Disclaimer: I don't own KND and never will. But I do own my new Learner's Permit, so go me...

A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for your reviews and suggestions; I really got a kick out of reading them (and I think I scared the rest of my family in the process). I only have a couple of comments to make:

Jill: Yeah, I know Number Four's been in an elevator like, a buhzillion times, but don't you agree it was kind of funny? I dunno, maybe I'm just twisted. But I'm a mild claustrophobic too, so I can understand it to an extent. I'll admit that if I really wanted to I could have made him crazier, but I thought that would be a little too much, you know?

But I'd like to dedicate this chappie to my sister. When she and I were younger, and even now, we both hate(d) bees with a loathsome hate of hatredness. I thought this would make a cute idea for a chapter. But never fear; I'll reveal my top three favorite suggestions for the next chapter at the end, so vote for your favorite in a review. (Also, if you think this is kind of a stupid way to go about finding chapter topics, by all means, say so. I don't like looking stupid—especially when I'm acting stupid...like now....)

One more quick note: doesn't show my little divider things anymore for some reason () so now you'll be seeing the horizontal rule instead. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Operation: BEES

Bumblebees

Evade

Extermination

Superbly

Yes, by now you should all be familiar with the fact that Sector V is stationed in a tree house, like many of the other KND sectors across the globe. But what many don't realize is, whatever happened to the creatures inhabiting the tree before the tree house was built? Well, the answer to this question is simple: everyday fungi, insects, and your occasional cuddly (and potentially vicious) squirrel or two have been evacuated, one way or another. Because this knowledge is so elementary, so fundamental, and undeniably common sense, most don't stop and think about these commonly found roommates.

This theory (if you can call it that) explains why the operatives have never had any difficulties with the neighboring wildlife, and if they have it's never been addressed. But there's always an exception. Always. Regardless of what precautions taken, there will always be opposition, conflict, and those things in life that are—to put it simply—not fun.

It started out like any other ordinary day. The birds singing, the sun shining, the mission...well, there wasn't a mission planned for today; too bad for Number One.

"Kids Next Door, as you're aware that today is—eh—a day off," Nigel addressed the rest of his group in the recreation room, the tone of his voice emphasizing his overwhelming disappointment. "I've arranged a special task for us." He continued as he began to pace around the large purple couch in front of the enormous wide-screened television.

Number Three waved her sleeves wildly in the air from her spot on the floor next to the couch. "Ooh! Is it a party? Parties are fun! Let's have a party! Party! Party!"

"No, we're not having a party, Number Three. This is serious business. I'm assigning you in groups to S.T.A.R. the tree house this afternoon. It's been almost a year since we've last done it, so I believe it's high time we checked up on it again." Number One replied and whipped out a clipboard from behind his back.

"'Star' the tree house? What's that mean?" Number Four asked and jumped up onto the sofa between Numbers Two and Five.

"'Survey Truthfully And Report'." One answered and began to distribute notebooks out to the rest of them. "Basically, you'll be going around and checking on whatever maintenance is required in certain sections of the tree house."

"Aw, man. How can you think of working when we have a day off? Seriously, boss. You're gonna kill yourself one of these days by overwork. Why not just take a break?" Number Five groaned and kicked her feet up onto the footrest.

Number Two looked up from his magazine and gave a good-natured shrug. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Last time I S.T.A.R.ed the tree house by myself. It's actually kind of fun."

"Fun? Ooh! I wanna S.T.A.R.! Do we get costumes?!" Number Three cried enthusiastically.

Number One rolled his eyes and handed Kuki a dark blue notepad and pencil. "No, Number Three, there are no costumes. All I want you to do is check levels 51 through 75 with Number Four." He turned to Numbers Two and Five and handed Number Five a green notepad and a clickie pen. (Man, I love those) "You two will be working on levels 25 through 50."

"Hey, what about you, boss? You're not gonna leave us with all the fun work an' all, are you?" Number Five asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Number One cocked an eyebrow. "I will be working on levels 24 to the ground floor considering it's closer to my house. I expect you all to report back here in the recreation room in exactly one hour with your S.T.A.R. reports ready," He declared as he took out his own yellow notepad and stuck a pencil behind his ear. "If you encounter any trouble along the way, remember there are KND Emergency Call Boxes stationed throughout the tree house."

"Yay! Let's go work on our S.T.A.R. report, Number Four!" Three chirruped as she skipped out of the recreation room, dragging Number Four by the arm.

"I can walk fine by myself, you know," Number Four argued as they rounded the corner, his face turning pink.

