Hello! It's time for Arc 3 of Operation: Retribution
Phase 3: Dividing Truth
The Teens Next Door have finally made their move.
Using their experience and superior strategy, they have successfully defeated the Teen Ninjas and driven them out of their massive Hideout in downtown Cleve.
Their appearance has taken Father and the Kids Next Door by surprise, forcing both factions to change their approach.
However, while the TND prepare for their next mission, Sector V has been deeply affected by what they saw in the Teen Ninja's dungeon and their leader, Numbuh 1, losing control of his Silhouette Suit during the attack on the Hideout.
Transmission 26: Restless Night
Within the confines of the TND base, Abby, Hoagie, Kuki and Wally are sitting in the leisure room. They had been sent there as the battle in the Hideout has drained them out completely and they had to visit the infirmary due to the injuries they sustained when they fought Father's clone. However, Nigel is not with them. He had insisted on appearing in the broadcast but collapsed shortly after and is being held in the infirmary.
The atmosphere in the room is strained and silent. While their thoughts are with Nigel, the fact they were kept in the dark about Nigel's loss of control, hurt them greatly. "How long do you think they'll keep Numbuh 1 in there?" Hoagie says as he lies on a sofa, his wrists wrapped in gauze.
"Dunno. All Numbuh 5 cares about right now is why they didn't tell us about his problem." Abby huffs and looks at the door with her arms crossed, which are also wrapped in bandages from the slight burns Father inflicted.
"How could they keep it a secret from us? He's our leader…" Kuki says and presses her face against her knees. Sitting on the same sofa as her is Wally, who silently eyes his four-leaf clover necklace and leans back slightly.
"Maybe they didn't want us to worry or something…"
"No way, Numbuh 2. They know better than to keep somethin' so important from us…at least, that's what Numbuh 5 wants to think…"
"Then let's go see him! Waitin' here doin' nothin' is driving me nuts!" Wally gets up and looks at his friends.
"Yeah, you're right! Numbuh 1 needs us. Come on guys, we're going to the infirmary."
"Damn straight."
The four teens leave the leisure room and swiftly walk towards the infirmary. Just as they enter the waiting room, they notice Rachel exit the large door that leads to the infirmary proper. "Oh, it's you guys. I was just about to join you..."
"Well don't bother anymore. How's Nigel?" Abby's attitude causes Rachel to fidget slightly.
"He's sleeping right now. The battle took a lot out of him…"
"Oh, we know. Too bad we didn't know anythin' about WHY he's like that." Abby glares at Rachel who looks away.
"You knew that he couldn't control the Silhouette Suit. Why didn't you tell us about it?" Hoagie asks but Rachel continues to look away.
"I…I was hoping Nigel would explain it himself…"
"Don't gimme that same lame excuse Eliza gave us! You know damn well Numbuh 1 keeps things to himself if he can help it!"
"I…"
"What else has he told ya that we don't know about huh?!" Abby grabs Rachel by the collar of her turquoise shirt and pushes her against the wall, prompting her friends to grab her from behind.
"Hey, stop that, Numbuh 5!"
"Yeah, we didn't come here to start a fight!"
"Rachel's not at fault!"
"Then why the hell didn't ya tell us?!"
"I swear I wasn't going to keep it from you guys! I just didn't get the chance to say it!" Rachel grabs Abby's wrists but notices that Abby's eyes are filling with tears of frustration.
"We're his teammates dammit…how are we supposed to help him if we don't know what's wrong with him?!"
"Abby…I…I'm sorry I…should've told you…"
"Damn right you should've!" Abby let's go of Rachel and hides her eyes under her cap while Kuki pulls her aside.
"We're sorry too…we've been worried sick about Numbuh 1." Hoagie says solemnly. "So uhm…we'll uhm…just go and see how he's doing…" Hoagie stutters and opens the door to the infirmary. One by one, they walk past Rachel but Abby refuses to even look at her.
As the door closes behind them, Rachel hunches down and wraps her arms around her knees. "I messed up again…" she mutters silently.
Led by Hoagie, Sector V walk through the hallway of the infirmary. "Uhm…where are they keeping him anyway?"
"Let's ask someone!" Kuki says and stops a nurse who approaches them. "Ah, excuse me!"
"Yes? Oh, are you members of Sector V?" The brown-haired nurse asks.
"Yeah, we're tryin' to find our leader. Where is he?" Wally asks bluntly.
"He's in room number 10. Just turn to the right side corridor and it's the last room to the right…"
"AAAAAHHHHHHRRRGGGGGG! NO MORE! HELP ME!" The nurse is stopped mid-sentence by a horrified scream coming from the room on their right.
"What was that?!" Hoagie yelps as the nurse's expression becomes sad.
"Oh, that must be one of the prisoners we evacuated…" The nurse says solemnly.
"Ah…" The teens are reminded about what they saw in the dungeon. Then, a TND doctor opens the door where the scream came from. "Numbuh Mu-4! What are you doing? The patient needs those tranquilizers ASAP!"
"Ah sorry, Chief. If you'll excuse me." Then nurse runs into the room, leaving Sector V in the hallway. They can hear the screams of a girl coming from the room and are drawn to the sound. They take a hesitant peek from the door and see the doctor and the nurse frantically trying to calm down the panicking girl. She has cut marks on her arms, cheeks and legs and her hair shows signs of being singed. Seeing this, they close the door and are left speechless. The sight of the girl has left them unable to even think straight.
"…how could they do something like that…" Kuki mutters, covering her mouth with her hands.
