Chapter Summary: Abby reflects on her life, her decisions, and her true feelings

Now Loading...

Code: [RESTRICTED]

Operation: M.E.M.O.R.I.E.S. (Part Two)

Many

Emotional

Moments

Originate

Right

In

Everyone's

Subconscious

Written by OfficiallyWrong with properties owned by

Tom Warburton and Cartoon Network

Episode 22

*Possible trigger warning*

RESUMING TRANSMISSION...

Abby sauntered out to the field, her mind in a haze. Maurice had done it. He broke up with Cree. She couldn't believe he had done that. She held the straps of her backpack. Softball practice. She had to keep her mind active. As she passed the bleachers she heard someone shout to her. Turning to see who it was, she was shocked.

"Hey you!"

Abby flushed.

"You one of those TEENZ pricks?"

She tried to keep her face straight. "Yeah, what of it?"

The person calling for her attention bore their teeth. "You got a lotta fucking nerve."

"You forgot this, didn't you?" Abby said, as though she wasn't listening to him at all. "Numbuh 4, you have the worst memory."

"Hey! Are you listenin' to me!" A young fifteen-year-old Wally shouted. His bowl-cut and track jersey were stained by the grass. "I know what you jackasses did to my girlfriend!" He picked something out of his pocket, slamming it to the ground. His tennis shoes smashed the object. "You think you're so cool. Well I got news for you. I ain't never, ever, gonna join you. Not in a million years. And you're gonna wish you ain't had the nerve to mess with Kuki. Cause if you mess with my girlfriend, you mess with me. Got that?"

Abby looked at him with dull eyes. Her brow lifted prudishly. "And what makes you think the TEENZ want you so badly they'd care?"

Wally flushed this time.

Abby flipped her hair and continued walking.

"Yeah?" He stammered. "W-well...who needs ya!"

And that's three, she thought. But the sting was there.

Please, let Wally and Kuki stay together.

Please.

Please don't let all of this be a waste.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm telling you it has never failed."

"But...it's so..."

"Trust me. No one will know it's us."

"That ain't the issue."

"She's tough. She'll be fine."

"Abby will not be fine."

"I know these girls, okay. They're horrible. They play into every self-entitled stereotype there is."

"But Kuki ain't like that. She'll never be like that."

"Which is why if we don't get her away from them, they'll just devour her. Trust me, Abby. I've seen it before."

"But I don't want to do this. There've gotta be nice popular teenagers that ain't in the TND."

"Sure there are, but these aren't just teenagers. They're TEENZ. They manipulate people into their cult of popularity and destroy their self-esteem, their individuality. You have to stop thinking about the individuals and start thinking of this like a system."

"You don't gotta tell me about broken systems."

"Clearly. So you get it."

"Feels like a band-aid on a problem."

"We are basically the NSAID of Children's Rights."

"NS-what?"

"Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug."

"We're the Tylenol?"

"Exactly."

"...or the placebo."

"We do real work. We just have more preventative measures. The older you get, the more over-the-counter you become."

"That's disturbing."

"That's the job."

"And you're sure it'll work?"

"I've never seen it not work."

"...okay let's go. Before I talk myself out of it."

"If she remembered you, she would thank you."

"Would she?"

"There's this saying I know...about how you have to let go of things that are bad for you to make way for the good? This will just reveal to her what's already true. That she deserves to have good friends, not vampires."

"That sucks. I can't let go of nothin'." She chuckled to herself. "Sucks. Numbuh 2 would die."

"Okay, you know I like you, Abby, so I'm going to be very honest. You need to stop thinking about Numbuh 2. The more you think about it, the crazier you'll become."

"You say that like this won't make me crazy."

"This one is assurance. After this, you'll never have to offend again. It's one time. In and out. A couple of tears, some guilt, but it'll pass."

"It'll pass, huh?"

"Coast is clear. You ready?"

"...Ready."

Abby and Vicki looked at each other. Rag in one hand, paint can in the other. Ready and willing to ruin an innocent girl's life, for the purpose of saving her soul.

...

The hallway was bare, almost grey in color. It was too quiet for comfort, although she was just there early in the morning to check her morning routine. She walked into the office, the woman at the front desk smiling at her.

"Mornin' Melissa," she said. "Here's your attendance sheets."

"Why thank you, Abigail. You are so kind to print them out for me every morning." She took the papers. Abby liked Melissa, she was like if honey were a person. Short with a pixie blonde hair cut and apple cheeks, who loved every student of that school. Melissa's life-long dream was to be a secretary, after being a stay at home mom for most of her adult life. The simplicity of that dream always made Abby smile. "You're going to be a great student body president."

Abby blushed. "I dunno about that."

"Oh, I know it. I can feel it in my bones," she said. She went to file the sheets. "Huh, that's odd."

"Somethin' the matter?"

"There must be a repeat name in there somewhere," she said. "You printed 1,456 names instead of 1,455."

Abby's skin grew cold. "Melissa, it's always been 1,456. Unless someone transferred out."

"Well, dear. I'm sorry. I must have given you the wrong information. Or someone must have." She looked through. "You don't have to print another I'll find the duplicate."

