Alright, it's time for the final battle with Numbuh Aleph Zero and his few remaining minions for the fate of the universe. Let's begin!
Alarms blared as everyone raced into the meeting room on Dragox. Numbuh 4.3 Light Years was looking over a series of status reports, clear worry in his eyes.
"Leo, what's going on?" Numbuh 417 spoke for everyone, even when they all had a pretty clear idea on exactly what was going on.
"Numbuh Aleph Zero has begun his endgame," The supreme leader said gravely.
"Well whatever it is, we're gonna bust it up! And then bust him up too!" Numbuh 4 eagerly declared as he pounded his fist into an open palm.
"What's his plan?" Numbuh 5 asked, keeping her voice level.
"If what these reports are true, then Numbuh Aleph Zero is trying to open a portal to the Event Horizon!" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years revealed. Almost instantly, every single alien looked utterly horrified.
"He's gone way off the deep end!" Numbuh Hang 10 exclaimed, his normal laid back nature completely gone.
"Er…what's that?" Numbuh 362 asked for the Earth based operatives. None of them, not even Numbuh 1, seemed to have any idea on what this thing was.
"The Event Horizon is, to put this bluntly, the one place you never want to end up. No one is allowed to access it or try to get energy from it," Numbuh 666 revealed, for once taking something one hundred percent seriously. "It's outlawed on pretty much every planet in the universe that's even aware of it and not even the most curious of scientists or inventors would dare even consider breaking it."
"What's so bad about it?" Numbuh 2 asked, fear already creeping into his voice.
"It fries your brain!" Numbuh Hang 10 exclaimed as he clutched his head in utter terror.
"What Numbuh Hang 10 means is that anyone who looks into the Event Horizon, or does anything with it is driven insane from whatever's inside of it." Numbuh 6 Shot revealed. "Ah remember hearin' a story about some scientists who were testin' a new type of hyperdrive and accidentally wound up inside of it. When they came out of that place, they were…changed. All of 'em were completely insane and were pretty much attacking everyone in sight. Ramblin' something no one else could understand. Not that most even wanted too….and that's not even talking about their physical changes. All of them were nothin' more than monsters, plain and simple. There were attempts to cure 'em, but nothin' really succeeded."
"So if Aleph Zero wants to access it…." Numbuh 1 trailed off. He couldn't even finish that sentence. Numbuh Aleph Zero wasn't a Kids Next Door operative. He was a complete and utter madman.
"Whatever he wants, it can't be good," Numbuh 8 Infinity summarized. "Leo, do you know where he's attempting to open a portal?"
"On an uncharted moon on the outer rim of our home galaxy, from the looks of it," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years reported. "I almost want to say that I'm happy he has the standard of doing it on an uncharted moon so that no one is caught in the crossfire, but I think he just wanted as much time as possible before anyone came looking."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chad asked as he pounded his fists together. "We need to get down there and stop him before he hurts anyone else!" A resounding "YEAH!" echoed from the rest of the room as they all rushed for their ships, grabbing their weapons on the way out.
"SIR!? ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA!" Numbuh 74.239 called out over the sounds of the machine. As devoted as he was to the Galactic Kids Next Door's mission of getting rid of the adult menace, the idea of using the Event Horizon, of all things, was giving him serious pause.
"OF COURSE IT IS!" Numbuh Aleph Zero declared with a laugh. In truth, the Event Horizon was something he was curious about. Sure, there were those reports about things that had happened to various scientists who had tried to study the realm, but they were adults! He was a child and was therefore superior. Their feeble adult minds had been warped, but he would withstand it and harness its power to finally defeat his brother, his annoying friends and all the little traitors they'd picked up along the way.
"DORMAX!" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years yelled out as he and his fellow operatives rushed towards the sight.
"I abandoned that name years ago, brother," Numbuh Aleph Zero said, although he turned around all the same.
