Now then, I think it's finally time to bring Sector V into the story. After all, I think it's been long enough.
Numbuh 5 was not happy.
The week had started simply enough, or as simply as managing eleventy gazillion kids could be. Then things began to get weird. First, Numbuh 60 and Numbuh 362, who had declared traitors without her knowledge, had suddenly vanished. No signal from their trackers could be found anywhere. Then, Numbuh 86, on the hunt for the duo, had rushed into her office, panicking about how "the Splinter Cell is evil!" and "Numbuh 60 and Numbuh 362 were kidnapped by aliens!". Numbuh 5 was fully prepared to order her to spend time in the sleep chamber (a suggestion Numbuh 3 had made after noticing how sleep deprived operatives could be), when Numbuh 86 presented her proof. Looking over it, Numbuh 5 found herself horrified. Not only was the Splinter Cell real, but it and the Galactic Kids Next Door, the same organization Numbuh 1 had joined two years ago, were the same thing. And they were planning to target Earth. Numbuh 5 had ordered all shields raised and while quite a few people had questioned or mocked her, a massive laser that no doubt would have destroyed the Earth was blocked only a few days later.
Which brought her to today.
The Galactic Kids Next Door/Splinter Cell had decided that since the laser missed, they would have to destroy Earth by hand. Starting with the Moonbase.
"Clearly, if you don't want your adult infested planet destroyed, then you are all traitors to the Kids Next Door and deserve to be destroyed as well." One of the operatives had explained before the attack had been launched. This brought Numbuh 5 back to where she was now-trapped in her office and trying to hold off the operatives gunning for her. Her friends were scattered across the moonbase, trying fend off the mass of aliens trying to kill them. She had attempted to call in back up from the Teens Next Door, but with the large amount of robots the Galactic Kids Next Door had, plus the fact that several sectors couldn't make it to the moon, they were just barely standing their ground.
"Numbuh 5 is gonna need a miracle at this point!" She exclaimed aloud as she blasted away another operative, leaning back against her toppled over desk. Out of the corner of her eye, she then noticed a ship making its way into the hangar, yet this one was clearly different and didn't bear the Galactic Kids Next Door logo. Could they be friends?
"Numbuh 362 to Numbuh 5, come in!" A very welcome voice called out over what was supposed to be a private leader challenge. Numbuh 5 smirked. She knew that there was no way these aliens knew the code. She was speaking to the real deal.
"Numbuh 5 reads ya loud and clear, Numbuh 362!" Numbuh 5 responded as she blasted another operative. "You on board that ship?"
"Me, Numbuh 60 and some friends we picked up along the way," Numbuh 362 replied. "Where do you need us to go?"
"Uh…anywhere you see those Galactic Kids Next Door creeps!" Numbuh 5 answered. "Just make it quick! We're holding 'em back but there's a lot of 'em to fight through!"
"Well, you heard the lady!" Numbuh 417 declared as she rushed out of the ship. "Let's kick some butt!" With a nod or a yell, everyone spread out, eager to once again help defend a planet from the Galactic Kids Next Door.
Numbuh 86 grit her teeth as she ducked behind cover. She had been ambushed by a large group of robots and her weapon had run out of ammo. She was a sitting duck and she knew it. The best chance she had at this point was to try and fist fight them, but she knew that, sooner or later, she'd get tired.
"Take THIS!" A voice yelled out. Numbuh 86's eyes went wide. It couldn't be! Peeking out from where she had been hiding, Numbuh 86 saw Numbuh 60 and Numbuh 362 tearing through the robots. She went through a flurry of emotions-first shock, then excitement, and then rage.
"You two!" She snapped once they had finished with the robots. Both whipped around, which got their shirts grabbed by their angry best friend/girlfriend. "Do you have ANY idea how worried I was about you two!? You both vanish off the face of Earth and then you get kidnapped by a pack of crazy aliens! I thought…I thought you both…" All her anger faded away as she tried to get out her worries, but she couldn't get the syllables to form. Numbuh 60 was the first to pull her into a hug, with Numbuh 362 joining upon realizing what was happening.
