Chapter Summary: Abby's convictions puts her at odds with the Teens Next Door, who resort to extreme measures to keep her in line.

Content warning: Realistic Violence

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Code: [RESTRICTED]

Operation: S.C.R.A.M.B.L.E.D.

Socially

Conscious

Respected

Agents

Made

Bitchy

Leaving

Everyone

Despondent

Written by OfficiallyWrong with Properties owned by Tom Warburton

and Cartoon Network

Episode 17

Location: DYSTAL CITY

"Maurice."

"Abby," Maurice reached his hand out toward her hesitantly, but Abby was too focused on the woman in front of her to listen.

"I am sorry, Abigail," Henrietta said. "But zey made me ein offer I couldn't refuse." She turned to Maurice. "You have it, da?"

Maurice sighed, tossing her a glowing bag. "Here. Gummy glow worms from the saccharide caves of district 9. Just as you asked."

"Heinie, you double crossin'-" she whispered.

"Oh, come now. Don't be ein sourpatch," the woman pretended to be sympathetic. "Here. Try ein glow worm." The long, slimy creature waved in front of Abby's face as she swatted it away. Henrietta shrugged. "Suit yourself." She slurped the wiggling worm down her throat. "You've been ein very bad little girl, haven't you, Fräulein? Mein lieb? A traitor? I am so proud, I almost feel bad for leaving you like zis. But, as zey say, so ist das leben. I'm sure you understand."

"Are you kidding me?!" Wally shouted from behind her. "She sold us out for bloody candy!"

Abby's eyes were steeped with rage. "Of course she did."

Henrietta stood in front of Abby, tracing her thumb beneath her lip. "You really should have seen zis coming," she finally said as she grabbed the girl's chin. "You know I'd do anything for sugar..." She brushed her lips on the side of Abby's, kissing her goodbye. "Auf Wiedersehen!" She called as she waved back, starting to exit the scene. "Oh. Und thanks for zis." The bag of Cinnamon swung back and forth in her hand. "I'll think of you always."

"Hey!" Wally pushed forward. "Come back here, Bitch! We helped you get that! Where's our cut?!"

Henrietta smiled, turning back to him. "Oh. I don't think you vill be needing it any longer. As you say in your country, Abigail. So long. Farewell und Goodbye."

Wally tried to go after her, but Abby grabbed his arm. He stopped noticing Abby's eyes firmly locked on Maurice.

"Abby-" He started.

"Get lost," she snarled.

"Abby, I had to-"

"You hired a bounty hunter?" she hissed. "And Henrietta of all people!"

"It was the fastest way to reach you," he said. "I had to stop you before this got out of hand."

"Abby was just fine till you showed up."

"Abby. Enough is enough," he stated. "It's time to go back."

But Abby just grimaced. "You stay the fuck away from me."

"Please. I don't want-"

"I said stop!" She shouted. "Just leave me alone, Maurice."

"It's not a suggestion. You've gone way too far this time, Abby," his voice was firmer. "Either you come with me freely, or I'll take you back myself."

"Fuck that!" Wally shouted. "She's not goin' anywhere with you!"

"You're coming too, Teenager," he said, his eyes stern on Abby's. "All of you are."

Abby suddenly realized what was going on. She gripped Wally tighter, yanking him with her as she sprinted down the alleyway. She heard Maurice calling her name, but she didn't stop running. Every turn, every corner, up the wall, over the trash cans, she didn't stop. Putting her hand on her ear, she called into the communication device she had left behind for the others.

"Numbuh 2! Numbuh 3!"

Hoagie felt his ear buzzing, his hair blowing from the wind on his motorbike. Kuki was behind him, holding on. He put a hand to the ear piece, listening closer.

"Numbuh 2!" Abby's voice rang over the airwaves. She was out of breath and desperate. "Numbuh 3!"

"Abigail. What's-"

"The TND! They hired Heinie to track us! They're here in the city!" she shouted.

Hoagie scowled. "Shit. Are you serious?"

"Is Numbuh 3 with you?"

He checked back at Kuki's concerned face. "Y-yeah she is but-"

"Take her and get out of town," she said. "Get as far away as you can! Do not stop! Whatever you do, do not-mphhh!" A muffled noise came into his ear.

"Abby?" But he couldn't hear anything. "Abby!"

"Hoagie?" Kuki asked. "What's going on? What's happening?"

"Hoagie Gilligan and Kuki Sanban," a different voice was now speaking. "This is the Teens Next Door. Please dismount your vehicle and come peacefully..."

Hoagie knew better than to respond.

Even further back, he could hear Wally shouting profanities in the distance. Shit. The voice returned. "Abigail Lincoln and Wallabee Beatles are in our custody. Please surrender or we will have no choice but to-" Hoagie tore off the ear piece, throwing it onto the street.

"Fuck!"

"What?!" Kuki gasped.

"It's the TND. They've found us..." He said. "They've already got Wally and Abigail. We have to get out of the city and find a place to hide! Take out your ear piece. They can track you through the airwaves."

Kuki did this, dropping it in the road. "We can't leave!" she shouted. "If they've been captured, we have to go back and save them!"

"Kuki! There's no time!" He yelled back.

Suddenly, a dark shadow passed over their heads, nearly blocking out the already black sky. The tiny lights were the only thing that gave away its location as a large spaceship flew overhead.

"Oh, no," Hoagie whispered.

"M-M-Maybe it's not them?" Kuki said, hopefully.

"Freeze!" A loud voice shouted as three motorcycles came barreling down the street straight towards them.

"That's definitely them!" Hoagie exclaimed.

Kuki screamed. "What do we do?!"

"Hang on!" Hoagie skid the bike into a U-turn, the rubber scarring the asphalt. Realizing he was then going the opposite way in a one-way traffic lane, he jumped the bike onto the concrete meridian, balancing it ever so carefully on the narrow path as he rode.

"That. was. Amazing!" Kuki squealed, unable to contain herself.

But all Hoagie could think was:

Don't fall. Don't fall. Oh God this was a terrible idea.

The other bikes were coming up behind him, one jumping onto the meridian as well.

"Hoagie?!" Kuki leaned off to the side.

"Kuki! Don't do that! You'll knock us over!" Hoagie screamed at her.

She sat up. "Sorry!" She looked back with just her head. "They're still behind us!"

"Do you have your gun?" he asked.

"Yeah, but we're going so fast I can't see!" she said. "And it's dark!"

"That's okay. Shoot at the lights. It'll slow them down."

"Roger that!" She said, pulling out the gun. They were still behind her, so she couldn't see too well. "Hey, Hoagie. I'm gonna try something. Don't turn or anything."

"What are you-"

Her legs started to wiggle as she rose to her feet. She breathed heavily. She had seen Abby jump on cars, fly off of roofs, and crash vehicles. If she were here, those guys would be taken out in no time. But...She clenched her empty fist, determined. She wasn't. It was up to her. Her whole body shook as she folded her legs over the moving bike, straddling it just like when she was on the pyramid.

Just like a lift.

She flipped her body over so that she was facing the back of the bike, her spine right against Hoagie's. She panted and wheezed, catching her breath. "Alright! I can see them now!" She grinned wildly. "Let's show these fuckers how to play paintball!" she shouted.

Hoagie laughed. "Kuki, you're amazing!"

Boom! She shot the bike on the meridian. It hit the wheel. Splat! Shot again. This time it hit the headlight, the bike swerving and falling into the road. "Sorry!" Kuki said with an apologetic wave. Another bike came flying at them, almost parallel, a large stick-like weapon in the driver's hand. Kuki screamed shooting at him. She missed. They swung at her, but Hoagie jumped the meridian onto the street, getting around them so Kuki could get a good shot at their back. Paralyzed, they couldn't control the bike and it fell to the ground.

Hoagie looked around, noticing a highway exit. Kuki continued to shoot as he cut into the exit lane and got off the freeway.

"You okay?"

"You fuckers wanna piece of me?! Hahaha!" Kuki was having fun hitting the bikes, remembering the adrenaline she felt from the paintball battle she fought with Abby. "Eat my pussy, Bitches!"

