Disclaimer: C:KND is not mine.
A/N: Update! Hang on to something, people! You're in for one heck of a ride!
…
When love's not enough
Chapter 13
The sun was slowly passing the sky. Time was ticking.
Numbuh 1 rubbed his chin while staring out at the open sea. What were they supposed to do now? It wasn't like they could just jump off the cliff and swim anywhere. They didn't have any equipment, no T.A.L.K.E.R.s, no nothing. He twisted his brain trying to come up with something to get them out of there and back to shore. He wasn't even sure about their exact location, so even if they had a communication device of some kind, he wouldn't be able to tell Global Command where they were! It was hopeless!
Numbuh 2's stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry," he complained and wrinkled his forehead.
"Me, too…" Numbuh 3 muttered.
"So, what the crud are we supposed to do, anyway?" Numbuh 4 asked with a frown, holding his hands up, looking clueless.
"I'm thinking," Numbuh 1 replied and turned around to face the Australian. "But I'm not sure if there is a lot we can do."
"Numbuh 5 says she sure wishes we would have brought some climbing equipment…" Numbuh 5 muttered.
"Yeah, like we knew we'd get a free trip out here to enjoy the air!" Numbuh 2 said sarcastically.
"Hey, you just rhymed, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed enthusiastically.
Suddenly the ship moved and threatened to fall off the cliff again. They all knew what to do this time. They had to find the balance point. All of them pulled back towards the opening of the backend of the ship.
"I'm getting tired of this now," Numbuh 2 said and looked at Numbuh 1.
"Well, we have to hold on for a little longer," the leader told them. "The ship will fall of any time soon, and then we'll have to figure out what to do. We can't go down with it, the fall will most likely kill us."
"Hey, what about the cliff over there?" Numbuh 5 asked and pointed at the cliff next to, and a little below, their own. "Maybe we could jump down there?"
"I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk that, Numbuh 5," Numbuh 1 replied. "It's a long leap. And with your shoulder, who knows how far you can jump."
Once again, the ship moved a little.
"Whoa!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "I'm not staying here! I'm jumping!" He pointed at the other cliff. He walked to the right side of the platform to get enough speed for the jump. Then he started to run towards the other side.
"No! Wait!" Numbuh 1 cried. "Numbuh 4!"
But Numbuh 4 didn't listen. As he reached the end of the platform, he used all the strength in his legs to make the leap.
Numbuh 3 pressed her hands against her cheeks. "Wally!"
With a groan of pain, the fighter landed on the flat top of the other cliff. Before he regained his balance, he rolled on his back once and jumped up into an upright position. He stretched his arms out to the sides. "Tada! See, I did it. No big deal. Now you guys jump!"
The four others exchanged looks.
Then the ship moved a little again, sliding closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.
"We have to jump!" Numbuh 2 realized. "There's no other choice!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Numbuh 3 yelled. "Let's go!" She did the same as Numbuh 4 had done. She walked to the other side of the platform to get some speed to make the jump. Then she ran. As the edge came closer she made herself ready – and jumped.
Numbuh 4 was ready to catch her as she reached the other cliff. He fell on his back on the cliff with her on his chest. She raised her fists in the air and cheered.
"I did it! Numbuh 3, that's right, Numbuh 3! Go, Numbuh 3, go!" Then she giggled and got up, tugging Numbuh 4 up on his feet in the process.
Back on the platform, Numbuh 2 got himself ready to jump. He ran and jumped. But he didn't jump far enough. He landed on the edge of the cliff. His hands searched for something – anything – to grab onto.
Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 reacted quickly and got over there to help him up.
Numbuh 1 looked at Numbuh 5. "It's your turn. You think you can make it all the way over there with that shoulder?"
"Probably not," Numbuh 5 muttered and lowered her head. Then she looked at her leader. "But you should jump. Don't worry about Numbuh 5. She's cool."
"I'm not leaving you behind, Numbuh 5!" he exclaimed. "What, are you crazy?" He glanced at the other cliff, trying to figure out how far it actually was. "We'll jump together."
"What?" Numbuh 5 stared at him. "I'll only slow you down! Now you're the crazy one!"
