Chapter 5: Compromised
…Connection Re-Established…
Somewhere in Moscow, Father had arranged a meeting with several of his top commanders.
"Are the final preparations complete?" Father addressed to all his subordinates.
"Yes sir, your armies are awaiting orders." One of the commanders said, shaking before sitting back down in his seat.
The dark silhouette grinned and glanced at all the high ranking authorities with a sense of approval.
"Good, Cree assemble your team, you will command the first wave of attacks against those miserable Kids Next Door."
"Finally." Muttered Cree.
Suddenly, a figure in his early teenage years busted through the door, shocking all the occupants inside except for Father himself.
The adolescent was wearing a greyish uniform, along with a facemask that covered everything but his eyes. His cap was now replaced with a formal officer hat with a golden insignia that was shaped as the Earth and had an eye in the middle.
"You… what do you and your "superior" wants this time?"
The boy ignored Fathers comment, and began to move in closer towards Father and his seated commanders.
"Are your forces ready to launch the assault on the Kids Next Door?"
"What does it matter to you, you brat." Grumbled Father, turning his back.
The teen sighed at the comment and snapped his finger, causing a number of figures to emerge from the shadows, instantly grabbing all the commanders present and holding knives up to their throats.
Cree and some of the Teen Ninjas raised their guard and activated their BRA's.
"Who the hell are these creeps?!" shouted Cree, now confused about the unknown men that surrounded them.
The figures were wearing black robes, sleek helmets, and gas masks. They were also wearing red armbands that had the same insignia that marked the boy's hat.
Father began to look irritated. "We had a deal, how would your Superior feel about this huh..? You can't enact your plans without my help."
The teenage boy then signaled his men to stand down, causing them to let go of their victims and retreat back into the shadows.
"Now that I've got your attention, let us discuss some interesting developments."
Father mumbled underneath his own breath and allowed the boy to speak. Why did someone always have to barge in on his meetings? All they had to do was knock.
The boy continued, his boots making a squeaking sound as he walked around the room.
"Are you aware of the Kids Next Door operatives currently headed towards Moscow?"
"No I wasn't." Father chafed.
"Well apparently, after extensive spying and tracking, one of them appears to be Supreme Leader Numbuh 362."
Father nearly gasped, this was the same girl who ate ALL that Broccoli and nearly shoved some of that cursed vegetable down his throat.
"And the other one is, this might be interesting, Numbuh 1." The boy then stopped and looked directly at Father.
"My stupid nephew" Father's face became more tense and serious.
"Ah yes your Nephew" The teen smirked "I have some of my own elite forces in the area to dispatch of them do you wish to…"
Father suddenly burst into flames, causing everyone in the room take cover and the adolescent to take a step back.
"NO, you will do nothing, I WILL DEAL WITH HIM, NOW LEAVE!"
The teen regained his composure, "As you wish, just remember your part of the bargain."
Before he walked out of the room, the juvenile added one last comment "Oh, and by the way, your weapons are ready."
Suddenly, a canister hit the ground, and produced an intensely bright light that blinded all in the room.
Father shielded his eyes and attempted to regain his vision.
The heated figure looked around, the boy now gone.
He then turned towards Cree, his eyes full of rage.
"Change of plans… deal with Numbuh 1 and his Supreme Leader."
As the convoy neared Moscow, it slowed down to a complete stop.
"This is how far we can take you Supreme leader" announced one of the infantrymen. As far as Rachel could tell, he looked nervous, and rightfully so.
The area they had stopped was on an open vulnerable field, with the city being just over the horizon.
"When you're ready, we will extract you a few miles from this exact location. Good luck." The infantrymen handed Rachel a map that showed the point of extraction as well as the city of Moscow.
"Thanks for the lift." Rachel responded.
The plan was to enter the city undetected, contact Maurice, find the missing sector in the area and hopefully the kidnapped scientists, and gather intelligence that would allow them to foil anything Father had planned.
Rachel called her team together.
