Songs featured:
-Numbuh 5 snaps: A Stranger I Remain (Original and Platinum Mix Combination) by Jamie Christopherson.
Transmission 59: The Sister I Loved
Fire. A swirling abyss of flames and debris. Abby can remember vividly how she lost a part of her into that wretched void and how powerless she felt after. "How could that happen? Why him?" she kept asking herself over and over. It drove her mad, to the point of temporarily leaving Sector V, because she tried to do everything herself. Had it not been for her friends, she would've been swallowed by grief. But now, when Abby thought she had finally found some closure to what happened a month ago, she could not believe it. The person she thought had died that day, was standing right before her. "…Maurice…" the words escape her mouth as she stares in disbelief at the person, who she only a moment ago knew as TND Deep Cover Operative, Agent Raven, but now, that person was unmistakably Maurice, her childhood crush and former Numbuh 9 of the Kids Next Door and Numbuh Sigma, a founding member of the Teens Next Door. His face was now decorated by a burn mark on his left cheek and his hair is cut shorter, but it was still Maurice. "…you…can't…be…" Abby's lips quiver as her childhood friend turns his gaze towards her.
"Hi Abby. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Maurice says as if nothing had happened, like he had always been there, alive and well. Behind him, Hoagie turns off his Exo-suit and slowly walks towards Maurice, his hand grasping air.
"No way…you…you're alive…how…how did you…" Maurice looks over his shoulder towards Hoagie and smiles faintly.
"Survive? Yeah, I made it out, but I did cut a bit close." he points at his cheek as Abby stands up but before she can say anything, Hoagie breaks down and gives Maurice a huge hug, startling him.
"WAAAAAH! You're alive! You're not a ghost! We all thought you died!" he cries and sobs as Maurice tries to break free from his hold.
"Hey, take it easy. I'm right here, aren't I?" then, he feels someone else hug him from behind and it's none other than Abby.
"Ya came back…I thought I lost ya…" she says with a raspy voice and Maurice turns around to pat her head.
"Sorry ya had to go through all that but I had no choice. Our plan would've failed otherwise."
"Wha…what plan?" Abby says as Hoagie lets go to wipe his fogged-up goggles but instead of answering, Maurice looks towards a stunned and speechless Cree, who has taken a few steps back and dropped her polearm. The spider robots have also stopped moving and simply stand still, awaiting orders that aren't coming.
"Numbuh Gamma and I came up with it. We needed to figure out what Father was really plannin', so I faked my death so I could get even closer to the Ninjas."
"So how did you get out of that inferno?"
"Well, Numbuh 2, I had my B.R.A. on the whole time and when I fell, I used it to escape the Treehouse. I got a bit singed though…"
"…of course, ya would do something like that, ya idiot." Abby presses her head against Maurice's chest, and he can tell she's both glad but also angry at him.
"I'm sorry Abby and to you too Hoagie. I didn't wanna put you guys through that and believe me, if there'd been another way, I would've taken it instead." Maurice says apologetically as Hoagie clenches his fists.
"Abby…she went through so much grief because of you."
"Hoagie!"
"No, no, he's right. I totally understand if you're angry at me." but Hoagie shakes his head.
"Maybe I was at one point, but now that I know the truth, I'll get over it. As long as Abby's happy, that's enough for me." he replies silently as Abby lets go of Maurice and comes to Hoagie's side.
"Thanks Hoagie…" she whispers and then turns to face Maurice. "Numbuh 5 had a feelin' that Agent Raven guy was someone she knew, but not you. No way."
"You can thank the holo-guise and my actin'. But don't worry, this time, I ain't goin' anywhere."
"You better not. Otherwise, I ain't gonna forgive ya."
"Heh-heh, I'll keep that in mind." Maurice chuckles and then turns towards Cree, who has remained frozen in place. "So there ya have it, Cree." he says, causing Cree's lips to quiver from shock. Just like Abby, she had seen Maurice fall into the inferno but now, her thoughts are complete a mess. As ff they weren't already all over the place from everything that happened but now this: Maurice, the person she had liked as long as she could remember and the person who spied on her for 5 years, was standing there, alive.
"…Ma…Maurice…no…you can't...that's not…"
"It is me, Cree. Always has been." Maurice uses his holo-guise to take on the appearance of Slade, former Numbuh 206. "But I guess someone told ya about me already."
"You…were a…" Cree wraps her arms around her shoulders and collapses on to her knees as her whole body shakes from shock while Maurice turns off the holo-guise and nods.
"That's right. The Kids Next Door never really Decommissioned me when I turned thirteen. I was just pretending the whole time. Now ya heard it from me too."
"Why…why did you…use me…I…" Cree can't say the word and lowers her head as Maurice slowly approaches her.
"Because ya worked for Father. You were never my enemy, Cree. It was Father. He and all the other Evil Adults. So, I had no choice but to trick ya like that. The KND needed every edge they could get against him." Cree lifts her head and sees the genuine concern in Maurice's eyes. The same eyes she had lost herself in so many times before. However, seeing him being embraced by Abby right in-front her eyes has only twisted the knife in Cree's heart as she realizes that she doesn't have a place by their side anymore. "I owe ya an apology, Cree, for everythin'."
"An apology?...No…you're not sorry…not after everything you did…"
"Cree, he's tellin' the truth! Ya gotta believe him!" Abby pleads to her sister, but this only enrages Cree.
"You shut up! All these years, I was only being lied to! By everyone! And now, you just want me to forgive you both?!" Cree screams as Maurice continues to approach her.
"You're right Cree, there's no way ya could. But that ain't gonna stop me from trying. Like I said, you weren't my enemy Cree. But I had to do it. It was my mission."
"Yeah, your mission was more important than me! You and your damn Kids Next Door! My life was ruined because of you all!" Cree's grief and rage filled eyes glare at the teenagers from under her curly bangs as she slowly stands, clenching her fists as Maurice stops and stares right back at her.