"If it means anything, we were planning to tell you. They jumped us before we could," Numbuh 362 revealed as they pulled away.
"Then what took you so long to get back!?" Numbuh 86 snapped, but it was more playful than angry this time.
"Had to make a few detours," Numbuh 60 explained before handing his girlfriend a spare blaster. "Been a while since the three of us got to fight together, huh?"
"Not since training, from what I remember," Numbuh 362 noted before pointing down another hallway. "I saw some more robots that way. Let's get moving!"
"Yes ma'am!" Numbuh 86 agreed. Sure, Numbuh 362 technically wasn't her superior anymore, but she'd always be Supreme Leader in Numbuh 86's eyes.
"Er, could ya two please focus?" Numbuh 6 Shot pretty much begged. Numbuh 9L had come with him and Numbuh 1849 and things were fine for the most part, but then they encountered one of the operatives Numbuhs 362 and 60 had mentioned, Numbuh 3, who turned out to be a rather large cat person. And Numbuh 9L was all too happy to enjoy the praise over how fluffy and cuddly she was.
"Oh, relax Numbuh 6 Shot!" Numbuh 9L replied with a wave of her paw. "We're still taking out the bad guys!"
"Our pets and I am takin' out the bad guys!" Numbuh 6 Shot reminded her as he blasted two more operatives away. Behind him, Numbuh 1849, having shifted into a much larger form, was being ridden by Numbuh 6, or Robo-Bradley, as he was named, as the two animals charged into battle against several robots that had been coming from the other side. Much to Numbuh 6 Shot's dismay, his words didn't do much, as the two girls pretty much completely ignored him.
"You are so much cuddlier than the Crazy Old Cat lady's cats ever could be!" Numbuh 3 gushed, causing Numbuh 9L to purr. Numbuh 6 Shot groaned.
"At least 6 and 1849 are pulling their weight," He mumbled to himself as he blasted away yet another robot, before the two pets, now both looking like a skunk with several robotic parts attached, tore their way through another group.
"Come get some!" Numbuh 2 yelled out as he loaded another round of bullets into his 2x4 machine gun. He had decided to set up near an important choke point leading towards the power generators for the moonbase. So long as he could keep it safe, then everyone else would be able to keep fighting. But it seemed like it had been identified as a clear target, as he was getting swarmed by dozens of robots.
"Mind if I set up here?" A voice asked from behind him.
"As long as you're helping me blast away at these guys!" Numbuh 2 responded without even turning around. It was only once a volley of laser blasts began blasting away at robots at a rapid rate did Numbuh 2 turn to look at his savior. He looked human, but also had a bunch of random body parts.
"Didn't anyone tell you it was rude to stare?" He asked the much younger boy, who jumped a little.
"Well yes, but I've never really seen anyone like you," Numbuh 2 admitted sheepishly.
"Well, considering I'm an alien, that would make sense," The older boy responded before holding his claw out. "Numbuh 666 of Sector Alpha, at your service. And that is a nice looking weapon from what it's made out of,"
"Numbuh 2 and…you think my stuff is cool!?" Numbuh 2 eagerly exclaimed as he shook Numbuh 666's claw. An alien, who probably had technology better than anything Numbuh 2 would ever dream of seeing, thought something he made was cool?
"Well, considering that it's matching mine in firing rate, even with worse materials, it's cool," Numbuh 666 admitted. "Not everyone has the power to fight bad guys with duct tape and cardboard. We have got to build something together at some point!"
Numbuh 2 felt like he was going to faint from excitement. "Totally!"
Numbuh 666 then turned back to the battle. "But first things first, we've got to deal with these guys."
"Right, right," Numbuh 2 shook his head a few times to get himself back in focus.
