Author's Note: Hey everybody! A little PSA before the chapter: I don't know why I haven't been doing this from the start, but I've decided to make it a personal rule to always Private Message a response to my reviewers/commenters. I've already started responding to some recent commenters, especially regulars (OMG I have regulars, that's so cool!), but I plan to make this a regular thing from now on. Even if you don't leave a question or anything, I'd still like to thank each of you personally, and hopefully that can spark some really cool conversations! Anyway, you all know the drill; I don't own C:KND (do I even really need to keep saying this?) blah blah blah. Enjoy!
A few hours later, Sector V was waiting outside of an operating room at the Kids Next Door Moonbase.
When they had brought Numbuh 3 in, they had rushed frantically to the through the Moonbase to the hospital wing, causing many surprised and confused operatives to follow in curiosity.
Sector V had busted through the medical wing, ordering the doctors to stabilize Numbuh 3 immediately. Two shocked nurses took the dolli-fied girl and rushed her to the operating room. It was then that Numbuh 362 and doctor Numbuh 275 pushed through the crowd of operatives and demanded to know what was going on.
After Sector V gave a brief description of the events that had occurred at the doll factory, Numbuh 362 had sent Numbuhs 41 and 43 to Earth to retrieve the Dolli-Fication Chamber and Numbuhs 92 and 93 to apprehend Mushi. Numbuh 275 went to call up more doctors and the scientists from the Deep Sea Lab. "We'll need all the help we can get" he said.
Only Sector V remained outside of the operating room, after Numbuh 362 had ordered all other operatives to return to their duties, before heading into the operating room herself. Since Sector V was not allowed in, the Soopreme Leader assured them that she would keep an eye on Numbuh 3 and provide the group with any updates. But no one had exited the operating room since Numbuh 362 closed the door behind her, and the members of Sector V were all on edge.
"Man, they've been in there forever." Numbuh 2 said.
"Why won't anyone tell us anything?" Numbuh 4 demanded.
"They're busy, Numbuh 4." Numbuh 5 replied. "This can't be easy for them."
"Well waitin' around here not knowin' anything ain't easy for us either!" Numbuh 4 responded.
Numbuh 1 headed to the door of the operating room. "Numbuh 4's got a point. Maybe if we just check really quick-"
However, the door swung open before Numbuh 1 could even touch the doorknob, and the poor leader was squished against the wall. Numbuh 362 exited the operating room.
"Sorry about the wait, guys. I'm sure you've all been dying for an up-" The Soopreme Leader looked around and noticed that the group was one operative short. "Where's Numbuh 1?"
"Here." Numbuh 1 winced from behind the door.
"Ooops," the Soopreme Leader said embarrassed as she closed the door behind her. "Sorry about that."
"So what's goin' on in there?" Numbuh 5 asked as she helped Numbuh 1 to his feet.
Numbuh 362 nodded. "Right, so Numbuhs 41 and 43 were successful in retrieving Mushi's dolli-fying machine. Once they brought it back here, we had the Deep Sea Lab scientists take a look at it to see if they could reverse-engineer it, to reverse the effects of the dolli-fication."
"And...?!" the four operatives anxiously.
Numbuh 362 smiled. "It was a complete success!"
Numbuhs 2, 4, and 5 cheered and high-fived each other and Numbuh 1 sighed in relief.
"Can we go see her now?" Numbuh 4 asked, trying not to sound too eager.
"I'm afraid not." Numbuh 275 said as he exited the operating room. "Numbuh 3 is being moved to a private room for recovery. She needs as much rest as possible right now. Both the dolli-fying process and the reverse dolli-fying process have left her completely exhausted." He looked at the disappointed faces of his patient's teammates and felt pity for them. "However," he continued. "We'll place her in a room where you'll be able to see her from the window. If you'll all just follow me."
Sector V eagerly followed Numbuh 275 with Numbuh 362 following slowly behind them. The doctor brought them to a door that remained firmly shut. "We will allow you in here once Numbuh 3 is awake." The young doctor informed them as he gestured to the nearby window. "Until then you can see her through here."