"N-no, that's okay..."

"Oh, actually," she said, handing her another pile of papers. "I always keep an updated master copy in my desk. 1,455. Be sure to use that to make your next copy."

Abby swallowed. "Can I look at this?"

"Of course, dear."

Abby exhaled, flipping forward the pages. Only one was different. Only one...

And she knew exactly which one.

Sure enough, when she went to find his name in the master list, it wasn't there. She checked for the others, all accounted for.

But his was gone.

"Melissa, I need you to check something for me," Abby's voice trembled. She could feel her body crystalizing.

She gave her his name, and felt needles pricking her as she typed each of the letters in the computer.

"I'm sorry, Abigail. No one by that name has ever attended this school, or any school in this district." She chortled. "Someone must be playing a prank on you. You kids and your practical jokes. It certainly sounds like a fake name, doesn't it?"

But Abby was trembling. Her body clammy, her heart pounding.

"Sweetie?" Melissa stood. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost. Maybe we should call the nurse."

"Will you excuse me for a moment," she could barely speak as she sprinted down the hall. A hall. B hall. C hall. D—she halted. She could already see what she was praying she wouldn't see. A locker half opened, swinging. Abby walked toward it, feeling the world blur around her. The lock was taken off.

She swung the locker door open, standing back in horror as she saw nothing inside, the metal disinfected, as though nothing had touched it since the beginning of the year. Her shaking hand stroked the inside.

No.

No...

"Looking for something?"

...

Abby shot up out of bed in a cold sweat. She could feel herself audibly gasp as the image of the hallway dissipated. Not only had she stood up, but she had walked across the room in her desperation to get out of that space, that nightmare. Those files...those files were... she shook her head. She couldn't get them out of her mind. Of course, it was just a dream. She tore off her silk head-scarf and pressed her face into it. The air was cold around her, but she felt hot. Her legs stumbled into the bathroom, running the icy water all over her body. Before she could tell what was happening, her body carried her away from the sink to the toilet. Her breathing was labored, as though something was sitting on her chest. However, that didn't stop her dinner from coming right out into the pot. The sweat, the puke, the growing tears, it was all the same to her at this point. She coughed into the toilet, hearing the sound echoing around her.

"Abby?" a voice called from the hall.

Cree's voice. Cree who was home for spring break.

"Abby..." her sister ran to her side, pulling up her hair. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Abby looked up. "Nothin' I just feel sick is all."

Cree put a hand on her head. "You're burning up."

"I'm fine."

"Let's get you back to bed."

Cree took her in her arms and carried her to the room, lying her back down. She was talking to her, asking her questions, but Abby couldn't do anything but stare out the window. Her sister's warm loving hands made her feel sicker. Cree was in college now. Did she know about any of this? Was she a participant? Abby's stomach lurched. She didn't feel safe. Not in her home, not in her mind...there was only one place in the world where she still felt peace.

Abby hopped down, her shoes crushing the browning grass. It was the middle of the day, but no one was around that she could see. Even if they could, the black hood over her hair and matching sweat pants disguised her perfectly. She could easily escape if someone called the cops, though she knew she wasn't technically allowed in that area anymore. She brushed herself off, looking up at the massive tree. It was the most beautiful thing in the neighborhood, and most people drove past it without a second thought. Some technological reason kept Adults from seeing it, or maybe it was some kind of weird magic. She never knew anymore. The sun glinted through the leaves, peeking through a darkening sky. Even though it wasn't as big as it used to be, it still made her feel small.

"Well!" a voice called, and Abby prepared to run. "I finally caught you! Come to burgle me, have you?"

"Oh, no...I..." She tried to hide her face from the encroaching man. "I was just..."

"Well now. A lady burglar!" he was almost excited. "A very young lady burglar at that!"

"Please, Sir. I wasn't gonna take anything I was...I'm sorry I trespassed into your Yard, Mr. Uno—"

The man crossed his very large arms and puffed up his chest. He looked her up and down. "Is that supposed to be a weapon?" he asked, looking at her S.P.I.C.E.R. "It looks like a toy. Oh! My! You must be playing a game of some sort!"

"Yes!" Abby drew a sigh of relief. "Yeah, me and my teammates we was playin' and I went to hide in your treehouse."

"Treehouse?" The man looked at his house. "What treehouse?"

"I mean the, uh...on the roof?"

"Well, you should have said!" He grinned so brightly it was blinding. "Come, come! If you want a break, I have lemonade and cookies inside. Shouldn't go playing on people's roofs, my dear. You could fall right off!"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sir. I should probably go."

"Oh, but sure it is! We've got to have friendly neighbors, or else what kind of place are we, hmm? You don't have to worry my wife is here and she'll make sure I don't come on too strong like my morning cuppa." He chortled.

It was a bad idea, but the warmness of his smile made Abby feel a peace she had forgotten was possible. "Thank you, Mr. Uno."

"Now, now. Call me Monty."

Abby twitched. "Thank you, Monty."

"Abigail?"

Abby looked up from the piles of papers to see Vicki's bright red hair haloed beneath the dim light.