"They're just kids…" Hoagie stares at the floor in disbelief while Abby doesn't say a word.
Wally however is fuming. "Ghh…DAMMIT!" He punches the wall, startling his friends. "Dammit…those bastards…" Kuki tries to console him but she can't bring herself to say anything, knowing that Wally had to go through the same thing in Father's dungeon.
"We should go see Numbuh 1…" Hoagie says hesitantly and the others nod. They walk silently through the hallway, occasionally hearing screaming or panicked voices from the rooms around them, each one making them feel more uncomfortable.
Finally, they reach room number 10 and open the door slowly. Inside, they seen Nigel sleeping in a hospital bed, his new and old sunglasses sitting on a nightstand next to his bed. While on the outside, he appears to be alright, they know this is not the case. Abby goes to his bedside and sits on small chair while the others stand behind her. "Nigel…" she looks solemnly at their leader who remains asleep.
"At least he looks okay…that fight must've drained him completely."
"Obviously. You'd be like that too if ya had to go through the same thing." Abby snaps at Hoagie.
"Hey, you don't have to say it like that!" Hoagie replies as Abby looks down at her feet.
"Sorry…I guess I'm still angry about what happened…"
"It's okay Numbuh 5. You're not the only one worried about Numbuh 1." Kuki puts her hand on Abby's shoulder.
"Yeah…I know…I just wish we could help him somehow…" Abby says as they continue to watch over their leader.
An hour passes by and everyone has kept quiet, their minds fixated on what happened in the Hideout, what they saw in the dungeon and how Nigel lost control. Then, they're snapped back to reality by a weak groan.
"…uh…"
"Nigel?!" His friends move closer to his bed as Nigel slowly opens his eyes.
"…huh…what are you guys doing here?"
"We came to see how you were doing, buddy."
"You shouldn't have…I'm fine…"
"We all know that's a lie, Nigel. Ya can't be okay after what happened to ya." Abby says sternly as Nigel stares at the ceiling and collects his thoughts.
"Oh…right…I…I lost control…"
"Numbuh 1, why didn't you tell us about that? We could've helped you…"
"I'm sorry Numbuh 3…but I was certain I could deal with it by myself…I guess I was wrong…" Nigel sighs and adjusts his posture.
"I thought if I held onto the Book of KND, it would allow me to suppress Grandfather's influence, like how my dad resisted Grandfather's Senior-City-Zombification but when I saw what Father was about to do to you guys, I lost control."
"Wait, I thought Numbuh 1000 had it." Hoagie scratches the back of his head as Nigel smiles slyly.
"And so, does he, but a few days before her decommissioning party, Rachel asked me to take it back to the Treehouse of Coolness. Somehow she had a hunch that it may not be safe in the Moonbase…" Nigel as he puts his white sunglasses on.
"Damn, it's pretty scary that she was right. So, the one Numbuh 1000 has is a fake?"
"Indeed, Numbuh 2. The only way to know the difference is that the real one has my page in it. Since only you guys and Rachel have seen the page, Numbuh 1000 has no idea his is fake." Nigel replies but then, he notices Abby's serious expression.
"I know what you want to ask Numbuh 5. Why didn't I tell you that Grandfather has been haunting me?" Abby nods and Nigel looks at his hands.
"I did it because I didn't know how you'd react. I…I'm still trying to come to terms with all the horrible things I did while I was on Father's side and somewhere deep down, I thought you would hate me…"
"There's no way we'd do that! Numbuh 5 admits she felt betrayed back when we heard you'd joined Father but when ya explained why you did it, I forgave ya, but now, knowing that you didn't tell us about your problems with yo suit and the stuff with Grandfather, makes me feel even more betrayed…" Abby looks into Nigel's eyes.
"I see…all I can do is apologize. I realize it was stupid of me to go at it by myself because I thought I could deal with it myself, so as to not worry you guys and upset the team."
"It's fine, if ya just tell us next time." Abby says as Kuki peeks over her shoulder
"Yeah, with teamwork, there's nothing we can't do."
"Numbuh 3's right, we can get through this together." Nigel is slightly taken aback by his teams' reaction, but Abby refuses to smile even slightly.
"There's just one thing I wanna know Nigel. Did ya tell Rachel and your cousin not to say anythin' about your problem to us?"
"No. I did no such thing." Nigel replies firmly.
"I see…" Abby looks down at the floor and gets up.
"Numbuh 5, you're planning on finding Eliza and asking her right?" Nigel sees right through Abby's intentions and she stops on her tracks.
"Don't do it. They had their reasons, but I don't want you or anyone else to hold them responsible for this mess. I alone hold that responsibility." Abby clenches her fists and turns to face Nigel, her eyes filled with a mix of anger and frustration.
"How the hell do ya expect me to not be angry at them? They knew what was wrong with ya and they didn't tell us, your own team!" Abby shouts, startling the others. "There's no way Numbuh 5 can just let it go! If they'd bothered to tell us, you wouldn't be in that bed in the first place!"
"I would've lost control regardless."
"But…"
"The Silhouette Suit is a burden that I accepted and I alone can carry."
"Ya don't have to! Maybe we can…"
"NO!" Nigel cuts Abby off. "There is only one way…but it's something you would never agree to."
"What do ya mean?" Nigel looks up at Abby and pulls down his glasses slightly.
"Decommissioning." Just hearing that word sends chills down the spines of his friends, leaving even Abby unable to make an argument.