"Save the ammo!" Hoagie said. He noticed another bike coming out on his left, shooting at it. Critical hit. "You have to hold out till we get to the bridge. Think you can?"

Suddenly, the road started to get steeper and steeper, careening into a large body of water. The bridge Hoagie was referring to, ran parallel to the street they were currently on. However, they had picked up too much momentum and were heading towards the water at rapid speed. Kuki flipped back over to face the front of the bike.

"Hang on Kuki!" Hoagie cried. She gripped onto him as tightly as she could as the bike got faster and faster. The TND agents were losing control over their vehicles, sliding into the sidewalks, but Hoagie somehow instinctively knew how to balance his weight on the bike.

"Hoagie!" Kuki screamed, not sure if she was going to live or die.

"I'm going to throw up!" He screamed. His gun was back in his holster, one hand on the handlebars, the other on his hat. The bike turned at the last minute, skidding onto the floor. Hoagie's foot pushed it up, which barely gave him enough momentum to yank the bike back to normal. His speed slowed slightly as he used his free hand to pat Kuki's arm. "There," he said looking above him. "If we can make it over the bridge, we can lose them in the desert."

"But we have no food in the desert," Kuki said. "No water. We don't even have a blanket."

"You can use my jacket," he said.

"But-"

"There's gotta be something out there," he said. "We don't need to become locals. We just need enough time to figure out a rescue plan."

Kuki gasped. "We're going back!"

"Of course we're going back!" he exclaimed. "We're a team, aren't we? Friends don't leave friends behind."

Kuki nodded, little tears in her eyes. She looked around. "I don't see the bikes anymore."

"That doesn't mean there won't be more," Hoagie said. "They could be anywhere." He slowed the bike even more. "I'm turning out the headlights," he told her. The street went black as he scooted into an alley way. "Keep your eyes peeled and your finger on that trigger..." he directed in a hushed tone.

"Gotcha."

He rode up the street until they got back onto a main road. He didn't know how many TND agents had come. The ship that passed over them was huge, meaning there were enough to outnumber them. He knew they were on their way to Mars, though. Which meant even if they couldn't stop the ship from taking off, they at least knew where they were going. Finally, they could see the bridge. The coast was clear, but Hoagie still told Kuki to stay alert. As they passed over the concrete, very few cars passing. No bikes. That was too strange. There was something lying in the middle of the road, but Hoagie was too far away to make out what it was. It didn't take long for the image to register, though, as he realized the fatal mistake he was about to make.

Lying there in the street, was a red cap.

"It's a trap!" He shouted as he spun the bike around, but the barricade was already coming up in front of him. "Oh fuck." A blast fired, taking out the back wheel. The bike skidded and slid out from under them, crashing into the side. Hoagie dove over Kuki, blocking her body from being scratched by the impact. His hat fell off of his head as he got to his knees. "Are you okay, Kuki?"

"Uh-huh," she said, a bit shaken.

"Let's go!" an unknown voice huffed.

A hand reached out, grabbing the girl by the arm. It seemed to come out of nowhere. "No! Lemmie go!" She screamed as she tried to yank away. "Get your dirty stinky hands off of me!" Hoagie tried to help her but was swiftly knocked to the ground by what felt like a long stick.

"You have the right to remain silent," a strong gruff male voice said. "Anything you say or do can and will be used against you." Hoagie's face slammed into the concrete, not breaking his goggles or his nose, but making a thick red mark on his forehead.

"Leave him alone you big bully!" Kuki screeched, practically being lifted off the ground now.

Hoagie looked up enough to see the seemingly empty road now fade away, as though he were watching a mirage disappear. A large ship, just like the one he saw earlier, hovered above the exit. A cloaking device...of course. He was such an idiot. Abby told him to run, but she was panicked, which made him panic. They should have hidden in the city, or tried another route, or-

Crack! He felt something lodge itself into his shoulder. He saw Kuki's feet as she was dragged away towards the ship kicking and screaming. His arms were forced behind his back as he struggled to get free. He wasn't strong enough. The TND agent kept speaking.

"You are hereby under the supervision of the Teens Next Door," he said. "Please do not try to resist. If you resist, we will have to use force..."

"Kuk-" Wham! His head went back into the concrete. He forced eyes back up to see. Again, his goggles didn't crack, so he could see with absolute clarity what happened next. Another boy, tall with freckles and curly brunette hair, picked up Abby's hat, brushing it off. He smiled at him, a kind of weird satisfactory grin. Hoagie felt his wrists being cuffed by thick shackles, ones that took up nearly half of his forearm. The boy walked up to him, still smiling.

"Oh," he said. "This is gonna be fun."

"Kuki!" Wally called as his girlfriend and proclaimed best friend were thrown into the room. The door slammed behind them, Hoagie's hat skidding across the floor to the middle of the cell.

"I'm sorry, Wally..." She said, making her way to him. Her hands were also cuffed the same as his and Hoagie's. "We didn't make it." She shook her head. "We failed."

"It's okay," he said with a sweet and forgiving smile. "You did your best."

"They played dirty!" She cried. "We would'a gotten away if they didn't have that stupid camouflage!" Her cheeks puffed out. "We were so close too!"

"It's my fault," Hoagie said.

"It's not-" Kuki started.

"Everyone knows that to evade capture, you have to hide in plain sight!" he said. "Not run away like an idiot! I should have known better! I'm such a moron!" His head hung over his chest. "Fucking moron..."

"Don't worry about it, Mate," Wally said. "Really. Shit happens."

"What happened to Abby?" Kuki asked.

Wally's face grew dispirited. "Some freaks took her to the other end of the ship. They won't tell me anything."

"But these are her friends, aren't they?" Kuki said, hopefully. "They might be angry at her, but at the end of the day aren't we all on the same side?"

"That depends on if they see it that way," Hoagie said.

"We weren't exactly thick as thieves when we left," Wally added.

As if on cue, the door to the cell opened. The curly brown-haired boy with freckles Hoagie had seen earlier, came in. He didn't have a weapon on him, but he wore the same wild grin. A wild, angry, grin.

"Looks like we caught ourselves a couple'a rats," he spat. "How do you like your cage, little rats? Comfy enough for you?"

"Actually, it's really dusty-" Kuki started, but Wally nudged her with his foot.

"Where's Abigail?" Hoagie asked.

"None of your business, Scrub," the agent said.

"Hey. Don't talk to him like that, Dickweed," Wally defended from the side. "I think we got every right to know what you fuckers are up to! Now tell us where our friend is!"

"Your friend?" he laughed derogatorily. "You're not friends."

Wally scowled. "You gotta lotta fuckin' nerve, sayin' shit. Actin' like you're the goddamn king of the hill." His teeth sawed together, eroding the enamel. "How about you come here so I can shove my foot up your ass!"

"Wally!" Kuki gasped. She turned back to the agent. "H-he didn't mean that. We don't want any trou-"

"Oh, I meant it!" Wally yelled, standing to his feet. "You think just you're in some elitist club you get to spit all over us! Fuck you! Abby's our friend and you assholes better not do anything to her!"

A fist grabbed the collar of Wally's jacket, shoving him into the wall. He winced, but it wasn't enough to actually hurt him. "Listen, you little Shit-Dick. I was sent in here to put you fuckers in your place. So shit down, shut up, and do as you're told."

"Why don't you put a cock in it?" Wally spat in the agent's face. "We're not gonna do a thing you say until you tell us where she is!"

He slammed him harder into the wall. "You think we want anything from you?" he derided. "A bunch of fuckin' Teenagers? You little shits ruin everything for everyone and then demand respect? Go fuck yourself."

"Wally-" Kuki tried again, but her voice didn't reach him.

"You're the ones who ran away like little bitches! Who's the coward now, huh?" he got in the agent's face. "Ooh, I'm the TND. I'm afraid of a bunch'a bloody children..."

