Disclaimer:Genosythe is not the owner of Codename: Kids Next Door.
A/N:Better late than never! Here we go.
The life after
Chapter 3
The alarm went off. I ran towards Numbuh One's room. All the others were right behind me. I knew that something was going on. A new mission was about to start. We ran into the room.
"What's going on?" Numbuh Two called.
"Are we under attack?" I asked with my light voice.
"Team - The Delightful Children from Down the Lane has done it again," Numbuh One told us. "It is time to bring down their Really, Really Destructive Machine." He turned towards Numbuh Two. "Is the new machine ready, Numbuh Two?"
"Yes, sir!" Numbuh Two confirmed.
"Good," Numbuh One said. "Kids Next Door - to the ship!"
We all got in our transporter pipes and landed in Numbuh Two's room. The new ship was ready and standing by the opening of the airplane shaft. We all went onboard.
Numbuh Two, who's the pilot, started the ship. "Hold on to your butts," he muttered and flew us out of the tree house.
I looked out of the window and saw a bunch of teenagers crossing the street below us. They stared at us with curiosity. "Cruddy teenagers!" I muttered.
"What?" Numbuh Three turned towards me.
"I hate teenagers!" I said angrily.
She smiled at me.
"Save some hate for them darned Delightful Brats now, Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Five told me smiling.
"I always have some hate left over for them!" I exclaimed. "Just you wait! I'm gonna give them a bang!" I swung my fist. "And then a pow! And then a grr! I'm gonna give them a real woopin'!"
Numbuh Three laughed. "They're stupid!"
"Calm down, team," Numbuh One said. "I'm not sure if we're fighting with other weapons than the ones installed in the ship."
"Crud!" I said. "At least let me use a torpedo or something on them!"
All the sudden something hit our ship. "We're here!" Numbuh One shouted. "And The Delightful Brats have spotted us!" Shaded behind the glass case of one their Really, Really Destructive Machine, the Delightful Children were staring up at us with satisfied smiles on their faces.
"Bring it on!" I screamed, clenching my fists and gritting my teeth.
"Yeah!" Numbuh Five united, lowering her cap to cover her eyes.
"Bring her lower, Numbuh Two," Numbuh One ordered.
"Aye-aye, sir!" Numbuh Two replied, saluting the leader.
The Delightful Children were shooting heavily at us.
"Numbuh Five, activate cannon!" Numbuh One ordered.
"Roger that, Numbuh One," she said and went over to a control panel at the left side of the ship. "Activated!" We started firing back at The Delightful Children's machine down on the ground. The Delightful Children had been busy destroying a new skate park before we showed up.
"Don't blow up the entire skate park now," Numbuh Two said, frowning.
"It's already messed up," Numbuh Five replied irritated.
Then something hit our ship hard and made it shake pretty bad.
"What happened?" I shouted.
"They took out one of our engines!" Numbuh Two said worried. "I have to take her down."
"Do it," Numbuh One said. "We'll have to do it by hand from here. You got your wish, Numbuh Four."
"Yeah!" I exclaimed.
"Everybody grab a weapon from the back!" Numbuh One ordered. "Numbuh Two - make sure you land this thing pretty far from the Delightfuls. We don't want them destroying it."
"Roger that," Numbuh Two replied.
Numbuh One, Three, Five and me went to get some weapons. "Lock and load!" I exclaimed. Numbuh Two met up with us in the back.
Numbuh One looked at us like only a leader can. "Kids Next Door - Battle Stations!" We all ran off the ship, shouting, with our weapons to take down our enemies. We shot at their machine, but it wasn't of much help. They were shielded pretty well, behind a thick layer of glass and metal.
"We need more powerful weapons!" Numbuh One realized.
"No really, you think?" Numbuh Five replied sarcastically.
I was still not giving up. I got closer to the machine with a trash can lid as my shield. I shot at them and got in a few pretty good ones. But then they hit my shield. I got slung back by the pressure and bounced into our ship - and blacked out.
I got up with a chocked shriek. Now I was totally dripping with sweat, but I didn't give a crud. I had now woken up from another weird dream, but this time-...