"Listen up, the mission we are going on is of the utmost importance, and failure is not an option. Watch each other's back and leave no one behind. We'll put an end to whatever Father's planning no matter what it takes."
She dismissed the team, who proceeded to remain silent while loading their gear off from the trucks. As they took out the last bag they had brought for the mission, the KND infantrymen saluted them and drove off into the distance.
They were now cut off from the outside world, and well out of the range from any additional support.
Upon this site, Nigel looked at Rachel, trying to read any emotions she was feeling.
Rachel stared right back him directly into his eyes, and produced a half-smile. The mission they were about to proceed into was going to be difficult, and she thought maybe not all of them would make it back.
The city of Moscow lay several miles ahead, and trying to sneak in would be no easy task.
Upon entering the city, they attempted to blend in by dressing up as teenagers and wore clothes that were believed to be worn by their older counter-parts. However, their outfits looked rather obvious to anyone paying close attention to them due to the variety of weapons and devices that seemed to protrude from their clothes.
The group of elite operatives was surrounded by a large amount of enemy activity.
Father's soldiers were loading up supplies onto trucks, and tanks seemed to freely roam the streets. The air space in the area also seemed to bustle with Teen Ninja fighters and helicopters.
An invasion was imminent, and Rachel and Nigel were determined to stop it by any means necessary.
Nigel quickly whispered to Rachel. "Hey aren't we supposed to meet Maurice near the Kremlin?"
Rachel nodded; they would split into three separate "groups".
Nigel would go with Rachel to find Maurice, while Numbuh 900, 789, and 222 scouted the city, searching for potential threats that could possibly compromise the mission.
Meanwhile, Numbuh 624 would recon by himself, far ahead of both groups.
He was far more effective alone, and Rachel knew this.
As the group split apart the blonde commander noticed Numbuh 900's bracelet, there was something awfully familiar about it.
"Hey Nigel, remember those figures I saw at the inn?" she whispered.
"Yeah, what about them?"
"One of them was wearing a golden bracelet too." Rachel proclaimed causing Nigel to rub his chin for a bit before he spoke.
"Well, you know, she's not the only one who wears golden bracelets." Nigel stated, turning to proceed with finding Maurice.
"Yeah… I guess you're right."
She couldn't help but feel that there was a connection between the bracelet she spotted on the figure and the one that Numbuh 900 wore.
The two operatives advanced towards the Kremlin watching their back at every turn.
Nearby, Cree and the Teen Ninja's were rampantly searching for them.
"For Pete Sake, how hard could it be to find a bunch of snot nose brats? I mean c'mon, they're the only kids in the area!"
The Teen Ninja commander was becoming more aggravated by the minute. Despite how blatantly obvious their disguises were, it even fooled Cree.
As the operatives neared the Kremlin, they heard someone whisper their names from one of the alleyways.
They turned and searched in the direction of the voice. They could see a figure with a familiar hairstyle. It was Maurice.
"Quickly, follow me." He said in a shallow voice.
Rachel and Nigel followed Maurice down the dark alleyway and into an abandoned building.
Upon entering the structure, Maurice spoke to them, this time in a much louder voice.
"Did you bring anyone else along you?"
Rachel answered, crossing her arms "Yeah, we brought a team of four others. Why do you ask?"
"You're being tracked." Maurice said, while making sure the area was secure and empty.
"What? By who?" asked Nigel.
"Cree." The teen operative added.
Nigel rubbed the back of his bald head. They had entered the city undetected, how was this possible without the Father possessing forehand knowledge?
Maurice seemed to be aware of Rachel and Nigel's confusion and addressed their concerns after he was done peeking through one of the windows.
"No time to explain here. Numbuh 362 contact the rest of your team, I'll update you on everything once we reach a safer location."
The rest of the team, excluding Numbuh 624 was busy scouting the rest of Moscow. Aside from the mass mobilization of enemy forces in the area, nothing seemed to be out of place.
"This area is just booming with activity, how can command overlook such an obvious threat?"
The tall operative was observing Knightimations being delivered and repaired as well as enemy soldiers moving up and down the streets of Moscow.