"You wanna go, Asshole?" His fists were now almost in Wally's neck. He struggled, but the agent was strong. "Let's go. I'll kick your ass twenty times over! Teach you a thing or two about humility!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Wally jeered. His foot slammed on Wally's, causing him to cry out in agony. "Fuck!"

"What's the matter, Teenager?" the boy sneered. "I thought you wanted to fight. Well, come on...fight!" He lifted Wally up further, who was starting to hesitate. "Fight me you little Chicken-Shit!"

"That's not a fight," A quiet voice said from the other side of the room. Hoagie sat, his head slightly higher than before. He wasn't looking at the scene, but off to the side somewhere.

"You say something, Freak?" the agent said.

Hoagie sighed with derision. "It's not a fight if he can't fight back."

The brunette scoffed. "And so, what? You want me to let him go so I can make it even? Is that it?" His lips curved upward. "Like I'm that fucking dumb."

"I just thought you people would have a little more dignity," Hoagie said, still not looking at him. "Beating the shit out of a defenseless guy. Where do you get off?"

"Who the fuck are you calling defenseless?" Wally spouted.

"Shut up, Wally. It doesn't matter how strong you are. If you're beating on someone with a handicap, that makes you the asshole," Hoagie stated, almost too bluntly.

"H-Hoagie what-" Kuki started, but stopped as she saw the agent lower Wally to the ground.

"What did you fuckin' say to me?"

"How about you learn the rules before you start calling us disrespectful," Hoagie's eyes finally made their way to the boy. They were sharp, unwavering, dark, and expectant.

"Shut the fuck up, Gilligan!" Wally shouted at him. "Hey! Your fight is with me! Don't look at him!"

"And you call yourselves heroes," Hoagie made his landing blow.

The fists dropped Wally back to the ground, slowly and as gently as they could. The shadow now longer towered over Wally's body, moving now over Kuki's, towards something else. "Hey! Fuck-tard!" He kept trying. "Don't fucking ignore me! Get back here and-"

A right hook flew through the air, right into Hoagie's cheek. Wham! Its force was enough to knock him into the wall, causing him to hit his head. Wally stopped. Everything stopped. His body, without him realizing, was starting to shake as he fell back onto his knees, petrified. His eyes followed the punch straight to his friend's face, widening with fear and awe.

Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr., the receiver of the assault, didn't flinch.

Not even a twitch.

He used his shoulder to wipe some spit from his chin, watching with guarded expectation as the darkening shadow loomed over him. Two fists grabbed his collar, slamming him back into the wall.

Still, not a twitch.

Wally then realized that even if he wanted to, there was no way he could have taken that hit.

He collapsed, unable to move.

"You wanna take the moral high ground, Bitch?" A foot rammed into Hoagie's crotch. This time, he cried out. "You think you deserve it after what you put us through? You bet your fuckin' ass we're heroes! I don't see you out there fighting! You think just cause you met some crazy bitch and she told your you're special, that makes you better than me? Huh, Tubby? You think you could do what we do? You fucking loser!"

"S-stop it! Leave him alone!" Kuki tried, but it didn't work.

"What? Can't talk now?" He spat in Hoagie's face. "Don't have any more fancy words?"

Hoagie coughed, blood now trickling down his chin from where he had bit his tongue being pushed against the wall. Still, his eyes were undaunted. "You...didn't want our help," he finally said. "We wanted to work with you, but you kicked us to the curb. Wally is right. You're a bunch of elitist assholes."

A pair of strong fingers laced themselves into his hair, yanking his head back. "You don't know fuck from all, you Adult-loving prick." He pulled harder, Hoagie instinctively reaching to pry him off. The foot went into his stomach. Again. And again. And again.

But Hoagie's voice didn't quiver. His body didn't shake. "I know that you delete operative's memories after they turn thirteen," he said. "I know it's because you're afraid of being betrayed so you tell yourselves it's the right thing to do. But it's not. It's evil."

Wally didn't understand. Why was he doing this?

"What gives you the right to decide a child's future?!"

Wham! Hoagie's head went back into the wall.

"To take away their childhoods-"

Whack!

"...it's wrong..."

Smack! Hoagie was thrown back down onto the ground, the fists finally leaving his collar. "Quit talkin outta your ass," he hissed. "You're one of them. How could you possibly understand?" The brunette agent's eyes moved from him, back to Wally, who at this point was on the floor, almost hiding behind Kuki, who was in turn trying to hide behind him. He snarled at them, watching them quiver.

Wally felt ashamed.

He was scared. Shaken down to his core. He couldn't move. More than anything, he was thinking: Please don't come over here. Please don't come over here. And that made him feel even more ashamed. He talked a big game. He picked fights all the time at school. He thought he was pretty tough and other people seemed to think so too. That was his thing. At school, nobody wanted to mess with him. Nobody looked at him with even a hint of stink in their eye. This, though. This was different. He looked over at Hoagie. He was panting at this point, but his eyes were still right where they started. Glaring. Not a wince. It didn't make sense. Hoagie Gilligan, the big goofy nerd he always poked fun at, was braver than he was. And it pissed him off. He wanted to scream. He wanted to kick that asshole TND agent, tell him to get off, to fight him. But he didn't. He couldn't. He would just end up losing.

"Where's Abigail?" Hoagie said again, as if to draw attention away from the others.

"Jesus. You don't know when to quit, do you?" the agent crossed his arms.

"Where's. Abigail."

The boy's large left hand clasped itself over Hoagie's mouth. His fingers spread like a web on his face, blocking the air passage through his nose.

Wally gasped, swallowing it as much as he could immediately in embarrassment.

"Alright, you fat Turd," the agent said. "You wanna know so bad? You think you're so close? What, you have a little crush on her? You thinking with your dick?" Hoagie started to squirm, losing air. "Think you're gonna be a hero and save the girl? Like this is some kind of fantasy? Well, it's not, Dipshit. There are real people in real danger. This ain't no fantasy. And I got news for you, you ain't no hero." Hoagie's neck twisted, trying to pull himself away from the death grip. His leg finally lifted, kicking the agent off of him. The impact was enough for the agent to let go as Hoagie gasped for breath, coughing even more.

"Y-you..." he said breathily. "You people..." He inhaled deeper. "Make...me sick. At least the TEENZ...at least they don't pretend to be equalists."

"H-Ho-" Wally tried.

"You made her feel worthless..." His breath had steadied now, but his words were softer, and he choked through them like he was at a funeral. "Her...of all people..."

Wally's face fell.

"Making her think her life isn't worth anything. Just because she's not a kid anymore!" And then, Hoagie started to twitch with rage. Only then. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

The agent flinched.

"I'll never forgive you," he growled. "Even if I get my memories back! Even if I remember why I'll still never forgive-"

Wham. The agent's foot went straight back into Hoagie's stomach. There was a long deathly silence as both parties waited for the other. Hoagie's head was finally down over the agent's leg. His eyes closed. And the agent's foot pushed into the boy's gut, his eyes less wild now. They were more reflective, but still angry.

"Fucking teenagers," he finally spat. "It's because of people like you that people like Father exist." He yanked his foot off of Hoagie's stomach, spitting on him as he walked away. As soon as he exited the cell, Hoagie got to his knees, coughing. There were no tears in his eyes, but his face was red. He swallowed as much as the fluid he could to prevent it from coming up like puke.

After a little while, he stopped. "Wally...you okay?"

And if the door hadn't opened again at that moment, Wally was certain he would have burst out into tears.

But it did. And he didn't.

Hoagie lifted his eyes to see a figure standing in the doorway. He sat up as the others leaned back on their legs.

"Maurice..." he said.

Wally, however, was not pleased. The tension in his body began to reemerge as he looked at him. "What is this, some kinda good cop-bad cop thing?" he snarled.

"Of sorts," Maurice said.

"Maurice," Hoagie tried again. "Where's Abigail? Is she okay? What are they-"

Maurice put a hand up to stop him. This worked as Hoagie sat back like the others. "I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of those questions right now."

"You fucking prick," Wally grimaced. "You sold her out."