"Well, I've gotta warn you guys, S.T.A.R.ing the tree house can take a while, so we can't waste any time." Number Two remarked as he shut his magazine. He paused and grinned. "I suggest we'd better get S.T.A.R.-ted then!"

Number Five let out another groan, her hat covering her eyes. "Man, don't you ever quit?" She pushed the footrest out from underneath her and got off the couch, the green notepad in her hand. "Let's do this."

Number Four tapped the wooden floor with his foot. "Well, it feels alright, but I think it's a little loose. What do you think, Number Three?" He asked as he turned to face his partner.

"Super swell-erific!" She exclaimed and began to furiously scribble into the dark blue notepad.

Number Four suspiciously raised an eyebrow. "What are you writing in there? This is supposed to be strict S.T.A.R. business." He abandoned his inspection of the floorboard and walked over to take a peek at Number Three's notes. "C'mon, lemme see," he protested as he stood on the tips of his toes, barely passing her shoulder.

"Here you go," she beamed and handed him the notebook. "I've been taking reaaaaally good notes, see?"

Number Four grabbed the notebook and scanned over her swirly writing. "What the heck? Number Three, we're supposed to be recording maintenance repairs for the tree house, not 'level 67 is my favorite because it's sunny in the afternoon'! What kind of a repair is that?!"

"...Aw, but Number Four, that stuff's so boring! Wouldn't you rather be writing about all the pretty stuff in the tree house?"

"Not really..." He grumbled in reply. "Come on, we're wasting time. Let's go check out the east hallway."

Number Three shrugged, hooked the pencil back into the plastic spiral notepad ring, and skipped off behind Number Four. "After that, let's go check the Power Storage Supply Room, okay? Okay? Then we can see all the hamsters!"

Number Four stuffed his hands into the pockets of his orange hoodie. "I guess so, why not? With all those smelly hamsters running around, there's bound to be some repairs needed so—hey, do you hear that?" He stopped in mid-sentence, his posture tensing.

Three paused, her ears alert. "Hear what?" She scanned the hallway and inattentively thumbed the edge of the notepad.

"That buzzin' sound..." Number Four answered. "It sounds like it's coming from Number Five's room." They both quickened their pace until they rounded the corner, directly next to the outer wall of Number Five's room.

"I don't see anything..." Number Three replied as her eyes gazed across the walls. "But it definitely sounds louder, that's for sure."

Number Four withdrew his hands from his pockets and sauntered over to the corner of the hall where the outer wall of Number Five's room met with the hall wall. He tapped his foot against the corner. "What's this?" A lump of crusty brown something lining the edge of the wall caught his eye. He drew up his foot and gave the wall a sharp kick.

"Number Four!" Three cried in protest, her floppy sleeves sailing through the air in a frenzied blur. "You just said we were supposed to be writing about repairs, not making them..." She trailed off as the wooden wall crumbled under Number Four's fierce kick, revealing...

"A bee nest?!?!" Number Four exclaimed and hastily jumped away from the hole in the wall. "Look at the size of that thing! It's spreading through all the wall insulation!" His voice held a note of fear.

"Do you think Number Five knew about it?" Three asked, completely undisturbed by the giant honeycomb hive.

Number Four bit his lip. "I doubt it; she'd have to be pretty stupid not to notice." He gave an involuntary shudder and looked away from the hive. "You know what I'm saying, Number Three? I mean, she's usually—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?" Number Three was standing in front of the hive with her usual goofy grin on her face, and nearly twenty bees perched on her arms. Number Four's eyes widened in shock. "Are you crazy or something?! You're going to get hurt!!"

"I'm saying hi to the bees!" She smiled and began to pet-talk to the insects on her arms.

Number Four pulled at his hair and bit his lip harder than before. "You're nuts! Ya can't just... cuz ... y'know ...the bees, and...well..." he grasped at the words, trying to form a solid argument.

"I don't see what your problem is, I think they like me," Three announced and her smile widened. As if in approval, the bees began to buzz in unison.

"But the bees...!"

Number Three sighed and gestured the bees back to their hive. "Fine, I'll go get the others. You guys better BEE-have!" She grabbed the notebook in her hand and jogged off down the hall.

"Huh? Wait, that's not what I was talking about—Number Three!" Number Four called and slumped to the floor. "Don't leave me...with the bees," he began to edge as far away from the nest as possible and let out a yell of frustration. "I HATE bees!!!"

"...'BEE-have'? What the heck....?"

Forty minutes had passed—forty rather successful minutes, or so Number Two assumed. So far they hadn't come across anything major: a few loose floorboards, some rotted roof tiles, and a couple of unstable stair banisters. Other than that, the KND tree house was in excellent condition.

