One

She knew what day it was.

She knew what she was going to do.

She just couldn't believe that she was going up to moon base with Maurice to do so.

It was Numbuh Two's decommissioning day. When he would do the same thing as Abby had done one month earlier and given up her Numbuh to join the Teens Next Door. Or get decommissioned depending on Numbuh Two's answer.

She hoped that he would say yes. But she also knew it had taken him a long time to be convinced to join the Kids Next Door in the first place and Abby wondered how he'd take the news.

The Teens Next Door needed his technology expertise. She knew that and she also knew that Numbuh Two would be worthwhile to them- despite that minor feeling that she also wouldn't mind having him around again.

She had missed Numbuh Two.

Sure she had missed the whole of Sector V but for some reason she missed Numbuh Two the most of all. She didn't know why but she did. She missed the awful puns. She missed his bad knock, knock jokes and he also missed his weird obsession with that Yipper card game.

"Abby are you ready?" She looked at Maurice with a rare real smile. They had been forced for the last couple of months but now with the possibility that she'd be able to work with a teammate again they where becoming more and more real.

"Yeah I am. Thing is though are you sure the TND wants him?" Maurice nodded with a grin.

"Absolutely. He's a genius and he has also got great battle skills. As well as the fact that the tests we have given him over the past year- like you he's passed hands down, even test adult."

"Test adult?" Abby raised an eyebrow, "care to explain?"

"You might remember a dream that you had where you where an adult and nobody else could remember being in the kids next door apart from one… for you I think it may have been Numbuh Two and you had to decide whether or not to do something to destroy the Kids Next Door for your own well being or save the KND no matter what…" her eyes widened.

"Now that you mention it…" She trailed off. She could remember that dream. It had been a weird one at least- Some thing about that she was the newest evil of the kids next door and that she had to get a plan out that was completely unorthodox. She could remember in that dream that Future Sector V had other versions of themselves- Numbuh 1600 was Numbuh One's child, Numbuh 4300 was Numbuh Three and Four's child and that Numbuh Two's child had helped her. Numbuh 5000? Needless to say she had just put it down to eating chocolate before bedtime.

"We better get going. Numbuh Eighty Six should be leading Numbuh Two to Decommissioning Room Three soon enough." Maurice said interrupting her thoughts. Abby blindly nodded. Shifting through her thoughts of her final year as a Kids Next Door operative. Hadn't Numbuh One also mentioned a similar version of the dream? She knew Numbuh Three and Numbuh Four hadn't but she could now remember Numbuh One clearly saying his weird dream while she and the rest of Sector V looked blankly at him.

So maybe Numbuh One was also being considered for the teens next door. It wouldn't surprise her. However she couldn't ask because she was only aloud to know what the TND decided to tell her.

It wasn't fair but that was life. She was glad that they had decided to tell her about Numbuh Two though. She didn't know why but she was glad.

"Hoagie Gulligan should be arriving in five minutes," an automatic voice told them as they entered the room. Abby looked at Maurice confused. She had only ever been in this room once before.

"This is a specially designed decommissioning room, it was designed especially for the teens next door. We have a decommissioning chair and a recommissioning chair- for the just in case missions. We also have an escape pod and weapons on hand."

"An escape pod?"

"It's mainly incase we have to leave moon base quickly and it's our way of keeping in touch." Abby nodded, most of it had gone over her head. This was more Numbuh Two's area than hers, "do you think Hoagie will say yes?"

Abby thought about it again. She honestly wasn't sure. If she had known what she had known now she would have said no. However Hoagie would have a friend with them. Which was something that she didn't have.

"I don't know. It's up to him really. I know it took him a while to be convinced to join the kids next door but Numbuh One did it. So it's really his decision." Maurice nodded.

"Thirty seconds until Hoagie Gulligan enters" Suddenly Abby's nerves came back. She hadn't seen Hoagie in two months. What was going to happen? Was he going to be mad she hadn't said anything?

"Twenty seconds" Abby started tapping her fingers while Maurice looked on in amusement. She didn't see anything funny about this, she was panicking!

"Ten seconds"

"Oh god" She murmured out loud. She thought she had been prepared but she was obviously wrong.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Maurice asked but all she could do was nod- she was going to have to be.

"Seven seconds" was it her or was the seconds going quickly?

"Six seconds," She could here voices in the corridor now, it sounded like Numbuh Eighty Six's and Hoagie's arguing.

"Five seconds" She forced herself to take a deep breath hoping that she could keep calm during convincing him.

"Four seconds" She could do this. It was only Hoagie for gods' sake. She had done other things bigger than this.

