RETRIBUTION

I hope he's okay, Kuki kept thinking. She was very worried about what the Kids Next Door would to Wally, especially since he had so many things going against him: they were going to recognize him as the fighter that had beat them up and would certainly hate him for it, among his adversaries would be his little brother Joey, and even Wally wouldn't lift a finger to harm him. She didn't think Wally would even raise a finger to defend himself against Joey.

I hope he's ok…

Abby hadn't said anything about what she'd found in the Code Module, and no one had bothered to look at the files on her Flash drive yet, they all wanted to wait until they had their second source to compare to. Numbuh 2 was driving down the road, under the shadow of the giant Treehouse. Everyone heaved a great sigh of apprehension and nervousness. If Numbuh 4 / Wally were a captive in that bastion, then this mission was going to be anything but a cakewalk.

Needless to say, it was a big surprise to everyone when they saw Numbuh 4 / Wally on the front steps of the house underneath the Treehouse, talking closely with his clone of a little brother, Numbuh 4 / Joey. When Numbuh 2 stopped the car and Numbuhs 1, 3 and 5 got out, Wally motioned for all of them to come over. As they came, Wally also motioned back to Numbuh 2 for him to follow as well. Numbuh 2 unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed his surveillance database module and ran up to the house with the rest of the team, though very cautiously. He had made sure to disable the Automatic Mission Log to prevent the DAFDTL directors from seeing this.

"Uh, Joey… this is my team… guys, this is my little brother and heir to my Numbuh… Joey."

"Wow… it really is you guys…" Joey's mouth hung open.

"Us guys?" Nigel cocked an eyebrow, since he wasn't sure what Joey was referring to.

"Come in Nigel, all you guys better come inside. We've got a lot to discuss." Wally beckoned.

"Wait a minute," Abby interrupted, "how do we know this ain't a trap?"

"You guys are my teammates, why would I lead you into a trap?"

"Sibling loyalty…"

"Come on Abby, if you won't trust Joey then just trust me cause I'm your friend."

That answer seemed to satisfy Nigel, Hoagie and Kuki, but Abby only walked in after everyone else had gone in ahead of her, she didn't feel right about just waltzing into the enemy's house…

No, it's me. I'm the real enemy here ain't I…

Joey led the whole team into the basement; Abby still had her suspicions and only followed with caution and wariness. Joey said that had to go there because the rest of his team wouldn't notice them there while they were busy cleaning up the damage to the Treehouse. Joey then left them, saying he had to go back and help with the clean up since he was first-officer. Wally beamed slightly at hearing that. As soon the door was closed, the five friends took seats around an old ping-pong table, and Hoagie set up his monitor at one end so they could all see the screens. Nigel, Abby and Hoagie set up some old lawn chairs on one side of the table, with Abby in the middle, while Kuki and Wally set up chairs on the other side.

"Okay then," Nigel began, "Abby, why don't you load up the files you downloaded from the Code Module, and while you're doing that Wally can tell us what he gathered from Joey."

"Well…" Wally began as Abby walked up to the computer and proceeded to insert the Flash drive and upload the Code Module files. "My brother told me an awful lot, about the Kids Next Door, the DAFDTL, and… well quite a bit about us as well.

"How does he know…" Kuki started to interrupt and both Nigel and Hoagie shushed her.

"Why don't you tell us what he had to say about the Kids Next Door and the DAFDTL, cause I think I got all the information of any importance pertaining to us on the Code Module." Abby interrupted.

"All right… well it's a pretty crazy story, but he seemed very earnest when he told me, so I guess I haven't a choice except to believe him. He said that the Kids Next Door was formed like, a long time ago by a group of kids who saw the tyrannical rule of adults over the children on Earth, so they built a massive base on the moon… no wait it pretty much all began way before that… kids created adults, the adults rebelled, the kids were banished and forced to live on the moon, then kids returned to Earth to live as part of the adult's families…"

"That's crazy!" Hoagie exclaimed.

"I didn't say it wasn't mate, I just said it's the story I heard from a boy who would never lie to me… anyway, the point of the story is that the Kids Next Door aren't a terrorist organization. They're freedom fighters for children's rights. Like the right to watch cartoons, eat ice cream and be free of oppressive adult authority. And they may have a lot of pretty high tech weapons and stuff, but none of it's deadly or destructive."

