Disclaimer: I don't own Kids Next Door, if I did, Hoagie and Abby would have been together by the last episode.
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Kids Next Door Mission...
Operation: F.O.R.G.E.T.
Fragments
Of
Recovery
Gradually
Enable
Team
Chapter 22 – The State Things are In
Numbuh 1 yawned, stretching out his tired limbs. He was tired, it'd been a long day, and he had been behind on sleep for almost a month now. He really needed a good night's rest, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was lay down and waste time that he could be using to do something productive as a member of the KND again. He looked around the hull of the SCAMPER, noting the fact that everyone else looked to be in a similar state to him. Even Numbuh 202, who was steering the ship at the guidance of Numbuh 2 looked like he was having to make an effort to keep his eyes open.
'Y'know, Numbuh 5 really can't believe that we're all here right now,' Numbuh 5 said, walking over and dropping herself down next to their team leader. 'I thought if we'd ever be us again... well, I just didn't think we would.'
Nigel laughed silently.
'Yeah. It was looking pretty bleak when they finally tracked me down,' Numbuh 1 agreed, remembering back to that day. He hadn't really been captured. In fact, he was on his way to turn himself in, when they swarmed him. He had realised that he was nothing without his team, and the few times that he had seen his team since they had all been decommissioned had been agony. Watching them, so obliviously happy, unaware of who they used to be. Even if it was only a mere matter of months before, it still seemed like a lifetime away.
But all of that was different now. Sidelined to the fact that they were back, and able to do what they were meant to do, to be a team, once more.
There was still one thing that was niggling away at the back of his mind. Rachel. Or Numbuh 362. He didn't know which to call her. He wished she was here, she was back too. She deserved to be just as much as his friends did. He wondered whether he could convince the others to go back for her.
'What are you thinking about, Numbuh 1?' Numbuh 5 asked, looking at him as he gazed out one of the windows, watching the moon as it grew slowly closer to them. He used to love coming up here, because it always meant he would see Rachel.
'Old friends,' he replied simply. Numbuh 5 nodded thoughtfully.
'Patton, Fanny, Sonya, Lee -they'd be thirteen now, right?' she began counting off on her fingers all the decommissioned operatives she knew. 'There's one more, isn't there? I'm forgetting someone. Numbuh 1, do you know who I'm talking about?' She said, sounding deliberatly sarcastic, fully aware of who she hadn't counted. Nigel only blushed and looked down at the floor.
'Aw, come on, boy! Don't try to go pretendin' you don't like Rachel! We all know it!' Numbuh 5 gave him a friendly shove, laughing loudly. Numbuh 1 really wished she wasn't talking so loud.
'Huh? Who are we talking about?' Numbuh 3 came skipping over, sitting down, cross legged, so that the three of them formed a triangle.
'I'll tell you what we're talkin' about!' Numbuh 5 said, grinning micheviously. 'Nigel and Rachel, sittin' in a tree!' She chanted.
'K-I-S-S-I-N-G!' Numbuhs 2, 3 and 4 joined in from where they were on the ship. Numbuh 1 just rolled his eyes, though inside he was blushing like crazy.
'Oh my gosh, Numbuh 1, do you remember Lizzie?' Numbuh 3 said, short of breath for all her laughter. She was having trouble speaking without bursting into a fit of giggles. And everyone else burst out with mirth at the mention of his crazy ex-girlfriend. Abby was literally rolling around on the floor of the ship. Even Numbuh 1 had to smile.
'Yeah, okay. So she was kind of a mistake.'
'Kind of?' Wally repeated, unaware of his brother's confused frown from beside him. 'That girl was nuts!'
Then, Nigel smiled in realisation.
'Now I finally understand all the weird looks she always gave me in the school hallways.'
That only resulted in more laughter. Numbuh 3 was giggling like she was insane. Numbuh 2 was struggling to keep his composure at the co-pilot's wheel. Numbuhs 4 and 5 held their sides, which were aching now from laughing too hard, their eyes watering, but still they didn't stop. It was like now they had an outlet for all their happiness other than cartwheeling (which wouldn't have turned out well in a confined space) and screaming at the top of their lungs. The laughter let them express the build up of all that amazing joy, and they were relishing every moment of this time that they had together.
'Oh, and speaking of crazy crushes, how about King Sandy?' Numbuh 2 suggested. More uncontrollable laughter. Though Numbuh 4 didn't really seem too amused by the thought of that little creep.
