Wally followed Kuki inside the concert hall. He could feel Hoagie nudging him in a nagging way. He turned around. Hoagie was glaring at him and mouthing 'tell her'.
"Cut it out, will ya," Wally growled. Hoagie shook his head. Sighing in frustration, Wally rolled his eyes and turned back around.
Then his jaw dropped.
Kuki, who had walked up ahead, had just taken her jacket off. And she looked absolutely stunning. Drop dead gorgeous. She was wearing a long, dark green, strapless dress. It was made of silk and shimmered with glitter. Her hair was down, and it flowed out behind her like a cascading, black waterfall, with a butterfly clip on one side. She wore black strappy heels, and bracelets on both her wrists. Her skin was shinning and her eyes were sparkling. Wally didn't think it was possible, but right now she looked even more beautiful then she already was when they were kids.
Kuki raised an eyebrow and looked at him as if saying, 'what are you waiting for?'' Wally snapped out of his trance and ran up to join her.
They took their seats. Hoagie sat behind them. Abby was sitting with Numbuh One, but she was going to meet up with Hoagie later. Wally scanned the place until he saw Abby sitting in a balcony seat. And right next to her was Numbuh One himself. Wally felt a little nervous, seeing Numbuh One again after all these years, after the way he left him. He turned to Kuki and pointed to where they were.
"Look there he is," he said. Kuki looked up toward them and started to feel queasy. "Please let him remember me," she said. Then the concert started. People started to cheer. But Kuki sat staring straight ahead. She rung her hands and fidgeted in her seat. Wally noticed her tension, and patted her knee. "Would you relax? Its gonna be okay," he assured her.
Finally the concert ended and it was time. Wally stood up. "Well it's time, lets go."
They walked through the crowd toward Nigel and Abby's balcony seats. Kuki was all but hyperventilating. "Hey, hey, hey calm down. Deep breaths, come on," Wally said.
Abby met up with Hoagie. "Well, I hope Numbuh One ain't in a stubborn mood," she said.
Hoagie smiled but didn't say anything. "She sure is a lot like her , I guess," Abby continued.
"Hehe, yeah, you have no idea," he said.
---
Wally and Kuki were standing outside Numbuh One's door.
"Well this is it," Wally said. "Wait here while I talk to him. I'll give you the signal to come in."
He turned around to go in, but Kuki grabbed his arm. "Wally," she said. Wally turned to face her. "Y-yeah?" he asked.
Kuki stared down at the ground, fiddling with her hair. Her cheeks were bright red. "Um, well, we-we've been through a lot together, you know, and uh.." she stuttered.
"Yeah," Wally asked again, anxiously.
"W-well, I…I uh, wh-what I wanna say…um….th-thank you, I guess. Yeah, thank you for everything."
"Oh," Wally said, almost disappointed. "You're, ah, welcome."
He turned around to go inside, but stopped and faced her again. "Kuki, I…"
"Yes?" Kuki asked, hopefully.
"Ah, well um, I.."
"Yes?"
Wally sighed. What a cruddy coward, he thought. "I want to wish ya good luck, I guess."
Before she could answer, Wally went inside the room, unaware that the door was still open a crack. He pulled his hood up over his eyes again, not ready to reveal himself just yet. Then he saw Numbuh One. He was in his seat, his back facing Wally, reading some book. Wally took a deep breath.
"Numbuh One, sir?"
Nigel turned his head slightly before returning to his book. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"Well no, but uh," Wally wasn't quite sure what to say. "I, uh found your teammate. The Grand Operative Numbuh Three. She's waiting outside to talk to you."
"Ugh," Numbuh One groaned. "Thanks but no thanks. I've seen enough Grand Operative Numbuh Threes to last a lifetime." he said.
"B-but it really is her. And we came all the way from The United States just to see you," Wally said.
"Yeah well others have come from Timbuktu, all frauds," Numbuh One said.
Wally bit his lip. This wasn't going well. "But this is different. You see, I was actually in the Kids Next Door. In fact-"
"Well its not like I haven't heard that before," Nigel said.
