7 months later

"Alright, Cleveland again." Rachel's mom stated as she pulled into the driveway to the old McKenzie house. The house that had been 'accidently' flooded last September.

15-year-old Rachel McKenzie sat in the front seat of her mother's car, surrounded by bags of clothes that were leveled on a box Rachel was currently using as a foot stool. She gave a small sigh at the sight of her old (and newly renovated by the realtors of Cleveland due to the flooding damages) home. Rachel's memories of the home had been fuzzy since the day a volleyball face planted her during a game at the park and gave her a nasty concussion. It didn't help that her house flooded due to pipe issue that had not been disclosed to her mother when she placed the down-payment. Since then, she, her mother, and her 12-year-old brother Harvey had been staying with their grandparents in Detroit. Though Rachel was very confused and slightly disoriented by the move, it was much worse for Harvey. For months, he continuously complained about having to leave his little group of friends or his 'Sector'. When Rachel told him that calling his friend group a 'Sector' sounded like he was trying to start a cult, her only response was a sad look and Harvey rushing to his room.

The three of them got out of the car and started unloading bags and boxes. About halfway through, a group of kids on bikes pulled up to their driveway, lead by a red-headed boy in a green jacket. Behind him was a boy with sandy blond hair covered by an eskimo hat. Beside him, a petite little girl blonde girl with pigtails. On the other side of the eskimo boy, a chubby boy wearing aviator googles. Trailing behind them, their was a brunette wearing an baggy red t-shirt and shorts.

"Harvey!" The red-headed boy shouted as Harvey walked out of the house. "You're finally back!"

Harvey gave him and the rest of the group the biggest smile that Rachel has seen since their mom had received the call that renovations were done.

"Hey Rachel!" The little girl with pigtails said.

Rachel gave her a confused look. "Hi," She said flatly. "Do I know you?"

The little girl's face fell. "I was one of Harvey's old friends." She mumbled, before turning to Harvey.

"C'mon, Harvey, let's go to the treehouse!" The aviator boy said.

Harvey immediately unhatched his bike from the back of the car and raced off with his friends.

"Hey, you little shit! We still have half the house to unpack!" Rachel yelled after him.

But, he and his friends were long gone. Rachel's mom came out and gave her a sad smile.

"Let him go honey," She said. "You know how hard it was for him to leave them."

Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to unpack the car.

The six of them biked to the entrance of the treehouse. Paddy stopped his bike and placed his handprint on the tree bark, which opened a secret tunnel for the group to ride their bikes in. They then rode up several ramps until they reached the main command room.

"Tommy came up with the hand thing." Paddy said as they mounted their bikes.

"It's pretty cool." Lee said.

"That's great and all, but what's been going on since I've been gone?" Harvey asked.

After Harvey had to 'relocate' he was placed as a spy for the moonbase in Detroit. The position required him to cut off contact with all current Next Door operatives, so he had not seen or talked to Sector W all year. The problem was, their were already a few dozen spies in Detroit, so Harvey was rarely given any missions. When he told Global Command that he was moving back to Cleveland, he was placed as Sector W's leader again, a post that Paddy had since his unexpected exit.

"So, basically, after Sector V was decommissioned, pretty much all of them AND Patton and Fanny were relocated...Super weird right?" Paddy said. "So, we have a working theory."

He then lead the group to a board on the wall that had all of Sector V's (and Rachel, Fanny, and Patton's) faces, with red lines connected them to certain index cards.

"Wow." Harvey said. "You went all out."

"He's been obsessed for the past year." The girl with the red sweater said. "By the ways, Lydia or Numbuh 80."

Harvey ignored her and continued to examine the chart.

"Ignore Harvey, he can be a huge asshole." Sonia whispered to her. "And he's probably been obsessed about this for longer than Paddy."

"So, basically, we think that Numbuhs 65.3, 46, 137, and 236 did all this on purpose." Tommy stated. "Because they've been basically running the TND since Rachel was forced out."

"What about Numbuh 247?" Harvey asked. "The only person I've been in contact with is Numbuh 65.3, and he said telling me anything about the TND could 'breech my status'."