"That's how Grandfather was defeated and that is the only known way to "fix" me. My father, Numbuh Zero, most likely had it too, but because he rejected Grandfather, it never materialized. Father on the other hand embraced it, and you know how that went down. There are only two paths presented to me: Accept and become something monstrous or decommission myself." His teammates can't find any words to reply but then, Wally speaks up.
"But that's not how you're gonna go down, right?" Nigel turns his gaze at Wally and can feel a sense of trust coming from the Australian.
"That's right, I refuse to take neither. I fully plan on overcoming this hurdle and go forward. And, if I do lose control again, I know that you guys will bring me back to my senses." Wally has a faint, confident smile on his face and nods at his leader.
"You're right, Numbuh 4. We can't let that bring us down. We've still got tons of work to do and getting hung up on this is just gonna make life difficult." Hoagie gives Nigel a thumbs-up, who replies with a nod.
"I'm gonna do my best too!" Kuki nods her head eagerly but Abby remains silent. Then, Nigel sits up straight and puts his legs over the side of his bed.
"Hey, you're still recovering!"
"No, I won't accomplish anything by just lying here. I have to get to the Switchboard and…" As Nigel tries to stand up, his legs almost give away and Wally and Hoagie grab his arms.
"Didn't you hear what Numbuh 3 said? You aren't in any condition to walk, let alone go to the Switchboard." Hoagie says as he and Wally force Nigel to sit back down.
"Nonsense…I need know what the enemy's response is and…" Suddenly his body starts feeling heavy.
"For cryin' out loud, Numbuh 1. You're more stubborn about this than I'd be." Wally shouts as Nigel gives in.
"Sorry…" Nigel says as he lays his head on the pillow. Kuki then goes to the sink at the other end of the room and takes one the towels hanging next to it, drenches it in cold water, rinses it and puts it on Nigel's forehead after removing his white sunglasses.
"There, that should cool you off a little."
"Thanks guys…I really am hopeless without you all."
"Just like we'd be nothing without you, Numbuh 1." Hoagie grins as Nigel closes his eyes.
"We should let him rest for now…" Kuki whispers to the others and they turn around but before anyone can leave, Nigel stops them.
"Wait…Numbuh 5, I want you to keep my old glasses."
"What? I can't do that…"
"No, I insist. From now on, I'll be wearing the white ones, as a sign of moving forward. Keep them safe, because once this is all over, I'll take them back, okay?" Abby looks at the worn, black sunglasses that Nigel hastily repaired after Numbuh 1000 shattered them during the warehouse operation. She pulls down her hat and takes the glasses, putting them over her hat.
"You got it, Numbuh 1…"
"Thank you…" Abby nods and turns around, leading the others out of the room but Nigel speaks one more time.
"And Numbuh 4."
"Yeah?" Wally looks over his shoulder.
"Thanks for believing in me, and bringing me back from the brink…"
"Don't mention it. You'd do the same to me, I know that."
"Yes…"
"Oh yeah, that wasn't a bad plan from someone who can't make actual plans, right?" Wally replies with a cheeky smile, causing Nigel to chuckle.
"Hehehe…Indeed, I'll have to step up my game from now on."
"Damn right you do." Wally puts his fist towards Nigel and the two friends do a fist-bump. Wally then walks out and closes the door behind him, leaving Nigel alone in the room, to regain his strength and more importantly, to come to terms with himself.
"That'll be the last time my team gets endangered because of me…I'll change myself and overcome you, Grandfather." Nigel says with determination, but Grandfather's specter does not reply.
…
While Nigel rests in his room, his teammates leave the infirmary and head back to the leisure room. However, before they can enter the room, Kuki stops.
"Hmm, what's wrong Numbuh 3?" Hoagie asks while Kuki fidgets.
"Uhm…I need to go home…"
"What? Are you crazy? You're gonna get attacked by the Ninjas or the KND!" Wally becomes slightly alarmed but Kuki shakes her head.
"I…my parents aren't letting me stay away from home anymore…"
"Huh? Are you serious?"
"After last weekend, my mom and dad forced a curfew on me the moment I came back on Sunday…" Kuki looks dejectedly at the floor.
"No way…why didn't you say that before?"
"I… I was scared…and besides, we had that mission coming up so I didn't want to talk about it before it was over…"
"It's okay, Numbuh 3. I understand. But, Numbuh 4's right, if ya go home tonight, they're gonna come for ya." Abby's words cause Kuki to stare at the floor.
"I know…but it's okay, I can just teleport home and…"
"Ya don't have enough juice left in ya to do that, you know that right?" Abby puts her hands on her waist.
"Well, if I try really hard I…"
"No way. All of us are exhausted after that mission. You're not in any better shape than us."
"Then what am I supposed to do…" Kuki looks like she's about to cry but Abby puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Numbuh 5's got an idea. Why don't we have Numbuh 4 take ya home?"
"HUH? WHY DO I GOTTA…"
Hoagie elbows Wally in the stomach and pulls him aside. "Hey, aren't you forgetting how strict her parents are? She's screwed if she doesn't stick to the curfew." he whispers to Wally, who glances at Kuki, who in-turn looks back at him, her eyes filled with hope.
"Aw crud…fine…" Wally says reluctantly, causing Kuki to smile gratefully.
"Thanks Wally…"
"So there ya have it. You take her home and go to your own home."
"Why do I gotta do that? Can't I just come back here?"
"No, cuz if we leave Numbuh 3 by herself, she's still gonna be a target. You leave together and come to school together tomorrow mornin'. We'll meet up at the front gate like before." Abby says sternly, finally convincing Wally.
