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Codename: Kids Next Door

Operation F.I.N.I.S.H.

Finding

Indecisive

Nigel

Is

Sure

Hard

DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor have I ever, owned the Kids Next Door or its franchise. If I did, this fic would have become an episode.

Chapter 8

Bright and early the next morning, the four operatives and their friend emerged from their makeshift shelters. They had been lucky – it hadn't rained at all during the night. If it had, they would have woken up damp and irritated.

Instead, they were all well-rested and ready to head out. It was still only 6 in the morning when they woke up, but no one truly cared. They were all too eager with their newfound plan to find Numbuh 1 that how early it was simply factor to them.

"Alright guys," Numbuh 5 said, starting up a pep talk for the group, "first, we need to get back to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. From there we'll head for the tree house. We'll probably make it there by late afternoon, as long as we don't have any trouble finding the ship. So, you guys ready?"

Everyone nodded excitedly, and they headed off back in the direction they had come from the previous day.

About a half hour into the hike, Numbuh 3, who had been originally walking near Numbuh 2, hurried up to the front where Henrietta and Numbuh 5 were leading them – they were the only ones who knew the geography of the country the best. She cautiously tapped on Numbuh 5's shoulder to get on her attention.

"Hey, what's up Numbuh 3?" Numbuh 5 said, turning her head to face her friend.

"Umm, well, I wanted to…" Numbuh 3 paused a moment. Then, with a little more determination in her voice, "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I realize I should have stayed with you, or at least told you where I was going."

Numbuh 5 smiled at her. "That's alright, Kuki. Numbuh 5 knows you meant for the best." She patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, Numbuh 5 almost forgot! Did you happen to lose something yesterday?"

Numbuh 3 nodded. "My left earring. I guess I left it back on the ship or something." She shrugged.

Pulling off her hat and digging around in it, Numbuh 5 said, "Nope. Numbuh 5 found it in a bush, when we were looking for ya yesterday." She pulled out the pink earring she'd found the day before and handed it to her.

"Seriously? Wow, thank you!" She wrapped her friend in a big hug. When she finally released, she carefully put it on her earring-less ear.

"You vere lucky. Ven you lose somezing around 'ere, it is hard to find. Abigail remembers, ja?" said Henrietta, nudging her friend with her elbow.

"The first time Numbuh 5 went to Guatemala with Henie, before the actual pyramid mess, we were just searching for any candy temples in the area," explained Numbuh 5. "And Numbuh 5 ended up losing her favorite pair of earrings, sort of like you."

"End Abigail couldn't find them anyvere! We searched ze vole area, but found nozing. It vas ze funniest zing, somehof zey ended up in ein omelet one morning!" Henrietta burst out laughing. "Eh, vas good times."

"You got that right!" Numbuh 5 said, laughing along. Numbuh 3 soon joined in.

"Aye! What's so funny over there?" shouted Numbuh 4. The girls paused a moment, looked at one another, and laughed even harder.

"Ugh, cruddy girls…" Numbuh 4 muttered under his breath.

Numbuh 2, who was walking next to him, snickered. "And of course, you have your one exception." A blank stare spread across Numbuh 4's face, and Numbuh 2 face palmed himself. "Kuki, duh!"

Numbuh 4's confusion went to shock, and then complete denial. "NO! Nuh uh, no way! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yeah, right. You know you like her! We all know you do!"

Numbuh 4 crossed his arms. "Say what you want, but I don't like her that way."

Numbuh 2 bent over to whisper in his friend's ear, just low enough the girls couldn't hear him. "That's not what you told me a few years ago, Wally."

Flashback 2 Years Ago, Sector V's Tree House

"Numbuh 2?"

"Yeah, Numbuh 4?"

"Uh, listen…I uh, I don't think I'm ready to…ya know, tell Kuki yet…"

"What? Why not? Numbuh 4, you've put this off way too long!"

"I...I j-just can't, Hoagie."

"Listen Wally, you know neither of you have much time. You've got 2 months, you need to tell her."

"B-but I can't! I-I just…"

"…"

"Look, I d-don't think I'll be able to t-tell her by then. And I'm…I'm scared, Hoagie, really scared. I don't wanna forget about her."

