Chapter 13: Revalation
...Connection Re-Established...
The bald headed operative found himself walking in heavy snow alone, unsure how he got there or where he was.
"How the hell did I end up here?" Nigel thought to himself. Everything felt so strange, so out of place.
He continued walking through the winter night until he stumbled upon a peculiar structure. It was a small hill, with a large metal door equiped to one of it's sides. It appeared to be open.
Despite heavy protesting from his mind, the boy felt a strange pull on him, almost like something or someone was telling him to enter the building. The operative was drawn to the strange structure, and finally found himself several feet from the entrance. He attempted to raise the gun he thought he was carrying, but to his surprise it was not there. His hands were bare, and he quickly realized that he had no equipment or weapons. He found this situation to be a bit disturbing, why would he go into unknown territory without even carrying the slightest means by which he could use to defend himself? He shrugged the thought, and entered the compound carefully.
Upon entry, the once pitch black corridor lit up, and led to a bright white light at it's end. He walked slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the hallways.
Several minutes later, he found himself in a large circular white room. It appeared to be high tech, perhaps a lab of some sort. Only seconds after his arrival, he heard a large clank, followed by a capsule being lowered from the ceiling. He then prepared himself for the worst, and took a combat ready position despite being weaponless.
The capsule finally stopped, and opened, the smoke coming out obscuring the boys vision. After the smoke cleared, he found the capsule was empty. Nothing was making sense at all to him, everything felt so odd.
Suddenly, he felt a pull on his mind that convinced him to enter the capsule. It was the same force that drew him into strange structure in the first place. He then found himself standing in the capsule, confused about what was going on around him. Almost instantly after the doors to the capsule locked him in, he began to hear the sound of something power up. It occured to him that perhaps that this was a trap. The sound then stopped, followed by a brief silence. A bright white light soon lit up the confinements of the capsule, catching Nigel by surprise.
The white light blinded the operative, and he suddenly began feeling consciousness slowly leave his body...
"We'll be arriving at the destination shortly." The pilot announced through the S.C.A.M.P.E.R
Serena glanced at Rachel, who was looking more concentrated than ever. The blonde was determined to put an end to the Hasayan's for good, especially since they were responsible for hurting Nigel. Things were becoming much more personal now.
Rachel looked outside of the craft window and could see nothing but white snow falling onto the ground. Weather conditions were extremely unfavorable causing visibility to become close to zero. This caused a bit of uncertainty in the girl and she thought if weather didn't get them, perhaps the Hasayans will.
The S.C.A.M.P.E.R abruptly landed, causing the two girls to become confused.
"We're still far off from the planned landing point, why are you stopping now?" Questioned Rachel to the pilot
"This is the farthest we can take you, that blizzard is wreaking havoc on the ship's navigation system."
Rachel sighed and quickly turned to Serena to signal her to start preparing their equipment. The two began suiting up in their thermal suits and put on snow masks to keep them warm even in sub-zero degree temperatures. They also equiped a set of goggles that would allow them to read heat signatures despite the blinding snow. Rachel then grabbed her rifle, made sure it was loaded and through the gun back on her shoulder.
Serena did the same, grabbing her sword and the two pistols that seemed to be more up to military standard compared to the now out-dated 2x4 tech previously used by the organization. At this point in the war, 2x4 equipment was now replaced by new technologies that were much more advanced and deadly. Weapons and vehicles were now much more uniformed and kept to standard, making maintenance and production much more efficient.
"You sure you two want to continue with the mission? The weather is only getting worse."
Rachel turned to the pilot and nodded. The pilot then opened the door to the ship, and cold wind quickly gushed. Serena went out first, making sure the landing zone was clear, then gestured for Rachel to follow along. Immediately after they exited, the S.C.A.M.P.E.R took off, leaving the two stranded in the winter wonderland until the mission was complete.
They followed the coordinates given to them on the map, which brought them through a large forest that produced an errie feeling in both operatives. The sound of the wind and snow howling in between the trees almost sounded like whispers, and the branches protruding from the vegetation almost appeared human. Something was off about this place, and despite no heat signatures popping up in their thermal vision, they felt like someone or something was watching them. It felt like something almost paranormal, but the two quickly ignored it, focusing their minds on the mission at hand.
