Failure. Noun. The fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc. In this case, the standard was being able to track down and capture one fugitive and destroy the incriminating evidence they held in their position. But now, they never both seemed so far out.

It seems Nigel Uno did know the meaning of failure after all.

The ride with Chad was dragging on much longer than he felt it should be. Maybe it was just him. He was never fond of not having some idea of where he was headed. It meant going into unknown territory, and unknown territory meant he couldn't plan properly. And that never flew well with Nigel. He was a strategist. Contrary to what everyone believed, he never rushed into things without some type of plan. It's just that most of them came off as crazy or made up on the fly, but he had a plan nonetheless. Except now he didn't, and it made this short ride that much longer for him.

Or maybe Chad was messing with him. Telling him it would only take ten minutes when in reality it would be the span of an hour. He wouldn't put it past him. The older teen always seemed to be looking for ways to antagonize him, even after he revealed they were still on the same side.

Tired of the blurring trees rushing by outside the window, Nigel's eyes slowly swept over the blond teenager driving. He frowned as he analyzed the guy, still very suspicious of him. Of course, he was thankful he showed up when he did, who knows what would have happened otherwise. But the fact he was there in the first place was what really had him on edge. How did he know about the deal? An obvious answer would be that he was a teen spy and was there checking it out before he was, but the bald boy didn't quite accept that answer.

"Relax, will ya?" Chad said, surprising Nigel. He thought he was concentrating on the road. The teen's eyes flickered over to him slightly and a knowing smirk reared. "If I wanted you gone, I wouldn't have bothered with saving you." He quickly turned his attention back to driving and returned to his former speed. "You need to lighten up, buddy."

"I'm not your buddy, pal," Nigel grumbled while he crossed his arms. "And besides, after all that's happened tonight, there's no way I'm letting my guard down now. Especially in your company."

Chad shrugged. "Can't say I blame you." He then made a right turn and the Chevy changed its course. "I would be feeling pretty bummed too if I let my target walk away like you did."

The Brit snapped at the driver. "I did not let her-" His ire was replaced with confusion and more suspicion as he reviewed Chad's words. "Wait. How do you know about my mission?"

"Oh c'mon, Uno." The blond muttered. "You think I would just show up and not have a clue on what's going on?"

"Enough fooling around." Nigel firmly stated as he turned fully to Chad, despite the protests of the seatbelt. "Just how do you know all this? Why were you at the deal to save me, and how do you know so much about my mission?"

Much to Nigel's shock, and annoyance, Chad just laughed. "I know a lot more than you think, Nigel." He replied, still not giving any clues. "But you're gonna have to wait for a full answer. I don't need you causing a wreck." Suddenly, his eyes widened before he eased on the brakes. "Lucky you, you don't have to wait."

Wondering what he was talking about, Nigel looked forward as they pulled into a rundown concession store. The building was in a serious state of disrepair. Letters from the sign were dangling loosely or had either just given up and fallen off altogether. Old faded posters were hanging off of the windows, having lost their stick over the years, and the opposite window had a large hole in it from a break-in some ages ago. Chad pulled the truck onto the pavement and Nigel glanced out to the scenery. The nature of the coast had scattered away and had been replaced by the view of the never-ending countryside. Only grass and road going on for who-knows how many miles. They had pulled into the middle of nowhere.

The engine stopped and the truck ceased all movement. Nigel peered over to Chad, who was unhooking his seatbelt. "Why are we stopping here?"

"Cause this is where we part ways." The blond answered as he opened the door. He looked back to Nigel and frowned when he saw the bald teen hadn't moved. "Free ride's over. Get out."

Nigel rolled his eyes. Chad's attitude hadn't changed much to his dismay. So much for wishful thinking. After hearing the click, he let his seatbelt repel back off of his body while he reached down at his feet to grab his black bag full of equipment. He then jumped out of the vehicle and moved around the side to follow Chad to the store.

