A.N. Hello, I would have uploaded the chapter before but there was a bug in fanfiction that was not counting the views and that is what I take into account to continue motivating myself and publishing my fics, I want to clarify that this fanfic will have longer chapters than the usual ones I'm used to uploading, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Kuki Sanban woke up due to the noise of a door opening. With her eyes half open, she managed to see the shadow of someone approaching her cell. It felt like being in jail, except that it was very clean, it had a small bathroom of its own behind the small door that was at the back of the place where it was confined, a small bed that felt somewhat hard but served to sleep and a wooden table with a plastic chair. If she wanted a little more light, she could turn on the spotlight that illuminated the entire area or touch the small lamp that was screwed to the table, which she always kept on.
The shadow grew larger as it got closer and a large, robust boy appeared in her field of vision. Between the bars of the cell, there was a space below large enough for her to fit a tray of food and a few other things that the girl would need. As if she needs something from those damn people who had her locked up.
The focus of the light in the cell in front of her lit up and she got up to approach her tray, apparently breakfast had been made with a little more effort for her to eat, after all it was not in the plans those who kept her locked up starved her to death. It was a plate of chopped fruit, two pieces of toast, a small carton of orange juice, a bottle of water, and a plastic bottle containing a Starbucks brand cappuccino. Everything they gave her was always in wrapped paper or plastic, they were very careful not to give her something glass or metal that would serve as a weapon or to try to escape with it.
When the tray of food was handed to the boy in the cell across in front, the stocky man rushed out growling. If he didn't want to be there, why then did he do that every day? Was he there against her will like she and her friend?
"Good morning Kuki," the boy in the cell across from spoke to her in a hoarse voice, probably because he too just woke up. He had wild brown hair, was wearing a white T-shirt, cream-colored pants, and his light blue shirt rested on the back of the chair that was in his cell. On his face, he was wearing glasses that had a slight yellow color, that was due to a special filter that his eyes needed, or something like that, according to his prescription from the ophthalmologist.
"I don't know what's good about them," said the girl, grabbing the tray and placing it on the wooden table. "But I'm glad you're here, I got very nervous when they took you out yesterday."
"I don't think I was as scared as yesterday."
"Where did they take you?" The girl asks, leaning against the bars to better hear her friend. Kuki was wearing his black tank top, dark gray shorts, and black leggings. She had left his long-sleeved green sweater on the bed. Usually she didn't show himself in tight clothes, but there was only Hoagie there and that rude boy bringing him the food. Anyway, his cell was always darker and anyone couldn't spy on the girl.
"I would like to have an answer to that question" he took a sip from the bottle of water "I just remember that I left here, everything looked whiter, outside there is good lighting. They took me to a room with gadgets that I had never seen before and after that I felt a prick in my arm and everything went blurry. When I woke up I was here again, I don't know what happened."
"What do you think they did to you?" The girl asked with a trembling voice, she had an immense desire to cry again but she was holding back.
"Well, now that I'm checking myself ..." the boy looks at his arms. "I think they've drawn blood or something. I just hope that whatever they have tested me for, I test negative and leave my organs where they are."
"You and your crazy idea that the organs will be taken from us and sold on the black market." Kuki looks at the ceiling and is lost for a moment. It's actually lucky they haven't done anything to them yet. The first two nights she could not sleep because she was afraid that someone would enter her cell and do what they pleased with her. She was terrified. The very idea that someone would take advantage of her, of hers, her body, made her shiver with fear.
"For a few days I thought it was the most logical thing to do," says Hoagie, starting to eat her breakfast. "Aren't you going to eat? I worry about you Kuki, you should stay strong in case any chance to escape presents itself. What if we have to run up or down stairs to escape and you don't have any energy from your hunger strike?
"It's not a hunger strike," she replies, frustrated. "It's hard for me to eat, I'm not hungry, I'm afraid and I'm ..." she tried to hold back her tears but she couldn't.
"At least drink some water, crying also dehydrates you."
