The S.C.A.M.P.E.R slightly rattled as it flew through the air at a constant speed. It normally wasn't noticeable at all, but after a few years of zooming around on space cruisers that showed barely any signs of motion, the slight rattles were more apparent to Nigel now. But he didn't complain. In fact, he welcomed it. He finally felt like he was moving, actually going somewhere. He peered over his shoulder to gaze out the window and watched transfixed as the ground and clouds merged and blurred by. No dark expanse of eternal nothing going on forever, stable footing and ready for landing at any moment.

But even though he was back in a S.C.A.M.P.E.R, back on Earth and back in familiar settings, he just couldn't get the feeling of shock out of his system. He had only been here for about half an hour and so much had already changed. The perfect example was sitting in front of him in the captain's seat.

"... you two can have all the arguments you want Numbuh 99.584, but you do not abuse the super big computermabob by asking it how many original episodes of Doctor Time Space and the Continuums there were!" Kuki scolded into her headset. The seat swerved around and he could see her expression. Her head was hunched over, her hand rubbing at her temple as a frown marred her features. He could scarcely make out the babble on the other end of the line.

Nigel just couldn't comprehend it. Kuki Sanban, the carefree innocent Numbuh 3, was the Supreme Leader. Possibly the most responsible and serious operative within the whole Kids Next Door. As much as he was happy his friend had moved up so far, it... just didn't seem right. Like the uptight demeanor wasn't her at all. He had accepted her to be a bit more mature as the years went on.

But this much?

The Brit's mouth opened to talk to her, but her hand rose to halt him before she could even look up. Her finger pressed down on a switch on the arm of the chair and spoke. "Numbuh 404, have you and sector F taken down the Mad Magician?" The kid must have said something Kuki didn't want to hear, for the Asian rolled her eyes and looked toward the ceiling. "I don't care if the Rainbow Monkey Winter Love special is on, you need to move your butts and stop that lunatic before he tries to chainsaw that birthday party in half. End transmission." She pried the mic from her ear and sunk into the seat with a sigh.

As he listened, Nigel's eyes continued to grow in size. That didn't sound like Kuki at all. Numbuh 3 and rainbow monkeys just went together like peanut butter and jelly. He could recall several occasions off the top of his bald head where the girl had begged him to stay behind when some special care and share show was on.

But now?

He just shook his head. After seeing what Kuki had become, he had so many questions about everyone else. He realized he had her attention and tried to come up with something. But all that came out was, "The Mad Magician?" It was a question he had, but not an important one.

Kuki chuckled. "Some B-list magician who had the same old gig until he got a job at this one party. A bunch of kids made fun of him. He snapped. Same classic villain story." She uttered as her fingers traced the various buttons at her seat. There was a moment of silence as they waited for the ship to reach their destination. Kuki glanced to where she was, then to where Nigel was sitting near the back. "You know, it feels weird. Me being in your chair."

"Well, you are the Supreme Leader." The boy responded. He developed a far-off as he stared at one particular spot. "Numbuh 3. Supreme Leader." He still couldn't believe it.

The leader in question rolled her eyes. "What? Is it that unbelievable?" Her hand slapped her cheeks as she glanced around in mock horror. "Oh no! Numbuh 3 is the Supreme Leader! Prepare for girly tea parties and other goofy antics!"

"You know I don't mean it like that," Nigel said in an attempt to apologize. When the girl just kept frowning at him, he tried to explain his feelings. "It's just that... I don't know. There always seemed to be those kids who were meant to be Supreme Leaders. Like Numbuh 100, 274, Rachel..." He brushed that off as he continued. "You never seemed all that interested in the job."

"I never was." Kuki twirled her medal around and just stared at the floor. "I mean, I'm still Kuki. I still like to be silly and love rainbow monkeys to death. But... I have to be serious now. I had to grow up a little faster than I thought I had to."

"Why?"