At the front of the store was an old, light-furred dog chewing on a can. His ears twitch once he picked up footsteps. He looked up to see to humans approaching, then let out a frightened yelp as he zipped into the recesses of the building to hide. Obviously lacking in bravery much to the irony of his name. Not paying any mind to the animal, Chad wandered up to the side of the building and leaned against the wall. When Nigel stopped walking, he motioned down to the pavement. "The place is deserted and so is the Teenz bunker below. But I managed to leave my old ship in there for you. I don't need it anymore." His explanation done, he kicked off the wall and began walking back to his truck, but Nigel stepped in his way and he glared. "What?"

"You know very well 'what', Chad," Nigel responded with his stern gaze. Now being almost the same height as the blond, he seemed more intimidating. "I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers."

"The more time you waste on me, the more time your friend has of getting away." He tried to reason.

"It wouldn't matter. I have no idea where she is or could be going." Nigel grudgingly admitted. "Besides, with no leads and a little less than two months to complete this mission, I have plenty of time for investigation." He then smirked a little once he had the blond corner. "So by galactic regulation, consider yourself my first person of interest."

"I'm not in your kiddy club anymore, Nigel," Chad said evenly. "And I left on good terms. So you really have no right to hold me here like you've deluded yourself into thinking."

"You got yourself involved when you became my getaway," Nigel said without missing a beat. "If you wanted to remain a 'civilian', you should've stayed at home."

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Chad questioned indecorously. "I save your ass, so now you're gonna start hounding mine?" He then waved his hands up in disbelief. "You're right. I should have just stayed home! I don't even know why I agreed to do this!"

"Well, you didn't, so live with it," Nigel uttered impatiently. "And who put you up to this? You said you agreed."

Chad gave the Brit a hard glare. Who did he think he was? The blond just couldn't believe it. He risked his neck for him and this was how he repaid him? But then a more sensible part of him spoke out. If he hadn't been there to interfere, Nigel wouldn't have needed a ride out. In a way, he was the one to blame for being in this situation. He came.

But he wouldn't take all the blame.

"Are you sure you should be asking, Nigel?" Chad smoothly questioned. "You might not like what you hear."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it for a second." Chad started. "This 'traitor' may be old news, but you just showed up. Not a lot of people know you're here. The only way I would have known where you were was if someone had some loose lips."

"Who was it?" Nigel quickly asked. "Numbuh Infinity order you to be my backup? Or perhaps 74.239 keeps you informed."

"Think a little more recent." The blond hinted with a smirk. "Someone who works at the tippy top."

Recent? At the top? How he hated Chad's mind games. He always liked to joke with people he disliked in his dark, twisted little way. It was one of those habits that dated all the way back to his days as Supreme Leader.

...Supreme Leader.

Wait.

"Kuki?" He asked wildly. He had to have been over-thinking it, but all Chad's implications pointed to that answer. "Numbuh 3? She told you I was here?"

"I had about the same look when I recognized her voice." The blond affirmed. His brow raised as he scanned Nigel's features. "Well, maybe not the exact same."

"That doesn't make any sense." Nigel shook off as he tried to come up with possible reasons Kuki would have for sending Chad. "She sent me to Wally because he knew where the traitor was. She entrusted the situation to us, and we had it under control." He unknowingly began to pace around trying to come up with some answer for it. "It just doesn't add up. We had a plan and everything. Sure it ended in disaster, but that's only because the teens figured us out, and there's no way she could have predicted that would happen."

"Not predict," Chad interrupted. "more like, put things into motion."

Nigel halted mid-step. His head slowly turned up at Chad as his words sunk in. His shades were lowered slightly, and his coal-blue pupils were beginning to shimmer. "Put what into motion?" He asked trying to remain level. But it never ended well for him when Chad got like this.

"She sent me here for your mission, but not to benefit it." He then held his hand off the ward off anger but knew deep down it was pointless. "I don't know why, you'd have to ask her yourself, but she wanted me to make sure the traitor got away." Silence droned on after that was said. It took a few seconds for Nigel to respond. But not because he was confused.