"For some reason, he stepped down in January." Sonia said with shrugged shoulders. "No one really knows why. He's back to being a normal Tactical Officer."

"So, who's the new Supreme Leader?" Harvey asked.

"That's the thing, they're all the new Supreme Leader!" Paddy exclaimed. "They call themselves 'The Board of Directors of the TND'."

"Okay, that is the most adultish bullshit I've ever heard of." Harvey said.

"It gets worse." Tommy sighed. "Like we said earlier, everyone decommissioned was relocated. Paddy's mom moved Fanny and Shaunie to Ireland. Kuki's parents got a pay raise to move back to Japan. Mom celebrated for a week. Wally's parents won some contest and moved back to Australia; since the moon thing everyone knows they will believe anything. Nigel's parents left to, we think to England? All we know is that when we checked out their treehouse, their house was completely boarded up. Rachel and you obviously left due to 'plumbing issues'. Then, we heard that Patton's family were sent to an army base in California. That leaves us with Hoagie and Abby still here. I only know that Abby's still here because her dad is still at the hospital."

"Have you guys figured out why they were decommissioned in the first place?" Harvey asked as he examined the board.

"The only thing Herbie will tell us is that Hoagie didn't file a report with some screwed up tech, and Rachel basically allowed them to do it." Lydia stated. "But, some of my old Global Command friends have some inside info."

"I knew you had a purpose." Harvey said with a smile. "Spill."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Okay, dick. All I know is that 'The Board' was getting sick of Sector V, and wanted them out. The running theory is that they were just waiting for one of them to screw up, and Rachel, Fanny, and Patton just got stuck in the mix."

"And of course, my brother provided." Tommy stated.

"So, how did they even get you back into the KND?" Harvey asked Tommy.

"Oh, I'm not in the KND, I'm in the TND." Tommy stated with his chest puffed out.

"Only in name." Paddy stated. "I mean. if Father can be inducted into the KND as an adult, why can't Tommy go into the TND as a kid."

"Only a year before we're 13 anyways." Lee shrugged.

"So, where are we at?" Harvey asked.

"Well, to be honest, we're just starting." Paddy said. "Not much we can do without most of them being physically here."

"Have you tried anything with Hoagie and Abby?" Harvey asked.

"They're decommissioned, so we're not really allowed to have contact with them." Sonia said. "Tommy is an exception, but it's not like we can go up to them and be like, "Hey, you were in a secret organization to protect kids from adult tyranny, and your memories were wiped because these nerds have it out for you"."

"Well, screw that." Harvey said. "We need to start on a plan."

Rachel was unpacking her room when she heard the front door open and slam shut, indicating either her mother was home from picking up dinner or her brother was home from his friend's house.

"MOM!" Harvey yelled. "I'm home!"

"She's getting dinner!" Rachel yelled back. "She can't cook, because a useless little shit decided to leave us behind to do all the unpacking by ourselves!"

"I was doing more than you know." Harvey sneered as he came into her room.

"Who were you even with?" Rachel asked with an eyeroll. "I thought that you didn't have any friends."

"I have friends here." Harvey said. "You know, where we've lived for the past 10 years. And they wanted to see me."

"Yeah, I'm sure they wanted to put up with your bullshit." Rachel scoffed. "Why do I not remember any of them then?"

"Tommy? Lee? Sonia? What about Paddy Fulbright? You have to remember Paddy Fulbright?"

"Isn't that the rich kid?" She asked.

"Yeah, he and his siblings, Shaunie and Fanny are super loaded." Harvey said, emphasizing Fanny's name in hopes that it sparked some memories.

"Fanny?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah she was in your-"

"Who the hell would name their kid Fanny?" Rachel questioned.

"Maybe that's where her rage issues come from." Harvey mumbled. "Whatever, I just thought maybe you would remember Fanny Fulbright, she was in your grade after all."

"Fanny Fulbright?" Rachel said. "God, that's even worse. But no, doesn't ring a bell."