"Okay, okay…" Wally gives up and his head slumps down slightly.
"Hey, don't take it like that." Hoagie again pulls him aside and whispers in his ear. "Think about it, you get to have some quality time with her." Hoagie points at Kuki with his thumb, causing Wally's face to turn red.
"Just what the heck are ya schemin' in there?" Abby glares at the boys.
"Oh, nothing, absolutely nothing." Hoagie whistles and steps away from Wally who glares at him.
"Right…now, you get your asses into the hangar and fly outta here. It's already dark outside. I'll talk with the bigwigs if anyone starts complainin'." Abby says as she heads to the leisure room. "Numbuh 2, you comin'?"
"Uhm…I was gonna go to the science lab. They brought a huge haul of Ninja tech over from the Hideout so…"
"Is that so? Fine, go hang out with your nerd friends." Abby replies, disappointment visible on her face and closes the door behind.
"Is it just me or did she just get angry at me?" Hoagie becomes confused while Kuki giggles.
"Maybe she did…" Hoagie shrugs and waves to his friends as he goes to the nearest elevator while Wally and Kuki walk silently to the hangar in the same floor. The massive hangar is still buzzing with activity as TND ships are still being emptied from all the captured loot while other ships take on the freed prisoners who were in better condition and could be sent to their homes.
"Uhm…sorry about this…Wally."
"Why are you apologizin'? I agreed to help ya so it' not a problem…" Wally says, trying not to make eye contact with her.
"I just felt like it…" she replies as they stop near the huge tunnel exit that leads to the surface. Wally then takes a deep breath and activates his armor, transforming it to High-Altitude Mode.
"Okay, grab on and let's go." But before she can do so, they hear mechanical footsteps coming from behind them. Kuki turns around and sees Bradley running towards them.
The cyborg-skunk jumps into her arms and has a determined expression. It had heard that Kuki and Wally were leaving and ran after them, intent on staying with its surrogate mother. "You wanna come with me, Bradley?" The skunk nods while Wally lets out a loud groan.
"For crud's sake…do we really gotta take that cruddy skunk with us?"
"Of course! He doesn't wanna be alone all the time and besides, if he's with me, I'll feel safer."
Wally feels insulted by her reply but doesn't argue back. "Fine, whatever, let's just go already." He grabs Kuki under her back and under her legs and lifts her up, startling her.
"Hey, I wasn't ready…"
"Just shut up and grit your teeth." Wally snaps at her and switches the leg thrusters from hover to flight mode and takes off, flying behind a TND C.O.O.L.B.U.S.S. carrying freed prisoners. As they reach surface, Wally turns on the armor's stealth cloak and flies away from the transport and carries Kuki towards the suburbs. She curls up slightly as the cold wind hits her head on, causing Wally to fly lower, above the rooftops.
Soon, Wally arrives to her house and switches his armor to normal mode so he can land. As his feet touch the ground, he disengages the B.R.A. completely and gently let's go of Kuki, who frees Bradley and tells him to climb into her room through the window. As the skunk scurries up the side of the house, the two teens are left alone on the sidewalk. "Uhm…so…thanks for bringing me here…"
"No problem." Wally replies but Kuki senses a feeling of indifference in his voice. His mind is obviously somewhere else.
"You're still thinking about the prisoners, right?"
"…of course, I cruddy am…" Wally mutters and turns his back on Kuki.
"Wait!" she runs up to him and hugs him from behind.
"Remember what you said to Numbuh 1? That you can't do everything by yourself?"
"Yeah…" Wally clenches his fists.
"So, don't go back on your word. Please, if there's something I can do just tell me."
"Sorry…it's just that seein' them in there made me remember things I wish could forget…"
"Oh Wally…" She hugs him harder, but Wally takes a step forward and Kuki lets go.
"What those bastards did back then is something I'll never forgive…but I don't wanna talk about it anymore." he starts running away, despite Kuki's pleas.
"Wally, wait!"
"Sorry, I gotta go!" Wally quickly activates his armor and flies away, leaving Kuki by herself on the street.
"It's wrong…It's wrong that you want to help others but don't want to be helped…" Kuki mutters as her medallion blinks red and for a split second, a dark purple aura surrounds her. She then turns to face her home.
There is still some evidence of the Ninja attack visible on the front yard but most of it was repaired by hired help. Kuki takes a deep breath and walks across the lawn to the front porch to ring the doorbell. In an instant, the door is thrown wide open by her father, Kani Sanban.
"KUKI! Where were you? Why didn't you come straight home from school? It's almost eight a clock!"
"I was at my friend's house, doing schoolwork…"
"Is that so…" Her father looks at her with suspicion but Kuki ignores him as she takes off her shoes and tries to climb the stairs but is stopped by a voice from the living room.
"Kuki? Aren't you going to say hello?" Her mother, Genki Sanban asks. She is sitting on an armchair, eyes glued to the screen of her laptop.
"Hi Mom…" Kuki mutters, catching her mother's attention.
"Is everything alright?"
"I'm just tired Mom…I'll go to my room…" Kuki replies dejectedly and heads upstairs, passing her sister along the way, but neither sister greets each other as Mushi's eyes are glued to her cellphone. Kuki slowly enters her room, closing the door behind her and falling headfirst into her bed. Even though she didn't outwardly show it, she's extremely exhausted from the day's mission. Then, Bradley, who had snuck into her room through the window, jumps on her bed and nudges her cheek.