All the younger operatives onboard the ship seemed dumbfounded. They had no idea what was going on. Though Numbuh 263 did recognise the name Rachel as Numbuh 362, the Soopreme Leader before Numbuh 5.
When the laughter finally died down, Numbuh 202 spoke up.
'We're getting pretty close guys, you might want to buckle up for entry into the Moon's atmosphere.'
So, still with an occasional giggle, everyone took a seat, or fastened themselves in.
'Re-entry in thirty seconds,' Hoagie said, tapping codes into keypads and adjusting dials left, right and centre.
Suddenly, Numbuh 1 felt sort of nervous. He hadn't been to moonbase in almost four years. When the people who were after him when he left the GKND finally tracked him down, they didn't bother taking him up there. They just decommissioned him on the spot, and took him back home. He was actually unconcious for the trip there. More sleeping gas. That seemed a popular way to get someone where you wanted them.
Returning to the moonbase after four years, as well as being in there as a teen surrounded by kids. It would not be easy. But then again, maybe the operatives up there would recognise them. He doubted that, but maybe some of the older ones would remember. Maybe.
'Twenty seconds and counting,' Numbuh 2 reported.
Numbuh 5 had a funny, butterfly sort of feeling in her stomach. She didn't know why. It was a little scary, but exciting scary. A thrill ride. She wondered what they had changed since they had last been there. Three years was a long time.
'Ten seconds.'
Numbuh 3 was excited. She couldn't wait to see everyone there, see if there was anyone she recognised as a sibling of an old comnrade.
'Seven.'
Numbuh 4 didn't care what the people up there thought of a bunch of teens walking into moonbase. If they knew who they were, good for them, if not, tough luck. But, he knew he wouldn't be able to work on the case for much longer. At least not here. He was leaving for Australia in a couple of weeks, and that meant Joey was out of the picture as well. Maybe they could work long-distance.
'Five,' Numbuh 2 said, waiting on the edge of his seat -literally- for the exhilerating blow of breaking the moon's atmosphere. He wanted to be on the moon again, see the Earth as a blue Sun, with the white wisps of cloud swirling around it. He began to wonder just how much more advanced the technology had become since he had been decommissioned. He had already heard the juniors talking about some kind of 'intercom chip' that somehow attatched to the body while remaining unseen. Now that sounded cool. He couldn't wait to get back to his tools, see what he could really do now, because with the kind of equipment he predicted was available to him now, he was sure he could show the operatives of today a thing or two about technology.
'Five.'
Numbuh 1 took a deep breath.
'Four.'
Numbuh 5 gulped.
'Three.'
Numbuh 4 nodded to himself, looking straight forward.
'Two.'
Numbuh 3 smiled widely, wriggling in her seat.
'One.'
Numbuh 1's hand left the controls, as he and Numbuh 202 stopped to let the SCAMPER finish the job.
'Re-entry initiated.'
The whole ship gave a heavy jolt, and all of its passengers were thrown back in their seats. Everything felt ten times its weight for a moment, until the ship was safely through the barrier, and the weightlessness of space took effect. The seatbelts strained to hold people down as they started to rise.
'Woo!' Numbuh 4 hooted, immediately undoing his seatbelts and letting himself float there in midair. 'I forgot how awesome this feels!'
'Yeah?' Numbuh 263 smirked. 'Well, you better get back to the ground before we enter the moonbase landing, and the normal atmosphere -and the normal level of gravity returns and you end up landing on your head and getting a concussion.'
Numbuh 4 promtly proceeded to dragged himself back to his seat and strap back in, just in time for the downward pull of gravity kicked back in.
'Requesting permission to dock, Numbuh 1969,' Jake, Numbuh 202, spoke into a radio on the dashboard. Better to have him do the talking than Numbuh 2, who would raise all kinds of alarm.
'Permission granted, Numbuh 202. Take it slow, though, there are a lot of ships in there. People are actually sleeping up here. Over.'
'Wow, things are really getting bad. Okay, thanks Numbuh 1969. Over.'
'Anytime. Say hi to the team from me. Over and out.'
While Hoagie manoeuvred the SCAMPER into the docking station, Jake spun his seat around to face everyone else.
'Um, Numbuh 1969 says hi,' he said, aware that they could hear the station master through the radio, but unsure of what to do or how to act.
Ten minutes later, the group had found a parking spot.
