Disclaimer: See the prologue and Chapter 2.

Now I'm preparing for school. Come on! It's a different excuse than all the other ones! It's still not great, but at least it's an excuse, right? ... RIGHT??

Chapter 7

"'It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home,'" Cree announced. "Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Chapter 14, Page 118." Cree said these words with disgust as she looked to the sobbing Number 1. She saw the tears stream down her cheeks in full waterfall form making puddles on the box tops. The sweat ran down from the scalp of the fourteen-year-old, and she watched as it mixed with her tears and dripped down on her skirt. Number 1 gasped for breath and let her fingers twitch when she began to tremble. Not being able to face the older teenager and the operatives, she buried her face in her arms and silently wished for them to go away.

"You won't get any help if you constantly ignore us," Chad reminded her. "We know it sucks to be you right now, but things can only get better for you."

"Yeah," Number 10 agreed, "when you're at the bottom, things only improve. You know, this is just like that one part in Some day's Dreamers when"

"I'm not in the mood, Sara," Number 1 mumbled. "Can we skip the anime lecture and get straight to the point?"

"No problem,"

"Thank you,"

"A serious point is that we need to keep Melanie alive!" Hammie interrupted. "I know what happened to her. When Father reached into her chest and pulled out that shiny ball, he stole her soul. He stole what keeps her alive."

"They're just going to keep on murdering everyone until they scare the remaining population into obeying and following them," Number 30C added. "It's a despicable act really, but we won't fix it by sitting here crying."

"Don't you think I know that??" Number 1 screamed through tears. For the first time in all this mess, she was able to observe Number 30C. She was a tall girl with snowy white skin and blonde hair back in a messy ponytail. The outfit she was wearing was obviously from the arctic. It was a pale pink mini dress that reached many inches above her knees. The trim of the long sleeves and end of the dress had white, puffy cotton-like balls sewn on. The balls were also at the buttons for the outfit and around the collar. Number 1 gently shook her head. "My life just sucks right now. I caused the death of everyone in the future and then I go and kill myself. I caused the death of your niece, Cree, because I didn't do anything to save her."

"But neither did anyone else," Cree replied. "Did you ever stop to consider that?"

Number 1's tears stopped falling as Cree spoke those words. She never did stop and think about what the Delightfuls were saying. Nothing they said really added up to anything going on. History seemed to be repeating itself when it came to the legends, but was their adaptation all that accurate? Their explanation seemed to be going around in circles with no end in sight. That was it! Their explanation was confusing with all the wrong details put in incorrect spots!

"Don't tell us you didn't notice!" Chad whined. "Nobody could move. One of those Delightfuls cast a spell on us to keep us petrified until Father could extract Melanie's soul. Trust us, if we could move, we would have done something a long time ago."

"I didn't want to see my future niece die," Cree told Number 1. "I would have saved her if I could."

"I keep thinking that I'm forgetting something really important to piecing this twisted puzzle together," Number 1 murmured. "Maybe if I can think of something else for some time, it'll jog my memory."

"You do that," Hammie confirmed. "I'll keep Melanie alive."

"How?"

"It's simple."

"I'm already confused."

Hammie sighed and said, "By linking our hands together, I can make something of a life support system between our blood streams. I know it sounds crazy, but it will work."

"Is it another one of those futuristic things?" Number 10 asked. "It reminds me of this part in Sailor Moon S when Chibi-Usa...aw, forget it."

"Spare me, please." Hammie walked over to Melanie's body and propped her up on his lap. He gently grasped one of Melanie's cold hands and pricked one of her fingers with some scrap metal lying on the ground. He then pricked his own hand and held onto his friend's. Their blood mixed and created a white aura as if he was working healing magic.

"Our bloodstreams have been fused," Hammie announced. "My working blood will now circulate in Melanie's body."

"But doesn't that mean you'll eventually" Number 1 trailed off.

"Yes, but if you can stop the Delightfuls and save Melanie's soul in time, I won't have to."

"Oh, that's just perfect! I'm in no condition to go out and save the world from a bunch of goody-two-shoes kids and teens! We're all going to die"

"That's the type of attitude that WILL get us all killed!" Cree scolded, stomping off to the Teens Next Door leader. "You need to have a little behavior adjustment. I can't believe I'm telling you this, especially considering the fact that I hate you, but you're the only that can save us all! You have all the answers locked within your memory."

"Yeah, right," Number 1 snapped. "Cree, I'm just a fourteen-year-old high school freshman. I don't have the power to save the world."

