"And she escaped?"

"Are you honestly surprised, sir?"

"Not surprised, just tired. We were so close this time."

"With all due respect, that's wishful thinking, sir. She allowed him to get that close."

"It doesn't matter at this point, Numbuh 5. The fact is Numbuh 362 is still out there. Though you and Numbuh 1 survived, so we'll have to accept that as a short term victory."

"Does it really mean anything at this point?"

"We'll make it mean something, it's high time to stop beating around the bush. Numbuh 5, once you and Numbuh 1 have recovered, I need you to bring him to the Basement so we can relay everything he already doesn't know and think of a plan to stop all this. This is getting out of hand."

"You want me to just strut into the Basement with an operative that went MIA years ago?"

"I'm giving you access to my Hub, that way you two can file in straight into my office without anyone suspecting anything. But that also means you'll have to find alternate means of transportation. We don't need anyone else knowing Numbuh 1 is back on the scene."

"Hmm, too many people may know already."

"I'll deal with that. You have your orders."

When the voice of her superior fizzled out, Abby clicked off her communicator and let out something akin to a sigh fused with a groan. The teenager shifted her weight upon the rock she was sitting on, and continued to scout the landscape from the mouth of the cave. There was nothing of interest going on outside at the moment, just only the light drizzle of rain from the storm earlier. It was lighter out, so she could assume morning was here at last. Abby saw that as a good thing, since she would love nothing more than to put the events of last night behind her and move on.

Thinking of what happened caused her to look over her shoulder and peer deeper into the cave. Near the back wall was the body of Nigel. The Brit was sleeping off his unconsciousness he had suffered when he nailed his head on that tree back in the forest. After he knocked himself out and they fell to the ground, she took it on herself to find them shelter; and after towing him around for what seemed like hours, she hit a stroke of luck when she stumbled across a tiny crepuscular cave. Once she deemed it safe, she laid Nigel out and used his carrier bag as a makeshift pillow. She had been waiting for him to wake up ever since.

Abby had remained a silent vigil over the boy ever since the incident with Rachel. She wanted to know what exactly was going through his head, he needed the proper mindset if he wanted to capture the girl after all. But she couldn't even begin to get anything out of him until he awoke, and the waiting was killing her. Though every so often he would fidget and mumble in his sleep, so he must have been having some sort of nightmare. It would be something to take into account when he finally decided it was time to get up.

"My aching head…" Apparently the time was now. The girl turned towards Nigel as he began to rise slowly. He held his forehead and groaned as he sat up fully, and she could see him blinking as he took in his new surroundings. "Great. Where am I now?"

"Somewhere safe…for the moment." Abby answered. She watched as he snapped his head towards and how his body seemed to relax somewhat as he recognized her. "I was wondering when your little cat nap was gonna be over."

"Numbuh 5? Is that you?" Nigel asked as he squinted his eyes at the girl. When his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and he when could fully study the figure of his old friend, he moved back to the task of finding out where he had been taken now. "Where are we?"

"Just some cave I found," the girl said as she faced the confused operative. "You needed somewhere to recover from the…crash landing, and I didn't think standing out in the rain would help in the long run."

"So that part wasn't a dream," Nigel mumbled. He gently lifted his hand away, and started to recall everything that happened before he rammed into that tree. Then he suddenly tensed. "Where's Rachel?"

Abby shook her head when she noticed the strain in his voice. "Numbuh 362 escaped."

"Escaped," Nigel dully repeated. The word bounced around in his mind endlessly, as if trying to help bring about the truth some part of him wasn't willing to accept just yet. Finally after an inner debate, he let the dreaded question form. "So she really is the traitor?"

"No," Abby said with a tint of disdain in her voice, "tossing us out a ship in mid-air is how she says hello."

"That's rich, Numbuh 5. I'm so glad that at least one of us is able to make light of the situation."

"Don't start with me." Abby frowned at the boy as she rose a hand for emphasis. "I've had it up to here with little Miss 'Perfect' ever since you up and left; don't think just because you've finally opened your eyes that you're entitled to criticize me."

Nigel arched a brow as she said that. "What's your problem?"

"That everyone waits until the last second to finally piece it all together." Abby huffed as she folded her arms. Her eyes landed on Nigel again, and her face scrunched in thought. "You, I guess I can understand. You were gone, you missed all of it. Everyone else? There's no excuse for it."

"So what? You saw all of it coming?"

"See nuthin'. I knew."

"How could you know?"

"I dunno Numbuh 1, I guess I got this sixth sense or something." Abby said as she waved her hands in the air in an over-dramatic fashion. A light rumble of thunder snapped her out of her musings and she sighed once she calmed down. "There were signs, alright?"

"I'm sure there were." Nigel leaned against a cave wall and glared at the opposite one. "And I ignored all of them."