"I'm protecting her from her own stupidity," Maurice stated, sterner. "I told her not to go after you, she did it anyway. I told her not to go after Nigel, she did it anyway. And now it's too late to do anything to help her. The least I could do was prevent her from making a terrible mistake."

"You're sayin' savin' us was a mistake?" Wally hissed.

"It was one of them, yes."

"What?!" Wally's rage was back at full-force now.

"Maurice, listen," Hoagie intervened. "Abigail was just trying to help us get our families back. None of this is her fault-"

"Abby went against a direct order from her superior. She disclosed confidential information with non-TND personnel, and then lied about it. And then made you lie about it. To me." He sighed. "Under any other circumstances she would have been immediately decommissioned. You understand that, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"Abigail is being interrogated by her sector leader. A decision of what to do will be made after it is over."

Kuki tried to speak up. "Can we see-"

"No." He crossed his arms as Kuki wilted. "If she hadn't told you who you were, we could have avoided this. We could have found some other way."

"W-what do you mean?" Kuki asked. "I thought you said she wasn't going to be decommissioned."

"I did," he said. "I was talking about you."

Abby groaned, her head filled with a thick fog. Sounds moved in and out of her head in an echo, as though they were hundreds of feet away down a long corridor. Slowly, her eyelids raised, feeling the bright light shine. She tried to move, but her arms were fastened behind her back as she sat in the chair. As he opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a hand, slamming itself on the table.

"Abigail!" The voice rang all around her. She lifted her head further to see the arm the hand was attached to, tracing it up to a pair of angry brown eyes, thin face, and a short stack of red hair.

"V-Vicki..." she said in recognition.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Her superior snapped.

"Vick I-"

"I told you not to go after Nigel Uno!" she shouted. "I deliberately stated that contact with the G:KND was not an option. Not only did you disobey me, but you pulled those Teenagers in?! I can't believe you would be this stupid!"

That's when Abby finally woke up. "Wally...Wally. Vicki! Where's-"

"Your team has been taken into custody," Vicki stated. "Standard procedure has been enacted."

"Standard procedure?" Abby blinked. "What do you m-" She stopped, Vicki's raising brows telling her everything she needed to know. Her breath shortened. "N-No." She could barely speak, her mouth getting dry. "No, not that. Anything but that."

"I have to, Abigail. It's procedure."

"No!" Abby started to find her voice. "Vicki, you can't!"

"It isn't up to me," the girl said sternly. "And even if it was, you wouldn't have given us much of a choice."

"No...no...please..." Abby shook her head frantically. "Not-"

"Scramblification?" The word felt strange on Hoagie's tongue.

"What is that?" Kuki asked.

Maurice was now facing them, still standing, taking notes on some kind of touch pad. "I suppose, since you aren't going anywhere, I may as well tell you. We can't afford to have the information you know get into the wrong hands. Typically, this would mean decommissioning. But once an operative is out of the system, we no longer have their DNA. The DNA of TND agents is placed in a code module, so they can be decommissioned at any time. You, however, were decommissioned and the failsafe of the system means you cannot be re-entered. So more drastic measures need to be taken."

Wally's head hurt. "Scramblific-arian-ation-"

"Scramblification. Brain Scramblification. It is a procedure which de-links the connective brainwave patterns that allow for conscious thought," Maurice explained. "Father can't hack your minds for information if he can't follow a cohesive train of ideas. You'll still be alive, but..." He looked at them sorrowfully. "Not the same."

"Is that what you did to Monty?" Hoagie sneered. "Number Zero? It wasn't enough for you to take the memories of his son, you had to scramble his brain too?"

"Numbuh 0 requested the memories be removed," Maurice said. "That was the Galactic Kids Next Door's doing. We had no part in it. Their technology exceeds our own." He sighed. "If we send you back to Earth, our position will be compromised. If we keep you here, Abigail try to find her way back to you. You have become a liability and must be taken care of."

"Vicki..." Abby pleaded. "Come on. You can't do this-"

"What did you think was going to happen, Abby?" Vicki snapped. "When you went on this little adventure, when you broke our most important rule and told them who they were?!"

Abby bit her lip.

"Yeah. I know about that," Vicki said. "And then you went to the Delightful Children's Mansion, stole a spaceship, and the broken recommissioning module! Broke the barrier before we even had a chance to move! Father sent one of his lackeys to chase after you!"

"It was just the Toiletnator."

"I don't care, Abby!" Vicki shouted. "He was tracking you! Following you to the Galactic Kids Next Door Headquarters! You were going to lead him right to them!"

Abby scoffed. "If you're so afraid of them, why wouldn't Father be?"

"No. Cut the sass," Vicki said. "You put our entire mission at risk. You told them who they were!"

"I didn't! They...kinda...figured it out...on their own..."

"I should have taken care of this back on Earth. I should have tracked you down and made you come with me instead of letting you wander off. You want to know why we don't trust you, Abigail? This is why!"

"Okay. I'm sorry," Abby said. "I'm sorry I didn't follow orders. I should have gone with you to Mars and left Nigel alone. I know. But they had nothing to do with any of that! They just followed me because I told them I'd help. They're innocent. Please don't do this!"

"You gave Hoagie Gilligan a recommissioning module," she stated. "Access to our most ancient and complex technology!"

"I know, I'm sorry. But he can fix it. And then we can recommission the KND and-"

"Abigail. Do you remember what happened last time an Adult got ahold of a recommissioning module? Do you realize what you could have done?"

"I'll go back to Mars with you."

"Abigail."

"I'll sit down and shut up! I'll be good! I'll do anything you want just please! Please don't do this to them! They don't deserve this! Vicki! Please!"

"I can't take that risk."

"They're not spies!"

"No, they're not," Vicki said. "But everyone has their price. They aren't one of us, so that means they're willing to pay it."

"You're wrong," Abby replied. "They're loyal. They're good. They just want to save their families-"

"Exactly!" Vicki shouted. There was a long, arduous pause. "Father knows about the TND."

Abby's eyes widened. "He knows. Because of what I-"

"No, Abby," Vicki hugged herself, her tight blue shirt lifting up into the air. "He's known for a long time. When we sent our ships out after you left, he attacked and captured almost two thirds of our remaining agents. Mars was taken. We have this ship and the few that escaped the battle. That's it." She sank down onto the table, sitting across from Abby. "Everything we've done, everyone we've tried to protect, he's just been toying with us, waiting for his chance to take us out." Her eyes grew determined again. "I will not give him that chance."

"But..." Abby tried to wrap her head around this. "That means my friends-"

"Bait," Vicki said. "All of them. All the disappearances. A trick. All to get us caught. And I was stupid enough to fall for it."

"No. Vicki. That ain't true cause I saw Amber Scott's name on a list in Father's sanctum along with data for some kind of brain test—- he's abducting teenagers! We were right!"

"Abigail, don't you get it? It was all a lie! All of it! It's fake evidence!"

"What were we supposed to do?" Abby said. "Nothing?"

"We should have just stayed in our lanes," she whispered. "We need to start taking things seriously. And that starts with getting you on track."

"If we could just fix the recommissioning module," Abby negotiated.

"My decision is final."

"You can't make them suffer because of something I did!" Abby screamed. "It's not fair! You of all people should understand!"

"You think I should give you special treatment? Just because of how you feel? You don't think I know how hard this is for you? Of course, I do! We all do! You're not the only one in the TND who's lost people they care about!" She yelled, her eyes filling with bitter tears. "But you just couldn't let go, could you? You just had to try and have your cake and eat it too-"

"I just-"

"You thought you were saving them? No." Vicki's voice was cold. "You were trying to save yourself." She sighed. "You were never thinking about them, or their needs. If you were, you would have never brought them out here. Because of your carelessness, I have to be the bad guy in order to fix your mistake. How do you think that makes me feel? Or does that not matter to you?" She stood to her feet. "Loyalty is a two-way street, Abby. This isn't about feelings, it's about survival."

Abby fell into herself, listening to the words. She was sinking, like quick sand, deeper and deeper into despair.