"I'm not asking you to save the world, just to think back!"

"To what?"

"Your past life."

Cree slapped Number 1 in the back of the head and sent her crashing to the ground. The remaining kids and teens gasped in surprise and watched Number 1 sleep. Cree dusted off her armor and turned to them.

"She'll be awake in a few hours," she told them. "It shouldn't take her that long to regain her memories, but it might take some time for her to wake up."

"Oh, I know what you're talking about," Chad realized. "You're right. Her mind is what can save us all."

As Number 1 slept, she felt memories flood back to her mind. These memories were ones of another life; they were sad and depressing. The horrid past kept racing back to Number 1's mind. Her unconscious psyche prevented her body from moving or waking from this important sleep. However, this was not a new sensation to her. With psychic abilities growing and changing her soul, trances with these muses seemed to be a part of her everyday life.

For the next few days, the ruler was not herself. She kept to herself all day and could not even bear to look at her slaves. The slaves would sometimes creep against her doorway and listen to her. Mostly, they heard nothing but sobbing and screaming. Eventually, there was a moan or two, and then they would hear a splurging sound. One night, they listened in on her never-ending splurging show.

"That's so gross," the first woman commented. "It sounds like she's vomiting."

"Oh yeah," the second man agreed. "She's been going like that ever since she came back from that meeting on the other planet. I wonder what happened to her."

"If she wanted us to know, she would have told us by now," the second woman snapped. "Besides, we should be happy that she's not bossing us around. Do you have any idea how long it's been since we've had a day off? We shouldn't care what happens to her."

The first man sighed and said, "So why do we?"

The other three slaves nodded in agreement at his remark. They moved away from the door when they saw the handle jiggle. Holding their breath, the slaves watched as the ruler opened the door.

"Come in," she allowed. "There's something I seriously need to tell you."

"What is it, Your Majesty?" the first woman asked, walking into the leader's bedroom. "Has something upset you? Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"There's nothing you can do."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! I am always right!"

The leader closed the door to her room as soon as her slaves were inside and sighed. She let tiny tears fall as she faced them with trembling arms. The slaves could tell that something had seriously gone wrong in her visit to the other planet.

"I am not always right," the ruler corrected herself. "I better just come out and say this. I guess there is no other way to say it. My slaves, when I went to the planet for the meeting, I was raped."

The servants could not believe their ears. This woman that was supposed to be so tough and strong had let her guard down. Someone had pried his way into their master's heart and then used her feelings against her. It finally came together that it was obviously the problem for the past few days.

"That asshole!" the first man cried. "Which ruler was it? I'll go and kick the crap out of him!"

"It won't do any good. The damage has been done."

"Damage? What to you mean, M' lady?" the second woman asked, thinking she knew where this was going. "Are you emotionally hurt?"

"Sorry," the second man began, "but that is obviously going to happen. Not that I'd know anyway."

"No," the ruler mumbled. "By 'damage' I mean I'm in trouble. I'm pregnant."

"So that's what that bastard did to you!"

"He was powerful."

"You let yourself be used by him? Which one was he?"

"What does it matter? He's already gotten away with his crime."

The first man gritted his teeth and grabbed his leader's hand. She looked at him with a pathetic face. The man gave her a disappointed yet supportive glance.

"We're going to make sure you're okay," he told her. "Whoever that ruler was obviously does not care if you bare him a child. He just wanted to make you suffer."

"That's right," the first woman agreed. "This child will be your child."

"And we are going to do whatever it takes to make sure he or she is born happy and healthy!" the second one finished. "There is no way in hell that anyone is going to make our ruler upset."

The leader could not smile. She felt as if her life was going downhill.

Nine months passed from that day, and the leader gave birth to a small baby boy. The child resembled her more than it did the father, and it made her believe for the first time that this was her baby. She loved this child as if she was the happy partner of a husband. However, she was too realistic to believe that anyone would fall in love with her for what she had done in the past. Now, there was this.

One day, a few weeks after the boy was born, there was news of a group of shadows traveling across the galaxy. All leaders were told to keep a close eye out for the demons. In case they did decide to visit a planet, the only option would be to evacuate. The demons were indestructible.

The ruler heard about these rumors a little too late. A group of shadow demons came up to her castle one day demanding to see her. The leader agreed to that, and the slaves opened the front gate. The two main demons walked inside, but they refused to bow down before the ruler.