"Now where's my big, scary, angry wall of scaly meat?" Numbuh 666 asked. Before Numbuh 2 could question what exactly that meant, a large dragon-like creature burst through one of the walls, Numbuh 4 riding on their back. As soon as they saw the robots, Numbuh 4 jumped off their mount to begin tearing apart the robots with his bare hands. The dragon, on the other hand, came over to Numbuh 666 and Numbuh 2.
"Was wondering where you were, Numbuh 417," Numbuh 666 greeted his friend.
"Sorry for ditching ya," Numbuh 417 replied before pointing to Numbuh 4, who was still going ham against the robots. "That small, angry kid is great! He's almost as strong as me and twice as headstrong!"
"Compared to you? I'm scared," Numbuh 666 joked, earning a playful slug to the shoulder. Numbuh 4, having finished tearing apart the robots, walked over to his own genius friend.
"Numbuh 2! Numbuh 417 is awesome! She's like a dragon, but she's also an alien! Those are like, two of the coolest things ever mixed together!" Numbuh 4 gushed.
"I think we're all gonna get along just fine," Numbuh 666 noted with a chuckle. Another wave of robots came, but the four operatives were all ready, rushing forward with an eager yell.
"Gonna be honest, this is not how I thought we'd end up fighting together again," Chad admitted as he found himself back to back with Maurice. The duo were well aware of the other's spy status, but could never really act on it without looking suspicious.
"Well, I'm not giving my chance to fight for what I believe in in the open," Maurice noted with a chuckle. Ever since Cree had broken up with him, he'd been somewhat bored. So getting to finally flex his fighting muscles was certainly something he was interested in.
"Heh, never said I wasn't thinking the same," Chad agreed with a smirk. He'd been waiting to lay these freaks out for weeks now. With a war cry, both boys surged forwards. Even with both being somewhat out of practice (Maurice due to not really seeing combat since becoming a spy, Chad due to his imprisonment), they found that they were easily able to tear apart the robots.
"And here I was thinking this was going to be hard," Maurice joked as he dusted his hands off.
"Pretty sure these guys are just supposed to be overwhelming via numbers and not any actual fighting skills," Chad admitted as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Not that the actual operatives are much better, considering that all they do is sit around in their big ship and talk about how they're going to defeat all the adults. I've only seen maybe a few train and some of them weren't even loyal!"
"That does not sound like a good recipe for taking over the universe," Maurice couldn't help but note.
"Well, they did have a big laser," Chad pointed out with a grin. "Had being the key word." Maurice just chuckled. This was gonna be fun.
"Dang Chsin, you really aren't much of a fighter," Numbuh 8 Infinity couldn't help but note as she batted away another robot. She had quickly paired off with her boyfriend and brother in the fight but noted that she and the former were the main ones doing the fighting.
"I have always been more of a diplomat, Via," Numbuh Infinity grumbled as he crossed his wings.
"There is nothing wrong with that," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years noted as he cleaved a robot in half. "However, some fighting skills are always helpful."
"Via was always the family fighter and I always had other operatives fighting for me. I guess I just never saw the reason," Numbuh Infinity admitted.
Numbuh 8 Infinity smiled. "Maybe I'll show you once we're done here. We should try to find you a blaster or something though."
"Perhaps this will work?" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years offered as he held out a laser pistol from one of the knocked out Galactic Kids Next Door operatives.
"Should be simple enough to use…although my aim may be off," Numbuh Infinity sheepishly replied as he attempted to hit an approaching robot. It took a few tries before he was able to topple it.
"As long as you aren't hitting us, I think we should be fine," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years encouraged the younger boy with a pat on the shoulder. Unseen by the couple, Numbuh Infinity smiled. He had always been…iffy on his big sister's boyfriend, but now, he saw how genuine of a guy Leongar was. Maybe he could deal with Via dating him….
And maybe he could be a royal advisor some day.