And they had indeed seen small groups of kids, either the remains of a sector that had been torn apart by the turning, or the survivers from a few sectors, banded together for protection and support. They were all stocked up with blankets and pillows, handheld video games and decks of cards, basketballs and dartboards, candy bars and coolers full of soda. It was a sad sight, seeing all of those who hadn't been quick enough to snag an empty space in the actual moonbase, sleeping in their own SCAMPERs, just to be out of danger of the turning. They all looked scared, they all looked emotionally exhausted, but they were being strong, pulling through.
Sector V received some strange looks as they walked past, towards the entry to the lower levels of Moonbase. A few kids did double takes, rubbing their eyes to make sure that they were actually seeing what they thought they were. They woke their friends, who were sleeping on cold, hard floors next to them, pointing them out. There were obviously a couple of people who recognised them, as a few cheers and big smiles that said 'We're saved,' were also sent their way. No-one really knew how they could be recognised; they all thought that they had changed so much over the years. Apparently not so much as to be unrecognisable. The team smiled at the fact that they were not completely forgotten, but inside, they knew that those cheers, those relieved beams also meant that they were counting on them to fix the problem. Pressure. Yay.
'Alright,' Robert turned to face them, and they all returned their focus to him. 'What I'm going to do is get you onto the observation deck. My office would be too small to fit us all in.' He gestured to the ten others standing around, listening intently.
'So, what are we going to do once we get there?' Numbuh 505 called out. The members of the original Sector V looked at each other, knowing that it was about time to spill the beans. Numbuh 1 took the liberty of speaking on behalf of the team.
'Uhm, we have some information we think is important,' he said, stepping forward slightly. Numbuh 263 looked slightly surprised.
'Oh. Okay then. Once we get up there, you can tell us everything.'
So, the eleven of them -the two Sector Vs and Robert- made their way to the elevator that would take them up to the top floor of the Moonbase. Surprisingly, the elevator was big enough for all of them. Teenage prisoners sometimes had to be taken up to the top, where the jury would decide their fate, and they could sometimes get pretty desperate, so it was better to give quite a bit of space to avoid serious injury.
To the older operatives there, everything seemed to be new; there were new levels to the treehouse, a new layout for the ones that were still there, and a whole different, more futuristic look to the Base at a whole. The team was too distracted with craning their necks to read the labels on the elevator buttons and examining all the things that just weren't the same as they were in the "old days" to talk, so they rode in silence.
But, when the elevator doors slid back on themselves to reveal a floor covered with kids, all scattered and moving in different directions, they knew it was still the same Moonbase.
But something wasn't right.
These kids weren't doing what they should have been doing. Instead of kids restocking ammunition supplies, they were carrying sleeping bags and pulling around crates of food rations. Instead of cadets gazing around, mezmerised with their first glances of the Moonbase, kids were sitting on the steps that led from the meeting arena, unenthusiastically prodding their ham-and-cheese sandwitches, their faces downcast, some of them even with red rings around small, puffy eyes.
'Welcome to what Moonbase had become.' There was a sad, almost guilty tone in Numbuh 263's voice. It was obvious that he was blaming this all on himself. 'It's not Disneyland, but it's keeping us all safe at the moment.'
Everyone looked around at all the scared, upset faces.
The current operatives watched on with cold inevitability tugging at their hearts, while the older ones were struck with devastating shock. What had become of the KND was terrifying, and now they only hoped they could help fix it.
'Well, I guess there's no point in staying here any longer,' Numbuh 121 spoke up. 'We'd better get to the observation deck.'
Everyone nodded slowly, and followed the way to the glass dome they were here for.
Upon entering the deck, all the original operatives of Sector V heaved a huge breath, having almost forgotten the amazing view of the never-ending starry night of space.
'Wow,' Abby breathed, tipping her head all the way back to take in the full beauty of the little fairy lights sparkling in the blackness above her.
'I'll say,' Hoagie replied, in the same state. They tilted their heads back down, their eyes meeting awkwardly for a minute. A warm, red blush crept over their faces.
Both of them remembered their... situation before they had been decommissioned. The incident in the trenches, and everything after that, with the relationship. The couple had never ended, it was just decommissioning that got in the way. And neither of the two had any idea what they were meant to do now. They both still liked each other, but they were oblivious to the fact that the other still liked them back. They had even liked each other after decommissioning, but still, things were slightly awkward. Wally and Kuki, however, were not awkward. Since neither had ever confessed to liking the other, they still had the option to pretend that they didn't, at least to the other's face. Even if they did like each other as much as Hoagie and Abby, they still didn't know.