"We have a temporary base on Neptune. I will give you until we arrive to decide where you stand. If you haven't made your decision by then," she got up and started walking toward the door. "Then maybe you shouldn't be here."

"Can I at least say goodbye?" she asked.

Vicki held the door handle, exhaling deeply from her chest. "I'm sorry, Abby. But the procedure is already underway. I'm sure by now, they're already gone."

"What the fuck is this bullshit?!" Wally screamed, now standing to his feet. "Abby doesn't get a punishment, but we get our brains fucked?!"

But Hoagie's eyes were wide with shock, locked on the floor. "No. This is her punishment."

Kuki trembled, not sure of what to do. "W-wally-"

"No!" Wally continued to berate. "Fuck this shit! Ain't you supposed to be the good guys?!"

Maurice didn't look up from his pad. "It's an unfortunate situation but-"

"Fuck you!" Wally shook his head. "You're an unfortunate situation!"

"Wally, stop!" Kuki intervened. She whispered softly to him. "I don't want that other guy to come back..."

"Guess it doesn't matter cause we're all gonna be DEAD SOON!" Wally griped.

"I already told you," Maurice corrected him. "You won't die. We don't kill people. You'll just be...incapacitated."

"That's fucking worse!"

"Maurice." Hoagie's voice was almost at a whisper. "You can't. This will kill her."

"It'll kill you!" Wally slammed back at him.

"Incapacitate."

"FUCK. OFF."

"I'll do it," Hoagie said, which startled Maurice. "I'm the one who knows the technology. I'm the one who figured out Abigail's secret. I'm the reason she's suffered all these years..." He woke up from his trance. "If you take all of us, she'll never forgive you. So scramble my brain and let Wally and Kuki go."

"Dude!"

"Hoagie..."

He wiped the blood from his lip with his shoulder as much as he could. "If it's punishment, that would be enough, right? You'd free them, wouldn't you? You'd have to."

"Unfortunately, it wouldn't," Maurice said before Wally had a chance to get another dig in. "This isn't just punishment. It's procedure. You have seen too much, and we can't afford another betrayal."

"But we wouldn't betray you," Kuki said.

"You say that, but..." Maurice's voice trailed off.

"So that's what this is about?!" Wally snapped. "You still don't fucking trust us? You think we're gonna run off to Father and tell him about you guys? You're such pricks!"

"It's not about-"

"Oh I know what it's about! We're Teenagers. We don't understand," He mocked as he exaggerated his words. "We're just dumb stupid people who used to be fucking members of the Kids Next Door! But no. We're no help at all. We'll just get in your way! You, the great Teens Next Door, are so much better than-"

Maurice reached down without a word, pulling out what looked to be a narrow pistol. Without hesitation, he stuck the barrel right at Kuki's head. His eyes were dark as the girl shriveled.

"H-Hey...What are you?" Wally stepped back.

"Choose," Maurice said coldly.

"Leave her alo-"

"Choose," He said again. This time he cocked the barrel. Kuki started to shake.

"Maurice," Hoagie said.

"When Father sticks a gun to her head and says choose between her life and your loyalty to the TND. What do you choose?" Maurice glared down at her.

"You're bluf-"

Bang! The gun went off, a ball of raw energy zapping through the air and hitting the wall, inches away from Kuki. "Choose!" Maurice shouted.

Wally stood there, his body sweating. He couldn't move or speak anymore. He watched Kuki's fear-filled face as she too was paralyzed. Sweat trickled down her neck as she stared at the barrel. Maurice brought the gun closer, right to her forehead, which made Wally flinch.

"I-I..." he tried. Of course he would save Kuki. Of course he would but-

The gun was taken away as Maurice stepped aside. "That's what I thought."

Wally fell down to his girlfriend's side, consoling her. But also repeating: "I'm sorry, Kuki. I'm so sorry."

"Being a soldier means you have to make a choice," Maurice said. "Your cause over everything else. Abby has to make that choice. I'm guaranteeing that she makes the right one."

"But then it's not a choice," Hoagie said, his voice still weak and small.

That made Maurice stop.

They knew he knew that.

He pulled out a walkie-talkie-like device. "They're ready."

The door burst open as the first brunette TND agent came in, with two other lackeys behind him. His face was lit up with excitement. "Time for your therapy, little rats." Wally and Kuki felt the fear returning to them just by looking at his face. Hoagie, however, just grimaced. "Now, let's see. Who first?" He scanned all three of their faces. "Eenie, meenie, miney...you." He grabbed Wally by the shirt, yanking him up. Hoagie and Kuki gasped.

"Hey! Watch the jacket!" Wally shouted.

"NO!" Kuki stood up and ran to save her boyfriend but was held back by another TND agent. "No! Let him go! Let him go you jerkface! Let. Him. Go!" But she was being dragged further away from him.

"Kuki!" He called to her.

"I'll kill you! You hear that? I'll fucking kill you! Get your fucking hands off of him! Don't you dare touch my Wallybear! I'll kill you!" She lodged her teeth into the agent's arm. He made a sound, but didn't let go. "I'll eat your fucking flesh! I'll feed it to my children! I'll tear you fuckers apart!" She said with her teeth still firmly on his arm. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Hey!" Wally managed to shout over her. "Don't I get a last request or somethin?!"

The room went silent. The brunette looked at Maurice, who gave a nod of approval.

"I just want a goddamn cigarette," Wally said.

The brunette soured, letting him go. He felt around Wally's pocket to see if he could find anything. Just as he was about to pull out the box, Wally smirked at him.

"You gonna stick it in my mouth, big boy?" he said.

The brunette gave Maurice an angry look, but Maurice shook his head. "Just un-cuff him, Barry."

The boy named Barry did this, grumbling. "You better not try anything."

"Can I roll a joint?"

"Maurice!" Barry was starting to get irritated.

"Let him do it," Maurice said.

Wally snarled. "It's the least you assholes can do..." He pulled out his little bag of alien pot and rolled the paper. With his lighter, which was inside his jacket pocket, he lit the joint, blowing the smoke in Barry's face. He stepped away from him, only to be yanked back.

"Hey!"

"I just wanna say goodbye to my girlfriend!" Wally snapped back. Barry released his jacket as Wally forcefully pulled his body away from the man. He made his way over to his two companions: one in shock, the other sobbing.

"Hey. Gilligan."

Hoagie lifted his head up just enough to see him. "Wally, I-" His voice was soft and light. "I'm so sorry. I-"

"Quit apologizin'," the punk interrupted. "You're always apologizin' for shit that ain't your fault. It's fucking annoying."

"I'm so-" Hoagie stopped. "Okay."

"And stop tryin' to throw yourself under the bus all the time," Wally continued. "Some of us actually wanna keep you around, you know."

The look Hoagie gave him in that moment, he had never seen anything like it. Shock, dismay, fear, pride, disbelief, and somewhere beneath it all, joy. Finally, he even smiled.

"Yeah, well," he said looking off to the side. "I've always been kind of an attention whore..."

"Nah," Wally bent down to his level. "You know what you are?" He put his hand into a fist, lightly pushing it across Hoagie's chin. "A big ol' hero sandwich." Hoagie was too stunned to laugh, and instead stared at his friend with wide, shining eyes.

Then, Wally stood, moving on to his final goodbye. The girl was inconsolable, her chest panting like a dog in the hot sun. Streams of tears flooded down her face. She wouldn't look up at him.

"Kuki."

She still wouldn't look up at him.

"Hey. It's okay," he comforted her, brushing her hair back and wiping her tears with his thumb. He took the joint out of his mouth and waved it in front of her. "Here. This'll help." She looked at him then, shaking her head, still unable to speak. "It will, I promise. Just go slow." Kuki opened her mouth and put her lips on the joint, sucking in as much as she could. She coughed, not used to the burning sensation. "Just one more..." Kuki repeated the process coughing even harder. "There we go..." Wally set down his weed, holding her face. Kuki calmed down, although she was still crying. "That's my brave little Kukiburra."