"Oh." Harvey said with a sigh. "Maybe she had different classes."

"Sorry Harvey, but someone with a name like Fanny Fulbright, I'd remember them." Rachel said.

"What about Hoagie Gilligan?" Harvey asked. "Tommy's brother?"

"That's even weirder." Rachel said. "But no."

"Yeah, he's too much of a nerd for you to hang out with." Harvey said. "What about Patton Drilovsky? Wallabee Beatles? Nigel Uno?"

"Jesus, Harvey are you making up names now?" Rachel said.

"I think that these two girls once had a slumber party here, Kuki Sanban and Abby Lincoln?"

"Harvey!" Rachel exclaimed. "I'm sorry that I have memory problems after my concussion, but you don't need to keep annoying me about people I may or may not have been friends with when I was in like kindergarten! God, what is up with that?"

Harvey sent her a mean look and ran out of her room, to his old room. Rachel tried to follow after him, but he slammed his door shut in her face and locked the door.

As he slammed the door, she heard another door open, and her mother's shout of "Dinner!"

Rachel stepped downstairs to her mother placing a box of pizza on the dinner table. "What's wrong with your brother?"

"He's upset that I don't remember his friends." Rachel said as she opened the box of pizza. "Y'know, everyone has been really supportive after my concussion, except for him."

"You know how he is with adjusting." Her mom sighed sadly. "It was the same day as the flood, when he had to leave all his little friends. It was rough for him. Not to mention seeing you and all those kids in the hospital."

Rachel quirked her eyebrow. "What other kids?"

"Oh god, you don't remember?" Her mother said with a mouth full of pizza. "When your volleyball friends brought you to the hospital, a bunch of other really sick kids were there."

"Like how sick?" Rachel asked as she picked at her pizza.

"Well," She said. "There was one little girl who had been a car wreck. Another kid was having seizures or something like that, it was really odd. I don't know why, but when were waiting for your MRI, Harvey couldn't keep his eyes off of them. They kind of had the same issues you had now that I think of it. Really tired, agitated, kept on mumbling about something, like you were. There were nearly ten of you guys in there."

"So Harvey was more worried about some randos than his own flesh and blood?" Rachel asked.

"Honey, it was just crazy that day." Her mother explained. "You and those other kids came in with in an hour of each other, the nurses were all panicked and trying to figure out was wrong with you guys. Not to mention their parents running around, too. It was a scary and stressful situation."

"Sounds like everyday at the ER." Rachel said.

"Maybe." Her mom sighed. "Still, your accident and having to leave within 24 hours shook Harvey up."

"Sure." Rachel said. "But it doesn't excuse him being a dick about it."

Rachel then dropped her plate in the sink and grabbed her keys.

"Where are you going?" Her mom shouted.

"Out!" She yelled. "Have Harvey help you with the rest!"

Rachel then stormed out of her house, deciding that what she needed was to take a walk around a town that she felt she barely knew. Sure, she had spent majority of her life here, but since her accident, everything had felt fuzzy. The most recent memories of her childhood had been memories of running around with some neighborhood kids and pledging to stop 'adult tyranny' or whatever that meant.

Rachel had made it half way up the block when she accidently bumped into another person and fell right on her ass.

"Shit!" She exclaimed.

"Fuck!" A lanky, brunette boy said. "Sorry, dude."

"It's fine." Rachel said. "Can happen to anyone."

She then looked up to the boy. He was roughly her age, with pale skin covered in freckles. There was something oddly familiar about him, but Rachel couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

The boy examined her for a moment, before squinting his eyes in confusion. "Do I know you?" He asked.

"I can ask you the same." Rachel mumbled. "I'm Rachel. Rachel McKenzie."

"Oh." He said. "Never mind. You just looked kind of familiar. Well, I'm Hoagie Gilligan."

Something in Rachel's brain sparked. "Wait, I think you know my brother. Harvey?"

"The annoying kid who doesn't like to be touched?" Hoagie asked. "He's friends with my annoying brother."

"He has haphephobia, the fear of physical contact." Rachel scoffed. "It's a mental disorder that he's been in therapy for since he was 8."