Numbuh 74.239 grit his teeth as he tried to find Numbuh 1. Why had he even been sent on his mission? He was the tech guy! He should be back on the ship, staying connected with some of the other members of Numbuh Aleph Zero's inner circle. Yet he'd been forced into combat. Numbuh 1 had been accompanying him, but they had gotten separated, leaving him with Numbuh Geo-4, who might as well be the most useless operative that ever existed. Seriously, the rock-like alien never did anything! Before Numbuh 74.239 could bemoan his fate any further, however, a spear whizzed past his head.
"Sorry about this, little dude," The unmistakable voice of Numbuh Hang 10 declared as he stepped out of the shadows. "But I gotta stop you from hurting anyone else."
"Numbuh Geo-4! Get him!" Numbuh 74.239 called out as he tossed the other operative forward. The rock pitifully landed at Numbuh Hang 10's feet, causing him to pick the rock up. "Hey, unhand that operative!"
"Hey, I remember this!" Numbuh Hang 10 noted with a chuckle. "One mission, Numbuh 417 spent the entire time tossing a rock at people and we started joking that it was an actual operative! Didn't know it was still around!" Numbuh 74.239's head pretty much imploded at that. Numbuh Geo-4 wasn't even a real operative!?
"How can today get any worse!?" The scientist bemoaned. This, however, snapped Numbuh Hang 10 out of his thoughts, causing him to continue firing on Numbuh 74.239, causing the scientist to run for it.
Numbuh 1 grunted as he raced down a hallway. How did things go so wrong so quickly!? Sure, he didn't want to kill anyone on the Moonbase and he doubted they were traitors, but was merely a necessity to ensure peace from the adults! And yet, all it took was a band of traitors to completely tip the fight against the Galactic Kids Next Door. Over the coms, he could hear several operatives making a retreat and Numbuh 1 didn't blame them. Capture was not at all a good thing at the moment. As much as he hated to run from a fight, he knew that the Galactic Kids Next Door would no doubt be fleaing soon and he didn't want to get stranded.
"Seems like they haven't remodeled since I left," Numbuh 1 internally thanked his luck. He knew a path back to where one of the ships were. He turned a corner…
And ran into four of the people he wanted to see the least on this mission.
"Numbuh 1? Is that you?" Numbuh 5 questioned once she saw her former leader. Rage then filled her eyes. "What the crud happened to you!? Where are you helping these nuts!?"
"I thought you said you were going off to fight for kids, not against them," Numbuh 3, eyes full of tears, couldn't help but comment.
"Don't be stupid!" Numbuh 4 chimed in. "There's no way the Numbuh 1 I know would ever help these creeps! He's probably sabotaging 'em from the inside! Right Numbuh 1?" When Numbuh 1 didn't instantly agree, panic crept into Numbuh 4's voice. "...Right?"
"He's on their side," Lizzi-no, Numbuh Vine commented from behind them. "We all tried to make him see the light, but he's too far gone."
"Numbuh 1…you wouldn't hurt us, right?" Numbuh 2 asked, causing yet another pang of guilt for Numbuh 1.
"No!" Numbuh 1 frantically protested. "I didn't want you to get hurt! But you have to understand that this is the only way to destroy the adult menace!"
"But what about our families!?" Numbuh 3 almost begged. "My mom and dad aren't evil! And Mushi…okay, she's kinda evil, but she's still my sister so I don't want her to die!"
"Yeah, what about Tommy? Would you hurt him?" Numbuh 2 challenged, causing Numbuh 1 to flinch back.
"You were gonna hurt my family!?" Numbuh 4 raged, tears streaming down his face. "I trusted you!"
"Numbuh 5…you understand, right?" Numbuh 1 almost begged. Surely Numbuh 5 would understand, right?
"...Even if Cree is a real pain in my butt, she's still my sister. I don't want her to get hurt!" Numbuh 5 revealed. "Which she might be for all I know, since she's missing." Numbuh 1 looked behind his friends, who were all giving him disapproving looks or outright glaring at him.
