Me: Well, you wanted it people and you got it. Yes, this is another chapter of my KND fic and this one is going to be long for once (I mean long) so be prepared. This is to make up for my extremely long hiatus away from fanfiction updating.
Numbuh 5: High time ya continued Caro. Numbuh 5 was beginnin' ta think ya no longer cared 'bout us.
Me: No way. This chapter has Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 103 finally added in along with the true threat revealed. They're both older in this fic (by a year) and 362 has changed her appearance a bit. As this does go in accordance with Operation E.N.D (excellent episode by the way), Numbuh 274 is no longer in the KND but that doesn't mean he won't make any appearances in my fic. Oh yeah, and kudos to reggaeshiko-tama for being my latest reviewer on this fic and for reminding me to continue. (stupid school tends to make me forget) And here we go!
Now downloading Kids Next Door Mission…
Operation: R.E.S.C.U.E.
Real
Evil
Situations
Cause
Unhappy
Experiences
Log 4—Know Your Enemy, Be Your Enemy
Location: Kids Next Door International Headquarters, Moon Base
"Prison transport is up and running. About to arrive at destination in approximately 10 minutes."
"Affirmative Numbuh 92. Welcome to KND Moon Base. Make sure that food processor fuel drive works."
"Roger that Numbuh 362. Numbuh 92 over and out."
With a sigh, Rachel a.k.a. Numbuh 362 and the Kids Next Door's top spy turned off the screen and leaned back in her chair. She had changed greatly in the past year. Her blonde hair was now so long, she could almost sit on it and her bangs now sprang neatly from her forehead. She was taller and thinner than before, yet her flexible personality kept her from standing out among the others.
Her dark brown eyes traveled slowly over the other monitors on the wall. Here she kept track of the amount of missions, both successes and failures, that the operatives scattered across the globe had taken. The monitors also displayed any current missions that she had to handle on her own.
So far, so good. Rachel sat up as she watched another transport containing a teenager awaiting decommissioning cruise in space. She shook her head. It was a shame really that the former KND operatives could not handle leaving. She couldn't blame them though. After all, this business is my life…and I'm not getting any younger. She sighed and closed her eyes. Some people just aren't willing to go without a fight. Like Numbuh 274.
At the thought of the former great operative, Rachel shook her head. It was a real shame that he had decided to defy the rules of the KND and nearly got everyone killed. If it hadn't been for Numbuh 1 and his team, I don't know what we'd have done. She opened her eyes and pushed back her blonde hair, still thinking about the good-looking perfect operative. I really wish he didn't have to go though—but we can't bend the rules for anybody. And besides, he's no longer on our side anyway.
The door slid open and another operative walked in. This one was also female around twelve years old, codenamed Numbuh 103.
"What's the status?" she asked Rachel.
She nodded at the monitor. "The prison transport is running and should reach here in about—" She glanced at the clock. "—9 minutes."
Numbuh 103 nodded once and looked up at the other monitors. Rachel shook her head and turned away. It was always the same with the other executive operatives of the KND; they never touched on any personal topics or fun remarks. It was always business, business, business.
Maybe that's why I sort of preferred Numbuh 274 to the others. At least he seemed more human than anyone else.
The enormous phone attached to Rachel's belt began to beep. She closed her hand over it and gestured toward the door. Numbuh 103, taking this as a sign to leave, obeyed and walked out of the room.
I don't know why I don't even bother to talk to the other operatives, Rachel thought to herself. It was weird. Lately, she hadn't been able to exchange much conversation with the others like she used to. Then again…I'm usually barking orders at the other operatives anyway…
Rachel shook her head. It was not that she tried to be cold and aloof, but a high-ranking job tended to do that to a person after a while. I only hope I don't have to deal with Numbuh 86 today.
Time: 6:30 AM
Location: Kids Next Door Headquarters
Siri opened her eyes and sat up in shock. What the…this isn't my bedroom! She looked around at the numerous gizmos and gadgets, past the desks, and then to the bed in the corner with a switch for pushing it up. Then she looked down and noticed she was sleeping on a trampoline bed. Oh…I can relax now. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Her plain beige nightgown reached to below her knees. "Numbuh 1?"
There was no answer but as he wasn't in the room, he must already have been awake. Shrugging her shoulders, she heaved herself off the trampoline and exited through the door.