Kuki wept loudly for a few minutes. It had been seven days since they had been locked up in that horrible place. She was sure that if she weren't for the company of her high school friend, Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr., she probably would have already lost what little sanity she had left. He didn't comment further when he heard the girl cry. She didn't know how to cheer her up, he didn't even know how to cheer himself up. The situation was not looking good at all and neither of them knew for sure if they would get out of there alive.
What would their parents think? They must probably be very worried, looking for them, crying and grieving. She remembered her sister, surely they barely let her go to school because of the way things are.
Outside the wing of the cells where Kuki and Hoagie were, a blond man with a piercing in his right ear, dressed in a black leather jacket, orange T-shirt, dark blue jeans ripped at the knees and white sneakers, was talking to the robust boy who was in charge of feeding the prisoners on that floor.
"Okay Ernie," the boy started to speak. His hoarse and imposing voice intimidated the one who was taller than him. "You informed me that one of the prisoners in section V did not eat what you gave him."
"That's right Matador. I have tried to get her to eat something but she hardly touches his trays, so I sent for you. I don't think it's wise to bother the Leader with little things like that, so I thought it best to tell you, sir."
"I'll take care of it, nothing that a couple of blows doesn't fix any matter," he said, bumping his fists.
"I don't think it's necessary to be so violent, is the girl we talked about."
"Everyone here has treated them the same, but it's okay, you win." I'll talk to her first, "said the boy walking towards the door where Kuki and Hoagie were.
"You can't go in like this, you must hide your face, they are in the same high school as you."
"Do you dare to question my authority, Ernie?" Says the blonde, glaring at him. That managed to scare the boy. "Besides, nothing happens, after all, their memory will be modified and I don't think they can escape from this place, nobody has."
Ernie just nodded and left the place, he did not want to be present in case things got out of control and he had to pay for whatever the prisoners told him, after all, it would not be the first time.
The boy walked over to the door panel where he inserted a secret key, made a noise, and it automatically opened. He ruffled a bit, put his hands in the pocket of his leather jacket and walked into the area where there were empty cells, except for Hoagie and Kuki's which were almost at the end of the hall. Who had assigned them so far back? What a bummer to have to walk so much.
"Someone's coming and it doesn't seem like the usual," Hoagie commented to Kuki, who hurriedly put on her long-sleeved sweater and turned off the lamp so they wouldn't see her. She did not feel safe in that place, she did not want to feel observed. Hoagie lay down on his bed pretending not to do anything in particular.
When the blonde stopped at the cells that were occupied, he first went to where Hoagie was lying. The boy looked at him through his glasses and stood up suddenly when he recognized him. He pressed his face between the bars to get a better look at him and make sure he wasn't getting confused.
"Wallabee?" Hoagie asked, very surprised.
"Don't call me that way. I haven't given you permission to call me by my name." He clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
"But here you are. We took some classes in high school. What are you doing here?"
"Wally?" The boy heard a female voice calling to him from behind him. He turned to see who it was but the cell was very dark and he could not identify it.
"So you're the one who doesn't want to eat," Wally frowned and approached the girl's cell but he still couldn't see anything. "Why is it so dark? Turn on that damn light."
Kuki was surprised to hear Wally speak like that. They weren't friends but they had talked a few times while in class together, but no bond of friendship had formed between them, at least not one as strong as the one he had with Hoagie, he was one of the few friends she had, taking some girls she always hung out with. The last decent conversation they had together he had asked her to call him "Wally" instead of his real name, claiming that it was too long and that he was more comfortable being called that way by people who are close to him. That day was very happy for Kuki because for her, that meant that they had become friends. But after that, Wally disappeared.
Since his return they had not spoken to each other once, he had changed so much. Even his clothes didn't look the same. He no longer hung out with the usual classmates, but with the troublemakers or the most popular kids in high school. He got into trouble, fought with other boys, spent time in detention, and didn't even look at her like before. For a moment she thought that she had a chance to have a more friendly relationship with the Australian, but all of that vanished when he suddenly appeared one day as if he were someone else. She didn't tell anyone, but she suffered silently for him.
