Title: The Bruises On My Heart: The Return
By: Cerulean Shadow
Summary: The sequel to "The Bruises On My Heart"! Numbuh Five and Numbuh One decide to return to the island. Only to find out more...


After Numbuh Three, Numbuh Four, and Numbuh Two rescued Numbuh One, Numbuh Five, and Alia, they were on their way to take action against the Delightful Children in their ship (as shown in Operation: FA.S.T.-F.O.O.D). Numbuh Five and Numbuh One were more than ready to take down the DC. But they had so many questions to ask Alia.

"So tell us. Are you part adult yourself?" Numbuh Five asked her.
"No. Not exactly. My father was a part adult who had me with a pure bred wolf." Alia said in her thoughts.

"But how many experiments attacked your family?" Numbuh One asked.
"You may not believe me, but just two." Alia said.
"... I bet one of them was Theron." Numbuh Four said.

"Yes. And the other was his brother, Cassius. Theron and Cassius never left each other's side to kill another soul. They worked together as a team forever and for always. But, Cassius has been killed by an adult of which those five kids knew. Theron has been hating and killing humans ever since." Alia said.

Numbuh One and Numbuh Five exchanged glances. They knew.

"Do you think?" Numbuh Five asked.
"Could be." Numbuh One replied.
"What? Who?" Numbuh Three asked.
"... Father. He might have killed Cassius." Numbuh Five said to Numbuh Three.
"... But he wont kill anymore." Alia said vengefully.

They all knew that Alia wanted revenge on the kids who unleashed those experiments to destroy her family. Alia was more ready than any of the Kids Next Door was. She promised herself that she would stop the experimenting before something else happens. Even if it does kill her.

The Kids Next Door finally arrived to the Delightful Children's mansion. They all got out with their weapons in their hands. Numbuh Three, Numbuh Four, and Numbuh Three decided to search for the Delightful Children. Numbuh One, Numbuh Five, and Alia were going to search for the experiments around the mansion. They tried to find secret doors, secret walls, look for a lever anywhere. But barely anything. Maybe there was a password. No, nothing. They looked in the living room, the bedrooms, the attic, everywhere. But there was one place they haven't looked: the basement.

They walked down really slowly down the stairs, clutching the weapons in their hands. They all looked around to see if anything was found. There, on the wall, looked like a door. Numbuh One looked closely at it. Numbuh Five looked at the bookcase, and pulled one book out of there. It said, "Experimental Process". Numbuh Five looked inside. It showed ingredients, chemicals, test results, everything that could be put in experimenting.

"Numbuh Five. Alia." Numbuh One whispered.

Numbuh One was right in front of the open door. Numbuh Five carried the book and walked towards Numbuh One. Alia followed also.

"What do you think is inside?" Alia asked.
"I don't know. But we're about to find out." Numbuh One said as he slowly walked into the room.

Numbuh Five followed behind him as well. She still had the book in her hand. She knew it might come in handy soon enough. The room was an experimenting lab. It had chemicals, projects, everything. At the corner, Alia noticed a cage of a wild mountain lion cub. It looked like it was crying for mercy. The cub started scratching the cage, hoping to find a way to get out. Alia felt sorry for the cub. Being trapped inside a cage, being experimented like it was just one piece of trash. The cub whimpered. It's paw was on one of the bars. It looked like it was about to cry.

Alia walked to the poor cub. She wanted to find a way to help this cub. Anything. But she wasn't strong enough. Alia felt foolish to even try to rescue the cub. She felt like she was just doing something that will never be important. But it is in her heart.

"Alia? What'd you find, girl?" Numbuh Five's voice said from behind.
"Bark!" Alia exclaimed.

Numbuh Five walked to the cage and saw the poor cub. She also felt sorry for the little guy. She knew how it felt when she was trying to jump off that cliff. They were both trapped in something they couldn't get out. They didn't want to give up, but it was for their own risk.

"That's also why you came here, Alia. To free the wild animals here." Numbuh Five said to the wolf puppy.

"... Yes." Alia said as she hung her head.

Numbuh Five pulled the lock on the cage as hard as she could. The cage door finally opened, and the cub walked out slowly with it's ears down. Alia stood beside the cub. It felt comfortable again.

"... Thank you..." the cub said in their thoughts.
"... No problem." Numbuh Five said.

The cub started to walk around the lab, with Alia following it. Numbuh Five felt relieved that the cub was out of the cage. Then, she felt something warm on her shoulder. It was Numbuh One, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You did the right thing, Numbuh Five." he said.

She smiled. She felt like she had more faith from him then she ever got. She was also happy that, now, she's got him. And nothing could ever change that. Nothing will. Numbuh One took her hand in his, and began searching once again.

"... Oh, Numbuh One. I almost forgot. I found this at the bookcase." Numbuh Five said as she pulled out the book.

"Hmm... this might be the key to what they were doing." Numbuh One said as he looked at a few pages.
"What? What is it?" Alia asked.
"It's what the Delightful Children used to experiment you and the rest of the wild animals." Numbuh Five said.

It took a moment for them to find out more in the book. Then, they finally found out. Numbuh Five and Numbuh One exchanged glances in amazement.

"Then it's true. The Delightful Children made those experiments in a different routine." Numbuh One said.

"What are you talking about?" Alia asked.

"They didn't make those experiments because they wanted to destroy the Kids Next Door. That island was a place where they had to test part adult experiments. They were testing them to see if they were vicious enough to destroy kids all over the world!" Numbuh Five exclaimed.

"Very clever, Abby. But we don't think that you'll be finding out more soon enough."

It was the Delightful Children.

TO BE CONTINUED...