Chapter 9

Sonya felt peace. Peace so complete and good, it enveloped her entire being with the aroma and squishy comfort of cotton candy. Sonya did not blush, and she didn't feel her body prickle with anxiety at Lee's touch. It felt good, it felt natural…it felt right. Sonya wanted to lean on Lee's shoulder and sleep - be shuttled off to a world without Harvey's angry face.

But you know? Sonya thought drowsily. This world isn't bad either. Not now, and Sonya drifted off to sleep, feeling peace, calm, and the warmth of Lee's hand.

----

This girl. Lee thought, astonished. How can she fall asleep at a time like this? He cautiously looked over at Harvey and found an angry scowl etched into his face. He knew Numbuh 363's silence could not last. For what it's worth, sweet dreams, Numbuh 83. He shifted his grip on her hand, but never let go.

----

When the H.O.V.E.R.K.A.R. landed at the treehouse, something inside Numbuh 363 snapped. Numbuh 83 was a girl, a girl, a girl, a GIRL!

"I can't believe you're a girl!" He screamed as soon as they all stepped foot into the treehouse. Sonya shifted her feet from side to side. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes just yet. "Let me get this straight. You're a 100%, full-blooded GIRL! Am I right?!" Sonya hesitated, then nodded nervously.

"What's your real name?"

"It's…it's…"

"ANSWER ME, GIRL!" Sonya felt irritated. After all they've been through as a team, this was what she amounted to? Not Numbuh 83, but Girl?

"Sonya." Numbuh 83 said meekly, in contrast to her actual feelings. She watched Numbuh 363's face grow redder and redder. He abruptly turned away from her as if he could not longer stand to see her. She felt a vein pop. Why…you…Numbuh 363 relaunched his tirade at the rest of Sector W.

"Why aren't the rest of you saying anything? What's the matter with you guys?" Nobody answered him. Harvey's voice was dangerously quiet.

"I think you guys are all missing the point." He took a deep breath and roared, "She's a cruddy GIRL!"

"So?" Numbuh 84 replied calmly.

"You knew, didn't you, Numbuh 84?" Lee simply nodded. "Why the heck didn't you tell me?" Numbuh 363 exploded in anger. "She's a cruddy girl! We can't have a girl on our team!"

Numbuh 84 looked at his team leader coldly. "That's why, Numbuh 363. You would have kicked her out."

Tommy and Paddy slowly walked between Lee and Harvey.

"Numbuh 363, what if we don't kick her off the team…" Numbuh T quaked when he saw Harvey's expression.

"What!"

"She's not too bad - for a girl." Paddy managed to say in a strained voice.

"Exactly," sneered Numbuh 363. "She's a girl." He received glares. "What's the matter with you guys! Don't you understand? We can't have a girl on our team; it'll slow us down!" As he looked around for support, he found none in the hard eyes of his teammates. "It's your fault!" He choked out. He shoved a finger in Sonya's face. "Your fault, you cruddy girl! Your fault that nobody on the team is on my side!" Sonya's eyes widened.

"No! That's not it! Please don't get upset with them, Numbuh 363, it's really all my fault to begin with! I know I lied, and I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry! Just let me stay on the team, Numbuh 363, please!"

"And what would you do to stay on the team, girl? How far would you go to show you're sorry?" Sonya did not hear the danger in his voice, and only heard the chance that he was offering her.

"I'll do anything!" Numbuh 83 said in a pleading voice. "Just tell me how I can make it up to you."

"Stay in a dark room -by yourself for one day." Sonya froze, her face quickly turning white. Oh no. Oh please no. Anything but that. She began shaking in fear.

Harvey smirked at her reaction. "That's all you have to do. Nobody up at Moon Base can accuse me of being harsh." Numbuh 363's cocky, narrow eyes suddenly widened.

"W-w-what are you doing, Numbuh 84?" Numbuh 363 was forced to back up in fright as a furious Numbuh 84 stood up, and walked to stand in between his leader and teammate.

"Not cool." As Numbuh 84 turned around to glance at Numbuh 83's huddled, shaking frame, his anger increased ten-fold. No longer anger, but rage. Numbuh 363 didn't show it, but he was scared of this Numbuh 84, this Lee that he had never seen.

"H-hey…calm down, Numbuh 84." His impassive face made Harvey cringe. "I-I…"Something inside Numbuh 363 roared as he felt his authority slipping away.

"Exactly long have you known she was a girl, Numbuh 84?" He sneered. "You must have known for a while - sticking so close to that girl, protecting her, keeping up that lie. What's the matter with you, Numbuh 84 - she's a girl! We can't have a girl on the team!"

Numbuh 84 looked at their leader coldly. "And so what if she's a girl?" Numbuh 363 was a little spooked by the venom in Numbuh 84's voice. Nevertheless, he carried on.

