Author's Note: Hey there, everybody! I don't wanna take up so much time, so: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door, this is simply a fanmade work, yadda yadda yadda! Enjoy!
The Miss Moppet Doll Emporium had been abandoned for as long as Sector V could remember. The years of weather and neglect had put the outside of the brick and concrete factory into an irredeemable state of disrepair. The giant, weathered porcelain doll head that was mounted on the front of the building –that was apparently never particularly pleasing to the eye, even when it was brand new– scared away any delinquents with thoughts of vandalism in mind.
The KND S.C.A.M.P.E.R landed in front of the old factory, but the operatives inside were a little hesitant to exit. They had seen the factory from a far before, but none of them had ever dared to go near it. In fact, no kid ever dared to go near the factory, even at the risk of being called a chicken for life. And the four operatives could see why. All of them seemed to be thinking the same thing: This place was eleventy billion times creepier up close!
Numbuh 1 tried to suppress a shudder. "A-alright team, let's move out."
Sector V exited the airship and moved toward the factory's entrance, trying not to look at the decaying porcelain doll head. To their surprise, there were no locks or security measures protecting the door.
Then again, who would wanna break into this place?
Numbuh 1 pushed open the rusted door and slowly entered the factory, with his teammates following closely behind. Each operative carried a 2x4 weapon, with a flashlight attached to each.
The four kids shined their lights around the darkened factory, hoping to spot any sign of Numbuh 3. Most of the factory's machinery had been cleared out, but hundreds, maybe even thousands of leftover dolls and cardboard boxes still filled the space. Instead of coming across Numbuh 3's familiar pretty face, Sector V was met by the cold, lifeless, and rather unsettling faces of porcelain dolls.
Numbuh 4 took a deep breath. Investigating a normal doll factory would have been bad enough, but investigating an abandoned porcelain doll factory was just about the worst mission he could imagine. Sure, he was disgusted by the stuffed dolls and plushies that Numbuh 3 adored, but he could tolerate them for her sake. But porcelain dolls creeped him out to the absolute fullest, with their disturbingly realistic features- especially the eyes that seemed to follow him everywhere. As he looked at these dolls, he silently vowed to never insult Numbuh 3's stuffed animals again.
The rumors and urban legends that surrounded the factory didn't help calm his nerves either: rumor had it that the factory closed down after it was discovered that the factory's foreman kidnapped children and turned them into perfect life-like porcelain dolls in order to make higher profits.
In short, this mission was one of Numbuh 4's worst nightmares. He took another deep breath. Easy, Numbuh 4, he told himself. You're doing this for Kuki…
Numbuh 2 wasn't fairing much better. He knew the dolls around him weren't real, but he still felt as if he was being watched. "Well, it doesn't look like anyone's here. Maybe Numbuh 3 went back home, why don't we go check there again?" He pointed to the exit, his hand shaking nervously.
Numbuh 5 was quick to elbow him. "We're not goin' anywhere until we find a sign that Numbuh 3's been here!" Just then, Numbuh 5 heard a noise behind her. It sounded as if somebody was flipping a switch. She shined her light around her. "Numbuh 3? You in here?"
Suddenly, a single light turned on in the middle of the room, grabbing the group's attention. Underneath the dim yellow glare was a little table. Surrounding the table were five little stools; three of them were taken by dusty porcelain dolls, one was empty, and the last one was taken by a little girl setting the table with a little china play set.
"Mushi?"
Numbuh 3's sister looked up as Sector V stepped into the light and put on a sugary smile. "Hey you guys!" she exclaimed, a hint of annoyance underlying her perky, happy-go-lucky tone. "Sorry to tell you, but this tea party is invitation only."
The boys were about to raise their weapons, but Numbuh 5 stepped forward. She figured that the last thing they needed was to set the little temperamental kindergartener off. "Mushi?" she asked politely. "Where's your sister?"
Mushi gasped in false surprise. "You mean you don't know? She spends all her time with you guys! And you just lose her? You must not be very good at your jobs."
The boys scowled. Numbuh 5 ignored the jab, but she was starting to get annoyed. "Mushi, did you take some blueprints from the Delightful Children's mansion?"
Mushi flashed another sugary smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Numbuh 2 then stepped forward. "Oh yeah, then what's that?!" he demanded as he pointed to the large, rolled-up piece of blue paper that was poorly hidden under Mushi's stool.
Mushi quickly snatched the paper up and hid it behind her back. "Nothing." she said innocently.
Numbuh 4 had had enough. He pointed his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R right at Mushi, wiping the "innocent" smile off her face. "Quit lyin'!" he demanded. "What did you do with Numbuh 3?! Don't think I won't try to fight you just 'cause you're a little girl!"