"I thought that was you." She picked up one of the folders on the desk. "Little late to be working. Won't your parents be worried?"

"I told my folks I was studyin' at the library," Abby told her, not stopping her work to converse.

"Abby the library is closed. It's almost midnight." She sat down. "You know, if Toby is running you around doing errands you don't have to take it."

Abby shook her head. "Personal research."

"On what?" Abby didn't reply. She was still trying to figure out what exactly it was she was looking for. "Now's not exactly a great time to start new projects. We've got Homecoming to deal with it's only a month away."

"Vicki, have you looked at this?" She handed her two seemingly identical pamphlets.

"What is it?"

"Rebecca, the archivist here, she said that there are two versions of that brochure. One was reprinted without one of the names. And that no one's ever heard'a this person, that they don't even exist. Or maybe they did exist and somehow everyone forgot."

"Abby—"

"I know what you're gonna say, but listen," She opened another file. "There's a spark of increased activity in the TEENZ technological sector in late May and June. Amber Scott, the girl who went missing, she got first place for her research on termites. What shows up later in the TEENZ artillery arsenal?"

"Abby, it's a hoax. The TEENZ do this. They plant fake evidence to lead us down rabbit holes and snuff out the double agents. That's why we have experts select missions for us. They've verified them. That's why we've never been caught."

"What if it isn't a hoax?" Abby rebutted. "What if those Teenagers are really goin' missin' and what if they're tryin'a cover it up?" She shut the file. "The Prom is the decoy, it's the biggest event of the year. It's overshadowing the science fair, that's where the real strike is gonna happen!"

"Even if that were true, where would they take them where our agents wouldn't know about it?"

"The camps."

"Those are just rumors."

"But it'd make sense, wouldn't it?" Vicki didn't have much to say to that. "Vicki, Numbuh 2 is gonna compete in that science fair. He could be in danger. We gotta stop it somehow."

"We can't stop the science fair. It'd draw too much attention."

"We can't sit around and do nothing."

Vicki sighed, pulling up the chair next to Abby's. "Look, I know how hard this has been for you. Especially because of...what we're about to do." She thumbed her fingers together. "I know you had a fight with Nigel. Again."

Abby looked at her sternly. "Who told you that?"

"Maurice did."

"Maurice needs to mind his own business."

"He's your sponsor, Abby. It's his job to protect you."

She huffed.

"Severing ties is never easy. But going after false leads just to feel close to them again..."

"That's not—"

"Abby you can't do anything. You'll compromise your cover."

That made Abby stop.

"You can't keep feeling guilty over something you didn't have any control over. The system sucks, but it protects us."

"Vicki if I do nothing and something happens to him..."

Vicki pinched her nose.

"He'll win, Vicki. You know he will. The things he makes..."

"He hasn't been the same since decommissioning. I don't think—"

"You think you can make a genius not a genius no more just by changing their memories?" Abby griped. "That boy's got the mind to build the next super weapon and you wanna just hand that on over to the Adults."

"That is not what I'm saying—"

"I am not gonna let him get hurt again!"

Vicki was quiet for a minute.

"So make sure he doesn't compete," Vicki finally said. "Sabotage is in your jurisdiction as a Freshman field agent."

Abby was stunned. "I couldn't—"

"Abigail. If what you are saying is true, then it isn't enough to stop the science fair. They'll be sniffing around every corner, in grades, school projects, all of it. If you make a case, you can have someone assigned to the kid and make sure he doesn't draw any unnecessary attention to himself. That's the only way you're going to win this without blowing our operation wide open."

"I'll find another way."

"I don't think there is one." Vicki looked at the files. "You'll have to open a case with the PuzzleTown Base."

Abby thought for a moment. "I don't want no one else on this."

"Abby, this is a full-time job. You're a field agent. You don't have time."

"I'll make time."

"He's not your responsibility."

Abby stood. "He's my friend," she said. She began to whisper so Vicki couldn't hear. "Punk-ass nerd owes me a quarter."

Abby's hand could not dig any deeper into her cheek. Her toes pressed into the tile floor as her heels moved up and down. Her eyes became blurry as the world went in and out of focus. The blonde girl in front of her was rambling on and on about something. This was her job now. Listening to rich white women talk about shallow things of very little interest to her. She knew she should be paying attention, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had worked her way into the position where she could sit at the table with what the TND called the "A" group, the most elite group of underclassmen popular girls in the school. It took a ton of kissing ass, but she finally did it. And they were, without a doubt, the worst people Abby had ever met.

"I just have so much anxiety, like, she doesn't even know. Nobody understands me. Like...I just am so overwhelmed I need medication."

"You have it so hard."

"It's like those massages make me function, you know?"

"Totally."

"Two a week just isn't enough!"

For the kids, she told herself. Do it for the kids.

She reached into her lunch box, her only saving grace. She pulled out a cupcake and started to unwrap it. What she was not expecting, was that the minute she did this, the girl in front of her ceased her chatter and let out a high-pitched yelp.

"Abby! Eww! What is that?"

Abby sat up. "It's...my lunch?"

