~5~
When had it gotten so late? So dark and so cold. Why couldn't the environment reflect the exact opposite of what she was feeling? Why couldn't everything be all warm and filled with light and sunshine? That would make her feel a little better. At least she would like to think so. But it didn't matter, the weather outside was cold, and dark just like her current mood. But it didn't stop her from running, nothing could. The cold wetness seeping into her shoes with every new crunch of snow couldn't stop her. Slipping on some hidden patch of black ice and falling on her face couldn't stop her. The snow pelting down and trying to blind her vision couldn't stop her. She just kept running and running, praying to find that so called light at the end of the tunnel. But the further she got, the more dim it became around her.
The streets were almost completely barren, seeing as most children were already inside in bed awaiting a certain visit from the only adult they could stand. No one was out making snowman, singing carols, or anything of the sort. The only person who seemed to still be out was the lone blonde wearing a tiger striped sweater sprinting down the sidewalk, like she was trying to run herself into exhaustion.
Rachel took another blind step forward, and in her haste slipped on another patch of ice. She went tumbling forward, her arm snapping out to deter her fall. She twisted herself at an angle, and was able to regain her footing, but her foot ran into a stray curve and she went down into the snow again despite her best efforts. Growling in frustration, the girl pushed herself up and snapped out the S.C.A.M.P.P she stole from Hoagie. Aiming it down in front of her, she kept a steady, continuous beam of fire to melt the way as she rushed forward. The path was becoming clearer, but it was taking far too long for her liking. So she threw caution to the wind, and began running again.
She only slowed down when she reached a street corner, and now didn't know which way to go. Her brown orbs shifted all around the area looking for any sort of sign. Then the wind harshly whipped at her again, and she rose her arms up to shield herself. Rachel then yelped and jumped to the side when a mass of snow fell on her. She glanced up to see the wind had knocked some clumping snow off the street sign, and after quickly skimming it over, she shot off to the right, sure of her way now.
As the blonde ran, she noticed things. Things that she didn't really want to see. For instance she ran past a house, an empty house. A house she was sure that shouldn't be empty. Wasn't that Numbuh Three's house? But she ignored it, forced herself to look away as she continued running. But then she passed by another house that wasn't empty, and for some reason or another, she stopped in her tracks as she peered into the window. She could make out a small family gathered in the living room. Laughing with mirth. But her attention was drawn to the two girls on the couch. One a teenager, a dark skinned traitorous teenaged girl she knew all too well. And she knew the child sitting beside her too. The child was her sister. And they weren't fighting, they looked so darn happy.
It made her ill. It just kept proving everything around her was real and not as she knew it anymore. Tearing her attention away, Rachel ran down the street again, feeling so close to her goal. The falling snow mingled within her golden, tangled hair. Her clothing was becoming wet and matted in places where she had fallen. The wind left a chilling burn on her rosy cheeks, and with every new step, it caused her more pain to breath. But she was almost there. Just a little bit further. Another block and she would get the proof she needed to show all of them they were wrong. Nigel had to be there. He had to be.
The towering structure appearing in the distance flickered a small hope within her chest. Finally slowing down, she stepped down in her rapid pace bit by bit until she just walking. She walked down the sidewalk until she stopped and turned, still looking up at the massive snow covered treehouse.
Sector V's treehouse.
"It's still here." Rachel whispered to herself, smiling at the familiar figure. Yet as her eyes lowered, her smile did as well. Even though the tree and the base built on its branches was still there, it looked too quiet. Too lifeless. Other then the howls of the wind or the neighborhood around her, she couldn't pick up a peep of activity going on up there. She shook her head, opting to look down at the house it had grown from, but then to her dismay, the residence was still too. No light came from the window, no noises of a family reunion greeted her ears. It looked silent. Dead inside.
"There has to be a mistake." Rachel tried to reason with herself. She took a few steps closer trying to find some other answer then the obvious one. "Maybe they went somewhere else. Visited family back in England or – Gah!" She spluttered out as she ran into something. The blonde took a step back to inspect the object, which looked like some sign. She squinted her eyes, making out some writing at the top. Wiping her hand across it, the words became clearer, and her dread grew as she read them.
"F-For sale?" Her hands then furiously scampered around the rest of the post. Wanting to make out the rest of it. Once it was all cleared, she stepped back again, feeling like she had been slapped in the face. "No!"
Sold.
"T-That's not right!" Rachel shouted off into the night. She then kicked the sign down, glaring at it like it was her mortal enemy. "This is Nigel's house…not someone else's! W-Who would've –"
"Well well well, what do we have here? Are you lost little girl?"
'No. Not them.' Rachel thought grimly to herself as the voices pierced her ears. She slowly turned around, not wanting to shock herself. She looked a few feet away from where the voices had come from, and she recognized the forms of the five children who she could honestly say disgusted her the most. "The Delightful Children."
"Oh? You know of us? It's not a surprise. Everyone should know who WE are." The five spoke out in perfect sync that made her cringe. They stood there in clean neat winter coats, and their dull sky blue eyes boring into her. "It's a shame we can't return the pleasantry, but if we don't know you, you most not be that important to begin with."
Rachel frowned at their words, her hand putting a tighter grip on her S.C.A.M.P.P. "What are you doing here?"
"We should be asking that question." The Delightfuls frowned as they stepped closer to Rachel, inspecting the girl. "If you're some new kid, then you should know that WE run this neighborhood. If we want to take a late night stroll, then it is our business, and we do not take lightly to little brats like you interfering with our business. Understand?"
"Look who's talking." Rachel stiffly replied. Her eyes shifted back towards the house, and she rose a finger to it as she looked back to the five spoiled children in front of her. "Who lives in that house?"
"What? That eyesore?" The Delightful arched their thin brows as they looked towards the small building. "No one lives there. Not anymore. Some undesirables used to reside there, but they departed for their home country some time ago. For while, the property was ripe for the taking." They then faced her again, this time carrying wry smirks. "That is until our Father purchased it of course."
"Father owns this place?" Rachel gasped out. "N-No he doesn't! This isn't his home! This house belongs to the Unos!"
"Not anymore." The children responded. "They haven't lived there in ages. The house, and the ridiculous play-fort built over it, is legally ours now."
"No it's not!" Rachel continued to argue. "That house belongs to the Uno family! And that treehouse is the treehouse of Sector V with their leader Numbuh 1! "
"Numbuh 1. Now there's a silly little name we haven't heard in a while." The Delightfuls laughed. They looked at Rachel again, and finally noticed the 2x4 weapon in her hand. "Ah, so you're apart of that stupid baby's club as well. That it explains why you keep bringing up old names." Looked to the treehouse again and snorted. "Come to pay your respects? What a waste of time."
"Shut up!" Rachel snapped at the five. "I know who you are you delightful devils! How twisted and cruel you are. Your words can't fool me!"
"Wow, you must be some new cadet or something." They taunted. "Our words are the truth. This whole memorial sight proves them right. Would you like to hear what happened to Sector V and their oh so unbeatable leader? Well we'll tell you. He died!"