"Yo, Number Two! You think we should check our rooms?" Number Five called from across the hall on level 50.

Number Two paused and scratched the back of his head while leaning up against the wooden balcony railing. "Yeah, I guess so, that would be a good idea. We should ask the others about it first to get their permission."

Number Five laughed. "Numbah Five thinks you just don't want to go in Number Three's room."

He shrugged and answered with a grin. "You got me there, but can you blame me? It's stuffed with stuffed animals." He dwelled on his last remark for a moment before continuing. "Get it? Stuffed full of stuffed animals?"

Number Five rolled her eyes. "Yeah, nice job. Whatever. Let's go find the others." She said with an off-handed wave and headed down the stairs. "You know, Number Two, those jokes of yours are getting worse every da—" Suddenly Number Three crashed into Number Five on the staircase, knocking her over onto her back. "Hey, what gives?" She asked angrily and adjusted her hat.

"Number Five! Number Five! It's awful! You've gotta see!" Number Three cried. "There's a gigantanormous bee nest inside your bedroom wall!"

Number Five's face paled. "A bee nest? Show me."

"Okay, but you're not gonna liiiike it," Three warned and turned back down the staircase. Number Two grabbed the green notebook and ran after them, quickly jotting down some more notes.

Number Five remained silent the entire way down the stairs and pulled her hat over her eyes. Number Two turned to her and frowned. "What's wrong, Number Five? It's just a bee nest."

She glared out from underneath her hat, her face still pale. "Number Five hates bees," she replied icily.

"Aw, don't worry about it, I can get rid of them. After all, what harm can a bunch of bees do?"

"Number Five is allergic to bees."

"Ah...sorry..." Number Two trailed off in embarrassment. After a moment his face lit up in resolve as he struck an overly dramatic pose. "But don't worry! I'll take care of those bees, you'd better BEE-lieve it!"

The color returned to Number Five's face and she gave Two a playful whack on the shoulder. "Man, you've really gotta work on those phrases 'o yours."

"We're almost there," Number Three assured with a wave of her sleeve and rounded the corner, smacking into Number Four.

"Number Three," he gasped and grabbed her by the bottom cuff of her sleeve. "You've gotta see this!" All traces of his earlier heroism had abandoned him and his hair was slightly matted.

Numbers Two and Five exchanged nervous glances and follow Four down the hall until they reached Number Five's room. Number Two let out a low whistle. "Wow...now that's what I call an un-BEE-lievable hive!"

Numbers Four and Five cast him a glare and Five stepped forward to get a better look, still maintaining her distance. "Man, they're in there pretty deep—HEY!! Look at what they're doing! They're eating all of my secret candy stash!" Number Five cried and began to run forward in a rage.

Number Two held her back by the shoulder. "It's not that unusual; bees are attracted to sweet and sticky things, so it's not a surprise they're in your wall where you hide your candy."

"But...!" Number Five sighed deeply and leaned up against the adjacent wall. (Not the wall with the hive!) "Well, what are we gonna do about it now?"

Number Two gave a goofy salute and slapped Number Four on the back. "Never fear, Number Four and I will take care of your bee problem!"

"We will?" Number Four asked, his voice rising an octave.

Number Two nodded. "We'd better, BEE-fore it gets out of hand!" He started laughing at his own joke. Numbers Three and Five exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"You can't do this to me!! It's not fair! I know, how about YOU go first, your number comes before mine anyways!"

"Sorry—I'm going to my room. I've got an idea that'll get rid of the bees reaaaally good," Number Two called and ran off down the hall, leaving Number Four standing miserably in front of the hive. As if on cue, the bees began buzzing menacingly.

"You do that," Number Five added and followed Number Two. "I'm going to my room to get my allergy kit. Hopefully there aren't any bees in there yet."

Number Three waved her sleeves in the air again. "How are you going to get rid of the bees, Number Four?"

Number Four desolately stared at the beehive, his face paling. "Eh..."

"What's your plan?"

"Um....."

"Aw, come on! Lemme in on your super-secret ideas, pleeeeease?!?!?!"

Number Four lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do..." Three clapped her sleeves in anticipation. "I'm gonna KICK THE CRUD OUTTA THOSE RUDDY BEES!!!!!" He hollered and began to charge at the nest.

"Number Four—!" Three hastily blocked her eyes, then as an afterthought, she moved one of her hands to the side and peeked through the crack.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Several Floors Down....

"Nigel, did you hear something?" Mr. Uno asked as he lovingly polished his sousaphone.