Love.
Complitated little thing, isn't it?
Especially when mixed in with temporary memory loss.
'Okay, so I guess that Sector V can tell us what they were going to now, then,' Robert said, not bothering with formality as he took a seat on the metal deck, crossing his legs indian style. Everyone else copied, and the story began.
'So, a while back, about four or five years actually, there was this guy, Dr. Colter, who had found a way to...' Nigel launched into the story.
The younger operatives watched and listened in shock and horror as they were told about the war, and the things that had been done, and, most of all, what the battle was all for.
'...And so then, Numbuh 2 was on the computer, and we were all trying to buy some time so he could hack into the computer to find the formula,' Numbuh 5 said, actually engaged by her own story, seeing it all play out in her mind once more.
'-Oh! And then Colter came in!' Kuki chimed, the image of the tall, lanky, overall ominous "scientist" that her mind conjured up almost enough to make her shudder.
'And after that, I got into the computer's mainframe, and I...' Numbuh 2 took over. They told the rest of the story, taking it in turns to tell parts that they remembered, even quarrelling a bit over the details.
'...So, in tha end, we won. Tha formula was completely messed up beyond recognition. And that's how it ended,' Numbuh 4 finished, looking down at no particular spot on the ground, feeling an odd mix of emotions. Sadness for that time, pride at how him and his team had pulled through, and an indescribible feeling, one that sort of felt like 'and now, it's all happening again.' He looked over at Joey, who sat hugging his knees, feeling utterly astounded at what his brother had done, how amazing him an his team had been that day. But at the same time, Wally was thinking of how much Joey had been through in the past months, and how he had managed so well in keeping that out of his home life. Never once had he looked unhappy or overly tired at home, and save for those few early nights to bed every now and then, he had given no sign of inner turmoil. But now that Wally knew, he just wished he could go back in time and do something to make it better.
Everyone had cottoned on in their own time to what this story meant to the current situation the KND was in. In their own time, all the young faces around the circle broke their concentrated frowns with looks of black realisation, knowing that this infectious gas cloud of mind-altering chemical was the reason that so many of their friends now walked, talked, thought and acted like arrogant, stuck-up teens.
For a while, everyone just sat in silence, letting the words just hang there, heavy with the emotions and memories attatched to them. A few people, incluing Abby and Numbuhs 303 and 263, ended up laying down, staring up in thought through the glass that surrounded them. Everyone was thinking about different things, going off onto different things, directing their train of though in different directions, but they all seemed to be branches of the same tree; they were all thinking about what they were going to do next, how they were going to fool Colter again.
'So,' Numbuh 202 finally said, sounding like he just couldn't take the silence anymore.
'Uhm, what do we do now?'
There was no answer for a long time. No-one really knew who the question was aimed to, but then, even if they did know, they wouldn't be able to answer it any better.
'I-I don't know. I guess we could see if there was any way to reverse the effect of the chemical,' Numbuh 263 supplied, keeping his voice quiet as if he owed it to the rest of them. Numbuh 2's ears perked up. He wasn't sure he could possibly do it at all, but he was sure willing to give it a shot.
'Numbuh 2? Do you think yo could give that a crack?' Nigel asked, as everyone's eyes swivelled to land on Hoagie.
'Well,' Hoagie contemplated, going over the things that were required before he could even start trying to create an antidote.
'I would need a sample of the chemical itself, as well as the list of its core ingredients-' it was at this point that he wished he had made a copy of the formula for himself all those years ago, before destroying it. No doubt it would be under much higher security this time.
'Then, I would need a lot of supplies. Some two-by-four tech. equipment, a molecular scanner, some more tools- oh, and a brain scan of a kid before and after the turning would also be useful...' Everyone began to tune out after they realised that Hoagie was no longer giving them his requirements directly, but now just absent-mindedly counting them off on his fingers to himself.
'Robert, I know we've all had a big day, and it's-' Nigel checked his watch-'Twenty to seven now. I don't know about you guys, but my mum and dad will be wondering where I am. So, I think maybe we should pick this up again tomorrow after school?'
Everyone nodded, now beginning to look weary, like they wanted their own beds. But the thing was, tonight they were going to sleep in Numbuh 505's living room, all fully armed, even as they slept, in sleeping bags. It was just too risky otherwise.