"N-No! Shut up!"
"Oh, but it's true. He flung himself and that backstabbing Grandfather straight into the sun to burn! To be devoured by the heat and wither into moldy ashes. We only wish we could have been there to see it. To see that bald idiot be put in his place!"
"I said shut up!"
"It's pathetic really. How you dorks actually think he was really worth anything. In the end he was just some other nameless operative who fell in battle." They glanced up to the treehouse with cruel smirks. "You can dress up his old play pen however you like. Make a memorial or some stupid museum with a lousy gift shop. But you can never hide what's underneath, because we know the truth. The truth is he's dead. Gone. He died. He didn't even die a hero," The looked back to Rachel, and grinned with delight at how much she was trembling. "He died a big fat ZERO!"
"SHUT. UP!" Rachel hissed out as she fired off her S.C.A.M.P.P. The Delightfuls flinched a bit when it graced the tips of one of their shoelaces, but manage to save face. The blonde kept her finger on the trigger, and grit her teeth as she glared hatefully at them. "Stop lying! He's not dead! He can't be!"
"Poor deluded girl." The Delightful Children tsked as they shook their heads. "If you plan on firing that toy again, we suggest you don't miss, otherwise we might have to show you OUR toy." They threatened before motioning their hands out. "And if you don't believe us, then why don't you go in and see for yourself?"
Rachel lowered her S.C.A.M.P.P as they said that. She flicked her gaze from the five in front of her, then to the house up the sidewalk. Her face scrunching up in denial, the blonde took off up the walkway to the front door, the Delightful Children laughing with every step she took.
"Don't stay too long now," They called out as they started to head back to their home. "Father will be burning this place down as a Christmas present tomorrow! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"
Rachel ignored their haunting laughter as she made it up to the door. Her hand rose to the doorknob, half expecting it to be locked, but to her shock, it opened easily. Without another word, she stepped in and looked around inside. The interior was blank, having nothing to even identify it as a home anymore. But she noted with suspicion that there was velvet rope and crayoned colored signs pointing her down a certain path. After a moment, she remembered Hoagie's words. Of how Numbuh One o' One had remolded the place into some sort of memorial. Saving the information away, she continued on.
She passed the entry to the kitchen, past the barren study, She almost went up the stairs, just to check and see if Nigel was in his room, but she pushed that aside and continued on to the back of the house, hoping all her questions would be answered soon. The path led her to a door, and when she opened it, she saw that it continued down into a dimly lit basement. Deciding to keep following the signs, she dove down with gentle footing.
The basement of the house seemed overrun with roots of the tree, more so then any other part of the house. There were poorly painted caution signs all around, warning her to watch her step. But she paid them no mind, only kept walking forward to something hidden near the back wall. The secret entrance to the treehouse. They had built a small security booth around the door apparently to manage any lines that formed. She arched a brow, then gripped her S.C.A.M.P.P tighter when she saw the door opening. Out came an operative she had never seen before, probably the guard. He looked ready to close up and go home, but after hours or not, he was about to let her in.
The boy closed the door carefully before turning the light at his station out. He reached for his keys to lock the gate, but then swatted his hand away when he remembered that one kid was still up there. The guy had better remember to lock up when he was done or he'd never hear the end of it from Numbuh One o' One. He went to zip up his polka, but stopped when he saw some blonde girl walking up to him. "Uh, sorry. The memorial's closed."
"I don't care." Rachel grumbled out as she stepped into the light. "Open the door."
"Look lady, I said it's closed –"
"I SAID OPEN THE DOOR!"
"HOLY!" The boy jumped when Rachel suddenly shoved her S.C.A.M.P.P in his face. He gulped while trying to form the words. "I-It's not locked! Just go in!" Rachel lowered her weapon, and pushed the boy aside as she went through the gate. Once inside the trunk of the tree, she looked to the end of the bark hall to see a service elevator leading up. When he saw that she had gone up, the kid dusted himself off.
"Man, the holidays are whack." He muttered to himself as he headed off to the stairs, not caring what happened here anymore. "First that janitor goes up then that crazy chick…"
Rachel tapped her foot against the floor as the elevator climbed its way up. It was faster then any adult crafted elevator, but it still moved far to slow for her liking. Dim lights crawled down her body with every new floor, and she fidgeted uncomfortably as it neared the final stop. She wasn't completely sure if she was ready to go through with this. If she found something she didn't like, there was no telling how she would react. But she had to do this. There was no other way to know for certain. It was one of those things she just had to see with her own eyes.
The elevator clicked to a stop, and the metal doors slowly opened to reveal the way into the treehouse. After a minute to calm her nerves, she carefully stepped in. Her footsteps echoed, and she winced at the noise they caused, and once she was out of the elevator, she jerked in surprise when it closed and started to climb back down, stranding her there. She frowned back at the way she came in, then looked forward to get a good guess of her location. It looked like some sort of lobby. But other then that, there was nothing that interested her. She glanced across the room to another doorway. Going with a gut feeling, she took off down the hall.
After swerving down a corner, Rachel bolted off down the dark corridor looking for anything. Absolutely anything that could give her hope. She stopped as she came across a large door with the number five painted across it. Ignoring the velvet ropes warning her to stay out, she pressed her hand against the lock and watched as it opened. She peered inside expecting to see cushions, lounge chairs, and magazines scattered across the floor, but her heart started thumping faster when she saw the room was empty.
The girl then continued down the hall trying to find another room, and she found Numbuh Four's. Silently praying, she opened the door, and found it empty as well. The wrestling ring in the center was just collecting dust at this point in time.
She continued on the Numbuh Three's room, hoping to find cute, stuffed animals and dolls coating the area from wall to wall. But when she opened the door, the image of a bubbly raven haired Oriental jumping up and down on her bed faded into an barren room. Nothing, just like the others
Rachel pushed herself off the wall, her face crinkling with agitation as she stayed on the path. She found herself running into a large hanger door with the number two slashed across in dull blue paint, as she approached, she felt the cold wind of the outside slap her in the face as she ventured into the hanger. There were no blueprints for crazy new inventions hanging off the walls, or any airplanes descending from the roof. The whole area had been stripped and remodeled into some parking lot for 2x4 ships that came to visit.
The blonde's face dropped as she leaned against the railing, having stopped at a dead end. She looked down from the balcony she was standing from and noticed a series of branches steadily lowering down to the bottom floor. Stepping back to gain distance, she ran forward and leapt over the railing. Her hand shot out and grabbed hold of a branch. Using her momentum, she swung herself forward and her foot landed on another branch. She stepped off and stuck her other foot out, and carefully hopped from footing to footing. Once she reached the last branch in her sight, she bent her knees and sprung off of it, her hand flying out to grab a pole. Holding on for dear life, she curled around it as she slid back down. She grunted she jumped off, and once she was on the floor, she continued her run to the door.
Rachel felt tears stinging her eyes as she ran down the final hallway. She knew this was the last one because she had passed everyone else's. It had counted down from five to two, and every single room so far had been empty, nothing left. The truth was right in front of her, but she refused to see it just yet. He had to still be there. He had to be. She approached the final door, and saw that it wasn't opening automatically like the others. Clenching her eyes shut, she jerked up her arms as she charged through it.