"You honestly never suspected her," Abby stated, "did you?"

"Why would she do this, Abby?" he asked. "Running away to keep her memories? That…that's something I can see happening at this point. But threatening to expose Galactic command and put the whole Kids Next Door of Earth in risk?" Nigel's expression slackened as his fist unclenched. "That just doesn't sound like Rachel."

"Just like selling us out and leaving her team to fend for themselves while she escaped didn't sound like Cree," Abby said, reminding him of past events. She stood off the rock and sternly frowned at the bald teen. "Nigel, we're not kids anymore. People change, some for the better and others for worse. Whatever you feel for Numbuh 362, or whatever she felt for you, doesn't mean squat now. I think she did a great job of provin' that."

Nigel narrowed his eyes as she spoke. He remembered the look in the blonde's eyes as she came up from behind, using his confusion to her advantage. She took joy in toying with his emotions, then had no regrets of throwing him away once she was bored. He shook his head and still couldn't understand it. He couldn't fathom how someone could just toss aside everything and everyone they cared about for some selfish agenda. Did he even mean anything to her anymore? Was he just another obstacle in her way now?

"Numbuh 5's sorry things turned out this way," Abby spoke out again. He glanced over towards the entrance to focus on her. "Had she known you were back before yesterday, she woulda gave you everything straight up. But she couldn't, you found out the hard way, and here we are now. What happened, happened, and you need to stop moping about it."

"As I recall," Nigel butted in, "you didn't exactly 'shrug it off' the day after Cree betrayed the KND, either."

"This is different," said Abby tersely. "Numbuh 362 needs to be stopped immediately. Numbuh 5's been knowin' it, and you know it too. Boy, you need to get your head on straight and focus on the objective. You let her get under your skin again, or make one tiny slip-up, it's over."

"I know she needs to be stopped," Nigel grumbled as he closed his eyes. "I know more then anyone."

"You do?"

"My time has been shortened Abby. The Important Ones are only giving me until the end the month to apprehend Rachel."

"End of the month!" the girl gasped. She quickly went over the numbers in her head, and her eyes widened as she summed up Nigel's remaining time-frame. "Nigel, that's barely over a week!"

"Yeah. Aren't I a lucky guy?" The Brit shifted around and wrapped his arms around his legs as he stared moodily at the floor. "I'm only left with only a little more then a week to complete this mission and if I fail, it's goodbye to the Kids Next Door as we know it."

"What does that mean?"

"The Important Ones will send down an elite task force to finish up where I failed, and these guys won't care what kind of noise they make doing it. Then once that's all said and done, they're going to decommission the entire planet in order to put the KND of Earth through code: Reboot."

"And what is that?"

"Remember after the nineteenth century how the KND seemingly disappeared from record until Numbuh Zero found the Book?" he asked and waited for her nod of confirmation. "That's was a code: Reboot."

Abby blinked as she pieced all the new information together. Once she absorbed the severity of the situation they were in, her lips crinkled into a sneer. "That's just perfect." Her fist suddenly stroke out and collided with the cave wall in pure frustration. "Do you know how hard she is to get a lead on, Nigel? Last night we got lucky at best, and now your bosses expect us to catch her in a week?"

"Look, there's no use complaining and whining about it. You've said that much yourself." Nigel slowly rose from his sitting position. The teen brushed himself off and faced the agitated agent. "This has become way bigger then all of us now. It's not just about fighting for the Kids Next Door anymore, if we fail and the Important Ones carry out the code, then kids of Earth will lose their last defense against adult oppression. Our jobs are to keep all those kids safe, and if nothing else, I'm going to carry out that duty."

His fist clenched with determination as he steeled himself away. Rachel was the Traitor. She was now public enemy number one to everything he fought and believed in. Abby was right, it was just a hard pill he had to swallow for the greater good of children world-wide. Nigel took a steady breath as he did his best to push his personal feelings aside. He had to detach himself, wake up, and smell the bitter coffee. His blonde Supreme Commander was gone. She had her own schemes to carry out and it was his responsibility to stop her at all cost. He had to do this, no matter how much it tore him up inside.

"So what's our next move?" he finally asked. His hand pressed against the wall and he used it as an anchor as he leaned into it. His eyes narrowed in contemplation as he plotted a way to get themselves back into the game. "I finally know who it is now, so that should help our odds somewhat."

"Yeah, but I've known who it was from the beginning," Abby replied. "I've been after her butt way longer then you boss-man, and I got barely anything to show for it as it is." She shook her head at the thought of it. "I've exhausted almost everything, but still nada. She's…good. I really, really hate admitting that, but she is what she is."

"That may be true, but even she can slip up, and she has. Don't you see Numbuh 5? We have her in a corner. Her plan to get the Teenz on her side was a bust, and she's even came out of hiding just to do away with me. She's vulnerable now and we have to capitalize on it."