"Wait one moment," Kuki stopped him, "what was that you said about the moon?"

"Apparently there's a large structure on the Moon, built a lot like a treehouse, only it's made of metal, plastic and glass."

"And there are children up there?" Kuki stared wide-eyed.

"All around the clock, and some of them rotate, so they have the technology to fly to and from the Moonbase consistently."

"Now it's just starting sound ridiculous." Hoagie declared. And Wally couldn't deny it did sound pretty wild.

"It's true," came Abby's voice from the computer. "I was just reading over some of my profile from the Code Module and it makes several mentions of a Moonbase and the things I did there in my service."

"SERVICE?" Nigel was astounded.

"Yeah, that's the other thing you guys," Wally took back the floor as Abby continued to search through the data files. "You know how we all live near here and this mission made us all feel a little strange about it being Sector V? It's because we were Sector V, years and years ago. The Treehouse used to belong to Nigel and we all worked in it."

"We knew each other?" Kuki squealed, more in shock than delight.

"We were a team?" Nigel asked with a little more control.

"Not just a team guys," Abby spoke, "The team. From what this article says, it sounds like the Kids Next Door still talk about us and the things we did. I mean our respective strategies and techniques for our specialties are all studied at the Training Academy in Arctic Base: my stealth tactics, Hoagie's piloting maneuvers and weapons and technology design, Nigel's leadership skills and mission formulation, Wally's martial arts techniques, even Kuki's diversionary tactics and medical treatment. We were legends…"

"And from what I heard Joey say, it sounds like we still are."

"Do we have fan clubs?" Kuki couldn't restrain herself.

"This is serious Numbuh 3," Wally snapped.

Kuki shut up. She'd just been trying to make a joke to lighten the heaviness of the mood since she wasn't very good with serious situations, and normally a cheeky comment like that would brighten up the people she was talking with if not help alleviate the mood. What really made her shut up, and what made her start to tear-up ever so slightly, was because it had been Wally who'd snapped at her. And not only that, he'd been so impersonal and bitter about it that he'd called her Numbuh 3 instead of using her real name. That had hurt the most.

"Whoa, hold on, let me get this straight." Hoagie took charge. "All five of us knew each other. We were members of this wacko organization to fight adult… whatever, and we did… whatever it is we did, in the Treehouse right over our heads?"

"Well actually the Treehouse was on top of Nigel's house while he was still in the organization, it only got moved after he got decommissioned. But uh, the rest of that… yeah that pretty much sums it up Hoagie."

"If anyone wants to have a look, I got all your individual biographies up here on the computer," said Abby. Everyone except Wally was too shocked to hear her, or respond to her if they had, so Wally walked over to the computer and opened the file: Beatles, Wallabee. He went through it for a couple minutes while everyone else composed themselves.

Wally stood up, blinking and shaking his head a little fiercely like he had just dunked his head in water and was trying to shake it off. He walked around and sat back in his chair while Hoagie proceeded to look at his own file. When he was done, Kuki stood up and went to have a look at hers, and when she was done she sat next to Wally and neither of them dared so much as turn to look at one another. Nigel took a long look at his file, then the Sector V article, and when he sat back down at the table he had a look of incredulity that his friends had never seen in him before.

But he didn't keep the look for long.

"This Decommissioning thing in the biography? That thing that concluded our service? What exactly is it?" he asked while facing the table, but it was clear the question was intended for Wally.

"Wha... oh, it's a device on the Kids Next Door Moonbase. Whenever a child reaches the age of thirteen, they're decommissioned since they're no longer kids. And to prevent them from remembering access codes and other secrets that belong to the KND, they hook you up to this machine and drain out your memories of the Kids Next Door. Joey told me the device can only drain a person's memories of the KND, it leaves everything else."

"That's why we don't remember any of it!" Hoagie pounded his fist on the table, causing it to shake. That's where his childhood had gone, down the KND drain.

"And what did you find out about the DAFDTL?" Nigel asked both Abby and Wally.

"Looks like this wasn't the first time we met them either. Their name stands for Delightful Adults From Down The Lane, and when we were in the Kids Next Door, they were our arch-nemeses..."

"The Delightful Children From Down The Lane." Abby finished.