"So what? How could you say that? She's a-crud-dy g-ir-l!"

"And? Am I supposed to care if she's a girl or not?" Harvey's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean, so what, Numbuh 84? Have you forgotten our pact? Our goal to be the Kids Next Door's boys-only sector because girls are worse in every way? Girls are weaker, girls are slower, girls are stupider…" Something inside Numbuh 83 ignited.

"You annoying, buck-toothed PEST!" She yelled from behind Numbuh 84. Numbuh 84 looked at her curiously. Amidst his mildly shocked expression, amusement flickered across his face.

"Um, Numbuh 83..." Numbuh T said timidly, "now's not exactly the time to…"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!" Numbuh 363 roared in anger.

"…antagonize Numbuh 363..." Sonya bowed her head in shame. He was right.

"But Numbuh 363..." Paddy hesitated, then continued, shaking. "Numbuh 83 saved us with our battle against Uncle because she's a girl!" Numbuh 83 felt warm inside. Numbuh 85, thank you!

"Are you trying to say something, Numbuh 85?" Harvey seethed.

"W-w-w-well, j-just that most girls can't cut it, but Numbuh 83 isn't too bad…for a girl, and that even if she is a girl, she did a lot of the missions with us, and I think that's worth taking into account, and I mean ask yourself honestly, is she really that bad?" The warmth Sonya felt seconds earlier, dissipated. Numbuh 85! Really? Is that what you were able to come up with?

"And are you telling me you forgot about our battle with the Old Geezer? This girl helped you get your basketball back. This girl risked danger along with us when we went up against the Medicine Man and Mr. Perfecto Lawnman and Mrs. Perfecta Housewife and when we tried to save Numbuh 85's older sister from her rainbow monkey. And back against that fight with Uncle, you decided to help her too when he had her at his mercy!" Sonya's eyes watered in gratitude. Numbuh T, thank you!

"Well, well!" Numbuh 363 sputtered, "I'd rather save any kid over any adult, any day! And don't try to change the subject; we're going to get the bottom of this. How to rid our team of a girl!"

"Don't you get it, Numbuh 363? We're already a team. Sonya isn't just a girl. She's Numbuh 83." A smile threatened to break through her carefully constructed face of apology.

On Harvey's part, was only silence.

"And, and," Tommy took a deep breath. "Since she's a girl in a boy sector, I bet she'll be the best Boy-Girl Relations Officer in the history of the Kids Next Door!"

Harvey scowled, but in a matter of seconds, one side of his mouth suddenly twitched upward into a smirk.

"Fine. I'll accept the girl as Numbuh 83, after she spends one day in the dark."

"Cork it, Harvey!" Lee snapped.

"N-no. I'll do it."

"No, you won't." Numbuh 84 said furiously. He turned to their leader. "Numbuh 363, this really isn't fair."

"Oh, first I'm Harvey, but now I'm Numbuh 363 again?" Numbuh 363 sneered. "I'm not changing my mind. Until she spends a day in the dark, that girl is not in Sector W."

"Don't be too sure about that."

"Wha-wha-WHAT? Are you questioning my authority?" He screeched angrily.

"Stop it guys, stop! We're supposed to be a team." Numbuh 83 said, looking worriedly between Lee and Harvey. Harvey turned towards her.

"Um…" said Numbuh 83, and then Numbuh 363 tackled her into the ground.

"You're not on my team! You'll never be on any team of mine! Who do you think you are?" He managed to scream before he was bowled over by the rest of Sector W.

"That's enough, Harvey."

"I'm back to Harvey again?" Numbuh 363 taunted.

"Right now, you don't deserve a Numbuh. Let's go, Numbuh 83. We'll deal with all this crud later." Sonya picked herself up, brushed off her clothes, and followed him, giving a final glance toward a shocked-looking Harvey who looked as anyone would look if he had just been abandoned by his best friend.

After a moment's hesitation, Numbuh 85 and Numbuh T followed after their other two teammates, and Numbuh 363 was left all alone to deal with his wounded pride.

"You'll regret it! You'll regret it! You'll regret it!" He shouted after his teammates. "You'll regret turning my best friend against me." He mumbled ominously. "You'll regret it, you awful girl."

----

"Thank you, Numbuh 84."

"Anytime, Numbuh 83." Lee smiled warmly at her, but nevertheless he looked preoccupied. Paddy also exchanged a worried glance with Tommy. He whispered so that Sonya couldn't hear.

"Numbuh 84 was right, defending Numbuh 83 and all, but…" Tommy nodded grimly.

"Numbuh 363 isn't going to be happy."

"Well, duh."

"I mean, he's not going to just let this go, he's going to do something about it, being the Harvey that he is…but I don't know what." They spotted Sonya walking towards them, and immediately stopped talking.