It was because he needed a moment to get over the sudden stab of anger and betrayal. Kuki wanted him to fail. She...she sent Chad as her agent to make sure his mission didn't end all those hours ago. Suddenly a new wave of fury washed over him. Because she sent Chad, he failed and Wally was on decommissioning row. "She sent you to stop me?" He grounded out as he glared at the blond.

But it didn't bother Chad. He was used to getting those types of looks. He got them every time he ran into a Kids Next Door operative years ago. "Not exactly. All she really wanted was for the traitor to get away." That smirk came back, not even losing its effect. "Never said how, so I handled that part myself."

If that was supposed to quell the Brit's anger, then it did a terrible job. "So how did you do it then?"

Chad just shrugged. "I tipped off the teens. Figured with the KND in the area, you guys would get overwhelmed."

Nigel snarled. Chad ratted them out. He was the reason Wally got captured. His fist tightened, and he felt his control slipping. "You-"

"-WHAT?" Wally outraged jumping to his feet, not being able to contain his anger any longer. After enough pressing and growls, Kuki finally told him what she had done, and he didn't like it one bit.

She ratted them out. She, Kuki Sanban, the one person he knew he could always trust, had ratted him out. Geez, he was getting sick of even thinking of that word, but it was all he could come up with to describe the situation. It spoke of how much she doubled-crossed them. How much she had stabbed them in the back. How much she had completely screwed them over. Nigel was probably running in circles trying to track down a person who was long gone, and he was rotting in a cell waiting to get his brain scrambled.

So yeah, he was pretty mad.

"What were you thinking? Were you even thinking?" He went off, his face seemingly frozen in anger. Her face though, was buried in her hands. Kuki had sat down at the start of her story and had not moved from the spot since. She hid her face once she reached the end, and he had not seen it since.

She was crying, that much he could tell. The edges of her palms sparkled, and small wet droplets dripped to the metal floor. Her body trembled every few intervals, and he could feel her distress from where he was sitting. Normally he would forget whatever stupid thing they were arguing about and scoop her into his arms and spew his heartfelt apologies, wanting nothing more than to tell her it would be alright and comfort her.

But this wasn't a normal situation. Things would not be alright. This was no petty scrabble over what movie they should see. He was not in the wrong here. She had meddled in serious affairs, made it so a dangerous rouge got away scot-free, put operatives of the KND and beyond at risk, and got him trapped in this room as a prisoner. No amount of hugs and kisses could change that.

"I-I didn't mean for this to happen." Kuki finally got out as she raised her head slightly. The visible parts of her cheeks were red, and her beautiful eyes were tainted with tears. "If I knew, I would have never called him."

"If? Are you tryin' ta tell me you never expected something bad to happen?" He growled. "News flash Kuki, you called CHAD! The guy almost killed us years ago! Of course something was bound to go wrong!"

"This isn't all my fault!" The girl tried to defend herself, but the argument was weak and she knew it. "If you would have told me you were luring in the D.O.H-D.O.H Squad, I would have never sent Chad in! But no, you left me in the dark. Just like you always do with these sorts of things!"

"Don't you dare try and compare that crud to what you did!" Wally hissed. "I knew what I was doing. I knew the people I used wouldn't go and sell me out!"

"I didn't tell him to blow your cover, he made that decision himself. And I'll make him wish he hadn't the next time I see him." She swore vehemently to herself. Kuki then peered her fist to look at Wally when he moved. The blond had taken a seat on the bed again and rested his head on his hand. Any ire she had died when she saw his state and tried to reach out to him. "Wally-"

"Stop." He muttered loud enough for her to hear. "Just stop. Ya called Chad in ta muck up Nigel's mission. He did but screwed us all to do it. I get it." He then looked up and locked with her eyes channeling all his feelings. "I jus' can't get why. Why Kooks? Why would you do that to us? To me?"

As hard as she tried, Kuki couldn't take the intensity of Wally's stare. Her gaze lowered and was fixed on the floor, getting a better view of the tears that fell from her face. "I did it because...because I wanted things to go back to the way they were."

