Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Thanks for the reviews. This'll probably be the shortest story in the TND Series. Just telling you. ^^;
~*Chapter 2*~
Number 4 paced around her room with her hands behind her back and sweat pouring from the forehead. She looked to the clock sitting on her nightstand. It read 10:15. She needed to meet Knightbrace back at the candy store in forty-five minutes or else Numbah 4 would get his mouth washed out. She didn't want that. As bad as Numbah 4's teeth were, it would still be a bad fate for the Kids Next Door. She bit her bottom lip so hard that it turned rosy red. Any more, and it would start to bleed. She pulled up her excessively long, orange sleeves and combed through her brown-and-green hair. She let the sleeves fall back down on her hands, and she wiped her brow.
"Oh man, this is so not good," she mumbled. "Everybody's still got mid-terms to study for, and I need to bring someone with me to the little meeting tonight. What do I do? What do I do?"
For once, Number 4, the chiller of the Teens Next Door, started to panic. Her pace increased until she started to run across the floor. She needed a plan, and she knew it. She eventually walked over to the phone and dialed a number.
"I need help!" she exploded. "Numbah 4 of the Kids Next Door has been captured by Knightbrace and--what? Oh, ok, um, yeah. It's alright. Over and out." She set down the phone. "How come Number 194 had to turn eighteen today?" she asked to no one. "That makes Number 86 busy!"
There was a knock on the door of the tree house.
"Can you get that, Number 4?" Number 1 called from the study room. "I think I've just about figured out how to do negative square roots!"
Number 4 gave a stoical look towards downstairs. "There's no such thing as a real answer for a negative square root," she muttered. "It's an imaginary number." She sighed as she trudged her way down the stairs towards the front door. She opened it up, and her face brightened.
"Hey, Number 4," Number 7 greeted. "Have you seen the latest line at Hot Topic?" Number 7 was a mid-sized girl known as Alison to adults. She had long, black, slightly curly hair with a mess of uneven bangs on her forehead. She skin was pale like Number 1's, and she had freckles on her cheeks. She wore a sleeveless black and magenta striped shirt. She hand black fishnets on underneath. Her capris were baggy and dark gray with giant pockets on the sides. Her shoes were black boots with untied laces. She was the most punk out of anyone is the Teens Next Door. She was almost even gothic.
"I am so glad you're here!" Number 4 replied.
"I was just asking you if you saw the new stuff at Hot Topic. Did Number 1?"
"We both saw it, but that's not the point."
"Then what is the point?"
"I need your help!"
"Because?"
"Because Numbah 4 has been kidnapped."
Number 7 stopped and stared. She couldn't believe her ears. "That adorable Aussie boy is gone?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you waiting for? We have to go get him!"
Number 7 grabbed onto Number 4's collar and pulled her outside. "I'm going on a trip!" she called to the rest of the team.
"Wear clean underwear," Number 3 replied. Number 4 cocked an eyebrow and left with Number 7.
The two girls ran as fast as they possibly could. By the time they made it to the candy store on the corner, the time was 10:30 exactly. Number 4 tapped her foot against the wall facing towards the street. Number 7 walked around in a small circle staring up at the night sky.
"You were running so hard that we got here half-an-hour early," Number 4 mumbled.
"Oh well," Number 7 replied. "I know! Let's go see a movie!"
Number 4 crossed her arms and looked at her teammate stubbornly. "A movie?" she repeated. "You've got to be kidding me! Fifteen minutes ago, you were panicking because a villain kidnapped an Aussie boy, and now you're suggesting that we go see a movie to pass the time??"
"Uh-huh."
"You're a spazz."
Number 7 stopped short and let her face drop, almost literally. She gritted her teeth and walked to the window on the outside of the candy store. She pressed her cheeks against it and took a look inside.
"Maybe Knightbrace was kidding," she suggested. "I mean, it's a possibility."
"No, it's not."
Number 7 jumped back. Right in front of her face was Knightbrace staring at her through the window. He opened up the door and smiled menacingly. "Welcome, Girls," he greeted. "Number 4, Number 7. I see you two have received my note."
"We got it alright," Number 7 snapped. "Now give us back the Aussie boy!"
"Beatles? No. You didn't think I'd give up that easily, did you?"
"It was a hope."
"Well, I won't. I'm not that nuts."
"Yes, you are," Number 4 said matter-of-factly.