"I know right? Well that's why we're here anyway, to put an end to anything Father is planning." answered Numbuh 222, standing next to his team mate who seemed to tower over him.
The two continued to examine the sites before them.
Suddenly, a soft voice broke out from behind them.
"We should keep moving, the enemy might take notice if we sit here too long."
As the two turned back, they were shocked when they saw who the owner of the voice was.
"You talk?" smirked Numbuh 222, twisting his head to get a good look at Numbuh 900
"Well obviously."
The mysterious brown haired girl seemed to be annoyed by the fidgety grey haired boy.
Unlike the others, she didn't have to wear a disguise. She was on the verge of becoming a teen and her physical appearance matched the description of one.
Numbuh 789 abruptly felt the vibration of his communicator coming from his pocket. He reached for the device, and answered it without hesitation.
A hologram of Rachel appeared from his communicator.
"Numbuh 789, report near the Kremlin at once, we'll meet you there. Also remain cautious of your surroundings, Cree is tracking you."
"Yes Supreme Leader Sir." He saluted.
The hologram disappeared, and Numbuh 789 proceeded to put the communicator back into his pocket.
The grey haired boy was eager to hear the news and nearly threw himself on top of Numbuh 789.
"Well what'd she say?!"
"I've been informed that we need to head back to the Kremlin." He grumbled while pulling Numbuh 222 off him.
"And also Father seems to be aware of our presence."
Numbuh 900 was baffled. "What? How, we entered the city without anyone noticing."
"This is the most you've spoken the entire trip!" exclaimed Numbuh 222.
"You're pretty jumpy aren't you?" Scoffed the brown hair girl, she barley even knew the boy, and already he was getting a bit on her nerves.
The three then headed towards the Kremlin, where they would meet up with the rest of the team.
Numbuh 624 was following a truck that led him to a remote area just on the outskirts of Moscow. He was camouflaged in the bushes and other vegetation that littered the land scape and was observing the enemy using a set of 2x4 binoculars.
"What are you guys planning?" He murmured to himself.
Several soldiers and what appeared to be one of Father's commanders exited the truck and dutifully stood.
Suddenly, he heard the loud noise of rotators coming from a helicopter just above him.
As the helicopter completed its landing, he noticed something extremely unusual about the men who exited the craft.
They weren't wearing Father's standard uniform that was issued to his soldiers which consisted of plain green or brown trousers and a helmet or beanie, and they certainly weren't Fathers Ice Cream shock troopers.
Instead they were wearing black robes, sleek helmets, and gas masks that covered their faces. On their red armbands, he noticed a unique insignia, which resembled a golden Earth with an eye in the middle of it.
He had never seen such uniforms during his service to the Kids Next Door, and he now suspected a new enemy.
While in thought, he spotted another figure, * roughly in his adolescent years, exit the helicopter. This one appeared to be high ranking.
His uniform was far more polished compared to those around him, and he wore an officer's hat that possessed the same markings found on the armbands of the unknown soldiers.
On his wrists, he noticed a bright golden object. He made it out to be a wristband, but the writing on it was too far for him to read.
He noticed that the leaders of both groups before him were having a conversation.
He then pulled out a 2x4 listening device that would enable him to listen to enemy conversations without putting him in harm's way. He pulled the headphones out, equipped it on his ear, and set the small microphone at the edge of the bush that was covering his position.
"Are you delivering the weapon?" Replied the enemy commander.
"Of course." The teen boy signaled the helicopter to open its cargo doors; ordering his men to unload it into the truck.
"More will be delivered later in the day." The teen added.
"Excellent, Father will be pleased to hear of the news." The commander grinned, now ordering his men to start the truck
The enemy commander then saluted to the high ranking teen, who saluted back.
The boy then crossed his arms behind his back and turned to re-enter the helicopter. It was at this moment that the writing on his wrist became more legible to read.
"Death Before Dishonor."
Numbuh 624 had an epiphany; this was the same bracelet Numbuh 900 wore!