"Oh, well, uh, you're not going to believe this, you might even think it's funny, maybe, hehe," Wally said, chuckling nervously. "But actually it's me, Numbuh F-"
"Would you just give it a rest!" Nigel yelled. "I don't care how much you trained this girl to look like her, sound like her or act like her. It's never her."
Kuki had started listening through the door. Train me? What was he talking about? Wally and Hoagie weren't training her. They were just jogging her memory…weren't they?
"But this time it is her," Wally said. "For real."
"Please, I've seen your kind before," Numbuh One said. He still hadn't even turn around to look at him. "Con men who hold auditions to find a Numbuh Three look-a-like."
Kuki gasped. Con man? Wally was a con man? He had been holding auditions to find a girl to be Numbuh Three?
Wally pulled his hood off, ready to show himself. "But Numbuh One, it's not that. It's not what you think."
"How much more pain do you plan on inflicting me with for money?" Numbuh One demanded. He still didn't turn around.
Kuki's felt tears forming. Money. Of course, it all made sense now. When Wally saw how much she looked like Numbuh Three, he told her all those lies to get her to unknowingly go along with his scam. He was just using her this whole time. Just for money.
Wally saw Numbuh One pick up his cell phone. "Are you calling security on me?!" he asked.
"No. I already did," Nigel said.
At that moment, two huge, buff guys came in and seized Wally's arms. They lifted him and carried him out. Wally was struggling with all his might against them.
"Hey, get your cruddy hands off of me! I'm telling you Numbuh One, she really is Numbuh Three. She's the Grand Operative and if you'd just turn around, you would know!"
The two men threw him out. He landed right at Kuki's feet. Wally looked up to find her staring down at him, furiously. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"It was all a lie wasn't it?" she asked.
"No, no," Wally said.
"You used me? I was just part of your con to get his money?" she asked in disbelief.
"No, er," Wally tried to say. Kuki had walked off.
Wally went after her. "Look, it might have started out that way But it's all different now, because you really are Numbuh Three. Really, you are."
"Oh, just stop it," Kuki yelled angrily. "From the very beginning you lied. And I not only believed you, I actually...ugh!" To think I actually fell for you.
She walked faster. Wally had to run to keep up with her.
"Kuki, look, remember when you were talking about the treehouse, and the trapdoor, and the voice in the smoke," he said. "Listen to me, that was-"
"NO!" Kuki interrupted. "I don't want to hear about anything I said or remembered. Just leave me alone!"
Wally took her hand. "Kuki," but that was all he managed to say before Kuki turned around and stomped on his foot with all her might. "OW!" he screamed. He fell to the floor, crippled in pain. Kuki disappeared in the crowd.
Crud, this is just perfect, Wally thought. How was Kuki ever going to know who she was if she won't believe him, and Numbuh One won't listen. Wally was still on the ground rubbing his foot when he noticed some guy hang a cloak on a coat rack in front of him. It was long and black with a large hood. Suddenly, he came up with a crazy idea.
------
Hoagie and Abby were at the concession stands, talking and praying that the interview would go well.
"How do you think it's going?" Hoagie asked her.
"Not sure, but Numbuh Five's started to get a little nervous," she said.
Just then, Hoagie saw Kuki walking past the crowd. He looked closer. Were those tears in her eyes?
"Hey Kuki, how'd it go," he asked. But she stormed past him.
"Don't talk to me. You were in on it, too," she cried.
"Huh," Hoagie asked puzzled. He turned to Abby.
"I don't think it went too well," she said. "I think I better go check on Nigel."
Hoagie nodded. She went over to their balcony and opened the door. Numbuh One was putting his sweater on and grabbed the car keys.
"Hey, uh, were are you going?" Abby asked him.
"Home," he answered.
"Home? Why? Don't you want to hang out for a while or something," she asked.
"No, I've had enough of this," Nigel said furiously before walking out and slamming the door.