"Cree…you can still move on. We can start over." his sincerity only makes Cree feel worse as she shakes her head.
"Don't look at me with those eyes!" she points her one remaining tendril at Maurice, causing both Abby and Hoagie to quickly come to his side. "I can't start over…There's nothing left for me anymore…nowhere to go…and it's all because of you!" Cree points at Maurice and Abby. "I just wanted to be with you…but you just used me…and that's why I'll…never move on until I've made you pay!"
"Cree!" Abby shouts as Cree redeploys her helmet, grabs her polearm and jumps backwards while a large, six-legged spider robot falls from the ceiling. Cree then detaches her last tendril and the spider robot's spherical torso connects to her backpack, lifting her off the ground. As she rises high above her foes, tears fill Cree's eyes while she looks down at Maurice and Abby.
"I was just a stranger to you all this time…that's all I was…but that's fine. You're strangers to me as well. Initiate! Urgh…ARRGH!" Cree's voice turns mechanical as she screams while her helmet's eye glows bright red, along with all other red parts of her armor.
"What the heck is happening to her?!" Hoagie asks as Cree writhes in pain. Seeing this, Maurice clenches his fist and gestures to Abby and Hoagie to back away.
"No…. don't do it Cree…"
"Maurice, what's wrong with her?!" Abby grabs his shoulders as Maurice looks grimly back at her.
"That spider bot is interfacing with her B.R.A. to boost her fighting ability, but if we don't stop her, it's gonna mess up her head."
"What?! No...why you gotta go this far…?" Abby lets go and stares in horror at Cree, who continues to scream with an ever-distorted voice.
"What should we do?!"
"The only thing we can do, Numbuh 2. We gotta bring her down. If we can destroy that spider bot connected to her back, it should do the trick."
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's do it then!" Hoagie says as he turns on his Exo-Suit but Maurice shakes his head.
"Not you, Numbuh 2. Aren't ya forgettin' why we're here? That generator needs to be shut down."
"What?! But…"
"Maurice's right. Leave Cree to us. This is a family matter." Abby says sternly as she reactivates her B.R.A. "You go take down that generator, Numbuh 2." There isn't a hint of hesitation in Abby's voice as she activates her vibration blades while Maurice picks up his helmet and puts it on. However, Hoagie is frustrated that he's not allowed to help, but does not voice his opinion as he turns on his Exo-suit.
"…okay…I'll shut down the generator, but when I'm done, I'm gonna join you guys. Don't forget what we agreed on, Abby." he says and heads towards the connecting bridge as Abby looks wistfully over her shoulder towards him.
"Sorry Hoagie…and thanks. I'm gonna set things straight today, for your sake too." Steeling her nerve, Abby turns her attention to Cree, who has stopped screaming and is now staring menacingly at her sister and her ex-boyfriend.
"You'll pay…for everything!" she screams and points her polearm at her foes while the spider robot connected to her back raises two of its spiked tendrils and rushes forward with tremendous speed.
"Split up!" Maurice shouts as he and Abby dodge the rush attack and immediately try to counter using their melee weapons, but Cree simply blocks their attacks with the raised tendrils.
"Pathetic!" she mocks them as she effortlessly holds back both teenagers. Then, the spider robot hunches down slightly, allowing Cree to turn her full attention towards Maurice while Abby is held at bay by two of the right-side tendrils. "You can't beat me! Not after all you've done to me!" she spins her polearm and then thrusts it towards Maurice, who uses his energy tonfas to parry the thrust.
"You ain't scarin' us Cree! Why can't you just let go of the past already?!" Maurice shouts back as he easily dodges Cree's relentless attacks while damaging her tendrils in the process.
"I will when you and Abby are gone from my life!" Cree replies cold-bloodedly and drives two tendrils directly at Maurice, but he sees through the attack and charges at the tendrils head-on.
"Dammit!" he shouts as he dodges the first one and cuts off the second tendril off completely, causing a slight electric shock to run through the spider bot and into Cree, who groans in pain. "You can't change the past, Cree! So quit living in it!" Maurice summersaults over Cree and tries to hit the spider robot's torso, but his words only drive her even closer to the brink of madness as the pain in Cree's heart rips her apart.
"Graah! Shut up!" Cree screams furiously and swats Maurice out of the air, sending him flying against the wall behind her.
"Urgh! Ah…*pant*…Cree…" the impact pushes the air out of Maurice's lungs and in an instant, he is knocked out cold.
"Maurice!" Abby shouts as she manages to get out of the range of Cree's tendrils and gets between her and an unconscious Maurice, who is leaning against the wall behind her. "Cree! Is this what ya really want?! To kill me and Maurice?!" Abby can't believe she's actually asking something like this from her own sister, but she stands her ground as Cree turns around and looms over her little sister.
"You two used me…I'll never forgive you for that!" Under the glare of her helmet's single red eye, Cree points her polearm at Abby, who refuses to back away and points her vibration blades back at Cree as the sisters have a silent standoff.
Behind Cree, Hoagie has been stopped by another wave of spider robots. However, they do not deter him at all as he clenches all four of his Exo-suit's fists. "Sorry, but today, nothing's gonna stand in my way!" Hoagie shouts as he flies towards the spider robots, which try to gang up on him but Hoagie, driven by his determination to help Abby and Maurice, punches through the robots like a battering ram. With his eyes set on the pillar-like generator, Hoagie wards off multiple attacks from spiders and in a matter of seconds, he reaches the pillar. But as he looks up, he sees the pillar crawling with countless spider robots. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play huh?! Then try this!" Hoagie presses the Exo-suit's arms against the pillar and unleashes a massive EMP burst that runs the entire length of the huge pillar, shutting down all of the spider robots that where crawling in the pillar on a second ago. Now, they simply fall down the shaft like rocks. Lights flicker everywhere as systems begin failing across the Delightful Mansion, including the all-important energy shield that protects it.