Sector V rushed to the window. Inside of the room, two nurses were busy making the bed comfortable around their sleeping patient.
Aside from some obvious signs of fatigue, Numbuh 3 looked completely normal. Her friends smiled, relieved to see she was 100% human again.
"Well now that we know Numbuh 3 is going to be okay, there's another matter we need to discuss," Numbuh 362 stated, drawing back Sector V's attention. "What are we going to do about Mushi?"
The four operatives couldn't give an answer right away. They hadn't thought about Mushi since they arrived on Moonbase.
Numbuhs 1, 2, 4, and 5 were deep in thought, trying to come up with a fitting punishment. Finally, after a few minutes of tense silence, Numbuh 1 spoke. "I think it's best if we lock her up in the Arctic Prison. Just like any other criminal to the Kids Next Door."
Numbuh 2 cut in. "Well, I think we should hand her over to her parents. Tell 'em she's been sneaking out and should be grounded even longer. If she thought it was so bad sitting at home while Numbuh 3 ignored her, let her keep suffering."
Numbuh 362 nodded, considering the two suggestions. "Anyone else?"
Numbuh 4 scowled. "Well I say we throw her into that dolli-fying thing for a little while and see how she likes it!"
Numbuh 5 was quick to remove her hat and slap him with it. "That is sick and wrong, and you know it!" she scolded.
Numbuh 4 looked over his shoulder, where he could see Numbuh 3 through the window. "Yeah, I know…" he said quietly, looking ashamed.
Numbuh 5 put her hat back on and sighed. She knew he was just talking out of frustration. All of them of course were worried about Numbuh 3, but Numbuh 5 knew that Numbuh 4 must have been agonizing over her. She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." she whispered.
"Me too."
"Numbuh 5?" Numbuh 362 asked gently. "Any suggestions?"
Numbuh 5 didn't answer; she leaned against the window with her arms folded, replaying the day's events. She thought of the look on Mushi's face when she had realized the torment she had unintentionally inflicted upon her sister.
"I… I didn't mean to!" she had said. And Numbuh 5 believed her.
She then thought about her own sister, and how much she would love to reconcile with her. She thought about how much it hurt to no longer be best friends with Cree, to see Cree go off with her own friends, to see Cree wanting nothing to do with her.
They just don't get it, she thought. Mushi is nuts, no doubt about that. But if somebody could just help her, maybe…
Numbuh 5 turned to the window and looked at Numbuh 3, who was still sound asleep. She thought about the sadness Numbuh 3 would mask whenever she talked about her little sister, about how she would have loved to have made up with Mushi if only there had been better communication between them. But after the day's events, Numbuh 5 started to doubt that the relationship between the Sanban sisters could ever be saved. It would sure suck to see Numbuh 3 and Mushi have the kind of relationship that she and Cree had.
But she knew that wasn't her decision to make.
"This ain't our call." she finally answered. "Numbuh 5 thinks we should let Numbuh 3 decide what to do."
Numbuh 362 nodded, secretly a little embarrassed to not have thought of that herself. "I think that's fair."
The boys nodded in agreement.
They then all turned to watch their friend sleep in her hospital bed for a little while longer, waiting anxiously for the doctors to allow them in.
Author's Note: Okay, so this was kind of a shorter filler chapter, but come on; this is a story focusing on the relationship between sisters, OF COURSE I was going to throw some Abby and Cree references in here! And of course I wanted to throw in a little more 3/4 shiptease goodness because they are my OTP for this show and always will be! I've got maybe 1 or 2+ chapters left in mind for this story, so be on the look out! And with this coming closer to an end, I've got some other fun little KND stories in mind (don't worry, they're a lot more light-hearted than this roller coaster of emotions), so be on the look out for those! And I'm also open for story suggestions (you can Private Message me about those)! Fair warning: final exams/assignments are coming up for me, so I maybe a little more lax in the next few weeks, but I will try to get them up as soon as I can. And with that, thank you so much for reading! Reviews/comments are always appreciated so feel free to leave one! As always, have a lovely day!