The first few minutes were uneventful, until Serena picked up a signature just 15 feet ahead of them. It was running towards them, and Serena quickled brought up her sword.
"Shh, stay still." Serena whispered to Rachel.
The heat signature got closer and closer, until it finally got to about only 5 feet in front of them.
"Oh go figure, first I lose my entire squad to some nuthead, then I run into a bunch of KND dorks in the middle of a blizzard. This isn't my day isnt it?"
Rachel immediately recognized her voice, and instantly took aim at the figure.
"Put your hands up, or I blast your head off." She ordered
"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Serena questioned, inching her sword closer and closer to the teen.
"I was here to kill that psychotic Leader guy, he turned against us awhile back. My squad got ambushed, and I barely managed to get out of there alive."
"What happened in there?" the brown haired girl asked.
"Look you know what I don't have time to explain, why don't you just let me go and we'll call it even eh?" Cree was itching to get out of the area, and she was willing to compromise with the two operatives if that's what it would take.
Rachel had other plans in her head though. She was just about to pull the trigger until Serena gently pushed her gun down.
"We don't have time for this, the mission we're on is far more important."
"But she tried to kidnap me and Nigel, hell she even tried kidnapping you!'
"Like I said, the mission is far more important." Serena replied.
Rachel sighed, lowered her gun and pointed her head in the other direction, allowing Cree to quickly flee the scene.
The boy woke up in a white room that seemed to be endless. He also be appeared to be wearing a strange suit of some sort, almost resembling those of astronauts.
He was deeply confused, he couldn't even remember how he got himself into this predicament in the first place.
"Is anyone there?" Nigel called out, his voice echoing through what seemed to be like a never ending white plane.
No response.
"Hello? Is anyone there?!" He called out again.
No response.
Nigel began to feel frustrated, what the hell was going on here he thought. Were the Hasayan's or Father probing into his mind, forcing him to stay in his unconscious while his body lay in sleep in some sort of test lab in the real word?
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he looked behind him.
He lay his eyes upon a strange figure, but he couldn't quite make it out if it was a person or not. He walked closer, and when he got within 10 feet of it, it disappeared. Now he was getting really stressed out.
"Ok seriously, who the hell is playing these tricks on me?! Reveal yourself!"
Suddenly a bright golden orb appeared in front of him.
"Nigel Uno, we've been meaning to have a talk with you for quite some time now."
Nigel was stunned, now he was really confused. Now an orb was talking to him, he wouldn't be surprised if his face started melting off at this point.
"Who the hell are you? How do you know me? And who the hell is we?!" He questioned.
"No time to explain, everything will make sense in due time."
"What do you want from me?" The boy asked.
The orb was silent, until the voice began talking again.
"We've been observing you for a long time, your skills are exceptional, and the companionship you share towards your fellow comrades is great trait indeed. Your service to the Kids Next Door has been invaluable, but you will soon find yourself destined for greatness."
"Um... thank you, but what does that have to do with anything?" Nigel was now even more bewildered.
"That will began to make sense as you continue your journey, but I believe you will need help with a threat your home world now faces."
Ok, he was wrong, things could get stranger. What the hell did he just say 'home world'? Was he talking to an alien?
The orb continued. "Yes, the Hasayan's, we know about them. However, I do believe that you will need some help defeating them.
"Huh? How so?" Nigel commented back.
"When this is discussion is over, you will find the answer to that question. You'll know when to use this item once the time arises. Now I do believe that a friend dear to you is in trouble. Her name is Rachel if I'm not mistaken."
The orb suddenly began to levitate higher and lose it's bright golden shine.
"Wait how do you know? Who are you?! What item?! I don't understand anything that's going on!" Nigel yelled.
"It'll all make sense in due time. Good luck Nigel Uno, we will meet again very soon,"
"Wait how do I get out of here?!" Nigel shouted at the orb before it fully disappeared.
Now he was alone in the endless white plane again unsure what to do. He stood there on the verge of breaking down, what if he was trapped in this endless existance for all eternity? The orb being told him Rachel was in trouble, but it failed to tell him how to get back to her.