Listening to him go on, Abby found herself a bit impressed. A minute ago he seemed to be shrinking away in denial about the whole deal, but now he was already thinking of how to take advantage of her own tiny flaws. That was the Numbuh One they needed right now, and she had to make sure he kept that mindset. "That's a start, but what else? How can we use this against her? S'not like we can magically scan her location."

Nigel rubbed his chin before his face suddenly lit up. "Maybe we can! It's a long shot, but perhaps my S.H.A.D.E.S can pick up on her ship's signal. It's just an Earth aircraft, so with luck I could…" The bald teen trailed off in his sentence as he finally noticed something. He had felt weird ever since he had woke up and now he knew why. His hands frantically fled to his face; patting the area around his eyes for the sunglasses that weren't there. He felt naked all of a sudden. "Where are my S.H.A.D.E.S?"

At his question, Abby had the decency to look a bit sheepish. After a short debate, she sighed and slowly ambled up to him. Nigel stood there confused as she lifted his hand up then reached in her pocket. She then placed something in his palm and when he finally looked down he grimly recognized the remains of his yellow tinted space shades. The nose piece had broken, splitting the sunglasses in half, and the lens were cracked revealing the now dull highly advanced technology that powered their unique functions.

"They musta got roughed up when you crashed face-first into that tree," he heard Abby explain. The girl coughed into her hand, feeling a tad awkward. "Sorry 'bout that."

"They were a gift from Serial Numbuh 2716057," Nigel mumbled forlornly at the loss of his shades. Deciding to salvage whatever he could, he stiffly tucked the remains in his back-pocket. More then likely just to hold on to them for sentimental value since they were now rendered useless. With those destroyed they were at another brick-wall, to which he grumbled at. "So much for that idea. But there has to be something we can use to find her. An old friend? Previous contacts? What about her family?"

"All dead ends. She had this loner attitude while working as a teen agent and I doubt she'd blab her plan to defect to somebody over lunch. And as far as her family knows, she ran away from home." Abby began rubbing at her temples to ease the coming tension. "She scrubbed her room clean of anything that could give her away. She ain't stupid."

"That would be too easy," Nigel grumbled as he leaned onto the cave wall for support. He sniffled at the moist air and knitted his brows as he tried to think. While Rachel was indeed now on the run forming a new plan, they didn't know what that plan was or how to find her. And if Abby –the supposed one who had been after the blonde from the beginning– didn't know where to start, then the best thing they could do at this point was guess.

He hated guessing. "Well isn't this a fine mess? I finally know everything about my mission and target and I'm STILL fumbling around wondering where to go next."

"I can't believe I got so careless," Abby growled as she began pacing around the entrance to the cave. Rachel had escaped her and made a complete fool of her again. Her lips hitched into a snarl and she violently kicked a stray pebble away. "Stupid! She was right there! I shoulda put a tracker on her when I had the chance!"

Nigel absorbed every word he heard. He knew he should be thinking instead of paying keen attention to Abby's fit, but he couldn't help it. However, he did find it odd that one word stuck with him.

"Tracker," he mindlessly repeated. Well, of course he needed to 'track-her', but how could he? What could be used to help track people down? There was information, suspects, locations, personal data. He remembered on those shows he used to watch how they would use fingerprints and DNA, but he didn't think any of that could…

'Wait,' Nigel paused. He felt he was one to something. 'Fingerprints? No no, not that. DNA? It sounds familiar. DNA. Tracker. DNA…Tracker!'

"That's it!" He suddenly leapt up, his eyes sparkling with confidence of his plan. "We could use the DNA Tracker!"

"Wha?" Abby spluttered, Nigel's exclamation snapping her out of her tirade. She then frowned with skepticism. "Boy, what are you talkin' bout?"

"The KNDNA Tracker, don't you remember?" Nigel explained as he made several excited hand motions. "That device can find anybody on the planet who is, or used to be, in the Kids Next Door. It's how I found Numbuh Zero! In order to find Rachel, we would just have to get some of her DNA and the tracker and we can find her no matter where she is!"

Abby blinked. "…That makes sense."

"Of course it does!" Nigel nodded with a smirk. But then his smirk dropped as he stared at Abby. "Wait, you mean you guys never thought of that?"

"No…we honestly didn't."

"…"

"…"

"…well, it was built by Numbuh 101 after all…"

"Yeeeah," Abby drawled out as she stretched her arms. After a moment, she pushed the fact that the whole Teen Cell couldn't devise that simple of a plan aside and became serious once more. "But that's not a bad idea Numbuh 1. We might actually be able to pull it off."

"It's all we've got," Nigel said as he stepped forward. "We just have to acquire the tracker some how."

