A/N: Sorry for the late update again and sorry again because this is ridiculously short!

Disclaimer: I own nothinggggggg.

Chapter 16: Operation W.I.P.E.D

"Numbuh 5!" Wally found himself screaming, his voice echoing and bouncing off the walls of the dark room. He raced to where she lay, unmoving and pale. When he got to her, she had closed her eyes and her head fell back.

He had completely forgotten about Kuki as soon as everything had unfolded. It was like watching a movie. Everything went in slow motion as he watched Abby jump in front of the ray, basically sacrificing herself for them.

Wally couldn't even react in time. He cradled her in his shaking arms, her head on his lap.

"I-I love ya, Abs," he whispered in a frenzy, not even caring if the others managed to hear. They probably didn't because they were all busy crying their hearts out, too. It was the first time he had said those three very important words out loud and it brought him huge relief, but he wanted to say it to her face and when she was conscious enough to hear him.

Wally didn't care that he was probably too young to feel what he felt. But he knew it wasn't just a lousy crush. He knew he wanted to be with her for a long time. And he couldn't believe that this was what it took to get him to realise it.

If only I could see 'er eyes look at me as if I was the most amusin' boy she had ever met...just one more time.

In a much louder voice, he said, "Abby, wake up."

When she remained silent, even though he had a gut feeling to what was happening, he began to panic, hands shaking. "Abs, c'mon, don't mess with me. Ya know this ain't funny," he said, forcing a humourless laugh.

The other members seemingly forgetting about the Delightful Children who were still writhing in pain because of their eyes, fell onto the floor, staring at Abby's unmoving body. Kuki, who was a little disoriented, had made sense of the situation way before anyone else and was weeping on the floor.

After a little bit of coaxing and a whole lot of shaking, Abby slowly opened her eyes. That alone, the fact that she was alive, was enough to bring relief to Wally and he felt the weight on his shoulders give way. Blinking, her dark chocolate eyes travelled from one person to the other.

But that weight came back as Wally noticed that there was practically no emotion on her face. It was as if they were strangers; she didn't seem to recognise them at all.

It was crushing, and he could feel his heart breaking in his chest as her eyes met with his. She didn't smile or smirk or make some smart comment.

She just stared at him with knitted brows and then looked down.

"Why's Abby layin' in yo lap? Who are you people?"

He heard Kuki gasp but it felt like the world had stopped for him. He had a feeling that this would be the outcome, but it was only when she said that that it made things real.

"Don't play around, Numbuh 5! Course you know who we are," Hoagie said, voice a little high-pitched and laced with worry.

"Numbuh 5?" Her eyebrows bunched together. "Who's that? I ain't got one clue to who youse are talkin' 'bout. My name's Abby."

Wally was feeling all sorts of emotions; raw, red-hot anger surged through his veins. He was upset and all he could hear was a constant, annoying ringing in his ears.

Despite their red and blurry eyes, the Delightful Children began to cackle cruelly.

"Well, would you look at that!? Our plan has finally wor—ack!"

Before they could finish their sentence, they were kicked in the face by a rage-filled Australian boy. There were tears in his eyes as he landed punch after punch, the others just watching on.

"How dare ya creepy freaks do that to 'er!? Bring 'er back, you stupid br-"

"Numbuh 4."

Nigel placed his hand on the blond's shoulder, a frown framing his lips.

"It's okay," he whispered, trying to calm the brash kid down. Wally landed one last punch and spat on the floor beside them as they writhed in pain. He then whipped around, face red and green eyes, molten.

"It ain't cruddy okay, Numbuh 1! Numbuh 5's gone! Her...her memories are completely-" He stopped himself, biting down on his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood.

Hoagie was comforting a weeping Kuki, staring down at Abby who looked dumb-founded by what was going on around her.

"Can someone please tell Abby what's goin' on?" she said, her voice a little scratchy. "Yer all startin' to freak me out."

Everyone turned to stare at the dark-skinned girl who furrowed her eyebrows, looking around at them all.

"So, you're telling Abby that she's a part of an adult and teen fighting organisation called the Kids Next Door?"

"Exactly," Nigel confirmed, nodding his head.