"There you are…sorry I took so long…" Kuki rolls over on her back and lets the skunk on top of her belly. It then yawns and curls up, its mechanical side pointing upwards. As Kuki scratches Bradley's head, in her mind, she goes through the day's events and sighs, her thoughts fixated on Wally.
"Stupid Wally…why won't you ever talk to me about your feelings...do you have to make me feel so useless?" As she does so, the dark purple aura flickers around her for an instant.
...
In the outskirts of the city, Wally lands a few blocks from his house and silently walks towards his home. The Beetles residence is a small house built next to a scrapyard, the city's main power lines and a freightyard and a railroad crossing. He looks around and crosses the street, arriving at his house.
"Hello?" Wally says cautiously as he opens the door.
"Wallabee?! Where have you been, young man?" His mother, Mrs. Beetles approaches him from the kitchen.
"Sorry Mom, I was uh…doin' some schoolwork with my friends." But before he can say anything else, his mother gives him a hug.
"Welcome back, Wallabee."
"Eh…yeah…" Wally hugs her back.
"Are ya hungry? I left your dinner in the fridge."
"No thanks…I'm tired…" Wally replies, avoiding eye contact.
"Wallabee, your father and I have something we'd like to tell you." Mrs. Beetles puts her hand behind Wally's back and walks him over to the living room, where Sydney Beetles, his father, is sitting on a sofa.
"Ah, evenin', Sport. Why don'tcha sit down?" He points at a worn armchair next to the window and Wally silently does what he's told.
"Wallabee, there's been a change at dad's work and uhm…I've been transferred to the company's branch office in Australia."
"WHAT?!" Wally jumps and stares at his parents in disbelief.
"That's right…my boss, Mr. Fullbright just announced that he wants to restructure the company so, I've been transferred there."
"And that means we're going to move back to Australia."
"You guys can't be serious?! There's no cruddy way I'm going back there! I just got back together with my friends and everything!"
"We know Wallabee…believe me, we'd didn't want this either…"
"Son, I understand how ya feel, but there's nothing we can do about it. We'll be moving once your graduate middle school at the end of the month, before your birthday." Wally's mind races as millions of thoughts fill it at the same time: how can he tell this to his friends, what about the mission etc. He shakes his head in frustration and slumps down on the chair, his face buried into his hands.
"This ain't happenin'…not now…"
"Wallabee…" His mother puts her hand on his shoulder as Sydney kneels in-front of him.
"Look at me son…I know this is really hard to swallow, but it's something we all have get used to. I know how ya feel, trust me."
"No, you don't…you don't know anything about how I feel…you can't expect me to just leave my friends behind!"
"You can still keep in touch with them."
"It's not the same! If I can't be with them, there's no point…in anything…DAMMIT!" Wally jumps up and runs out of the living room, up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.
His mother sits down on the sofa and starts to weep. Sydney sits down beside her and tries to console her. "I knew he'd react like that…is there really nothing you can do about it, Sydney?"
"I wish I could but no, I can't do anything…but don't worry, we can pull through this together."
…
Back in the TND base, Abby has stayed in the leisure room, in total silence. Despite what Nigel told her, she is still fuming over the fact neither Rachel nor Eliza told her and the others about Nigel. She lies on a sofa, staring at the roof and her arms behind her head. Then, she hears the door slowly opening and from the corner of her eye, she sees Rachel peeking inside.
"What do you want?" she says coldly, but Rachel is undeterred and enters the leisure room. She sits down on the sofa opposite to Abby's sofa and has an intense look in her eyes.
"I want to talk to you."
"What's there to talk about? Numbuh 5 already said what she wanted."
"If you think I'm just going to back down and accept that you're blaming me and Eliza for what happened to Nigel, you're dead wrong." In a flash, Abby sits up and glares at Rachel.
"What did you just say?"
"I'm not dumb, I know that look in your eyes. You think that because we didn't tell you, you could've somehow prevented Nigel from going berserk."
"And what if I am? As second in command of Sector V, it's my job to know if my teammates are in trouble!"
"And I'm a TND Commander, so that also applies to me."
"Girl, did you just pull rank on ME? Cuz if ya did, we won't be talkin' much longer." Abby stands up and so does Rachel, both staring each other directly in the eye.
"I admit that I should've told you before the mission, but don't you even think for a second that Eliza and I had some form of agenda! It was hard enough trying to make Nigel talk about it! When I tried to push him, he nearly went berserk right here, in this room!" Abby doesn't reply, but Rachel's words are starting to have an effect. "He himself only told me when he nearly destroyed the Book of KND! I wasn't trying to hide anything, you hear me?! I'm worried about him as much as you are!" Rachel shouts from the bottom of her lungs, surprising Abby, who had never seen her act like that. "When I heard what had happened to you guys in the Hideout, how Nigel almost killed you and Numbuh 4, I was so angry at myself! I thought that if it had been me in there instead of Eliza, I could've made a difference…I could've helped you…I didn't try to keep it from you guys on purpose…" Rachel's voice fades as she stares Abby intensely. "I don't care if you think I'm the one at fault, but don't you ever, EVER think I did it on purpose!" Rachel's eyes, filled with frustration, stare at Abby, who remains silent but then, to Rachel's surprise, hugs her. "Huh?"
"You got me there. Sorry I doubted you…I guess I was just so angry that I forgot to think straight…"
"I understand how you felt. Believe me, I'd feel the same if I was in your shoes."
"Looks like we've at least got something in common…"
"Yeah…" Rachel hugs Abby back for a few seconds before letting go.
"From now, I'll be sure to keep you posted if something like this happens again."