Mushi stared stunned at the weapon, and for a moment Sector V thought that she would start cooperating. But instead, she started laughing. She didn't laugh like her sister; Numbuh 3' laugh was cheerful and usually contagious. Mushi's laugh sounded sinister, causing a chill to run up the group's spines.
"Oh, I know you would, Wally." Mushi responded, tauntingly. "You're always just so eager to be my sister's knight in shining armor, aren't you?"
Numbuh 4's scowl deepened, but a faint blush crossed his face.
Mushi noticed this and smirked. "Thought so." she said. She took a few steps back, and looked at the operatives in front of her with disgust. "But to be fair," she continued. "All four of you are always just so eager to take my sister away from me, aren't you?!"
This is going nowhere! Numbuh 1 thought, irritated. It was his turn to step forward. "Mushi," he said sternly. "Where is Numbuh 3?"
Mushi smiled deviously. "Alright, fine. I'll show you!"
The little girl ran out of the light and into the darkness that surrounded them. Sector V flashed their lights in the direction that she ran in, trying not to lose sight of her. They heard her feet pattering against the concrete floor, but had lost her.
Suddenly, all of the lights of the factory turned on. Some of them fused out immediately, others flickered, and the rest only offered a dim view of the factory. However, there was enough light for Sector V to see Mushi standing in front of a large machine.
Numbuh 1 gasped. It didn't look quite the same as the machines Father and the Delightful Children had tried using on him and his team before, but he still knew what is was: a Delightfulization Chamber.
This chamber looked more peculiar than the others that Sector V had been exposed to. The original chamber was more of a cylinder in shape, sleek, narrow, and had a small door to lead victims in and out. This chamber was a little wider, with a rectangular shape. A majority of the front was made of tinted glass. It kind of reminded them of… like a….
…Kind of like those boxes that dolls come in; cardboard with cellophane across the front, so you could see the doll inside.
And, upon squinting at the tinted glass of the machine, Sector V could definitely make out the silhouette of a young girl inside.
They gasped in horror.
"Mushi…w-… why?!" Numbuh 1 stammered. "Why would you delightfulize your own sister?!"
"Because she's jealous!" Numbuh 2 answered, as if he had it all figured out. "She's always been jealous of her sister's toys! Now she's jealous of her freedom! Since Mushi is grounded like a prisoner in her own house, she wants Numbuh 3 to be a prisoner in her own body! As a Delightful Child!"
The accusation caused Mushi to burst out laughing. "Oh Hoagie," she said, her voiced full of contempt. "You think you're such a clever detective, don't you? You may have cracked a few of my cases before, but now you couldn't be further from the truth!"
"What are you talkin' about?!" Numbuh 4 demanded.
Mushi just smiled deviously as she held up a small remote control. She pulled the tinted glass door to the machine open and flipped a switch on her remote. "Kuki!" she called cheerfully. "Time to play!"
The silhouette stepped out of the machine in jerky, awkward steps. Sector V watched in horror as Numbuh 3 came into view. She didn't look like any of the Delightful Children… She looked worse.
Her skin was smooth and shiny and free of any blemishes, as if it were made of enamel. Her long dark hair was even shinier than usual, as if it were artificial. Her posture was so erect that it couldn't possibly have been comfortable. She wore a frilly white and green dress that looked stiff and itchy and too tight for her body. Her eyes were too bright and glassy and, despite the poor lighting, her pupils remained freakishly small, showing an unnatural amount of her violet irises. But the worst part was her smile. Numbuh 3 always had a big, perpetual smile on her face, but this smile was just not normal. Even for her. This smile stretched so wide across her face that it looked painful to even look at.
Mushi didn't turn Numbuh 3 into a Delightful Child… she turned her into a doll.
Sector V stood in utter disbelief, while Mushi squealed with delight. "Isn't she pretty?" she cheered as she threw her arms around her doll-like sister.
"M-Mushi," Numbuh 5 stammered. "What…have…you…done?!"
Mushi let go of Numbuh 3 and turned her attention back to Sector V. "Isn't it obvious?" she said, with the smile of a child proudly showing off her new toy. Sector V just continued to stare at the Sanban sisters, stupefied.
"Well then, I'll tell you." she said. "All I wanted was to spend time with my sister. But when that proved too difficult, I knew I needed some… 'help'. I tried building my own transformation thing-a-majig, but it was harder than I thought. Luckily, there was somebody in town who already knew how to build one!
So I snuck out early yesterday morning when I knew everybody would still be asleep, and hightailed it all the way to Father's mansion. Breaking in and retrieving the blueprints was surprisingly easy. Ya know, they really should up the security there!