"…well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Do you think…you could-"

"Uh uh, nope, not happening. No way am I telling her for you. You gotta do it yourself!"

"What? That's not what I was gonna say!"

"…oh."

"Like I was saying before…could you, maybe, try to…remember for me?"

"…"

"…"

"I…really don't think that's gonna work."

"W-why not?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm older than you, Wally. I'll forget before you do!"

"…"

"Look, you just gotta suck it up and tell her. There isn't any other way."

"But I-"

"No buts, Wally. Ha, get it? 'Butts'?"

"Hoagie, this isn't a time for cruddy puns! I've got a crisis here!"

"Haha…oh, sorry. Just tell her, dude."

"But…but what if she doesn't feel the same? What then?"

"Ugh, you're just making excuses for yourself! You'll never know for sure if you don't just tell her!"

"…I know…"

"Look at me Wally. No, look at me, not the floor!"

"…"

"You are going to tell Kuki how you feel, and you're not gonna be afraid. Now you say it."

"You are going to tell Kuki how I feel for me, and I'm going to stand here completely afraid."

"You know, I don't even know why I bother with this crud."

"…no wait! Don't leave, I'm sorry! Just…just help me Hoagie, please!"

"…just tell her. That's all I can do to help you."

End Flashback

Numbuh 4 held his head down, a blush forming on his face.

Numbuh 2 kept his voice at a low whisper, so the others wouldn't overhear. "And you obviously didn't tell her. She'd be all over you right now if you did. And you wouldn't be in denial."

Numbuh 4 stayed quiet.

"You're not planning on telling her anytime soon, are you." It was more of a statement than a question.

Still silent, except for a brief mumble that Numbuh 2 couldn't understand.

"Dude, don't you get it? Fate's giving you another chance! This whole thing, it's like a big flashing sign in your face, it knows you two belong together!"

Numbuh 4 finally looked up. "…who's 'it'?"

His friend shrugged. "I donno, but whoever he is, he knows about this whole thing. So don't mess it up this time!" He playfully slugged Numbuh 4 in the arm, who slugged him back.

It was about 8 in the morning when they finally found the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Since they never doubled back to find anyone – everyone stayed with the group – the time was cut considerably from their first trip. They all took their positions from the day before; Numbuh 5 switched seats so she was only working the tracker system, giving the captain's chair to Henrietta. Numbuh 5, however, remained leader, and was the one giving the directions.

Surprisingly, it barely took any time at all to actually get to the tree house. No one had to remind Numbuh 2 of how to get there, since he still lived in his old house from so many years back. When they finally found the tree house down the street, they parked on Numbuh 1's front lawn and jumped out of the ship.

"So…can we just, ya know, walk in? Or are all those defense things still up?" Numbuh 2 asked to no one in particular.

Numbuh 5 walked over to the trunk of the tree and lifted a piece of bark, which was actually a piece of plywood. "No, Numbuh 5 left it up; she made sure it was on permanently, so you guys wouldn't have to worry about it when you guys got decommissioned." A keypad was hidden under the plywood, and she punched in a code none of the others recognized. A hidden door suddenly swung open next to the keypad, and they all walked inside. As the door shut, a slight movement occurred, and the others, who at this point were slightly confused, realized it was one of the hidden elevators scattered throughout the tree house.

When the elevator door opened, the familiar sight of the main room of the tree house greeted them. Everything was exactly as they had left it: bean bag chairs color coded to match each of them, a soda machine in the corner, the large couch and TV that seemed to be waiting ages for someone to use them.

"Wow, who cleaned up in here?" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. The usual debris of soda cans and candy wrappers was nowhere to be seen.

Numbuh 3 raised her hand shyly. "Guilty. I was a little anxious the week before my…birthday…and I kinda went a little neat freak on the tree house."

Numbuh 5 walked around the tree house, taking everything in. "You ain't kidding, girl. That orange soda spray stain on the ceiling is even gone. How the heck'd ya get up there?"

