Weeks went by after Numbuh 1's decommissioning. Sector V was without an official leader, the moonbase was to send them one soon. In the meantime, Numbuh 5 was the self-proclaimed leader.
Numbuh 362 spent her time wondering if it was a mistake. After all, Numbuh 1 had sacrificed his Kids Next Door life for the better of the Kids Next Door. She thought about how he forced his face into the plunger, knowing very well he was about to lose everything. There was a knock on her door.
"Numbuh 362?" Numbuh 86 asked, peeking her head inside the door.
"Come on in Fanny" she replied. Her friend sat on her bed next to her.
"Listen, Numbuh 362. I know it's been hard these past few weeks, but you did what you had to do. Thinking about it won't fix anything. You have to move on eventually" her friend consoled.
"I know, it's just…" she couldn't think of how to word how she was feeling. "You know what, you're right. I'll be back to work by this afternoon" she replied.
"That's more like it" Numbuh 86 replied smiling. Walking out of the room, she added "Wait a second, I almost forgot. Sector V has been waiting for a leader for weeks. Who should we send in?"
"Not sure yet. You can start looking yourself I guess" Rachel replied.
"Alright sir" she said, finally walking out the door.
Rachel dragged herself out of her quarters and perched herself on her throne, watching over the main control room. She tried to move on, not to think about it, but she couldn't help but feel it was a terrible decision. As the day went by, she found herself thinking about it more and more. By the end of the day she called in Numbuh 86.
"What is it sir?" she asked.
"I, uh, have a new mission" Rachel replied. Numbuh 86 blinked, confused. There was rarely a mission important enough to have Numbuh 86 involved.
"What is it?"
"The Delightful Children built a new Delightfulization ray. I need Sector V to check it out. Get Numbuh 5 down to the moonbase immediately"
"Right away" she replied, running out the door.
In a few minutes, Numbuh 362 was greeted by Sector V's temporary leader.
"Hey Numbuh 362" Numbuh 5 said, "What's up?"
"The Delightful Children are up to no good again. They decided to delightfulize everybody on Earth."
"After what just happened with the negatives?" Numbuh 5 asked.
"I know, I guess they figured this was a good time to attack since our defenses would be down."
"Numbuh Five's got no clue how to stop this" Numbuh 5 replied. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure Numbuh 1 knew about their machines."
"Can't Numbuh Two get blue prints of their devices?" Rachel replied.
"We've tried that, but they're too top secret. He couldn't crack their codes." Numbuh 5 went on, "I know Numbuh 1 was decommissioned and all, so we'll try to get some scientist friends of Numbuh 2 to try"
Rachel thought for a minute. "I think I just got an idea…" she said. Numbuh 5 looked up at her. "We had to decommission Nigel because he was too dangerous. Maybe we don't have to recommission him…maybe he can just start over…"
"What? That's crazy"
"I know, I know. But think about it. If he completely starts over, with you as Sector V's leader, he'll be back to his hard working self but be more obedient and less dangerous"
"Numbuh 5 thinks your nuts" Abby said.
"Well, it's worth a try. Don't you want Numbuh 1 back?" Rachel asked. Numbuh 5 paused for a moment.
"I guess it's worth a shot…" Numbuh 5 agreed.
"I'll see what I can do. I'll get a hold of Numbuh 60 right away"