"What?"

"I wanted our friends back." Kuki started as she wiped at her nose. "I wanted us to all be together again. But we fell apart after Nigel left; you've seen that much. We all got out of line every now and then, but he was always there to try and even us out. Cause he's the leader. It's what he did." Her fingers laced, and she placed her hands in her lap. "I thought that maybe he could talk to Abby, get through to Hoagie and-"

"That's why you did it?" Wally asked, completely blindsided. She worked against her friends, to get them back? Now he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but that didn't make any logical sense at all. He then laughed in mockery at her logic. "When were ya expecting him to do all that? After he turned the traitor in? Kuki, he's gonna catch this guy, then he ain't comin' back! He's more worried about his cruddy mission than our problems right now!"

"I know that! Nigel won't stop until the assignment is finished, and you know how he gets when he becomes so involved with it. It's like he's wearing some blinder and the objective is the only object in his sights." She lightly shouted trying to voice her plan, even though it didn't seem that solid now. "But then I thought, what if the blinder was off?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"You don't know what I know. Nigel has two months to complete this mission, and he's only been here a little over a week. I figured the more time he spent back home, the more he would try to see the people he cared about. He may have been a serious workaholic, but he always made sure to put the team first and help out in any way he could. If I could just get him to see how bad things were with Abby and Hoagie, then maybe he would commit time to help them. Help all of us." She paused for a moment, then leaned into the chair. The guilt of her actions weighed her down into a slump. "But the only way to get him to stay longer...was to make sure he didn't complete his mission so soon."

Wally stared blankly at the girl and said nothing in response. He knew she was finished, it was just that he didn't know how to sum up what he felt.

Finally, he just quit. It was too much. All the negatives that had been tossed his way these last few years, by everybody including Kuki, he had finally had enough. His posture slouched, losing his fighting defiance, and his state returned to what it was when Kuki entered.

"Just get ova 'em, Kuki." He muttered lowly, causing the girl to snap her eyes at him. "Hoagie ain't neva gonna be the same again. He don't even remember us anyway. And Nigel and Abby? They got more important things ta do." His hair lowered over his eyes, making them hidden once more. "Ya need to just leave all this crud behind. You're only making things harder on yourself."

"But I don't want to give up on this." She protested. "They are our friends-"

"But they moved on. Left us behind. We were holding 'em back trying to get them ta stay. I know I was." He then tsked his lips. "But I'm done tryin'. It's time I called it quits and left myself."

Any stable remains of Kuki's world began to crumble when Wally said that. She could feel a new wave of despair coming, felt her heart about to shatter. He didn't mean that. He couldn't mean that. She couldn't take it. "Y-You want to leave? L-Leave me?"

"No." He strongly reaffirmed, lifting his gaze to show her he was dead serious. "I would never want to leave you." His pupils then traveled to the door and glared when he faintly made out the operatives dragging out another teen prisoner. "But no one cares about what I want."

Kuki looked towards the door confused, then made small worried noises once she recalled the reason they were sitting in this room for the first place. "I-I'll think of something." She said, trying to come up with a way to get him out. "There has to be something I can do. I'm the Supreme Leader, they have to listen to me."

"Not with this type of thing." Wally pointed out. "Teens like me don't get leeway, and we both know I can't get into the TND. We knew that years ago, that's why I worked this way." He then looked back toward the distressed girl, giving her a sympathetic look. "Besides Kooks, you're too close ta becoming a teenager yourself. They probably suspect ya enough for jus' talking to me this long."

"Don't talk like that!" She cried as she rushed to him, holding on for dear life. "I-I'll fix it! I have to! I don't want you to go like this. It isn't fair! It isn't fair everyone else got to keep their memories when you've done more than anyone." She buried her face in his chest, her tears soaking his orange shirt. "I don't want you to leave me!"

