Rachel gripped her head with her hands. Her forehead was throbbing, and she had a terrible headache. This day is just not going well for her.
She scanned her surroundings as best she could, doing her best to ignore the loud rumbling of the engine and the constant shaking hurting her head.
In the front was Cree Lincoln, piloting the ship. And that's all she does. It's like she doesn't even know anyone's in the ship with her.
Sitting next to Rachel is Numbuh 60, Patton Drilovsky, the commander of the Kids Next Door Arctic Base. So many questions were floating through Rachel's mind, one of them being what the commander of the Arctic Base is doing at the Moon Base. Also, why is he with a teenager, the mortal enemies of all kids. Not to mention that teenager being Cree, one of the strongest and most notorious of them all.
Rachel peered through the window hatch, seeing nothing but the empty space filled with stars. She turned around in her seat, focusing her eyes on the Moon Base that was slowly disappearing in the distance. She couldn't help but get a feeling that this might be the last time she'll ever see the Moon Base again. So she made sure to soak in the solemn sight before it completely disappeared.
Rachel couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. It wasn't even an hour ago when she was blowing out her 13th birthday cake, watching all of the operatives cry for her departure. And now, she's on the run from the Kids Next Door in a teen ship, with a teen operative. She's turned traitor. She felt so lost, with no sense of direction.
"Greetings, Numbuh 362 commander sir! Are you alright?" said Numbuh 60, poking her arm with his elbow to get her attention.
Rachel sat there quietly for a time before responding back softly, "Yeah, I'm fine"
Patton could only give a frown. "Are you sure you're fine? Because you don't look so good. And I can't really fault you for—"
"No, I'm not fine!" Rachel exploded, her voice reverberating through the tiny ship, though Cree didn't seem to notice.
"How could you possibly think I could ever be fine after... after that?! I was about to be decommissioned for real! I'm stuck in a ship with a teenager, the worst teenager ever mind you! I've betrayed the Kids Next Door and now I'm probably labeled as a traitor! And I even made Fanny cry! I made her cry so, so much."
Rachel couldn't help but weep, tears forming in her eyes. "How could I possibly be fine Patton? How!"
Patton could only lower his head. He was taking a long time to come up with a response, one that would calm Rachel down.
"Well, I'm also a traitor too," Patton touched her arm and gave a warm smile. "Don't forget commander sir, you're not alone."
"Don't call me commander anymore," Rachel replied bluntly. "It's not my title now."
"You might not think so, but to me, you'll always be my superior, and always my commander. Though I suppose I can give you what you want just this once... Rachel."
Hearing Patton's kind words helped brighten up her mood, and the ship even appeared to glow brighter. That is, until Cree butt in.
"Ugh, would you two please make out elsewhere? I just got my bike cleaned!"
Rachel turned away from Patton to focus on Cree. "Oh, I forgot you were here. Though it looks like you're a lot chattier now. Mind if I ask a few questions?"
"Ugh, fine! If it'll stop you brats from drooling all over my seats. But only one question!"
Cree seemed pretty moody, though she always was like that whenever they were fighting each other. Rachel seemed to have thought up a brilliant idea however.
"You smell really nice today."
"Idiot, that's not a ques— wait, do you really think so?"
"Of course! Did you just buy new perfume? Because it smells wonderful."
"Yeah, I just bought new perfume just yesterday! I thought it smelled really nice. I'm glad a girl like you appreciates good perfume, unlike that brat of a sister I have."
"Why wouldn't I appreciate it? Especially since you went through all that trouble making yourself look good. How much time did you spend picking out clothes this morning?"
Rachel and Cree continued their girly talk, and all Patton could do was lean over and play possum. Ugh, girl talk. Why! Make it stop!
"You know Rachel, you're not so bad for a little brat." After all that girl talk was over, it seemed like Cree and Rachel just became new best friends, despite their long history of being enemies.
"Well, if you want to take it literally, I am 13 years old now, so technically I'm a teenager like you."
Cree thought about it for a second, before nodding in approval. "Yeah, you are a teen. Well, you're quickly becoming my favorite teen then! You know, you remind me of Chad when he first became a teen, before… nevermind. Anyways, you said you wanted to ask some questions?"
Rachel could tell that the subject about Chad was a bit of a touchy one, so she decided to ignore it for now.
"Does this mean you don't hate kids anymore?"
Cree held her hand up to her chin, giving off the impression that she was thinking long and hard about the question.