Knightbrace was ticked now. "I've got a challenge for you two," he announced. "Number 4, something you should know: this is a game. You are to come back on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday."
"No problem!"
"I'm not done. The catch is that you cannot bring Number 7 here back tomorrow."
"Say WHAT???" Number 7 was freaking out, pulling her hair, jumping up and down in place. "This is so dumb! What happens if we don't play your cruddy games?"
"Then I'll wash Wallabee's mouth out."
Number 4 and Number 7 looked at each other nervously. Number 4 sighed and looked at the villain.
"Fair enough," she spat, "as long as it'll get Numbah 4 back."
"If you can win all the challenges," Knightbrace began, "then I'll give Beatles back. If you lose even one, he's mine to clean."
"Deal."
Number 4 shook his hand.
"Good choice," Knightbrace commented, letting go of Number 4's hand. "Now, come inside. The first challenge waits."
Knightbrace walked inside the candy store. Number 4 squinted her eyes and followed. Number 7 cocked her head to the side and sniffed the air. "Ew, what's that smell?" she asked.
"Toothpaste," Number 4 said, and she dragged Number 7 into the store.
The candy shop reeked of toothpaste and mouthwash. Number 4 breathed it in, keeping a very stoical face. Her eyes slowly wandered around to see jars filled to the brim with mints and sugar-free gum. Deep down, she felt something of an insult as she followed the villain into the darkest part of the place. Number 7 trailed behind her watching the darkness suck the people into an infinite void. She tried to hold in how much the smell of fluoride was bugging her. It didn't work much. She was almost like a nuclear reactor when it came to the store and its contents.
"So what's this whole challenge thing about?" Number 4 asked, crossing her arms.
"You'll see," Knightbrace replied. "I promise."
"Will we get away from the smell of this toothpaste?" Number 7 questioned.
"No, you'll have to learn to live with it."
Knightbrace led the girls to a giant jar of mints sitting in a corner. He leaned against it and smirked.
"Your first challenge is a simple one of guessing and luck," he began. "Guess how many mints are in the jar. If either of you gets it right, you both win for tonight. If neither of you get the exact amount, I win, and I wash Wallabee's mouth out."
Number 4 bit her lip. She was not good at these guessing games.
"You're first Number 4,"
"Right. Um, uh," Number 4 stumbled over her words. She scratched her head and looked at the large pot nervously. "Eh, 10,800?" she whispered.
"WRONG!!!" Knightbrace cried. "That's one strike. If Number 7 gets it wrong, you both lose."
"I hope you know what you're doing!"
"I do. Calm down," Number 7 muttered. Her voice got louder. "There are ten thousand mints in that jar exactly."
Knightbrace stared. Number 4 had sweat pouring down her face. Number 7 smiled. There was an awkward moment of silence among the three of them.
"Uh, that's right," Knightbrace announced. "There are exactly ten thousand mints in this very jar."
"I told you I knew what I was doing."
"Well, you do for now."
"Oh, my," Number 4 mumbled. Her jaw hung open and drool started to trickle down to her chin and down her neck.
"It's just the first challenge!" Knightbrace defended. "Number 4, you are to come back tomorrow night with a different friend. Number 7, you are to go home, right now."
Number 7 looked at the villain stubbornly and left. Number 4 went to follow until Knightbrace grabbed her shoulder.
"I will clean Numbah 4's mouth out," he swore. "He deserves it." His fingers started to come up high on Number 4's neck. It felt like he was choking her. The next split-second, it was gone. Number 4 whipped around, but no one was there. She looked hard into the darkness but didn't see anything. She looked at the jar. It was filled with jellybeans. The rest of the jars had sugary candy inside. She was alone in the candy store. She walked towards the door and walked out onto the sidewalk. She looked at her watch. The time was 10:44.
"I've got to get home. The team's probably worried."
Number 4 soon reached back inside the tree house. She found the rest of the team still hanging their heads over mid-terms.
"Hi!" Number 4 called. "How's the studying going?"
"Fine," Number 1 mumbled, "if you like not being able to solve all these equations!"
"Why can't you solve the equations?"
"My crazy calculator won't let me do this nuts-o fraction!"
Number 4 walked over to Number 1 and looked at the equations she was working on. She then looked at the calculator to see "error" written on it.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"It won't let me put zero in the denominator!" Number 1 shrieked. "I must've gotten a defect from the calculator factory."
"Is there such thing?" Number 2 asked, flipping a page in her textbook.