"Kids Next Door!" I said out loud and grabbed my hair. "I'm one of them! I'm Numbuh Four!" It all came back to me now. I had forced it back. All of my memories were back. All of it! I remembered everything. I remembered that day I got decommissioned. What a horrible day... Then I gasped. "What about Numbuhs One, Two and Five?" I had never seen them after that day we got decommissioned. "I wonder if they're okay..." I could still remember their names. Numbuh One was Nigel Uno. Numbuh Two was Hoagie Gilligan. Numbuh Five was Abigail Lincoln. I could also remember where they'd once to lived, but I wasn't sure if they still lived there. What if Abby had gone back to France?
I had to know if they were around. I had to talk to them and know if they remembered anything about our past as a team. I glanced at the clock on my night stand. 4:15 am? I made an irritated noise. "I can't wait that long!" I cried. I got out of bed, took a long shower while I was thinking hard about everything, got dressed and went down stairs to get something to eat.
I just had another bowl of chocolate cereal. Usually I eat breakfast together with my parents on Sunday mornings, but I didn't have time to wait for them to wake up and make it now.
I checked my watch. 4:56 am. It was still very, very early. I never got up this early. But today was different. I had reason to get up early. I had to check on Nigel, Hoagie and Abby. I had to! I was just hoping they still lived where they'd used to live.
I went out of the house - and froze on the front porch. Why don't I just take the car? Nobody's using it today anyways. I already had my licence. I ran back into the house and got the car keys from the table in front of the big mirror in the hall. It didn't take long before I was sitting behind the wheel, starting the car. The sun wasn't even up yet as I started to drive away from the house. The sky was coloured pink and orange.
There were no cars out now. No wonder! Who the crud is up at 5 on a Sunday morning to go for a drive?
I drove carefully down the street I remembered to be where Nigel had used to live. And just as expected, Nigel's house was still there with the big tree sticking out of the roof, but the Treehouse was gone. There was nothing left of it. I let out a tiny cry. Nothing left. All gone... I couldn't believe it.
I stopped at the side of the street and got out of the car. Then I walked over to the house. I stared at the tree. My room was up there once, I thought sadly.
I walked quickly over to the mail box by the end of the drive way. "The Uno Family," I read on the side of it. I glanced over at the house. "They still live here!" I was so happy I smiled. I ran to the back of the house and looked up at the window that once belonged to Nigel's room. I wasn't sure if it still was his room, but I had to check.
I picked up a few pebbles from the sidewalk and went back under the window. With a groan I threw one of the pebbles at the window. Direct hit! I threw another one. A few seconds later someone came to the window and opened it. It was Nigel! I recognized the face and the bald head.
"Who the hell are you?" he shouted angrily and glared at me. "And what the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice had changed, it was even deeper now.
I realized that he didn't recognize me. "Nigel Uno, right?" I said to him.
"Yeah, but who are you?" he replied.
"My name is Wally Beatles," I told him. "I have something really important to talk to you about."
"Can't it wait?" he asked irritated and sighed. "I haven't got much sleep lately."
"It's really, really important!" I insisted.
"Well, what is it about?" he asked and sighed.
Should I just tell him? I thought, biting my lip anxiously. Yes, I should! I have to start somewhere, don't I? I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes. "I know why you can't remember much from your childhood, Nigel. I know what happened to you. I have your answers!"
Nigel opened his mouth in shock. He obviously knew what I was talking about. "How-... But-... How can you-..." He didn't know what to say, just kept on blabbering. Then he got quiet, thought about it for a second and turned serious. "Who have you been talking to?"
"No one, I found it out on my own," I told him. "And do you know why? It happened to me, too."
It looked as if Nigel was about to fall out of the window.
"Can I talk to you now?" I asked, slipping my hands into the pockets of my loose fitting jeans.
"Err, sure," he said confused. "I'll be right down. Go around to the front."
I did as he'd told me, and waited by the doorstep.
Nigel showed up in the doorway a few seconds later, dressed in grey boxer shorts and a white t-shirt. "Come on in," he said.
I followed him inside the house and upstairs to his bedroom. He nodded at his bed, meaning he wanted me to sit down. I sat down carefully, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. I knew this guy, but at the same time I didn't. After all I hadn't seen Nigel in 4 years. I wondered if he had changed much.
Nigel grabbed hold his office chair, that was standing by the computer, and sat down on it right in front of me. "Now," he said. "-you wanted to tell me something?"