"And Numbuh 5's gonna start trustin' ya more."
They shake hands and smile at each other. Abby then sits back down on the sofa while Rachel wipes her eyes onto her sleeve. "Where did your team go?"
"Numbuh 2 went to hang out with the other nerds in the lab and Numbuh 3 had to go home."
"What? Isn't that dangerous, especially after what happened today?"
"Believe me, if she had a choice, I would've kept her here but her parents placed a curfew on her. Ya do know what her parents are like?"
"Right…what about Numbuh 4?"
"Numbuh 5 sent him to take her home. They'll come back tomorrow."
"I see…I just hope nothing happens tonight…"
"Yeah, me too…"
…
As evening turns to night, the lights in the Beetles residence go out. Wally has barricaded himself into his room and has refused to talk to his parents, despite multiple attempts. He lies silently in his bed, utterly upset over what his parents told him.
"Dammit, how the crud am I gonna break the news to the others…" he turns around to face his window but notices movement in the large slagheap behind his house. "What the crud?" Four shadowy figures descend down the heap and approach the house. Then, one of them starts to hover and flies towards his window. Wally quickly goes onto the floor between his bed and the wall and waits silently. He can hear the faint sound of a laser cutter making a small hole into his window and then the sound of the handle moving. Then the window opens and someone enters his room. He lets them get as close as possible and just as the intruder is about to pull away his blanket, Wally pounces on him, catching the intruder off guard and pressing him against the wall. He immediately notices that the intruder is wearing Battle-Ready Armor.
"Thought ya could sneak up on ME?!" He wrestles the intruder to the floor and tries to unmask him but, the intruder manages to free his left arm and deploys his heat laser cannon. He fires but the shot misses and hits the floor, leaving him wide open. Wally reels back his legs and kicks the attacker in the stomach, sending him crashing through the window and into the sand-filled swimming pool in the backyard. The sounds of the struggle wake up his parents but then, Wally hears more sounds coming from the room next to his. "Joey!" he jumps up and rushes out of his room, meeting his parents in the narrow corridor.
"What was that racket, Wallabee?"
"Kidnappers!" Wally replies quickly and flings Joey's door open. Inside, they see another intruder, who also sneacked in through the window and to their horror, has trapped an unconscious Joey in a small, box shaped cage.
"JOEY!" Sydney shouts but Wally is already a step ahead and rushes at the intruder.
"KEEP YOUR CRUDDY HANDS OF MY BROTHER!" he shouts and tackles the Ninja, sending them both flying through the window, along with Joey, shocking his parents.
"Wallabee!"
"Call the police, I'm going down there!" Sydney shouts and runs down the stairs while Mrs. Beetles goes to retrieve her cellphone. Outside, Wally stands up and can now see the identity of his enemy. The intruder is wearing fully gray Battle-Ready Armor but he is not a Ninja. His helmet covers his whole head and his face is protected by a reflective visor.
"Who the crud are you?!" Wally shouts but the intruder doesn't answer and aims his laser at Wally, opening fire. Wally rolls to the left, towards his brother, whose cage was thrown to the sand-filled pool and to his relief, he doesn't have any visible injuries. Then, two other intruders land on the yard, one of them carrying special equipment on their back and begin firing at Wally, trying to keep him away from Joey's cage. Just then, Sydney enters the backyard as well.
"Wallabee, are you alright…WHOA!" Sydney ducks as a laser hits the wall next to him.
"Dad! Stay back! These guys are dangerous!"
"What the heck is going on here?!"
"They were after me and Joey!" Wally shouts as he takes cover behind a deck chair. "Dad, you gotta get back in the house!"
"Not as long as my boys are in danger!" Sydney stands up and runs towards Joey, but then an errant laser hits the ground in-front of him, causing him to lose his balance and fall.
"DAD!" Wally shouts as one of the attackers take aim at Sydney. "YOU BASTARD!" Wally fully activates his armor and jumps between his dad and the attacker, blocking the shot with his shied. As Sydney looks up, he sees his son clad in his armor.
"…Son?"
"I told ya to get inside! I'll get Joey!" Wally yells assertively at his father, who crawls backwards.
"This is way too crazy…Wallabee behind ya!" he warns his son as an attacker tries to strike Wally from behind but he strikes him with an upper cut, sending him flying into the slagheap.
…
As the fight continues, it's picked up by a TND recon drone that was on patrol nearby. It immediately transmits the footage to the Switchboard. One of the operators notices this and contacts Herbie on the observation deck. "Chief! One of the drones is picking up something!"
"What is it? Ninjas?"
"No…it's some sort of battle near the freight-yard."
"Put it on the big screen."
"Yes, Sir!" The operator transfers to video feed into the huge center screen and Herbie recognizes the location.
"Hey, that's the Beetles residence…wait a minute!" Herbie identifies Wally among the fray but more importantly, he recognizes the attackers. "That's…the KND Teen Hunter Unit! Get Sector V here, ASAP!"
"Roger!"
Meanwhile, down in the science lab, Hoagie is still eagerly going through the captured Teen tech when he hears the alarm. "Attention all available members of Sector V, report to the Switchboard immediately, this is CODE RED, I repeat…"
"What the heck?!" Hoagie springs up and runs out of the lab and boards an elevator. Instantly, he thinks of Kuki and Wally. "Oh man, I hope nothing happened to them!" He says to himself as the doors open and he leaps out. In the hallway leading to the Switchboard, he runs into Abby and to his surprise, Nigel. "Huh, what are you doing here Numbuh 1?"