"Yes, because I said so."
Number 4 sighed and walked away from the team. She trudged her way up the stairs to her room. "You can't put zero in the denominator," she began, "because it's undefined."
"I heard that."
Number 4 pressed her ear against the door to her room. Cautiously, she opened it up and took a look inside. There stood someone she did not expect to see.
"Number 274!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about the problem with Numbah 4," Number 274 announced. "Number 86 told me about it. I'm so sorry! I came by to see if you needed help."
"You came all the way from the Moon Base to help me?"
"Uh-huh."
"You rock my socks!"
Number 274 was a mid-sized girl known as Samantha to adults. She had shoulder-length brown-red hair that was highlighted in spots. She wore a lavender t-shirt that had "274" printed on the front and a dark blue jacket over it. She had white sweatpants capris on with sandals. Like her counterpart in the Kids Next Door, Number 274 was the greatest Teens Next Door operative there was. She was actually a little bit of a rival of Number 1's. Number 1 always got incredibly jealous whenever Number 274 had done something great. Either that or she'd say, "She stole that plan from me!"
"How can I help?" Number 274 asked. "I want to help get Numbah 4 back."
"I do, too," Number 4 replied. "I need you to stay over at our base tonight. You need to come to the candy store with me tomorrow. Knightbrace will give us a challenge, and we have to be ready for the worst."
"I hear you, but, uh,"
"Don't worry about Number 1. She'll cool off about last time you came to visit."
"Okay, good." Number 274 sighed with relief. It wasn't her fault that she had beaten Number 1 when it came to selling Girl Scout cookies. After all, it was only by one box. "Should we bring weapons?"
"Knightbrace hasn't issued a battle or anything yet," Number 4 said, "but maybe we should just in case."
"Okay. Now let's sleep. Are the others coming up?"
"The rest of the team has mid-terms. Number 1 is trying to figure out how to divide by zero."
"But that's undefined."
"Exactly."
There was a long moment of silence as Number 4 changed into her orange bathrobe and brown nightgown. She gave Number 274 an extra set of pajamas to wear.
"It's amusing to watch, isn't it?" she finally asked.
"Oh, yes,"
~*End of Chapter Two*~
Thanks for the reviews. This'll probably be the shortest story in the TND Series. Just telling you. ^^;
~*Chapter 2*~
Number 4 paced around her room with her hands behind her back and sweat pouring from the forehead. She looked to the clock sitting on her nightstand. It read 10:15. She needed to meet Knightbrace back at the candy store in forty-five minutes or else Numbah 4 would get his mouth washed out. She didn't want that. As bad as Numbah 4's teeth were, it would still be a bad fate for the Kids Next Door. She bit her bottom lip so hard that it turned rosy red. Any more, and it would start to bleed. She pulled up her excessively long, orange sleeves and combed through her brown-and-green hair. She let the sleeves fall back down on her hands, and she wiped her brow.
"Oh man, this is so not good," she mumbled. "Everybody's still got mid-terms to study for, and I need to bring someone with me to the little meeting tonight. What do I do? What do I do?"
For once, Number 4, the chiller of the Teens Next Door, started to panic. Her pace increased until she started to run across the floor. She needed a plan, and she knew it. She eventually walked over to the phone and dialed a number.
"I need help!" she exploded. "Numbah 4 of the Kids Next Door has been captured by Knightbrace and--what? Oh, ok, um, yeah. It's alright. Over and out." She set down the phone. "How come Number 194 had to turn eighteen today?" she asked to no one. "That makes Number 86 busy!"
There was a knock on the door of the tree house.
"Can you get that, Number 4?" Number 1 called from the study room. "I think I've just about figured out how to do negative square roots!"
Number 4 gave a stoical look towards downstairs. "There's no such thing as a real answer for a negative square root," she muttered. "It's an imaginary number." She sighed as she trudged her way down the stairs towards the front door. She opened it up, and her face brightened.
"Hey, Number 4," Number 7 greeted. "Have you seen the latest line at Hot Topic?" Number 7 was a mid-sized girl known as Alison to adults. She had long, black, slightly curly hair with a mess of uneven bangs on her forehead. She skin was pale like Number 1's, and she had freckles on her cheeks. She wore a sleeveless black and magenta striped shirt. She hand black fishnets on underneath. Her capris were baggy and dark gray with giant pockets on the sides. Her shoes were black boots with untied laces. She was the most punk out of anyone is the Teens Next Door. She was almost even gothic.