Up in the Mansion's throne room, Father watches in silence as the Mansion's power source shuts down. However, it doesn't seem to bother him at all. "EMP…I admit I didn't think you brats would come up with something like that in such a short time. It must've been that Gilligan's oldest son. No matter." Then, he presses a button his armrest. "Unfortunately for you, my home has more than one power source. Hmph." Father chuckles slightly as the Mansion springs back to life.
Underground, Hoagie realizes that something isn't right as the lights stay on. "What the…no, don't tell me it didn't work!" he punches the pillar in frustration as more spider robots approach him from behind. Then, Maurice, having woken up by the sound of the EMP blast, lifts his head and looks around the generator room.
"Heh…*gasp*…good thing we came prepared…" he presses a button on his gauntlet and contacts the other agents who were with him earlier. "Blow 'em up, now."
The Mansion starts to shake, and Father notices the explosions within the Mansion's perimeter wall. "What is this?!" he stands up as more and more explosions consume the wall, causing a chain reaction that shuts down all of the Mansion's external and internal defense systems, along with the shield. "Grr…no…NO!" Father roars as a surge of fire engulfs him. "Damn teenagers…" he mutters as he tries to regain his composure.
"It seems all defenses have been destroyed. The intruders must've planted explosives in the auxiliary generators beneath the perimeter wall. We'll need to siphon power from the city's energy grid, but it will only keep the Mansion's basic internal systems online. Should we pull back some forces to protect the Mansion?" the shadowy Omnius says with an eerie voice as he floats down from the ceiling.
"No. They'll keep that carrier busy. Besides, once Nigel Uno enters this room, I've won." Father brushes Omnius' concern away and the shadowy being can sense a shift in Father's attitude.
"Don't be too sure. Not even you are invincible, Benedict Uno. And if you manage to become victorious here, my old friends might prove to be too much even for you."
…
Down in the assembly area, Kuki has finished healing Wally, who stands up and looks around for any threats, but he doesn't see a single Ninja anywhere. "What the crud was that shaking about?"
"Maybe Numbuh 5's team took down the generator." Kuki says as she hands Wally his helmet and sword. Then, a voice is heard through their communicators.
"This is Agent Raven of the Teens Next Door! To anyone who can hear me: The Mansion's defenses are down. I repeat, the defenses are down! We're still in this fight, so don't give up!"
"See?!" Kuki shouts as Wally holsters his sword.
"Then let's go to the generator room!" However, before they can leave, Bradley shrieks from the cockpit of the stolen ACD Machine. "Oh yeah, right…do we take him with us?"
"Hmm…I've got a better idea! Bradley, go up the surface and help our friends!" Kuki waves at the skunk, who at first hesitates but then, salutes his surrogate mother and quickly heads back up the elevator shaft.
"Ya sure about that?"
"Of course I am, silly. Bradley's a big boy, he can take care of himself. Wait…are you actually worried about him?!" Kuki smiles mischievously at Wally, who frantically shakes his head.
"Gah, no cruddy way!"
"Yes you were! Aww, looks like Uncle Wally's warming up to Bradley."
"Ah shut up! And I'm not that cruddy skunk's uncle!"
"Oh yes you are!"
"Since when?!"
"Since now!" Kuki declares and takes off using her jetboots. "Come on, Uncle Wally, let's go already!"
"Stop calling me that!" Wally shouts as he flies after Kuki.
…
Back in the generator room, Abby and Cree have remained in a stand off the whole time. Neither has made a move and they simply silently stare at each other. With an injured Maurice lying behind her, Abby knows that if she won't take a stand here, Cree will go after her childhood friend. However, underneath their helmets, both sisters are in pain and hesitant to act.
"Abby never wanted this, Cree…she never wanted to be your enemy…"
"I didn't want this either, but the Kids Next Door made us enemies! If it weren't for them, we'd still be…"
"Because ya didn't wanna lose your memories and you fled…"
"I had no choice! They wanted to take them away from me! All those important memories…of you and Maurice…and everyone else."
"That was the rule! Ya couldn't be in the KND if ya were over 13!"
"Don't you dare defend them! They're the reason my life is ruined!"
"Abby's not defendin' them! I never liked that rule either! But why did ya hafta join the Ninjas, Cree?! Ya could've just…been a normal teenager instead."
"All teenagers join the Ninjas! That's how it is! Otherwise, those KNDorks would just keep pestering and annoying us! Why couldn't you do the same?! I waited so long for you to join us, but you didn't!"
"Cuz Abby hates Father! You're just his puppet, Cree! There's no way I'd serve the guy who tortured my friends and brainwashes kids!" Abby screams as she angrily points her right-hand blade at Cree, who clenches her fists. "Ya knew about what he did, didn't ya?! Father kidnapped and tortured kids right here!"
"…" Cree does not answer, which convinces Abby that her sister had a part in it too.
"You…you tortured them too, didn't you?!" Now anger starts building within Abby as Cree lifts her head and looks back coldly through her helmet's red eye.
"So what…they were just kids…annoying brats who always keep getting in the way…" Cree hisses at Abby, who is both horrified and outraged at her sister's lack of compassion.
"That so…and Abby thought ya wouldn't stoop that low…fine. Abby's done talkin'. You're goin'. down" Silently shaking from anger, Abby looks up at Cree with a face of pure disgust. Then, she takes off and charges at Cree, who prepares to counter, but Abby banks to the right and flies around Cree in a wide.