"Numbuh 85, Numbuh T. Thank you." Sonya said, biting her lip. They both smiled hiding their anxieties for the moment.

"Don't worry about it, Numbuh 83."

"Yeah, as far as we are concerned, you're already a part of Sector W."

"Aw…you guys!" Sonya beamed. "Group hug!" Paddy looked horrified.

"I remember now why I didn't want any girls on the team!"

"Who would want a hug from you?" Lee teased, smirking.

"No!!! I don't want cooties!" Tommy said in mock terror.

"You guys!" Sonya shook her head at their typical boyish reactions, but smiled despite herself. Boys they may be, but they had just proved to be the type of friends she would want forever.

----

The room flickered with shadows created by the only light of the room, the computer screen. And by the computer, someone typed with considerable skill, and a heart full of a considerable amount of humiliation, anger, and the desire for the ultimate revenge.

"You'll get what's coming to you, girl." He muttered feverishly. A window popped up. For a second, he hesitated. Did she really deserve this? The guilt passed over his conscience quickly. His hand shaking, he maneuvered the mouse, he clicked OK.

The screen flickered with the words:

Operative Numbuh 83 is scheduled for decommissioning.

----

"What?" Numbuh 85 turned pale.

"Yep. I thought you knew, Paddy. Someone in your sector's going to get decommissioned tomorrow."

"But that's not possible, we're all seven!"

"Well, I did think it was odd," she admitted. "But Numbuh 83 is the one in your sector, right?"

"Yes, but I'm telling you, she's seven like the rest of us! Oh, I know! Tell Moon Base they've got a mistake! You know she's not thirteen!"

"Numbuh 85, that doesn't matter. If the computer says you're set for decommissioning, you're going to get decommissioned."

"But we're all seven!"

"Look, Paddy…life isn't always fair, and…"

"But we're not even officially in the Kids Next Door yet!"

"What did I just tell you, you stupid boy!" Paddy quailed under her screech. Her impatience was visibly and audibly thinning. So typical of his fiery, older sister. "Well?"

"You're so scary!" He wailed as he ran out of the room. "Nobody's ever going to want to date you!"

"Oh yeah?" Numbuh 86's screech echoed down the stairs. "Nobody's going to want to date a crybaby like you either!"

Numbuh 85 sat blubbering outside his house. "How am I ever supposed to tell, Numbuh 83? I can't, I can't, it's too awful!" But…Numbuh 85 looked up, his face streaked with tears…I have to tell her. I have to tell her right now.

----

"What's wrong, Numbuh 85?" Sonya looked up as she sucked on a lollipop. Sector W stared as Paddy walked stiffly forward.

"Numbuh 83 is going to get decommissioned tomorrow," he said, nearly in tears.

"What?" Numbuh 84 said, disbelievingly.

"What!" Numbuh T fell off the couch. Thud. He scrambled up. "What are you talking about, Numbuh 85?"

"My sister told me." Numbuh 85's eyes watered. "And we can't do anything about it either; we can't change what's in the Moon Base computer...there's nothing we can do!"

"Um…what's decommissioning?" Silence met her words. Sonya tried again, biting her lip. "You guys?"

Numbuh 84 stood up, shaking.

"Numbuh 84?" Sonya asked, worried. He ran out of the room, throwing the door open violently. "Numbuh 84!" She turned to Paddy and Tommy in bewilderment. "Guys, what's going on? What's decommissioning? Is it really that bad?"

----

"NUMBUH 363!" The door to the room was flung open, and with it was Numbuh 84. His dark eyes looked even darker than usual, and Numbuh 363 trembled when he felt Numbuh 84's aura of rage. It was the same as the afternoon. He found himself afraid of the normally calm and collected, cool and dependable, Numbuh 84. "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE."

No it wasn't quite the same. Right now, Numbuh 363 was positively quaking with fear.

"Calm down, Numbuh 84!" Numbuh 363 said frantically. "Calm down! HOLY CRUD - CALM DOWN! Don't take out your yo-yo, what are you doing!"

"YOU MORON!" Numbuh 84 swung his yo-yo, and it rapidly began to pick up speed. It was no longer a toy, but a weapon. A colorful and dangerous piece of plastic.

"Don't, don't, don't! You're attacking your own teammate, I'm your leader, I'm telling you to stand down. STAND DOWN!" Numbuh 363 screamed as Numbuh 84's favorite yo-yo shot an inch past his ear, and slammed into the wall. Boom! Dust and chips of wood rained down on the floor, as well as pieces of the yo-yo.

"WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

"Dunno." Lee snarled.

"What d'ya mean, dunno?" Harvey screamed. "That -," he pointed to the smoking remains of the yo-yo lodged in the wall, "almost happened to my head!"