"No, Dad," Number One answered as he paced around the living room, jotting down notes in his notebook.

Mr. Uno shrugged. "How'd you like to practice with me once you're done with..." he paused and watched Number One take notes. "...ah, whatever it is you're doing."

"Sure, Dad,' Number One answered absentmindedly with the casual wave of his free hand.

"That's the spirit! I knew you had it in you, Nigel, you old bean, you."

"Sure, Dad."

"Hold still or it won't EVER come out!"

"I AM holding still!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

Number Three put her hands on her hips and gave Number Four a stern stare, their faces only inches apart. "If you want me to take that stinger out you'd better stay still or else, got it?!" Number Four looked away and grumbled some sort of an answer. Number Three grinned—that was good enough for her. She leaned over and started scraping out the stinger on the left side of his face.

"ACK! What the heck do you think you're doing?!" He hollered and backed away.

Number Three rolled her eyes. "I'm taking the stinger out!

"Not like that you're not!"

"You can't pull bee stingers out, Mr. Smartystung or else they'll get more stuck! You have to scrape them out!"

Number Four glared. "Then I'll do it myse—AGH!!!!!!"

Number Three grinned in amusement as she watched Four painfully attempt to remove the stinger. "Change your mind?"

Number Four grumbled again and averted his eyes as Number Three delicately removed the stinger. "See? That wasn't so bad! Now all we need is some ice and you'll be good as new," she declared and rose from the floor.

"Yeah...thanks..." he muttered as his face flushed red.

"Sure!" she paused and frowned in concern. "Number Four, are you okay? You're all red—oh no! Are you having an aller—aller—uh...allergic reaction?!"

Number Four's blush deeped and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I am NOT having an allergic reaction!!!"

"But you're all red!"

"I'M FINE!!!"

"Okay, okay," Number Three sulked and waved her floppy sleeve dejectedly. "That's the thanks I get for helping," she glared.

Number Four's face fell and he held up his hand to his sore face. "Ah...that's not what I meant...sorry..." he looked away and rubbed the injury.

"Hey guys!" called a voice. It was Number Two running down the hallway. "Are you ready for this?" He slowed down and caught his breath. "Check it out!" He held up a large spray can attached to a wooden board. There were two color-coded triggers on the facedown side of the board. "It's my new N.I.T.S. device."

"Nits? But we're dealing with bees this time, not lice," Number Four interrupted, still rubbing his sore check.

"Nasty Insect Termination Spray. I've never had the chance to test it out. Wanna give it a try?"

Number Four hastily shoved his hands into his pockets and gave Number Two an icy stare. "I'm never going near those ruddy bugs again. I nearly lost my face."

"I think you're exaggerating a little bit, Number Four," Three giggled.

"I am NOT!"

"Uh, hey you two...do you want to get rid of the bees or not?" Number Two interrupted and impatiently twirled the N.I.T.S. device in his hands.

"YES!"

"NO!"

Number Four and Three exchanged glances. It was Number Four who broke the silence. "Are you insane?! The whole point of this was to get rid of those stupid bees! What's WRONG with you today?!"

"You can't just kill them, they didn't anything wrong," Number Three hotly replied, her sleeves obscurely waving through the air.

"'Didn't do anything wrong'?! They stung my face! How is that not wrong?!"

"They only did it because you were trying to kick their nest out of the tree house!"

"Yeah, well they shouldn't have made their cruddy nest in our tree house to begin with!"

"GUYS!" Number Two yelled. An uneasy silence filled the hall. "Are you going to let me spray the bees or not?"

"Of course! What are you waiting for?!"

"No way! That's sooo mean!"

Number Four and Three glared again at each other when Number Five rounded the corner and stepped into the hall. "What's all the commotion, you guys?"

Number Two held up the N.I.T.S. device in the air. "We're trying to decide whether we should spray the bees. What do you think, Number Five?"

Number Five shrugged and fingered her allergy kit. "I dunno, whatever you think is best. Just don't let them near me."

"But Number Five! You can't let Number Two just kill the bees! It's so mean!" Number Three cried in protest.

"I didn't say anything about killing the bees, just don't let them near me, okay?" Five answered and walked over to Number Two. "Nice spray thingy, by the way."

Number Two's face lit up. "Hey! I have an idea! Instead of killing off the bees, why not find a new place for their nest?" "Plus, once they're gone, we can clean out all of the leftover honey comb for ourselves!" He began to intently study the N.I.T.S. device. "If I can change the chemical solvent in the spray to a confectionary-based liquid, then it'll attract the bees somewhere else. Remember, the only reason why they're nested in Number Five's wall is because that's where her stash is stored, right?" He began to talk quickly, his voice rising with excitement. "So if I just spray it somewhere else, the bees will be attracted there instead!"