"HAAH!"
She felt the hollowed out wood planks crack and break under her weight. She pushed through and didn't try and stop herself from falling to the floor. She laid there for a moment, eyes still shut as she felt the prickles of broken wood rain down on her back. Taking in a shakey breath, she dragged her hands to her torso, and eased herself up to her feet. Rachel stood straight, but had yet to open her eyes. The blonde almost flinched away, but took a confident stride forward as her lids fluttered. Deciding it was now or never, she revealed her chocolate pupils to the world as she studied the room she had entered.
A strangled sound escaped her throat and a lone tear traveled down her cheek
It was Sector V's main debriefing room. The wide room came out like a large oval, and panned windows showcased the neighborhood below and snowstorm outside. Shut down computer terminals didn't make a beep or click as they sat there waiting to be operated by kids who were never coming back. In the center of the room was the hologram projector circled by a green sofa that always seemed so welcoming and inviting. Everything about the room had remained untouched, all except the one thing that held Rachel's attention.
The blonde took silent steps up, walking around the hologram nesting area to stare transfixed at the object before her. Up there on the deck was where the commander's podium used to stand. Where a certain bald British boy used to give out new mission details, or give a rallying speech before going after some Delightful cake. She could even almost see him mouthing out orders to anyone who would listen.
But the sad part of it was, he wasn't there. The podium had been replaced. Where it used to stand was now a medium sized statue of the number one crafted out of recycled and melted scrap metal. The statue gave off a silvery glint, and she noticed some inscriptions traveling down the length of it. Names of operatives who fell during the Grandfather attack. The same names she had to read over when this happened while she was Supreme Leader. But at the bottom of the statue was a plaque carrying a new name she didn't have to read when she was Supreme Leader. A name she had never wanted to see on something like this. She forced herself to read what lay written, forced herself not to bawl her eyes out as they trailed over it.
In Memory of Nigel Uno, Soopreme Leader of the Kids Next Door
Numbuh One Operative, Son, and Friend
May He Never Grow Old
1996-2006
"N-No." Rachel stuttered out as she backed away from the statue. She gazed up the length of it, eyes shining with unshed tears as she tried to deny it. But this was why she had came up here, why she had snapped on Hoagie and the Delightful Children. She wanted to prove them wrong even though deep down she knew they were right. But of course she had to come anyway. Had to come see for herself. And now that she had, there was no taking it back. Here in this life, there was no Sector V. There was no Numbuh One. There was no Nigel Uno. The boy was dead.
The boy was gone.
Rachel shook lightly as she tucked her arms to her chest, trying to calm herself and gather warmth, but it did no good at all. She sniffled a bit, still not believing that this had happened. And when she looked up at the statue again, saw that it was still there mocking her, she dropped to her knees, and lowered her head in despair. "…No."
"Cookie?"
The blonde rose her puffy eyes at the voice and looked to see a hand offering her a Christmas cookie. She followed the length of the arm to see it belonged to Henry. The blue hooded angel just stood there, looking down at her with an unreadable face and offering her some sweet she didn't want. After a few more minutes, the boy shrugged and repealed his hand. He then started to walk around Rachel, inspecting the cookie as she followed him with her eyes silently.
"They always help me feel a bit better when I'm down. Give me a little perk to lighten the mood." He spoke as he slowly twirled the round baked treat in his fingers. "I haven't had a cookie in real long time. I won't bore you with numbers, but you could imagine how much I wanted one. For a while, I had actually thought it was all I really wanted. Funny huh?" He chuckled a bit. "But with every new bite, it seems to lose its sweetness, its appeal. You keep eating it and eating it, and by the time it's gone, you realize it's just a cookie. They're a dime a dozen." He spoke as he took a bite, seeming to chew on the snack without caring. "You have more at the ready, but then you wonder what the point is. If you have it all the time, it stops being special. Sooner or later, you're just going to get sick of it. You find out there is too much of a good thing." He noticed Rachel out of the corner of his eye then frowned. "I was rambling, wasn't I?"
Rachel just stared at Henry, having no idea of what to say. She looked away from back to the memorial statue, and found words coming to her bit by bit. "Is…is he really –"
"Yeah." Henry finished as he gazed at the statue himself. "Shame he had to pull a 'Chad' to save everyone, but there was no other option. He couldn't leave the Moonbase, couldn't go off and find Numbuh Zero. Grandfather would have ravaged the Earth to find and destroy that book, so Nigel had to trap the guy in his own obsession. Too bad he didn't make out, but you know how it is." He shrugged as he took another bite of his last cookie. "The captain goes down with the ship."
"So…y-you knew?" Rachel questioned as she faced the boy. Her fire flaring again, her nails dug into her palms as her vision reddened. "You knew about this? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
Henry only smirked "You never asked." His smirk then fell when Rachel snapped up her S.C.A.M.P.P and fired at him. He looked down at his chest and watched as the laser phased right through him without leaving a mark. He then rose a brow as she fired again, obviously just venting her anger at this point. "Believe it or not, that actually stings a little bit."
"You killed him!" Rachel cried as she kept firing the weapon despite it having no affect other then ignoring him. Finally giving up, she flung the useless rifle across the room. "I'll NEVER forgive you for that!"
"Hold up now," Henry motioned as he raised his free hand. "It's not like I personally threw him into the fire. If that's what you're peeved about, then go take it up with the angel of death. Nigel dying was just another side effect of me altering time to your wish." He rolled back his shoulders as he nibbled on his cookie. "It just fell through the cracks that way."
"But how could you?" Rachel uttered out as she forced another wave of sadness back. "How could you do it knowing he was going to die?"
"But Rachel," Henry started as he rose an amused brow. "I only did what you asked me to do."
"WHAT?" The girl screamed out appalled, her cracked voice bouncing off the wall. She snapped her gaze between Henry and the memorial, completely blindsided of what he just accused her of. "I-I didn't ask for THIS!"
"I know what you asked of me. You wanted me to make it so you never became Supreme Leader, among other hinted things. Well you got your wish." He looked back her, face still blank. "Aren't you happy?"
Rachel wildly shook her head in negative. Failing to see how her not becoming Supreme Leader could ultimately lead up to Nigel dying. "But why him? Why did he have to…t-to die?"
"Well, someone had to be Supreme Leader. As for the rest, I suppose that's how the cookie crumbles." He suddenly stopped then looked down to the treat in his hand with a dry look. "We're really pushing this symbolism thing, aren't we?"
"But…" Rachel weakly mumbled as she huddled down again. "But that's not fair."
"How is it not? Look at you. You've got everything!" Henry motioned as he flung his arms out. The boy hopped up on the deck and began walking along the edge. "You've got this fun and easy job, friends who remember the right gifts to get you, a picture perfect family, and no world weighing down on your shoulders. Isn't that what you asked for?" He then stopped, one hand leaning against the statue whilst the other motioned to it. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
"No!" Rachel yelled as she looked up to the angel. "I would have never wanted him gone! I want him here alive with everyone else. With me!"