Abby raised an eyebrow. She was the only one sitting on the couch, whereas the others were all standing in front of her in a horizontal line.

"Um," she let out a harsh sigh, straining to remember. "I got nothin'. It doesn't ring a bell, sorry." She shrugged, helplessly, rubbing her head as if it was physically hurting her. It wasn't like she wasn't trying, either. She was. But the problem was, she didn't know what she was trying for.

How could she try for something she didn't even remember or remember having any connection to? It was frustrating because she could see the genuine sadness and frustration on her supposed 'members' /'friends' faces, particularly the handsome blond who seemed to stare at her all the time.

It was strange, but it wasn't new.

The fluttering feeling in her stomach wasn't new, either—she could just tell. His gaze was enough to make her nervous, so she quickly looked away.

"Uh, Abby's a little tired," she whispered. "I'm gonna go to ma room to sleep." She got up but then froze. "Can one of ya tell Abby where her room is?"

Kuki stepped forward and volunteered, her face gloomy and grey as if she was in constant pain.

"I will," she said, her childish voice now sounding like a sad whine. She gestured for Abby to follow her and she did, quietly. It was silent as they trudged up the stairs to where Abby supposed her room was meant to be. She sighed, not liking the silence.

It made her feel like she was missing something and she already knew she was. The emptiness that she felt deep within her heart only worsened the more the time ticked by and it frustrated her to no end.

"Kuki," she began hesitantly, "is that your name?"

The Japanese girl looked like she was about to cry at the question, but instead, nodded, biting on her lip so that she could stop the whimper from leaving her lips.

"You all seem like really nice people." She tried her best to smile despite the tense situation. "And I really want to remember again. Will ya please help Abby?"

Kuki nodded her head frantically. "O-Of course, Numbuh 5! We're your friends so we'll do anything to help you. We all want you back." The girl hesitated before she smiled, warmly, eyes glassy. "Especially Wally."

Abby didn't know which one was Wally but a part of her, the part that knew the old her, hoped it was the blond. It was strange. These people were her supposed friends but she had no memories of them whatsoever. It was as if she was sharing a house with complete strangers.

She led her to her room and as Kuki turned to leave quietly, Abby whispered.

"I want me back, too."

She stayed cooped up in her room like that for what felt like hours. Abby stood and walked around, trying to find things, anything that could help her and to find traces of her that she could connect to memories but there was nothing. It was as if she had lived a life without realising. She couldn't remember anything, not even her childhood.

Everything was like looking into a huge, fuzzy black hole.

Abby plopped onto the floor in a heap, staring at the ground, not knowing what else to do. She could hear the bald kid – Nigel was his name – yell out some instructions to the others and she felt left out of something she didn't remember but knew was important.

It made her feel useless and as if she was a burden. It felt horrible to not be able to do what she used to do, to help others as they told her she did.

Who am I? What am I even doing here?

Abby wanted to be back to normal, to who she was again.

The tears came rushing down her cheeks faster than she could have blinked and she welcomed them. It gave her a sense of comfort and security that nothing else could have at that moment.

It was at that moment that she felt truly alone because no one really understood what she was going through. She felt like she didn't even deserve to call them her 'friends' because she didn't remember them. The door to her room was being gently knocked on and she looked up just in time to see the blonde boy from before who had been staring at her.

His green orbs were dull and red as their eyes met, and they became freshly glassy as she stared at him with nothing to say. She didn't recognise him, so what could she say?

"Um...hi, Numbuh 4, was it? Wait," she racked her brain, "Wally, right?"

Without another word, as if he was offended in some way, he shook his head and biting down on his bottom lip, he jerkily turned to leave, slamming the door. Abby stared at it wordlessly, tears springing to her eyes as she thought of the boy's lips twisting into something painful. She wasn't hurt at the way he had reacted because something told her she knew why he was so hurt.

They all were and she could see just how much they cared for her. She cared for them too, but it wasn't the same. His reaction was enough to show her that this was affecting them just as much as it was affecting her.

And she didn't know how she could help make them feel better when she didn't know how to feel better herself. Her life had been completely turned upside on its head and she didn't know what to do.