The sound of pacing could be heard inside the next room so she walked out of the hallway, past the others' rooms, and across an outdoor bridge to the central control room, part of his room.
Nigel was there, tinkering with something and pacing the floor.
"Numbuh 1?"
He turned around. "Oh hi Numbuh 10. What are you doing up so early?"
"Considering that I slept really early, I expected to get up early," Siri replied casually. She gave another small yawn and her hair swung in a straight unbrushed line down her back. "Why are you up?"
"I'm always up this early," said Nigel. He stopped pacing and walked back to his bedroom.
Siri followed him. "You mean, you always wake up around this time? All the time?"
He nodded. "Sometimes I get up earlier."
Siri was speechless for a second. "Wow," she whispered. "Now that's what I call dedication."
Nigel grinned as they entered his room. "If that's what you like to call it."
"But what about the rest of your teammates?" Siri asked him curiously. She walked over to her worn backpack and dug out a pile of her clothes. "Or do they sleep in?"
"Most of the time they get up just a little later than I do. Numbuh 2 is always the first one in the kitchen."
She nodded. "Well…okay. I'm going to go shower and change Numbuh 1 so if you need me, I'll be in the bathroom." With that, she walked out of his room.
Time: 7:30 AM
Abby groaned and sat up. Here I go again. Numbuh 5 has gotta get it intuh her head ta stop drinkin' so much soda. She got out of bed, grabbed her robe, and slunk off to her bathroom. I wunduh if anyone else is up?
Next door, Wallabee was already wide-awake and sparring with the animatronic robot in his room. Blow after blow was dealt upon the machine as Wally showed his "enemy" no mercy.
Kuki bounced up and down inside her own room. She beamed at the hundreds of stuffed animals lining the walls and the floor. "Good morning! Good morning!" she called happily.
Hoagie was, as Nigel predicted, not in his room. He was within the cozy interior of the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge for a snack.
Ten minutes later, as soon as Siri finished showering, changing, and fixing the sides of her hair into braids, she walked out of the bathroom and out into the corridor. She could hear the sounds of movement from the kitchen so she figured the others must already be up. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she got a different reaction from each kid.
"Good morning Numbuh 10!" Kuki called with a wave. She was happily digging into a bowl of Rainbow Monkey cereal.
"Mornin' Numbuh 10," said Wally with a nod.
"Hey girl," said Abby, getting some juice out of the fridge.
"Mmph." Hoagie's mouth was too full to comment.
Siri smiled weakly and went to find the toaster. "Morning guys." She popped some bread in.
"Did you have a nice sleep?" Kuki asked her. "Numbuh 1 didn't snore did he?"
What? Siri shook her head. "Numbuh 1 let me use his trampoline bed to sleep on so it went all right."
Wally shoveled some bacon into his mouth. "'Ey! Where ish Numbuh 1 anywaysh?" he asked with his mouth full.
Abby drank the last of her juice and propped her feet on top of the table. She fished out a magazine and started thumbing through it. "Prob'ly in his room workin' out a plan ta rescue Numbuh 10's teammates."
At the mention of her teammates, Siri froze for about ten seconds. She shook her head and bit into her piece of toast. "Does he want any breakfast?" she asked the others.
Abby shrugged. "Usually he's already eaten something by now," said Hoagie.
Hmmm… Siri stared down at the table. The sleep she had gained the night before had helped but it had not taken away her fear regarding her teammates.
"Hey," said Abby. She laid down her magazine and reached over to pat Siri's hand. "Ya gonna be all right Numbuh 10?"
Siri looked up and smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She stood up and walked out of the room. "I'm going to do a little target practicing. See ya later."
Location: Delightful Children's Mansion
Matt opened his eyes blearily. Ooooh…when did I pass out? He raised his head and stared at the ceiling with a feeling of confusion in the pit of his stomach. Uuuh…since when was the ceiling so high up? He tried to lift himself to a sitting position but his hands wouldn't move. What the—?
His hands were clamped to his sides by steels.
A light switched on. "Glad to see you're up Matthew," chanted the Delightful Children. "We almost thought our dosage of knock-out gas was too strong. You wouldn't that would you?"