I nodded. "I know what happened to us when we were younger."
"And who are you exactly?" he asked.
"I used to be one of your best friends when you were around the age of 10 to 12," I told him. "We were a team back then. You were the leader." Nigel looked strangely at me.
"I can tell by the look on your face that you don't believe me," I muttered and looked away. "It's going to be hard convincing you guys that I'm right."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously.
"I'll just tell you it all as it is," I said.
"Yes, please!"
I took a deep breath - and begun: "We used to belong to an organization called the Kids Next Door. It's a global organization, meaning that kids from all over the World are involved. There are plenty of headquarters all over, but the biggest and most impressive headquarters is the Kids Next Door Moon Base. And as you probably guessed, it's built on the moon. That's where the top agents work. And it's also the place where they decommission old members of the organization. Members that become teenagers have to be decommissioned, just so they can't join any teenage groups and try to beat the Kids Next Door with the top secret information they already know about. Kids Next Door fight for kids' justice and to stop the tyrannical rule of adults. That way teenagers are a threat to them, they are minor adults."
"And how do we fit in all of this?" Nigel asked impatiently.
"I'm getting to that," I told him. "We used to be operatives, too. We were one of the most meaningful sectors there was. We had a lot of power, because you were the founder of our sector. That way you became Numbuh One, the leader of your sector, and one of the most powerful operatives. You could select your own team. You picked Numbuh Two for his invention skills, to be the one to build and design our 2x4 technology, and to be the pilot of our ships. You picked Numbuh Three as a left hand in combat, and to have another girl around the Treehouse. You picked me, Numbuh Four, as your bravest, strongest and craziest fighter, to be the first one to send in when danger was near. You picked Numbuh Five as your spy, the quiet one who could sneak behind enemy lines and steal important information.
Together we were the perfect team, with a golden future as best friends, and maybe as girlfriends and boyfriends, but when we turned 13 we got decommissioned so we couldn't remember anything about the organization or each other."
Nigel was just staring at me, listening. Then he shook his head. "You're crazy!"
"No, I'm not!" I said irritated. "I know all about you, Nigel, and I can prove it."
"Okay, but first I want to know how you suddenly know what happened to us, and I don't!" he said.
"It's hard to explain, but I think it has something to do with this weird dream I've been having," I told him. "Like I told you, we weren't supposed to remember each other. I didn't remember anything of this until this morning. I had a dream about us working as a team, something that happened to us once. Then I woke up and remembered everything. Before that I constantly had this weird dream about a little girl that was calling my name. Now I know who she is, but I didn't before today. It was Numbuh Three. I kinda had a crush on her back then..."
"Numbuh Three?" Nigel asked. "Don't they have real names?"
"Of course they do, it was just their agent name," I said. "Numbuh Two's named Hoagie Gilligan. Numbuh Three's named Kuki Sanban. Numbuh Five's named Abigail Lincoln."
"Well, prove that you know me, Wally," he said. "Or if that was your name."
"Yes. And I can prove that I know you." I took another deep breath. "You live in this house with your parents. Your dad is completely hung up in you two spending quality time together, and you're not really into that. You used to have a girlfriend, maybe you still know her. Her name is Lizzie Devine." Nigel looked surprised at me. "You know her?" I asked.
He nodded, still with the shocked expression on his face.
"When you were younger you really disliked adults and teenagers and feared to grow old one day. You loved the missions we went on, you got a certain kick out of it.
In the tree that is sticking out of your roof is where we used have our headquarters. We lived in that tree house. I just wonder what happened to it. Anyways, you don't like hair driers, and you've basically never had hair on your head."
Nigel narrowed his eyes. "Not good enough, kid. Do you have some real prove, like what's my favorite dish or ice cream?"
I thought about that for a while, but I knew that I knew the answer. "Uh... I seem to remember that it was pistachio ice cream..."
Nigel looked surprised. "That's right."
I smiled at him, but he didn't return it. My smile faded. "So... what kind of relationship do you have with Lizzie now?" I asked, firing a new subject.
"She's just bugging me, but I don't like her," he said. "I stay away from her. I get new girlfriends sometimes, and she hates them."
"That's good news to me," I laughed. "I never liked her that much. She was always on top of you, how annoying! Besides she always wanted you to herself, which was bad news for Numbuh Two and me."