"No you don't!" Without turning around, Cree sends two tendrils towards Abby, but instead of dodging, she begins rapid-firing her M.A.R.B.L.E.-launchers at Cree. "Uargh! You damn…brat!" Cree screams as M.A.R.B.L.E.'s explode around her, severing a tendril, thus leaving her with just four. Then, out of the dust, Abby fires both grappling wires and ensnares two tendrils, causing Cree to lose her balance. "Uargh!" Cree groans as Abby pulls to the ground and detaches the wires from her gauntlets, leaving Cree lying on her side and struggling to free the entangled tendrils. "You think this stupid wire is going to…stop…me?!"
"No, but it's gonna slow ya down, zit-face." Abby replies coldly and uses her chance to attack Cree directly with a powerful kick to the chest.
"Argh…Abby…" Cree says under her breath as her younger sister stands right before her. Then, realizing that Abby is going to strike the spider robot, its self-preservation protocols kick in, causing Cree's vision to turn red and her mind is overwhelmed. "Raargh!" she whips Abby from behind with a free tendril and then wraps the other around her legs.
"Gah!" Abby gasps in pain as Cree rips apart the wire and the spider robot straightens itself while Abby is lifted and held upside down by the tendril. Just at that moment, Maurice gets up and rushes towards the sisters.
"CREE!" he shouts but his ex-girlfriend doesn't register him at all and leaps high into air. "No…DON'T!" Maurice realizes what Cree is going to do as she lands near the edge of the platform and turns Abby upright. Slowly, she begins squeezing her sister while dangling her over the generator shaft.
"…Cree…" Abby struggles to breathe as Cree aims a tendril directly at her head. From the red eye of her helmet, Cree can see the pleading eyes of sister, begging her to stop, but her mind has been completely overtaken by a desire to kill. Kill the person Cree deems responsible for her suffering, regardless of the fact Abby is her sister. Time seems to slow down as the tendril's spike flies towards a powerless Abby.
"NO!" Hoagie shouts as he flies out of the bridge, having been surrounded by spider robots from all side just a second ago.
"Goodbye, CRABIGAIL!" A metallic screech echoes throughout the generator room and everything stops. Abby looks to her left and to her horror, she sees that the tendril that was aimed at her, has gone through the upper left side of Hoagie's Exo-suit, slightly below the shoulder. It's left arm gripping the tendril in question while the right arm is gripping the one holding Abby.
"…gotcha…!" Hoagie shouts and rips the tendril wrapped around Abby into shreds, freeing her. "Ghh…get her!" Hearing the pain in Hoagie's voice, Abby vaults over the stunned Cree and cleaves the spider robot connected to her back in half.
"HI-YAAAH!"
"What?! Gah…ARRGH!" Cree screams as the feedback from the integration runs through her body while the spider robot falls apart. But then, the tendril that impaled Hoagie's Exo-suit rips off the machine's entire upper left side and arm. Abby eyes widen from shock as she sees blood stains on the inner lining of the armor and around Hoagie's left shoulder. Just as their eyes meet, the Exo-suit's propulsion fails, and Hoagie starts to fall.
"…guh…It's up to you now…!" Hoagie grins weakly and gives Abby a thumbs up before disappearing from her sight.
"HOAGIE!" Abby screams as Maurice flies past her and dives over the edge.
"I'll bring him back! Don't waste your chance! Finish it now, Abby!" he shouts as he flies after Hoagie. Abby then lands next to the railing and looks down into the dark shaft as a gust of cold ventilation air runs down into it. Then, something snaps within her. A feeling Abby had never felt before. Rage, pure, uncontainable rage. She grips the railing with her B.R.A. boosted strength and causing it to bend slightly in her grip. Slowly turning her head around, Abby sees Cree stand up from the wreckage of the spider bot, polearm in hand. Her helmet is cracked, and she silently stares at her sister, who turns around to face her. Shaken down to her core by what just happened, Abby takes a deep breath and draws her white peppermint sword and holds it in a reverse grip before pointing the handle at Cree.
"…now ya really did it…no more holdin' back. Never again." Abby crouches forwards and takes a stance as Cree spins her polearm and also takes a stance.
"You can't beat me. You never did…and you never will!" Cree taunts but then, Abby disappears into thin air. "Stealth won't work, you idiot!" Cree looks around and tries to pick up Abby using her helmet's multivision, but to out of nowhere, Abby appears behind her and slashes her back before disappearing again. "Gah! Coward! Uargh!" Cree is immediately slashed again, this time in the shoulder but no matter what she tries, Cree can't seem to find her sister. After repeated slashes, Cree's armor begins to suffer damage, but she stands her ground. "If this is how you think you defeat, you're wrong! Show yourself!"
"Fine. I here I come" Cree freezes in place as Abby de-cloaks right before her and delivers a flying roundhouse kick to her sister's left shoulder, sending her tumbling and rolling to the ground.
"Ghh…" Cree grits her teeth as she struggles to get up. "Abby…" she snarls as she lifts her head and sees Abby slowly walks towards her, like a ghost. As a light shines on her face, Cree sees Abby's eyes through her light blue visor, which are completely emotionless and she remembers that she had seen Abby show her these moves once before, when they fought at Sector V's Treehouse shortly before Maurice staged his death. As Abby readies her sword, Cree stands up and attacks with her polearm. "It's not over yet, CRABIGAIL!"
"…yes it is…" Abby mutters as she dashes towards Cree and they begin trading blows with their weapons but slowly, Cree starts to realize something is off. No matter what she does, Abby counters every single strike she aims at her, while pushing her back towards a wall.
"No…NO!" Cree steps to the side and with a quick spin, she drives her polearm at Abby but then, she grabs weapon with her left hand. "Ghh…don't think you can just…huh? Argh…let…go!" Cree tries to pry the polearm out of Abby's grip, but she simply stares coldly back at her before pulling the weapon along with Cree closer to herself and then, snaps the weapon like a twig, stunning older sister.
"Abby's turn." Cree sees Abby point the barrel of her right-hand M.A.R.B.L.E. launcher at her but it's too late. Abby fires the weapon at point-blank range, engulfing them both a gray explosion and sending her sister high into the air.