"Wally, why are you here?" The girl demanded in a shaky voice.
"Don't call me Wally. Neither of you can call me by my name," the boy yelled angrily. "Address me as Matador."
"Who's going to call you by that ridiculous name?" Hoagie whispered to himself, trying to keep from laughing, but the blonde heard him.
"What did you say?" Wally smirked. "Don't even think about making fun of me or I'll knock out all the perfect teeth you have to erase that ridiculous smile from your face. Did you hear me?" Hoagie nodded at Matador's threat and backed into his cell. He didn't remember him being so violent.
"Now let's get back to what I really came here to do. I told you to turn on the light" he approached the girl's cell again who was still ignoring him.
"Why should I?" The girl asks defiantly with what little courage she had managed to get. She didn't like the way he was talking at all.
"Incredible, no one had dared to question me," If you don't turn on that damn light, I'll have to go into that filthy cell and I'll force you to do it in the least beautiful way." He shrugged. "Is that clear?" He spoke hoarsely, as if he was really very angry.
Kuki didn't recognize the boy in front of her and what she least wanted was for someone in that place to put a finger on her. The girl felt his legs falter but whatever she managed to find the button that activated the light and pressed it. Despite the fear she felt at seeing him so enraged, she did not lose eye contact with Wally.
Time seemed to freeze. Suddenly Hoagie's presence right behind them is as if he has vanished, not as if he is speaking again. He had sat in his chair watching the situation silently in the hope that Wallabee would not do anything wrong to Kuki and leave them alone.
Kuki looked at him defiantly. Wally looked her up and down. It's not like he hadn't seen her in high school, but something was different. Perhaps it was because her hair fell on her face totally disheveled from her; by the red eyes that stared at him; because someone dared to look at him that way; or because the girl had awakened something in him that she could not explain.
"You still don't touch your tray," Wally spoke, looking away to the table where the tray of food that the girl had barely touched rested, thus breaking the long silence that invaded them. "I need you to eat."
"I'm not hungry," she replied, looking away.
"I don't care if you're hungry or not, if I come in an hour and if you haven't eaten anything, I'll force the food into you," he threatened.
"But… Wally…" the girl stammered and suddenly, the boy punched Kuki's cell. He clearly had hurt himself but he already had enough tolerance for pain due to his constant fights and training. That act scared her very much. Even Hoagie got up and grabbed the bars of his cell to get a little closer to them.
"What's your problem?" Hoagie yells elated. "You can't come here and treat us like trash."
"Shut up!" Wally yelled, clutching his head. A strong pang made him falter for a moment. "How annoying you are. Just do what I tell you," he mutters," If you haven't eaten anything in an hour, you'll know me," he glared at her and walked with a hurried step towards the exit, leaving Hoagie and Kuki stunned by their partner's violent behavior from high school.
They waited to be totally alone to talk to each other again. The truth is, they were both very surprised to see Wally there and that he will show himself to be a bully.
"Are you okay?" Hoagie asks when the mood has settled down a bit.
"I do not know. I never expected Wally to do this. I thought ... that we were friends or well ... that's what I thought" she made a brief pause "What is he doing here? I never expected someone we knew to be behind this, I… I don't know what to think."
"Hey, calm down. I am your friend and I would never hurt you. Please try to eat something, you are stronger than this Kuki. I don't want us to make him angry, for a moment I thought that he would open the cell and do something to you, "he spoke in a worried tone. The truth is that he thought what would be his chances of leaving the cell in case the situation got out of control but he didn't find any workable solution.
"Thank you, I'll try," the girl said. She turned off the light in her cell and turned on the lamp, the dim light of that little device gave her a certain comfort.
Kuki sat at the table and ate what her stomach allowed, if it was true that she was somewhat hungry but it was so hard for her to swallow food. She had only been there a few days but she was sure that she had managed to lose a couple of pounds just with her being worried and anxious all day.