"You…you all…YOU ALL DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Numbuh 1 snapped before running in the other direction. Sure, it would take him longer to get back to the ship, but he couldn't face his so-called teammates again. First Numbuh 362 and now the other members of Sector V? Why could no one else see that he was doing a good thing for everyone? He was a hero and he would prove it!
So why did he feel so awful about everything he was doing?
"Casualty report," Numbuh 5 ordered. All of the Galactic Kids Next Door had been chased off the moonbase, leaving everyone with a lot of robots and debris to clean up.
"Nothing too serious," The medical officer reported. "However, a few operatives did require treatment beyond band-aids or an ice pack."
"Well, better than someone dying," Numbuh 5 replied before dismissing the kid with a wave of her hand.
"So that coulda gone a lot better," Numbuh 4 grumbled. "I don't know what those creeps did to Numbuh 1, but I don't like it!" This reminded everyone of Numbuh 1's complete change in demeanor during their fights with him. The Earthlings, as well as Lizzie, couldn't help but be saddened by how far their former friend had fallen. Even Numbuh 86 couldn't say anything. As for the aliens, while they didn't know Numbuh 1 before his time in the Galactic Kids Next Door, they could see the sadness in their friends' eyes.
"Well I think that we could get Numbuh 1 back!" Numbuh 3 declared. Before anyone could dwell on that though, one of the Project Z mechs was thrown into the room, followed by an angry Numbuh 417.
"STOP PUNCHING ME IN THE FACE!" She raged before tackling the robot again, then beginning to punch in the face several times. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT, HUH!?"
"She really does have bad luck with those things, huh?" Numbuh 8 Infinity noted.
"...Should we stop her?" Numbuh 2 had to ask. An angry dragon-alien thing didn't seem all that smart to keep around.
"Better to just let her get it out," Numbuh 666 assured his fellow tech guy. Everyone watched as Numbuh 417 slowly began tearing away the mech's armor.
"Take THIS! And THAT! And…huh?" Numbuh 417 suddenly froze, claw at the ready, when she noticed that in her rage, she had actually begun ripping away the mech's faceplates. And there was a PERSON inside. Her mind suddenly went back to what she and Numbuh 666 had discovered from Numbuh XXX's notes. But when she had learned about that, she was under the assumption that the mechs were using some lowlife adults that no one would miss as a power source.
But staring back at her was unmistakably a kid.
"Hey, isn't that one of the Delightful Children?" Numbuh 3 asked as she looked over Numbuh 417's shoulder. Everyone took that as a cue to crowd around the very much destroyed mech to see that, indeed, one of the Delightful Children-they were pretty sure her name was Alessandra-was inside.
"Why aren't their eyes blue?" Maurice asked.
"Are…are they back to normal?" Numbuh 362 spoke up. The story of Sector Z had spread very quickly following the Zero incident, but no attempts at making something powerful enough to return them and no one was exactly willing to try getting info out of Father. But something had clearly managed to return them to normal. Well, as normal as being trapped in a robot suit could be.
"Numbuh 666, do you think you could do something about this?" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years asked. In their downtime, Numbuh 362 had told him the full story and, needless to say, he was very sympathetic.
"I should but I'm gonna need a little more time to undo everything XXX did to her," Numbuh 666 said.
"How much worse can these guys get?" Maurice had to ask. As if on cue, every screen the moonbase suddenly became static, before changing to the same image. It looked like a younger version of Numbuh 4.3 Light Years, only with slightly darker fur, what appeared to be the beginnings of a mane, bloodshot red eyes and a row of dirty fangs created a smile that everyone knew they'd see in their nightmares.
"Hello, little BROTHER," Numbuh Aleph Zero sneered at Numbuh 4.3 Light Years, who merely crossed his arms and glared at his former family.
"Wait, how is he younger?" Numbuh 3 questioned, causing everyone to turn to her. "I mean, you still look like a kid! A really ugly kid, but still a kid!"