"GAH!" Cree groans as she flies helplessly through the air but before she can recover, Abby appears above her and lands a devastating kick to her abdomen, sending her back to the hard floor of the platform. "…urgh…no…not like this…" Cree rolls to her stomach and tries to get back up as Abby lands and again walks towards her.
"Get up. We ain't done yet."
"You're right. It's not over until I say so!" Cree stands up and the sisters engage in merciless melee combat. Cree immediately realizes that she isn't fighting her sister but more like a reflection of herself, as Abby counters and attacks exactly how she would, but Abby's technique and ferocity is overwhelming. This is no longer the calm and collected younger sister Cree sparred with and fought against for years. This is someone else. Slowly, it all unravels to her. Up to this point, Abby had always been holding back. Though she might not have realized it herself, somewhere deep inside her, she still treated Cree as a sister, no matter what she did and how hard Cree tried to push her away. Now, there was no trace of that. Seeing Hoagie get hurt and fall into the generator shaft had broken the last straw restraining Abby. Now, she no longer treated her foe as her beloved older sister Cree Lincoln, but as nothing more than a detestable enemy that hurt the most important person to her.
"…I hate you…" Cree hears Abby mutter as she plants a swift chop to her shoulder before pulling her close and ripping off her left-hand gauntlet. Abby words begin ringing in Cree's head as her younger sister kicks her in the stomach and punches her in the face. The words she had hurled at Abby repeatedly for three months were now coming back at her and they feel like a million punches to her gut.
Then, Cree's weak punch is blocked, and Abby knocks her to the floor. Then, she grabs Cree by the collar and lifts her high in the air. Then, Abby brings her sister close and reels back her head. "…how could ya…BE SO DAMN STUPID!" Abby screams as she headbutts Cree with everything she has, causing both of their helmets to shatter at the same time and as they see each other's face, Cree sees tears streaming wildly down Abby's brown eyes.
"…Abby…" her sister's name escapes her lips as Abby blasts Cree with EMP, knocking her B.R.A. offline. "UARGH!" Undaunted by her sister's painful scream, Abby throws her to the floor and stands menacingly over her, but the duel is over. Cree has no strength left and she has been completely disarmed. Her spirit has been broken completely, down to its core. For the first time in her life, she had been thoroughly defeated by Abby and there was nothing Cree could've done to change that. Now, as she lies on the floor in pain, Cree sees her little sister standing over her, tears falling down her cheeks. These were tears of pain and frustration that Abby must've held deep within her for months, perhaps even for years and now, they were coming out like no tomorrow.
"…what are ya waiting for…finish it…that's you want right?" Cree hisses at Abby, takes hold of her sword with both hands and lifts it high over Cree's head. Then, she strikes it down hard, but the blade does not hit Cree and only crazes her right cheek. Seeing the blade buried in the platform's concrete floor up to the handle leaves Cree speechless as she stares up at Abby, who grits her teeth and then pulls the white peppermint sword up and sheaths it. "…why...?" Cree asks as Abby frowns and turns her back on her sister.
"Cuz I ain't like you…and I never wanna be." Abby replies silently and Cree can sense the disgust in her sister's voice. However, before she can say anything, the sisters hear the sound of jetboots echoing in the shaft.
"Hoagie!" Abby's face lights up as she leaves her sister behind and races to the railing just in time to see Maurice holding up an injured Hoagie.
"Urgh, damn…that was way too close…" Maurice says as he lands and lowers Hoagie onto his back. He has a small cut on his left cheek and his left goggle lens has broken while his beanie is gone.
"Hoagie! Can ya hear me?! Talk to me, baby!"
"…*pant*…hah…I told ya I'd have your back. Look, I even kept your hat safe." Hoagie tries to reach for his trenchcoat's large brestpocket, but the hat slips out and Abby takes it from him.
"Hoagie…" Abby's lips quiver but when she tries to hug him, her right hand is stained in blood. "Oh no…you're bleedin'!" seeing the blood soaking Hoagie's trench coat's left shoulder, Abby quickly removes it and sees a large gash at the very top of Hoagie's left shoulder.
"*gasp*…yeah…that spike got me…urgh…I can't feel my arm."
"Hold on Hoagie! We'll get Numbuh 3 to fix you up!" Abby shouts as she wraps Hoagie's trench coat sleeve around the badly bleeding wound.
"I'll call 'em. You stay with Numbuh 2 and keep talking to him." Maurice says sternly as Abby hands him her communicator.
Meanwhile, Wally and Kuki have reached the half-way point of the service tunnel that leads to the generator room, but they are being pursued by not only Delightful Ninjas but also Delightfulized KND operatives. "Gah crud, just leave us alone already!" a frustrated Wally shouts as he and Kuki try to weave through a barrage of laser fire.
"At this rate we'll never reach the others!" Kuki yells as she slams a group of Ninjas against the wall and destroys their chips with telekinesis. Then, her communicator goes off. "Numbuh 3 here."
"Numbuh 3, where are you?! Numbuh 2's injured and it's not looking good. We need you here ASAP!" Due to the commotion around her, Kuki does not recognize the voice, but she deduces that it must be Agent Raven. "Oh no! I…Numbuh 4 and I are still in the service tunnel…and there are Ninjas everywhere!"
"Numbuh 2's gonna run out of time if you ya don't come here now!"
"Kuki! Please! Hurry!" Kuki hears Abby's panicking voice through the communicator and her heart sinks. The Ninjas are not letting up their attacks and their numbers are increasing by the moment yet her friend needs help.
"We're gonna give him first aid, but hurry to the generator room!" the call ends as Wally lands behind her and they stand back-to-back against the Ninjas.
"What did they want?!"
"Nu…Numbuh 2's hurt."
"Then are ya waiting for?! Go already!"