"Don't worry about me! We need to get to the Switchboard!" He says, trying his best not to sound exhausted.
"I tried to stop him but ya know how stubborn Numbuh 1 is." Abby says, keeping Nigel on his feet.
"Heh, of course." Hoagie nods as they run towards the Switchboard's entrance, where Rachel is waiting.
"Hurry! We've got a really bad situation in our hands!" she shouts and lets her friends through the door. They are greeted by Eliza and Patton, while Herbie sits on his chair.
"What's the situation, Numbuh Alpha?"
"Take a look." she points at the big screen, which shows Wally's house under attack by mysterious figures clad in Battle-Ready Armor.
"What the…?!" Nigel and his friends can't believe their eyes.
"Are those Ninjas?" Hoagie looks at Herbie, who shakes his head.
"No, they're not."
"More importantly, why is Numbuh 4 in there?!" Nigel looks at Abby and Hoagie sternly.
"We uhm…"
"Numbuh 5 told him to take Numbuh 3 home."
"Are serious?! Don't you realize the danger you've put them?!" Nigel shouts but Abby remains calm.
"We had no choice. Numbuh 3 said she had a curfew. I don't need to remind ya about her parents, do I?" she looks sharply at Nigel, who adjusts his glasses.
"I see…even so, you should've taken the situation into consideration before…" Rachel stops him mid-sentence.
"Numbuh 1, this isn't the time to point fingers!" her stern, commanding voice calms Nigel down.
"You're right, sorry Numbuh 5."
"None taken. So anyway, if they aren't Ninjas, then who are they?"
"They are members of the KND's Teen Hunter Unit." Herbie says with a grim expression.
"Teen Hunters? You mean THE Teen Hunters? The ones who kept chasing us for years?!"
"Yes…the unit Numbuh Zeta and I were a part of…" Rachel says as she is reminded of the past.
"We suspect that…Numbuh 1000 has increased the number of Hunters by using operatives who are past decommissioning age…" Eliza says with a grim expression.
"WHAT?!" Nigel shouts while Hoagie and Abby are left speechless.
"So instead of wiping their memories, he's turned them into mindless slaves…" Patton crosses his arms and looks grimly at the screen.
"Hey, isn't that against KND rules? You can't be in the KND if you're over 13."
"It is, Numbuh 2, but that didn't apply to the Teen Hunters…then again, at this point, I don't think he cares about the rules…" Abby replies as she looks at the screen
"Man, I don't know who's crazier, Father or Numbuh 1000." Hoagie mutters while Abby slaps her hands together.
"Then what are we waitin' for?! We gotta go help Numbuh 4!"
"That's the plan, but we also need to know if Numbuh 3 is safe." Rachel replies as Herbie turns his chair around.
"We've tried to contact her communicator, but she hasn't answered."
"Oh, for the love of…Numbuh 2, call her right now!"
"Okay." Hoagie takes out his communicator and call's Kuki's number. At first, she doesn't answer but then, on his second attempt, someone picks up, but it isn't Kuki. "Hello? Numbuh 3, are you there?" He hears only a shuffling sound but then a squeak is heard from the other end. "Bradley? Is that you?" The skunk responds with another squeak. "Wake up Numbuh 3! This is urgent." The call falls silent and then a sleepy Kuki responds.
"Hello? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night…?"
"Give me that." Nigel takes the communicator and speaks to Kuki. "Numbuh 3, are you alright? No one hasn't entered your house?"
"No…why?"
"The KND has attacked Numbuh 4's house! I want you to go there right now!"
"WHAT?! Oh no…Okay, I'll go!"
"Contact us when you get there. We'll be right behind you."
"Okay!" Kuki hangs up and runs to her closet to change her clothes. She then takes her mask, Stupefier and communicator and grabs Bradley.
"Hold on tight Bradley, I'll teleport us there!" She closes her eyes but she is still strained from the fight, forcing her to take longer to gather energy to teleport.
Back at the base, Nigel hands the communicator back to Hoagie. "Numbuh Alpha, we're going too."
"We shouldn't rush in there without knowing their numbers and without proper planning."
"This is about MY team! We'll make up the plan as we go." Nigel replies assertively and Eliza sighs.
"Fine, but be careful. Numbuh Iota-3, provide them with a direct feed to our drones. I don't want any surprises."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Numbuh Epsilon, I want you to take command of the operation. Numbuh Zeta, you're going too, since Numbuh 1 is in no condition to fight."
"Yes, Numbuh Alpha." Patton and Rachel salute Eliza while Nigel, Hoagie and Abby do the same.
"Numbuh Iota-3, have the CIC ready a decoy drone for them."
"Yes, Commander."
"Good, now get going!"
Nigel leads them out of the Switchboard and towards the hangar. "Numbuh 2, is our ship ready?"
"She's been prepped for combat since Sunday, all I gotta do is start her up."
"Good. Numbuh 5, you and Numbuh Zeta form the ground team. Numbuh Epsilon and I'll lead the operation from the W.A.S.P.'s bridge, understood?"
"Roger!"
"Got it."
"Yup."
"Alright, let's go!"
…
Meanwhile, in the outskirts, Wally has placed himself between Joey's cage and the Teen Hunters. Then, a powerful laser blast hits him head on, throwing him into the wall of his house and deactivating his armor.