But anyway, I grabbed the blueprints and made it home before anybody even woke up. Later, while everybody thought I was at school, I was actually here building my machine. All it needed was some re-tweaking and then ta-da! That Delightfulizapper Chamber Thingy became a Doll-ification Chamber! Now Kuki and I can always play together!"
"But why?" Numbuh 2 questioned. "I thought you hated your sister?"
Mushi looked startled, almost insulted, by the question. "Hated? I never hated my sister!" she explained. "Sure, I was a little jealous that mommy and daddy would let her play with all the cool new toys first. And sure, I would get a little upset when she wouldn't share them. And boy was I mad about getting grounded for life!" She glared at Numbuh 2 for a moment.
"But when you're stuck inside your room day in and day out – well, when you're not sneaking out to see your boyfriend – you start to miss the little things. Like playing dolls with my big sister when she comes home from school, or having her help me with my homework…" Mushi started becoming more agitated. "…or being welcomed to sleep in her room during thunderstorms, or her helping me untangle my pigtails before bedtime!"
She paused for a moment and took a deep breath to calm herself. "So I made a few mistakes! Big deal! I've made plenty of other mistakes that she's gotten over! But now… all she does is avoid me! Whenever I wanna play it's always "Maybe later, Mushi"! But later never comes!"
Numbuh 5 stepped forward. "Did you ever try apologizing to your sister?"
Mushi looked at the older kids, stunned. The brief look of embarrassment on her face confirmed that she hadn't. But Mushi quickly shook it off. "That doesn't matter!" she yelled, getting agitated again. "Sisters are supposed to forgive and forget no matter what! And sometimes, it looks like she's about to do just that! Just when I think she's about to finally pay me some attention, what happens?!"
Sector V just looked at her wearily, waiting for her to continue. She scowled at them. "She gets a call from you! The four of you swoop in, with your big, exciting missions and cool treehouse to play in, and you take her away from me again! All she does now is spend her time with you!"
"That's not her fault!" Numbuh 4 stated. "She'd rather hang out with us because you're a spoiled little nutcase!"
Mushi stuck her tongue out at him. "Says you!" She looked at her doll-ified sister with adoration and gave her another a big hug. "But now that Kuki's a doll, we can be best friends, just like before!"
Mushi then stepped behind Numbuh 3 and asked, "Right, sis?"
The older kids suddenly heard a strange clicking sound. With every click, Numbuh 3's body slightly jerked forward and her eyes flashed with pain.
It took them a minute to realize what was going on; there was a key in Numbuh 3's back that Mushi was winding in order for her to talk. The four operatives suddenly felt nauseas.
When she was done turning the key, Mushi stepped aside and waited for her sister to answer. A winding sound filled the room as Numbuh 3's mouth opened to speak.
"Guys…help…me!"
Her friends gasped in horror. Mushi scowled at her, enraged.
"No, no, no, NO!" That is not what you're supposed to say!" she yelled, stomping her foot on the ground.
She marched behind her sister, muttering under her breath about some 'bugs' that needed to be fixed, and the room was filled with the agonizing clicking sound again. When she was done she stomped back to her place at her sister's side. "Do it again and this time do it right!"
The winding sound began again and Numbuh 3 said, "I…love…you…Mushi!"
Mushi smiled. "There, see? All better!" She threw her arms around her sister again and squeezed hard. She started laughing again, only this time it sounded rather sad and desperate. "Forgive and forget! That's what sisters do, right Kuki?"
But the winding had stopped, and Numbuh 3 stayed silent.
It became apparent to Numbuh 5 that they were dealing with more than just an evil little brat; Mushi was an incredibly delusional little girl and was in need of some serious help.
But helping Numbuh 3 was their first priority. If they could just get her away from Mushi…
"Mushi," Numbuh 5 said softly, trying not to set the little ticking time bomb of a girl off. "We know you just want your sister's forgiveness. But this is not the way to get it. Please, just give her to us and we can help both of you." She tried stepping toward the sisters, but Mushi snapped.
"No! Don't come any closer!" she screamed, clinging close to Numbuh 3. "You just want to take her away from me again! Just leave us alone! We're happy!"
"We don't want to fight you, Mushi." Numbuh 1 warned. "But we're not going to leave without Numbuh 3."
"And if we have to fight you to get her back, we will!" Numbuh 4 added.
Mushi's face slipped into a devious smirk again as she pulled out her remote control. "Oh, I don't plan on fighting you guys." She said as she hit a button. "I've got my big sister here to do that for me. Get 'em, Kuki!"
Author's Note: Yeah... So... This got a bit darker, huh? When I was writing the rough draft to this chapter, there were actually some details that I decided to scrap because I felt that they made the story too dark. Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I appreciate feedback, so let me know what you think of think of the story! Chapter 5 should be up within the next few days! Have a lovely day!