"Do you know how many calories that is?!" The girl squealed. "Like...a zillion."

"Actually, it's a hundred eighty-" Abby started to correct her, but Vicki nudged her in warning.

"Abby." The girl leaned over, her perky white b-cups slipping down and out of her lace camisole. "I'm saying this for your own good, okay. Stuff like that can kill you. Or worse."

"It's just a cupcake..." Abby said as she slowly began to close the box. But the blonde girl took it and opened it up, dumping the contents all over the table. "Hey!"

"Omg Abigail...what the fuck is all this shit?" The table howled with laughter. "Is this what happens when you pack your own lunch? What are you, five?!"

"I-"

"Oh, Abby," Another brunette girl said, flipping her hair back. "You don't even wanna start, okay? You know that girl I was telling you about, the one on our cheer squad, she used to be like...ninety pounds, total bean pole, and now she looks like a freakin' meow-mix commercial."

Abby leaned over to Vicki. "What does that mean? I have no idea what she's even talkin' about..."

"If you keep eating like this, you're gonna get fat, Abby. And I'm totally inclusive and respectful of fat people but like...sometimes you concern me. It's never too early to start thinking about health." She pulled out a carrot from her own bag, handing it to Abby, who almost screamed when she saw it. "Eat this. It's basically like candy."

"IT IS NOT BAS-" She could feel Vicki's glare now. Humbly, she quieted her voice. "I mean really? Just like candy, huh?"

The girl scooped all of the junk food into her bag. "Let's get rid of this before I barf," she said.

And as it went into the trash, Abby played a silent version of taps in her head out of respect.

"Are you currently experiencing any sexual attraction toward Nigel?"

"The heck does that mean?" Abby glared at the woman sitting across from her.

"Do you fantasize about him sexually?"

"N-No!"

"It's highly common for grief in these cases to manifest in conjunction with the changing body. You can tell me the truth, Abigail. This is a safe space."

The woman, who was the on-site therapist for the TND, had been recruited after a series of unfortunate events involving certain operatives. The rates of these tragic events were increasing at an exponential rate. The therapist, highly trained and an Adult spy for the Adults Next Door, did not receive the greatest reception. Abby was not an exception.

"I do not."

"Do you harbor romantic feelings toward him?"

"I don't see what any of this has to do with me doing my job."

"You are a growing young woman. You may not have context for all of these changes and feelings, particularly if they contradict what you used to believe or value. And yes, Abigail, that does affect your job whether you want it to or not."

"Yeah, okay." Abby swiveled in her chair.

"Are you at least having these conversations with your teammates?"

"No, I am not."

"Do you feel ashamed of yourself when you have sexual urges?"

"Who says I got urges?"

"Some of my clients bottle up their...adolescent attributes to protect their innocence. But biology is biology and these feelings end up expressing themselves in unhealthy ways. Explosive ways. The refusal to discuss them—"

"I know why I'm here."

"Nobody said—"

"You wanna make sure I'm healthy? That I'm emotionally stable enough to do this job?" She derided. "I'm not. Nobody is stable enough to do this job. To lose people they love. To watch them walk blindly into Adulthood. To lose more people than they can save. Nobody. Adults are hurting kids. You want me to just...accept that I'm gonna become one of them? I won't. I will not be an Adult." She stood up. "You can write that in your dumb li'l notebook."

Abby stood up and walked out. She never went back to therapy.

"They call it post-decommission depression. It could be temporary."

"Could be?"

"He'll be fine, Abby."

"Does he look fine, Maurice?"

"The process is painful. Most agents spend their entire childhoods in the KND, so when they get out...it's like childhood never even happened."

"That's so wrong."

"It's the sacrifice we make to make a difference."

"Nigel's gonna..."

"Oh, no. You are not going to tell Nigel. You're not going to tell him any of this!"

"I've gotta do something. Say...something. I can't just...I mean...look at him!"

"The best thing you can do for him is turn around and walk away."

"Maurice!"

"Abby. Turn around. And walk away."

Against all better judgement, she did.

Abby closed her locker, watching intently as the students passed by. She did it every day now, waited by the lockers to see if they passed by. Giving herself just enough time to slip into her classes at the last minute, she would peek around the corner. Stealthily. No one was watching her. They were all caught up in their own lives to notice her. And then, always as the sun would hit the tile floor, the dust particles dancing in that ray of light. Like a film, they would come. Her smile stretched all across her face, her cheeks rosy, flowered with the scent of affection. Her hand folded into his in a perfect fit. And he would smile too, his bangs combed over his eyes, so no one could see just how happy she made him. But Abby could see it, in the corners of his lips, in the softness of his touch. It was the rebirth of something old that was all at once new. Abby had never seen anything quite so beautiful.

A boy and a girl blushed by spring's awakening.

And new life was found in what before was a barren garden.

And though Abby was not a romantic, she felt something stir in her when she watched them pass. Her in her cheer outfit. Him in his track suit.

Like it was almost possible.

Love.

"So you turned him down, da?" Henrietta stretched her legs out onto the sand, the sun perfectly kissing them.

"Of course I turned him down," Abby replied.