"Aw crud…huh?!" He looks up and sees a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. hover above the scrapheap as the intruder carrying the special equipment grabs the cage and they try to escape. "Oh no you don't!" Wally brings his armor back online and booster jumps, trying to get his brother back. "JOEY!" Wally grabs the other side of the cage in mid-air and tries to wrench his brother from the enemy's clutches. "GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!" he pulls using his jet boots but then, he notices a person standing in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s side entrance. His eyes widen as he recognizes them. "You…Numbuh 86!" To his disbelief, Fanny is staring silently at him, her eyes completely blank."No way…they chipped you too?!" Fanny doesn't answer and fires a laser at Wally's hand, causing him to lose his grip."AW CRUD!" As he plummets down, the Hunters carry the cage into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Fanny then looks down as Wally lands and tries to fly after them but the side hatch of the ship closes behind her.
"No…NO WAY YOU'RE TAKING MY BROTHER!" Wally shouts but the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. deploys a heavy laser cannon from its central hull hatch and fires at him as it begins to fly away. Wally blocks the lasers with his shields, protecting his father and his house in the process but before the ship escapes, he fires a concentrated burst from his gauntlet's twin laser cannons, damaging one of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s engines, halving it's speed. However, the fight has drained him and he collapses on one knee and his armor powers down. "Dammit…" He mutters in anger as Sydney runs to his side.
"Wallabee! Are ya alright, son?"
"Does it look like I'm okay?!" He shouts at his father, eyes filled with frustration. Sydney doesn't respond and hugs his son.
Then, Mrs. Beetles runs out of the house. "Sydney! Wallabee!" She stops as she notices that someone is missing. "Where…where's Joey…?"
"They took him…I tried to stop 'em but…"
"No…not my baby boy…" She also collapses on her knees and both father and son come to her side.
"I'm sorry Mom…"
"How could they take my baby boy?!" Sydney tries to calm her down but it's no use. Hearing his mother's cry steels Wally's will and he stands up.
"I'll get him back, count on it."
"What are ya saying son? You're not going anywhere! We'll let the police deal with this while you explain what this is all about." Sydney tries to stop Wally but he only gives him an assuring smile before he reactivates his armor and flies off, startling his parents.
But before neither can react, two ghost hamsters fly from behind the corner of the house and hit Wally's parents, knocking them unconscious.
Kuki, who had arrived just after the ship left and had heard everything, carries them into the house and locks the doors. She then looks up into the sky and sees the faint glow from Wally's flight armor's engines, angry at herself for not getting to the house on time as her medallion blinks again.
"No…" she then notices the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.H.-W.A.S.P. appear above the house, its spotlight illuminating the ground below. Kuki activates her B.R.A. and flies up, boarding the ship from the lowered central ramp.
To her surprise, she immediately sees Abby, Patton and Rachel walk down the stairs that lead to the bridge. "Huh? Numbuh 3?" Kuki nods and removes her mask as Abby immediately notices that she is in distress. "What happened down there? Where's Numbuh 4?!"
"They…they kidnapped his brother…and he went after them…" Kuki mutters. "I…I couldn't do anything…" she collapses to her knees and buries her face into her hands. As Abby tries to console her, Rachel and Patton are shocked by what she had said.
"They kidnapped Numbuh 4's brother? Why? That doesn't make any sense…" Patton crosses his arms.
"We better get back to the bridge and tell Numbuh 1, right now." Rachel looks down at Kuki and Abby, who nods and helps Kuki back on her feet.
"Okay, easy now. It's okay, Numbuh 3, we ain't gonna let 'em get away with this."
"But…Numbuh 4 went all alone…"
"That's how he always does things. Come on, let's go up to the bridge."
"Wait, didn't you have Numbuh 6 with you?" Rachel asks as the ramp closes behind them.
"I sent him ahead to follow the ship…Wally damaged it so it's flying slower."
"See, ya did do something. Don't be so hard on yoself." Abby pats her on the back as they climb back to the bridge.
"Hm? Why aren't you disembarking?" Nigel asks but then, he notices Kuki. "Numbuh 3?"
"There's been a change of plans. Numbuh 2, can ya follow Numbuh 6's transmitter beacon from here?" Abby says as she helps Kuki to her seat.
"Uhm yeah but why?" Abby then quickly explains what happened, leaving Nigel and Hoagie in disbelief. "That's just messed up. Why did they come after his brother like that?"
"Hmm…maybe it's because he doesn't have his chip anymore." Nigel leans on his hands and has a serious expression.
"Then he can't be the only one they're trying to capture!"
"Good point, Numbuh Epsilon. Numbuh 2, follow Numbuh 6's beacon. We might be able to figure out the reason if we follow them."
"What about Wally?!"
"Don't worry, we'll get him back too." Abby gives Kuki a reassuring smile but it doesn't make her feel any better.
"Okay guys, strap in, we're going for a ride." Hoagie says and applies full thrust, propelling the ship towards Bradley's constantly moving beacon.
End of Transmission 26
Note: Ah, this chapter was another hard one to write. I had basically used up all my ideas in the previous Arc's climax and I had no idea how to proceed with the story. So at first, this chapter feels like it's going nowhere (at least for me anyway), but then I figured out how the story would keep going from there.
Also, in case you haven't noticed, I like to use 4 and 3 a lot. The answer to that is pretty simple: Even though I like every member Sector V, Numbuh 4 is my favorite character in the show, but I also like the character dynamic between him and Numbuh 3. Back when I could still watch Cartoon Network,whenever KND aired, I was always hoping for an episode about 4 and 3. I equally liked the relationship between 5 and 2, and one of my favorite KND episodes, Operation: R.A.B.B.I.T. just so happened to feature the two.