"Joey said that Father retired some years ago and the brats have taken charge of the anti-child campaign. He said that pretty much every anti-child act on the large scale is fronted by their organization." Wally concluded.

"We were recruited to serve those we once fought, and pitted against what we used to hold dear." Kuki mumbled. She was very much lost in her thought after what she read about herself in the biography.

"Well that's the situation boys and girls." Abby declared as if it was a clear-cut matter.

"So what do we do now? Do we like... defect and hope for clemency, or do we stick with this current position and just keep this whole thing a secret?" asked Hoagie.

"What kinda question is that? What's there to debate?" Abby exploded. "We were in the Kids Next Door and they kicked us out, that simple, why should we try to go back? And another thing, they erased our memories! Is that registering with any of you guys? They hooked us up to a machine and drained us of all our childhood experiences. They stole our childhoods from us! They stole us from each other, and you guys are acting as if we owe them something!"

"Abby I can't believe you'd say something like that," Kuki retorted incredulously. "Just look what we've done to them: we captured children and imprisoned them like criminals, we stole their most precious secrets and attacked them in their safe places without warning and without mercy!" Here she shot a nasty glare at Wally before she continued. "The DAFDTL were our enemies all along, and they lied to us and used us against our old friends. Is that registering with you?"

"Huh, some friends, Kuki. A part of me wishes we had gone and taught that old club a lesson a long time ago. Taking my childhood away from me… I'd say what we did was plain and simple justice. Retribution is what we done!" she sneered.

Now Wally was getting angry as well. "I'm not proud of what we've done Kuki, and that was my brother and his friends that we attacked, Abby, there was nothing just or righteous about it…"

"ENOUGH!" Nigel shouted and silenced them all.

"Look there are good reasons for taking either course of action…"

Kuki was aghast: "Good reasons for either course? I don't believe you Nigel. We've been played against our old friends, and for nothing but our enemy's gain …"

Wally interrupted her with controlled emotion, "Kuki, come on we said our peace, let's let him speak."

"Thank you. Now you've all got some good points. Abby is right, our childhoods were stolen from us. And I don't think it was fair… and in some ways the thought of payback is, I confess, rather appealing…"

Kuki started to open her mouth to protest, but Wally grabbed her wrist and gave her a gentle squeeze to tell her that they should all just listen to what Nigel had to say.

"…and Kuki is also right. We've been lied to and played by the DAFDTL. And indeed, it was for the gain of old enemies…"

Abby still looked sour, but she assented by lowering her head and eyes in a sign of acceptance that this was the truth.

"…but before we start taking sides let's look at this objectively and make sure we don't do anything rash. Now the DAFDTL were our sworn enemies when we were in the Kids Next Door, I don't deny the validity of that after reading that biography on me. But we aren't the Kids Next Door anymore…"

Again Kuki wanted to argue, but again Wally gave her a gentle squeeze to keep her quiet while they listened.

"…and in some ways the DAFDTL have a good idea about what's right for children. Even if it means feeding kids a few extra vegetables or sending them to bed a little early it's still in the best interests of the children, whether they enjoy it or not. However, that's what kids have parents for, and in other ways the DAFDTL are too extreme in their views. Children need to have some freedom to eat candy, watch TV and goof around with their friends if they're expected to grow at all. And in that light the Kids Next Door are an essential counter balance to the DAFDTL."

Hoagie had knitted his fingers together while listening and nodded his agreement to this comment.

"What happened to us in the Kids Next Door, our decommissioning… I agree it wasn't fair, and I wish I could've kept those memories, if only to remember all of you. But we knew it was going to happen, and we accepted our responsibilities in the organization with the knowledge that it would indeed end as it did. If fate meant for us to have vengeance for what was taken from us, I think, after all that we've done, we have it."

Here Nigel paused, stared at his interlaced fingers and squeezed his eyes as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

"In light of everything that's happened these last few weeks… I'd say we have a balance of allegiance. We owe nothing to the Kids Next Door for what they did to us, and after all that we did to disrupt their operations we got our payback for what they took from us. I'd say we're square."

Now it was Hoagie that vouched his opinion.

"But what about the Code Module? The DAFDTL still have it and they can still use it to disrupt other Kids Next Door operations and track operatives. Aren't we responsible for that?"