When Wally stepped out of the V-section wing, he again touched her head, but the stab of pain was gone. She was so strange to him. What was that due to? Something in her head clicked when she saw the girl locked in her cell but she could not decipher it, perhaps too much blood had flowed to her head due to the adrenaline of the moment. It was not the first time that something similar had happened to him, although that always happened more in the middle of a fight. Whatever happened to him, he hoped it wouldn't happen again.
The arrival of Nigel from the school exchange in a remote place that even he could not pronounce had made his parents very happy. His house looked almost the way he remembered it as it did when he left at age 11 to join GKND. It was 5 wonderful years, he still couldn't believe it had come to an end. Now that he saw himself as a teenager, Nigel had already considered the possibility that perhaps when the mission is over, he will not be able to return to space, since he is no longer a child. Of course that matters he would have to worry about later. Now he had to put his full attention on the documents that Fanny and Patton had left in his possession for him to meticulously review and study.
Then, he realized that his tree house was missing, which was strange to him since the tree houses are occupied by other children, not just disappear. Although the log that passed through his room was still in its usual place. It may be that when his friends stopped being part of KND they moved it, since the location of the house was his after all. It would be very strange to see children entering and leaving his yard if he was not there to play with them. And it was much more than obvious that his parents had not allowed that. What happened to the tree house then? A knock on his door snapped her out of his thoughts.
"Come in," Nigel gave the order so that some of his parents, who would be knocking on his door, could pass.
"Oh Nigel dear, I know you must still be tired from your trip and you need to rest, but someone has come to see you," his mother says as he opens the door to her room.
"Right under mom," the boy replied as he arranged his mission papers and kept them under his bed. He knew it wasn't the best hiding place but he would think of a better place later. It was then that he realized that he had a visitor. Who would come so early to visit him on a Saturday? That alarmed him and he crept down the stairs hoping not to meet an enemy that had realized that he had already returned. Nigel let out a sigh when he spotted Patton sitting on his living room couch.
"So, you were part of the exchange too along with our son Nigel?" Nigel's father asks Patton.
"Yes, that's right, sir. A pleasant experience. But we have decided to return to finish our senior year here and I think the classes are not that advanced yet and there will be no problem catching up. Right Nigel?" Asks Patton addressing Nigel when he saw him enter the room.
"Yes, of course. I'm glad you came, I think I need help, you know with school and stuff. Come on, let's go to my room, " he says to Patton, who gets up from the couch and says goodbye to Nigel's parents again before going upstairs. When both teens reached the room, Patton locked the door and drew the curtains as safety protocol.
"May I know what you are doing at my house?" I thought that …" he couldn't continue as Patton quickly put his hand on his mouth to stop talking. He frowned as a sign that he would shut up and the boy just nodded. From his pocket, he took out a matchbox that opened at the push of a button and turned into a small scanner that scanned the entire room. When he finished his work, he put the device in his pocket.
"I'm sorry about that, but I had to make sure everything was under control," Patton commented, who then sat in the desk chair in Nigel's room. "Man, you really need some remodeling, you're already a teenager and you have plenty of things here."
"I may look like a teenager but I'm still a kid, I mean, a day ago I was. My voice sounds so strange, until I don't seem to be the one speaking."
"Right, you were. How are you doing with the conditioning of your body? I guess it was a bit difficult to change so soon."
"Well, I feel great, except for the acne that broke out last night even though it was gone this morning. Anyway, what are you doing here? I'm not supposed to have contact with you or Fanny until Monday in high school," he said sitting on her bed taking out the paperwork that had hidden before going down to receive the visit.
"Fanny told me it was a good idea to better educate yourself in the teen world, you know, we need you to become one by Monday and that's in 48 hours" he opened the backpack that brought with him and began to take out everything he had prepared "Last night I was at Fanny's house and she gave me all this, she says this will help you and you better check everything I brought, she will ask you questions and if you fail any I don't want to put up with her bad mood all morning."
"I thought that their dating was a teenage sham to gather information." He raised a mischievous eyebrow and Patton could see his expression because Nigel did not wear his dark glasses, but casual ones that he used as a child.