After a while, she responded, "Still hate their guts. Though I hate you a little bit less, I suppose."
Well, that's slightly good to know… I think.
"So, how did you and Number 60 meet?"
"Hmm, well, long story short, we figured out we had a common enemy, we found each other again during our next missions, and instead of fighting each other like we usually do, we decided to call a truce. I don't particularly like the boy, but sometimes you just need to do what you have to do. And the rest is history."
Rachel turned to look at Patton, and he nodded back, agreeing with everything Cree said.
"So, why me?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, the teens need someone of your brain caliber. Most operatives, like myself and Chad, are really only good at fighting, though, and I don't mean to brag," Cree gave a slight chuckle. She definitely means to brag, "we're really good at fighting, but you, you always were a cut above the rest when it came to wisdom and leadership.
"We were going to just watch you get decommissioned and then try to poach you to join our ranks like we usually do, but with this situation unfolding on us right now, we couldn't risk letting you be decommissioned and turning into a complete idiot."
Cree then turned her head and glanced in Rachel's direction. "And looking at you now, I can safely say that it was the right call."
Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but Rachel could have sworn that Cree winked at her.
"So, any other questions for me girl?"
"No, I think that's mostly everything. "
Cree returned to focusing on piloting the ship, while Rachel turned to face Patton.
"Can I ask you a few questions now, Number 60?"
Patton could give out a sigh while staring out of the window.
"Geez, where do I even begin. I think Numbuh 11 answered most of the questions pretty well, but if you have some more, just go ahead and hit me."
Rachel obliged, taking Patton's request quite literally and playfully hitting him on the shoulder.
"Hey, what'd you do that for?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just happy that I get to see a friendly face."
Patton had his mouth hanging open, but quickly turned it into a smile. "I'm happy I could make you happy, commander sir."
"How did you know to find me here?"
"That's a silly question, don't you think? It's the Supreme Leader's 13th birthday. What kind of operative wouldn't know where you'd be?"
Patton looked at Rachel and studied her face for a second. "Though I suppose that's not really the answer you wanted. Well, as for why we decided to come get you in particular, well, you're the supreme leader, not to mention you're one of the smartest operatives of our time, if I do say so myself. We really need your brain to help us solve this case, and there was no way we were going to let anyone decommission you. Even if it meant betraying the Kids Next Door to do so.
"She might not say it, but Numbuh 11 does acknowledge your importance as well. That's why she agreed with me to help get you out."
"Only for you though!" shouted Cree. "I wasn't going to let any other snot-nosed brats into my ride, even if they were begging me."
Rachel thought long and hard to herself. Most of her questions were answered, though one thing was bugging her.
"You do know that this makes you a traitor, right Number 60?"
"I could ask you the same thing, commander sir. Aren't you supposed to follow the rules and be decommissioned, since you're Supreme Leader and all?"
Rachel didn't know what to say. Patton was completely right. Why didn't she just let herself be decommissioned?
"Uh, I…"
"Don't worry about it," Patton reassured.
Patton looked into Rachel's eyes for a moment. It looked like he wanted to say something, but decided at the last minute to just stay quiet. Though Rachel was perceptive enough to pick up on it.
"What is it? Was there something you wanted to say, Number 60? I'm open to any concerns."
Patton looked around the tiny ship, as if he was making sure he wasn't being watched. When he felt safe, he leaned in closer and whispered into Rachel's ear, "I completely understand the feeling of not wanting to be decommissioned. To be perfectly honest, I never liked such a rule anyways. What's the big difference between someone who's 12 years and 364 days old, and someone who's 13 years and zero days old? I don't understand why they would suddenly become our enemy.
"Kind of like you. Even if you grew up, I just could not imagine you fighting against kids." Patton winked at you and gave you a smile, "I think if it was my 13th birthday, I would have ran away too."
Rachel couldn't help but like Patton more and more.
"Thanks, Number 60. That's reassuring to know," Rachel smiled back.
The ship was quickly approaching Earth, which had never looked bigger and brighter and bluer than before. Rachel didn't bother to look back at the moon. No point thinking about the past. Now it's time to move forward.
In the time spent on the ship, talking with Numbuh 60, commander of the Arctic Base, along with Cree Lincoln, mortal enemy of all kids everywhere, Rachel felt like they've been in space for hours. Yet the ride from the Moonbase to Earth only took around five minutes, even faster than usual since they were on a speedy ship.