"Okay, that aside, you have to admit he's annoying. My little brother's annoying as fuck too." Hoagie said.

Rachel offered a small smile. "Okay, he's annoying as fuck."

"All 12-year-olds are." Hoagie said with a smile. "Part of the prepubescent package."

Rachel laughed. "You're kind of funny for coming off as a little bit of a dick."

Hoagie acted mock offended. "I'll have you know I'm a huge dick."

"Okay, nice meeting you." Rachel said as she continued to walk on her path.

Hoagie started the opposite way until a strange thought came into his mind. "Hey, Rachel?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she turned around.

"You go to McClintock High?" He asked.

"I will on Monday." Rachel shrugged. "Despite their being less than a month left in the school year."

"See you then." He said with a mock salute.

"Alright 'solider'." She said jokingly, saluting him back.

"Ma, I can't believe you're going back to him!" 15-year-old Fanny Fulbright cried as her mother continued to pack her suitcase.

"I don't know what to tell you love, we're out of money." Her mother replied. "And I'm not going back to him, we're just simply moving back to Cleveland."

"Great, Cleveland." Fanny huffed. "A place of such great memories. Like the one time I had recurrent seizures the same day that you found out dad was sleeping with his receptionist."

"The seizure thing was not your father's fault." Her mother said. "You had febrile seizures as a child."

"But I didn't have a fever!" Fanny said. "And I haven't had a seizure since I was like 3!"

"I don't know why you had a seizure, Francine, and neither did your neurologist." Her mother said. "The important thing is that you stay on your medication so we can prevent another one until we can get you back to the States to do an EEG."

"Why can't we do one here?" Fanny asked. "Free healthcare remember? Something America doesn't have?"

"Because, Fanny, your father opposes to British healthcare, and I would rather stay on his good side while he has custody of Paddy." She sighed. "Not to mention, in America, I can challenge your father for custody, and you, your brothers, and I can be a family again."

"We're safer here!" Fanny said. "Why would you let that monster take Paddy!"

"Fanny just because he was an arse to me, doesn't mean he's not a good father!"

"He's evil, Ma!" Fanny said as she stormed off. She ran to her room and slammed her door shut. She then face-plummeted into her duvet and cried.

"Fanny?" A small voice said from the other side of her door.

Fanny looked up from her duvet. "What Shaunie?"

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"Sure." She said as she returned her head to the duvet.

Shaunie crept into her room and gently closed her door. He then took a seat on her bed, right next to her.

"Fanny, it won't be that bad." Shaunie said. "At least we'll see Paddy and all of our old friends."

"I don't have the fondest memories of any friends." Fanny said.

"Well, you were a bit of a bully." Shaunie said. Fanny looked up from the duvet and glared at him.

"But you did have some friends." Shaunie said nervously. "Like that those three girls that had a slumber party at our place that one time. And that one weird boy who wore rope as braids. "

"I don't really remember them." Fanny sighed.

"How could you forget the boy?" Shaunie said. "Anyways, Fanny, won't it be good to see Paddy again?"

"Yeah." Fanny said sadly. "He's the only thing I really miss about America. But don't tell him that!" Fanny threatened.

Shaunie then backed out of her room nervously. Sometimes it was easier to let Fanny deal with her mood swings alone.

The next afternoon, Paddy was half slumped on the couch of the Sector W briefing room as Harvey flicked through files on the computer. Sonia and Tommy were currently trying to see how many marshmallows they could fit into Lee's mouth, while Lydia was working on her tablet next to him.