The girl seemed to contemplate this, and eventually just shrugged. "That week's kinda fuzzy to me. I don't remember much of anything."

Numbuh 2 suddenly ran across the room to the couch, grabbing a video game controller. "Awesome! I haven't played any of these games in years!"

"They're all still there?" Numbuh 4 also ran to the couch, grabbing the other controller in one hand and a video game case in the other.

"Ugh, guys, we aren't here for video games! We need to see if Numbuh 1 is here!" Numbuh 5 growled at them.

"Do you zink 'e's in 'is room?" Henrietta wondered aloud.

Numbuh 5 nodded. "That's a good idea, we'll check there first. And checking downstairs in his actual house wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe his parents know where he is."

"And we should check the rest of the tree house, too!" Numbuh 3 added.

"Okay, Kuki, you and I will go downstairs and talk to his parents. Wally, check his room up here. Hoagie and Henie, look around the rest of the tree house; see if you can find him or any clues to where he might be."

Everyone nodded and ran off in their appropriate directions.

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5 took the elevator back downstairs, then ran over to the front door of Numbuh 1's house and rang the doorbell. Their original plan was to take the elevator connected to his house and just go in from there, but they didn't want to scare Mr. and Mrs. Uno, since none of them had seen each other in years.

The door swung open a moment later. A short, rather large man with brown hair and a mustache stood in the doorway. "Yes, can I help you?"

Numbuh 5 stepped forward a bit. "Uh, yeah, hi Mr. Uno. We're, uh, Nigel's friends."

"Oh, so you are! Oh good to see you girls! Been awhile, hasn't it?" the man said cheerily. His voice had a minor British accent to it.

"Uh huh. Say, is Numb- I mean, Nigel home?"

Mr. Uno scratched his mustache as he thought. "I'm afraid not, girls. Ol' Nigel's been at that preparatory school in England all these years. His mother and I have gotten postcards from him, but that's it. We haven't seen him, sorry." He paused a moment. "Although, we haven't gotten one from him in ages…"

Numbuh 5 felt her heart drop. "Oh, okay. Well, thanks anyways, Mr. Uno."

"Oh, it's no problem. Feel free to drop by anytime you want, girls!" he called as they left, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, we got one good thing out of this," Numbuh 3 said cheerily. Numbuh 5 looked at her, confused.

"What good is this? He's not here!"

"But now we know where he is! He's hiding out in England!"

Numbuh 5 shook her head sadly. "Numbuh 5 wish that were true, Kuki. But he's not."

Now it was Numbuh 3's turn to be confused. "But his dad just said-"

"That was just to cover him," Numbuh 5 interrupted. "After he and Numbuh 1's mom were re-decommissioned, we needed some kind of excuse to give them. So we sent Numbuh 60 to their house to say that Numbuh 1 got invited to a school in England, and that he'd already left. A few operatives were assigned to send fake postcards and letters to his parents, to make it seem more real. I guess after the whole Father thing, they didn't have the time to keep it up." She sighed sadly. "Just another dead end…"

Numbuh 3 hated to see her friend – or any friend, for that matter – upset, so she tried her best to cheer her up. "Well…maybe the others will have better luck! Maybe he snuck back here without his parents knowing, to pick up some technology or something!" She smiled sweetly at Numbuh 5, who couldn't help but smile back. That small chance was enough to bring her spirits up a little bit.

"Ya know, you're probably right. Thanks Kuki."

Not many lines to translate for this one:

You vere lucky. Ven you lose somezing around 'ere, it is hard to find. Abigail remembers, ja? …means… You were lucky. When you lose something around here, it is hard to find. Abigail remembers, right?

End Abigail couldn't find them anyvere! We searched ze vole area, but found nozing. It vas ze funniest zing, somehof zey ended up in ein omelet one morning! Eh, vas good times. …means… And Abigail couldn't find them anywhere! We searched the whole area, but found nothing. It was the funniest thing, somehow they ended up in my omelet one morning! Eh, was good times [or you can just delete the word 'good' and it flows more easily]

Do you zink 'e's in 'is room? …means… Do you think he's in his room?

Next chapter will follow the others, and show what they found in the tree house.