"If the Kids Next Door need it so badly they can get it back themselves. They're capable of doing at least that much ain't they?" Abby spoke bitterly.

"Hoagie's right, we should get it and hand it back to the Kids Next Door. Shouldn't we?" Kuki ventured looking around the table.

"Not unless we want to start up a fight with the DAFDTL all over again," Nigel replied. "I'm sorry to take sides Kuki but I think we've made enough enemies in these couple months."

"I say we give it back," Wally declared. "We settled our score with the Kids Next Door like you said Nigel. But I say we still have a score to settle with the DAFDTL. Let's get the Code Module and give it to my brother…"

"Oh here we go," Abby put her face in her hands.

"…If nothing else it may help to smooth out our relationship with the rest of the Kids Next Door." Wally continued. "Think about it. Even if we go along with the DAFDTL as though nothing's wrong they're going to be suspicious of what happened on that mission to Sector V and they're going to be wondering where we are right now. Who knows what they might do to us if they think we're committing treason. If we decide to leave, they may come after us. And the Kids Next Door sure aren't going to do anything to help protect us from the DAFDTL after all we did. Think about all those battles we had, there's enough evidence to point the finger at each and every one us as the perpetrators. Even if we go back to our regular lives and leave the rest of this behind, the Kids Next Door and the DAFDTL are guaranteed to come after us."

Nigel nodded, the wheels in his head were whirling. "But if we possess the Code Module, we gain some leverage in asking for clemency. I think Wally's onto something." He muttered as he ran his index finger along his chin.

"So what? Now you want me to go and steal the Code Module all over again?" Abby snapped. "Then what? We all make a run for Cleveland and hope Wally's little brother and his team up there don't arrest us on the spot and throw us into the Prison at the Arctic? Or didn't you guys know that Arctic Base had a prison? That place makes Alcatraz look like a baby's playpen, I saw it with my own eyes, and I'm not going to be locked in that prison for anything."

Hoagie was starting to get a little frustrated by Abby's stubbornness: "Well for crying out loud then Abby what do you say we do? Forget about it? Pretend like it doesn't matter?"

"Why not forget about it? We did it once didn't we?" Though Abby was trying to make it sound like something innocuous that they could all handle, a pill that they could all swallow, she faltered in her speech and she started blinking a little faster. Her eyes were growing moist.

"We stick with the DAFDTL and we keep each other…" Abby paused as she sniffled ever so slightly. Despite her knack at covering up the truth, everyone saw plainly how she felt. "…we leave, and we risk losing everything. Not just our stipends, if those even are for real, or even just our freedom. If we leave the DAFDTL, or if we try to go back to the Kids Next Door we might get decommissioned all over again. Or did you guys not consider that that might be a possible punishment for the things we did or the secrets we now know?"

Now tears were forming in her eyes and still she tried to mask her sorrow with bitterness. Still, all of her friends could see through the facade.

"I would rather die, than lose you guys again. Or does that friendship mean so little to the rest of you…?" and with that, the proud and seemingly unshakeable Abby Lincoln collapsed in Nigel Uno's lap, sobbing like a hurt and timid little child.

Nigel was a little shocked. Indeed he had never thought Abby could show herself to be so fragile. He put his hand gently over hers where it tightly gripped his shoulder, as if she were hanging over a long chasm and he was the only grip to keep her from falling. He placed his arm on her back and shoulder and patted lightly while gently shushing her; the way a parent reassures their child that everything will be made right and no harm will ever come their way.

Hoagie slid his chair over, placed his hand on Abby's quivering back and felt the pain of all her emotions through his palm and fingertips. She in turn stuck her other hand out behind her, grasping the air wildly for his. Her crying started to slow when she at last grasped his hand, but it didn't stop.

The presence of both Nigel and Hoagie soothed her and the worst of her sobbing abated, but still she cried.

As Kuki watched this painful ordeal she too began to tear up. Wally, who had been working to hide his tears by blinking rapidly, slid his hand down the table and ever so gently curled his fingers around Kuki's, but he kept his gaze fixed on the weeping Abby. Kuki kept her gaze on Abby as well, but when she felt Wally's hand on top of her own, she uncurled her fingers and twisted her wrist around until she and Wally held each other's hands, palm in palm.

