It's a miracle! I'm updating!
Enj - oh, dang it. I almost got away with forgetting the discaimer.
Disclaimer: Seeing as how most of the characters act way OOC all the time, I doubt anywone would be stupid enough to compare my pitiful attemps at making everyone act IC to the actual makers of C: KND. Are you stupid? No, you are not, thank you very much.
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"He - they - but -" Wally spluttered. Nigel grimly told him to stop gawping, and retold his story.
"We, Hoagie and I, had come up with a plan to catch up with you without being noticed. When it was time to go, I snuck out of the school, turned to see how Hoag's was doing, but he was gone." He drawled, slightly boredly. Wally always panicked; Nigel just thought going mental under stress was a waste of time. People who did couldn't help it, but Nigel was annoyed at them all the same. Wally massaged his forehead with his knuckles. "Well, there's obviously nothing left to do. We've got to keep on going. Leave a message with his mom that's cryptic to her but that he can understand, and finally get going."
Wally stepped back in horror. "Nigel... yeh're heartless..."
Nigel stared. Wally guffawed. "Kidding. Let's go."
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"Hoagie, you've really got to understand me. Completely. Repeat after me."
"Uh, Mrs. Thomas, it's okay, I'm not in elementary school anymore, or anyth-"
"Do it!" She hissed in an uncarectaristically scary voice. She quickly drew breath and held it, surveying Hoagie with wide eyes. Was it just the light, or did they look sort of... red? Then she breathed out calmly. "I'm so sorry about that, Hoagie... you know, teaching the little ones... nerve-wracking..." She muttered on a little more, mentioning a Count Spank-You-Ha! once or twice. Hoagie leaned foreward.
"Count Spank-You-What?" He asked, amused. Mrs Thomas looked back up at him, with a kind look on her face. Her eyes were deep chocolate brown. The redness must have been the light.
"Count Spankula, sweetheart." Her smile broadened as he stared at her. "It's a - um - scary story. Yes. I was - er - supervising a preschool, and... one of the kids... told a scary story about a count... that, er, spanked children that were very bad... silly story, actually... but the children wouldn't take their nap..." She muttered. The curvy blonde was now leaning against the wall near the door and looking uncomfortable. She kept sending Mrs. Thomas resentful looks. They were easy to catch. Mrs. Thomas snapped her head upwards and continued in her prim tone, bringing Hoagie's attention back to her. "So, well, yes, it is very stressful, to teach. But it's certainly fun!" Hoagie was slightly repulsed by her nice-teacher-attitude, until he caught himself. She wasn't going to do anyone harm in being nice.
How wrong he was.
"Now, honey, close your eyes, and repeat after me."
"Okay..." Hoagie sighed. This was all so childish.
"I was brainwashed..."
"I was brainwashed," Hoagie suppressed a laugh.
"When I was little..."
"When I was little,"
"Into fighting my parents..."
"Into fighting my parents,"
"And rebelling against those who only wanted to keep me healthy."
"And rebelling against those who only wanted to keep me healthy." Hoagie's voice felt strangely far away; He was starting to feel kind of light-headed. Maybe this wasn't so stupid... it was all so clear this way... and so... so... believable.
"The children who misled me..." Mrs. Thomas continued.
"The children who misled... me..." Hoagie repeated sleepily.
"Have taught other children to continue..."
"Have taught... other... children to continue..."
"Their evil work."
"Their... their..."
"... evil work..." Mrs. Thomas prompted.
"Their... their evil..." He was feeling so heavy... he couldn't say it correctly; the words halted at his tongue, the echoes of arguments drifting through his empty-feeling brain... not true... not right... not - true... Wrong... do not - don't listen... no...
"Evil work..." Mrs. Thomas' voice drifted back to the surface. "Evil work..."
No - no - don't - not - not true...
"Enough," said five voices, all in perfect unison. Hoagie, slightly ashamed, turned towards them and opened his eyes; he didn't feel like looking at Mrs. Thomas. The shortest of the five was holding a strange, flat, gameboy-ish device, studying it with a serious and businesslike expression. "You can teach him the rest later; now, we have to move. Sensors indicate that the traitors Stickybeard and Cree are heading back towards the U.S."
"Cree? She used to fight for you?" Hoagie asked incredulously. That was bad, maybe she was responsible for getting rid of Abby, and just pretending to miss her, if she was really a traitor. Nobody answered him, though.
"We're going to prepare the robots for battle, they'll be here by nightfall. Most likely they're going to try to make a stand, Stickybeard's never been the brightest of the villains." They turned to leave. Mrs. Thomas motioned for Hoagie to follow her as the room emptied.