Number Five's face broke into a genuine grin for the first time that day. "You know, Number Two, that just might work."

"What? What might work?" Number Four asked. "I don't get it!"

"But where are we going to find a confec—uh, that liquid thingy you were talking about?" Number Three tilted her head to the side in thought.

Number Five's grin turned into a tight-lipped frown. "I know what to do," she said, her voice low.

Number Two's eyes widened in realization. "But Number Five, you can't! There's bound to be another way—"

"No," she held up her hand, cutting Number Two off in mid-sentence. "There is not other way." Her eyes blazed with determination. "We're gonna use some of my stash."

"Huh? What the heck are we talking about? Stash?" Number Four clenched his fists and frowned in confusion. "When are we gonna smush those ruddy bees?!"

Number Two continued, ignoring Number Four's oblivious remarks. "Are you sure you want to? I mean we could always use soda or some other candy."

"No, it's the only way." Her eyes narrowed. "If it's my candy they want, it's my candy they'll get."

Number Three nodded in agreement. "Can we have a party afterwards, then?"

"What party? I just wanna know when we're getting rid of that stupid nest!!"

"So, how did your S.T.A.R. reports go, everyone?" Number One asked. Except for himself who was standing to the side, the rest of the group was gathered in the recreation room on the couch.

Number Three waved the dark blue notepad in the air. "Okey-dokey! We've got lots of great notes!"

"No we didn't," Number Four argued. "I still think you should've written the important stuff, not a load of crud."

"It's not crud—I think putting flower pots on every window sill is a great idea," Number Three responded haughtily.

Number Five handed One the green notebook and clickie pen. "The report's all ready to go, boss. How'd your inspection go?"

Number One sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Not too well, I'm afraid. I missed levels 14 through 22 because my dad roped me into a half hour of sousaphone practice." He flipped his yellow notebook shut and put it off to the other side. "We'll have to input these in the computer database later." He slumped onto the couch in exhaustion and yawned.

"Hey, Number One! Want a snack?" Number Two called and walked into the room with a heaping plate of honeycomb.

"Honeycomb? Where'd that come from?" Number One asked and scratched the back of his head.

Number Two and Five exchanged grins. "Let's just say we've been busy as bees this afternoon, you know?"

Number One shrugged and took a slab of honeycomb off the plate and passed it around the couch. After all, it wasn't every day he had a break, right?

"There, now that's a sight to see," Mr. Uno declared proudly as he gazed upon his freshly polished sousaphone with pride. He paused and sniffed the outer brim. "Smells good too—almost like candy. Sure was nice of Nigel's friends to lend me that sousaphone scrub spray," he hummed to himself and balanced the sousaphone on his knee, preparing to practice.

He held his mouth up the mouthpiece and drew in a breath when he was suddenly interrupted by a loud buzz. "Huh?" He squinted his eye and looked into the mouthpiece suspiciously. "That's funny..." He drew in another breath and was interrupted by an even louder buzz. Mr. Uno frowned. Was the sousaphone out of tune? Did it need to be repaired?

Only one way to find out...

A/N: Okay, I know it fell a little short on the end, and no offense to poor Mr. Uno, but to be honest, I really couldn't think of anywhere else to stash the bees. But now that this chapter's done, it's time to vote! Which idea do you like best?

Jill— receiving clothes instead of toys for gifts. Man, I could do some pretty cool stuff with this story line....

Houkanno Yuuhou—getting your tounge stuck on a frozen pole in the winter...ouch. It's never happened to me before, but you've gotta admit, the visual accompaniment is priceless.

Stripified—the tendency of young children to use 'bad' words without knowing the meanings.... that brings back memories of a certain night at the dinner table where my sister made a very inappropriate comment about her pants.... (shudder)

Well, I thought those three would be easiest to utilize in a chapter. But everyone had some really cute suggestions, so don't think I didn't like them. I felt these three were the most common experiences that most people can relate too, so leave me a vote and tell me what you think. It might be a while before I get the next chapter out though, with school and all. Plus, thanks to bucksfan7, Blue Autumn Sky, ahhelga, Numbah34, and Miss Puar for your suggestions, and to all the other amazingly awesome people who took the time to review my chapter. I've never had so many reviews in my life! But don't forget to tell me if you liked this chapter too; I tried to add some fluffy-ness just for you, soraoathkeeper, okay?

P.S. To Blue Autumn Sky: I find pink flamingoes to be very inspiring too. Thanksies!