The trip home unfolded in silence. Everyone was too consumed with thinking their own little thoughts. This was all a bit overwhelming. Everything. Being back, Colter returning, the faces of the operatives forced up to the Moonbase for protection. At least the second-generation Sector V still had protection in their own homes. They weren't down to that level... yet.
In the end, all the kids left for their own homes, to have dinner before meeting at Olivia's -Numbuh 505's- place, Wally telling Joey that he'd catch up to him.
'So, big day, huh?' Numbuh 3 said, her face just not as happy as usual.
'Mhmm,' Numbuh 5 replied, nodding slowly.
'You guys know we'll get through this, right?' Hoagie asked, seeming as sure of the fact as he was sure the sky was blue. 'We always get through.'
Numbuh 1 smiled, just a small, inward smile.
'Yeah, we do, don't we?'
Numbuh 4 laughed, as the others had missed out on one very important factor in this equation.
'Yeah, but then, it's usually us that ends up makin' most of tha trouble!' He joked. Suddenly, everyone just started laughing. They snapped out of their trances and giggled and smirked and joked, but inside they knew that Wally was right.
'But guys, Hoagie's right as well,' Abby said, resuming a serious tone. 'We may be the cause of a lot of our problems, but we always do figure out a way to fix 'em.'
There were warm smiles all around. They were glad just to be able to know each other again.
Eventually, they parted, each taking their own ways home, feeling warm inside, having pushed back a lump of black cloud just for now, and been able to enjoy just being Sector V again.
~(*)~
Numbuh 1 slipped into bed that night, thinking that he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. But he didn't. He lay there, awake, thinking about things. Things named Rachel. Was Abby right? Was his crush that obvious? Oh well, he still thought she should be able to remember as well. Maybe he'd bring it up tomorrow...
Numbuh 2 collapsed on his bed. He didn't even bother taking off his goggles. Too tired. Too overwhelmed. Too lazy. He thought about Abby, and how amazing it had felt when they were together, before they had turned thirteen. He wanted that back, but she probably thought he was just a dork now. He'd probably chicken out of asking her on a date or anything anyway...
Numbuh 3 would usually skip into her room, but tonight, she could only walk. She still could not believe that she was Numbuh 3 again! She felt bad for all those kids who had had teammates go through the turning, and all those kids who were now sleeping up on Moonbase. Poor things. She was also thinking about Wally. Her crush was just as bad as it had been way back then, but she still wasn't sure she wanted to tell him. What if he didn't like her? Then, not only would she know that it would never happen between them, it would probably mess up their friendship as well. Oh, well. Things would be better tomorrow, once she'd had a good night's sleep...
Wally's head was full of thoughts, for a change, all churning around his head, waiting for their time to surface. Kuki did the most. His one single greatest regret was not telling her how he felt before decommissioning. He remembered that pang in his chest before the process began, knowing that he had missed his chance. It was worse than anything he had ever felt. He knew he was too chicken to ask Kuki out or tell her anything about his lifelong crush, but that didn't stop him from hurting.
Oh, well. Let's just get to sleep so I don't have to think anymore...
Wow. Numbuh 5 could not seem to comprehend that this was happening. She let herself slip further down her pillow, closing her eyes. So much was going on lately, but everything she tried to think about just ended up coming back to Hoagie. The smirk, the false confidence, the jokes -that she hated, mind you- but she adored them anyway. Wait, what? Girl, you can't think about him that way anymore! He probably doesn't even like you anymore. She tried to resist, to guide her mind elsewhere, but it was getting late, and she was exhausted, so she just let herself think about him. About him. Abby smiled, as she lost hold of the last bit of conciousness she had held. She was happy, happy that they could be them again, and even if she and Hoagie weren't "together", they were still friends, and that was better than nothing...
A/N:I need some help from you! But first, what did you think? I know, a lot of it was depressing... **sigh** poor KND...
Anyway! Wally and Joey's holiday in Aus is coming up, and I need your help to come up with names for their cousins and aunts and uncles and stuff! Okay, I need:
4X boy cousin names- ages 3, 7, 12 and 17
5X girl cousin names- ages 5, 12, 14, 16 and 19
2X aunt names- both between 30 and 45
2X uncle names- both between 30 and 45
And that's it! Just tell me what you think they should be called, plus ideas as to what the Beatles boys and their cousins can get up to during their trip would also be great! I was thinking, maybe they could get into a bit of trouble, maybe somehow end up on the beach or in the city without parents..? I don't know, you tell me! Okay, that's all from me for now.
-Numbuh 25 over and out