There had to be a connection between the two, and he had to inform his superior as soon as he rendezvoused with the rest of the team.
His thoughts were immediately interrupted by a voice that came from the young juvenile, who stopped right at the doorway of the craft.
"I trust you will use this weapon to bring a swift victory… Oh and by the way, could you please dispose of that boy watching us?"
Numbuh 624 was puzzled, and looked back to see Cree and several Teen Ninja's already on his flank.
"What the…"
The boy was knocked out by nun-chucks before he could finish his sentence.
"About time I found one of you" Cree muttered to herself.
As she gestured the teens around her to pick up the unconscious boy, she heard a noise coming from his pocket; it was his communicator which, with a little hacking, could be used to trace the rest of his group.
They all met up near the suggested location, with the exception of one.
"Hey did you guys see Numbuh 624 on the way here? He's not answering his communicator." Rachel asked as the team huddled in a group.
Numbuh 789 shrugged. "He's probably too busy doing some heavy scouting I guess."
Rachel looked a bit uneasy, but accepted Numbuh 789's answer.
"I guess. I'll try to contact him later. Let's get out of here before someone spots us."
She then introduced her team to Maurice, who rushed them to a safe location.
They arrived in the sewers… and Nigel thought of all places…. Why did it have to be the sewers?
"Sorry for the… rather distasteful location, but it's the safest place I can think of." Maurice defended, watching as Nigel nearly threw up.
Rachel put her hand on his shoulders to try to calm him down, but nope too late. She immediately jumped back to avoid Nigel's onslaught of stomach fluid.
"Can you at last warn me next time before you decide to spew out your intestines?" Rachel scolded, causing Nigel to give her an apologetic stare.
She too couldn't stand the sewers, it was unsanitary. But she knew that it was the only place that wasn't constantly being patrolled and watched by enemy soldiers.
Rachel settled down and made a makeshift seat out a rock nearby.
"Ok Maurice, what was it you were going to talk to us about?"
Maurice cleared his throat, "Commander, apparently there's something going on under the guise of Father's plan, something much more sinister."
Nigel recovered from his puking sessions, and barley managed to mumble some words out.
"And?" he then puked again, this time getting some of it on his shoes.
Maurice continued a little disgusted by the scene Nigel had produced.
"According to evidence I and other TND operatives gathered, Father is working with some shady dude who believes he can end the bitter relationship between kids and adults by using some cruel contraption of his.
The team looked a bit more curious, what was it this time? Could this be the connected to the missing scientists?
The undercover teen paused and let out a small breath, "Unfortunately, we have no idea where this machine is… All we know is it's somewhere the elements are unforgiving."
Rachel broke the silence, and put her hands on her knees. "I see, well do you have any idea what this thing does?"
He then sighed, and looked up towards the ceiling of the sewers. "No, but what I do know is that it changes the very fabric of your soul… it changes you into something you're not…"
The brown haired girl, who was in the back of group, seemed to become more fidgety and Numbuh 789 took notice.
"You ok Numbuh 900?" asked the Numbuh 789, now a little spooked.
The usually quiet girl shouted back in a fiery voice. "I'm fine!"
"Geeze, he was just asking!" the grey haired operative blurted.
Rachel took notice of this; why did she start to act strange the minute Maurice mention something about this mysterious machine?
Her concentration was broken when she saw Nigel in front her about to puke right on her lap.
The blonde girl moved away instantly, barley escaping the food particles that had exited from Nigel's mouth.
"This is getting out of hand, Maurice. Don't you have another location we can chat at? Apparently one of our "finest operatives" can't handle the sewers." Rachel growled, looking at the Sector V leader with a disapproving face.
Maurice agreed.
He walked towards the ladder that led to the surface.
As he reached the top of ladder, and proceeded to open the cover, the exit exploded, causing him to be thrown back into the sewers.
Upon landing the ground, Maurice immediately fled the scene to avoid blowing his cover and identity as an undercover agent.
A cloud of dust surrounded the operatives, impairing their vision.