"Hold it!" He nearly yelled. This bit was important. When several of them stopped to look at him, he said, as bravely as he could, "what about Abby? Do you know where she is?"
"She has conciously allied herself with the enemy." Said a chubby, dark-skinned girl in the group of five. Hoagie froze. He wanted to say something, but no words came to mind. Almost everyone was gone, except for Mrs. Thomas. She was holding open the door for him. He snapped back to reality, unsure of where he had been drifting a moment before. As he walked into the hallway, Mrs. Thomas put her small hand on his shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry, Hoagie."
He didn't look around at her.
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"So," Nigel panted, as they rounded the corner, "what do we say?"
"Er," Wally started. "I don't know. W. and N. need you at Sanban's?"
"No, because his mom might look up Sanban in the telephone book. How about: 'W. and N. need you at the cheerleader's'?"
"Alroight. You call her."
"No, you. You're better at lying. Here - here's a quarter. Go to that phone booth, dial his number, then say that there's going to be a game at school, where you need to work out clues to find out people's assigned secrets, and that his clue is 'W. and N. need you at the cheerleader's', and - don't forget to introduce yourself properly, or his mum won't trust you!" he added as Wally sprinted towards the booth.
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"Give it here, you might break it."
"What do you mean, I might break it? You're no less clumsy than I am!"
"Give it!"
"Foine." Wally grumbled. Nigel had appointed himself leader of the expedition, and though he was good at it, Wally didn't like how he had assumed his position so easily.
Nigel let the small, blue-grey glass ball roll around in his hand. It was a perfect sphere, except for the one hole that went down to the middle of the ball, and ended in what looked suspiciously like an electric outlet.
"So... you snatched that out of the machine's mouth?" Wally started, all offenses forgotten.
"Yes... I'm quite sure this was the thing that was powering up the beam itself."
Wally looked up curiously. "Beam? What beam?"
Nigel sighed, looking back up at Wally as he pocketed the sphere. "The robot opened its mouth, and this was in the middle of it, and then this... light... started coming out of the middle... where the ball was."
"Ahhh... so, where are we going now?"
"To Kuki's, for the third and final time."
"Oh."
The walked in silence for a while.
"What d'you think's happened to Abby?" Wally wondered.
"I don't know... but I'm quite sure she's alive..."
Right you are, Nigel Uno.
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Abby had changed clothes... once again... the caramel-dress didn't allow much movement, so she had had to put on an even more ridiculous outfit, where she could jump right into the Pirates of the Caribbean movie whenever she wanted.
It came complete with a striped bandana. And a coat.
Cree nearly died from laughing.
Abby, however, was not unhappy. The night where Cree and Stickybeard promised they would tell her about her past was not what she had expected: they had pulled out photos, Cree had fought karate with a puppet, and she, Abby, was given the task to talk to each and every one of the crew (even though it was late...) about the Kids Next Door, which were the only clues she was given.
Her memory came seeping back, bit by bit...
... and with it, the realization that her friends, her new and old friends, were in grave danger.
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"If only Abby were here."
"We are lucky both her parents work, you know."
"Ah know that."
"So, give me a boost."
Wally grumbled, then roughly shoved Nigel through the small, open bathroom window. To his delight, his companion landed in the Sanban's bathroom with a loud crash, and a whispered 'ow...'.
"Yeh alroight in there, Niiiiigiiiiie?"
"Shut up." Nigel grumbled, and in a moment, after foraging for keys, he managed to get Wally in the house, too. They locked the door again, this time with a chain, so that if Mr. or Mrs. Sanbanm came home early, they would know it.
"Wally, you go search her room for anything that resembles this ball -" he tossed Wally the glass sphere "- while I stand guard here. I'll whistle the British national anthem if someone comes home."
"How does the British national anthem go?"
Nigel whistled a few bars for him. With a pang, he thought of what Hoagie would say were he with them ('What, are they here already?'). Was he alright?
Wally, meanwhile, took the stairs two at a time and entered Kuki's room. Perched on her pillow, he found something that matched Nigel's treasure - almost. This piece was more complete. Panting, he arrived at Nigel's side a few moments later, and showed him the second sphere, which had a licorice-like stick jammed into the one hole. The exposed end of the stick was shaped like it would fit perfectly into the ball. Cautiously, slowly, Nigel stuck connected the two.
The two balls lit up, and the black stick connecting the two crackled with bright blue electricity. Nigel laid the thing on the Sanban's coffee table in the living room, and both sat down on the couch. As soon as the device - whatever it was - was put down, a partly transparent, light blue square slowly slid out of the licorice connecter. Lines drew themselves across it, and then -
"Welcome, Teenagers, to the Delightful Teens' Database. How can we be of service to you?"
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It was about time, don't you think? Review!