Nigel was quiet for a while. I guess he had a lot to think about. "So... what if what you said is true, what really did happen to me when I was 13?"
"We got shipped off to the Moon Base for decommissioning," I started. "It was horrible. And I knew that I wouldn't know you guys anymore. That's what hurt the most... And it was really sad knowing that we'd never go on a mission ever again. I was really crushed and heartbroken because I never got to tell Numbuh Three what I felt about her before it was too late. We got decommissioned one by one as we turned 13. The operatives strapped us down to the seats and decommissioned us. Erased our memories about the past years, working together as a team. You probably woke up around your house somewhere after that. That's when you started to remember again."
Nigel looked a bit surprised again. "That's right. I remember clearly from that day, but I never understood why I woke up there."
"Yep, that happened to me, too," I said.
"And then I saw a few kids near by," he muttered. "They were wearing these strange suits."
"That was some of the operatives," I told him. "Many of the operatives wear suits like that. We wore suits sometimes when we were out on missions." Glancing out the window I suddenly came to think about something. "Listen, Nigel, do you remember if there used to be a huge tree house in the top of your tree?"
He looked at me. "You know, I think I do... My dad has a photo of the house from the outside, and there's something up in the tree on that photo. It's in his photo album from when I was around the age of 9-10 or something."
"That's it!" I exclaimed.
"I'll go get the photo album," he said and got up. He went downstairs for a while.
I think I've done it, I thought happily. I got Nigel to believe me!
Nigel came back into view in the doorway, carrying a big photo album. "It should be in this one, we just have to look for it," he said, crossing the room. He tossed the photo album on the bed next to me and opened it. I bent over it to look at the photos. Flipping through the pages, we finally found some photos of the house. "Here!" Nigel ripped out one of them. "This is it. See that up in the tree there?"
"Boy, do I!" I replied breathlessly. I grabbed the photo to study it closer. In top of it I could actually see the lowest part of the Treehouse. And the lowest part of my room… I suddenly felt a strange indescribable emotion. It was as if I was filled with both happiness and sorrow at the same time. It hurt to know that our past was gone, and our Treehouse was, too. A big part of our lives was missing! But I was happy to know that I remembered. I remembered everything! And if I had to force the memory back into the heads of my former team mates, then so be it! I would set everything back to the way it once was. It wouldn't hurt anyone that we got back together just for old times sake. I wouldn't try to get back at the Kids Next Door for doing this to us. I just wanted my friends back…
My eyes suddenly felt a bit watery. I tried to hold it back, lowering my head just so Nigel wouldn't notice it. I knew he was watching me, probably to check my reaction on the photo. Suppose he still doubted me, not that I blamed him for it. My story did sound crazy, I was aware of that.
"That's the tree house, right?" he asked me, suddenly breaking the silence that had fallen between us as the photo had caught our attention. "I really wish I could believe you, Wally. It's just that… well, I can't seem to remember it. So it's hard for me to believe you on your word. Because that's pretty much the only proof you have - your word."
I glanced up at him. His blue eyes reviled how confused he actually was. He seemed sad, and at the same time irritated. I understood that all this information was pretty hard to swallow, but I just had to get him to believe me. I had to! He was the leader, he was supposed to be smart and understanding. I supposed he had changed a lot after all.
I let go of the picture, lowering my eyes. "We should meet up with the others, too."
Nigel folded his arms in front of his chest. "What do you mean by that?"
"We have to talk to Hoagie and Abby, and see if they remember anything," I explained, getting up. "We have to check if they remember anything."
"What did you say their names were?" he asked, lowering one eyebrow.
"Hoagie Gilligan and Abigail Lincoln."
"Hey, that Gilligan kid is in my science class!" Nigel said, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"Really?" I lit up. "So he still lives here in town? That's great!" I got up. "Common – let's go and see if he's home!"
"What?" he shouted. "It's 05:30 in the morning! And it's Sunday!" He lowered his eyes to his body. "I'm not even dressed yet."
"Then put some clothes on and let's go!" I replied impatiently, moving towards the door.
"Right…" he muttered, raising an eyebrow at me, again with his arms crossed. "Look, why don't you just make yourself comfortable downstairs while I get myself ready. I'll be right down."