Wally raised a hand to give her one last squeeze, relishing everything about her. The scent of that girly shampoo he would never admit he loved to smell. How she always tried to think of him. How she never really gave up on him when the rest of the Kids Next Door did. He took in every small thing because this would probably be the last time he would remember how much it all meant to him.

Not caring how mushy or sissy he may have appeared to the audience, Wally brought his hand up under Kuki's chin and took in the magnificence of her eyes once more. Even when she was sad, she still looked beautiful to him. Always would. After staring at her glittering orbs, he finally lowered down to leave a light peck on her lips. It was short, sweet, and all he had time to deliver at the moment. She had been in here too long.

"You'll be bettah off Kuki. Ya deserve a boyfriend who actually knows where Canada is on the cruddy map." He muttered sadly as he gently gestured her to the door, even against her own vehement protest. Finally, he got greedy and silenced her with one final kiss. "Just be happy and forget about me. Everyone else has." He stepped away from Kuki, who just seemed to stand there stunned. After a moment, he gave off one final smirk and pressed his hand to the wall.

At first, the Asian didn't know what he was doing, but that all changed when she was only greeted with the sight of the cell door closing; blocking Wally from view and resetting the security measures. He had managed to get her outside into the gateway.

Kuki let out a hiccup as tears streamed down her cheeks. She fell back against the wall and let herself slide down slowly. Her hands covered her scalp as she buried her head into her knees. She hated this. Hated being Supreme Leader. She was only twelve years old and dealing with all this junk. She was just a kid. She wasn't supposed to know what love was yet. She isn't supposed to be breaking down over the boy behind that door. She wasn't supposed to, but she was.

The girl couldn't take Wally being decommissioned. She couldn't take walking up to him and have him not even respond to her. Just ignore her existence. That would be worse than him being gone altogether. But she didn't know what to do. She hadn't lost him yet, which gave her a flicker of hope, but she really didn't know what she could do. Even as Supreme Leader, any action she took to help Wally would come back to her and she would get decommissioned.

Which in the long run didn't seem like a bad option at this point. Why continue to live with this emotional anguish when it was so much easier to live in a happy daze? It's what she used to do. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Just to live the rest of her years without worrying about sending guards to every birthday party, or fighting immature adults in costumes. No, she could just live like a normal girl. Forget about the KND, Sector V, this traitor business, Wally-

"No." She steely uttered to herself. She sniffed as she raised her head. She would not take the easy way out. She would find a way to help him. She would not give up on him. "I will never forget about you, Wally." She then shakingly stood up and tried to compose herself before rushing back to her office. Right now there was only one person who might have a chance of helping her break out the Aussie.

She just hoped Nigel would still speak with her.

Speaking of Nigel:

"HOW COULD YOU!" The Brit raged as he tumbled and rolled with Chad on the ground. As soon as his mind fully processed that Chad was the one who sabotaged his mission, let the traitor escape, and most likely got Wally locked up, he responded to the allegations with what, he thought, was a proper way to act:

Beating the pure living snot out of Chad.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Chad hollered right back as he managed to elbow the boy in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. While he was stunned, Chad tensed his legs, then kicked Nigel furiously away. The teen operative went sailing through the air, only to land on the ground in a dust heap. The blond growled as he got to his feet, wiping at his mouth and glaring at the downed teen. "What is your problem?"

"MY problem!" Nigel bellowed as he tried to burn a hole right through Chad's skull. "YOU interfered with the mission! Made sure that it would fail! A criminal managed to escape with life-altering information about the Kids Next Door, and a good friend of mine is probably rotting on D-Block right now!"

"Blondie screwed himself over years ago," Chad muttered back as he stayed a set distance away from Nigel. "He got himself into this just so he wouldn't forget about his crush. Free agents never get happy endings."

"He's done more as a free agent than you've ever done as an official spy!" Nigel yelled right back. "It's hard to believe you supposedly used to have my sector's back when things only got worse when you made yourself known! I can't even count all the times we would've had a successful outing if you hadn't shown up!"

"Oh, shut up!" Chad fumed as he glowered at the bald teen. "I was doing my job. I always did!"