The group could hear Maurice's voice from a distance warning them to run and take cover, but it proved to be futile. He watched the scene in unfold, there was nothing he could possibly do.
Before they knew it, several figures emerged from the dust and snatched each and every one of them from behind.
Rachel attempted to defend herself before she was subdued. Out of desperation, she yelled out for Nigel.
Recovering from his illness, he attempted to rescue Rachel, but was immediately incapacitated by a pair of hands that violently trapped him.
Rachel, now baffled, turned to see who the identity of her captor was.
It was Cree.
"What? How'd you even manage to find us?!" wailed Rachel.
The Teen Ninja commander held up Numbuh 624's communicator.
"Does this look a bit familiar..?" she teased, signaling the other Teen Ninja's to move out
Rachel shrieked "What did you do with him?!"
"Don't worry you'll be joining him soon enough."
Cree then snuffed Rachel's face with a piece of cloth, causing her to pass out.
The last thing she could hear was Nigel yelling her name, before he himself suffered the same fate.
Rachel awoke to a voice that contained a heavy Russian accent.
"Comrade! Over here!" She quickly jerked her head toward the direction of the voice.
In the darkly lit cell across her was Numbuh 1917, part of the Sector in Moscow.
Despite suffering from head ache, she managed to stand up and respond back to the Russian operative.
"Where are we?" she said, still dizzy
The black haired boy responded. "You're located in Father's base of operations here in Moscow, not too far from the Kremlin. Our sector was kidnapped a little over the week ago in order to prevent us from warning the Kids Next Door."
It was at this moment she started to remember their purpose for being in the area, her team, and most important to her, Nigel.
"Where's my team?!" She yelled, causing it to echo throughout all of the cells
The Russian operative pointed to each of the cells; Numbuh 624 was still passed out, Numbuh 222 was attempting to break out his cell by using his teeth, Numbuh 789 was taking a nap, and Numbuh 900 sat in a corner, thinking of a solution. The rest of the Russian sector was located way down the row of cells.
But one operative was missing.
She began to panic, and nearly broke down in tears.
"Where's Nigel?!"
The Russian operative was confused, but attempted to figure out who it was she was talking about.
"Was he bald and wearing a red sweater and shades?" questioned Numbuh 1917
Rachel nodded, nearly in tears at the thought of something terrible happening to Nigel. What if he was seriously injured, or worse, what if he was…? She tried to distract her mind from the negative thoughts.
"They lead him into Father's office." The black haired boy sighed and sat back down in his cell.
Rachel collapsed in defeat, and slowly broke down.
"This is all my fault, I'm so sorry Nigel…"
Numbuh 1 was led down a narrow hallway, still half feeling the repercussions of being suffocated.
He was rudely awakened when he was shoved through a door that entered into what appeared to be an office.
Before him stood the very man that he despised.
"Father…" he grudgingly said, narrowing his eyes.
"Ah, yes, hello Nephew." Father said nearly chuckling.
Father got out from his desk, and began to pace back and forth.
"You know Nephew; I'm really disappointed in you. I expected more of a challenge."
"Untie me and you'll get your wish." Nigel grunted.
"Ah, let's not get to violent here shall we?" Father teased, he was enjoying every moment of this. After all, it wasn't everyday he managed to apprehend the infamous Nigel.
"What have you done with the kidnapped scientists you coward?"
"Scientists?" Father answered back with a hint of confusion in his voice.
"Yeah Father, don't play dumb, we all know you're the one who did it."
Father looked irritated. "Look boy, I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides, I have my own scientists, who possess far greater intellectual capacity than yours ever will."
The bald boy was mystified, if Father didn't kidnap the scientists, who did?
Suddenly, another thought emerged from Nigel's mind, where was his team, where was Rachel?
"What have you done with my team?" snarled the tied up bald boy.
"Oh, finally you ask me something I do know. Your team and your little girlfriend are safe… for now." Father said hauntingly
Nigel became distraught, especially for Rachel. The thought of something happening to her ripped him apart, but he couldn't let that show.
"I know what you're planning Father, and may I add, it won't work."