"Maybe," he replied. "But no matter what happens, I will not leave a friend behind! C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, the good one, and started to run. She had no other choice but to follow him now. She knew she couldn't stop him. She squeezed her eyes shut just before they reached the edge of the platform and jumped at the same time as Numbuh 1. They flew off the platform. Together they reached the cliff, falling hard to their stomachs.
"You did it!" Numbuh 3 cheered.
"I'm alive!" Numbuh 5 sighed relieved. Her shoulder was aching really bad now.
"Well, of course you are," Numbuh 1 replied and smirked at her.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Numbuh 4 asked and scratched his blond hair.
"I suggest we look out for Kids Next Door ships," Numbuh 1 replied. "Though I don't believe we're that lucky."
"Then again, we could look for a way to climb down from here and try to swim back to shore," Numbuh 2 suggested.
"Not a very bright idea either…" Numbuh 1 muttered.
They all turned around to see the back of the ship as it made a loud noise, as if metal was being bent. Now that the five kids weren't there to balance it anymore, it slid completely off of the cliff and fell to the water below. It made a loud splash as it hit the surface.
"Well," Numbuh 4 said and broke the silence that had fallen between them all after the ship landed in the ocean, "-I guess we can be happy that wasn't us, huh?"
Numbuh 5 gave him an odd stare.
Once again there was only silence between them.
Numbuh 1 was thinking hard. There had to be a way out of there! He just knew it.
"I'm still hungry," Numbuh 2 suddenly complained.
"Man, start nibbling on your shoes or something!" Numbuh 5 snapped at him. "Numbuh 5 ain't gonna sit here and listen to your nagging for the rest of the day!"
"I wasn't talking to you," Numbuh 2 muttered annoyed.
"Nobody cares!" she replied angrily.
"Come on, guys," Numbuh 3 said. "Don't fight."
"She started it," Numbuh 2 claimed and pointed at the African American.
"You had already started it, by opening your big mouth!" Numbuh 5 barked.
"Well, sorry! So maybe I'm just about to starve to death! Would you care more if I said that?" He threw his hands to his sides and accidentally punched Numbuh 4 in the face, who was standing next to him.
"Hey, watch it!" the Australian cried in anger and pushed the pilot.
"Are you starting with me, too?" Numbuh 2 asked annoyed and pushed Numbuh 4 back.
"I wouldn't blame him!" Numbuh 5 shot at him.
The three of them started to argue, while Numbuh 3 desperately tried to get them to stop.
"Sssh!" Numbuh 1 suddenly said. "Listen!"
This got them all to quiet down. They saw the look on their leader's face. Numbuh 1 looked like he was listening for something, concentrating. They all tried to listen as well. And they heard a noise. Like an engine. A ship!
"Look!" Numbuh 2 cried out and pointed at the sky where he had spotted a ship. "It really is a ship!"
"What does it say?" Numbuh 1 asked and narrowed is eyes to try to see it better in the bright sunlight. "Can anyone see what it says?"
"It says 'KND', boss!" Numbuh 5 said with a cheerful voice as she shaded her eyes with one hand.
"Yaaay, we're saved!" Numbuh 3 shouted with happiness. She and Numbuh 2 started to wave their arms frantically. Then the rest of them joined in, calling out to the ship.
The ship came closer and stopped right above them. A door was opened and a ladder was thrown down to them. Kids in Moon Base suits showed up inside the ship, one of them waved at the five kids below.
Numbuh 1 was the first one to climb the ladder. The others followed right behind him. Two kids inside the ship helped Numbuh 1 in by pulling his arms.
"How did you know we were out here?" Numbuh 1 asked the two kids. More kids were inside.
"Numbuh 739 here saw what happened to you in the Treehouse earlier," Numbuh 735 said and pointed at his team mate. "We were on a spying mission this morning. We were going to watch Father, and then… something happened. We were surprised by some of Father's teens. We won the fight, though. Numbuh 739 had made it out of there and was about to call for backup when she saw that the Delightful Children left the mansion. She followed them to your Treehouse and saw what happened. We tried to follow them as they kidnapped you, but we lost them after a while. Luckily we found you now."
Numbuh 739 nodded.