"Because I was the youngest." She uttered with knit brows. "No amount of cheerful grins or bubbly ignorance could hide the fact that I had to watch everyone I care about grow up and move on." She said simply. "Nigel 'disappeared'. Hoagie doesn't talk to anyone anymore. Abby moved up and acts like she wants nothing to do with us, and Wally has his own problems." She lowered her gaze as her seat turned to face the front of the ship away from Nigel. "All that's left is Kuki. The last of sector V and the last of the 7th Age. Our generation is over. I'm the only one left to guide them and teach them."

Nigel sat stunned as he listened to Kuki's words. She sounded so much older. Sounded like a Supreme Leader. He leaned back in his seat and glanced out the window. Had he been gone for that long? His coal-blue eyes snapped back to attention when she mentioned the others. "How is everyone else? What are they doing now?"

"I just told you." The girl responded offhandedly, still not facing him. "Hoagie and his family moved away a year ago, Abby buried herself in her work and got selected to be a teen spy after her 'decommissioning'. And Wally... well, you'll find out soon."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nigel replied as stood up, a stern expression breaking out. "What's wrong with you Kuki? You won't give me straight answers!"

"Because I feel they don't have any importance to your mission," Kuki exclaimed as she turned to face the bald teen. "Answer my question Numbuh 1. When this is over, are you staying, or will you just leave again?"

He winced when she asked that. He dropped his lids and sighed. "You know I can't stay, Kuki."

"Then there's no reason to get the old gang involved in this. Not if you're just going to leave us again," she muttered as she hopped down from her seat. Nigel extended his hand, but she brushed it aside. "Look Numbuh 1, we're all... fine. There's no need to worry about it."

Kuki was his friend and he had no reason to doubt her words. But why did he get the feeling she was withholding something from him? But it didn't matter for the autopilot beeped and the green-wearing girl set her gaze forward. "Enough about that." She once again shocked him by how serious she was getting. "What would you say if I told you that we could catch this traitor in the next few days?"

"That... would suffice." He then frowned behind his shades as went over everything he knew so far. "All I know is what the traitor has, not who he is."

"I can't tell you either," Kuki muttered as she walked over to her backpack. She lifted out a L.U.N.C.H.B.O.C.K.S and opened it swiftly. She managed to talk and type at the same time. "Whoever this person is, he betrayed us while he was with the Teen Spies."

"The spies?" Nigel asked bewildered. "But, they were chosen because they didn't turn traitor." Teen operatives were supposed to be the loyal agents the organization could have. The fact they were able to willingly give up their childhood for the Kids Next Door when they could just as easily run away. But after hearing this. "It still doesn't add up. How can you still not know who this person is?"

Kuki paused in her typing as she let loose a giggle. "For people who run an entire organization of kids, we Supreme Leaders are left in the dark about a lot of crud." She looked up to Nigel and frowned once more. "The teen spies only supply me useful information every once in a while. Other than that, I've got nothing. I don't know who runs it when I don't, no exact estimate of their numbers. It's no surprise they would try to keep their traitors a secret." She shook her head as she went back to work. "Heck, if I hadn't been there when you left, I wouldn't know about the Galactic Branch."

Nigel arched a brow as he tried to peer over the girl's shoulder. "So if you don't know who it is, then how do you know where I can find him?"

"I don't," Kuki said. He groaned, feeling like the girl was toying with him. The L.U.N.C.H.B.O.C.K.S screen glowed and the ebony-haired kid smirked as a gleam entered her eyes. "I'm dropping you off at an informant of mine. He tells me that the Teen Ninjas are meeting with someone and a big trade is about to go down." Nigel almost managed to see what she was viewing, but she snapped it shut and waved her finger. "A big trade-off and the traitor appears on the radar? Kinda suspicious isn't it?"

"Indeed." Nigel agreed as he stroked his chin. The traitor would need a solid following before they could go to the adults. It only made sense that they would try and reach the Teenz first. Determination spread over his features like wildfire as he hyped himself up for the mission. All thoughts of Kuki or anyone else were suppressed into the recesses of his mind as he rearranged his priorities. "So who is this informant I'm meeting?"

"He works for the Teen Ninjas, but only to supply me with data about their operations," Kuki explained. "His intelligence has stopped more teenaged schemes than you could count."

"So he's a teen spy?"

"No. He's a free agent."