I sighed and left the room. The steps were squeaking under my shoes as I went down the stairs. I took a seat on the couch in the living room, taking a look around to see what had changed since the last time I was there. Not much had changed, but the TV was new, I could point out. Slowly tilting my head from side to side, as I tend to do sometimes when I'm really bored, a loud crack was heard from my neck. "Ouch!" I muttered under my breath. It hadn't hurt, it had only sound really awful.
A few minutes later Nigel showed up, fully dressed and with his trademark black shades. "Alright, I'm done. Now what?"
"We're going to pay Hoagie a little visit," I told him, getting up.
"Uh-huh, and you somehow know where he lives?" he asked, lowering his eyebrows.
"Of course I do!" I replied. "Look, maybe you think it's hard to believe that we once were best friends, but I know that it is true! And best friends know where to find each other."
"Yes, but after my understanding, this Hoagie kid is no longer your best friend," he said, lowering his shades to look at me. "You told me yourself that you haven't seen him for years."
"Yeah, I did say that, but I still feel like you're my best friends, Nigel," I told him, suddenly feeling very impatient. "Nothing will change that. nNot even decommissioning us will change that! Now, let's get going! We have to tell Abby, too. And Kuki." I walked right passed him, out to the hall. I waited for him to follow me. Hesitatingly, he followed me outside the house.
"So, which way are we walking?" he asked, looking in both directions.
"We're not walking," I replied, "-we're driving," I walked quickly over to the car. Nigel stared at me as I opened the door and got in. Then he followed me and got in on the other side.
"You drive?" he asked carefully as he strapped his belt on.
"Yeah, of course I do," I answered with a grin. I sat the car in gear and drove off down the street. "We did a lot of illegal driving when we were operatives in the Kids Next Door, so I kinda got a lot of practise." I noticed that Nigel nodded his head thoughtfully as I was concentrating on the road. A few cars were out now.
We didn't say much before we arrived at Hoagie's. Nigel was tense now. He barely knew Hoagie at all. I knew this was uncomfortable for him, but hopefully that feeling wouldn't last for long.
I parked the car and got out, then made my way up the stairs to ring the doorbell. I remembered how I barely could reach up to the doorbell when I was younger.
Nigel followed me, staying in the background. "Wally, what if they're sleeping?"
I didn't have time to reply before a woman came to the door. She looked at us. It was Hoagie's mother!
"Hello, Mrs. Gilligan," I said with a smile. "Is Hoagie up yet?"
She looked a bit confused. "No, I'm afraid he's sleeping. It's still very early. I'm not expecting him up in at least three hours."
"May we wake him up?" I asked. "It's very important."
She studied our faces. "Have I seen you two before, boys?"
"I'm Nigel," Nigel said. "This is Wally." He pointed at me. "We… err, used to play with Hoagie a lot when we were younger… I think…" That last part he muttered so low that only I could hear it.
"Oh, yes!" Mrs. Gilligan exclaimed with a smile. "I remember you two. You and those two girls, right? You were best friends. Oh, it was just adorable!"
Nigel's mouth dropped open as he suddenly faced the truth more and more.
"You boys come on in," she continued. "I don't think waking Hoagie up will be a problem. He should get up early so he can go to bed a little earlier tonight. He's always so busy with his computer and his inventions."
Inventions? That was great news! Hoagie hadn't changed much if he still liked inventing things. I smiled widely as I entered the house. Nigel followed me. We went up the stairs and over to Hoagie's old room in the hall. Nigel knocked first. I was too impatient to wait for an answer, so I just opened the door.
"Ey, Hoagie?" The windows were covered by the blinds, leaving the room in complete darkness. I turned the lights on. "You awake?"
Hoagie had slept quietly in his bed, but now he turned around to face us, his eyes half-open. "What?" His voice was sleepy, but I could still hear how it had changed.
"Hoagie! Man, I'm glad to see you!" I went over to his bed and sat down. "We have to talk to you."
"Who are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes to see me better. Then he glanced over at Nigel. "And what are you doing here? Need some help with the science homework or something?" He got up in a seated position in his bed. I noticed how he was slimmer now than he'd used to be. Maybe he grew it off? But the rest of him still remained as the same. The same blue eyes, the same brown hair. His amber colored goggles were placed on the nightstand, but I couldn't see his pilot hat anywhere.