"You were spying on Father?" Numbuh 1 asked suspiciously. "Who assigned you to do that?"
"Numbuh 362 did," Numbuh 735 replied.
"What?" Numbuh 1 was in shock. "But… that's our job!"
"Yes, normally it is, but since you guys fought so hard up at Moon Base, Numbuh 362 decided you should have a few days off to collect yourselves. This time it was our turn to watch Father and his Delightful Children." Numbuh 735 glanced over at Numbuh 736.
"You need to rest, all of you," Numbuh 736 said. "We knew that Father would come for you, so we had to stop him. If it was you who was watching him, he'd probably kill you on sight."
Numbuhs 2 through 5 had climbed into the ship while the others were talking.
"What?" Numbuh 4 shouted. "You can't take our job, you freaks!"
"Yeah, that's not right!" Numbuh 3 joined in.
"We're not taking your job, people," Numbuh 735 said calmly. "We're watching your backs. You should be thanking us, not attacking us!"
"Well, excuse us!" Numbuh 2 said and rolled his eyes. "But when a decision like this one is made, why aren't we informed?"
Numbuh 735 sighed. "Look… You guys have had a rough time. Numbuh 362 didn't want to bother you, okay?"
"Bother us?" Numbuh 1 repeated. "Informing us about who's taking whose job is not bothering! It's a natural thing to do!"
"So maybe she forgot!" Numbuh 736 yelled. "Jeez, would you lighten up? Now, sit down and shut up! We're taking you home."
Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 exchanged looks. Then the mechanic shrugged and found an empty seat.
In his mind, Numbuh 1 was furious. He knew what he had to do. He was going to call Numbuh 362 right away as soon as they got back home. He couldn't believe that someone else was assigned to do their job. That wasn't right! Numbuh 1 was a proud person. Giving away his job to some other team was like ripping his pride to pieces.
He thanked Numbuh 735's team when they had landed in the Treehouse, as did the four others.
"You're welcome, guys," Numbuh 735 said. "We'll make sure that the Delightful Children from Down the Lane won't bother you."
Numbuh 2 saluted them as he left the ship. He was the last one off. They all watched as the ship left.
"Let's go play a video game!" Numbuh 3 said to Numbuh 4 and tugged his arm.
"You should go rest, boss," Numbuh 5 said to the leader.
"No way," he replied. "I'm going to go tell Numbuh 362 exactly what I think about this whole situation."
Numbuh 5 shook her head resigned as she watched Numbuh 1 leave.
"So…" Numbuh 2 started and fumbled with his hands. "Wanna go grab a burger or something?"
"What?" Numbuh 5 exclaimed with a frown. "How can you think of food? We were just kidnapped and almost killed, and now some weirdo freaks are taking our job!"
"Hey, I'm always hungry, remember?" Numbuh 2 joked.
Numbuh 5 rolled her eyes and left.
…
Soon after, in Numbuh 1's room:
Numbuh 1 got closer to the screen as an operative at Global Kids Next Door Command showed up on it.
"You've reached Global Kids Next Door Command," the boy said. "How may I help you?"
"This is Numbuh 1 of Sector V," Numbuh 1 introduced. "I need to speak to Numbuh 362 right away. It's urgent."
"Alright, hang on a second while I transfer you." The boy typed in something on his keyboard, then he disappeared from the screen. It went black for a few moments before the face of the leader of Kids Next Door appeared on it.
"Well, hello, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 362 greeted. "What can I do you for?"
"I wanted to know why you assigned Numbuhs 735 through 739 of Sector 20D to do our job!" Numbuh 1 replied with slight anger in his voice.
Numbuh 362 sighed. "Look, I knew this would freak you out. You weren't supposed to know about it before I gave you a new mission. You all need to rest now. Besides, this is only temporary. You'll get back on dealing with Father in a few days, I promise. But right now I need you all to lay low for a while, you know what I'm saying?"
"Rest?" Numbuh 1 repeated insulted. "We don't need more rest! We need to fight and win this battle now, before it's too late! We have Father right where we want him! His evil plans failed once again, his teenage army is pretty much down, and he failed trying to kill us! He's weak now! We have to strike!"