Henry only shook his head as he pushed off the memorial. "Well I'm sorry, but this is how it all evens out dear. I told you before, you can't get everything you want. There has to be balance. You wanted your childhood," He reached down into his hoodie pouch and to her shock, pulled out a pair of distinctively familiar sunglasses. "So I had to take Nigel."
Rachel eyes followed the shades every way Henry swung them about. Her hand almost rose up to try and grab them, but she stopped herself when she realized the angel was still talking.
"But I don't see what there is to be so upset about. He obviously wasn't that important to you. So many times we put him there to help with your troubles, to make your job more bearable. We gave you something we thought you might appreciate, a shoulder to cry on when you needed it." He went on as he rolled the shades on his fingers. Then suddenly, he clutched his hand around them. "But from the looks of it, you didn't care that much. Ignored him and his offerings."
Rachel glared at Henry as she tried to rebuttal. "I've never ignored –" She was interrupted when Henry's face was suddenly in front of her's. She flinched back, then yelped as he placed something over her eyes. He put Nigel's shades on her face for some reason. She was about to jerk them off, but froze when she made something out in the lens, a small scene playing out. A memory.
"What if I stayed to help?" Nigel offered as he motioned his hand about. "Two heads are better then one, and things could get finished up faster so you'll still have the chance to get home." He then smiled warmly as he waited on baited breath for her answer. "And even still, at least you won't be all by yourself for Christmas."
Rachel was still too deeply immersed within her paperwork to fully register the extent of the boy's offer. Once she was able to think a bit on something other then the document, she waved off the boy motioning him to leave. "That's quite alright Nigel but this is my duty to deal with, not yours."
"Oh." Was all Nigel managed to get out. He was expecting her to disagree and come up with some excuse. Something along the lines of 'not wanting to ruin his evening as well'. If that had been the case, then he had a planned response to it. But the bluntness of her statement took him by storm. So much that he actually found himself stopping while she continued onward. "Are you sure?" Seeing her walk away brought forth a depressing feeling within his chest.
"I'll be fine." Rachel nodded as she prepared to turn into the service elevator. Her eyes strayed upward a bit, feeling a strong urge to glance back at Nigel and see him off. She had a smile ready to go as she rose her head to look back, but then she caught sight of yet another surprise hitch in the paper and snorted as her attention was fully drawn to the sheet once more. "Merry Christmas, Nigel."
"Merry Christmas, Rachel."
Rachel sat there slack jawed as Henry pulled the shades away. Her look lingered to the ground as she processed what she had just witnessed. "He…he wanted to stay. And I just…" She couldn't believe it. She was sure she would've have remembered if…
"No one's offered to help? Stay behind so you wouldn't have to do it on your own?"
"Does it look like someone offered to stay?"
"Just thought someone would."
"I think I would know if someone offered to help or not."
She blinked back more wetness as another memory played in her mind of its own accord. It was all right there. Someone did offer to help her out. Nigel was willing to give up his Christmas to spend it helping her out so she could still have her's to look forward to. But she had made herself so busy that she, "I ignored him…"
"Sucks, doesn't it? Blinded yourself with your own troubles that you couldn't even see the guiding light." She looked off to the side the see Henry finishing up his cookie. "But it doesn't matter now. He's gone and you got your wish."
Rachel back up at the statue, not knowing what to say. "I…I just wanted…" She tried to think of a liable excuse, but growled to herself when she couldn't think straight. "I don't know what I wanted!"
"I'll tell you what you wanted. You wanted to be a kid, or at least what you thought being a kid was." Henry explained as he turned back to her. "You obviously weren't happy with what you had already been given, you found something to complain about. You didn't want to work, you didn't want to sign boring papers. You wanted to go play, you wanted to have fun. You wanted to act like a kid because you kept thinking your job stopped you from doing that." The angel then smiled a bit. "But in way, you were already acting like a kid. Just like any normal kid, you wanted out of your responsibility."
"I just…" Rachel tried to explain, but found herself not being able to. She didn't know what to think, but there must be something she could say to prove him wrong. But then she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see the angel staring down at her.
"There's nothing wrong with that. You're not perfect, can't claim to be wise and know everything." He then took his hand away took a few steps away from her. "But you have to understand that you chose it all. No one forced you to become Supreme Leader, I've shown you that much. And even if you didn't, someone else would." He stopped and they both looked to the statue again. "But you did choose it, and honestly, you're lucky you're getting this much say in it."
Rachel wasn't following. "What do you mean?"
"You became Supreme Leader, but then didn't want to be, but also didn't want to face the consequences of backing out. Then I came along and made all that possible. I'm your easy way out. You didn't become Supreme Leader and got back the childhood you felt you were deprived of." Henry stopped, then fully faced her. "That's what you wanted, right?"
Rachel held her arm as he asked that question. He had asked it so many times during the course of the night, and now that she really thought on it, she never gave him a full answer. And even now, she didn't know if she could. "I don't think I really know what I want anymore."
"Well you better figure it out fast."
Rachel stopped, then looked at Henry confused. "Why?"
The boy only lifted up his wrist, showing the watch hidden behind his sleeve. "It's ten forty-one."
The girl stared at the watch for a few seconds as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. Then it hit her. At ten forty-five this life was going to become permanent. "W-Wait! You don't mean –"
"At ten forty-five, this will be your life. Your old life and all your memories will fade away; becoming nothing more then some scant dream as new ones take their place. You only have a few more minutes to invoke your exit clause." Henry uttered seriously. "So I'll ask you one last time. What do you want, Rachel? To have the ultimate childhood? Or your old desk job back?"
"How could you ask…" Rachel trailed off, feeling pressured under the time limit. The blonde let out a frustrated scream as she glared at the boy in front of her. "Why are you giving me so little time?"
"Well, that's kinda your fault." Henry muttered a tad sheepish. "I wasn't planning on pulling the time card. I was going to put everything back either way. But then you went on about how this is what you wanted, and I kinda had to agree since that's my job. Talk about fashioning your own noose." He shrugged. Looking away from the troubled girl, he looked up to the memorial statue with a hidden smirk. "Besides, what's one kid compared to the ultimate childhood?"
Rachel froze at those words and looked past him to Nigel's grave site. Her expression fell and she glanced to her angel with a torn gaze. "Why…why are you making me choose?"
"Because growing up is about choosing the way you live your life. And Rachel T. McKenzie, it's time to step off the pedestal, take off the colander, and start doing some growing up yourself. So what's it gonna be? Thirteen of the best years you could ever hope to have? Have fun battling the bad guys, saving the day and going back to your home without any worries?" He then held out his other hand, and opened it revealing the sunglasses. "Or maybe a chance? A chance to start molding something better then a few years you'll outgrow and forget. A chance to make some mistakes while working to make all your other wants, all your other dreams the reality." He then looked at his watch and frowned. "And hurry up, you're running out of time and I've ran out of meaningful stuff to say."