"No, I'm afraid it is a lot more complicated than that," Nigel replied, folding his arms behind his back.
"You don't remember me either, do you?" I asked Hoagie. "My name's Wally Beatles. I used to be one of your best friends when you were younger." He looked at me with a shocked expression on his face, eyeing me like I was nuts.
"Why don't you just tell him the whole thing, Wally?" Nigel suggested, moving closer to us. He dragged Hoagie's chair over and sat down.
"Alright." I told Hoagie everything without interruptions. Hoagie listened carefully. As always, he was very open for this kind of information, trying to find possibilities for it to be true. He seemed to believe parts of the story, showing enthusiasm for how I gave him credits for being such a good inventor and pilot.
"Amazing," Hoagie muttered, shaking his head. "So there really was a logical explanation for my amnesia. My mum was really worried about it, but I kept thinking that there had to be a reason for it."
"Well, get up!" I told him. "We still have more people to tell. The girls must know about this, too."
"But it's very early," Hoagie muttered, glancing at his watch.
"The sooner we tell the girls, the better." I looked at Nigel. "I have to get your memory back somehow." I forced my brain to think. To get their memories back, we would most likely have to go for a trip to the Moon Base. This would be no easy task, as the Moon Base was highly secured with all kinds of alarms and guards. But if I could get us up there I could reverse the decommissioning.
Nigel and I waited in the car for Hoagie to get dressed and eat something. I could tell by the loud rumbling in Nigel's stomach that he was very hungry, but he didn't seem to care. He was thinking hard about all the information his head now was filled with. I was just hoping he believed it. Hoagie did, no doubt about that.
Hoagie showed up short time after we had left the house. He held a pop tart in his hand as he jumped down the stairs. He got into the car, taking a seat in the back. "Where to?" he asked and took a big bite out of his pop tart.
"First we're picking up Kuki," I replied. "After that we'll start looking for Abby. I'm not even sure if she's still around."
"Oh…" Hoagie thought about the name for a second. "She was Numbuh Five, right?"
I nodded and started the car. "She's the sly spy." I smiled at my own joke as I started to back out of the driveway.
Kuki was very surprised to see me at her door this early in the morning. "Wally? Wow, you're up early. Good morning!" She grinned. "Want to come in?"
"No," I replied nervously, glancing down at the car where the two guys were still seated. "Kuki, I need you to come with me for a little bit. I have to talk to you about something very important."
"What is it about?" she asked.
"Remember how we talked about our pasts and that most of our memories were wiped out?"
She nodded. "Have you figured out something?"
"You can say that!" I replied with a frown. "Are you coming?"
"Okay, I'll be right back." She ran back into the house. After about a minute she was back, wearing another sweater – an oversized green sweater. "Look! I bought another one!" I smiled at her with a surprised look in my eyes. "Well, common," she said, walking over to the car. I followed her and opened the car door for her.
"Hi!" Hoagie greeted cheerfully. "I'm Hoagie."
I got into the car and started it once again.
Kuki greeted the others with a green sleeve-covered hand and a big grin on her face.
"So, she's Numbuh Three - right, Wally?" Nigel asked me.
"Yeah, that would be her," I replied with a smile.
"She seems very happy," he remarked, glancing back at the cheerful girl in the back, who was busy talking to Hoagie.
"Happy?" I raised an eyebrow. "She's more than happy, believe me!"
I drove the car down Abby's old street. Please say that she still lives here! I pleaded inside me. Please tell me she hasn't gone back to France or anything. And with that final pray, Abby's old house came into view. I slowed down and carefully parked by the sidewalk.
"Oh, are we going to visit Abigail?" Kuki asked with a smile.
"What?" I spun around in my seat to face her.
"This is where Abigail lives, am I right?" she asked, her smile fading.
I swallowed hard. "Y-yes, this is her house," I stuttered. "How did you know?"
"Oh, Abigail's a friend of Celina," Kuki explained. "Celina's one of my better friends. Abigail and she are often together, and then I get to spend some time with her, too. I just remembered this house to be where Celina dropped Abigail off once."
"Well, let's go," Nigel said, opening his door. "I just want this to be over with." He got out.
"Yeah," I replied and got out on my side. The others followed right behind. We all walked up to the house, Nigel ran the doorbell. A few seconds later a woman showed up at the door. Something was really familiar about her…
She stared at us, her eyes widened as she suddenly seemed to recognize us. "No way!" she whispered.