The addition of Lydia Gomez, or Numbuh 80, to Sector W was not as welcome as Lydia had been expecting, or Sonia had been hoping. Harvey had been relocated in the same week that she had been ushered into a Sector that was experiencing the chaos of no leader and another area to cover. To say the least, Paddy had not taken the new change up well, especially when Numbuh 46 suggested that Lydia be leader. Lydia had declined almost immediately, due to her lack of knowledge of the area and barely knowing everyone save Sonia, which made Paddy to warm up to her. Paddy was still under tremendous stress. Not only did his mother, sister, and brother leave him alone with his abrasive father, he was also the only operative adept enough to lead the Sector. Sonia and Lee weren't much help either, spending most of their time worrying about the fate of the sector or whether or not they could get Tommy back in than actually helping him lead it. Lydia had been his sounding board for the first 2 months while they tried to work with the TND on inducting Tommy. She understood what it was like coming from a broken home, and not being able to see her sibling for weeks at a time. She was also a good co-leader. While Paddy was good at giving directions and taking a stand, he lacked in organization of missions. Lydia was much better at organizing mission strategies, which gave the Sector the balance they so needed. She planned the final argument that allowed the TND to induct Tommy, solidifying herself as a resourceful and irreplaceable member of the Sector. Sonia was also happy she finally had someone to talk Rainbow Monkeys with.

"Are you happy you finally can return to being second-in-command and head of hand-to-hand tactics?" Lydia asked him.

"Definitely." He smirked. "Too much pressure. I have no clue why Harvey likes it."

"I think he just likes being in charge," Lydia said. "Everyone on the moonbase said he got a real power-kick from being the Supreme Leader's sister."

"He did." Paddy shrugged. "But he leveled out when Rachel left to be a spy again and Numbuh 5 yelled at him for a bit. I think Rachel also threatened that she would not fight with Numbuh 5 if she decided to decommission him. After that, he became much less of a brat. But, he was never a bad leader. He's a really good leader like Rachel was."

"How?" Lydia asked.

"Well, if you couldn't tell, he's a bit OCD, but for the good. He's also not scared of anything except maybe Rachel." Paddy said. "He's also extremely protective of us. When my dad chopped all my hair off, he almost forced Rachel to launch a mission to save Shaunie from the same fate."

"That's actually kind of sweet." Lydia said.

Paddy's phone then began to ring. "Speak of the devil."

"What's up, Shaunie?" Paddy asked. "WHAT?" He screamed as he shot up from his spot.

At the sound of Paddy shouting (which was rare), Harvey looked up from his files, Tommy and Sonia stopped putting marshmallows in Lee's mouth, and Lee spit out all of the marshmallows.

"Everything okay?" Lydia questioned him.

Paddy turned his wide eyes to her and gave a slight nod. "Okay, Shaunie, you sound like you have a lot going on. Wanna call me before you get on the plane?"

"The plane?" Harvey questioned.

Paddy then hung up and nearly fell back into his seat.

"Shaunie and Fanny are coming home." Paddy said breathlessly.

"Holy crap, what?" Tommy said.

"Mom's out of money or whatever and has to come back to the States." Paddy said with a slight smile. "They're coming home in 3 days."

"That's half of them back in Cleveland." Harvey said. "This is great!"

"What are the chances that Rachel and Fanny come back to town in the same week?" Lydia asked.

"Really slim." Tommy said. "Honestly, I thought there was a better chance of the rest of Sector V coming back before Fanny came home."

"Well, Nigel old bean, back to the States." Monty Uno said as he, his wife, and his son waited for their luggage at the airport.

"Right, dad." 15-year-old Nigel Uno said. "Why again did we need to go back to England for six whole months after Gran died?"

"Well, Nigel" His mother said. "We needed to provide some support for your grandfather. I mean the poor man just sit in the nursing home all day eating tapioca pudding."

"That's all he did when Gran was alive." Nigel said dully. "Due to the fact that they were divorced."

"Still, it was nice to be home." His dad said. "Why are you in such a rush to get back, son?"

"I have things to do here." Nigel said. "Friends. School. Better things than sitting in a nursing home all day while my senile grandfather recounts how he was the 'King of Tapioca'."

"You also enjoyed rugby." Nigel's mom said.

"Yes, mother, rugby was fun, but I want to get home." Nigel said.

"I don't know why you're in such a rush love, especially considering the last thing that happened at our old home." She said.

Nigel looked up to her with a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, son, you had a nasty fall from the tree behind our house. Gave yourself a nasty bruise, and gave us a nasty hospital bill." His dad said. "Why can the States not figure out free healthcare?"