Matt struggled to free himself and only then noticed his teammates on both of his sides, stretched out on doctor's operating slabs with their arms and legs clamped to their sides. He could only imagine that he was in the exact same situation. All of them were awake except for Naomi.
"Oh don't worry about Naomi Matthew," the eerily polite children went on, reading his mind. They walked around to the front of his operating table. "She's just asleep. Knock-out gas tends to be a bit more effective on the younger minds you know."
No I don't know, thought Matt darkly. Out loud, he said, "What do you need my teammates for? I thought you said you already had their DNA."
"Turns out we didn't," the Delightfuls replied smoothly. "But we do now—and yours along with them."
He glanced over at his fellow operatives. Kayla looked frightened while Eric looked defiant. Zen…well…for once he appeared to be paying attention.
Matt turned back to the Delightfuls. "You still haven't told me what you want with us," he snapped angrily.
The Delightful Children smiled. "Oh I didn't? I apologize." They flipped a light switch on. "As every person knows, you must keep your friends close but your enemies closer. You must be able to manipulate your enemy, know your enemy, be your enemy. Or in our case…" A sadistic smile crossed every one of the children's faces. "…create your enemy."
Naomi stirred and whimpered slightly.
"Numbuh 14? Ya okay?" asked Kayla anxiously.
The little girl nodded weakly. Matt, seeing she was going to be okay, glared at the Delightfuls. "What are you talking about?"
"Matthew, Matthew, Matthew," they muttered. "Haven't you realized it by now? The greatest enemy a person can have…is himself."
There was a snap and the areas in front of the Florida KND were bathed in an eerie glow. The greenish light came from a set of capsules filled to the brim with green liquid. Small electrical voltages were connected to the top and bottom of the capsules.
However, the capsules themselves only added to the horror that was inside them. Naomi began to scream and she tried to struggle out of her strapped-in state. Kayla's jaw dropped and Eric let out a yell. Zen's glasses slid down his nose, his eyes widening in disbelief. Matt shut his eyes but he could not tear the image away from his mind. For inside the sloshing green liquid, inside hooked to tubes, wires, and a breathing device…
They saw themselves.
(A/N: Just for the record you guys, the clones are not, I repeat, NOT naked! I mean, they're not fully clothed and I know it's more accurate if I portray them as naked inside the capsules but FOR PETE'S SAKE! The Kids Next Door are ranged 9-11 years old and the sight of anyone like that would make them scream more than just because of the clones themselves. So please don't get mad at me if I don't do this too accurately. I mean, this IS a kids show)
"Judging from what my children have told me, I believe your creations are a success."
"Thank you sir. It's not easy to get this done in such a short time. After all, they needed time to grow." The woman smiled lightly. "But I assure you, there has been no tampering with the bone structure or growth structure. They are meant to be nearly invincible."
"That pleases me." He turned around to face the woman, his face hidden in shadow save for his eyes. "By the way, you do realize that your…daughter…is with them."
"My husband and I are both aware of that," said the woman coolly. "Which is why I believe these creations will be necessary in their defeat. She will not be able to handle the truth."
"I see. Very well then. You may leave now, but I may still require you and your husband's services."
"We will be only too happy to provide you with them."
"You're sick dudes!" Eric shrieked at the Delightfuls. "You're sick!"
"Nobudy has ever been able ta clone anyone accurately," Kayla whispered weakly. "Not accurately!"
Naomi had stopped screaming but she was shaking in her confinements. "You guys are crazy!"
The Delightful Children smiled evilly. "We were going for something between the lines of crazy and wrong and you shot past our expectations." The brunette Delightful patted the closest capsule with her hand. "Oh come now, we only wanted to have a little fun."
"Your definition of fun is nowhere near the same as ours," Zen replied calmly, although his face was pale.
"I'm sure it isn't," the Delightful Children chanted woodenly. A faint crooning could be heard coming from the inside of the closest tube. "Oooh, look. He's starting to wake up."
The Florida KND turned their eyes onto the capsule where the clone of Matt floated. The crooning sound could be heard again and the clone's eyes shot open. They traveled over Matt and the rest of the kids with a look of surprise. Then, to everyone's shock, he lifted his fist and smashed it against the side of the capsule.
CRASH!