"Do not do this!" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years pleaded as he pointed towards the generator. "You've heard the stories! You know what will happen if you even so much as look into the Event Horizon!"
"Of course I know!" Numbuh Aleph Zero boasted. "I'll unlock its secrets and become all powerful!"
"What makes you different from all the rest!?" Numbuh 9L fired back. "Everyone else who tried and failed to control the Event Horizon said the same thing!"
"They were adults!" Numbuh Aleph Zero snapped at the cat like alien. "But I am a child! I can succeed where the stupid adults failed!"
"Not aging physically doesn't change that time has passed for you," Numbuh 362 pointed out. "No matter how much you want to pretend otherwise, you are still a bitter adult! Just like all the villains I'm sure you used to fight!"
"I AM NOTHING LIKE THEM!" Numbuh Aleph Zero roared, causing quite a few of his foes, as well as Numbuh 74.239, to flinch back. "I am a visionary! The universe will thrive under my reign! No one will have to age! We can be kids forever!"
"And how exactly is no one supposed to age when you need to suck the age out of others?" Numbuh Infinity questioned. "You continue to ignore any problems with your ideas!"
"I'll cross over that hurdle when I come to it," Numbuh Aleph Zero replied with a dismissive wave. Behind him, a portal began to form. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time I gain the power I need to crush you fools!"
"EVERYONE! CLOSE YOUR EYES! NOW!" Numbuh 666 ordered, true fear present in his voice. No one dared to question him. Even Numbuh 74.239 covered his own eye, while also doing the same to Bruce. Numbuh Aleph Zero, however, merely laughed as a portal opened in front of him.
And only managed to regret his choice for a few seconds before complete and utter madness overtook his already warped mind.
No one dared to look as Numbuh Aleph Zero somehow screamed and laughed at the same time. The sounds of cracking bones and tearing clothing soon failed the air as well, followed by the sound of something getting smashed, which was most likely the portal. Finally, everyone opened their eyes and, even while knowing what the Event Horizon could do, no one was ready for what they saw.
Rather than a mangy, anthropomorphic lion cub like alien, what stood in front of everyone was a massive monster that didn't resemble the person it used to be. Numbuh Aleph Zero was now little more than a collection of mismatched body parts who seemed to have been forcefully aged up to his true age and, unlike someone like Numbuh 666 or Astoria, many of his parts were clearly not sized for him, with some appearing too small while others were too large. Some of them additionally appeared to be rotting, even though they were still attached to his body. Numbuh Aleph Zero then lunged forward, clear hate and insanity on his face.
"EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY!" Numbuh 1 yelled out, causing everyone to scramble away.
"How do we beat that thing!?" Numbuh 60 called out.
"Um…luck?" Numbuh Vine offered as she dodged out of the way of a claw swipe.
"Helpful," Numbuh 86 deadpanned before pulling out a blaster and trying to blast at the monster standing before her. She landed a few hits, but it was clear that all she did was piss it off. "Um…sorry?" Numbuh Aleph Zero roared at her before charging, causing her to jump out of the way. This pattern would repeat for quite a few people, with them trying to attack Numbuh Aleph Zero, only for their attacks to do barely any damage whatsoever and any damage that was significant was quickly healed off by Numbuh Aleph Zero's body reshaping itself to heal.
"How are we supposed to beat this guy!?" Numbuh 0.3 questioned as she watched Numbuh 666 get one of his arms ripped off and only Numbuh 417 tackling Numbuh Aleph Zero stopped him from tearing the doctor/weapon specialist apart further.
"I have an idea, but it's kind of risky," Maurice admitted as he tried to blast at Numbuh Aleph Zero, if only so Numbuh 417 could make a clean escape.
"Well, we're open to just about anything, so lay it on us!" Numbuh 666 grunted as he tried to reattach his arm from behind cover.
"What if we all attacked at once?" Maurice offered. "Maybe we could overwhelm the healing factor?"
"But most of us can't even get close to him!" David protested.