Rachel's gaze never broke from the sunglasses in Henry's hand. While the clocked ticked on, she did what he had instructed her to do earlier. To weigh everything she would gain, and everything she would lose in the process.
She would get a life without having to worry about the management of the Kids Next Door, not worry about starting some war if she signed the wrong paper. She would get a whacky team of friends to call her own and get to do all that cool amazing feats she heard other sectors brag about. She would get to be some hero. She would get her brother being a tad nicer to everybody, making him less of an outcast because of his quirks. She would get all that and possibly more.
But what would she lose?
She would lose the opportunity of running the best organization of kids she had ever stumbled upon.
"Five."
She would lose the friendship of the flaming Irish redhead who was always quick to defend her honor, and the arctic drill sergeant who always made sure she was respected as the leader she was.
"Four."
She would lose all that experience. All those memories that were her own. All the wonderful and horrible times she had endured, but got to call her own. Her own set of special and unique memories.
"Three."
She would lose her life. The one that she had worked for. The one that had shaped her into Rachel, Numbuh Three Sixty-Two. The one that was still shaping her, preparing for life after Kids Next Door was over for her. She would lose the person she had become.
And finally, she would lose that one thing that kept her on her toes. The one thing that made it all worth while.
"Two."
She would lose Nigel.
"One –"
"GIVE IT BACK!" Rachel cried out as she snatched the sunglasses from Henry's hand. The blonde held the items to her chest as she went on her knees, clenching her eyes shut and willing this nightmare to be over. "I want MY life back! Mine! No one else's! That's what I want!" She yelled, the last of fire flickering out as she huddled on the floor sparkling tears slipping between her eyelids. She wanted to open them, but was too afraid. If she opened her eyes and found out she was still in Sector V's treehouse huddled under that statue honoring the dead, then she would completely shatter. "Please…"
"Numbuh 362?"
"GAH!" Rachel jumped when a hand touched her arm. She jerked up right and frantically looked around. "W-Wha?" Where the heck was she? It was too bright to be Sector V's treehouse, and the floor was too…soft? She felt down to feel some cushiony material under her. She knitted her brows, then prepared to freak out again when she noticed Nigel's sunglasses weren't in her hands anymore. "W-Where are they?"
"Where are what, m'am?"
"AH – What the?" Rachel blinked confused at the kid in front of her. He was dressed in some brown work outfit with a matching cap. He held a broom in one hand while the other hand was placed on the cleaning cart behind him. The blonde girl looked utterly bewildered at the stranger. "W-Who are you?"
"Um," The kid started. "The janitor?"
"Janitor? Wait…" Rachel stopped as she studied his face, suddenly her eyes widened. "Henry!"
"You know my name?"
"Of course I know your name! You're my…" However, Rachel's face softened and her voice drifted off as her pupils adjusted to the lighting better. The boy in front of her shared the same name as Henry, even the same codenumbuh if his name-tag was correct. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't her guardian angel. His hair was too light, face too thin. And his eyes were dull gray, not smug violet.
"I'm your what now?"
"…Never mind. My mistake." Rachel mumbled as she lowered her arms. She then looked past Henry, who wasn't Henry, to analyze her surroundings. To her surprise, she wasn't in the cold, dark debriefing slash memorial room of Sector V. She was somewhere else entirely. She was in a lobby like area, with two high tech doors on one side of the room, and a large staircase leading up somewhere on the other side. The petite blonde looked over her shoulder out the window, but only saw the night sky. But, it didn't look exactly like the night sky. It almost looked as if she were in space.
Hold up.
"Where are we?" Rachel asked as she faced the janitor again.
"Uh, on the Moonbase in the Supreme Leader's lobby." The boy answered, wondering if the girl had hit her head.
"Moonbase?" Rachel repeated confused. "What am I doing here?"
"Well you needed to go to the bathroom, but I had just mopped in there." The janitor explained. "You said you were gonna sit out here and wait for it to dry up some. You musta dozed off."
"I…fell asleep?" Rachel mumbled. "In the lobby?" That didn't add up. Yes, she was starting to remember getting up and going to the bathroom. But she never remembered falling asleep.
"Yeah. I came back up during my rounds and saw you here." The janitor said as he started mopping at the floor. "Looked like you were having some nightmare."
"Nightmare." Rachel whispered to herself. She remembered going to the bathroom, then back up to her office. Then Henry, the angel, showed up and then…she remembered it all so clearly. But it had all been a dream? Suddenly she tensed, not wanting underestimate the angel. For all she knew, this could be some new trick! "H-Henry, I need to know something!"
"I do have a codenumbuh, m'am."
"Whatever. Just answer this question." Rachel motioned out to catch his attention. "Who's the Supreme Leader?"
"Uh, you are?"
"R-Really?"
"Last I checked, m'am."
"I'm the Supreme Leader? Me? Numbuh 362?" She asked, and all the janitor could was nod, not wanting to get in trouble for back talking to the Supreme Leader. Even if she was acting weird. "Not Patton?"
"Numbuh 60? Pfft. That guy can stay in the arctic where he belongs." The boy muttered. If Numbuh Sixty was the Supreme Leader, he would probably make janitors like him clean the floor with toothbrushes…while doing push-ups! Then he froze, remembering that Numbuh Three Sixty-Two was friends with the guy. "P-Please don't tell him I said that."
"Am I really back?" Rachel mumbled to herself, not completely certain. Her hands went to her head, and she panicked when all she felt was her hair. "Where's my helmet?"
"I think you left it in your office."
The blonde snapped her look up the stairs. Her office. Without a second thought, she took off to reach the room. "I have to make sure!"
Back at the bottom, the janitor only shook his head as he went back to work. "Man, the higher in rank you are, the crazier you must be."
Rachel burst through the office door then froze, half expecting the security system to fry her for intruding unannounced. But after a moment, she was fine and she made her way to the desk, still not sure if it was her's again. She spotted the metal colander helmet, and stiffened as she put her hands around it. Flinching away, she quickly turned it around and held the emblem to her face. She thought she was going to be met with Patton's number, but her hope bubbled when she only saw her own.
"Three Sixty-Two." She read aloud. It really was her's. She then remembered all her other items, then began digging in her pockets to find them. "My security card." She pulled out the plastic item, and found a smile growing as she continued to search. "My Global Command Key." She then pulled out the golden key, its metal shining in the light of the office. Her office. After placing the two items on the table, she reached around for one more thing. "My ID." She pulled out the thin card, and held her breath as she stared reading it. And is it went on, her grin only got larger.
"Operative: Rachel T. McKenzie. Codenumbuh: 362. Cadet Next Door Class of 2000 Graduate. Age Eleven. Sector: Moonbase. Supreme Leader." She read, running a free hand through her hair to get a hold of herself. "I…I don't believe it." Everything was there. Everything she had on her that had been taken after her wish had been returned. Her security card. Her key. Her proper ID. But then she paused, thinking she was still missing something. Tucking the ID back into her pocket, her hands fled to her sweater's pouch the find one last item to prove she was home.
