Hi. Sorry to leave you hanging. That was a shock, eh?

This is undeniably one of the scariest chapters I have written.

Just to warn yous- This chapter is 90 percent action, and action stories aren't exactly my strongest kind of story.

Out of touch with reality: I know, shocking!

almostinsane:...Thanks...

Ranma Higurashi: Okay!

Chapter 17: Clash of the Unwilling

Numbuh 1 screamed shrilly and leaped up, trying to avoid her. He failed. A yellow beam held him in midair as Father laughed.

"Ah yes!" he said. "Attack with all you've got, my children! Show no mercy! SHOW NO MERCY!"

"Yes Father," Amber said. Her voice was completely natural. "Aaa-aahh!" She willed Numbuh 1 to slam against the wall repeatedly.

"Liiisseeenn tteeeaammm!" Numbuh 1 said shakily into his comthingy. "Taaakkkeee tthheee othhherrr fourrrr. I'lll bee okayyyy."

"Whatever you say," Numbuh 3 said reluctantly. She and the others turned to face the remaining Warrior Juvrniles, as we must now call them. Their faces were covered, so they couldn't see their eyes. But they could see their mouthes- twisted into evil grins. They wanted blood-and they were going to get it.

"Pick one," Numbuh 5 said. She let out a battle cry and ran towards Michael. Numbuhs 2, 3 and 4 ran towards Daniel, Leona and Lenny, respectively.

Wordlessly and without fear, Michael...dissapeared. Numbuh 5 went right through him. She stopped, surprised. Of course! The other four did have powers. She just needed to tease him long enough to figure out his powers, and she could win...

Numbuh 1 was beginning to get a concussion when Amber let him go, after which he tried to run. But no sooner did she do this, she growled and flew after him (now completely in control), shooting flames left and right. Numbuh 1 was afraid. Mortally afraid.He had not been trained to deal with this. He tried his hardest to improvise...

Numbuh 2 wandered over the room. "Geez, where'd he go?" he said to himself. He passed by one of those things you put your umbrellas in and kept running. As he passed, the thing you put your umbrellas in lost its shape; it morphed into a Warrior Juvrnile, Daniel. He had an evil grin on his face. He lashed out, a beam of fire racing from his hand...

Numbuh 1 was still running. He was burned in a few places. His heart churned, his head throbbed, his muscles ached. But he knew one second of rest could mean death. A wall was coming up...

Numbuh 3 walked uncertainly. "Hello? Delightful warrior person? Hello-AAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEKK!" The area around her suddenly turned dark. The darkness collected into a shadowy creature with many tentacles, an eye on its chest...and Leona's glasses. "AiEEEEEEEEEE!"...

"Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 4 shouted. He began to run to her, but was held back by many firey tentacles. Behind him, Lenny, football helmet still on, was waving his arms in a circular motion, chanting illegibly. Every motion brought more tentacles...

The wall was closer than ever. The room now looked like a minuature hell- the flames from the Warrior Juvrniles had ignited everything in sight. The ornate carpets exposed a cold stone floor, not as cold now. Everything seemed to burn. And in the middle of it all stood Father, still laughing his unholy laugh.

The flames were creeping towards the wall as Numbuh 1 touched it. At this rate, the entire building would be engulfed in a short three hours. The room would collapse in a matter of minutes- about 20, he guessed. The wood in the celing was aready beginning to weaken. What would the Kids Next Door tell his parents? Only 7 KND members had ever died on duty in the entire history of the orginization, so it wasn't a well-practiced ritual. If the Warrior Juvrniles weren't defeated, he had a feeling the number would go up to 12. And one of those...would be himself.

Amber touched down in front of the bravery-deprived operative. She acted as though she was oblivious to the destruction, the doom, the fear of the boy she had cornered. Far as he knew, she felt no guilt.

It was as Father had said. They would kill a friend if ordered. She was about to kill Numbuh 1, the others were in the process of killing Numbuhs 2-5, and even if she didn't kill him, the collapsing room would.

For the first time, Numbuh 1 almost looked forward to his decommisioning. He wanted to forget this. This horror. This ever-growing pain, physical and emotional. He wanted it to go away. He wanted to wake up.

"Amber, p-p-please!" he managed to stutter through blood stained lips. "Why are you d-doing this?"

Amber said nothing. She thrust her hand at him, preparing to form the final blow in her hand. His eyes widened to the size of plates as she moved it slowly towards his face. "Please," he said nervously.

Finally, Amber spoke.

"It is as Father wishes." Her eyes glinted oddly. Numbuh 1 closed his, waiting for the deadly rush.

It never came.

And all of sudden, it came to him. Not the rush of death, but a rush of understanding.

He knew why Amber was serving Father.

Sigh. I hate to keep you wating, even if on my newfound rush I'll get it up by Thursday.-SP