"Oh, well... we need it to be very credible and also so we can talk about the things we can't say to each other on the phone. I mean, maybe her brothers want to kill me every time I go to her house because they are part of KND but nothing that Fanny can't control, you already know her," the boy answered somewhat uncomfortably.
"What about my tree house?" He crossed her arms expectantly.
"Your house is in perfect condition, but we'll talk about that in another time, you still don't have access to that information."
Patton pulled two teen magazines out of his backpack, one exclusively for girls called You, and one about motorcycles and cars that belonged to him. Some DvDs of movies that Fanny said were teenage general culture and everyone should see them, he remembered at the time that he was forced to watch several of them. Among the titles were, "Mean Girls", "The fault in our stars", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", "Freaky Friday" and "10 Things I Hate About You". He also put out some CDs with assorted teen music that was all the rage.
"Oh wao. It's too material," Nigel commented when he saw everything he had to see and read in two days before going to school on Monday morning." Who knew that being a teenager would be so difficult."
"I think that Fanny exaggerated a bit but hey and oh, I almost forgot" he opened the front pocket of her backpack and took out a small white box "This is your cell phone, take care of it as if your life depended on it, I already put a special chip and our numbers stored on it. Just give us a call or message when it's an emergency."
"Great," said Nigel, grabbing the device. "And what is this?"
"You really don't know what it is?" He asks, laughing. "It seems like they lack more technology in space." He sighed before continuing and explained the basics; like making calls, sending messages, connecting to Wi-fi, social networks, not to believe everything on the internet and teen gossip pages.
"I shouldn't be surprised by the Earth's technology but this is amazing," he exclaimed excitedly using his cell phone.
"Yes, well," he cleared his throat to return to his serious face. "Knowing you, you've already reviewed the paperwork we gave you for homework," the boy nodded. "I want your opinion, soldier."
"To order, sir," he gave a military salute and then proceeded to speak "The list of children and teens who are missing were part of KND, in total there are 43 missing. Previously, the number rose to 58, but 15 have appeared, of which they return with serious mental problems where they cannot even remember who they were in the past and 11 are currently hospitalized in clinics and psychiatric centers. The only item that seems sane is Matador, former Numbuh 4 of Kids Next Door, who according to the report is the Leader of the teen ninjas. But…" he paused to breathe since he had spoken a little fast "I mean hello! Who came up with that name?
"He calls himself that, currently it is the only way he accepts to be called if you address him. It's been a headache but he knows what he's doing, I just wish he would solve everything with less violence. Sometimes I feel like Matador really wants us to hurt the children. I mean, even though we teenage ninjas try to destroy KND children we have never seriously injured them, unless you take it personally as Cree.
Nigel remembered her time in KND and as Numbuh 5 always had to deal with a sister who wanted to kill her, despite that she never managed to defeat her.
"How much has changed?" Nigel asked unsure, he didn't really want to know the answer but he had to prepare for whatever.
"He's not the same boy you knew when you were kids," Patton spoke in a tired tone. "Sometimes I think that he needs a psychiatric hospital like the other agents who appeared but his parents do not seem to give him much importance. Just don't look directly at him, don't confront him, don't talk to him, and ignore him completely. I know it will be difficult to see him every day at school just like Abigail, but they don't remember you and neither should you. Keep a low profile, just act like the new guy who knows no one and knows nothing. Fanny and I will get closer to you little by little, you know in good vibes, we all want to know where the new one came from, is that clear?"
"Yes sir," Nigel replied, getting up from the bed.
"You don't have to be so formal, call me Patton and call Fanny by her name too, no numbers and codes in the hallways and no weapons or alien artifacts. No one can know where you were all this time or that you keep your memories."
Patton gave Nigel other orders, tips for socializing and talking to girls. Modern words and phrases that all young people use in casual conversation. They even created a profile for him on Facebook and Instagram and put him well-researched photos from the internet of the place where he supposedly had been all this time. An hour later the boy said goodbye to Nigel so that he would calmly review all the teen material that he had to study.
"Well let's start with this marathon," he said to himself, putting one of the movies Patton had left on the DVD player and settling into his bed, it would be a long day.