Nigel stopped and scowled at that. "Numbuh 3 are you mad? You know free agents can't be trusted!" He scolded as he went off on a tangent. "They're only in it for themselves and would sell you out faster than you can-"

"He's not like that!" The girl roared with the hidden anger he and his friends had endured on a few rare occasions. But this time she seemed ready to snap him in half. He took a cautious step back when she raised her fists, but then she paused and took a deep breath. He waited for her to calm herself and let her talk. "He's not like that Numbuh 1. I trust him with my life, and you can too. He would never betray his friends."

The way she spoke about the guy, even with a few words, caused the Brit to think. Her voice was filled with emotion and he wondered who could cause her to act as such. "The informant," He ventured, testing her response. "it's Wally. Isn't it?"

Kuki's eyes widened before she broke out into quiet laughs. "You and Hoagie should've started a detective agency." She then sighed as she held her arms to her chest. "Listen. I know you're gonna ask but direct your questions to Wally. He'd want to tell you his reasons himself."

"I will." Nigel nodded. The fact he would be working with another of his friends delighted him on the inside, but then those whispers in the back of his head came back. What was wrong with Wall? Why was he a free agent instead of a teen spy? The boy groaned. The mission was only just beginning and he was getting bad vibes.

The two turned when the autopilot spoke out again. They were nearing the drop zone. It was almost time to go. Kuki leaped back into Supreme Leader mode and began addressing Nigel again. "Okay Numbuh 1, let's lay down a few things first. I'm the only one who knows you're here and soon Wally will too. I would like it if we kept it that way. I really don't want to deal with all the mess about Numbuh 1 being back on the scene."

"Understood." The teen said as he strapped on his backpack. "Everything will go smoothly if they never see me coming."

"And to make sure they don't, we're getting you out of that spacesuit."

He snapped his head up when he heard that. He glanced over the Kuki to see her taking in his outfit. He frowned defiantly as he folded his arms. "What's wrong with it?" Sure the thing was baggy at first, but he had finally grown into it and it had several features he had gotten accustomed to.

Kuki's eyes rolled as her hands flew to her hips. "Oh, nothing if you're going for freaky alien invader. But this ain't Halloween so you're going to change." She pointed to the back room with a smile. "There's a nifty outfit back there that I got just for you. It looks nice I promise."

He spared one last glance to his suit. His features grimaced when he too realized this wouldn't be the best for undercover work. Nigel slowly nodded as he made his way to the dressing room. "Alright, but I swear if I see one spec of pink-"

"Oh stop acting silly and try it on!" She fussed as her hands pushed him back. He reached the door and huffed before slamming it.

Minutes later, Kuki was tapping her foot in impatience while waiting for her old leader to get dressed. And they said girls took forever. Suddenly, the door swung open and her eyes snapped to the figure coming out of it. A grin lit her face as she anticipated his reaction. "Well?"

"It looks... great." Nigel complimented as he gave his new look a once over. Gone was the clunky spacesuit for it had been replaced by blood crimson t-shirt and ebony combat shorts. His feet were covered in a new pair of jet boots that hugged his heels better than his old ones. His raggedy overstuffed backpack had been replaced with a black carrier bag that was held up by one strap that came down across his torso. Clipped onto the side of it was his custom S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R and a symbol for the number one. Nigel's fingers pinched to material and grinned at his new attire. "In fact, I think it makes me look cool." He raised his fingers to adjust his yellow-tinted shades and grinned as he slammed his fists together. "Time to go catch a traitor."

"Looks like you're ready." Kuki walked up to the teen and passed him a small note. "This is Wally's new address. The Beetles will think you're staying as a foreign exchange student so be prepared for that."

"It shouldn't be too hard." He chuckled. He'd always wanted to try out his heavy English accent after his short trip to England with his dad. Thinking about his parents made him gaze at Kuki with a look of longing. "Numbuh 3, I know I shouldn't but... do you think it would be alright to see my parents again?" He knew he couldn't stay, but he wanted to see his family one more time.

Kuki looked down sadly as she pursed her lips. "You could... but it wouldn't matter. You weren't supposed to be coming back, so while Abby was Supreme Leader, she wiped their minds to make them think they didn't have a son."

