Here's the next chapter. And thank you MILLIONS for reviewing!

Numbah Wierdo: Thank you! It is kind of sad...and it only gets sadder. At least I think it does.

dark hallway: Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kids Next Door, AYB, Blockbuster, Green Day, or Simple Plan.

Chapter 4: Plans in Action

Lime Ricky's

10 am

"Hey, Sector V! Four root beers and a lemonade, right?"

"Not today, Rick. We're here to discuss a recent case." Numbuh 1 paused. "On second thought, okay." So, Ricky filled out the order, and the conference began.

"So…" Numbuh 2 said, "Did anybody really have a firm grip on what happened last night?"

"Lesse," Numbuh 4 said. "I woke up to the sound of that crudridden alarm…"

"No, after that!"

"Ah, yeah. So, we were fighting the Delightful Dorks, and one of them went to Wierdosville and talked about all this…stuff."

Numbuh 1 took a swig of root beer. "She said something about needing our help… why would the Delightfuls want our help?"

"Because…they're nuts?" Numbuh 5 said.

"Well, we already know that! Like I said last night, there was something weird with her eyes when she went cuckoo," Numbuh 1 said. "They were sort of… the wrong color."

"Weird."

They sat in silence for a long time.

"Y'know, what if she had said 'All your base are belong to us'?" Numbuh 3 said. "Then they'd really be crazy."

That started a discussion about AYB, which distracted them from the main topic. That lasted awhile- allowing another plan to take effect.

---

3 hours later

"Swiss Army Knife?"

"Check."

"Backpack?"

"Check."

"Paper clips?"

"Check."

"Giant rusty anchor?"

"Huh?" Amber gave Daniel a funny look.

"Just kidding. So, all set?"

"I think I've got everything." Amber, Lenny, Michael, Leona, and Daniel were preparing for Amber's big 'plan'. For the first part, somebody had to infiltrate the Sector V treehouse. What she would do after that? It all depended on timing. Since Amber made up the plan, she would break in. She had everything she needed to break Treehouse Security, and some stuff she didn't need but brought anyway.

"Okay," Lenny said. "Now, all you have to do is run down the street to the treehouse and somehow get inside. If you don't get killed, do whatever you have to do. You only have 1…2…5 hours until dinner, so every second counts. Ready?"

"Of course. See you later! I have business to attend to-next door." She walked to the window, and climbed out on a rope made of bedsheets. Before they vanished from view, Amber looked at her siblings. This could be the last time I see them… She shook the thought away, and finished her climb down the face of the mansion.

"Bye, Amber!" Leona said. "Bring us something nice!"

"I will. That's a promise!"

---

Amber ran down the street, every step bringing her closer to her goal. She had never left the mansion outside of punishment, and the world around her was a bit overwhelming. Oh sure, she could see while in punishment, but she had never had the freedom to go where she wanted.

She slowed to a walk. She was sorely tempted to go to many of the interesting places she saw- the ice-cream parlor, the arcade, the Blockbuster- but resisted the temptation. She barely knew what any of the places were, anyway.

But one thing she saw a lot of was: kids. Kids about her age, hanging out, running around, and laughing, without a single care. None of them noticed her. She wanted to be that carefree, but that would have to wait. Now, she had a treehouse to break into.

She found the treehouse easily- it was the most conspicuous thing on the block. It had to be at least thirty stories high.

Like all kids, Amber had a natural-born tree-climbing instinct (even though Father had tried to stomp it out of her). So it was no problem getting to the front deck of the treehouse. But that was the easy part. The next part was much more difficult-getting in. The door was right there, but Amber knew that there could be a state-of-the-art security system behind its innocence. She needed to step carefully.

Problem was, she didn't know how advanced it was. The second she opened the door, an alarm sounded.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

"Oh no oh no oh NO!" Amber screamed-to nobody in particular. She started to back out the door, but an iron wall blocked it. Immediately, the security system came to life…

---

"No, I'm telling you! Green Day is MUCH better than Simple Plan! I-" Numbuh 5 was interrupted by a loud beeping.

"Intruder alert!" Numbuh 1 shouted. "Back to the treehouse-NOW!"

Bye! -SP