"Then what was this?" Nigel wildly questioned as he swung out his arms. "Was this your job, Chad? I thought you said you weren't a part of the Kids Next Door anymore!"

"This was a freebie to your damn Supreme Leader." Chad then held his face, trying to calm down. "I don't why she had me do it. I don't know why I did it!"

"But I do!" Nigel suddenly interrupted as he stepped up. "I don't know what was going through Kuki's mind, but I can see right through you. You did this just to spite me!"

"What?"

"You were the best of your time, Chad. But you were never satisfied with that. You always had to be the best." Nigel elaborated as he recalled certain points. "You've always been hounding me. Making my life miserable just because they picked me over you! It's just how your sick little mind works. You could never accept that I bested you!" He panted, finally having blown all the necessary steam to regain at least a semblance of control. Nigel then stood there, waiting for Chad to respond. His glare was heavy as if daring the blond to claim he was wrong.

But to his hidden surprise, Chad never retaliated. He just stood still, his sun-touched locks waving in the night wind. Anger slowly evaporated from his features, and he just gazed at Nigel with a level look. A tinge of sadness mixed in deep down. But why?

"Is that what you think this is about?" He finally asked. "Is that all you think it comes down to? Who's the best? Who's better than who?" He then frowned as his eyes filled with emotion he hadn't shown since his days as Supreme Leader. "Because you're wrong if you think that. This is big. Bigger than you and me. We don't fight to impress, we train to protect. That's what the Kids Next Door always did."

Nigel was shocked at how stern and calm the blond sounded. He felt like his dad was lecturing him about a life lesson. But he still had too many questions to just accept that. "But how can you say that? How can you when you just basically helped a criminal escape? She'll put innocent lives in danger if she sells that information to the wrong person."

Chad sighed as he viewed the moon. Trying to search for his answer. Why had he done it? "Because...because maybe I want her to be saved. Not turn out like me," he admitted as he turned to Nigel. "But not just her, I want to save them all. It's not fair how things turned out, and I want to do something about it. And it's time for me to do it by admitting ... I can't do anything past this point. Only you can."

"But why didn't you let me arrest her?"

"Because you don't get it," He answered, bending over to place his hands on the hood of his truck. "If I would've let you catch her back there, she would've been just some bad guy of the week to you. Nothing would be fixed, you wouldn't have solved the real issue here." He shook his head. "No. There's much more to this whole ordeal than you know, and you need to know it all before this thing can finally end."

Nigel frowned, his eyes hiding their emotion behind his yellow-tinted shades. Why did there have to be a deeper meaning? Whoever this person is, she was a traitor. A traitor who stole important data. Data so important that he was called back down to bring her in. That was it. Or, at least it should have been. But Chad obviously knew more. Could he possibly know who the girl was? If so then she should take him somewhere and make her tell him. Yes. That's what the diehard mission-oriented part of him was saying was the best option. And he always listened to that part while on business.

So it was new ground when he decided to ignore it this one time.

"Then tell me so I can know, Chad." Nigel put out, hoping for a response. "Help me understand."

Chad glanced back at Nigel once he heard him say that. He was actually expecting him to put up more resistance before he finally caved. But that didn't mean he wasn't glad that he had matured somewhat. But that didn't mean he was just going to tell him straight out. There would be no point in that.

Chad closed his eyes as he thought of something he could say to assist Nigel, and mustered a sigh before he could start explaining. "When I joined the Kids Next Door, I had a lot I felt I could give. Train and learn ninja moves? Cool. Hang out in huge treehouses and eat candy all day? Sign me up. Go on secret missions and be a hero? Awesome. I looked forward to it; all of it. I didn't know how everything worked, all I knew was that I was doing honest work and helping kids. Cause that's the right thing to do, and it's 'all' they ask of you." He crinkled his lips for a moment, then continued. "I did fun things, met the best kinds of people, got crushes, and impressed everyone else. I never really saw it as a serious job. Never realized how much it meant.