"You just couldn't leave ihre one true love, could you?"

Abby smirked. "Oh, and that's supposedt'a be you?"

"If only, Abigail," she sighed, resting further into the sand. "If only."

"I ain't ready to go back. It's Summer break and I got no team, no friends, just trainin' and Maurice...who keeps makin' googly-woogly eyes at my sister. Nasty."

"So, ze real question is vat vill you do now zat you are ein High Schooler?"

"Right now I just wanna find this temple," Abby said, rolling out the map. "One thing at a time."

"Just like ze old times, eh?"

"I need the distraction."

Her foot graced Abby's leg. "Vell, if it is distraction you vant...I can provide."

Abby moved her leg away. "What are you doin'?"

"Say you und me don't stop vith zis temple. Ve keep it going all through ze summer. Ve'll go everywhere you vant to go und forget all about...everyzing. Excepten each ozer."

Abby giggled. "Heinie, we talked about this. I ain't gonna date you. You're nothin' but trouble."

"Just give me ze summer," she pleaded. "I'll change your mind."

"I don't wanna date anyone right now."

"Just ze summer. Nozing required."

Abby stopped, digging her own toes and legs in the sand. "Where would we go?"

"Anyvere!" Henrietta shouted. "Everyvere...You deserve zis, Abigail. You deserve to be happy."

The peacefulness of the beach, the waves crashing along the sand. In the distance, people were swimming and playing. This was Abby's happy place. When she closed her eyes, this was the place she imagined. She wasn't poetic. But the beach to her was peace. Just being there made everything just a little bit better.

The static. It was all she could hear for the longest time. Nothing but a white noise that kept her waiting on bated breath for something to happen, for anything. And when a voice finally over came it, it struggled to stay on top.

"Abby." It said.

And Abby, having waited minutes to say something, was now choked in silence.

"Abby?"

"Come home."

More static.

"I..." the voice was scattered. "I'm on a mission. Soon, I promi-"

"No, not soon," she said. "Now. You need to come home now." She was barely whispering.

"Abby...I...this really isn't a good time," he said.

"...Nigel."

"You can hold out until tomorrow, can't you? I'll be back then so we can talk-"

"I need you home." It was the only thing she could say anymore. Tears wanted to come out, but they were stuck. Like the shock had paralyzed them. "I need you to come home."

"Okay, okay..." he sighed. "Look they've almost set up the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T. and then..."

"You need to come home and stop this," she said. "I can't...I don't know what to do..."

"What's happened?"

"I can't tell you. I just need you to come home." She bit her lip. "I miss you."

"Oh, Abby."

"I messed up, Nigel. I messed up it's all my fault. I can't fix it. You have to fix it. You're the only one who can fix it," she choked. "Come home, please. Please just come home. Come home."

"Just hang in there, alright? We can talk when I get back."

Silence.

"Abby."

More silence.

"Numbuh 5?"

"Sure."

Static.

"Say you're sick." Maurice's voice was stern over the phone.

"Why?"

"You just...should."

"I got that meeting with the boss today," Abby said as she scrambled to get ready. "Says I been so good he might give me a real mission! I can't wait to tell Numbuh 1! He's gonna flip!"

"I can talk to Toby. You just really...might want to think about staying home until you're ready."

"Ready?" Abby stopped mid-sock. "Ready for what?"

"Something unexpected...happened. It could be triggering for you and I just want you to stay mentally sound."

"Maurice. Spit."

"You've been so happy lately. I don't want this to send you into a spiral again."

"Maurice. What. Happened."

"Good morning, Abigail!"

It was every morning. Every single morning. Never once did he miss a beat. His grin was as wide as his cheeks as he greeted her and every time, she responded the same way.

"Get lost, Loser."

"Good morning, Abigail!"

"Beat it, Nerd."

"Good morning, Abigail!"

"Goodbye, Freak."

"Good morning, Abigail!"

"Can't you bother someone else?"

Hoagie smiled. "Nope."

But that day his voice was solemn. Not that Abby noticed. She had stayed up the whole night before prepping for a test, which was harder than she thought. In fact, she wasn't paying attention to him at all. That's where the trouble started.

"Good morning, Abigail."

"Mornin', Hoagie."

The two froze in tandem, their lockers half-open. Abby hid her face by sticking her head inside. Crap. Crap! She was even swearing in her mind now. But the situation warranted it. She wanted for his eyes to move to her, she could always feel when they did. Her ears burned. Her breath stopped. What could she do? How did she fix this? Tell him the truth? She wanted to. Oh god, she wanted to. But if he knew the truth he would be ashamed of himself for not making it in. Would it ruin the rest of his childhood? Would it blow her chances of staying with the TND?

His voice cracked. "You said my name."

Abby's ears were steaming.

Say somethin', Numbuh 5. Anything. Just speak! "Y-yeah...what of it—"

SLAM! Hoagie's locker door crashed closed, sending rockets of sound through the hall. He turned a few heads briefly, stalling conversations. The sound surged through Abby like an electric shock. And then, like a simmering pot, he whispered.

"Fuck this."