"But I can't! I won't reach him in time by flying…" Kuki replies as Wally blasts a Ninja with EMP.
"Then teleport or something!"
"I can't go to places I haven't been to before!"
"Then find it! Think of something!"
"Huh?! But I…wait…" The gears in Kuki's head start moving and she comes up with a solution. "That's it!" Kuki generates a 360-degree telekinetic pulse that pushes the Ninjas and Delightfulized kids away before she turns to face Wally and spreads her arms. "Carry me!" she shouts bluntly, confusing Wally.
"Wha? What do ya mean?!"
"Just do it! We need to escape from these Ninjas!" Seeing Kuki's determined expression, Wally nods and does as he's told.
"Right, hang on!" Wally grabs Kuki and starts flying through the tunnel, still pursued by their Delightfulized foes. "So what's the plan?!"
"Keep flying." Kuki replies as her medallion starts glowing and she summons a swarm of ghost hamster, which start darting everywhere, looking for something. Then, Kuki synchronizes her own vision with those of the hamsters, allowing her to see through their eyes. "Where is it…? I found it!"
"What are ya doing?!"
"Shut up. I'm concentrating!" Kuki snaps at Wally as she closes her eyes, trying to memorize everything inside the generator room and all the routes leading to it as well. Then, she opens them and both teenagers vanish into thin air.
Back in the generator room, Hoagie is starting to suffer the effects of blood loss as his face turns pale. "Hang on Hoagie! Ya gotta stay with me!" Abby pleads as Maurice presses on the wound, trying his best to stop the bleeding.
"Damn, this ain't looking good…" Maurice mutters as Hoagie turns his head towards Abby.
"Abby…I'm sorry…"
"Quit sayin' that! Hoagie, ya can't give up!"
"I…at least…I'm not gonna have any regrets this time…" Hoagie tries to smile weakly as Abby makes the horrible realization that she is about lose him.
"Hoagie!" Tears starts falling down her cheeks as she begs him to keep awake. "Don't do this to me! Ya can't leave me! I need you!" Hearing the despair in Abby's voice, Hoagie tries to talk to her, but it's getting increasingly harder to keep his eye open.
At the other end of the platform, Cree has dragged herself close to a wall and somehow manages to lean against as she looks on in silence. However, upon hearing her sister's panicked cries, Cree begins to slowly realize what she has done. What her selfishness and desire for revenge has led to. She looks at her shaking hands and then, it dawns on her that she had been so blinded by her own despair and hate for Abby that she had tried to kill her. Her own sister. As the fog over her mind begins to fade, Cree thinks back to everything that has happened in the past three months and how her actions had led to this. Father had taken advantage of her fragile state of mind and put her on a path of revenge. Now her heart is filled with something she hasn't felt for a long time, guilt. "Wha…what have I done…?" Cree's eyes widen as she remembers what happened in March, when Abby showed up with Kuki and Cree had forced her sister to tell who she liked. Now, she realizes that Abby did not lie to her back then. This all happened because she did not believe her words.
"HOAGIE! DON'T DIE ON ME!" Abby's cries fill the generator room, but as Hoagie's vision starts to blur, a loud scream fills the generator room.
"Waah! Where the crud are we?!" Abby and Maurice look up and much to their elation, see Wally and Kuki falling down from the shaft.
"Well I'll be damned."
"KUKI!" Abby screams from the bottom of her lungs as her friend lets go off Wally and flies down to the platform and lands next Hoagie. "Kuki, please! Ya gotta save him!"
"I'm on it!" Kuki replies sternly and kneels next to Hoagie before pressing her hands against the wound while her medallion glows pink. Then, everyone is blinded by a huge pink flash that quickly fades away. Wally manages to land behind Kuki just as she goes limp and falls backwards.
"Gotcha…" Wally says as an exhausted Kuki looks up at him and smiles.
"It worked…*pant*…I teleported blindly…"
"Hah, yeah you did! You're awesome, Kuki!" Wally's complement causes Kuki blush but then, everyone's attention is turned to a motionless Hoagie. After a few seconds of absolute silence, Hoagie's right-hand twitches.
"Hoagie?" Abby moves closer as Hoagie slowly opens his eyes and groans.
"Urgh…huh…Oh, hi guys…" The teenagers sigh from relief as Abby breaks down and hugs Kuki tightly.
"Ya did it! Thank you Kuki! Thank you so much!" Abby cries against Kuki's chest as she hugs her back.
"I was just doing my job…I'm the team medic…" as the girls cry, Wally kneels next to Hoagie and they shake hands.
"Looks we both owe our lives to Kuki now."
"Hah, damn right we do." However, Maurice is left speechless by what he has just seen.
"Wow, I'd read the reports from Numbuh Gamma but to see it in person…that is some magic alright." Then, his attention is turned towards a silent Cree but as he stands up, Wally recognizes his face.
"Huh?! Wait a cruddy minute! You're…no way…" Maurice smirks and turns to face his old friends.
"Heh, ya look like you've seen a ghost, Numbuh 4."
"But…I thought ya…we thought…"
"Trust me…*pant* I thought he was a ghost too…but Agent Raven was Maurice…he was alive all along…it was all…a ploy by him." Hoagie says as Abby let's go of Kuki and comes to his side.
"Yeah, would ya believe it? He faked his death and pretended to be Numbuh 206 for a month."
"No way…" Kuki says while covering her mouth from shock while Abby tries to help Hoagie up.
"Ow…I still can't move my arm…"
"Sorry, I only stopped the bleeding. I didn't have enough energy to fix the bone and the damaged nerves…"
"It's okay, don't apologize, Kuki. The only thing that matters is that Hoagie's alive and kickin'." Abby says as she moves her left arm under Hoagie's right arm to keep him on his feet.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll get this fixed once the this is over."
"Huh? Wait, are ya sayin' ya still wanna fight?! No way! I ain't gonna let ya do that."