"Then one day that all changes. After the villain misfires, the simple mission goes wrong and you're running out of a burning candy store. Before you turn to jump out the window, you see the guy you were just fighting trapped under some rubble. You almost go to help him, but your teammate pulls you out right before the building collapses. And while everyone goes back home, you can't help but think of the villain who burned away forgotten by all but you. Then it finally hits you. You say, 'He died.' Then you shiver and realize, 'I could've died too.'" He winced at the memory. "You see it's not some game anymore."

Nigel's eyes widened as he heard Chad say that. He remembered hearing about that mission while he was in training. He heard about how the rising Numbuh 274 and his squad were fighting Mr. Flow Oz, the old dental-themed villain before Knightbrace. He heard that a fire started and the KND operatives managed to escape. But no one ever really knew what happened to Flow Oz. Everybody just said he just retried. No one knew the truth. But then, what kind of kid would want to know?

"From then on, I got more serious." Chad started again, rattling Nigel out of his thoughts. "I gave up my childlike innocence so other kids could keep theirs. I wanted to protect every kid, everyone in the Kids Next Door. Even after I turned thirteen. I wanted to stay so bad. Felt like I had more to give them. But I took it too far and almost killed those I promised to protect. Just so I could keep going past my time." He looked down in shame, as his fist clenched to control the emotion. "That day I lost more to serve my cause. I lost my friends, my reputation, everyone. I was the enemy. Everyone hated me just because I wanted to keep fighting so strongly. Heh. In a way it worked. It was because of that serious determination I was allowed into the Teens Next Door." He then frowned and leaned away from his hood. Chad took a deep breath and made his way slowly to the driver's side. "But even then I kept losing and giving."

Nigel thought that that was the end of it, but when Chad motioned for him to follow, he obeyed. He watched as the older blond walked to unlock his door. Talking about his story all the while.

"Even though you can keep going after being a teen, not everyone stays in the Kids Next Door forever. In some cases, they just can't bring themselves to anymore. It's a never-ending struggle that asks you to give up so much to keep fighting in it. You don't see your parents because you have to sneak into a lair. You use up all your free time to fill out reports. You don't start dating because you can't or are too committed for them to understand. You give up so much. People like that are drained until they have nothing left. Their social life is in ruins and their hearts are tested to the brink. But despite all that, that's not the breaking factor for them."

Nigel watched as Chad seated himself in the Chevy, just resting his head in his arms lying atop the steering wheel. The bald boy frowned, then finally voiced his question when Chad had remained too quiet. "Then what breaks them?"

"The fact they lose everything and get nothing." The blond muttered with a heavy feeling. "I know it's a selfish reason, but that's the sad truth. After basically giving up their life and happiness, they feel like they're owed a little something. It's why operatives join the Teen Ninjas, for Pete's sake. They gave everything for the Kids Next Door, and the fact the organization they loved doesn't want them anymore drives 'em nuts. Then they ask them to give up their memories, and they finally say hell no."

Nigel shook his head. "You don't sign up for this kind of thing expecting a reward. Don't they know that?"

"They recruit kids, Nigel. Do you think that logic would fly with a normal six-year-old?" Chad chuckled a bit, only for his mood to drop back down. "You may not like it, but it happens to the best of them. Even those you never expect. It's how they are, it's the choice they made at that moment in time."

"But what about you?" The space operative questioned. "What makes you different?"

"Like I said, it comes down to a choice." He then frowned, boring a hole through his windshield as slight anger built up. "I gave everything I had. Risked damaging relationships I had with all my friends just to serve them. But then they don't give me jack. They chose someone else over me and they still expected more from me. I was fed up." Chad's eyes closed and he sighed. "Yeah, I could get back at them. Stab them all in the back and try to actually take something for myself. They cost me all sorts of things, my special people. Closed doors I can never open again. I could take what I felt I was owed and live with it." His eyes slowly opened, and the anger Nigel had seen building up vanished. "Or, I could leave. Finally accept that maybe that chapter of my life was over."