"I am so glad you're here!" Number 4 replied.
"I was just asking you if you saw the new stuff at Hot Topic. Did Number 1?"
"We both saw it, but that's not the point."
"Then what is the point?"
"I need your help!"
"Because?"
"Because Numbah 4 has been kidnapped."
Number 7 stopped and stared. She couldn't believe her ears. "That adorable Aussie boy is gone?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you waiting for? We have to go get him!"
Number 7 grabbed onto Number 4's collar and pulled her outside. "I'm going on a trip!" she called to the rest of the team.
"Wear clean underwear," Number 3 replied. Number 4 cocked an eyebrow and left with Number 7.
The two girls ran as fast as they possibly could. By the time they made it to the candy store on the corner, the time was 10:30 exactly. Number 4 tapped her foot against the wall facing towards the street. Number 7 walked around in a small circle staring up at the night sky.
"You were running so hard that we got here half-an-hour early," Number 4 mumbled.
"Oh well," Number 7 replied. "I know! Let's go see a movie!"
Number 4 crossed her arms and looked at her teammate stubbornly. "A movie?" she repeated. "You've got to be kidding me! Fifteen minutes ago, you were panicking because a villain kidnapped an Aussie boy, and now you're suggesting that we go see a movie to pass the time??"
"Uh-huh."
"You're a spazz."
Number 7 stopped short and let her face drop, almost literally. She gritted her teeth and walked to the window on the outside of the candy store. She pressed her cheeks against it and took a look inside.
"Maybe Knightbrace was kidding," she suggested. "I mean, it's a possibility."
"No, it's not."
Number 7 jumped back. Right in front of her face was Knightbrace staring at her through the window. He opened up the door and smiled menacingly. "Welcome, Girls," he greeted. "Number 4, Number 7. I see you two have received my note."
"We got it alright," Number 7 snapped. "Now give us back the Aussie boy!"
"Beatles? No. You didn't think I'd give up that easily, did you?"
"It was a hope."
"Well, I won't. I'm not that nuts."
"Yes, you are," Number 4 said matter-of-factly.
Knightbrace was ticked now. "I've got a challenge for you two," he announced. "Number 4, something you should know: this is a game. You are to come back on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday."
"No problem!"
"I'm not done. The catch is that you cannot bring Number 7 here back tomorrow."
"Say WHAT???" Number 7 was freaking out, pulling her hair, jumping up and down in place. "This is so dumb! What happens if we don't play your cruddy games?"
"Then I'll wash Wallabee's mouth out."
Number 4 and Number 7 looked at each other nervously. Number 4 sighed and looked at the villain.
"Fair enough," she spat, "as long as it'll get Numbah 4 back."
"If you can win all the challenges," Knightbrace began, "then I'll give Beatles back. If you lose even one, he's mine to clean."
"Deal."
Number 4 shook his hand.
"Good choice," Knightbrace commented, letting go of Number 4's hand. "Now, come inside. The first challenge waits."
Knightbrace walked inside the candy store. Number 4 squinted her eyes and followed. Number 7 cocked her head to the side and sniffed the air. "Ew, what's that smell?" she asked.
"Toothpaste," Number 4 said, and she dragged Number 7 into the store.
The candy shop reeked of toothpaste and mouthwash. Number 4 breathed it in, keeping a very stoical face. Her eyes slowly wandered around to see jars filled to the brim with mints and sugar-free gum. Deep down, she felt something of an insult as she followed the villain into the darkest part of the place. Number 7 trailed behind her watching the darkness suck the people into an infinite void. She tried to hold in how much the smell of fluoride was bugging her. It didn't work much. She was almost like a nuclear reactor when it came to the store and its contents.
"So what's this whole challenge thing about?" Number 4 asked, crossing her arms.
"You'll see," Knightbrace replied. "I promise."
"Will we get away from the smell of this toothpaste?" Number 7 questioned.
"No, you'll have to learn to live with it."
Knightbrace led the girls to a giant jar of mints sitting in a corner. He leaned against it and smirked.
"Your first challenge is a simple one of guessing and luck," he began. "Guess how many mints are in the jar. If either of you gets it right, you both win for tonight. If neither of you get the exact amount, I win, and I wash Wallabee's mouth out."
Number 4 bit her lip. She was not good at these guessing games.