In all the time that has passed from potentially the last journey from the Moonbase to Earth, Rachel's mind wandered to many different places.
What went wrong? Why did they lie to me? Am I really a bad person for not wanting to be decommissioned?
So many thoughts floating through her mind. And all those thoughts instantly disappeared when Patton decided to speak up.
"Well, we're almost there. Commander sir, do you feel ready? Not tired or aching or anything?"
Rachel's body certainly was a bit sore thanks to that explosion in the decommissioning chamber, but she decided not to mention it.
"Nope. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. So, where exactly are we going anyways?"
"KND Arctic Base of course."
"Arctic Teen Hideout."
Cree and Patton looked at each other in disbelief before getting into a shouting match.
"Well, obviously the commander and I aren't going to just wander into a place filled with teens!" Patton shouted. "Two kids to one teen, we've got the majority vote, and I say we head to Kids Next Door Arctic Base!"
"What about me? You think I'm going to walk into a base filled with a bunch of brats? Puh-lease! And besides, I'm the one piloting this ship! And I say we're going to the Arctic Teen Hideout!"
Both of them looked straight at Rachel, as if waiting for an answer.
"So? You agree with me right? Only course of action is to head to KND Arctic base!"
"No way! Arctic teen hideout! Say it, girl!"
It's obvious that both of them wanted Rachel to agree with them, yet Rachel could only choose one. And it doesn't look like they're the kind of people to agree with a third option. If anything, if Rachel even mentioned a third option, it would likely blow a fuse in both of them.
Of course, Patton was right. The obvious answer is to head to KND Arctic Base.
"As Kids Next Door Supreme Leader, I order you to take us to Kids Next Door Arctic Base."
"Yes commander sir! Hear that, Numbuh 11? You heard the Supreme Leader! Take us down to KND Arctic Base, now!"
"How do I know you're not just going to cuff me once I step foot in the base?" Cree screamed back at Rachel and Patton.
One could feel the tension in the air between Patton and Cree, and so Rachel decided to step in between to calm them down.
"Don't worry," Rachel said reassuringly. "As Kids Next Door Supreme Leader, I vow that not a single Kids Next Door operative will touch you there, as long as you behave of course. Seeing as how you and Number 60 are mortal enemies, yet you managed to put your differences aside to join forces against the greater evil, then please understand that for right now, we aren't enemies. We really are trying to help everyone, and I'll do my best to solve this case, whatever it is. You have my word, Cree Lincoln."
Cree went quiet for a while before letting out a deep sigh and slumping down into her chair.. "Alright fine. But the moment I see any suspicious activity, I'm bailing and this temporary truce is off. And please, just call me Cree. You sound way too formal. Ugh."
"Alright, looks like this matter is settled! Now then," Patton moved closer to Cree, leaning on her seat. "I'm entering the Arctic Base coordinates into your GPS. I've already told security that we're friendly. It should be smooth sailing.
"Whatever. Just let me pilot," Cree said back.
The ship finally entered the Earth's atmosphere, right above Antarctica, the snowy and freezing land appearing below. Patton smiled at Rachel in approval, but returned to looking out of the window.
In the distance, one could just make out the very small Christmas tree in the middle of an empty tundra, but Kids Next Door operatives know that it hides a big secret underneath.
The ship dived lower and lower until it plunged right into the snow, and instead of crashing into the ground, it slipped through a hidden entrance invisible from the surface.
Welcome to the Kids Next Door Arctic Base.
Notes:
Hey! I'm actually continuing the story! What a surprise! So if you've been active on the KND discord, then you might have seen that I was working on a CYOA KND game, with the plot being the same as this. Buuuuut I stopped because it turns out working on a CYOA game all by yourself is really friggin difficult and time-consuming. It's much easier to just write a linear story than non-linear stories.
Fun fact, I wanted you to be able to choose between going to the KND Arctic Base and the Arctic Teen Hideout. But I scrapped that because I got tired.
It's certainly fun, don't get me wrong, but takes way too much time. Anyways, I do plan on continuing this story. I'm not sure how many words I'll make the entire episode. Judging by how long the previous part was and how long this part is, I'm looking at maybe… 10-15k words? Not that long, but definitely longer than all my simple one shots.
Again, if you see any mistakes, like if it's accidentally in second person (it was in second person for the CYOA game, but I changed it back to third person for fanfiction), or if there's any spelling/grammar mistakes, please let me know!
Have a great day!