Father smirked, and came face to face with his nephew. "Oh really now? You and your team are tied up, your pathetic excuse for a Global Command is too scared to do anything, and my armies are prepared to assault."
Nigel then looked down at the floor, was Father right?
"You're bound to fail, just like you always do." He teased back, hoping to anger his uncle.
Father continued, "Oh is that so? Once I annihilate the Kids Next Door, I will finally get what I want, you'll see."
"And what exactly is that, delightfulized children, turning us all into animals, AGAIN, what?
Father produced another sinister grin, one that caused Nigel's insides to quiver.
"No… even better..." he muttered
Suddenly, several explosions could be heard outside along with the sound of gunfire.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Father shouted, looking out of the window to see what was happening outside
While Father was distracted, Nigel untied the rope that kept his hands cuffed together.
"Heads up Father!' he shouted half away across the room.
As Father turned away from the window, he was greeted by Nigel's shoe, which caused him to violently hit his head on a desk nearby.
"That's what you get when you miss with the Kids Next Door!" he mocked before running off
Father immediately rubbed the pain on the back of his head, "you'll pay for this nephew!"
Nigel hustled down the halls, desperately searching for the room that contained Rachel and his team mates.
"Rachel, I hope you're ok..." he mumbled to himself, before opening the door that led him directly into the cell blocks.
A bright light illuminated the room, causing Rachel to look up. She immediately recognized the figure running through the door way, it was Nigel.
Nigel grabbed the key at the entrance of the door and immediately unlocked all the cells releasing his team, as well as the Russian sector.
Upon opening Rachel's cell, she threw himself on him, hugging him tightly and digging her head into his chest.
Rachel murmured, "I'm so glad you're ok…"
Nigel embraced her into his arms. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her again.
Numbuh 222 interrupted, "Um sorry for breaking up such a sweet moment, but nice move Nigel, who'd you call for back up?"
The two quickly broke away from the hug.
"Errr… I never called back up…"
Unexpectedly and without warning, a wall in the back of the building exploded causing debris to spew everywhere.
As the dust began to settle, a familiar voice broke out from the explosion's point of origin.
"I heard someone needed back up, get it back up! We broke the back of a wall!"
"Numbuh 5 thinks your jokes are getting lamer and lamer…" another voice replied
Amidst the ashes appeared a S.O.O.P.R.E.M.E S.C.A.M.P.E.R
"Quick get in!" signaled Numbuh 5
The stunned children eagerly agreed, and boarded quickly.
"Welcome back Numbuh 1!" greeted Numbuh 3, holding a rainbow monkey in her arms
"We're deep behind enemy lines, and you brought along that thing?!" an aggravated Numbuh 4 blurted out.
Nigel was a bit confused, how did his Sector know he was even here? He gave them same excuse he gave to his parents, and put Abigail Lincoln in charge.
"How'd you guys know I was here?"
Numbuh 5 explained "The admiral, Numbuh 288 told us. He thought y'all might need some back up."
They were all relieved to be rescued, and nearly collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.
Rachel was in the back, taking in what had just happened. She'd never been so afraid in her entire life. Not for her own safety, but for another person's.
Hugging him felt so right, like that's how things were supposed to be… she thought to herself
Refocusing her mind on the situation at hand, Rachel realized that Numbuh 624 may have acquired key information during his reconnaissance.
"Is Numbuh 624 awake yet?"
Kuki, the medic on board examined the scout.
"No he's still unconscious."
"I guess we'll have to wait till he wakes up then." Rachel sighed, she needed to know what he saw and pronto.
Moments later, Rachel's communicator went off, it was Numbuh 86.
She quickly snapped out of her still drowsy state "What is it Fanny?"
"Father has launched a global attack Supreme Leader Sir! Our forces on Earth are being overrun as we speak!"
Rachel expressed a face of defeat.
She had failed, and now everyone would pay for her mistakes.
War had begun.
TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED
UPDATE(12/27/12): Several mistakes in the story have been corrected, to clarify, Maurice escaped and was never captured.
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