"O-Oh. Right." He felt so stupid. Stupid for asking when he already knew the answer and stupid for getting his hopes up. How else were they going to explain what happened to their son? But still. They just forgot about him. All those years of love and memories. Gone. Nigel Uno didn't exist anymore and everyone who still remembered him moved on. From the sounds of it, Hoagie was a normal teenager. Kuki, well he had seen what happened to Kuki. Wally apparently was his teen informant, and Abby had been an uptight Supreme Leader after Rachel.

Thinking of the blonde, his thoughts drifted to places he knew they shouldn't. After an inner debate, Nigel sighed and asked one last question. "Numbuh 3. What... what happened to Rachel?"

"Numbuh 362?" Kuki asked with a confused expression. "Well, I didn't know her that well so I can't tell you much. I know she and her family moved after she was decommissioned. I don't know if she's a spy or not." Her face lit up with exclamation when she thought of something else. "I heard that she got a lot more bossier and strict during her twelfth year."

"How so?"

"You know her little brother Harvey?" He groaned. He wished he didn't honestly. "A rumor was going around that she was going to have him decommissioned due to his behavior. But it never happened and Abby was the one who ended up doing it after an...incident."

Nigel rose a brow as he took in that information. Rachel was never blind to her brother's actions, but she always tried to break him of his habits rather than give him the boot. He figured that was her sisterly love or something. But was he so bad that she restored to decommissioning him? He shook his head again. Something he had been doing a lot of recently. Whatever the reason, Rachel had moved on too, so there was no sense in bringing this up again.

Taking one last breath, Nigel cleared himself of all other thoughts. He had a purpose here, and it was to track down this agent and bring them in before the Important Ones were forced to rely on their grim 'alternative'. He was here for the mission. The mission came first. It had to come first. No matter what.

He felt a rush of wind slap his cheeks, and he opened his eyes to see the bay doors open. He carefully walked to the side and peeked down. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R had slowed and he could make out the massive suburb below.

"This is your stop, Numbuh 1!" He turned to see Kuki yell over the roar of the wind. "I have to get back to the moon base, but I'll call if anything comes up!" The girl then stood straight and gave him a salute. "Good luck!"

Nigel smirked back as his hand rose up to return the gesture. "Luck will have nothing to do with it." The teen then fell back slowly out the side of the ship, free-falling to the ground below.

After she was sure he was gone, Kuki closed the pod-bay doors and set the S.C.A.M.P.E.R's course for the moon base. The girl then went back to her seat and tried to relax as she returned to her office. A wave of sadness washed over her at what she withheld back from Nigel. But it wouldn't matter. He was on a mission and he wouldn't stop until he was done. After he had tracked down this person he would go back to his beloved space and leave them all behind. It wouldn't matter to him what happened to sector V. What happened to Hoagie. Once he completed his mission, he was set to go.

He was only here until his mission was over.

Kuki lowered her gaze, her dark bangs clouding her vision. Her hand hesitantly reached for her cell phone, only to reel it back as if she was touching scolding hot steel. She couldn't do it. She shouldn't do it. It went against everything she ever stood for.

But then Nigel would leave. Nigel was the only one who could probably make everything better again. But he would never diverge from his goal. He wouldn't submit to what he desired. He wasn't selfish like that.

It was then Kuki decided she would have to force him to be selfish. Her hand gripped her cell phone and flipped it open as she dialed a number within her memory. She only hoped this would work, and hoped that she could forgive herself for it later.

"Hello?" She asked when the other person finally picked up. "It's not really important who I am." She uttered as she kept her voice level despite her raging emotions. When the other person spoke, she nearly lost control. "How did you- l-look it doesn't matter." She timidly replied as her fist griped the arm of the chair.

"What would you say if I told you Nigel Uno was back?"

Man, I'm sorry if this sounds like a rushed piece of crap. But it'll get better. The story is only starting after all. I mean, you still haven't heard of the remains of sector V.

I kinda have set pairings, but they might change depending how this goes. Let's hope the brain juice keeps flowing.

Later, and review!