And then he walked away. But he wasn't gone. Abby shut her own locker door staring after him. As she did, her feet began to move. They moved quickly down the hall. She pushed past students and teachers, not caring about them. No. Screw this. She wasn't going to just sit by and let this memory go along.

Not this one.

In her mind, she could ear Wally and Kuki's bodiless voices. The way she had after the incident. Everything was mush, no timeline, no consistency. Just pure betrayal.

"-Looks like the old woman won."

"I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna ring him out and dry him like a line of wash and I'm gonna kill him."

"Wally."

"I'm gonna bloody kill him!"

Sobbing. Raging. More sobbing.

"How could he do this? Why would he do this?!"

"I don't know. But you and me, we'll get through it."

"Will we? Cause I ain't so sure anymore, Kuki. They got Numbuh 5, they broke Numbuh 2...and Numbuh 1...fucking Numbuh 1..."

"Wally...don't say—"

"What's the point anymore, Kuki?! It's all gone! All of it! The Adults keep winning and winning and winning and this is what we become! We become...that! What if you and I..."

"We won't. We'll always find each other. If we do this together, neither of us have to be sad."

"It's my fault. I should'a...seen somethin'...done somethin'."

"Numbuh 4...I don't think any of us could stop this. I don't think even the Kids Next Door itself would be enough. We were lucky. Like a four-leaf clover rainbow monkey."

"Seriously, not the cruddy time."

"Sorry."

"Numbuh 1 ran off and left us with this. Well, fuck him. And fuck this!"

"Fuck this."

Fuck. This.

"Hey..." she called into the crowd, still able to see the back of Hoagie's hat, which was changing each time she saw it. Grey beanie. Aviator Cap. Glasses. Goggles. "Hey! Don't you walk away from me!" She sprinted. Hallway after hallway. "You're really gonna let that be the last thing you say to me? You never say a word about nothin' and all the sudden you leave me with that? I had you for two more months!"

Hoagie didn't slow down and as fast as she ran she could not catch up to him.

"Two months! And you took that away and left me with this?" She screamed at him. "You know what? You and Cree should get married! You're just like her! You're a coward and a liar and you gave up on me!" The veins in her neck strained. "You said you would never give up on me! How dare you leave me like she did!"

The crowd swarmed her, and she lost him. She lost the voices of Wally and Kuki. She felt her body dissolving in the faceless masses.

"I'm sorry..." she said. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it. Please come back. Numbuh 2...Numbuh 3...Numbuh 4...I can't..." The room got dark. Walls caving in around her with thick metal casings. Grey. Brown. Rust. Machinery. "No. No I don't wanna be decommissioned! I don't want to join the TND! I don't wanna grow old! I don't want change! I just want them back! Please! Please Hoagie...Kuki...Wally...Nigel..." Her knees fell to the floor. "Come back."

"And so, as we depart I just wanna say it has been an honor serving as your Soopreme Leader for the past year. I know y'all have been in the midst of a lotta transition, what with the Galactic Kids Next Door bein' involved'n all. But no matter how much things change, we will always have our solidarity. We built this organization and we'll continue to build it so that each and every kid's got a place to be a kid. And I hope whoever takes my place will continue to do right by our planet and our kids." She paused. "That's all I got. Take care of each other. Remember who you are. Kids Next Door Rules!"

As she pumped her fist in the air, it was followed by an uproarious applause. Abby tipped her hat over her eyes to hide her prideful blush. Hopping off the platform, she went to meet her team. To say goodbye, one last time.

"Phew. Baby. That was rough," she admitted, trying to sound normal. "I was so nervous I skipped over a whole part in the middle— kept stumblin' over the words."

All three of her team members stared at the ground.

"Yeah. You're right. It sucked hard."

"It was perfect, Abby," Kuki said. "We-we're so..." But she couldn't stop the hose of tears squirting out from both eyes.

Wally took her hand, which seemed to help. His eyes didn't move from his toes. "Proud. Or...whatevah."

Kuki nodded, still unable to stop from sobbing.

"Numbuh 3...the p-r-e-z-a."

"Presents!" She exclaimed, her mood suddenly lifted.

Abby slapped her face. "I told y'all no presents."

"Present time! Present time!" She danced around. "Numbuh 4 first!"

"You guys! I said no gifts!" Abby tried again.

"They're not really gifts," Wally said. "Just stuff to keep in your house. So when you forget about us, we'll still be like...around. I guess."

"It was Wally's idea! He's so thoughtful..." Kuki tried to kiss him.

"Alright...Alright get off!" He pushed her away. "Here. Happy Birthday." He handed Abby a crumpled-up piece of paper.

Abby stared at it for a long time, the scribbles were almost illegible, and it seemed to be some kind of personal story about how Wally learned to tie his shoes. "Uh...what is it?"

He kicked the ground. "It's my first C. I kept it, cause you stayed up all night helpin' me write it that one time. It smells funny cause I kept it at the bottom of my sock drawer but..."

"I took the shoe. Picked up the strings on the shoe. I tied the shoe. No one thought I could do it. They were soo happy. My shoes are white. I don't like color shoes. They are for girls." Abby read what she could from the story. "You suck at writing, Numbuh 4."