"Get ready" Abby could only give Maurice a look she gave him a small and what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"Two seconds" This was it. There was no turning back now.

"Just get in there, Numbuh Two!" Numbuh Eighty-Six's voice yelled out pushing Hoagie in. She gave him an even smaller smile than she had gave Maurice and he just stared at them both.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked in disbelief. Abby couldn't blame him. She knew she was to leave the talking to Maurice. So she remained silent while Maurice started to explain.

She tuned out for the most part. Having heard the explanation no more than two months ago. She thought back to when she was. She had already known about the teens next door through Maurice but she hadn't given that way She and Maurice where the only ones who currently knew that information.

"Is this for real?" Hoagie's hollow voice cut through her thoughts, "You can remember everything, Numbuh Five?"

Numbuh Five.

She hadn't referred to herself as Numbuh Five since she had left the Kids Next Door. She hadn't been referred to as Numbuh Five since then. It had been either Abby or Abigail.

"Numbuh Five?" Hoagie repeated sounding if possible even more unsure than before. Abby knew she had to speak soon.

"It's Abby," Her voice was hollow, "Numbuh Five left when she turned thirteen."

"You still remember everything though, don't you?" Hoagie asked persistently and she couldn't help but nod.

"Then part of you still is Numbuh Five, Abby. It always will be."

"Your next question, Hoagie?" Hoagie winced at Abby's harshness but wisely didn't do anything but answer the question.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?" She had been waiting for this question and had prepared for it.

"Because it's against the Teens Next Door rules, Hoagie. You know the Kids Next Door rule is that you can't talk to a former operative unless there are special circumstances (i.e. your brother)," Hoagie nodded, "well it's the same for the Teens Next Door. There is a high possibility that the rest of your sector may not be in it, or that all but one person may not be in it. You just never know"

"Well said Abby," Maurice spoke up and both Hoagie and Abby looked up, surprised. To be completely honest they had forgotten that he had been there.

"Thanks."

"So Hoagie, do you want to stay on in the Kids Next Door?" Maurice asked turning his gaze steadily on Hoagie. Hoagie still looked unsure. Abby smiled she knew he was debating the offer.

"Well it's either loosing my memories which I didn't really want to do in the first place or keeping on doing the things that I love. What do you think?" Hoagie asked Abby.

"As long as you've stopped with the bad puns and all, Abby suggests option b." Hoagie laughed.

"Well I guess you've herd my answer Maurice." He said stressing the word herd. Abby narrowed her eyes.

"You so didn't do what Abby thinks you did?" Hoagie and Maurice both just laughed while Abby whacked Hoagie with her hat, "you better get out there Hoagie, remember that-" Abby started

"Just act like you and Maurice have done. Right got it." But Abby wasn't too sure until she heard Hoagie ask Numbuh Eighty Six if she knew where he could get some soda around here.

"He'll be great at this," Maurice said with a grin.

"Sure will be."

Having Hoagie on her side made her even happier than before. She now at least had a friend- other than Maurice on her side and she wasn't so much looking on the outside. They where even in a way.

She still wished that they could be with all of her old friends but she knew that they couldn't be. Perhaps they could later on but she didn't think so. It would make life to easy.

"You know there's one question that's been bugging me." Hoagie said one day when she had gone his house to talk.

"What's that?" She asked pulling her legs into a cross-legged position. Hoagie had been asking a lot of questions the past few days- even ones that she hadn't thought about after joining.

"Why didn't Chad know about the Teens Next Door?" A good question, Abby thought to herself. She thought about it for a few moments before giving an answer.

"Probably because he thought he was the 'best of the best'," She smirked at Hoagie's confused expression, "If you think about it he'd changed his age months before- someone in the teens next door had to of known about it. The Teens Next Door are for the ones who want to keep being a kid for the good reasons and not the bad- not like the traitors." Hoagie raised an eyebrow.

"Good point, I guess Cree would have been the same," Abby paused and then nodded. Suddenly Hoagie's communicator went off.

"Well I guess I better go."

"Alright," Hoagie picked up his communicator as Abby was leaving, "Talk to me"

She smiled as leaving Hoagie's house, her own communicator hadn't beeped so she hoped that what ever Hoagie's mission was going to be he was going to be alright.

As she went through he front door her own communicator DID start beeping. She raised an eyebrow, surprised. Why hadn't it before?

"Abby," Hoagie's face appeared on the small screen, "Maurice has a mission for both of us. I'll give you the details at transfer point two, three in ten minutes" She with a small smile. This would be their second mission as a team.

"Lets do this."

Transmission Interrupted