The entire glass wall shattered, sending glass pieces flying everywhere. The clone stepped out of the sloshing green liquid, pulling the breathing device from his mouth. The wires attached to his arms and legs snapped. He picked a piece of glass off of his boxers and flung it aside.
"N-Numbuh 9…" Naomi whimpered.
The clone's eyes glowed a steady red before softening once again to resemble Matt's deep brown eyes. He glared at Matt for a minute, before his mouth relaxed into a smile; an evil smile.
"So this is my twin brother," he said, his voice an exact replica of Matt's, save for the cold tone attached to it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you…Matthew."
"My name is not Matthew," Matt snapped angrily.
The clone's smile broadened. "You're right. My mistake. That's my name now isn't it?" He gave a soft laugh. "I'm not impressed by what I see."
Matt shook in his confinement. "Neither am I," he retorted.
"Your clones are not entire carbon copies of you," said the Delightful Children. They were smiling at the clone, obviously enjoying the Florida KND's fright. "They are faster, stronger, smarter, more durable, and of course, less compassionate and susceptible to weakness." The Delightfuls chuckled. "So although you are older than them, they are far better than the original."
"I guess out of the clones, that makes me the oldest," said Matt's clone, glancing at his "brothers and sisters" inside the greenish capsules. "Since you don't like the name Matthew, you won't mind if I steal it from you." His brown eyes narrowed and glowed red once more. "Because soon I'll be taking over your whole life."
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: Kids Next Door Headquarters
Siri looked towards the end of the road at the five targets she had placed there. She narrowed her eyes and measured the angles with her mind's eye. Okay, let's see if I could make the shots. She pulled out her favorite weapon: a red gun with two knobs attached to the top where electrical waves ran across both ends. Underneath the gun was tiny silver hatch and inside her handle was a secret area to shoot from.
Kids Next Door S.N.I.P.E.R.
Super
Nebulous
Intriguingly
Precise
Energy
Ray
She took aim from about 10 feet and fired. Z-ZING! With a satisfying burst of red-orange light, the targets were reduced to rubble. Siri blew away the smoke at the end of the S.N.I.P.E.R. and spun her gun around her finger like the cowboys did in old western films. Not bad, not bad.
The other weapons she had created but had not yet tested out were a strange holographic card and a gun that looked like a large flamethrower without the flames. The gun was armed with four cans of soda and a bag of chips.
Kids Next Door E.C.C.E.N.T.R.I.C.
Energy
Consuming
Convincing
Executing
Nice
Ray
Initiating
Card
Kids Next Door R.A.I.D.E.R.
Random
Arbitrary
Item
Delivers
Energy
Revive
"'Ey Numbuh 10!" It was Wally. "Numbuh 1 told me ta call ya inside. We gotta plan how ta rescue your teammates."
Siri nodded. "Coming Numbuh 4." She followed him back to the tree house where the rest of the operatives were waiting.
Nigel waited until Siri sat down on the couch next to Abby before addressing them all. "All right team, as you know, Numbuh 10's teammates are being held hostage by the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. We have our reasons to believe that they are hidden away somewhere inside that mansion so a group of us will infiltrate it and locate them. There's about 6 members in the Florida sector including Numbuh 10 so we'll have to use our larger vehicles. If they're underground, we'll need to use the P.I.P.E.P.O.D. and if we find them above ground, we'll need to use the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H. Our satellite scanner should pick up their location if they have any official KND equipment with them."
All eyes focused on the satellite scanner as it displayed a map of the Delightful Children's mansion. A small beeping red dot could be seen underneath the mansion.
"Looks lak they're in duh underground dungeons," said Abby casually. "Seems lak a job fo' duh P.I.P.E.P.O.D. don't ya think Numbuh 1?"
Nigel nodded. "Okay team. Let's move ou—"
"NIGEEEEEEEEYYYYYYY!!"
The force of the voice caused Nigel to fall off the podium and the rest of the team to fall out of their seats.
Wally raised his head in disgust. "Tell me that ain't who Ah think it is."
"NIGEL!" the voice cried out. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"It sounds like Lizzie," said Kuki. Everybody looked at her. "What?"
Abby and Nigel walked over to the window and looked down. Lizzie stood there, waving her hands up at the tree house. "Nigel!" she called. "We're supposed to go out today!"