"No!" she said, frowning. "You are one of the best teams I have! I need you to gather strength now incase of a future battle. Attacking him now is a risk we're not willing to take. You have to tell your team to stand down. I will not let you fight yet."
"But we are ready now!"
"You were almost killed today, Numbuh 1! How can you sit here and honestly tell me that you're just fine and don't need to collect yourselves? How can you sit here and speak for your team?"
"Because they agree with me," Numbuh 1 replied. "They always do. And they know that it's the right thing to take Father down now. We'll attack his mansion in the morning, just so you know it."
"If you do that, you will no longer have a spot at the Kids Next Door!" Numbuh 362 warned angrily. "Do you hear me? You are trained to follow orders, and you will obey my orders, or else you've seen the last of this organization!"
Numbuh 1's jaw dropped. "But… You can't fire me! I'm one of the best operatives you've got!"
"Exactly, and that's why it's so hard for me to sit here and tell you this…" Numbuh 362 shook her head and sighed. "Now, I'm ordering you not to attack unless I say so."
"You're making a mistake here, Numbuh 362," Numbuh 1 said irritated through gritted teeth.
"End of discussion, Numbuh 1!" The screen turned black again. Numbuh 362 had cut off the connection.
Numbuh 1 got up from the chair and clenched his fists in anger. "Darn it!"
…
In the TV room of the Treehouse:
"Yay, I won again!" Numbuh 3 cheered and threw her fists in the air.
"Well, this game is dumb!" Numbuh 4 protested. "There's no shooting in it. Can we play Mortal Combat now?"
"But, Wally…" Numbuh 3 made a cute and innocent face. "You promised we could play my games today, since we always play your games…"
"I didn't promise, I just said…" He stopped talking as he noticed her eyes. She was too adorable to say no to, and he knew that too well by now. He growled. "Alright, let's play your stupid, girly games!"
"Yay!" Numbuh 3 cried happily and hugged him tightly.
He blushed slightly and fought her off. "Don't kill me, okay…"
"I just hugged you, silly!" Numbuh 3 said and grinned. Then her smile faded. "I thought you liked it when I hug you."
"Well, I do," he replied. "But it's kinda… awkward and all… because this is weird and new…"
"What's weird and new?" Numbuh 3 asked surprised.
"That we're boyfriend and girlfriend now," he replied. "It's just a little strange…"
"We are?" Numbuh 3 frowned at him as she thought about what he had just said.
Numbuh 4 suddenly felt sick again. Was it possible that Numbuh 3 hadn't thought about what they had done the night before at all? That they actually kissed each other and treated one another like couples do? She didn't consider them as boyfriend and girlfriend?
"Y-you mean… you don't think of us that way?" he managed to choke out. He placed the game controller on the couch and was about to get up and leave the room, when Numbuh 3 took his hand in hers.
"Of course I do, silly!" the Japanese said. "It was just so funny hearing you say it. I didn't expect you to think that way about us, so I just didn't mention it. I was going to ask you if we really were, but then I forgot…"
"You… forgot?" Numbuh 4's eyes were wide with confusion. What ever had he put himself into? Well, at least it was worth it. This was real love, and he knew it!
"Never mind, Wally," Numbuh 3 said and cuddled him. "I'm just so glad that we're together now. We'll be so happy together! Maybe we'll even get married!"
Numbuh 4 flinched and pulled away from her. "Alright, let's not get hasty here! We still have many years left before we become adults. We don't need to plan a wedding just yet."
"But if we're still together in the future, you'll ask me to marry you, right?" Numbuh 3 asked unsure.
"Of course!" Numbuh 4 replied. "I wouldn't want you to marry someone else!"
"Oh, Wally, I love you!" The Japanese girl jumped the Australian and kissed him. They both flinched as they heard someone entering the room.
"Ahem!" Numbuh 1's voice said. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to disturb anything…"
"Err, no, that's ok…" the two of them replied. Numbuh 4 blushed frantically and lowered his head. Numbuh 3 blushed as well, and smiled awkwardly at the leader.
Numbuh 1 glanced at the TV before he once again looked at the two others on the couch.
"So… did you talk to Numbuh 362?" Numbuh 4 asked Numbuh 1 nervously.