"Hey! I got better!" He flushed, trying to suck up the tear in the corner of his eye. "Anyway...it ain't much but it meant a lot to me, so I guess...I was hoping...it would mean a lot to you too."

Abby hugged the page to her chest. "Thank you."

He blushed harder as she folded it and put it in her pocket.

"My turn!" Kuki nearly pushed her boyfriend over trying to get Abby's attention. "My gift is way better!"

"Pft. If you like girly things..." Wally huffed.

"Shush!" Kuki moved directly in front of him, causing the short boy to blow up like a balloon. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small rainbow-monkey-themed key chain. "Ta-da!"

"Ta-da..." Abby tried to be excited but couldn't figure out why Kuki would have given her this. Usually, she was great at gifts, being the kind of thoughtful person she was.

"It's the keychain!"

"Yeah, I can see that."

"No, silly, it's the keychain! I won it!"

But Abby still didn't understand.

"You know. When Numbuh 1 get tranquilized by that dart and Lizzie came and tried to wake him up and he knew the special code to win the contest, so we could win the keychain! This is it! Isn't it great!"

"I told you to get her french-fries..." Wally whispered.

"Ugh!" She pushed him away further. "When Numbuh 1 couldn't lead, we all fought about who would take his place, remember? You said you would never ever be the leader ever again but look! You became the Soopreme Leader! Which is the biggest leader of all time!" She ran to Abby, placing the keychain in her hands. "You are the coolest, bravest, prettiest girl in the whole world and whenever I look at that keychain, I remember how amazing you are. And I hope you never ever ever EVER forget it!"

"That's probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me..." Abby was now starting to lose her cool but managed to suck it up. Just for another ten minutes until midnight...she had to keep it together. "Thanks, Kuki."

There was silence as all three brought their attention to the third and final kid, whose eyes hadn't left the ground since the speech began. Abby put the keychain in her other pocket and went over to him, her feet exactly parallel to his, facing him.

"You're quiet," she said. "Numbuh 5 don't think she's ever been around when you weren't talking."

Hoagie sighed, and without saying a word, bent down to his shoe, removing it.

Abby was prepared. "If you got me a pun for my birthday I swear—"

But the hand pulled something out of the shoe and held it out to her. In it was a laminated card. Abby took it, looking at the back. The word YIPPER was printed in yellow ink.

"A tradin' card? You got me a tradin' card..."

Hoagie shot up. "Excuse me?!"

There he is, she thought.

"That is not just a trading card, Numbuh 5. I had to trade half my deck to get it! Not to mention all the lunches I had to swap! It took like a whole month to get that—"

"Numbuh 78." Abby realized.

Hoagie huffed, having worked himself up into a sweat. "Yeah. I would'a gotten you one that was more rare, but you kept talking about this one. So I got it for you. And it was not easy. After Numbuh 42 stole it the first time it increased in popularity a lot!"

Wally nudged him. "Dude. That's not what I meant when I said she wouldn't shut up about that mission..."

"What do you mean? Of course it's what you meant. What else could you have meant?"

"Numbuh 2, I can't take this," she finally said. "I don't even play..."

"That doesn't matter," he said. "I want you to have it."

"Why?"

He shrugged and kicked the floor. "I dunno, cause..." He rocked back and forth. "I'm kinda selfish. And there've been a lotta times where I screwed up a mission or didn't do my best, cause I only cared about what I wanted. It all seems so important, you know? The candy. The cards. Getting the girl you like to go out with you. But I don't..." He stopped rocking, his body now quivering. He tried to sniff up his tears, but it was to no avail. "I don't want it any more. Any of it. I would give it all up. Just to get that time back."

For the first time in their friendship, Abby was so overwhelmed with emotion that she acted without thinking. She threw her arms around him, pulling him into her. Her hand grabbed the back of his hat, cradling his head and squeezed for dear life. Though he was clearly clean, he still smelled like rocket fuel.

"I'm sorry. I really thought he'd come," he said in a broken whisper.

She squeezed tighter. "Shuddup and hug me goodbye." She pulled away from him and grabbed her other friends. "All of you. Get in here." The three hugged each other, trying so hard not to cry. "You are the best friends in the whole world. And I am so so so lucky to have spent the best part of my life with you." She kissed them on the cheek one at a time. "Take care of each other. You're all you've got in the world, don't never forget it. I love you so much. And no decommissioning could ever erase that."

She took a step back and saluted to her friends, who saluted back. "Kids Next Door..." she said. "Never say goodbye."

The three nodded.

"Oh. Before I forget." Abby stepped in front of Hoagie who was stiff as a board. "Tag," she poked him in the forehead. "You're it."

The Galactic Kids Next Door headquarters was actually quite small. Abby figured this was because they had outposts all throughout the Universe, which meant less need for centralized government...or whatever. The system was like it was on Earth only bigger. Much, much bigger. The G:KND were secretive about their operations, even as they communicated with the Earth branch now. Technically, Abby had not agreed to allow the Earth to assimilate into the G:KND "union" if you could call it that. This wasn't because she didn't trust them, but because they had got along fine before without them and maintaining a sense of distance and freedom was important. The so-called politics of Earth was vastly different than those of other planets associated with the intergalactic branches and Abby did not think the Kids would understand nor empathize much with the plight of their people.