Nigel wanted to sink down into the ground and spend the rest of his life as an invisible crack in the wood. "W-we are?"
"I thought you two jus' went on a date yestuhday," said Abby to Nigel. He nodded. "Den what's duh deal wit' her askin' you out again today?"
"We did go out yesterday," said Lizzie, scowling. "But some girl landed on me and drove me into a crater and she interrupted our date. So that's why Nigel has to take me out again today."
Abby blinked and turned to look at Nigel. "Is dat duh truth?" she asked him. "Or is Lizzie jus' makin' an excuse?"
He gulped. "She's telling the truth Numbuh 5." He shifted his gaze over to where Siri was standing. "I-isn't that right Numbuh 10?"
Siri, looking paler than usual, nodded. Hopefully, nobody asks any more questions.
"Who was the girl that knocked into you anyway?" Hoagie asked Lizzie.
Darn you Numbuh 2!
"It was some dumb blonde named Siriah," answered Lizzie in a miffed tone. "I think she was trying to hit on Nigey or something."
But the other operatives were still stuck on Lizzie's first sentence. They, except Nigel, gawked at Siri. "Numbuh 10?!"
She grinned nervously. "Uh what?"
"Is dat how you met Numbuh 1?" Abby asked incredulously. "You fell from duh sky an' crash-landed in duh middle o' their date?"
Siri nodded, still nervous. "I knew it!" yelled Kuki excitedly.
Wally stared at Siri in half-disbelief, half-awe. "That has ta be…the best think Ah've 'eard all day!" He grabbed her hand and shook it. "You're incredible Numbuh 10!"
"Uuuh…thanks?"
"Numbuh 4!" yelled Nigel, finding his voice at last.
"What? What'd Ah say?"
Nigel groaned and fixed his black shades. "Never mind." He glanced down at his girlfriend again. "Um Lizzie? Wouldn't it be better to fix our date some other time?"
Lizzie placed her hands on her hips. "You always say that Nigey! And was that Siriah's voice I heard just a moment ago?"
Siri smiled weakly and looked out the window. "Hi there Lizzie."
"What is SHE still doing here Nigey?" Lizzie demanded. "I thought you were going to get her home?"
"Well…"
PHWEET!!
Everybody looked at Abby, who took her fingers out of her mouth after the whistle. "This is getting' ridiculous. While we're heah wastin' time, Numbuh 10's teammates are rottin' away in some jail cell. Numbuh 5 says we should all jus' shut up an' go get 'em back."
"She's right. This whole thing is pointless," said Wally.
"But what about Lizzie?" asked Kuki, pointing down at the girl.
Abby thought about it and then said, "Numbuh 1, I think you should go wit' your girlfriend." She ignored the others' gasps of protest. "Considerin' dat she ain't gonna go away 'til ya do, Numbuh 5 believes ya bettah go now."
"But what about the mission?" Nigel looked torn.
"Don't worry," she smiled. "Ya'll know Numbuh 5 is more'n levelheaded enough fo' duh job. An' besides," she gestured to the blonde operative behind her. "Numbuh 10 is second-in-command o' her team so she'll back me up."
Siri nodded. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine without you."
"Yeah Numbuh 1," Hoagie piped up. "Trust us."
He still looked worried. Feeling sympathetic, Abby placed one hand on his shoulder. "Hey," she said. "You heard what they said. Everythin's gonna be jus' fine. We'll call ya if we need backup okay?"
Nigel raised his head and stared into her friendly brown eyes shadowed by her red hat and her reassuring smile. His stomach flip-flopped slightly. "Well…all right."
His teammates nodded once to show they understood. He activated his jet boots and flew out the window. "About time Nigey!" they could hear Lizzie exclaim. "Now come on. Let's go!"
They sighed and shook their heads. "All right," said Abby briskly. "Kids Next Door…Battle Stations!"
Time: 9:30 AM
Delightful Children's Mansion
Matt leaned against the side of the cell, feeling as if a heavy weight had swung into his stomach. The image of his clone, smashing into the side of the glass wall with his fist as if he were merely hitting a piece of cardboard, was unnerving. He couldn't get it out of his head.
"They are faster, stronger, smarter, more durable, and of course, less compassionate and susceptible to weakness."