Abby slumped into the seat. "Aw man, just peachy," she said.
----------
Wally stood out in the parking lot, wearing the long, dark cloak. The hood was pulled over his head.
When he saw Numbuh One come out, he followed him to his car, hiding in the shadows.
Numbuh One reached his car and climbed into the driver's seat. Once his keys were in the ignition, Wally came out from nowhere and shoved Nigel into the back seat. Then he got in, stepped on the gas and sped forward.
Nigel was outraged and somewhat terrified. "What the…who the heck are you? What do you think you're doing?"
"I should think it's obvious, Numbuh One, sir," Wally said.
"You! What, are you kidnapping me?!" Nigel demanded.
"Ding, ding, ding we have a winner," Wally said, having a little fun.
"Have you lost your MIND!?!?," he asked. "Stopped this car, now! Stop this car!"
"No. I won't stop this car, not until you listen," Wally said.
He drove stupidly fast, nearly dodging other cars, pedestrians, and the occasional mailbox. Finally he stopped right outside a little hotel. Their hotel. Wally turned back to Numbuh One.
"Up there, you see that window?" Wally pointed. "That's room 206. Our hotel room. Numbuh Three is up there right now and you have to talk to her. I mean just look at her."
"You kidnapped me just so I could talk to your little actress?" Nigel asked. He took out his cell phone. "Oh, just wait 'til the cops come. I can't wait to see the look on your face when they drag away your sorry- hey!" Wally had snatched the phone out of his hand.
"Just go talk to her. Please. What more do I have to cruddy do to convince you?"
"Why do you keep doing this to me? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Nigel asked. "You're making this pain worse. Can't you see that I've given up hope? I have to accept the fact that she's gone. Just like I've accepted long ago that it was…" Nigel had to pause to take a deep breath. Wally didn't say anything. He couldn't. "That it was all my fault. I let her go and she fell to her death. I promised her I would protect her, and I didn't." Nigel reached up to wipe tears away before they fell past his sunglasses. "And a friend of mine's heart was torn to pieces because of me. Because I failed to safe her. I have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. And if you don't mind, I'd like to live with it in peace."
"NO! IT WASN'T YOUR CRUDDY FAULT!" Wally cried. Nigel was startled.
"It wasn't your fault. Look, I'm sorry I said that to you, Numbuh One. I didn't really mean it. I was just…well, devastated, and yeah I was heartbroken. But it wasn't because of you. I know you tried to save her.
Nigel stiffened. He was bewildered. What was this guy talking about? How could he have known…unless…
Realization dawned on Nigel, then. He heard the voice and wondered how he couldn't tell before.
His vocabulary. That accent…
Nigel reached out and pulled the black hood off his head, only to find an orange hood underneath it. But that was enough for Nigel. He recognized that orange hood anywhere.
"Numbuh Four?"
Wally sighed. He pulled his orange hood off and lifted his head to reveal his green eyes hidden under his bangs
Nigel gasped in disbelief. "What are you…you're here. You, you came all the way to Paris? Why are you…" he was at loss for words.
"You don't have to live with that guilt, Numbuh One. And it doesn't even matter because she's alive."
Nigel couldn't speak. He was in shock from seeing Numbuh Four after all these years.
Wally pulled out a rainbow monkey from his pocket.
"Numbuh One, you recognize this don't you?" he asked.
"Best-Friends-Forever-and-Always Rainbow Monkey," Nigel said. "Wh-where did you get this?"
Wally avoided that question. "Look, I know it hurts, believe me. But it's just possible that she's been as lost and alone as us."
Nigel stared at the Rainbow Monkey, then looked up at Wally.
"You're not going to give up, are you Numbuh Four?" he asked.
Wally smiled. "Come on Numbuh One, you know me better than that."
Nigel took a deep breath, and turned to look up at the window of the hotel room.
Well that's chapter eight out of the way yay! But there were no songs in this one. Aw well too bad. this one was fun to write.
Please review, your reviews are really motivating! :D