"Yes, but it didn't go as planned," he replied. He shook his head and changed the topic. "You two remember what I've said about this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing, right?"
Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 exchanged looks. Then they nodded at the leader.
"And you know I don't like it, right?" Numbuh 1 continued.
"But I thought you were okay with it," Numbuh 4 protested. "You sounded like you were this morning."
"Not exactly," the Brit replied. "I'm worried that you two won't do your job like you're supposed to from now on. And that's the last thing I want. If you turn out to be a disappointment to the team from now on, I have no other choice but to transfer one of you to a different sector. You realize that, don't you?"
Numbuh 4's jaw dropped, and Numbuh 3 swallowed down hard.
"Are you nuts?" Numbuh 4 cried. "You can't separate us now!"
"I can if I need to," the leader said solemnly and walked through the room to get to the kitchen.
Numbuh 3 couldn't believe her ears. "He can't do that to us…" she whispered.
"He wouldn't!" Numbuh 4 said angrily.
"We just don't have to disappoint him," she told the Australian. "We just don't help each other too much on missions and stuff. We'll do just fine. I'll try not to be too worried about you when we're out there, fighting."
Numbuh 4 smiled at her. "Well, I can't promise I won't stand up for you…"
Numbuh 3 giggled. "You're my personal bodyguard." She threw her arms around him and was about to kiss him again, when someone entered the room. They both looked up and saw Numbuh 2 enter.
"Hi, guys!" Numbuh 2 said cheerfully.
"Can't we get one minute's privacy in this place?" Numbuh 4 shouted angrily and got up from the couch. He grabbed Numbuh 3's arm and pulled her after him. They walked right passed Numbuh 2 and almost bumped into Numbuh 5, who was right behind the pilot. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 watched the two others as they disappeared down the hall.
"So, what's their problem?" Numbuh 2 asked the African American.
She shrugged lightly, even though she assumed she knew what Numbuh 4 meant about privacy. She crossed the TV room and walked into the kitchen to find Numbuh 1 sitting there by the table, eating a big cookie with a glass of milk.
Numbuh 1 looked so helpless, so disturbed, so tired.
"Numbuh 1, you should go and get some sleep?" Numbuh 5 said.
"Why? It's still early," he replied.
"Look at you!" she exclaimed. "You're a mess! I know it's not late yet, but you should rest now."
"I don't need rest!" Numbuh 1 shouted angrily. "Why does everybody have to tell me what to do, what I should feel? I'm not tired, I don't need to rest, but I do need to fight Father!"
"What did Numbuh 362 say about it?" Numbuh 5 asked and sat down right across the leader by the table. She rested her head in her hands, her elbows placed on the table top.
Numbuh 1 sighed. "She said she wouldn't allow us to fight yet, and that we need to rest for a few days. If we attack Father, which is the right thing to do because he's weak now, she'll fire us! We can't risk that… Although she's completely wrong! She made Sector 20D watch Father, and not attack him. But attacking him is exactly what we need to do!"
"You know Father," Numbuh 5 said. "He always has something up his sleeve. We don't know what could have happened to us if we attacked him now that we're all weak. For all we know he could have made some kind of machine that we couldn't possibly fight."
"So you're saying that you agree with Numbuh 362?" Numbuh 1 asked her disappointed.
"I'm just saying that we should follow her orders," she replied. She gritted her teeth as the pain in her shoulder shot down her arm and her back. She had actually come to the kitchen to get an ice bag to put on it. She got up and walked over to the freezer. She picked out one of the ice bags in there and placed it on her painful shoulder.
"Uhm, how is it?" Numbuh 1 asked and pointed at her shoulder.
"Not great, but it's not dead either," she replied and walked over to the table again. "I don't know about you, Nigel Uno, but Numbuh 5 needs to rest a lot now. So if you'll excuse me, Numbuh 5's going to her room now to listen to some music and read a book." The she turned around and left the room.
Numbuh 1 sighed and rested his head in his palm. He wasn't feeling too good now. He started to think that Numbuh 5 probably was right. Maybe it was for the better to wait now, until everybody was feeling better and ready to fight. Though he hated the thought of leaving Father be, now that he was weak enough to fall…