"I don't remember that." Nigel stated plainly. "And why would I be up in a tree?"

"You were always raving about that treehouse at our old house." His mother said. "You and your little friends would always go up and go on 'missions' together."

"Maybe when we were little." Nigel mumbled, his face growing red at the idea that he would hang out in a treehouse as a teenager.

"Such a shame they had to take that tree down." His mother lamented. "It was a mighty oak."

"Well, back to America!" Sydney Beatles exclaimed as they waited on their luggage.

"I can't believe you actually fell for another scam, dad." 15-year-old Wally Beatles said.

"This one looked real, Wallabee." His mother said as she tried to wrestle Joey into standing still. "There was an email and everything."

"It was sooo obvious!" Wally cried. "They didn't even ask you for your credit card to give you the money!"

"I'll say, we could've used that money after that biking accident landed you in the hospital!" His dad said.

"Always blaming me." Wally huffed. "Cruddy America."

"Yay! Home!" Mushi Sanban exclaimed as she ran into their old house. Mushi was only caring her Rainbow Monkeys in as she danced around.

"Mushi!" Kani Sanban yelled. "Help your mother and I with the boxes."

"Now, now Kani, let her play." Genki said. "We just had a 15 hour flight."

15-year-old Kuki Sanban then stumbled in with her arms full of boxes entitled 'Rainbow Monkeys'.

"Finally, all my stuff." Kuki exclaimed as she began to wobble her way up the flight of stairs.

"Be careful, Kuki we don't need another accident!" Genki cried to her daughter.

"What?" Kuki asked confused.

"You don't remember?" Mushi asked. "Before we left for Japan, you fell down the steps and face-planted on the floor."

"And cost us nearly $500 in medical bills. Why can't America get universal healthcare right?" Kani said.

"Oh." Kuki said with a confused look on her face. "Okay!" She then ran up the stairs, singing the Rainbow Monkey theme song.

Genki sighed as she ran up the stairs. "Does anyone care about how hard I work for this family? To provide a stable home!"

"Like when you uprooted us to Japan only to bring us back less than a year later." Kani mumbled.

"I got a better raise." Genki stated dully. "What would you have done Kani?"

As her parents argued downstairs, Kuki drowned the noise out the noise with her TV playing the Rainbow Monkey TV show as she unpacked. As she did this, she noticed Mushi sneaking out her window.

"Mushi?" Kuki whispered as she came into her room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see Sandy." Mushi said. "Y'know, my boooyyffriend."

"We just got back Mushi!" Kuki said. "What will mom and dad think?"

"Oh, please, like you won't run off to go see Wally soon." Mushi scoffed.

"Wally?" Kuki questioned. "Whose that?"

"You don't remember?" Mushi said. "Wow, I know you're an airhead, but that face-plant really screwed you up."

Mushi then slipped down the house and ran down the street.

"Mushi?" Kuki exclaimed. "What's a Wally?!"

"That had to be the shortest assignment ever, dad." 17-year-old Katie Drilovsky said as she and her younger siblings unpacked boxes.

15-year-old Patton Drilovsky kept his earbuds in as they talked, but could still hear their conversation. He was not as happy with the move as his sisters, as he was finally starting to adjust to California. His sisters were much more pleased than he was, considering that most of their lives were still in Cleveland (friends, boyfriends, school). Though Patton had lived there for longer than he had lived anywhere else, he couldn't help but feel that his life revolved around somewhere else, somewhere that he was just not able to out his finger on. Besides, there was more to do in California than the middle of nowhere Virginia.

"Yeah, it was kind of odd." Their father admitted. "I can't really talk about why we were there, but it didn't really make sense for why I was reassigned."

"So we moved there for no reason?" Katie asked. "Gotta love the army."

"Hey, hopefully we'll be here for awhile." Their dad said. "Only one more year until I retire."

"Yeah, one more year until I'm 18." Katie said with an eyeroll. "Perfect timing."