"Just consider yourself lucky that my yo-yo didn't scramble your brains, 'cause you deserved it, pal." Lee silently pulled out another yo-yo.

"And what do you think you're going to do with that?" Harvey shrilled in panic.

"You tell me." Lee swung the yo-yo around rapidly. "Around the World." He made the yo-yo skid across the wooden slats. "Walk the Dog." More fast movements. "Texas Star. Rattlesnake. Through the Tunnel. Shoot the Moon."

"Numbuh 84?" Harvey eyeballed the spinning yo-yo anxiously.

"I learned all these tricks for fun. Then I mastered them so I could join the Kids Next Door as part of your sector. But now, I don't know. Who are you, Numbuh 363? You don't seem like any kind of decent kid to me."

"Huh?"

"Don't act dumb." Lee snarled.

"You're the one who barely talks…" Harvey muttered.

"HOW DARE YOU DECOMMISSION NUMBUH 83!"

"I knew what I was doing." With a deafening crash, the yo-yo slammed into the wall on the other side of Numbuh 363's head. The force shattered the yo-yo into a mass of plastic pieces.

Since Numbuh 363 knew perfectly well how good Numbuh 84's aim was, he began to feel slightly more confident. Numbuh 84 didn't hate him enough to actually hurt him, and in time, he'd be sure they'd be good friends again.

"What a waste." Numbuh 363 said brazenly in the midst of falling debris. He shook his head. "Two of your yo-yos are broken, and one of them was your favorite too, if it were me, I wouldn't have used that one but another one instead…" Numbuh 363 stopped as Numbuh 84 stared at him disbelievingly.

"How could you do that?" Numbuh 84 said quietly. Numbuh 363 again felt the insistent stabbing of guilt that kept popping up so inconveniently. Yet, he defended himself.

"I hacked into the Moon Base computer system and…" Numbuh 363 stared at the floor. "And so what! She's a girl! Okay?" Numbuh 363 squirmed as he felt Numbuh 84's eyes on him. Eyes full of disgust.

"Don't you get it, we're all friends! When you thought she was a boy, you were friends with Numbuh 83 too. Believe it or not, you thought she was a pretty good KND operative, that is, until you found out she was a girl, and then your stupid cockiness wouldn't let it go!"

"Num-numbuh 84?"

"What were you thinking? I can't believe this!"

"Numbuh 84, I've never seen you like this!"

"CRUD! CRUD! Crud! Crud! Crud! I hate this, I hate this, I HATE THIS!" Numbuh 363 felt a sickening wrench in his gut seeing a calm Numbuh 84 completely, utterly, losing it.

"Numbuh 84," Numbuh 363 tried to placate his friend in vain. "Wait! Wait!" The sound of a slamming door answered his pleas. As the silence of his isolation surrounded him, Numbuh 363 scowled deeply. He hated it when he doubted himself, and he was greatly doubting his decision now.

----

"Um, what's decommissioning?"

"You forget." Tommy said curtly. .

"What?" Sonya looked at Paddy and Tommy in confusion.

"You forget everything." Paddy said, looking down, unable to meet her eyes. "Everything related to the Kids Next Door. So…you won't remember us, after decommissioning."

"No way…" Sonya said in disbelief. "I can't believe it, I won't believe it, I won't! I won't!" Numbuh 84 trudged into the room forlornly. Even after all that, I still can't hit Harvey. Ugh. "Numbuh 84," Sonya ran to him, "at least you tell me the truth - Numbuh 85 and Numbuh T haveto be lying…how can it be true, I can't forget you guys, not after all we've been through!"

"Yeah." Numbuh 84 was unable to meet her eyes. "It's true." After Numbuh 84's verification, Sonya's face crumpled in despair.

"What…no!" Her face turned white in panic. "I don't want to forget. I don't want to forget anything! I want to stay friends with you guys!" Memories of her life a scant few weeks ago returned. She didn't have true friends, not like these.

Only girls who wanted her rainbow monkeys. Only boys who pulled her pigtails and laughed as they ran away. She knew instinctively that right now, her place in life was with Sector W. There could be no equivalent. "No! I won't!" She flared up angrily, her vision blurring. Whether they were tears of sadness or furious tears of anger, she didn't know. All she knew was that her entire self was charged with emotion. "I won't get decommissioned," she said in a tone of determined refusal. "Or at least, I won't forget. I won't!" She repeated stubbornly.

Numbuh 85 wailed. "It's hopeless, Numbuh 83." Hopeless…hopeless…Sonya ran out the room, the word ringing in her head, taunting her mercilessly. Hopeless…hopeless…It's all hopeless.

It was pretty difficult to write this chapter...I wasn't sure how the oh-my-gosh, Numbuh 83 is a girl! conflict should be played out. But! Here it is, so I hope you enjoyed!