After several minutes of silence, he turned to his left and spotted a familiar figure who had their back facing towards him.
No... it couldn't be he thought to himself. He walked closer, squinting to see who it was. It began to become clear to him. He then began frantically running towards the figure, yelling out the person in question's name.
"Rachel, I'm here look back!"
As he ran closer, the girl appeared to ignore him until he got within 5 feet behind her.
She suddenly looked back, and made eye contact with Nigel. Everything suddenly began to turn black, and he felt as though his mind was being shifted to another reality...
"We're getting closer, I'm starting to remember now." Serena said as they broke out of the forest.
"According to the map, it says we're right in front of it." Rachel answered back.
Serena stopped, and look at the clearing. It was all starting to come back to her. This is the clearing where she remembered her and her team was dropped, but if her memory served her well, the base should be right here. It didn't make sense, all that was in the clearing was a small hill, and a bunch of scattered bushes.
"Wait a minute..." Rachel inspected the small hill, and quickly brushed off some of the snow on it. The more snow was removed, the more it became apparent that it was the entrance to something.
"I think we found it..." Rachel announced to Serena
In front of them was a large door way, with a Hasayn symbol stamped in the front it.
"After you." Serena said.
Rachel patted Serena on the back.
"Hey, you sure your fine going on with the mission? You can still turn back."
"I'm sure... besides, I want to see an end to this miserable organization..."
The two then opened the door way, and then closed it shut. They found themselves entering into a large hallway, which was dark only for a brief moment before the row of lights began turning on one by one.
"Watch your back, they could be anywhere." Rachel whispered as she cautiously grabbed the rifle she was carrying on her back.
"Yeah..." The hallways were so familiar to her, and she remembered the time when her, Aiden, and the rest of their team infilitrated this very same place.
Rachel and Serena continued down the hallway, until they finally reached a door way to located to their left. They looked through the window, and it appeared to be a large study room.
"Let's go check it out." Rachel suggested. Serena nodded, and Rachel quietly pushed the door opened. It was empty, and no one seemed to be guarding the room. Around them surrounded a multitude of bookshelves and charts as well as pictures of the human anatomy.
Rachel then spotted an empty desk that contained a lone book on top of it. She then picked it up, and began flipping the pages.
"Wonder what this could contain." Rachel whispered to herself as she opened the book. It appeared to be a journal of some sort, and the writing inside it quickly caught her attention.
March 21st, 2014,
Today Leader has requested a meeting with a figure known as "Father." apparently he plans to forge an alliance with the man, in hopes of weakening the Kids Next Door. I'm not exactly sure what his motive is, but I believe Leader knows what's best for the future of mankind. Leader has also began installing the final pieces to his so called 'Chamber'. I keep asking him what it does, but he merely smirks and tells me that in time I will see..."
Rachel then eagerly turned to the next page.
April 15th, 2014,
Father has finally declared war on the Kids Next Door, and Leader insists that his plans are now in the final phases. I was also asked to deliver several energy cannons to Father's armies in hopes that it would help bring a quick end to the conflict. The KND scientists we have kidnapped have also very intently worked on Leader's machine he continues to refer as the 'Chamber'. Of course, I would too if a gun was pointed at my head.
Lately, I've also been having strange visions. They started occurring ever since I took a closer look at the bracelet that was on my wrist that had embedded on it "Death before Dishonor". I was always aware it was there, but I was never quite sure how it got into my posession. Anyway, these visions, it was almost like I was someone else in a past life. I can't quite explain them... all I can is their... strange.
Rachel turned to the next page, after reading the last page, she began to figure out who this journal belonged too.
April 30th, 2014,
The war seems to be going in Father's favor, and with the total withdrawal of Kids Next Door forces from Earth, it appears to be drawing to a close. Just yesterday, I was assigned to kidnap their Supreme Commander, the infamous Numbuh 1, and a peculiar girl named Serena, also known as Number 900. The mission failed, and Leader was suprisngly leniant and let me off without punishment.