"They have to be here. They should be…" After a few minutes of mumbling, she produced a plastic bag of cookie crumbs. Cookies crumbs from her Christmas cookies. "Harvey's Christmas cookies!" She had saved a few of them for one of her cookie breaks before she made her wish, and they disappeared afterwords. But if they were still there, if the crumbs were there, that mean she did have them. It meant she never left. It meant,
"I'm Supreme Leader again!" She had never felt more happier to say those words, even after she took the title back from Father all that time ago. She felt like letting go of her serious demeanor and giggle like some giddy school girl. Everything she had seen, everything she had been through was fixed. It was all as it should be now. It had all been some dream.
"A dream." Rachel spoke out as she stopped her victory dance. She slowly looked to her bag of cookie crumbs once more, now remembering something. "Wait, that can't be right. I never ate these cookies." She didn't even know she had the cookies until soon time after she came back from the bathroom, and she really didn't remember falling asleep. "I couldn't of ate these. Any of them. I gave them all to…"
A light metal clang caught her attention and she turned around to see what had caused it. There on the center of her desk was her sliver cookie tin. She looked at it skeptically, pretty sure it wasn't there when she came in. Besides, she gave the thing to Henry to enjoy. Remembering that bit of information, she walked over to it and picked it up, instantly noticing how light it was. Ever so curious, she cracked open the lid and peered inside.
What greeted her was one stray cookie with an angel design coating the exterior. The baked treat lay in the center, obviously the last one left out of the whole tin. Narrowing her eyes, she thought she saw something under the cookie. She scooped up the cookie and the strange thin item with her fingers, and put the tin down before looking to her hand. She separated the cookie and the item, and to her surprise it was a small post-it note. The one Harvey gave her? Gently unfolding it, she was determined to find out.
Hey Rachel. Told you I would save you one, and I saved the best for last. Enjoy it, you deserve it. You made a hard gut decision back there, and gave up a set life for an uncertain one. It's not the first tough decision you've made, and it's not going to be the last. But remember when it comes down to it, you always have a choice in how to make your own future. I can't help you much there, but my boss says to go with your first instinct and you'll be fine. Or something like that, I wasn't paying that much attention. Anyway, good luck and thanks,
Henry.
By the time she finished the note, Rachel placed it in the pouch of her sweater and looked to the cookie in her hand. After thinking it over, the girl smiled as she took a slow bite of the sweet snack. Once it had all been gulped down, her grin grew as she studied the rest of it. "It even has nuts in it!"
As she enjoyed her snack, a knock on the door interrupted her savoring of the treat. Wondering who else could be coming up to her office, she lowered her hand and waited for the person to step in. "Come in." The kid entered, and Rachel smiled at who it was. "Fanny!"
"M'am." The redhead greeted as she fully stepped into the room. Once she had unruffled her green long sleeved shirt, she coughed into her hands as she began to explain. "I jus' came up here to – Hey!" She gasped in surprised as she suddenly found herself in a tight hug by Rachel. "Uh, what are ya doin', m'am?"
"I'm hugging my best friend!" Rachel smiled as she gripped the Irish girl. After loosening her grip, she looked back at Fanny a tad worried. "We are friends, right?"
"Sure we are." Fanny awkwardly nodded as Rachel backed off. A hand rose to scratch under her helmet as she looked over the blonde to make sure she was alright. "Ye jus' surprised me is all."
"Sorry about that, it's just…heh. You wouldn't believe what I've been through." Rachel chuckled a bit as she shuffled her foot. Her eyes then narrowed, and she looked up at the girl confused. "But wait, what are you still doing here Fanny? I let you all go home hours ago."
"I think yer watch is fast m'am, it wasn't even thirty minutes ago." Fanny said, feeling the need to correct her. "And I know ya told me ta go home, but I was worried about ye. Making yourself busy on Christmas Eve. I wanted ta help ya out, so I went ahead and locked up Decommissioning so you would hafta." She admitted as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Stupid boys shut down remote security, so it woulda taken ya forever to do."
"You did that for me?" Rachel asked only for Fanny to nod. The blonde was touched, here she had thought she would have to do everything because no one else wanted to, but Fanny went ahead and helped her out so she wouldn't have to. Rachel warmly smiled at the girl. "Thank you Fanny. That…that means more then you know."
"Right." Fanny slowly answered, deciding to just go with it. Even she couldn't claim to know what went on in Rachel's head. She was the Supreme Leader after all. "Anyway, I just wanted ta come up and check on ye before I left since nobody's staying behind to help you."
"That's nice Fanny but someone already…" Rachel's eyes widened as it all came back to her. "Nigel! Fanny quick!" She spoke out urgently as she looked at the girl with an expression of desperation. "Where is he?"
"What? Numbuh 1?" Fanny snorted at the thought of the arrogant bald boy. "Last I saw of him, he was heading down to the hanger bay to leave."
"Then I'm not too late." Without another word, Rachel tucked her unfinished cookie into her pouch then rushed past Fanny, intent on reaching the hanger bay before she missed him. She needed to know he was alright. The blonde spared one backwards wave to Fanny before disappearing down the hallway. "Have a good holiday Fanny!"
Fanny could only slowly wave back as she arched a brow at the girl's strange action. "You too, Rachel."
"We're ready whenever you are, chief!"
Nigel looked away from the window and back to his team's ship when he heard his friend call out to him. With a curt nod, the Brit turned back to gazing at the planet below. "I'm on the way, Numbuh 2." After adjusting his shades, the bald operative turned and began marching across the expanse of the hanger back to his ship.
He couldn't recall seeing the port this empty before. It was only him and his team waiting in the ship on the other side. It looked so large and wide with just them still hanging around, every other kid had taken off to go home. The only reason he was still there was because he had been waiting for Hoagie to refuel the ship once he delivered the mission report to Numbuh Three Sixty-Two. As the girl entered his thoughts, he could only sigh and hope she would be alright tonight. She didn't deserve to be alone, but if that was what she wanted, then he had to obey and let her be.
Suddenly the boy stopped as a faint sound entered his hearing. Curious, he glanced over his shoulder to look around. It was almost as if someone had called out to him. But he didn't see anyone. Nigel shrugged, turning to board his team's S.C.A.M.P.E.R. with the rest of Sector V when a voice rang out, echoing across the walls of the hanger bay. What he saw would be a sight to remember; the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, leaping off of the catwalk like an acrobat and landing on her feet like a true gymnast, her feet sliding forward serving to give her momentum as she continued to run across the cavernous hanger towards them.
Before Nigel could wonder what he could possibly have done wrong to attract her attention so seriously, he was being half-hugged, half-tackled, his small frame squeezed tightly against the older girl's frame, not unlike the way Numbuh Three cuddled her Rainbow Monkeys. Yet despite the constriction, he could feel everything about her – the desperation in her embrace, the way her hair was slick and matted, as though she had been exerting herself for some time, the definition and contours of her slender frame that made him blush, and the scent of lavender mixed with sweat from whatever exertions she had been going through. Completely unsure how to react, he simply returned her hug, albeit far more gently, patting the back of her head softly.