"At least Patton, Sasha, and Zoey can finally stay in one place the rest of their childhoods." Their father said sadly. "Not to mention, you're more than welcome to stay with us and go to Cleveland Community for the first year."

"Thanks but no thanks." Katie said with a laugh. "Cincy is calling my name."

"What about you Patton?" His father yelled to him. Patton purposely ignored him for a second before Katie chimed in.

"HEY DUMBASS!" She yelled. Patton glared at her. "DAD WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"

Patton took his earbuds out and asked "What?"

"You excited to be here for awhile?" His dad asked.

"Sure..." Patton said. "It's obviously so much more exciting than California."

"Hey, at least we have the winter here." Katie said with a shrug. "You always say you like the cold better."

"And, maybe you could try out for football again?" His dad suggested. "You were really good last fall."

"Yeah, I was great before that 300lb jackass pummeled me." Patton said, taking a box and walking to his room.

His dad and Katie turned to each other, sad looks on their faces. As Patton slammed his door shut, his 12-year-old sister came out of her room.

"What's his problem?" Sasha asked.

"He doesn't want to be here." Katie said simply. "And I think he's having another mood swing."

"Jeez, and I'm the one with PMS." Sasha said. "Maybe being with the KND will help him."

Katie gave her sister a puzzled look.

"The what?" Katie asked.

"The KND?" Sasha asked. "Y'know, the organization he and his friends are apart of? The one he talks about obsessively?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Sash." Katie said.

"You and Patton both." Sasha said. "Whatever, I'm going over to a friend's house."

"Whose the friend?" Katie asked.

"Mushi Sanban!" Sasha said as she left the house.

15-year-old Abby Lincoln was flicking through a magazine in her room when a soft knock came on her door.

"Hey, Crabigail." Her 21-year-old sister Cree said as she let herself into the room.

"Hey Cree." Abby said without looking up from her magazine. "What do you want?"

"I can't come home to see my baby sister?" Cree said, sitting down on her bed right beside her.

"Y'know, its been months since the accident, you really don't have to keep on coddling me."

"I still feel bad." Cree said. "But, I have other reasons."

Abby set her magazine down and glared at Cree.

"What?" Abby asked.

"Well..." Cree started before grinning evilly. "Mom tells me that you're going to prom next weekend."

Abby blushed slightly. "What, is it a huge surprise?"

"Abby, you're a freshman!" Cree said. "Who invited you!"

"So, let me get this straight?" Abby started. "You drove an hour just to ask me who my prom date is? Something you could do over, I don't know, text?"

"Yeah, so you have to tell me!" Cree said.

"Fine." Abby said with an eyeroll. "Maurice."

Cree let out a squeal. "No fucking way!"

"What?" Abby said with a blush.

"Abby, you've had a crush on him forever!" Cree exclaimed.

"I've only known him for like a year." Abby said with a chuckle.

"Whatever, you have to let me take you dress shopping tomorrow." Cree said.

"Yeah, I'm going to get in a car with you again." Abby laughed. "Not to mention, tomorrow's Monday?"

"So, less busy than Friday." Cree said. "Not to mention, he really waited late to ask you."

"He actually asked me like two months ago." Abby said, giving Cree a small grin.

"ABBY!" Cree said. "Why do you not have a dress?"

"We just started seeing each other two months ago, I didn't want to waste money if he changed his mind." Abby said. "Not to mention the fact that I play volleyball, am in 3 clubs, and work part time."

"I swear, Crabby Abby, you give yourself no time." Cree said. "Now, you have no option. I'm picking you up and we're going dress shopping."

"What about your classes?" Abby asked.

"Screw 'em." Cree said, getting up. "See you in the morning Crabigail!" She then left the room, Abby rolling her eyes at her.

Abby's relationship with her sister had not always been great, but things had been on the upturn lately. Last September, Cree had been driving Abby to school, when she had gotten the both of them into an accident when she swerved off the road to avoid hitting a deer. Cree had been fine, but Abby had gotten a head injury from the impact, causing her to be in the hospital for two weeks. Cree had stayed home from college for all of Abby's hospital stay, the longest she had ever stayed home (including holidays). The sister decided to let bygones be bygones and have been closer than ever. In fact, whatever had caused their distance had been so long ago, that neither sister could remember what exactly happened.