"That actually could work, but we still need to make sure he stays down," Numbuh 8 Infinity pointed out as she jumped away from Numbuh Aleph Zero, who was attempting to bite her.
"I think I might have something that could help," Numbuh 666 piped up as he finished putting his arm back into its socket. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a series of syringes. "This is a powerful knock out drug. I usually use them to induce comas in patients, but if we can inject them all into Aleph Zero, we should be able to contain him."
"But who's gonna inject him?" Lenny asked as he dove behind some cover as Numbuh Aleph Zero tossed a piece of debris his way.
"I'll do it," Numbuh 1 declared.
"Are you sure, little dude?" Numbuh Hang 10 asked. "You're still pretty weak."
"I know, but it's my fault that Numbuh Aleph Zero was able to get this far in the first place," Numbuh 1 pointed out. In truth, he had no idea if his involvement meant anything in the grand scheme of things, but he still felt like he had a lot to make up for. "So let me handle this."
"He might be our best chance," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years realized. "He's smaller than most of us, so he might be able to go unnoticed."
"He's certainly proved himself skilled," Numbuh 8 Infinity noted. "If you think you can do it, I see no reason not to trust you."
"I can do it. I'll stop him. I promise," Numbuh 1 said with a nod and a determined smile.
"Alright then," Numbuh 666 said as he passed the syringes over to the younger boy. "Good luck kid."
"EVERYONE! CHARGE NUMBUH ALEPH ZERO!" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years called out.
"Roger that!" Numbuh 6 Shot declared as everyone quickly surged forward. Everyone was attacking as fiercely as possible. No matter what, they could not have Numbuh Aleph Zero notice Numbuh 1 sneaking up on him. The boy did have to wait for a moment, considering how much Numbuh Aleph Zero was moving around, as well as how many people were getting in the way, but as soon as he saw his chance, he took it, rushing forward and jumping onto his back, jabbing all of the syringes into his neck. Numbuh 1 narrowly got the last one in before Numbuh Aleph Zero tossed him away, causing him to slam into a nearby tree.
"NUMBUH 1!" His friends cried out as Numbuh Aleph Zero charged forward, ready to rip the boy to shreds. However, the drugs in the syringes quickly caught up with him, causing the monstrous operative to collapse at Numbuh 1's feet. Everyone was frozen, still waiting for Numbuh Aleph Zero to get up. When it was clear he wasn't getting up, everyone allowed a wave of relief to wash over them.
"So…is that it?" Chad had to ask.
"Not quite," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years pointed out. "We still need to capture all of the 'lesser' operatives, as well as the final Project Z robot as well as Numbuh 74.2-"
"Well, we took care of those last two," Constance declared as she stood over a tied up Numbuh 74.239, who seemed annoyed, while her friends were holding their final friend, who wasn't moving either.
"You guys work quick," Numbuh 362 couldn't help but marvel.
"We should be able to get the location of the other operatives from either his memory banks or Numbuh 74.239's confessions," Numbuh 666 noted as he shot the tree like operative a maniacal look, causing him to cower.
"I never thought this would end," Numbuh 417 declared as she comically flopped onto the ground. "So…is this war finally over?"
"I believe so, old friend," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years said with a smile. Rather fittingly, the sun that the moon was closest to began to rise.
"Well, we still have some problems on Earth we need to deal with," Numbuh 2 pointed out.
"Yeah and they all start and end with Father," Numbuh 5 grumbled as she crossed her arms. It was then that the Earth operatives all remembered that, between Cree's change of heart, Sector Z being restored and, of course, Numbuh 1 being set to return, Father would no doubt become an even larger hassle than ever before.
"I'm sure I could handle him," Numbuh 666 declared. "I've got some tricks I've been meaning to try out…"
And with that, Numbuh Aleph Zero has been defeated. Next chapter is gonna be an epilogue thing while also going into how I tie Operation I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S into this series. See you then!