"W-Wally-"

"I know..." He said, continuing to wipe her tears. "But this ain't the end for us. It sucks that we were cut short this time around, but this ain't the end. You n' Me, we got a million other lifetimes to be together." He put his forehead to hers, cupping his hands behind her ears. "I love the shit out of you."

Kuki couldn't take it, she started to cry harder, burring her head into his chest. All Wally could do was stroke her head.

"Don't cry, little girl..." he said. He held her, holding back his own tears. "Don't cry."

A hand fell onto Wally's shoulder. He didn't have to say anything. Wally knew what it meant. He let go of his girl, picking up the joint and sticking it in his mouth.

"No!" Kuki screamed again, finding her voice. As Wally stood and was lead toward the door, she scrambled after him, but was held back by another agent. "No! Please! Don't take him! Don't take him..." He disappeared then, saying something, but she missed it. She didn't even say goodbye. She didn't say anything. She was left there as the door closed, leaving her alone in the room.

No. Not alone.

She ran to Hoagie, burrowing her head in his shoulder. She wailed and screamed and sobbed, unable to control herself.

Hoagie sighed. "I'm sorry, Kuki."

Maurice was standing outside the door, listening to the girl's cries which even permeated the thick metal walls. His ears curved, his head aching. He turned away from the door, following the others down the hall, knowing he couldn't listen to it anymore. The boy had stopped fighting and just held the joint in his mouth. Not looking back, not saying a word.

That was it. They won.

His stomach started to churn.

They won.

Abby hazily walked down the corridor to her cell. The door closed behind her. She didn't scream. She didn't cry. She just looked at it. It was metal, she noted. Grey. There were red lights shining above the frame. The whole room was grey. There were no windows. She looked up. The ceiling was high. There was a buzzing coming from above her. The floor shook slightly. It was the engine. She looked down at her arms. They had been kind enough to let her be cuffed in front of her rather than in back. She could do things like make the small bed in the corner. Take off her shoes if she wanted. But they were heavy. The weight of them pushed down on her. That was okay. She wasn't going anywhere. The walls were soundproof. Not that there was anything to listen for. The cuffs were heavy, she noted again. So heavy...

Falling to her knees, she let them take her to the floor. It was cold, which felt good. The bathroom floor, cool tile, this time metal. She still had her hat. She still had her hat. She still had...Her head hit the floor. Lying there, each second felt like an eternity. Thoughtless. Why even have thoughts? There was no place for thoughts here. Just the floor. Abby. Her hat. The floor. The door-

The door opened.

Someone entered.

She didn't see who it was.

The door didn't close.

Air rushed into her writs as her cuffs snapped open. She didn't look at them.

"Come on," a voice said. "I'm getting you out of here."

She knew the voice. As the figure came down to reach for her, she flew over it, knocking it to the floor. She slammed his shoulders down, her elbow right on the neck. Maurice's struggling face finally came into her view.

"I don't want your help," she growled at him. "Why the fuck do you think I would ever want your help!"

"Ab-" But Maurice couldn't speak. He tried to push her off, but she was too strong for him.

"Why should I go anywhere with you?" Her voice got louder. "Why shouldn't I just break every single bone in your body? Why shouldn't I fuck you up so hard people don't even recognize your fuckin' face, huh! You liar! You cheater! You asshole! They were innocent!" She panted. "And you..."

"You d-"

"No! You don't get to save me!" The elbow went deeper. "You don't get to feel better about yourself! You horse shit! You shitbag! You fucking piece of garbage trash! Get out!" Wham! Her elbow smacked him across the face. "Get out!"

"Abby!"

"Get out!"

"Abby, stop!" a girl's voice shouted. Two arms wrapped themselves around Abby's waist. "He's on our side! He helped us escape!"

Abby sat back. The red in her eyes starting to fade. She turned around to see a pair of squinty brown eyes smiling back at her.

"Kuki..."

"Oh, Abby!" She exclaimed, glomping her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Kuki," a strong male voice with an Australian accent shouted into the cell. "You can do that later. We gotta go!"

Abby turned to Maurice, who was sitting up, rubbing his neck. "Your ship is on the landing bay. I can get you there, but that's all I can do," he said.

"Maurice."

"Abby. Come on. We have a short window," he said, not looking at her. "Can't waste any time."

Kuki helped Abby to her feet.

"How are we looking?" Maurice called into the hall.

"Coast is clear," a third voice, further away said.

"Alright. Let's move."

Their spaceship was on the other side of the TND's ship. Maurice's espionage skills were able to get them around most of the guards, and the ones they did encounter were taken out easily and without causing a scene. It was dark in the hallways they took, but once they reached the landing bay, the bright luminescent ceiling flashed into their eyes. Wally and Kuki were the fastest, so they arrived at the ship first. Once they were there, though, word had gotten out and more soldiers were on their way down.

"I'll hold them off," Maurice said. "But I won't be able to do much."

Abby turned to him. "Come with us."

He sighed. "Abby, I can't."

"Sure you can," she said. "You can't stay here."

"Abby, listen," he said sternly. "I still don't approve of what you're doing. I can't condone it. And I don't think saving them was the right thing to do either but-"

They were your friends too. Or did you forget that?

"But they also aren't our responsibility. I don't like treason, Abby. But I also can't sit by and watch innocent people get hurt, not when we are the ones trying to save them."

Abby smiled. "That's why you're still the best," she said. She grabbed his face, kissing him square on the lips. Pulling away, she beamed. "You won't regret this."

But Maurice wasn't looking at her anymore. "I already do," he said under his breath. Abby turned to see where he was looking, a very flustered Hoagie stood, mouth agape with flushed cheeks.

"Ah!" He reacted when he noticed them look back. "I-I-I-I wasn't. I mean, Sorry, I didn't mean to, phew is it that time already? You guys just keep doin' what you're doin'-" He turned around, starting to leave.

"Hoagie!" He froze. A strong hand spun him back around. "What the hell happened to your face?"

"Oh, that," Hoagie said weakly. "Well, you know how these parties go. Some guy is always offering punch."

Abby scowled, pulling his face to the side to get a better look. "Tch. Jeez. You can't go five minutes without gettin' in trouble, can you?" She lifted his hat off his head, throwing it back on forcefully.

Maurice slipped his hands in his pockets, starting to walk away.

"Maurice!" Hoagie noticed him go.

"Maurice!" Abby called, taking a few steps after him.

He turned to her one last time and smiled. "That hat looks good on you," he said. Abby blushed. And with that, he disappeared.

"M-Maurice! Wait! I-" Hoagie called, running next to Abby. He exhaled, realizing he had missed his chance, and stopped. "I wanted to thank him for saving us." He looked at Abby, who was looking wistfully off at him. Panicked, he started to stammer. "A-A-Abigail! I...I'm sorry I totally interrupted your moment! I just wanted to say thank you to Maurice I didn't realize you were...I mean...I thought, but...Please don't be-"

"Hoagie, relax," Abby said, turning to him. "There'll be other moments."

"A-are you sure?"

"Hey!" Wally called from the ship. "What are you yakin' about? We gotta go!"

"You heard him," Abby grabbed Hoagie's arm, dragging him back to the ship. "Let's go, Blabbermouth."

But when they got to the door, she noticed Hoagie continue to look back. "You think he'll be okay?"

Abby smiled. "You kiddin'? That's the greatest Kids Next Door operative who ever lived." She let go of his arm. "He'll be just fine." Suddenly, her face soured as she looked back at him. "You on the other hand..." she sneered, poking his nose with her finger.

"What did I do?!"

She groaned, walking away from him. "Just put some ice on it."

The S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T. was located right outside the planet's atmosphere, monitored by what looked to be a satellite. Because their ship was small, they were able to get a significant head-start on the TND, sailing through the portal with ease. However, there was still a profound sense of relief amongst the crew as they drifted into the vast emptiness of space.

Wally pursed his lips, confused. "Hey. Where's the G:KND? Ain't there supposed'ta be some kinda building at least?"

"Maybe it's hidden," Kuki suggested.

