Leia: Thanks, Spongekid and Numbuh 365. You two are my only reviewers so far. SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I was psycho busy with school and then a work camp, but I'm back!
This chapter is a little longer, but PLEEEEEASE stick with it!
CHAPTER 3: Just crazy enough to workNigel and Mara drifted towards the top of a sinister-looking factory, and eventually landed.
"Hurry up, Kid." She snarled, snapping her fingers to make the parachute roll up into the backpack she was wearing.
He glared at her, but she had his arms behind his back, and held very tightly, so he couldn't struggle. He was allowing her to march him towards a staircase in a door when the plane landed on the roof too.
When the blond boy (Nick) and Hoagie got out, Nigel cried out, "Numbuh 2! Help!"
Numbuh 2's mouth curled into an evil sneer, and he said in a double tone (a 2 tone voice from one person), "Sorry, but I don't think so."
With a bewildered look on his face, Nigel was swept down the staircase and into a dark room. His captor threw him into the center, and a bright beam of light flared above him.
"Nigey, Nigey, Nigey…" said a disapproving female voice.
Numbuh 1's eyes widened and he gulped.
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"Hey, guys?" Janey said from her seat in the huge mountain of beanbag chairs, "Where are Numbuh 1 and 2?"
"Yeah." Abby said from her spot, "It ain't like Numbuh 1 to be gone this long."
They all climbed down from their 'thrones' and ventured toward a newly appeared Information Booth.
"Hey you!" Janey demanded, glowering at the sneer on the face of the "person" inside. Staring him down, she inquired harshly, "Where are our friends?"
The eyes on the person flashed and Numbuh 6's eyelids drooped, her usually purposeful eyes went blank and the grip on the cotton candy she held went lax and the pink fluffy goodness came dangerously close to hitting the dirt.
"Hey, girl? You ok?" Abby said from the back.
"What's going on?" Wally said, shocked to see that his height was returning to normal, as were his muscles. The others were having the same thing happening, going back to the way they were normally.
Janey regained her alertness, and was glaring at the evil-looking information guy. She turned to leave with the others when 2 voices rang from a speaker inside the now empty booth.
"If you care that much, why don't I…SHOW YOU!" the guy snarled, disappearing while the booth started pulling on the four, air sucking the party into the inky blackness of the hole that had opened where the information booth had been.
Kuki was violently twisting around, as Wally held her arm with all his remaining strength (not much, really).
"Wally! Help me!" She shrieked, unable to get a grip on her current situation, but understanding it wasn't a good one. The wind became stronger, and She was pulled into the vortex.
"NO! Num- KUKI!" Numbuh 4 said. He gave up on holding the concrete bench, and followed after his friend.
Janey and Abby watched in horror as their friends were swallowed. The howling wind grabbed at them, trying to do the same to them, but before the tempest could break their hold on the nearby light post, the 'portal' closed, and they collapsed onto the thankfully windless ground.
"Where did they go?" Janey asked in a voice almost as shaky as her legs were. She was standing, barely.
Using a trashcan for support, Abby pulled herself up, and shook off her hat (The wind had pulled a lot of dirt and dust over them). Unsure of anything, she shook her head, thinking. Finally, she mumbled, "I don't know, I just hope they're ok."
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Nigel lay on his back, staring at the bleak, gray ceiling. Across the walkway between dungeon-like prison cells, Hoagie had curled up in the corner. The chill of the stone seeped through his red sweater, causing him to shiver and wish for a reality where logic and sensibility prevailed.
FLASHBACK
'Nigey, Nigey, Nigey.' Lizzie said, grinning evilly, 'you were a fool to think I wouldn't get you. Dumping me like trash isnt a very good idea, especially when my relatives have a certain…power.'
'What are you talking about?' Nigel asked in a stupor, 'Wait… Father is your-'
'You got it, bucko.' Lizzie snapped, walking over. For a moment, trapped in the teen's unforgiving armhold, Nigel almost thought Lizzie would take pity on him. Just maybe…
He was snapped harshly back to reality when she kicked him squarely in the stomach.
Collapsing on the ground, Nigel heard Hoagie's voice and personality return to normal.
'What are you doing to us?' Numbuh 2 yelped at someone.
Father's voice responded, 'Let's just say it's a little game. If you and your silly friends ever want out of this nightmare, you better follow my rules!'
