my favorite. I love this name!)

Helmet Dude-HD, no real name

Pigtail Girl-Leah

The world is quiet here.