But Abby stared at them incredulously. "You think I took the ship exactly where they thought I was gonna take the ship? Are you crazy?"

"So...we're not in the center of the Universe?" Wally continued to assemble.

"No, Fool," Abby said. "We're about one hundred and twenty hours away. I think..."

"They could possibly be waiting there when we arrive though," Hoagie said. "Are you sure you want to keep heading that direction?"

"We'll hide out here," Abby decided. "If they're gonna guard the base, there ain't nothin' we can do about it. But it's unlikely they would." She leaned back in her captain's chair. "The whole reason we're out here alone is cause they're afraid of bein' discovered. They would have tried to chase us out or capture the ship, but they wouldn't risk gettin this close and bein' taken by the G:KND. So we're safe...for now."

Kuki sighed. "Oh man. I thought we were gonners for sure!"

"I feel like I've been sayin' that a lot since we started this mission," Wally admitted.

"I'm gonna put it on autopilot to the destination," Abby said as she fiddled with the controls.

"And the recommissioning module is still where I left it," Hoagie said. "Except Henrietta ran off with the Spice, right?"

Abby lowered her head in response.

"So getting it fixed before we reach Nigel is probably out of the question. Now that they're actually on our tail." He sighed again. "Damn. I really thought we had something there."

"Spice?" Wally asked. "You mean this Spice?" Wally threw a bag up in the air as it landed in Abby's hand.

She shot up. "Wh-what? Wally! How did you-?"

"Like I'd trust a candy hunter to give us a fair cut!" He exclaimed. "I clipped that right off the top and she didn't even notice! You're welcome!"

Abby's jaw hit the floor. "But how did you get it past the TND?!"

Wally wore a wicked grin. "Oh. You don't wanna know."

Abby looked down at the bag, which was small. Small enough for... She dropped it onto the floor, wiping her fingers on her palms in disgust.

"It's not a lot, but you think you could make it work, Dexter?" Wally asked.

Hoagie pushed up his goggles by force of habit. "Worth a shot."

"Alright, Wally! You're a hero!" Kuki cried, giving her boyfriend a hug. He picked her up, an even more lecherous expression appearing.

Abby left the captain's chair, stretching. "Abby's beat," she said. "I'm gonna go lie down for a bit."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hoagie said. "What if-"

"You were gonna put some ice on that face of yours," Abby cut him off. "Hop to it, Bunny Rabbit." She waved her hand in a shooing gesture. She disappeared down the hallway.

Kuki started giggling uncontrollably as Wally growled evilly in her ear. "You don't wanna know the things I'm gonna do to you..."

Hoagie frowned. "I also do not want to know, thank you."

But Wally flipped Kuki over his back, laughing maniacally. "Don't wait up for us! We may never see the light of day again! Muahahaha!" Kuki play-screamed, laughing as they also escaped the room, the opposite direction of Abby.

"Hey! Don't forget to use con-" They were gone. "-doms." Hoagie rolled his eyes. "That'd be really con-dumb." He giggled to himself for a minute before quickly silencing. He sighed. "See, Hoagie? This is why you're alone," mocked himself. The Cinnamon had fallen beneath the chair. He winced, picking it up delicately from the side of the bag. "This is my life now," he continued to talk to himself. He gingerly brought his nose to the bag, barely taking a whiff. Immediately, he held it as far away as he could. "Ugh. Yep. That's disgusting." He supposed he should put it in a different container. There had to be something around here. With that, he exited the room to go to the kitchen.

You said you wanted to live. That was your mistake.

This is what you get.

Never had there been a quieter day. Though, it couldn't exactly be called a day by conventional standards. No sun rose or set. There was no turn of the axis, no counting of the moments. No day, and no night. There was simply the black continuation of the Universe. In the vastness of space, silence was all too common, but this silence was different. The emptiness filled the metal corridors, cool with the crisp over-oxygenated air. There was no explosion of celebration, no cry of relief. It was as though the events of the previous few hours had never transpired. Abby was glad. She knew that the silence meant that nothing was happening, that the screams had ended, that everything was going to be okay. She didn't have time to be bothered by it. For the first time in a while, she pulled out a magazine and began flipping through the pages. It was the only one salvaged from the many attacks. Her feet were propped up by the window, her mind subdued. She wasn't thinking about Maurice or the TND. Somehow, the overwhelming nothingness had taken hold of her. She felt nothing. She said nothing. And the nothing was a comfort to her.

That is, until she heard a swift knock at the door.

The door slid open as Hoagie, shrunk into his large body like a turtle, poked his head inside. Abby didn't look up at him. They had become so accustomed to each other by this point, she didn't have to look to know when he was around. It was the way he walked, light and with a slide across the floor, as though worried his giant feet would shake the earth if he pressed on them too daringly. His breathing was sparse and frail.

"Abigail?" he called quietly. Again, she did not acknowledge him with more than a nod. "I thought you should know that I found a container for the Spice," he said. "Since the other one was...gross."

"Good."

Hoagie's expression started to dissipate, but he bit his tongue and widened his grin. "Okay good. Cool." There was more silence as Hoagie hovered by the door. He didn't do or say anything. Eventually, he started to slip out. "Yep," he whispered.

"You can come in."

Hoagie froze. "N-no. I don't...I mean, this is your room."

It was, technically, Abby realized. "I won't bite you."

Hoagie stepped further inside, hesitantly figuring out where to sit, or if to stand, maybe lean against the wall? Abby listened as he fidgeted around. She moved her feet without a word, offering him a spot at the end of the bed. Her eyes were still glued to her magazine. Hoagie sat, holding the plastic container with the spice in his hands.

"Are you...okay?"

"Of course," she said. Her bluntness must have thrown him off, because he was quiet for a long time.

"It's just after what happened-"

"I'm fine." She flipped the page.

"Are you sure?"

"This sort of stuff happens all the time. You gotta be prepared for the worst when you're goin' against authority."

"Oh. Okay," he didn't really have much he could say to that. "I really think the Cinnamon will help a lot," he started. "Even if I can't actually fix the recommissioning module in time, we might be able to find a temporary solution. It won't be perfect but..." He sighed. "I don't think we can afford to wait much longer. Who knows if Earth is even still there..."

"It's still there." Flip. "If they wanted to blow it up, they would'a just done it."

"Oh." Hoagie brushed his bangs back in a feminine manner. "Well, anyway, I'm actually kind of hopeful this time."

"Be careful."

Hoagie blinked.

"Stuff'll mess you up."

Hoagie jeered. "Psh. When am I not careful?" Abby didn't react. He looked out the window.

They sat there, not saying anything. The quiet had returned, but it was different now that Hoagie was there. His breathing made it impossible for it to be silent. Abby thumbed through the pages of her magazine. Hoagie inhaled, which was how Abby knew he was going to speak again. He always took a breath ten seconds before he spoke if he wanted to make a comment. What he said, though, surprised her.

"Did you know galaxies eat each other?"

Abby looked at him for the first time. His auburn hair was tussled beneath his hat, a pair of thick black glasses only holding a slight sheen over his eyes. She hadn't really looked at him since that night at the club, and even then, it was too dark to really see. Those eyes. Were they always so big?

"What?"

"Yeah. It's totally true. Like..." He gestured toward the window which was masked with stars. "The gravitational pull of one solar system or galaxy sometimes clashes with another one and they get sucked into each other. Smaller galaxies are eaten by larger ones and get absorbed into their own gravity until they become one bigger galaxy. If they're the same size, they can kind of feed into each other." He demonstrated with his hands. "They circle each other like they're in a dance or ritual so it's like they're in some sort of tango. But it takes tens of millions of years to do this. I think it's kinda romantic..." he sat back.

"Romantic?"

Hoagie blushed. "N-not romantic, romantic! Like...poetic. Even on a cosmic level, we're still trying to eat each other. Which is nuts, huh?"

Abby finally smiled genuinely. "Is that supposed to be a metaphor for somethin'?"

"Huh?" Hoagie's cheeks turned pinker than usual. "No. I just thought it was cool."

Abby closed her magazine, looking out her window. "Yeah. It is cool."