12-year-old Tommy Gilligan biked into his garage late Sunday night, trying to be quiet as possible. But, as he set his bike down, the garage light came on to show his 15-year-old brother grinning at him.

"Dammit." Tommy said plainly.

"Where have you been all day?" Hoagie asked, knowing he caught Tommy red-handed.

"With friends." Tommy shrugged. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing." Hoagie said as he sat down on his creeper pad and rolled underneath his work in progress: a 1996 Honda. "Just seems kind of suspicious that you're getting back at 11 on a school night."

"Harvey's back in town, we have a lot to catch up on." Tommy said plainly. "Why are you working on that piece of shit at 11 on a school night?"

"Because I turn 16 in a week, and I have to have this piece of shit ready for my driving test." He said. "Harvey McKenzie? The weird kid with the touching problem?"

"Yeah." Tommy said. "He's not as much as a dick as he used to be though."

"I saw his sister the other day." Hoagie said absent mindedly.

"You saw Rachel?" Tommy said, his eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Nothing really, she chewed my ass out for making fun of Harvey though." Hoagie said. "Weird thing is I don't think I've ever met her."

"She's more popular than you." Tommy said with a shrug as he retreated to the door.

"Be careful." Hoagie said. "You know Grandma's a light sleeper."

"What do you mean Hoagie ran into Rachel?" Harvey said at lunch the next day.

The members of Sector W all sat together in the lunch room of Gallagher Middle School, where Tommy revealed that Rachel and Hoagie saw each other. Under normal circumstances, this would not be news at all, but if two decommissioned operatives at the center of a political scheme run into each other, it's a big deal. Lee, Harvey, and Tommy sat on one side of the table, while Paddy, Sonia, and Lydia sat on the other side.

"That's what Hoagie said." Tommy said. "But he didn't seem to remember her at all. Which is weird because he remembers you."

"Maybe Harvey's hard to forget." Lee said.

Sonia nodded along, turning her head to look at the lunch line. Her mouth suddenly dropped and she audibly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked.

She then pointed to two girls standing in the lunch line. Everyone except Lydia's jaw dropped at the sight of Mushi Sanban and Sasha Drilovsky.

"What?" Lydia asked confused by their shocked expressions.

"That's Kuki's and Patton's sisters!" Sonia said.

The two girls then sat down at a nearby table, as Sonia and Paddy ran up to them. Harvey, Tommy, Lee and Lydia stayed at their table to watch.

"Mushi? Sasha?" Sonia asked as she walked up to them.

"Hey, Sonia!" Sasha said happily. "How've you been?"

"Great." Sonia said. "When did you guys get back?"

"Funny story, we both got back a few nights ago!" Mushi said. "Weird, right?"

"Are your siblings back too?" Paddy asked.

"Yeah, we were just talking about them." Sasha said. "They've both been acting like really weird. They act like they don't know what the KND is or who each other are. Do you know what's up with that?"

"Long story." Paddy said. "We gotta go, see you later!"

He and Sonia sprinted back to their table, leaving a confused Sasha and Mushi.

"Jeez, all KND people are really weird." Mushi said. "So happy we didn't join."

"Kuki and Patton are back." Sonia said.

"We kind of guessed by the sight of their sisters." Harvey said. "What are the chances that six decommissioned officers come back to the same town within a few days of each other?"

"If they're back, I'd bet Nigel and Wally are back too." Lee said. "We could check out their old houses after school."

"Could we also check with Hoagie or Rachel? Maybe Fanny?" Lydia suggested.

"I doubt they'd notice each other." Tommy said. "They don't remember each other, remember?"

Nigel, Hoagie, Kuki, Wally, Abby, Patton, Fanny, and Rachel all sat in the vice principal's office, not making any eye contact with one another.

"So..." Kuki started. "What's everyone's favorite color?"

They all turned to glare at her.