When Kuki was satisfied that Nigel and Hoagie had Abby under control and were indeed successfully comforting her, she turned around to face Wally, and upon catching sight of his waterlogged eyes, the gravity of the situation and what she stood to lose hit her like a tidal wave of fearful possibilities, and she broke out in loud, hysterical sobs. Wally responded by taking her head with his free hand and holding her tightly to his shoulder. She cried so heavily he soon felt the tears seeping through his jacket, but he didn't loosen his hold and gently stroked her long, raven black hair, shushing her as Nigel was shushing Abby.

Kuki felt so distraught at the thought of losing all of her beloved friends again, the very idea filled her with such terror that she thought death would be a welcome alternative to living a life without them, and she let that anguish have free reign in her cries. She'd lived so many years thinking that there was something wrong with her, that she was incapable of making friends or falling in love or doing anything that normal people do. Now after finding all that had been lost the only things she felt was regret that she had lived in ignorance of so many wonderful things, and fear that she could lose it all again.
Wally let go of her hand and slid his arm around her shoulder, embracing her in a great, tender hug. She hooked her hands underneath his arms, grasped his shoulders and dug in with her fingers as though afraid he would be wrested from her if she didn't hold on with all her might. "There, there," Wally muttered as he held Kuki in his arms. She felt so feeble now, as if she had bones made of porcelain. For a moment, Wally feared that holding her as tight as he was might cause her to shatter.

All five friends sat there for what seemed hours, embracing and comforting one another. Though the boys didn't vent their fear through sobs, or tears of such volume, they too were crying as they held the girls tightly. Hoagie and Wally both had their heads hanging low, frowns curling their lips downwards and steady tears rolling down their cheeks. Nigel hung his head and let his eyes close as he comforted Abby. He kept his mouth shut and his face firm, but let a few bitter tears fall at the thought that he could lose these four greatest of friends.

No… these people aren't friends. He reprimanded himself. They're family. This woman in my arms may not have been born of my parents, but that makes her no less like a sister to me. And this man with his hand on her back is as much my brother as could ever be. This is my family… and I can't let anything so precious be taken from me. Never again…

When Abby had calmed sufficiently enough to breathe without heavily sobbing, Nigel stood up and began pacing back and forth, leaving Abby in Hoagie's arms. He still felt hurt by the truth of the situation before them and he was no less saddened than any of them. He just had a knack for keeping his feelings to himself.

As Nigel paced and Abby began to regain herself, Kuki's crying abated enough for her to stop pressing her face into Wally's shoulder and sit up on her own, though she was still sniffling and wouldn't let go of his hands once she grasped them again. Wally saw that infamous crease in her face from pressing against the seam in his jacket, but he didn't have the heart to smile or giggle about it.

Then suddenly, Nigel stopped his pacing… he had come to his conclusion and knew what to do.

"You guys. We won't be able to keep up this charade of ignorance about each other and about the KND or the DAFDTL until next March. Those Delightful Dorks," everyone's eyebrows flew up as they heard him use such a term, "will catch on to our act sooner or later, and we already had a near miss this afternoon. We can't run away from this, we're better than that. So I think we'll have to go with Wally's plan. We'll steal back the Code Module," he turned to the tear-stained face of Abby, "we all will. Then we'll hand it over to the Kids Next Door and ask for clemency. If necessary, we'll offer our services to fight the DAFDTL or any other nemeses of the KND if that's what it takes to secure our freedom."

Here he gave pause and gave a tiny shake of his head and grinned ever so slightly before he started up again.

"But I'm not Numbuh 1 anymore. I'm just Nigel Uno now. And I'm not your leader, I'm your friend. This isn't for me to dictate, it's for all of us to decide as a team… So… who's for sticking it to those Delightful Dorks?" And he shot his hand up in a fist of defiance.

Hoagie followed suit, then Wally, then Kuki. Abby stalled for a moment as she sniffled just a little. She looked up into Nigel's eyes, smiled broadly and put her fist up as well.

"It's decided then… we attack tonight. And we get the Code Module to Moonbase straightaway."

Author's Note – sorry for giving you that much emotional stuff, but I promise, the coming chapters and events are really going to wow you guys.

Please review, next chapter will be up in due course.