"We are here to kill you," the first one announced. "It is just you and four slaves versus the seven of us. You cannot win."

"I cannot believe that you think you can just barge in here and threaten me like that," the ruler replied. "This castle is sacred to my people. My mother and father passed on when I was a very small child. I am the only one of my kind left. That is why I brought these four people here from Earth. That is why I agreed to keep my son."

"We heard about the issue with your son," the second demon remembered. "It turns out that he does not have a father, correct?"

"He has a father," the leader countered, feeling more offended. "He is just not married to me."

"So you let yourself be used?"

"Do not DARE to speak to our leader like that!" the first man shouted, taking a spear from the wall. "How are you to run in on us anyway?!"

"Be quiet!" the first demon ordered. He turned to the leader. "We have powers beyond your wildest imagination. We can kill all of you in a split-second. If you agree to hand over your life and your planet to us, we will make sure your child grows. If you refuse, we will kill your child and all of your slaves."

The ruler could not disagree with that. She was outnumbered. She had not trained her slaves to do battle. Usually, no one attacked her small planet since it seemed so "inferior." She thought about this. She did not want to lose her son even if he was a "mistake." Yet she did not want to see him die so she could keep her planet. After a moment of arguing with herself, she finally came upon a conclusion.

"I don't trust you, but I'll do anything for my son," she told them, handing her child to the second demon. "Take my life. Take anything you want. Just don't hurt my son."

"Oh, we'll see to that," the first demon replied, turning to the five demons behind him. "They're all yours."

One at a time, the demons confronted the ruler and slaves. The first one slit the ruler's throat. The second one hanged the first woman. The third chopped up the first man. The second woman was burned at the stake. The fifth demon shocked the second man to death.

The first main demon grabbed into the child's chest. His final cry surged throughout the hallways of the castle.

Number 1 woke herself by screaming. She sat up straight and looked at everyone lounging in the safe house. Numbers 10 and 30C sat on top of a mountain of boxes playing rock, paper, scissors. Chad lay down next to the super computer playing Solitaire. Hammie still sat holding Melanie in his arms. Cree stood across from Number 1.

"I thought you'd never stop screaming," she told the TND leader. "I thought my ear drums were going to start bleeding."

"I think mine are," Chad commented, poking his pinkie into his left ear.

"Whatever," Cree snapped. She turned back to Number 1. "Did you have an interesting sleep?"

"I can't believe what happened," Number 1 replied. "The past was so horrible and" She trailed off as Cree helped her stand up. "Hey, Cree, were you ever a member of the Kids Next Door?"

"Yes, why?"

"What about the Teens Next Door?"

"No, I figured it was too late. I'm going to be seventeen soon. My birthday is in another month."

"What numbuh were you when you were in the KND?" Number 1 was getting curious, as if she was remembering something important.

"I was Numbuh 11."

"HOLY CRAP!!! OH, MY GOD!!!"

The world turned silent at Number 1's sudden explosion. Cree cocked her head and eyed Number 1 suspiciously. Chad continued to poke his ear, thinking he was going to be deaf at any minute.

"Why is that such a good thing?" Cree finally asked. "Yeah, I was an operative. You were, too, right?"

"I was Numbuh 859!"

Cree's eyes grew wide. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming as her arms started to tremble. She grew a wide grin on her face and allowed a muffled shout to pass.

"I remember you!" she recalled. "I remember the night I met you! It was the night when I found you tucked away in that spare bedroom. The Kids Next Door operatives had just lost their leader, and I was visiting to see if everything was okay. As my inspection of the base went on, I found you sleeping in the room."

"And then I woke up and met you for the first time!" Number 1 continued. "This is so cool! That morning was the day after my birthday, so it was February 26. I had just finished writing in my journal. I still have that journal!"

"I can't believe you were Numbuh 859."

"I can't believe you were Numbuh 11."

"And after all this time of hating each other's guts! I'm sorry."

"Me, too. Why don't you and Chad join the Teens Next Door?"

"It sounds like a plan!" Number 10 agreed, jumping down from the tower of crates. "This is fun! It's just like the one part in Chobits when Kotoko joins Hideki, Chi, and Sumomo!"

"Does she ever stop?" Chad asked, standing up straight and taking his pinkie out of his ear."

"I never shut up. You'd better get used to it!" she laughed.

"Oh yeah," Number 1 agreed. "Before we go home and celebrate our two new operatives, we have a few Delightful asses to kick."

End of Chapter Seven