"You're still...here..." She sniffled, in some mixture of sadness and relief. Puzzled, Nigel looked up into her face, searching for answers.
"Of course I am. Where else would I be, except perhaps on a mission." He smiled, but somehow felt as though he was being shut off from some kind of cosmic joke. To further confound him, the girl didn't respond, merely bumping her forehead against his, her softy hair, rubbing against his scalp in a way that made him feel both rather comfortable and considerably nervous.
"What's the holdup, Numbuh 1?" The pilot of the craft exited. The two looked up to see Hoagie stepping out to see what the commotion was about. "I thought you said we needed to get back before dinner or your–" Hoagie immediately stopped speaking as he got a look at his fearless leader...who was caught up in the embrace of his own leader, Nigel looking incredibly awkward and blushing at the sudden intrusion.
"Well," Hoagie smirked, "I'd tell you two to get a room, but it seems like you've got the whole hangar to yourselves!" He slapped his knee at his joke, laughing uproariously.
The sound of the boy's voice seemed to trigger something within Rachel, and she began to rely less on Nigel to support her, putting her weight onto her own feet. Hesitantly drawing away, she turned to look at Sector V's chief 2x4 Technologist with nearly as large a grin as she had previously had for Nigel. "Numbuh 2! You're back to normal!" She shouted happily, dashing over to glomp him.
"Gah!" The portly boy yelped as he was caught up in the girl's bone-crushing hug, "I didn't even know I had been abnormal!" He attempted to protest her actions, but soon seemed to become a bit taken by being fawned over so greatly by a pretty face. "Maybe I should make an effort to be abnormal more often!" He smiled.
Rachel responded by giving him a playful smack on the cheek. "Don't you ever change, Mr. Hoagie Gilligan. And don't lose track of your sector leader. That goes double for you, Numbuh 1!" She insisted, seeming to recover from her unusually girlish outburst.
"Uh, yeah. We'll keep that in mind." Nigel answered as he looked over the girl. He looked past her up to Hoagie, who just shrugged, not having a clue to what had just happened either. Shaking it off, Nigel stepped a bit closer to the blonde. "Are you alright, m'am?"
"Why yes, I feel quite fine. Better then fine! At least I do now." Rachel smiled as she regained control over her emotions, but she couldn't help it. Nigel was back, Hoagie was back. Everything was right again. "I can't remember the last time I felt this good."
"Glad to hear it." Nige smiled back himself. He then looked confused, wondering why she had decided to come back and catch him so sudden. "Was there something you needed, Numbuh 362? Something wrong with the report I gave you?"
"Oh no. It was flawless, just like always." Rachel looked down a bit as she took another step to the boy. "I wanted to make sure you guys were alright. I…I wanted to see you actually."
Nigel's blush returned. "Me?"
"Aw," Hoagie spoke out as he pretended to wipe at his eyes. "I'm a sucker for these types of moments."
Nigel deadpanned. "Numbuh 2 –"
"Hey! What the crud is takin' so long?" An Australian voice rang out as Wally appeared in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s doorway. The bowl cut Aussie glanced down at the three with an impatient look. "I wanna get back to the treehouse so I can get my presents!"
"I know, right?" A much more cheerful and feminine voice spoke out as Kuki appeared at Wally's side. The raven haired girl beamed a mirthful grin as she hugged some Rainbow Monkey to her chest. "I'm so excited to see what you got me this year!" She giggled while Wally shifted his eyes. Looks like they were going to have to stop for french fries again. Suddenly the two youngest of Sector V were pulled back when the final member stepped up from behind.
"Okay you two, just wait a minute." Abby intoned as she shushed them back to their seats. Kuki skipped on back while Wally grumbled as they disappeared into the interior. With that dealt with, the spy tipped her blood red cap up to get a better look at the kids below her. "We headin' back or what, boss?"
Nigel looked up to the girl before glancing back to Rachel who was still smiling. He was half expecting her to jump up and hug those three like she had done with him and Hoagie. The British boy gave his second-in-command a timid smile as he rose his hand up. "Just a few more minutes, okay Numbuh 5?"
"It's what Abby's here for." The mocha skinned girl smirked as she gave a lazy salute. She then looked down at Hoagie and easily jerked him back into the ship by the caller. "Come on you." The portly boy only smiled and waved at Nigel and Rachel as Abby pulled him back in.
Rachel's smile never faltered as she watched the rest of Sector V huddle back into the ship. Together again. Her eyes switched back to Nigel, her chuckled as he scratched the back of his scalp. "That's some team you've got there, solider."
"Yeah," Nigel uttered back a tad embarrassed. "Still, I don't know what I would do without them sometimes."
Rachel's smile dropped as he said that, remembering what she had seen earlier. The girl looked away sadly as she rubbed her arm. "Or they without you…"
Nigel frowned at her look. "Is something wrong?"
"No…well, that's not completely true." Rachel sighed. She looked back towards the boy and shifted her eyes to the floor as she spoke. "I'm sorry for earlier Nigel. For just brushing you off and ignoring you like that. I didn't mean it."
"No need to apologize Rachel," Nigel smiled a bit as he tried to comfort her. "It's alright –"
"No it's not. You've always tried to be there. To help me out, to just talk, or make me relax with a cookie break. But I've never realized what all it really meant, I was taking you for granted. Thinking you'll always be there and wait until whenever I'm ready." Rachel looked back up to him. "But you won't always be there Nigel. Whether you want it to happen or not, you'll be gone one day. You'll be gone and that would just leave me wishing I hadn't been so stupid. Wishing I would have acted when I still had the opportunity."
Nigel frowned as her words weighed on his mind, there being some truth to them. No matter how good he thought he was, there was always the possibility of him not coming back from a mission. "I know what you mean Rachel. But as long as I have anything to say about it, I'll still be here. I will as long as I can. I know you can't do everything you want to do, you're Supreme Leader. There are some things yo have to give up."
"But I don't have to give up everything." Rachel responded as she wrung her fingers. "That's what I've been doing. Giving up everything because I thought I had to, because I thought this job was forcing me to. But that's not true, I choose to give up all those things. I choose to keep myself busy all the time just like I chose to be Supreme Leader. The only one who pressured me into doing it was me." She shook her head. She couldn't believe how short sided she was. "But I didn't realize that until now. I thought it was just my job keeping me from the things I wanted."
"But you do deserve more then what you've been given." Nigel said wholeheartedly. "That's what I believe."
"That's…that's what I selfishly thought too. And then believe or not, I got my wish." She said, trying to think of a way to tell her story without revealing too much. "I…I had this dream. This dream where I got what I wanted. Where I was free of the responsibility I had chosen. I had friends, presents, fun, everything that could make a kid happy. I thought that was all I needed."
"Sounds pretty cool." Nigel hummed in agreement, but seeing her face darken a bit, he figured that she wasn't thinking the same thing. "But what was wrong?"