"*pant* Don't try to stop me. Me and Betsy still have plenty of gas in the tank." Hoagie looks sternly Abby in the eye and she knows that her words aren't going dissuade him.
"*sigh* and nothing's gonna change your mind, right? Well then, this time, Abby's got your back."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
"Uhm…we should put your arm on a sling, so it won't get worse." Kuki gestures to Abby, who grabs Hoagie's blood-soaked trench coat and starts slicing it with her finger claws.
"Huh?! Hey, that's my…"
"Ah quit whinin' Goggleboy. Ya should worry about yoself more than about a stupid jacket." Abby snaps at Hoagie as she and Kuki start putting together a makeshift sling from the trench coat cloths.
Then, Hoagie realizes his hat is also missing. "Aw man, I'm basically naked now…" he laments as he puts his finger through his goggle's left lens.
"Alright, done. Now hold still."
"Hey, hey, easy ladies, one at a time." However, Hoagie's attempt at a joke is quickly shot down by Abby's glare as the girls put the sling on his left arm.
"Ya still gotta work on your material, Numbuh 2." Maurice chuckles and pats Hoagie on the back, but then, he turns his back on his friends and walks over to Cree, who has remained silent the whole time. Kneeling next to her, Maurice tries to put his hand on her shoulder, but she instantly swats it away.
"Don't touch me." Cree hisses at Maurice but it does not deter him as he simply huffs.
"So what are ya gonna do now, Cree?"
"None of your business."
"Actually, it is my business. I'm not gonna let you scurry back to Father anymore." Maurice tries to look into Cree's eyes, but she refuses to make eye contact and hides her eyes under her bangs.
"Why…why are you…?"
"Worried about ya? Isn't that obvious?"
"Stop it…I don't wanna hear it…just leave me alone…ugh…" Cree tries to stand up, but the beating she received from Abby has been so thorough, she can't move a muscle anymore.
"You were saying? Come on, I'll take you outta here."
"NO! I don't need you nor your pity!"
"This ain't about pity, Cree. It's about doing the right thing and I'm not letting you go by yourself. We're in this situation in the first place, because I let you go when you attacked the Treehouse in March. I should've told you the truth back then, but I didn't. It's because of me that you ended up fighting Abby so much." Maurice clenches his fists slightly as his normally cool exterior cracks slightly, giving Cree a glimpse of the guilt he feels over the events that have led to this point, causing Cree to lower her head silently.
Behind Maurice, Abby listens in on their conversation as Hoagie activates his Exo-Suit to assess its condition. The tendril ripped off the machine's chest, head and the entire left side along with one arm, leaving the cockpit seat and Hoagie completely exposed, but the back-mounted arms and the right arm are still functional. "Augh, well, I expected worse. I can still work with this. Come on, Betsy MK II Custom, hang in there." Hoagie mutters as he tests the Exo-suit's mobility.
"Are ya sure you can fight in that?"
"Don't worry, Numbuh 4. All I gotta do is reroute all the commands to the right stick and…voilà! Check it out, it's Betsy MK II Custom Super Light Version!" Hoagie shows off his three-armed, slimmed down Exo-suit to his friends, but Abby's attention is completely focused on Cree and Maurice, who is still trying to help her.
"You can't stay here either, Cree. Will ya stop being stubborn and lemme help ya?"
"Why are you acting like this now…?" Cree mutters, frustrating Maurice even further.
"What was that?"
"You heard me! Why are you treating me like this now?! Didn't you say we were enemies?!"
"Yeah, I did, but that's in the past. I don't wanna be your enemy anymore, Cree. I'm done with lying to your face. From now on, I wanna be honest with ya." Maurice looks Cree in the eye, causing her to blush slightly, but she quickly pushes her feelings aside. Then, Cree sees Abby stare at her from behind her back but when their eyes meet, Abby frowns and turns her back on her sister.
"Uhm guys, sorry to spoil the reunion, but we've got a whole army of Ninjas and Delightfulized kids coming this way." Hoagie says as he gestures at the radar screen on his left armrest.
"Heh, was wonderin' what kept them." Wally smirks and readies his weapons, but Abby shakes her head.
"No, we gotta get outta here and catch up to Numbuh 1. Stayin' here and fighting those goons is a waste of time and we ain't got time, remember? We still gotta free everyone."
"Aw crud, fine…" Wally laments as Kuki giggles next to him. Then, Abby looks over her shoulder towards Maurice.
"Do me a favor and get her outta here already." her cold tone doesn't sit well with Maurice while Cree looks away and it's coming very clear to the others that whatever remains of their bond as sisters, has been cut, like an already stretched, thin thread. "Go apologize to Mama and Daddy." Abby hisses and walks away towards her friends while Maurice shakes his head and then picks up Cree, who immediately tries to struggle, but she's too tired to do anything except complain.
"Put me down!"
"Nope. I'm not letting go this time. Hey Abby?"
"Hmm?"
"Take care of yourself and your team. Beating Father ain't gonna be easy."
"Never stopped us from trying before and it ain't gonna stop us now either. And…thank you Maurice…for everything." Abby refuses to look back at Maurice but he simply nods and flies out of the generator room, disguising himself as former Numbuh 206 to trick the approaching horde of Ninjas to let him and Cree through. Using a side tunnel that leads to the sewers, Maurice carries Cree out of the battle zone and into the rain-soaked suburbs. However, Cree is conflicted: one part of her wants to just let go of him, but the other only wants to hold on tighter. While she is unable to forgive Maurice nor Abby for what had led to this, she is also filled with guilt over what she has done.
"It's not gonna change anything…"
"What'd ya say?"
"…I didn't…torture anyone…back there…" Cree says while hiding her eyes while Maurice smiles under his helmet.
"I knew ya didn't. You ain't like that."