Of course, Nigel was a little miffed about this as he thought the Earth joining the G:KND would provide more opportunities for coalition between himself and the Earth operatives. But Abby knew Nigel well enough to know that he just wanted that secretly, so he wouldn't have to return to Earth. He could "have his cake and eat it too." She couldn't blame him. Compared to Earth, everywhere was paradise. But the G:KND was more of a paradise for Kids than any human could ever dream and Nigel was completely under its spell. Abby was not so easily hypnotized. The G:KND kept their distance and didn't exactly trust the Earthlings and their disease-ridden "aging", thus relations while civil were definitely tense. So when Abby was invited to visit the G:KND headquarters, she was beyond surprised.

She could not resist the chance to see it for herself, and most importantly, to finally see Nigel again after what had been practically a full year of video calls and letters. She was thrilled to her core but tried her best to hide it. Nigel was not good at hiding his own excitement. He paraded her around the campus, showing her the soda fountains (which were actual fountains of soda), the mountains of ice cream sundaes, the game areas, and the tree houses...some of the most magnificent treehouses Abby had ever seen. Lizzie, who they now called Numbuh Vine, followed them with searing intensity. No matter how hard Abby tried, she could never get Vine to lighten up around her. Chad had also begged his way into the G:KND but he wasn't allowed the same privileges as Nigel despite being on his team.

"There's a planet you need to visit!" Nigel exclaimed as they passed through the halls. "It's entirely all water-slides! Can you believe it? Isn't it incredible? Doesn't it make you want to cry!"

Abby smiled, shaking her head at her enthusiastic best friend who was, in her mind, cutest when he was like this. "It's definitely somethin'..."

"You must see the chocolate towers, Numbuh 5! Don't you think, Vine? Wouldn't she love them?"

"Oh yeah, great. Sure," a jealous Vine teetered behind.

"I can't believe you're actually here. This is so exciting!"

"You guys actually do any work here in the Galactic Kids Next Door, or is it play, nap, repeat?"

Nigel laughed. "Well, the work is...different. We're fighting a disease, but in most of the Universe the battle we face on Earth every day is already won."

"That must drive you nuts," Abby said.

"I thought it would, but actually I feel more determined than ever! Knowing that out here we've already won...it gives me hope."

"So you'll be extra inspired to fight when you come home," she replied, knowingly provoking him.

She could see Vine's leaves wilt.

"Numbuh 5, look at this place. It's a paradise. Where Kids can be free to just be Kids without fear or judgement. How could anyone want to leave it? It will be lifetimes before Earth is even close to this!"

"Exactly!" Vine stepped in. "Nigie is perfectly at home here. With us."

"I am more helpful here than I am on Earth," he said. "Abby this...this is what we were meant for. This is where we belong, not working jobs and having families and becoming servants to the Adults." He jumped up, fist tight. "And once I find the cure for aging, all of this will be ours too. Just imagine it. Earth like this. No more wars. No more companies. No more vegetables."

"A kid can dream..." Abby said. "It's gonna be hard goin' into the TND after this, that's for sure."

Nigel stopped. "Abby..."

"Hm?"

"What if..." he turned to her. "You didn't go into the TND."

Abby blinked. "And be decommissioned? Nigel, how could you—"

"No, no. I mean you're here now. So why not just...stay?"

Vine shriveled. "S-Stay here. Nigie...that's so sweet of you. You're so sweet. But the council would never allow it. Like ever."

"On the contrary," Nigel took another step toward Abby. "It was the council's idea."

Abby couldn't wrap her head around what he was saying. "The council...wants me...in the G:KND?"

"They've seen your work and they think you would be a perfect fit! You and I could stay in paradise. You wouldn't have to wait for me to come back anymore, you could be here! You and me and Chad, and Vine of course. Oh, and Pine too. What a team!"

"We have a team."

"You have to leave the KND anyway," Nigel said. "And the council only approved you."

Abby whispered to herself. "Why does that keep happening to me?"

"You could fight the Adults for years, Abby, and never actually make a difference. Here you, we can make a difference. We can change the course of history. We can do it together. You and me. Just as it began."

Abby looked at the excitement in his face, the hope in his eyes. His cheeks were wrinkled he was smiling so widely. She had to admit she had never seen a human more genuinely happy as he did in that moment.

"Nigie! You never asked me about this!" Vine tried but was ignored. "Nigel!"

"So...what do you say?" he took Abby's hands.

The lump in her throat got bigger. "Uhh..."

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED (AGAIN)...

WARNING

CEASE AND DESIST

YOU ARE BEING CORRUPTED

THIS FILE CANNOT BE DELETED

PLEASE

DO NOT READ FURTHER

...

...

File relocated.

Connected.

RESUMING TRANSMISSION

Trigger warning: Depression and hints of suicidal parallels.