Yippieeee! I updated! YAY! ... ahem. I hope you all remember the plot... I doubt I still do...

Oh, and I own nothing but some of my furniture, which is supposed to arrive today. Huzzah!

"It was..." The raven-haired girl gasped. "It was... a one-way transport coin." She turned a small coin around in her hand as a thick, bland blueish smoke cleared around her slowly. The smoke stung her eyes and burned her throat but she only had eyes for the thick, round, metal device nestled in the palm of her small, sweaty hand. "I can't believe it..." She shook her head subconciously, as though trying to shake off the smoke. "I thought it was a bomb... or something... since that robot appeared..." Her mind reached back to only seconds ago, when she had been cowering in a dead-end street, fearing the uncovering of her organization, and the consequences...

...decommisionning. She winced at the thought. It would be painful, she knew, she remembered from that time. She remembered when her sister returned home, at the age of 12 and a half, and the headache that had been heightened by her burn marks and bruises. She remembered the way the Kids Next Door had warned her parents not to tell her anything, not to let a word of them slip, to leave the country, until the threat was over. The way she had hidden in the closet when a group of armed children had busted into her home, the way her joy of her sister's survival was crushed with the news of her sister's decommisionning. Mushi frowned into the thick, blue fog. Just that night, the night before she was kidnapped, Kuki and her had had a 'sister sleepover', where she and Mushi had slept in the living room and talked until dawn. Kuki had shared her secrets with her that night... Mushi remembered.

"Mushi..." She heard twelve-year old Kuki say once again. "You've asked me a million times if it's true."

"Is it, though? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because..." Kuki shook her head. It was midnight; Mushi could hardly see but she could sense her sister's movement. She was afraid... scared to death... of something that she wasn't able to say. She always shook her head when she was afraid.

"Is it the Kids Next Door? Will they do something bad if you tell?"

"No... it's just..." a light sigh.

"Am I not allowed to know?"

"Yes. You are allowed to know. It's just that I don't want to know it... myself. You already know it, but if I say it, it's different." Kuki, her sister heard, was crying. Her voice was trembling madly. "It's hard to say. If I admit it – to anyone – it's like sealing a letter. Mushi, I don't want to say it."

"Why?"

"Because..." Mushi heard a whimper coming from the sleeping bag opposite her. After a minute of waiting, she felt she had heard the answer... it had been quiet as a whisper, stifled by sniffles. "Decommisionning."

Mushi shook her own head and reached for her communicator. She had to get this off of her mind. She flicked the radio-thing open and started speaking, "Numbuh 35 to Sector V treehouse, requesting- -" she cut off abruptly. Her voice was bounced back to her, along with a crackling sound. The communicator was blocked. She could make out five silhouettes stepping towards her through the cloud of mist.

"Calling for backup, Numbuh 35? How ironic. Maybe the Kids Next Door will have you brainwashed before your time, too."

Mushi glared at the tall teenagers making their way towards her slowly. "Still speaking in unison, huh, Delightfuls? In fact, I wasn't calling for backup. I can take the lot of you on my own." A laugh came from her enemy.

"You won't have the honour, Mushi. You'll suffer the same fate as your sister before you. Only this time- -" One of the Delightfuls came into view. It was the blond girl. She spoke, surprisingly, on her own, in a high soprano voice much like Kuki's.

"This time, Mushi Sanban, burn marks won't be your punishment." She held out a device much like the transport in Mushi's hand, but this one emitted a blue glow, and soon enough a picture of Kuki, Mushi's beloved sister, came into view. She was sitting, on her own, in her room, perfect posture, ironed uniform, doing her homework swiftly, her eyes becoming more and more blue, her pupils fading.

"No." said Mushi resolutely, planting her feet firmly on the ground. "I won't let you," She seethed, "I won't let you do to me the same thing that you did to MY SISTER!" And she leaped forwards, crashing into the girl, then rolling onto the ground. The other four delightfuls stared in shock, and Mushi didn't feel like waiting around to see their reaction. Quickly she jumped up to her feet and ran the length of a richly decorated corridor. Someone – she suspected one or all of the Delightful Children – teenagers – whatever – was following her.

She ran, sprinting down the same path as a 10-year-old girl had just four years ago, only this time without any nacho sauce in her hands, and not having chosen this as an amusing pastime. Her pulse was racing, her forehead was sweaty, and she wouldn't have wished this upon her worst enemy.

That is, if her worst enemies weren't those delightful teenagers.

She rounded a corner, a large set of armor coming into view. She remembered Abby, her sister's best friend, telling her about an especially dangerous set of armor in one of the castle's hallways. Not wanting to take any chances, she paused a minute to trip the armor, jumped the metal pile, and ran again. She was running out of breath just when she saw an exit. Praising the heavens, she jumped for it, landing just outside the castle. Flying home by means of a pair of butterly wings, she left the Delightfuls' anguished cries far, far behind her. Now, Mushi thought to herself, To find a cure.

She stopped in mid-air. She recalled the situation in which she had left Numbuh1 – uh – Nigel Uno – to the mercy of one of the delightfuls' most recent inventions. It had successfully weakened Wally, and had equally successfully delightfulized her sister, making sure she couldn't pass on the information Wally had given her, and he couldn't tell anyone else, because... because...

Mushi ran the question through her mind. Because why? She didn't know. She would have to see him – after cleaning this thing with Nigel up.

Oooooooooooooooooooooohhh... there ya have it! That's why I couldn't tell you. Muahahahaha. Anyway. I am on a complete hiatus on this fanfiction. Any ideas are welcome, but doubtful you'll see an update alert anytime soon. I've started another chapter, and the first part's good, but the rest is worth gagging for. Meaning, I hafta throw up every time I see it. Read it... whatever. I mean, I could just delete the bad part, right? But the weird part is, I don't know when it starts getting bad. Bleh. I hate it when my chappies don't obey...

Yours is eternal glory (literally; I'll write it in my author's notes) if you can give me a good idea for what's going to happen, and anyone who succeeds in inspiring me at all in any way (Phhhfff, fat chance) will be named and honoured. Seriously. Review! Have a nice weekend!