"But…"
"Once Abby and her team have saved the world, then you can make up with up her." Cree does not reply and leans her head against Maurice's shoulder as they approach the Lincoln residence.
Back in the Delightful Mansion's now disabled generator room, Abby and her friends are preparing to escape by flying up the shaft. While Wally and Kuki are already hovering over the platform, Abby has hopped into Hoagie's Exo-suit, with one leg behind his seat and the other on the broken left-side. "Uhm, are you sure you wanna ride with me?"
"Of course. Numbuh 5's jetboots ain't gonna get me up that shaft fast enough and besides, I ain't gonna let you outta my sights this time."
"Oh well…uh, I can't exactly disappear…"
"You better not. And one more thing Hoagie." Abby leans forward and plants a small kiss on Hoagie's cheek, much to the surprise of both him and their friends.
"Wha…what the crud?!"
"Oh my gosh! I knew it!" Kuki shrieks as a slightly blushing Abby whispers into Hoagie's ear.
"Thank you, Hoagie. You saved me back there." At first, Hoagie does not react at all, but then, he lets out a loud, excited roar.
"OOOHH YEAH, BABY! That's just what I needed! Let's do this!" With a wide grin on his face, Hoagie takes off and flies up the shaft, followed by Wally and Kuki just as the Ninjas arrive.
…
In the skies above Cleve, the TND continue to bear the brunt of Father's defenses. Their attack against the C.L.A.M.M.A.H.-Array has run into heavy resistance, thanks to the leadership of a Delightfulized Numbuh 78, Angeline, who has coordinated the Treehouse's defense with cold efficiency. However, Maurice's open channel broadcast has sown much needed hope and confidence among the TND's ranks and now, they are pushing their Delightfulized foes once more.
On the bridge of the TND's K.O.L.O.S.S.A.L.I.N.E.R., Young Rebel, Bartie Stork is getting frustrated by Sector V2's stubborn resistance. "At this rate, we'll never bring those damn cannons down. If we had the T.S.-W.R.A.S.L.E.R., we could just rip them apart…" He mutters as the ship shakes from another C.L.A.M.M.A.H. shell shockwave.
Overhearing this, Sonia looks over her shoulder towards Lee and he can tell what she's thinking. At first, he shakes his head, but her glare tells Lee that she isn't going to relent. Then, using her console, Sonia locates the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H.- W.A.S.P. and puts her hand up. "Uhm…Numbuh Lambda…Sir?"
"What is it? Is someone calling us?"
"No…uh…I heard you mention that T.S.-W.R.A.S.L.E.R. and…Numbuh Chi-4 and I could get it for you."
"What?! I can't let you just abandon your position in the middle of an air battle."
"But…"
"No buts. I know you guys wanna help, but you're already doing enough. Besides, the only ones who are qualified to use that thing are Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 3."
"We can pilot it!" Sonia shouts confidently, shocking the bridge crew.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Numbuh Chi-3!"
"She's not joking. We watched Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 practice on the simulator before Free Will and they let us try it too." Lee says over his shoulder, but Bartie shakes his head. Then, someone else speaks up.
"I think we should take the chance." Virginia says to Bartie, who frowns back. However, she refuses to be intimidated and glares back. "I don't really know or…remember anything about how you people work, but if they say they can do it, why should you stop them?"
"*sigh*…Numbuh 23…" Virginia's expression reminds Bartie of their time in the KND, and it makes him relent. "…Fine. Take a Battle-Ready Cycle from the cargo bay and stand by. Numbuh Xi-9, on my mark, perform a wide 180 degree turn. Numbuh 23, open the bow ramp once we're pointing towards the Delightful Mansion. Numbuh Xi-8, call the crew and get replacements for Numbuh Chi-3 and Chi-4's positions."
"Thank you, Sir!" A delighted Sonia salutes Bartie along with Lee and they quickly run out of the bridge while Numbuh 58 uses the intercom to inform the crew. However, as Bartie slumps back to the captain's seat, he catches Virginia smiling at him, prompting him to look away, to hide his reaction.
Inside the cargo bay, the young agents hop on to a Battle-Ready Cycle the deck crew prepared for them and wait silently for the doors to open. Then, Lee looks over his shoulder towards Sonia. "Not like you to come up with a crazy plan like this."
"I want to do my part…we're not kids forever and I don't want to be a scaredy cat forever either."
"*chuckle* That's cool with me." Lee smirks and grips the Cycle's handles as Virginia contacts them.
"Uhm…I'm opening the doors now." She says cautiously and then, the bow ramp slides away, revealing a maelstrom of rain, wind, lighting, laser fire and falling debris as Lee revs the Cycle.
"Hold on. Here we go!" Sonia wraps her arms around his abdomen as the Cycle flies out of the K.O.L.O.S.S.A.L.I.N.E.R.'s bow before it turns back towards V2. "I'll fly low, so we won't get spotted." Lee steers the Cycle towards rooftop level, but their launch has been noticed already, by none other than a Delightfulized Tommy, flying a white Battle-Ready Cycle with forward-swept wings.
"What's this? A lonely Cycle! Perfect prey for…SIR TOMMY!" he proclaims dramatically, and rolls inverted before diving after his old teammates.
End of Transmission 59
Note: Hah-haa, he was alive all along! I could never kill someone as cool as Maurice but I needed to push him aside in the story to develop the main cast. However, I'd like to note that one of the rules I set for myself when I started to rewrite this story back in 2016 was that I would not permanently kill anyone from the core cast, so as not to make it overly depressing. Truth be told, when I wrote the chapter where Maurice fell, I was left kind of empty. But now, he's back.
Secondly, just like the climatic fight between Numbuh 4 and Ernest in the previous chapter, this one has been long over due. Pitting the two sisters against each other like this, with no holds barred, was something I wanted to write all the way back when I made the original draft in 2016 but I knew it would have to be close to the story's climax which of course, I never got to back then.