In other words, they're practically invincible, Matt thought darkly. He glanced out the cell bars toward the other KND members. Numbuhs 142 and 17 had paled when he'd told them about their true reason for being in the Delightful Mansion. The other International KND were trying not to panic.
"Numbuh 9? Are you okay?"
Matt looked down to see Naomi in front of him, her arms clutching tightly to her ripped up Rainbow Monkey. Her soft brown eyes were clear and childlike.
"I'm fine Numbuh 14," he replied, letting himself sink to the ground. "Just a little shocked, that's all." He smiled weakly. "How is everybody else taking it?"
"Not so well," she responded quietly. And I don't blame them. I've never been so scared in my entire life.
Kayla sat nearby, trying not to panic. The pair could tell, as she was humming, "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam…" in a soft frightened voice.
Across from her, Eric had his hands pressed tightly over his ears. Zen sat the furthest away, once again lost in the contents of his book/computer, but he did look worried.
"Home…home on the range. Where the deer and the antelope play…"
"That's ENOUGH Numbuh 13!" Eric shrieked, standing up with a clatter. "We've heard that song like FIVE TIMES already!"
"Well what do you suggest?" Kayla burst out. Her hat had fallen off her head. "You suggest we all run around screamin' an' yellin' or wrapped up in the fetal position? Ah don't see you doin' anythin' productive. Yer jest tryin' to keep me panicked, is that it?"
Eric opened his mouth angrily, but Naomi stepped between them. "Stop," she said. "This is not getting us anywhere."
Matt groaned and put his head in his hands. At this rate, my teammates will kill each other before the clones do.
Time: 9:40 AM
"How far are we Numbuh 2?"
"We're almost there," he replied, pushing the control stick forward. He stared left and right out the front window. "Man, this thing wasn't meant to go above ground."
"We're only goin' above ground until we reach duh Delightful Children's mansion," said Abby, walking past him. "Dat's where we stop." She glanced over at Wally and Siri. "See anythin'?"
Wally shook his head. "Not a thing."
"At least nothing's in the air," Siri added pointedly. "No reason to shoot anything down—uh, not that we can anyway." She frowned down at the coordinator.
Kuki gazed out the windows. "I see the mansion up ahead guys."
"Great. Hold her steady Numbuh 2," Abby commanded. She took out her binoculars and peered through them at the towering blue mansion. Pulling them away from her eyes, she nodded. "Okay, this is what we're gonna do. Numbuhs 3, 4, and 10 will come wit' me into the mansion in order find out jus' where the Florida KND are. Numbuh 2 will remain out heah in duh P.I.P.E.P.O.D. until we call him ta dig. Dat seem fine wit' everybody?"
The other four operatives nodded. "Walkie-talkies Numbuh 3."
Kuki handed each kid a walkie-talkie. Before taking hers though, Siri stared at the design on Kuki's. "Umm…why do you have a picture of a Rainbow Monkey pasted on it?"
"Oh, I love Rainbow Monkeys! Don't you?"
Siri smiled weakly. Oh not another one. "Um…sure whatever." She turned around hastily so Kuki could not see the look of pain cross her face. The sight of the Rainbow Monkey had suddenly made her remember little Naomi.
Numbuh 14's gonna be okay. They're all gonna be okay.
Wally glanced around the interior of the hallway. When he was positive the coast was clear, he signaled to the three girls to join him.
"Good work Numbuh 4," Abby commented, lowering her weapon. They ran down the corridor and turned sharply to the left. "Aw great." The next area branched off into two hallways: one left, one right. "Um…which way do we go?"
"Left," said Wally.
"Right," said Kuki.
"Let's flip a coin," said Siri.
Abby rolled her eyes. "I agree with Numbuh 10." She took out a coin from her pocket. "Heads, we go left. Tails, we go right." She flipped the coin.
As it landed on the ground, Siri knelt down to stare at it. She looked up. "It's heads."
The KND turned to the left, leaving the coin on the ground just in case the hallway turned out to be a dead end.
After about ten minutes of walking and turning through hallway after hallway, they came upon corridor lined with doors. Abby and Kuki identified this hallway as the bathrooms, remembering their encounter with the Delightfuls and their toenail collection. After Wally and Siri wiped the disgusted looks off of their faces, they proceeded down a flight of stairs and up another to another long hallway.