"And you chose the latter." Nigel finished for him, now having a better understanding of the boy. More insight into the inner workings of the teens who ran actually. They chose to stay fixated on their pasts and never fully move on the try and enjoy the rest of their life. But while it was an interesting lesson and story, the Brit failed to see how any of it fit with the mission he was on. "Thank you for sharing, but what was the point of it?"

"Because there was someone else who ended up just like me," Chad answered as he shut the door. He had important business to take care of, and he needed to get on the road. "That kid gave up a lot for the Kids Next Door. Lost many opportunities for happiness just to fight this fight. Faced heartbreak and more. The only difference we had was that we made opposite choices."

Nigel's eyes narrowed as he listened on. "Who was it?"

"She's the person you're after," was all Chad would say. "So with that as the alternative, can you really blame me for what I've done, or for 'quitting'?"

The Brit gazed up at the blond with pensive eyes, but after a moment, he sighed with acceptance. "I suppose not Chad. I can't blame you for growing up. That's inevitable."

Chad chuckled as his hand moved to his keys. "Heh. You've still got a lot to learn, kid." The engine of the truck hummed to life, and the blond hooked his seatbelt for the ride.

The operative frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Growing old is what's inevitable. But growing up? That's optional."

Nigel could hear Chad jerking with the stick-shift, about to rush off into the night, likely never to be seen again. The younger boy was tempted to leave it there. Chad had spoken his piece and done what he felt he needed to do. But something in Nigel made him reach and grab onto the door. "Wait, Chad?"

The older boy said nothing but paused as the truck spewed exhaust.

"I...I'm not going to pretend this magically fixes everything between us. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for some of the choices you made or how you went about them, but I don't think I want to hold it against you anymore," Nigel said as he stared at the side of Chad's head. "You were the best there was. You were everything I wanted to be. You were so cool and awesome and an inspiration to me. To everyone. The day you betrayed us ... I never got over it. I thought finding out you were still on our side would make that feeling go away, but it didn't."

Chad grunted. "I imagine you're going somewhere with this?"

Nigel gave the boy a look along the lines of 'will-you-let-me-finish'. "But despite all that, despite everything Chad did, I still caught myself asking, 'What would Numbuh 274 do?' 'What would Numbuh 274 say?' Every time I stared down an Octopaddler thinking it was over, I'd hear Numbuh 274 telling me to get off my butt and back in the fight."

Chad's expression never strayed as Nigel went on. Still impassive and comtemplative.

Nigel continued, his voice gaining strength as he spoke. "You may have made mistakes, Chad, but you were still our leader. You were still someone we looked up to, even when we didn't understand your choices. And maybe... maybe that's what being a true operative means. It's not about being perfect or never making mistakes. It's about learning from those mistakes and finding the strength to keep moving forward."

Chad's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his eyes reflecting a mix of emotions. "You're too young to be preaching wisdom, Nigel," he muttered.

"Maybe so. But I've learned a lot from you, Numbuh 274. And despite everything, maybe I still believe in the person you used to be... and maybe the person you're trying to become."

For a moment, there was silence between them, the only sound the low rumble of the engine idling. Chad finally looked at Nigel, face hard. The mentor bored into the bold eyes of his former pupil.

After a moment, Chad smirked and gave a lazy salute as he pressed on the gas.

Nigel said nothing as he watched Chad speed off into the night. Even though it was possible, he somehow knew he wouldn't be seeing him again. The blond only wanted to help him understand his surroundings. He wasn't completely sure if he did, but he was certainly thinking more profoundly. He finally gripped the strapping of his bag, adjusted his shades, and turned to the run-down store to find a way into the abandoned teen bunker. But as he walked, he thought a bit about what Chad had said. From what he was implying, he must've had one last lesson he needed to learn.

He just wished he knew what it was.

This was going to be two chapters, one for Kuki and Wally, and another for Nigel and Chad. But I think it looks better as one. I hope you enjoyed this.

It's fun to write. Later.