"There was one thing missing. The one thing I didn't have." Rachel explained as she gazed into his eyes, making out the coal blue pupils behind the dark visors. "For a while I didn't know what it was, just knew that it left me feeling incomplete. Made everything else seem hollow. And then when I finally realized what it was, it was far too late. It was already gone." She softly uttered. Even now when she remembered that memorial she shook. But after seeing Nigel right there before her, she pushed the fear out of her mind. "Then I had to decide."
"Decide what?"
"I had to decide what I really wanted more. Did I want all those things I felt I never got, those things I felt deprived of. Or did I want to give all of that up just to get that one thing back. It was so confusing, made me feel so conflicted. But I see now, that there really wasn't a choice at all. At least not to me. Because if I had everything I wanted, had the perfect childhood a kid could hope to have and that one special thing wasn't there," She then smiled at Nigel, the strong hidden meaning lost on him just like she predicted. "Then it wouldn't be worth it in the end. It would be pointless. It wouldn't make me truly happy."
When Rachel had finally finished, Nigel couldn't help but find himself smiling as well. He wasn't quite sure if he was following along fully, but he got that this one thing meant a whole lot to her. Maybe even more then the Kids Next Door if that were possible. "So…what was that one thing?"
Rachel smirked at the boy, fighting the urge to giggle. "Now why would you want to know a thing like that, Nigel?"
"It would be a real good gift suggestion." The boy playfully responded. Then his eyes widened a tidbit, and he straightened as he recalled something. "That reminds me!" His hands moved out of their parade rest position as he dug into her pocket. "I can't believe I forgot…"
"Forgot what?" He didn't answer right away, only held his hand out. When he opened it, her eyes widened as she saw the bracelet in his palm. She gently took it and looked it over. A small bracelet made out of orange and black beads, as if it were made to match her tiger striped sweater. Then there were three beads that stood out. They seemed golden in color, and had the numbers three, six, and two scratched into them. Rachel looked up to the boy confused. "What is this?"
"Your gift." Nigel answered while coughing into his hand. "I was going to give it to you earlier, but it must have slipped my mind. Heh, funny how that happens huh?"
"Believe me, I know." Rachel mumbled as her fingers traced over the smooth beads. "You made this for me?"
"Numbuh 3 helped. She said all girls liked jewelry. I guess she had a point, seeing how Lizzie used to like that sort of thing when we were dating." He then paused at what he implied, then heavily blushed as he tried to explain. "T-That isn't to say WE'RE dating! Heh heh… I just, uh, thought you might like it. Um, you do like it? Because if you don't I could get you something else and –"
"I love it." Rachel answered with a smile as she placed the bracelet around her wrist. She then looked towards the boy, and pulled him into another hug. "Thank you."
"N-No problem." Nigel replied flustered. Rachel pulled away, and he looked down at the gift. "Still I think I could try for something better. Maybe I could get you that one thing you don't have if you'd tell me."
Rachel giggled, smirking confidently. "Who's to say I don't already have it?"
"Now what is that supposed to mean?"
"Don't worry about it. I plan on telling you," She smiled as they locked gazes. "One day." They looked down and finally noticed how close their faces were.
"Hey!" The voice caused them blush and put distance between them. Nigel fiddled with his shades while Rachel made a show of brushing off her sweater. Then they paused, and looked back to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R to see Wally tapping his foot on the ground. The blond huffed then made a show of pointing to the Earth. "What's wrong with you guys? There's presents waiting down there! So let's go and open 'em!"
Abby rolled her eyes as she grabbed the back of his hoodie. "Sit down, fool!"
"Hey!"
While Rachel was beginning to wonder if she missed Numbuh Four's brash interruptions or not, Nigel sighed as he faced her again. "He has a point. It is getting late. We better get going." However, he shyly smiled as he tucked his hands behind his back. "But, my earlier offer is still open."
"That won't be necessary," Before he could even look the least bit rejected, Rachel grinned. "I think it's time I went home to my family too."
Nigel blinked before chuckling. "Well in that case, let me and my team escort you there, Supreme Leader m'am." He turned to broad the S.C.A.M.P.E.R but glanced back at her one last time. "Though I'll have to admit I was looking forward spending Christmas with you."
"I don't get you, Nigel Uno." Rachel shook her head as she followed him. "Why would you want to hang out with boring old me when you have all that stuff to unwrap tomorrow morning?"
"I get those sorts of things all the time," He admitted as a small blush formed again. "But…just one smile from you is worth all the presents under the tree."
"O-Oh." Rachel mumbled as a hot blush enveloped her cheeks. A warm feeling bubble forth when he said that, and Rachel let a playful smirk grace her lips as she looked up at him. "Well in that case, I'm sure Numbuh 2 can take the long way back."
Nigel only chuckled as he stepped in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "That he can."
Rachel watched him enter his ship and she spared a look to the Moonbase around her. This was her base, this was her life. And now thinking back, she wouldn't have it any other way. She stuffed her hands in her pouch and prepared to step up, but stopped when she felt something. She pulled the items out to see her unfinished cookie, and the note Henry left her. With an amused smile, she read it over again. 'My first instinct huh?'
"Coming, Rachel?"
The blonde looked up to see Nigel extended his hand down to her. She looked at his waiting palm, and smiled as she took the angel's advice. Following her first instinct, she mirrored his actions and gripped his hand, laughing as he pulled her in. The cookie and note dropped to the floor of the hanger forgotten as she was greeted by the rest of Sector V. Seeing that everyone was on deck, Hoagie smirked as he jerked back on the lever, and the S.C.A.M.P.E.R hovered upwards then rocketed down the length of the line, not stopping even after it breached the Moonbase's protective air bubble. With all said and done, the children speed off the the blue planet below to return home.
Once they had left, the janitor that woke Rachel from her nap appeared around the corner, looking over the empty bay now that everyone had left. He was about to move on, but stopped when he noticed the trash Rachel had dropped. Grumbling, he pushed his cart along as he went to pick it up and throw it away.
"Stupid higher-ups, thinking I have to pick up after them." The boy grumbled as he grabbed the note, crumbled it up, then tossed it in his moving trash can. He then saw the half eaten cookie, and rolled his eyes as he went to pick it up as well. "What am I, their mother?" The boy was about to throw away the cookie, but stopped and stared at it. He then leaned against his cart as he shook the treat lightly, wondering if the five second rule applied here. After a moment, he decided against it. He then looked toward the ceiling with a huff.
"I can't believe this. All those years of training just to sweep up after other kids. Some difference I'm making." Did anyone ever thank him for cleaning the toilets? For making sure the floor wasn't dusty? No. He didn't get any respect around here. "I wish I never got this stupid job."
"I can help with that."
The janitor yelped as he snapped around. There on other side of his cart was some kid. A boy with dark hair and smug violet eyes. He wore a blue hoodie, and there under his collar was some ensign. A small golden metal that looked like a pair of angel wings. The janitor gripped his dust pan defensively. "Who the heck are you?"
"Something's telling me the 'janitor line' isn't gonna work on you." Henry smirked at the kid. The angel noticed the cookie in the operative's hand, and motioned to it. "Hey, you gonna finish that?"
~End Transmission~
Sorry it took so long to update. I've been away for awhile.
Happy New Year!