"You think they'd think of installing moving floors after this," Siri griped impatiently as they traveled down the hallway.
"She's right. This is ridiculous," Wally muttered. "Anythin' Numbuh 3?"
Kuki glanced down at the tracker that Siri had given her just before entering the mansion. It was meant to detect the equipment of any KND operative with authorized equipment on them. "There's nothing yet…no wait." She stopped walking. "I see something…a really faint red dot. Does that help?"
Abby glanced at it. "Works fo' me. We're not too far away from dat area." She blinked, shouldering her gun. "Hold up a sec. I thought I heard somethin' down there."
Wally and Siri raised their weapons and pointed them at the end of the corridor. They too could hear the sound of footsteps in the distance. Kuki blinked, straining to see who it was.
As soon as a jean-clad leg appeared, Abby rushed at the person.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!!"
"SHUT IT!" Abby clamped a hand over the boy's mouth, her gun pressed against his chest. She looked anxiously up and down the hallway but no one appeared. With a sigh of relief, she took her hand away from his mouth. "Who duh heck are you and what are ya doin' wanderin' around duh Delightful mansion?"
He blinked his brown eyes at her in fear. "I…I…"
"Numbuh 5, hold on!"
The pair turned to see Siri staring at him in astonishment. Then a smile broke across her face. "Numbuh 9!" She stepped up to the boy and flung her arms around him. "You're safe!"
Abby, Wally, and Kuki glanced at each other, confused. "This is Numbuh 9?" The boy looked far too pleasant and too flustered to be a leader.
Matt blinked in surprise and a faint blush swept across his face. It was a shock to see her, but it was an even bigger shock to feel her slender arms around him. After a minute, he too smiled and gently pushed Siri away. "I'm just glad you're all right Numbuh 10," he whispered, his hand holding her chin. They grinned at each other.
Kuki's eyes turned starry. "Awwwww." Abby and Wally, however, gazed at Matt with a vague sort of suspicion.
Siri nodded, her eyes shining but her lips turned down in a puzzled frown. "Wait a minute. Where are the others?"
Matt's smile faded. "I, sort of, left them behind when I escaped from the prison cell they were keeping us in."
Sort of left them behind? "Numbuh 9," Siri muttered exasperatedly. "What kind of a leader are you? No one should be left behind…at least not without consent."
"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.
"Whatevuh," Wally mumbled, shouldering his weapon. "Since ya're here Numbuh 9, we can go an' find the rest o' your teammates. Ah hope ya didn't forget where they were bein' held."
Matt shook his head. "Nope. I can show you. Follow me."
The other operatives followed him willingly although Abby couldn't help giving his back a dark glance. I can't put a finger on it, but somethin' ain't right heah. Somethin' just ain't right. She reached out and caught Siri by the arm.
"Numbuh 10," she whispered into the blonde operative's ear. "Somethin's not right. Are you sure dat's yo' teammate?"
Siri frowned politely. "Yes."
"'Cause Numbuh 5 has got a bad feelin' about this girl," she answered. "Jus' stay on guard okay?"
Siri nodded once, still confused. Abby looked over at Wally and Kuki, and the pair nodded also. They had not been able to hear the conversation with the two girls, but they had a vague feeling about what they were talking about.
"Are you guys just gonna stay there or are we gonna go?"
"Uuuh, right!" Abby and Siri raced down the hallway after Matt, Wally and Kuki following closely.
Me: There we go. Another chapter is done and done. What do you think?
Numbuh 1: Why do you keep asking us that?
Numbuh 10: Yeah, you know what we're gonna say.
Numbuh 5: And why did ya have ta put Lizzie back in here?
Me: I have my reasons.
Numbuh 5: Same as we have our reasons to beat you to a pulp.
Me: (sigh) Right. Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't update earlier but due to the numerous AP exams these past weeks, I've barely been able to stand let alone write.
Numbuh 5: Are we supposed ta feel sorry fo' ya?
Me: (grumbles) Ungrateful kids. They don't know anything about hard work.
Numbuh 9: We do TOO!
Me: Agh. (rubs head) So the next chapter will be posted (hopefully) sometime soon. Lots of reappearances of some people, a betrayal is in order, and Numbuh 10 reveals a shocking but well-kept secret. So happy reading!