Nigel strained to look up and saw the most horrible thing he'd ever seen. Lizzie, the short, bossy, and horizontally gifted girl was morphing. She grew to a tall, skinny, pretty looking girl, but one of the kind of girls whose beauty is really shallow. Then, starting with her hair, she began to turn into a shadow person, like father. It was slow, but Nigel could tell it would take over her totally within a few hours. Mara started to drag him out of the room, but he didn't remember much more, because his body chose that moment to black out.
END FLASHBACK
Standing up, he leaned against the bars. He couldn't recall exactly, but he figured that the room he was in happened to be in close vicinity to the one he had been in earlier. If he could just figure a way to…
The door with huge locks that he was so frustrated with had just opened. "What the-" He wasn't sure if it was a trap, so he reached for something to stick through the door first. Totally missing its random appearance, Nigel grabbed a pillow and flung it over the door's threshold. Expecting it to get fried, or hit an invisible wall in the doorway, it made it to the other side, before thwack, hitting the bars on Hoagie's cell.
"What's wrong?" Hoagie said, startled from his daze in the cell's corner.
Grinning like a madman, Numbuh 1 said proudly, "You should want to what's not wrong."
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Kuki and Wally fell out of the swirling funnel into a dark and dingy prison wing and wound up face to face with…
"Numbuh One!" They both cried in relief.
"Numbuh Three! Numbuh Four!" He said, briefly joyful, then snapping back to his sharp, commanding air, "Are you ready to take on our greatest rival and nemesis?"
"YAY!" Kuki cheered
"Bring it on!" Wally growled.
"Awright!" Hoagie said enthusiastically. (AN: Remember how Nigel got out of his cell? That's how Hoagie got out of his.)
"I'll fill you in on our situation in a minute, right now, getting out of this particular room is the most pressing matter. Imagine the door opening, all the locks just falling off and the door swinging wide open."
The group did so, and it happened. A sudden burst of understanding washed over Kuki and she blurted out, "I get it! It's a dream, so whatever we want to happen, happens!" A general utterance of accord that this made sense came from the boys.
The group exited their prison and wound up in a labyrinth-like room. Before they could even gasp in awe, a gate slammed down behind them, blocking any way back. The funny thing about the tangle of corridors was that its walls were only about a foot tall.
"What's with these puny little--WOT THE?" Wally cried in pain. The 'puny' walls of the maze had shot up straight walls of fire. The four had seen a path through, but now it was kind of blocked. The tongues of fire leapt out, trying to catch hold of the kids, however the flames couldn't quite reach. Even though there was enough room to walk two-by-two without touching the walls, This wasn't going to be any walk in the park.
"You go first!" Hoagie said, pushing Numbuh 1 forward.
"Oh be quiet, you great big chicken." Nigel said angrily, marching into the fiery hall.
"Stop fighting! It's not nice!" Kuki whimpered.
"What is it with cruddy girls and being niiiiice?" Wally
The screaming and yelling match between all four that ensued is too loud, angry, and not nearly understandable enough to write here, but you get the picture. Hoagie and Kuki stalked off in one direction, Nigel stormed off in the other. Wally realized he was alone and scampered off after the leader.
Both pairs made it through the maze at the same time, and although they met up at the end, it was the iciest reunion in KND history.
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Janey and Abby had wandered so far, that they were hopelessly lost in the dream world. The sun and cheery colors were starting to fade away, matching their mood. Slumping onto a dilapidated old bench, Numbuh 6 crossed her arms and sighed.
"Whyyyy is this happening to me?" She moaned, leaning back against the backboard.
"It's not just happening to you, remember that." Numbuh 5 spat.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Janey sneered, "You're the most important one here, your royal highness."
"Ok, that's it!" Numbuh 5 yelled. She had just snapped. She aimed a well thought kick at the back of the bench.
Numbuh 6, who thought Abby was aiming for her, ducked and then made a face when she sat back up. Leaning back again while still mocking Numbuh 5, she was totally shocked when she wound up on the ground. The broken old bench had given in when Abby kicked it, it just hadn't busted until the pressure from someone leaning back caused it to do so.
"Hey, that's new…" Janey said, glancing up at the creepy Victorian house that had appeared back from the road the bench was on.
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Leia: See! It's done! After like 4 whole months of waiting, I finally got off my butt and updated!
Fans: It's about time!
Leia: Thanks again for reviewing, spongekid and Numbuh 365. Cheese and crackers to anyone who reviews (NO FLAMES PLEASE!)