"Because I came up with a method to block myself and my followers from ever having to age!" Numbuh Aleph Zero revealed before coughing a few times. "It may have caused a few…side effects, but I will never have to deal with becoming a filthy adult or teen!"
"By stealing youth from everyone else!" Numbuh 9L challenged, preventing him from winning over anyone who wasn't in the room.
"They don't deserve it!" Numbuh Aleph Zero responded with a wave of his hand. "And while I am a little annoyed at you preventing me from blowing this planet up and destroying my laser, no harm done! After all, you don't wait ten years to take revenge and not have several back up plans!"
"Well, we'll just stop the rest of them!" Numbuh 417 declared, leading to a chorus of "YEAH!"s behind her. Numbuh Aleph Zero just chuckled.
"Oh, I don't doubt you'll try," He responded. "But I think I'll give myself a head start."
"And how are ya gonna do that?" Numbuh 6 Shot asked.
"Well, before I explain that, I have a question for the Earth Supreme Leader," Numbuh Aleph Zero's grin only got more menacing. "Would you like to know where your big sister is?"
Almost instantly, Numbuh 5 glared at the villain. "What did you alien freaks do with Cree!?"
"What's with the anger?" Numbuh Aleph Zero asked, sounding a mix of mocking and confused. "Wasn't she a traitor? If anything, I did you a favor!"
"Numbuh 5 doesn't want any kind of "favors" from you!" Numbuh 5 snapped back. "Now tell me where she is!"
"I'll do you one better. I'll show you," Numbuh Aleph Zero replied. Almost instantly, the view of the screens changed. Now they all showed a dark room only lit by a few small lights. In the middle of the room was a bruised and bloody Cree, who was tied to a chair and with a blindfold covering her eyes.
"I have to admit, traitor," A voice from behind the camera taunted. "You're holding out a lot longer than I would have guessed. Normally, my playmates are begging for any kind of mercy by now."
"Guess I'm a little tougher than you're used to," Cree fired back as she tried to get herself free. The figure chuckled and pressed a button from behind the camera, causing an electrical shock to course through Cree. She didn't scream, but still let out a grunt of pain. That was all Numbuh Aleph Zero was willing to explain before killing the feed, as well as his own transmission.
"Numbuh 11:11," Numbuh 8 Infinity sneered, unconsciously pulling Numbuh Infinity closer to her. Behind her, Numbuh 417 clenched her fists. "If I had to guess, she's on Niter."
"Then let's get moving!" Numbuh 5 snapped as she stood up before pointing at another operative. "You! Tell Numbuh 65.3 that he's in charge until Numbuh 5 gets back!"
"Yes ma'am!" The other operative replied with a salute.
"You sure you want to come, chica?" Numbuh Hang 10 asked.
"Numbuh 5 ain't letting a bunch of aliens hurt her sister, even if she's a traitor!" Numbuh 5 declared.
"Well, you ain't going without me!" Numbuh 4 declared as he stood up. "Besides, I wanna knock some sense back into Numbuh 1!"
"Yeah! And it will be a cool chance to see some alien technology and ships!" Numbuh 2 chimed in as he stood up as well.
"Yay! Sector V is back together!" Numbuh 3 cheered, clapping as she also got to her feet.
"Well, I'm not letting these two outta my sight!" Numbuh 86 declared as she pointed at Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 60. "So I guess I'm coming too!" At that declaration, everyone turned to Maurice, who chuckled.
"Oh, like I'm gonna be the one who ruins this for everyone," He replied as he stood up. "Numbuh 9 at your service, I guess."
"Then let's get moving," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years declared as the band of misfits made their way to the hangar. Their army had just gotten a little bigger.
So with the moonbase saved, we're taking a little detour to save Cree. And also finally revealing who was under the Project Z mechs. The foreshadowing was right there in the title. And as for our new character's voice actress.
Numbuh 11:11-Sarah Tancer (Female N. Trophy from Crash Bandicoot)