"You're first Number 4,"
"Right. Um, uh," Number 4 stumbled over her words. She scratched her head and looked at the large pot nervously. "Eh, 10,800?" she whispered.
"WRONG!!!" Knightbrace cried. "That's one strike. If Number 7 gets it wrong, you both lose."
"I hope you know what you're doing!"
"I do. Calm down," Number 7 muttered. Her voice got louder. "There are ten thousand mints in that jar exactly."
Knightbrace stared. Number 4 had sweat pouring down her face. Number 7 smiled. There was an awkward moment of silence among the three of them.
"Uh, that's right," Knightbrace announced. "There are exactly ten thousand mints in this very jar."
"I told you I knew what I was doing."
"Well, you do for now."
"Oh, my," Number 4 mumbled. Her jaw hung open and drool started to trickle down to her chin and down her neck.
"It's just the first challenge!" Knightbrace defended. "Number 4, you are to come back tomorrow night with a different friend. Number 7, you are to go home, right now."
Number 7 looked at the villain stubbornly and left. Number 4 went to follow until Knightbrace grabbed her shoulder.
"I will clean Numbah 4's mouth out," he swore. "He deserves it." His fingers started to come up high on Number 4's neck. It felt like he was choking her. The next split-second, it was gone. Number 4 whipped around, but no one was there. She looked hard into the darkness but didn't see anything. She looked at the jar. It was filled with jellybeans. The rest of the jars had sugary candy inside. She was alone in the candy store. She walked towards the door and walked out onto the sidewalk. She looked at her watch. The time was 10:44.
"I've got to get home. The team's probably worried."
Number 4 soon reached back inside the tree house. She found the rest of the team still hanging their heads over mid-terms.
"Hi!" Number 4 called. "How's the studying going?"
"Fine," Number 1 mumbled, "if you like not being able to solve all these equations!"
"Why can't you solve the equations?"
"My crazy calculator won't let me do this nuts-o fraction!"
Number 4 walked over to Number 1 and looked at the equations she was working on. She then looked at the calculator to see "error" written on it.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"It won't let me put zero in the denominator!" Number 1 shrieked. "I must've gotten a defect from the calculator factory."
"Is there such thing?" Number 2 asked, flipping a page in her textbook.
"Yes, because I said so."
Number 4 sighed and walked away from the team. She trudged her way up the stairs to her room. "You can't put zero in the denominator," she began, "because it's undefined."
"I heard that."
Number 4 pressed her ear against the door to her room. Cautiously, she opened it up and took a look inside. There stood someone she did not expect to see.
"Number 274!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about the problem with Numbah 4," Number 274 announced. "Number 86 told me about it. I'm so sorry! I came by to see if you needed help."
"You came all the way from the Moon Base to help me?"
"Uh-huh."
"You rock my socks!"
Number 274 was a mid-sized girl known as Samantha to adults. She had shoulder-length brown-red hair that was highlighted in spots. She wore a lavender t-shirt that had "274" printed on the front and a dark blue jacket over it. She had white sweatpants capris on with sandals. Like her counterpart in the Kids Next Door, Number 274 was the greatest Teens Next Door operative there was. She was actually a little bit of a rival of Number 1's. Number 1 always got incredibly jealous whenever Number 274 had done something great. Either that or she'd say, "She stole that plan from me!"
"How can I help?" Number 274 asked. "I want to help get Numbah 4 back."
"I do, too," Number 4 replied. "I need you to stay over at our base tonight. You need to come to the candy store with me tomorrow. Knightbrace will give us a challenge, and we have to be ready for the worst."
"I hear you, but, uh,"
"Don't worry about Number 1. She'll cool off about last time you came to visit."
"Okay, good." Number 274 sighed with relief. It wasn't her fault that she had beaten Number 1 when it came to selling Girl Scout cookies. After all, it was only by one box. "Should we bring weapons?"
"Knightbrace hasn't issued a battle or anything yet," Number 4 said, "but maybe we should just in case."
"Okay. Now let's sleep. Are the others coming up?"
"The rest of the team has mid-terms. Number 1 is trying to figure out how to divide by zero."
"But that's undefined."
"Exactly."
There was a long moment of silence as Number 4 changed into her orange bathrobe and brown nightgown. She gave Number 274 an extra set of pajamas to wear.
"It's amusing to watch, isn't it?" she finally asked.
"Oh, yes,"
~*End of Chapter Two*~