"You know what else?" Hoagie said, starting to get excited.

Abby shook her head, unable to stop the grin that was broadening on her face. "Hmm?"

"From where we're sitting, most of the stars we see right now aren't actually single stars, but many star systems. They look like single specs of light, but they're not. They're more like clusters."

Abby tilted her head slightly. "Really?" Her eyes gazed out into the void. "Huh."

It was quiet for a long time. She was surprised. Usually Hoagie tried to fill the conversations with needless chatter, but they had gone almost two full minutes without saying anything to each other.

"Hey, Hoagie..." Abby said.

The boy seemed surprised that she said anything at all.

"What do you wanna do with your life?" She didn't look at him but continued staring out the window.

Hoagie was puzzled. "I, uh," he blew out some air. "That's-"

"You don't have to answer. I was just wonderin'."

He thought about this before starting to answer. "I mean," he tried. "Even before everything my options were pretty limited. It wasn't like I could just go off and do whatever I wanted. Between Tommy, and our finances...my grades," he emphasized the last part jokingly.

Abby smirked. "Oh, sure."

Hoagie's shoulders lifted as he inhaled deeply. "So yeah, I don't know. I was still trying to figure that out."

"If you could do anything," she asked more specifically. "Anything in the world. Totally free. What would you do?"

"Oh, that's easy, I would-" He stopped, rubbing his neck. A guilty smile appeared on his face as he looked down at his knees. "Uh...it's kind of boring but-"

Abby nudged him with her foot. "This is a dream, Boy. Don't be givin' me boring answers."

He chuckled. "Okay." He looked up this time. "I would learn to fly, hop on a plane, and never come back." He waited for some kind of response, but it didn't come. "I'd only come down to refuel and to go places where nobody knew who I was. I would stay just long enough to get a sense of the area, then take off again. That would be my life. That. Forever."

"Alone?"

His body twitched. He eyed Abby, who eyed him back, hugging her legs. She was listening, intently. "Well, yeah. That was always..." His nose flared as he looked into her curious eyes. He grinned. "Well, I'd meet a beautiful woman along the way. Obviously." He went on cockily. "And we would go on adventures together and fight Pirates and Neo-Nazis. She'd be like a doctor or a mercenary, or maybe even a warrior princess from an undiscovered kingdom."

Abby rested her chin on her knees, her hair falling around her ears as she listened. Her smile and gentle eyes followed his gestures. "Neo-Nazis..." She teased him.

"The new generation of Nazi-vampire-zombies, Abby. Duh."

"Oh, of course."

"For real, though? I'll probably join the Air Force like my Dad. But in dreams you get to be independently wealthy."

Abby laughed, looking down. "Still. That sounds nice." She scooted herself around, moving to the edge of the bed. Her legs tucked beneath the frame as she gripped the mattress. "I should probably start thinking about...what I wanna do now." Hoagie's cheeks dropped. "It's weird. I had my entire life planned out, every detail since I was five years old. My sister was in the Kids Next Door, and so was the guy I was in love with. So, to me it was obvious. Amazing how much life changes."

His brows lifted. "The guy you were in love with?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "Don't get excited." Her eyes danced nostalgically. "I followed the path I thought I was supposed to take. I devoted every waking moment I had to it. And then the opportunities kept comin' so I kept goin'. I never saw myself as anything apart from that. So, I don't know what I'm gonna do, now that I..." She couldn't finish her sentence. "But flyin' around the world...that ain't a bad start."

"Abby. I'm-"

"It's a nice dream," she told him. "Thanks for sharin' it."

They sat in silence again.

"Hey. Check it out." She looked up as Hoagie held up the container. Carefully, he placed it on top of his head and grinned like a Cheshire cat. Abby just watched in confusion. "I'm a Cinnamon roll!"

It took a while before the joke settled in her mind. Her lips began to tremble, he nose flaring as the air in her lungs tightened. She couldn't hold it in any longer as she puffed out all of her air, quickly inhaling as she started to giggle. Her giggle turned into a chortle as she leaned over her legs, trying to keep herself together. Hoagie smiled at her with a mix of joy and concern. Abby clutched her stomach, which was twisting. Her guffaws got bigger and bigger, her body forgetting how to breathe. After quite a few seconds of this, she finally was able to spew out words. "Oh. My. God. That was...the worst..." She shook her head. "The worst joke you ever made...like ever..."

"Hey." Hoagie pouted but she kept laughing. "Come on. The worst one?"

But Abby didn't hear him. "Oh man." She howled. "That was bad, Numbuh 2...worse than that bunny joke..." She slapped her hand against her forehead. "So lame...you're so..." Her hands moved from her face, clutching her legs. Her lungs were about to burst. She leaned over herself again. The sides of her mouth hurt from the smiling. They started to flinch, but her laughing didn't stop. Her eyes blurred, something wet and sticky accumulating in them. Her throat snapped shut, only opening for breath every ten seconds or so. She pushed out the last few laughs she had in her, the corners of her lips twitching. Before she knew it, she couldn't see out of her eyes anymore. Everything was a blurry mess. Hot salty tears were streaming down her face, but she couldn't register that she wasn't laughing anymore. Her hands shook, squeezing her legs, her shoulders caving in on her body as though they would protect her. She couldn't stop.

Suddenly, she realized what was happening. She tried to wipe her tears away, frantically rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. The tears kept flowing. She turned away from him. They still wouldn't stop. Finally, she stood to her feet.

She only took one step before a hand gently grabbed hers. It was so big that it almost engulfed her fingers. Hoagie was half standing, half sitting. With care, he ushered her back down onto the bed. Abby didn't look at him the whole time. Her hands slammed themselves over her eyes, holding them, hiding them. However, they were tenderly taken away and set down on her lap.

Abby's knees buckled as everything fell on top of her. Her strong face melted instantly. She sniffled, feeling the tears coming on again. She didn't try to stop them. There was no point.

"I'll, uh..." Hoagie stammered. "I can leave if you'd rather be alone."

Two desperate hands reached forward, grabbing his shirt and pulling as hard as they could. Abby stuffed her face into his chest, feeling the stiff rise and fall of it. His body was rigid, unsure of what to do. Snot ran down from her nose, the mucus stinging her eyes. She opened her mouth wide, as though gasping for breath would give her more air, but when she gasped, she just choked out more sobs. Her hands tightened, unable to find the release. Then finally, a barreling scream flew out of her throat. It was followed by more silence, but she continued the scream even then. This repeated until her throat grew sore. Each one vomited out of her uncontrollably, her stomach lurching and twisting as it became one with her lungs. She cried into him like a pillow, grabbing tighter and tighter. The tighter she gripped, the more she felt him slip out of her fingers. Though her hands were calloused and rough, in her mind they were weak and delicate. She kept repositioning them, trying to find her grip.

Hoagie hesitantly put his hands on her shoulders. He couldn't say it was okay, because it wasn't. He couldn't say it was going to be okay, because there was no way to know. So he didn't say anything. Abby slipped further and further down, burying her face deeper.

Every once in a while, she stopped crying and found herself smiling, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the moment. But that warmth was followed by stinging reality, the brevity of mortality, and the fact that those warm hands could become cold. That stiff body could grow limp. That rising heartbeat could dim to nothing. The silence of space settled into her mind. Lightyears of emptiness, filled with light and matter, but no breathing. When she thought about that, she couldn't stop herself from falling apart all over again.

Hoagie didn't speak. He didn't move. He finally understood.

He was a jerk.

He let her cry, watching as she broke down and built back up over and over again, and yet he couldn't say anything. What could he do? He knew more than anyone what it was like to have your entire world shattered in a single moment. It happened when his father died. It happened when they took Tommy. His eyes caught onto the plastic container.

What could he do?

When Abby finally stopped crying, she didn't pull away from him. He didn't pull away from her. A quiet resolve passed over her.

Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. walked straight into his room, the container of Cinnamon Spice in hand, shutting the door behind him.

And 72 hours later, still had not come out.

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END PART TWO