I remembered her clearly now. "Cree," I greeted with a quick nod. "We need to speak to Abby."
She shook her head, staring at us with a strange look on her face. Was that fear I saw in her eyes?
"Yes, we do," Hoagie said. "It's very important."
A voice was heard from inside the hall. "Are you nuts? Close the door, it's getting cold in here!" Could that be Abby's voice? Yes! Abby showed up in the doorway short time after. She had grown up to be a very beautiful young woman. Her hair was in about a thousand thin braids.
"Hi, Abby!" Kuki exclaimed with a happy grin.
"Kuki? What are you doing here?" Abby's mouth dropped open as her chestnut eyes studied the rest of us. "W-who are your friends?"
"Oh, this is Nigel, Hoagie and Wally," Kuki answered. "We obviously have to talk to you about something, but I'm not sure of what it is, only that it's about our past." Her eyes rested in mine. "What are we going to talk about anyways?"
"You wait and see," I replied. "We're not talking about it out here at least." Cree's eyes met mine. She knew what I was talking about. I could tell by the surprised look on her face. Cree never got decommissioned after she turned 13, as she used to be an operative as well. Instead she became an enemy of the Kids Next Door. Even though I now knew about the secrets of the organization, I wouldn't want revenge upon it and its operatives. I would just leave it alone as long as I got my friends back.
"Well, come on in," Abby said with a hesitating voice. She moved away from the door as we entered. "Let's go up to my room."
Cree couldn't do anything but stare at us. It obviously hadn't occurred to her that the past would return one day. Maybe she was afraid we wanted revenge?
Abby motioned for us to take a seat on her couch up in her room. "Alright, so what is this very important stuff you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, sitting down on her bed to face all of us.
I quickly sat down. "Well, it's about your past, Abby," I started. I glanced over at Kuki, who was seated right next to me. "This involves you as well, Kuki." I took a deep breath – and started. I told them everything. They kept interrupting. Kuki seemed to believe everything I said, but Abby doubted me a little bit. Hoagie helped me explaining this time. He had figured out some facts on his own, and used his own words to inform the girls about our forgotten past.
"Do you have any real proof, then?" Abby asked, lowering her eyebrows at me.
"Well, only this photo of the lower part of the Treehouse, but I forgot to bring it," I replied, lowering my eyes. "We used to have many photos of us, but I think all of them were ruined as our memories were wiped out. If I only had one of those I could really prove that I'm telling you the truth. "We were an awesome team, I just wish I could prove it somehow."
Abby got up and kneeled on the floor. She reached under her bed and pulled out an old shoe box. "You see, I found something rather interesting under my bed after that day I suddenly could remember again," she said with a smile. She opened the lid.
I ran over to her, nearly tripping over my own feet. "What is it?"
"Look." She handed me a pile of photos. "I've always been curious of who it was in all of those photos. I couldn't remember having any friends that looked like that. But now I get it"
I gasped as I recognized our faces on the photos. "I-it's us..!" My voice was trembling. I flipped through the pile, suddenly feeling this big lump in my throat.
The others showed up behind me, glancing over my shoulder. "Oh, my God!" Hoagie exclaimed. "It's us! And I looked fat back then!"
Kuki giggled. "Wow! This is amazing! And I can't remember any of it. What a shame!"
Nigel was quiet. I looked behind me and noticed that he had turned away from us with a hand placed on his head.
"You okay, Nigel?" I asked.
"No!" he shouted, not moving. "I-it's too much! How can it be true if I can't even remember it happening? It's too much for me…"
Abby got up and walked over to him. "Hey, this is hard for all of us," she told him. "But think about Wally. How do you think he must feel? Being the only one who remembers, he must be really frustrated. Not that I'm not frustrated enough for my own good, though. I just think that we should work together now. Those old photos I've got really made it clear to us that Wally was right." She grabbed his arm to get him to look at her. "You were the leader, like Wally said. Be a leader to us now. We really need it."
"I don't know what to do," Nigel muttered. "I can't tell us what to do to remember when I can't even remember being the leader."
"I think I know what we have to do," I said standing up. "We have to go to the Moon Base. But we're going to need a little help."