This Serena girl though... when I first set my eyes on her, something in my brain clicked. It was almost like another person inside me was begging to pour out, and I couldn't help to feel that I knew her. It was odd, and ever since then these visions in my head have began to become much more frequent and stronger. I'm starting to question the very fabric of my being, my purpose, and most of all, Leader's strange Chamber...
The girl attempted to read further, but was stopped by Serena. The sound of the door creaking opening forced the girl to react fast.
"Someone's coming! Quick, hide!" Serena whispered to Rachel.
Rachel nodded, and set down the book in the same exact position and location she found it.
They hid behind a set of bookshelves, and peeked in between the spaces of the books. They could see a well-polished teen entering, but it wasn't Leader.
"Who is it?" Rachel questioned.
Serena just stared in silence, unable to comprehend the site of the boy before her. She was unresponsive, and froze. It was Aiden, well in physical form. The boy she knew was long gone, trapped inside the mind of an alternate person known as Chamenos.
…I'm so sorry Nigel…
The sound of the voice caused the wounded combatant to quickly rise out of his bed, gasping for air. He looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. He must've been dreaming, but all of it felt so real.
"Rachel…" he sighed. Nigel thought he was going crazy, was he hearing things, or was that really her? After all, she was the last person he saw before his 'dream' ended.
The leader of Sector V then attempted to get up from his bed when he suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from his abdominal area. He quickly clenched his stomach and noticed that the white bandage that was covering the wound was soaked in blood. It was at this point that Nigel called out for assistance.
"Nurse, doctor, anyone!" he yelled out in a weak and fragile voice.
A doctor quickly ran in upon hearing his request. He then urged Nigel to sit back down and took a look at the boys wound. The doctor quickly applied pressure onto the small hole, covered it with a new bandage and then finally inserted more morphine into the boy to help relieve the pain.
"Much better…" Nigel sighed.
The room was silent for a minute before Nigel remembered why he received the wound in the first place.
"Where's Rachel?!" He was on the verge of panicking, and the machine monitoring his heart rate began to quickly accelerate to dangerous levels.
"Woah, relax there buddy." The doctor answered back.
"She's fine, you saved her life you know." The doctor added before leaving the room.
"You didn't answer my question!" Nigel yelled
Two figures then entered the room, and he quickly recognized who they were.
"Numbuh 1942 and Numbuh 60, what are you two doing here?"
"Here to check in on you, orders from Numbuh 362." Patton replied back.
"Where is she?" Nigel was becoming more worried by the minute. Patton's sentence implied that Rachel was currently not present.
"We can't tell you that right now, Rachel insisted that you rest until you get better." Numbuh 1942 answered back, glancing at Numbuh 60.
"But I am better, now can you guys just answer my question?"
Numbuh 1942 sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this… but she went on a mission with Numbuh 900 to help put an end to the Hasayan's…"
Nigel was speechless. The mission she was going on was sure suicide.
"Where is this base?" he asked weakly.
"Somewhere in Northern Alaska, but you're in no position to go there right now, you still need to recover from your wounds." Patton interrupted.
"I don't care about me! Our Supreme Leader is in danger, I can't just let her and Numbuh 900 go there alone!"
Nigel attempted to gather his strength, and surely but slowly got out of his bed. The two operatives quickly moved into help him up, but he just shrugged them away.
"I want a S.C.A.M.P.E.R to take me there right now, just give me some gear and I'm good to go."
The two shook their heads.
"Please, I didn't risk my life for her for nothing. I can do this!"
Numbuh 1942 looked at Numbuh 60. Deep inside, Numbuh 1942 wanted to let Nigel go, even he knew that Rachel would need help. The two commanders stared at each other, until Numbuh 60 finally agreed to let the boy go.
"If you're going to go, at least take your Sector with you." Patton suggested.
Nigel nodded.
"We'll have a ship waiting for you as soon as your ready." Numbuh 1942 commented before leaving with Patton.
After the two left, the bald headed operative took a deep breath. He moved his hand and quickly noticed that he appeared to be holding something. He brought his hand up to his face, and found a solid metallic cube in his palm. The cube was extremely reflective, and he could see the strange metal alloy move in a constant subtle motion. Strange he thought, could this be connected to that strange dream he had?
Was it even a dream he had just experienced?
...TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED...