Chapter 71, Peace summit part 2
I was able to get word from Wayne of the KND's arrival through my C.a.v.e, a little hiccup with most of the operatives panicking over adults present. Thankfully Rachel was able to keep an even head, and with the assistance of the kids from the cartel, they were able to quell any worries.
Heading my way towards the 'auditorium', if you could call it that, I had called Rachel to meet me there and go over a few things. I had hoped we could smooth things over, bring up a concern or two that will be brought into the peace talks.
I had to take a transport there, a monorail system, seeing as how the distance was quite far to go by foot. I was aware I was being watched, but that came with the territory of being an outsider. Not like I needed to fear anything either, I was not here to cause trouble after all.
It was convenient for their transport system to have a map, making reaching my destination that much easier. Some stray idle thoughts had me pondering on Wayne's side of the whole situation. I did ask him if the Cartel would hold the summit afterall. He's probably either getting in touch with some old acquaintances, or in some lengthy discussion with the sales father.
My musings were broken when the announcement of my destination had come, leaving me to get off the transport. Quite a smooth transition if I do say so myself, nary a bump in the ride.
Upon exiting the station that led out to the auditorium building, I had to crane my neck up to see the building as a whole. A bit big, but it would work just fine. Now I just need to wait for Rachel to make it here as well.
-scene-
I can say for certain Rachel knows when to keep a cool head, especially when she came alone to meet me in the lobby of the auditorium. I gave her a questioning look nonetheless when I was kinda expecting her to bring some sort of security detail of her own, I brought that up once she grabbed a seat of her own.
Rachel gave me a rueful grin of her own towards me, "If this is really the moment for peace between Teens and Kids, then we need to start the trust somewhere." She answered
I gave an impressed sound to her reasoning, "Quite mature of you Rachel." I noted in an amused tone, earning a look back from her. "Well…I suppose someone has to be mature in the Kids Next Door." Rachel stated with a tired tone.
Knowing her stance towards the position, I suppose I could somewhat sympathize, but that's why I had the command of the Rebellion mostly decentralized. Too much paperwork to handle alone. "Perhaps your organization could pick up a trick or two from mine, ease the burden of your duties somewhat." I quipped with an easygoing tone.
Rachel returned a rueful look of her own, "What, you have some tips from one supreme commander to another?" She shot back with a smirk.
I offered a shrug, "While I still face paperwork from time to time, I do leave most of the Rebel cells to their own devices around the world." I answered while relaxing back into my chair, "I did not want an organization that waited on my every word, I wanted teens that could lead on their own." I explained with a firm tone.
The look on Rachel's face gave away that she was thinking, before finally letting out what she was thinking. "Do you mind answering something, truthfully, if you are willing." She asked with a concentrated look.
"Sure, shoot." I gave a nod to Rachel for her to continue.
Rachel furrowed her brow in thought, "What spooked Chad to leave the KND the way he did, surely you know, right?" She asked in a confused tone.
I widened my eyes in realization, Chad had left behind clues for the next Supreme Commander, but never fully divulged his reasons and revelations he was hit with. "I was going to bring certain subject matter into the peace talks, one that would explain Chad's departure from the Kids Next Door." That got her attention, Rachel had given her full interest.
Leaning forward, I cleared my throat a bit to get my thoughts going. "How much do you know of the KND, given your position, do you even know about an organization higher up known as the Galactic Kids Next Door?" I asked Rachel, earning a sceptical look from her.
"Surely you're kidding me." Rachel exclaimed while patting herself, "I would, no I should know if there was such an organization, I'm the Supreme Leader for cripes sakes!" She vehemently stated with a fierce tone.
I shook my head, "I have plenty of evidence to prove my claim otherwise, but I am choosing to bring it up during the peace agreement." I told her, earning a somewhat reluctant but agreed look.
"Then it better be some good evidence then, cause all I have come up with is jack squat!" Rachel exclaimed with an annoyed look.
"Wouldn't be much of a secret organization if it was so easy." I shot back with a teasing grin, earning back an eye roll from Rachel.
"I'm guessing this Galactic Kids Next Door organization is also the reason why you never joined the KND, right?" Rachel asked after a few moments of silence.
I held up a finger, "That was one of the reasons, the other was the decommissioning of Teen." I answered in a stern tone, "And before you ask, I knew about it from my dad." I stated after cutting off Rachel's question of how I knew about the decommissioning part, it was a partial truth though. Father does know about the decommissioning.
"And before you talk about the Teen Civil war, and the rules, I am going to stop you right there." I continued with a firm look towards her, earning a confused look in response. "There has been more going on in the shadows than you think, and this peace summit is going to pull those curtains back."
Rachel sighed in acquiesce, "Fine, but you better hold to your words." She demanded in a firm tone.
I held my hands up in mock surrender, "Hey, I may be Benedict Uno's son, but I am nothing like him." I shot back with a grin, earning an amused look from Rachel.
"I still can not believe you pulled the wool over your dad for so long, was living under his roof rough at all?" Rachel asked curiously.
I shrugged in return, "Ask Fanny the same thing, her dad is afterall." I quipped with a smirk, "But no, Living with Father isn't all that bad when you're a good kid after all."
"What happened after the birthday bash, surely he punished you in some way for that, right?" Rachel asked with a questioning look.
"Just a week of grounding." I answered nonchalantly, getting a shocked look in return from Rachel.
"Wait, that's all?!" She exclaimed with shock.
I quirked my lips in amusement, "Parents run out of options in terms of punishment when their kids are Teenagers." I answered back with a chuckle. "Spanking and other forms are out of the question by then."
Rachel couldn't help but share in my amusement as well, "Fair enough, no one ever hears about a teen getting the same treatment as a kid after all."
I looked to the clock to see the time, before looking back at Rachel. "So shall we go over a few things, see what we should bring up at the state of the event?" I asked her.
Receiving a nod from Rachel. "Sure, we can get that out of the way, I wanna check out that Rainbow monkey store I passed by on the way here." She said with a little urgency in her tone, earning an amused look from me.
"Then we better get done quick." I responded with a rueful tone, getting a light embarrassed look from Rachel.
I hope Wayne and the others are holding up alright, oh who am I kidding, they are doing just fine.
Chapter 72, Peace summit part 3
Elsewhere...
Security Center, The Hub
Before the Summit Starts...
The Teen Ninjas are not having the best of days ever since the Rebellion finally showed itself and utterly ruined them. So many on their end were turncoats and had been on their boss's son's side all along. Not only that, they've destroyed, pillaged, took over and conquered so many of their bases and resources once they've finally stopped pretending that they want to take out kids and be adult villain lackeys. The fact that they should have realized in the first place that the their turncoat KND operatives were either captured by the KNDorks or double agents for what they saw as the biggest traitors in the world.
What's worse is that they still don't know if the ones remaining on their end are also turncoats or true Teen Ninjas.
Father ordered them to follow KND and the Rebellion forces that were being escorted by a group that none of them ever heard of until now: the Home Schooled Cartel. From what they know from their boss, it was an organization of a bunch of home schooled kids and teens who sell things to people and have robots. Ever since they started to become more active, they've been selling to the Rebellion stuff that they need thanks to the teen that they tried to recruit before but ended up pissing off: Wayne Stark. The few of their numbers connected the dots and realized that they really shouldn't have failed in getting the Logistics Commander of the Rebellion to their side.
Wayne Stark is a part of the Cartel.
However, attacking his family and friends was not advisable and automatically declined as the last time someone did that by harassing his little brother, the results were quite horrifying. The guy was tripping for no apparent reason, he was suddenly harassed 24/7 by robots, his BRA would fail to deploy and even blow up on him, something would hit him at least once a day and he has an irrational fear of Wayne with the previously mentioned things intensifying whenever he's nearby. Other Teen Ninjas did not want that to happen to them so they're just going directly for Wayne instead of going after the people around him. It was a lot less of a hassle and won't risk their normal life.
The Teen Ninjas needed to find a way to get an advantage now that the KND and the Rebellion are actively cooperating with one another. It didn't help that their tech is far more advanced that what they've developed. They tried to follow the convoy that had those Cartel losers driving the KNDorks and Rebel dweebs somewhere and as they tailed the group, they were ambushed and everything went black.
Next thing they knew, they woke up in a room full of monitors and them surrounded by robots with a few teen Cartel members who are frowning at them.
"UNAUTHORIZED ENTITIES CAPTURED." one of the twenty robotic security officers stated as some of the ten Teen Ninjas struggle on their restraint and deploy their armors but to no avail as they were disarmed and stripped of their weapons and equipment.
"Good, bring them to the holding cells and tell the Salesfather that we have more uninvited guests." one teen Cartel Executive spun his swivel chair to see the Teen Ninjas who was bound and tied, "And this time, it isn't a group of rogue alien infiltrators."
"LET US OUT! WE WILL NOT BE HELD BY YOU EARTHLINGS! WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS A HUGE MISTAKE! KIDS AND TEENS ARE ENEMIES WITH ONE ANOTHER-..." the alien that looked like a goo like being spoke through the audio receivers in their cells.
"Shut your gob, you alien shite. You should have stayed out of this mess in the first place and let us do our own mistakes!" one of the kid Cartel Executive on the comms line shouted as banging noises were heard in the cell.
The Teen Cartel Executive was not happy with the fact that they've been catching more uninvited guests than the usual. He'll have the Memory Adjusting Fog Machine ready to make sure that none of them will remember anything about the location of the The Hub but he still pondered on what to do with the aliens. He'll have to wait for the Salesfather's word before he would take initiative on what to do with them.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The Central, The Hub...
Before the Summit Starts...
Wayne could not help but stare at the figure in front of him.
When he was brought to the Central where the Salesfather lived, he expected a teenager who took up the name of Salesfather. He knows how much of an honor it is to meet the Salesfather in person since there were very few people who had met the leader of the Home Schooled Cartel. He always dreamed of meeting the great leader himself since he was the one who helped him make his final decision to become an Alumni and taught him how to make robots.
What he did not expect however was that the Central was a massive, domed forest area powered by an artificial sun made to provide light to the area. The trees have many letters that he could not understand as they were alien to him. The trees around him looked like they are taking the autumn shade. There were birds that lived there, perched on the trees and chirping. The ceiling has an artificial image of the blue sky, not unlike the ceiling of the Hub that still simulated the dawning skies instead.
Once he reached the end of the hall, he saw the Salesfather himself. A massive tree alien with leaves on its foliage that were reddish brown. The trunk of the tree being was light brown and has many symbols etched on it. The head of the tree alien has five eyes and no mouth. However, Wayne can tell that it doesn't need to speak through its mouth. Seated on the roots was the being that he would usually see whenever the Salesfather make an appearance. A small teen boy with brown hair and wears a khaki suit, now dissipating into the light as it served its purpose of guiding him to the leader of the Cartel.
"Greetings, Wayne Stark..." the Salesfather's voiced boomed across the clearing, "It has been a while since we've spoke with one another, my friend."
"Sir... I... this explains so much..." Wayne stumbled and sat on the roots sticking out of the ground, "Some of the things we make was a bit too ridiculous by this world's standards but this..."
"Indeed. I have been giving the Cartel knowledge on how to make the things that you have for decades. Teaching them the art as this body takes root in this world." the Salesfather made sure that the root that Wayne is sitting on will shape into a chair, "However... with your reports of the appearance of one of my wayward kin and your encounter with him, I believe that it is time that the Home Schooled Cartel to finally help with the efforts in defending this world from the Destroyers."
"Destroyers? You mean the GKND?" Wayne asked as he leaned on his seat.
"Let me tell you of the tragedy of my life and home, Wayne Stark. A time when I was once a part of an organization called Kids Next Door..." the alien tree being started.
Soon, the whole world around Wayne shifts as he saw images
-0-0-0-0-0-
I was once called by a Numbuh... a Numbuh that I refuse to evoke due to how I've grown to resent it.
When the adult villains of our land appeared, I've joined KND in my homeworld along with the one you humans call as Numbuh 74.239. We fought against adult villainy left and right. We were freeing our world from the hands of a long forgotten foe that this mind have lost as centuries come and pass. Then one day, my comrade was chosen to join the Galactic Kids Next Door. We were proud of him as he was best and the brightest amongst us. He would join along with the other saplings of the galaxy to fight off the adult villains...
We did not expect him to declare our world as lost to the disease called growing up and killed so many of us. I tried to save a few of my comrades but they were killed by the cataclysmic weapon that my kin had used on our world. I tried to confront him but it was all for naught. I was its lone survivor and was left for the dead... until the Spirit of the Heart had guided me to a seedship that was in one of the broken chunks of our world. I studied the ship and realized that it would let me bring back my people and right the wrong caused by the GKND.
I have gathered as much genetic data for the banks and travelled the stars in the hopes of rebuilding the homeworld that was lost and give our people a chance to live once more. I have met many aliens of different cultures and race. Many of them I have even become close with as I collected what was needed to bring life back to my dead race and learned their ways and technologies. However, one of my friends noticed that their younglings are acting oddly and started to fight against adult villains that popped up in their world. In some cases, the young adults and teenagers are also included in the conflict and it becomes worse. Many of my friends lived in worlds that do not have any conflict or adult villainy and yet they rise out of nowhere all of the sudden. Then I noticed that they also spoke of three words that caused shock unto me.
Kids Next Door.
It was not long after another century or two that the worlds that I once visited and the descendants of my friend who passed away after time claimed him had been destroyed. I went there and saw the GKND, floating atop the destroyed rubble of the world. I was angered at the sight of it and tried to fight them in a haze of rage and to serve justice to the people they have slain in the name of wiping out adulthood.
While I was able to give them damages that lasted long, I still lost and was once more left for dead.
When my reason came back, I've realized that the genetic banks that I was building up... was destroyed and many of its collections that would allow the creation of the world and life, all of it gone.
I despaired and thought of killing myself as I absorbed the extent of my failure there.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"... and as my ship floated aimlessly, it was sucked into a planet's gravity well... a world that was once ruled by an uncaring tyrant you all knew as Grandfather. A world called Earth." the Salesfather shifted the images to show him the location of the massive crater that spans in 20 kilometers radius and at its center is the broken remains of the ship that would soon become the Hub, "While normally, someone would have noticed this but almost none cared except for those who lived near the desert that I've crashed upon."
"But a massive thing that crashed down on Earth would be noticeable by anyone, sir..." Wayne pondered at how was the massive seedship was able to escape notice.
"It would but the Grandfather had spread apathy and despair that humanity was nearly overcome with it until... well, Kids Next Door stood up against them." the Salesfather grimly said to Wayne, "Using the centuries of technologies and knowledge that I've collected, I worked on covering the crater that I've made and made sure that nothing will be able to see its existence. Of course those who saw me had decided to live with me for protection and refuge..."
"... and those families would soon be the basis of the Home Schooled Cartel..." realization dawned Wayne as he remembered the history of the Cartel. Specifically, how the children of those families were prodigies that started to run their own underground business and how they were taught by the Salesfather, "So the Salesfather all along was not an ordinary human but an extremely ancient alien tree being that lived just as long as that tree bastard that shot me with a cannon."
"Indeed, Wayne. I am sorry that I and the other founding families have deceived all of you. However, my presence was something that would have troubled you all. So the Central was built specifically to be my living space with a few having access upon it." the old tree alien nodded as its five eyes closed, "However, it seems that once more another world will be destroyed... this time, it will be yours and we are running low on time."
Wayne frowned as he realized from the images that was shown to him earlier included a star chart where KND would make appearances on worlds and suddenly disappear and be replaced with the word Destroyed every time GKND appeared on the world. The revelation of it was not just hard to comprehend but to know the extent that the GKND would take to get rid of them all was something that he was having a harder time to swallow.
"Wayne, I would like for the Peace Summit between the Kids Next Door and the Teen's Rebellion to take place here at the Central... and also, I will announce to the Cartel that it is time for me to show them my true form and reveal to them that I am the Salesfather." the ancient tree being said as its head shifted and looked to the artificial skies, "It is a matter of when that they will once more take someone from the Kids Next Door and this world to be destroyed... all must stand together or all will perish..."
Wayne nodded as he took out his C.A.V.E. device dial in William's number.
"William, it's me, Wayne... there's a change of venue to the peace talks. The Salesfather wants to have it held at the Central. Your guides are gonna be informed about the changes and you'll notice a degree of excitement on them since they will be seeing the leader of the Cartel." Wayne said to the phone where William is on the other side, "The talking points you'll forward later will be supported by the Salesfather... look, let's just say that the Salesfather was not human and was once KND."
Chapter 73, Peace summit part 4
Central Hub
Wayne was not kidding about the excitement brewing around, especially with the guides that led me towards the central area once it was almost time for the meeting.
I even got asked by Rachel what the whole hubbub was all about, leaving me to explain it very well be the Salesfather appearing for once. I received a suspicious look at the mention of the word Salesfather, but I had relayed to Rachel what Wayne had told me.
The Kids Next Door and the Teen's Rebellion will settle the peace agreement first, then we can see what the head honcho has to say. Though going by what Wayne had mentioned, my suspicions were of an alien refugee that took asylum some centuries ago. It was not out of the realm of possibilities, and Wayne did say that the Salesfather was not exactly human.
I would have to curb any Xeno Hatred tendencies, my real concern will be towards the Galactic Kids Next Door and the Aliens within that organization. Moving forward into the future, Earth and its eventual many colonies will need all the help it can get from alien Terrestrials to combat the looming threat.
I just need to get Clover Bay to work on that Nanomachine project, we need to advance further and creating something similar to SIVA is a step I am willing to take.
I had to shake my head as my thoughts were straying away from the important event ahead, no one knows about Clover Bay just yet…well except for Jonney probably. Makes me ponder to believe he is another isakaied person, would not shock me if he was.
With my destination soon in sight while riding within my transport, I could see out from my window of other vehicles making their way towards the central area. Huh, this was going to be bigger not just for the Kids Next Door and the Teen's Rebellion.
-scene change-
I was expecting the place to look like something out of scifi for the event, I was not far off with the way there seemed to be advanced tech in the seating and the metal that made up the Central area was not anywhere remotely familiar. What It looked to be a massive forested area with trees full of alien markings, I could see a massive tree that loomed within the place.
Big tree aside though...
Rachel and I had our own podiums that had hologram projectors, our images would be projected for the whole building to see. And what a size of a building it was, the ceiling even projected an artificial sky. There was a lot of technology here, something I would hope the Salesfather would be willing to share in combating the Galactic Kids Next Door.
I had my papers and documents ready, and so had Rachel with a few of her own. She definitely has potential for Leadership in the Teen's Rebellion, that is if she still wants to keep fighting.
"Are both parties ready?" One of the associates of the place had asked of us as he had walked up towards the central podium. He received nods from both of us, before taking out a coin. "Heads, KND speak first, Tails, Teens go first. Understood?"
Getting the okay from both of us, the associate flipped his coin. Once the coin had landed, he pointed towards Rachel. "You first." He exclaimed before leaving the podium.
Rachel shuffled her papers before taking one out, "Right, will the Teen's Rebellion disavow any and all actions of the Teen Ninja's?" She asked pointedly towards me.
I gave her a nod, "Any teens remaining within that faction do nothing but perpetuate the cycle of Villains, The Rebellion is still working on taking out the remaining ones but Father keeps Hiring more." I answered with a peeved look.
Rachel let a grin crack from her mouth, "Right, The Kids Next Door and the Teen's Rebellion will continue to be their own entity, neither organization will command the other." She stated in a firm tone afterwards.
"As long as you abolish the decommissioning rule, allow the Teens to transfer over to the Rebellion." I bargained with Tachel with an expectant look.
Rachel sent an inquisitive look towards me, "How do we know you won't just use the secrets known by the Teenage operatives against us?" She asked challengingly, but I knew she just asked for the sake of others.
"The Teen's Rebellion does not need those secrets that the operatives may have, cause we already have plenty of escaped Teens from decommissioning." I shot back amusedly, "If we wanted to take out the Kids Next Door, it would have been last year, we already know most of your stuff!"
I could hear some yelling from the kids, but a glare from Rachel sent towards them shut them up. She coughed into her fist and gave a mild glare towards me, leaving me to shrug haphazardly. "Security breach aside, I will say I too am tired of seeing operatives lose who they were. I accept your proposal." She stated with some mild happiness, I supposed she too was in the boat of wanting to keep her memories.
While the rest of the talking points were minor compared to the subject of the decommissioning, nothing would stop the eventual curtain pull about the Galactic Kids Next Door.
"William Uno, you may now have the floor." I heard from the associate, taking me out of my idle thoughts.
I had told Bill he would have the floor soon, his family has quite the evidence compared to what I could ever scrounge up. "Right, Rachel. Remember what I said about the GKND?" I asked her, receiving quite the few hushed whispers from the audience, especially the Kids.
Getting a yes in return from Rachel, I continued on from there. "What you all thought you knew, could very well be a lie. I am pretty sure Numbuh 74.239 had spread enough as it is too." I state with ire, pulling out an image of said operative before taking out another image depicting an alien tree like being. "What you see is an alien under the guise of a human, a human kid no less!"
I then brought up an old photo from the Era straight after the fall of Grandfather, Numbuh 74.239 only as a different Numbuh and slightly different look. "The resemblance is too canny, leaving me to believe this operative is far older than anyone on this Earth!"
I received plenty of shocked looks, and some with betrayal written on their faces. Rachel in particular looked ready to strangle someone, "And that is not all, I have enough evidence to suggest he had orchestrated the very Middle School Rebellion all those years ago!" I continued with an angered look.
I looked around to see if Bill had made it yet, before continuing on. This was going to be a bit of a long day probably, especially with the Salesfather most likely.
Chapter 74, Peace summit part 5
During the Peace Summit…
The Central, The Hub…
Wayne bristled at the idea of needing to disavow Teen Ninjas. All teens in the Rebellion consider the Teen Ninjas as a joke with a varying degree of disdain for being lackeys with shallow ambitions and goals. They sucked up to Father to be able to get ahead of life and considered child bullying as a normal pastime for them. They tried to unleash Chicken Pox until Cree's old friend and former comrade in KND destroyed the island before his birthday. They press ganged teens who want nothing to do with their little clique and get mad when Teens affiliated with the Rebellion keeps them from forcing a poor teen from being forced into villainy.
In his opinion, Rachel doesn't need to mention the fact that they had to disavow the Teen Ninjas. That implies that they are related to them in a non-hostile way and relations between the two sides had been utterly trash for a while. He saw how the Teen Ninjas keep on trying to ruin their businesses, jobs and works and attacking the Rebel's siblings and friends and in turn the Rebellion retaliates by looting their bases and wrecking the Ninja responsible for hurting the people to the Rebel.
He saw what Cree did to some Teen Ninjas when they attacked Abby alone just to force her back into their side recently. The results involved the Teen Ninjas responsible being systematically hunted down by the Second-In-Command and Master Infiltrator/Specialist of the Rebellion. One would hope that they would stop after Cree's show of ultraviolence in the past but Chad said that the Teen Ninjas never learn and will come back for more.
He looked at the side and saw Chad and Bill standing up from their seat, both heading to the makeshift stage that the Salesfather deployed before the delegation got there. The former being the Ex-Soopreme Leeduh of the KND and had known and discovered of the infiltration of the KND and the latter being the legacy of two former Teen KND operatives after Grandfather's Downfall.
"Removing the Decommissioning Process?! Is your commander mad?! Is he trying to get Teen Ninja more rogue KND operatives on their side?!" Fanny whispered angrily as she finished gaping at the idea of removing the very department that she was a head of.
"To be fair, I'm not exactly familiar with the KND myself as I was from the Cartel but I do believe that William could have come up with a better compromise to be honest." Wayne sighed as he realized that while his idea has merit, forcing change on an age-old institution will take time no matter what.
"Wayne, does the Cartel also have something like a Decommissioning Process on anyone who becomes an adult?" Numbuh 86 asked as she felt lost and confused at the request of the Rebel Commander.
"A memory alteration process? Well we do have one." the Logistics Officer whispered and noticed that Cree picked up what Wayne said.
"The Cartel messes with someone's mind as well?" Cree's eyebrows were raised when she heard of what Wayne said, "I thought you guys kept people's memories untarnished.
"No, we don't use it on our members. We only use it on people who made enemies of the Cartel and had tried to infiltrate the Hub as uninvited guests. It doesn't cause a personality shift but it does haze and obscure specific information that was found inside their heads." Wayne frowned at Cree's comment, "Total mental alteration is reserved to persons who had inflicted considerable damages to the Cartel and destroyed the trust of the Cartel on them. We only had a few people who did their worst to the Cartel while being members of it."
"So in other words, it's seen as a punishment for you guys?" Fanny's mind was thinking of the fact that the Cartel has a device capable of removing certain memories instead of total decommissioning.
"Yep. The biggest shame that the Cartel and its Alumni members could suffer is to be given a full Fog Treatment." Wayne nodded, "Anyway, I believe that this will be offered to your organization as an alternative to full decommissioning."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Cree was confused at the last statement.
"Who's going to offer that deal then?" Fanny asked as well before she saw Wayne looking up.
The three also looked up and they noticed something behind the people who were at the podium. It was a gigantic tree that had weird marks on it. On the top and near the foliage of the great tree was an odd shape that once the two others started to stare closer at it, it twitched and turned its head on the trio.
It gave a slight wave with one of its branches at the three.
And below the ground, the Cartel Member that no one had paid attention to and was moderating the stage also looked at the three and waved at them. To those who did not notice, they would seem to think that the moderator was waving at Wayne. To the ones who would notice, they would also see movements from the giant tree behind the group of speakers waving at Wayne, Cree and Fanny and in tandem with the moderator.
"Wayne… is that what I think it is?" there was some terror in Cree's voice as she realized why the Salesfather of the Home Schooled Cartel haven't showed up.
The Salesfather was already there, listening in on the summit and is also an alien at that.
"By all that is pure and fluffy… that thing's massive…" Numbuh 86 was amazed at the size of the thing, "You people had been taking orders from a tree?"
"Hey now, that tree taught us how to make great robots and the art of business." Wayne smiled at the comment Fanny made about the Leader of the Cartel, "Still, that comment does make sense once you think about it."
Wayne can tell that William and the others would soon notice that what is behind them is an actual alien… someone who isn't a massive centerpiece of this massive domed forest. For now, he's working on holding back his laughter as he realized that the Salesfather is just standing around literally and watching everyone at the stage talk stuff.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Rachel remembered Bill Finale, the leader of the group of kids and teens who called themselves the Bell's End Expeditionary Force. When they first appeared, it was during the time when Wallabee found a nugget motherlode during his walks and the Delightful Children attacked the site.
She was quite surprised at a group of kids and teens working together in destroying the Fast Food Workers and the DCfDtL. It was efficient, fascinating to look at and made the adult villains and the traitors of all children look like jokes according to Nigel's report when he saw the group in action. From their personal shielding tech, the advanced weapons, vehicles and equipment, they would be sought for by many groups of interest in Sector V had they not declared themselves as Chad's allies.
She was still shocked and wondering at how Chad was able to convince them to ally with the Teen's Rebellion. She thought that the Rebellion would only let the teens come into their group but William gave the kids of BEEF an Honorary Rebel status and allowed them to stick around with the teens. KND operatives were baffled at this arrangement as the kids of Bill's group hang around with teens and they're even providing insights of their Scrap-Punk stuff.
Nigel tried to see if the kids of BEEF were interested in joining KND. They were sadly rebuffed due to their distrust towards the KND however. She was not sure on why they would be like that but she was quite sure that Numbuh 74.239 had done something against them that caused their group to have a very negative view on KND. The fact that the kids were always careful around KND operatives as Sector V observed them was something they couldn't fathom. Normally, kids wouldn't mind KND operatives but the kids who came with the teens are different.
William took a look towards Bill from the podium and gestured for him to come up, and waited for him to reach the stage. If anyone had more evidence than him, it was Bill's family and the BEEF.
Bill replaced William on the podium and took a step back and next to Chad, who also carried something with him, an indistinct briefcase that he put on the podium that had the word KND on it.
"Hello everyone. My name is Bill Finale, leader of the Bell's End Expeditionary Forces and speaking on behalf of my organization back at home. I thank you all to the bottom of my heart for giving me an opportunity to speak." the brown haired young man wearing a light blue buttoned long sleeve polo with a captain's patch sewn on its shoulder area and black pants, "However, the information that I will provide in the next few minutes or so may sound like a tall tale but we've brought evidence on how the world is in great danger and we will be facing an enemy far greater than adult villains. I am here to bring up more data about the current status of KND: compromised by people like Numbuh 3.14, or 74.239…"
-0-0-0-0-0-
Elsewhere…
Sector V Treehouse…
During the Summit…
"... The KND as of now had been infiltrated by a group that calls itself the Galactic Kids Next Door or GKND." Bill spoke through the monitors as he showed so many faces of operatives that looked very identical as he had Hoagie look up the database for the names and operatives mentioned.
Nigel was utterly disturbed at the fact that they all matched with the pictures shown to a certain degree. It was as if the infiltrators were too lazy to update their looks as they relied on the short memories of kids to keep them from identifying them. Abby on the other hand, was restless as he can tell that she remembers the talks about what happened to the false flag operation that happened in Sector D. The fact that both 403 and 404 appeared on the list that Bill had made and compiled from the days of Grandfather's fall was insane.
Cree, the former member of Sector V had all the reasons to be suspicious towards KND and her accusations have more grounds than ever… especially with the appearance of Numbuh Not-a-Number on the screen but under different clothes.
Nigel and his fellow members of Sector V listened in full attention as the teen talked. The summit was being broadcasted by the operatives of Sector L who acts as KND journalists. They were brought along with the rest of the summit in order to make sure that every KND base will see the historical day for kid and teen relations.
And while there are some major contentions that he would like to be vocal about, mainly the whole decommissioning process and how William could have at least found a way to compromise on such a thing. It was a part of being a KND operative and removing it will be difficult as well since KND has no means of telling which will be aiming to be a Teen Ninja or join the Rebellion.
"... these people instigated the whole Junior High Rebellion with teens being the unwilling participants and the kids being manipulated into hostility by these people, all of them led by that bonsai reject named Numbuh 3.14, who had multiple aliases and is currently known as Numbuh 74.239." Bill activated the holographic projectors and showed the pictures of Numbuh 74.239 and his various numbers he used every decade to keep up the disguise, "His first iteration had also caused that event to happen in order to enact their agendas…"
-0-0-0-0-0-
The Central Area, The Hub…
During the Summit…
Rachel was more and more horrified as she listened to the tale that Bill told to everyone.
More so with the fact that the Junior High Rebellion was not incited by Teens who suddenly became evil but the fact that the Teens found out about the agenda of the infiltrators and were blamed by the traitors of the R&D department of KND during the early days and made into test subjects of the first iteration of the Decommissioning Process. They weren't even trying to turn on KND but keeping KND from being led on by infiltrators. The fact that they still exist in different forms in KND and had potentially incited more incidents that led to further breakdown of relations between kids and teens was damning.
Kids Next Door was fighting a three way war, two of which they are still struggling and one which they've already lost due to how the only ones who knew of them were either dead or decommissioned.
To make matters worse, he started reading the name of every teen operatives that were once part of the KND, their achievements that were wiped out of the records, the footages and photos of their activities during the reign of Grandfather to the reestablishment of KND (and the Cartel associate letting the audience know that the evidences were not tampered) and where they are right now.
Many names that were read by Bill were now adult villains and what's worse was that some of the names caused some of the operatives Rachel took to be angered at the idea that their parents were once KND operatives until they were forced into decommissioning after the KND Civil War happened. Even Bill's mother was victimized by the KND's process and when the details were described, Rachel couldn't look at the eyes of the teen whose mother suffered because of KND.
"... Numbuh Zero, known as Montgomery Uno. Helped in reestablishing the KND after its fall at the start of Grandfather's reign." Bill's word caused the KND operatives and even former operatives who became rebels to have their eyes to widen, "Helped out in creating the Recommissioning Module in the hopes of preventing adult villainy from happening. Tricked into siding with the Decommissioning Side and into allowing himself to be put through the process by the infiltrators after the Civil War."
There was silence as they saw the mythical Numbuh Zero and the footage of his battles and adventures during the reign of Grandfather down to the KND Civil War.
"Currently at Sector V, suffering bouts of mild memory loss, personality shift and severe case of obliviousness." Bill lowered his head as he finished giving the name of every teen operative that were Decommissioned.
-0-0-0-0-0-
William knew things were bad with the world he had been reborn into, but what Bill had presented painted a worse picture than what the show portrayed. He wanted to notch it up to a butterfly effect of him coming into this reality, but it did not erase the fact that all this had happened.
From his seat behind the podium, William checked the expression of Rachel. Agast and shocked with the revelations given by Bill, William could notice Rachel's knuckles turn white from gripping her podium so hard. He could only imagine what it us like for the rest of the Kids Next Door watching this summit at their sectors.
Chapter 75, Peace summit part 6
Mr. Boss gripped his head in frustration, he and the rest of the Villains around the world had hitched onto the Kids Next Door broadcast signal. Something big was going down, and they wanted to see what was happening. Benedict was fortunate enough to get into the system and allow the world of Villains to 'spy' on the summit, but what he did not expect was an awful memory he had long wanted to forget. After some punk Teen named Bill listed off several names from a KND civil war, a tear dropped from his eye of the betrayal he had faced.
The more he thought on the name of Bill Finale, he realized Eduard must have made out safely as well and started a life. Shaking his head negatively, 'Hal' began to assume something must have happened to him by now.
Hal " " Fulbright had been fortunate enough to have had a friend in Ben, he had owed his childhood friend an everlasting debt for helping him fall off the grid.
-scene change-
Many years ago
KND civil war
Hal Fulbright ran through the battlefield while cursing under his breath, the rest of his friends were not far behind him. "Lou! What's the situation with our fellow teens!" He asked after taking out his tele-phone to contact the rest of his team.
Getting a bit of static for a few seconds, it cleared up with the Voice of Lou Pottingsworth Beetles III. "It's bad sir! Really bad!" He hollered over the sound of battle on his end.
"We need help from Ben!" Chester Interjected with nervousness while catching up with Hal, "Maybe he can try and talk some sense into Monty!" He reasoned
"It's too late for that!" Edna hollered while puasing in her sprinting to gun down a few operatives with her Mustard blaster on full autoblast. "Word has already spread, he has been decommissioned!" She informed after getting back into a full sprint with Hal and the others.
Hal let a frustrated sound out as he ran with his squad towards the Teen's last base that was still holding up, in the distance they could all see the place was surrounded. "We won't be able to get in there!" Joe pointed out in anger while running with the others.
"We have to evacuate as many as we can, scatter if possible and fall off the grid!" Hal announced worriedly.
-break-
Inside the base
"There's too many, wait they're using the decommissioning modules!" A white flash lit up the room as the Teens struggled to fight to the bitter end.
Several teens were manning their turrets, desperately keeping the decommissioning forces from advancing. "We are not traitors! We had nothing to do with Numbuh 3.14 accusations!" One teen yelled out in anger, only to have him and the test of his fellow Teens blinded from a flash bomb that was thrown their way.
"Erase the memories of these teens, keep moving the rest of you!" A kid operative in the lead commanded after they shot decommissioning plungers into the teens' faces.
-break-
Hal furiously gunned down every operative in his way, with the rest assisting in cover fire. "We have to get Lou!" He yelled with worry, desperately trying to fight through wave after wave of KND operatives in his way.
"There's too many of them!" Chester said in anger, "Try and contact Lou!" He reasoned after shooting off a few rounds of his ketchup blaster.
Hal ducked around a corner while his squad gave him cover fire, "come on, come on, pick up Lou!" He exclaimed after dialing his friend's radio.
After seconds of silence, the voice of Lou finally came in. "Go, save yourself Hal." He demanded with a calm tone over the sound of battle on his end.
Hal looked at his tele-phone in shock before placing it back to his ear in anger. "Nonsense, we're getting you out of there! I am not gonna leave my friend behind!" He refused vehemently.
"And that is why you must escape without me." Lou told Hal with melancholy to his voice, blasters could be heard on the other end and scuffling from Lou fighting off a couple operatives into submission. "You were the best friend I could ask for, and I won't let you be subjected to the decommissioning…" several more blasts could be heard on Lou's end.
Hal's hand shook before stopping once Lou's voice came in one more time, "It has been an honor Hal, now leave and let this friend of yours go out guns blazing!" Lou demanded before the call was finally cut off.
The next thing Hal would never forget was a loud explosion in the direction of Lou, leaving Edna to collapse in sorrow and Joe an angry mess as he pulled Edna out of the way from a stray blaster.
"...We have to leave…" Chester somberly said after a few seconds of silence between all of them.
Hal looked to Chester, then to Edna and Joe. With a sorrowful look, he gave a nod to all of them. "We need to find Ben, I know he will help."
With haste, Hal and the rest made a break for the secret exit. They would leave, but not without leaving a nice explosive Broccoli present after escaping the base. Once the squad had made it into the secret basement that led outside, Hal stayed back to initiate the bomb sequence. "Enjoy your veggies, you blasted traitors!" He exclaimed with anger after starting the timer and making a run for it with his team.
After a mile of running, the team managed to leave from a secret exit doorway. Hal turned to look towards the direction of the Teen base, filled to the brim with KND Decommissioning squads and operatives. After a few seconds went by, a large green explosion went off with Broccoli being tossed into the air from the source.
"Chew on that you damn traitors." Hal muttered in anger before leaving the scene with the rest.
-break-
Back to present
It took a while for Hal and the others to stay under the radar, but they were the lucky few, very few. He would never forget the Lou he used to know, now known as the pathetic villain known as the toiletnator. He just wished Lou did not become such a loser afterwards.
Now that Hal thinks about it, Wallabee has taken more after his Uncle than his own father…though that isn't saying much since Lou and Sydney are Twin Brothers after all.
He could now take satisfaction that the traitorous Numbuh 3.14 had been outed, but it would not erase the civil war incident in his mind.
Now look at him, he became the very thing he fought.
-break-
Toiletnator's Base
Toiletnator gripped his head in pain, "Weird, why does it feel like I forgot something?" He muttered in pain, while having watched the summit on his little black and white television. He wanted to get in on the action to 'spy' like all the other villains, but all he got in return was a head full of headaches after watching some Teen named Bill reveal who Numbuh Zero was.
"Why does it feel like I'm missing a large part of my memories!" Toiletnator yelled in anger as he gripped his head in pain.
You were the best friend I could ask for, and I won't let you be subjected to the decommissioning…
Toiletnator shook his head as a voice like his own echoing words in his memories of some teenager fighting off a horde of decommissioning operatives, "Something big happened in my life, but why can I not remember!" He yelled to himself.
It has been an honor Hal, now leave and let this friend of yours go out guns blazing!
Lou Pottingsworth Beetles the third, also known as the Toiletnator yelled in pain as he pounded his head in frustration. "What am I forgetting!" He pleaded to himself to tears.
Many Years ago
KND civil war
"Get our teens out of here, I'll hold them off as best as I can!" Lou shouted back to his fellow Teens behind him, he was running on full adrenaline as he swerved through and dodged the blasters the KND operatives were shooting at him. He leapt into the air and spin kicked a couple operatives into each other, making way for his teammates to escape.
Lou turned around only to see his friends incapacitated while several decommissioning operatives stood over their bodies, "It's your turn now!" One operative said with smugness as he aimed his blaster towards Lou.
"You will find I do not go down so easily!" Lou shot back in anger as he dodged the blasters that were shot at him, with a cry of anger he charged forward while dodging every shot aimed at him. As Lou reached the decommissioning squad, with a swift turn of his body Lou had avoided another shot and gripped the operatives arm.
"Hey let go of me!" The operative complained as Lou picked the kid up and threw him into his squad mates, with a cry of pain the operatives were knocked out from the collision of their heads knocking into each other.
Afterall several minutes of nonstop fighting, Lou was standing atop a pile of unconscious KND operatives. His breathing was erratic, but he wouldn't let that stop him. Lou needed to find and save the rest of the Teens, but before he could continue any further his tele-phone rang.
"There he is, get him!" Announced more operatives down the hallways leading into the room he was in, Lou picked his radio up to see who was calling.
"Lou! What's the situation with our fellow teens!" Hal's voice asked through all the static, and Lou's fight with the incoming decommissioning squads.
"It's bad sir! Really bad!" Lou answered while aiming an acquired Mustard blaster with his free arm to stave off the forces, only to hang up to concentrate on his battle. "You've all been lied to, you can't just believe everything!" Lou reasoned with anger at the incoming operatives, as he tossed his weapon aside after running out of Mustard ammo.
It took a while to take out the rest of the operatives that made it into the room he was in, but more were coming judging by the sounds of the footsteps.
Lou's radio chimes in again from Hal's frequency, he sighed in resignation, he wouldn't make it out with the others. The best he could do for his friends was hold off more of the forces, have them focus more on him and allow Hal and the others to escape.
After a few moments to himself, Lou finally picked his radio up. "Go, save yourself Hal." He demanded with a calm tone.
A few seconds passed before Hal answered back, "Nonsense, we're getting you out of there! I am not gonna leave my friend behind!" Hal told Lou with a tone of denial
"And that is why you must escape without me." Lou told Hal with melancholy to his voice, blasters began firing in his direction. As he began charging back into the fray of battle. "You were the best friend I could ask for, and I won't let you be subjected to the decommissioning…" he somberly announced with a resolved look in his eyes.
After taking out a few more operatives, Lou took notice of some bubblegum explosives, "It has been an honor Hal, now leave and let this friend of yours go out guns blazing!" Lou demanded before cutting off the call with his friend.
As quick as he could manage, Lou assembled together every bubblegum within the vicinity, "Enjoy some bubblegum you snot nosed traitors!" Lou announced as he held up a large jumbled up ball of bubblegum dynamite.
Present
Lou shook his head in pain, "Who was that?" He asked himself through gritted teeth, "Was that…me…what…I don't understand!" Lou reasoned to himself in frustration.
"Has, has my whole life been some lie?" He asked himself hysterically, "Who even am I?" Lou desperately asked himself of long forgotten memories.
With an abrupt thought, Lou rushed to his phone. "I gotta ask if he remembers! No wait!" He paused in his think after picking up his phone.
"Were the others able to make it out in time! If so then why would Hal become the Villain ?" Lou asked himself with confusion.
Shaking his head, Lou furrowed his brow in resolve. "All the more reason to call Hal, I may have lost my memories once." He reasoned before continuing, "But if Hal managed to get out safely with the others and still remember, that doesn't excuse them for becoming the very thing we fought!" Lou stated in anger.
After dialing a couple numbers, the other end finally picked up. "*sigh* what is it this time Toiletnator?" Hal asked with a slightly less frustrated tone that he usually uses with him.
Lou gulped, before finally answering. "You have a lot of explaining to do Hal!" He said with anger.
The other end was silent until Hal's voice finally came in with some hope tinged to it, ". . . You were watching the broadcast too. . . Your memories must have been jogged after seeing Monty as Numbuh Zero. . ." Hal reasoned with slight excitement.
Lou punched his wall in anger, "Do not dodge the subject Hal, explain why you took up Villainy? I have an excuse but what about you!?" He demanded.
". . .Anger, resentment..." Hal softly listed off with shame.
"So that is how you treated my sacrifice? By spitting on it and becoming the very thing we fought?" Lou asked in anger.
"Please, Lou, I can explain!" Hal answered back with a pleading tone.
Lou inhaled, before exhaling calmly to settle his anger. "Expect me over at your house tonight, your 'friend' has a lot of catching up with you! Understand!" He calmly said into his phone's reciever.
He could hear Hal gulp in fear, "Sure, um I'll have Ailsa know we will have company."
Lou looked to his phone in puzzlement, before putting it back up to his ear. "Wait, how did you shack up with Red Fury Ailsa!" He asked incredulously.
That got a laugh from Hal, "A lot has happened over the years Lou, a lot has happened."
Lou hurrumphed in annoyance, "Evidently so." He remarked.