"That's the easy gig. Gettin' the DNA is the hard part," Abby muttered as she went over possible ways to gather some of Rachel's illusive genetic code. "We could go through her old medical files and see if there's anything in there if it hasn't already been trashed. There's a chance we could find something in her room, but like I said, she swiped it clean and hasn't been there in ages…"

While Abby went over how to get what was needed, Nigel decided to put in and effort and come up with a solution himself. His head craned downwards in thought, but at that same moment, a light breeze fluttered in through the mouth of the cave and caused his shirt to ripple. That's when his eyes caught something that seemed out of place. There, sticking out ever so slightly against his blood red shirt was a light strand of gold. Curious, he gently plucked it from his shirt and inspected it. Once he realized what it was, he looked up to Abby. "We've got it."

"Huh?" The girl faced the bald boy and saw him holding his hand up, something gripped between his fingers. Abby squinted her eyes which widened again once she figured out what he held. "Where did you get that?"

"It's like I said Numbuh 5," Nigel replied as he securely held the strand of Rachel's hair, "even she can slip up."

Her only response was to quirk a brow, wondering how Rachel's hair even got on him. "What exactly where you two doin'?"

"Not even close to what you're thinking," he huffed indignantly as he scanned the cave floor for his carrier bag. He knelled down and searched though the small compartments for a proper place to store the strand of hair. "We have the DNA, now let's go get the tracker."

"We're going to the Basement first," Abby firmly stated. She reached into the pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a pair of familiar shades. She placed then over her eyes, making them unreadable once more. "For real this time."

Nigel stared blankly at Abby as he stood. Or more rather he stared at her sunglasses, the very ones he passed on to her. It felt…unnerving to be the one on the receiving end of that void-like gaze. It was almost like a mirror. But he quickly shook it off and frowned, annoyed. "Why do we have to go to the Basement?"

"Well if you wanna get that tracker and find your little girlfriend, that's where we need to pick it up from," Abby answered moodily as she began walking out of the cave. Nigel followed along (grumbling about Abby's attitude) and as soon as they exited the cave, their cap-less and bald heads were respectively petaled by light drizzle. "That and the Overseer needs to meet with you to discuss loose ends."

"Overseer?" Nigel faltered at the foreign name. "Is that the Teen Next Door's leader?"

"Guess you could call him that," Abby replied disinterested. The girl then fiddled with her belt and unclasped her communicator and prepared to call in. "We need a ride so I'm calling in an old favor, and I'll see about having the tracker requisitioned from the KND and ready to pick up by the time we get there."

Nigel stayed silent as he looked to the path before them. They began to incline down into the forest and the tree cover lessened the rainfall. His eyes squinted, feeling so unused to not having any type of glasses shielding his pupils. He risked a side glance to Abby and was transfixed on her shades, which were technically his old ones. After letting the question jumble around in his head for a minute, he opened his mouth and started to ask–

"No."

"But they're technically–"

"They mine now, baby."

Herbert mumbled mindless gibberish as he strode down the hallway. It was something of a bad habit of his; whenever he felt a bit stressed or tense about an upcoming dilemma, he would quietly go over every detail of the logic behind his current actions. To reaffirm to himself that it what had to be done needed to be done. And this was certainly no laughing matter. This needed to be done. He needed to check every possible variable this time, he couldn't afford to shrink away and avoid it. Not this time. He wasn't a kid anymore. He had been selected to go on to the TND for a reason and now was the time to prove why.

The plump teen data cruncher walked through the automatic metal doors and entered the large room. To his disappointment, the office was empty and he found his determination dimming. But then the boy only readjusted his glass confidently and began to snoop around. He walked behind the desk and shifted through drawers, growling with annoyance when he found nothing but video game magazines. Of course. His hopeful eyes then focused on the computer, but he groaned once he realized it was shut off. Herbert had no idea as to what Dave's password could be. Still, he sought answers. Answers to questions he decided needed to be answered. Taking a calming breath, he loosened his knuckles and prepared for a good ol' fashioned hacking.

"Numbuh 65.3?"

"IT WAS LIKE THAT WHEN I GOT HERE!" Herbert exclaimed as he resisted the urge to jump a few meters into the air. He put a hand over his pounding heart and looked to the doorway where another operative stood. He offered a nervous grin and stuttered out a response. "Uh, what brings you here Numbuh 693?"

"I saw you go in," the girl responded before looking suspicious. "What are you doing in Numbuh 74.239's office?"

"O-Oh, that. Yes well, I was, er…" He fought down the urge to sweat. "He told me that he, um, left the…the DVD set of Doctor Time Space and the Continuum in here. I said I could, y'know, swing by and pick it up. Heh heh."

"Right," the girl said with a blank stare. She then coughed (nerd) into her hand, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to leave. "Good luck with that then."

"Wait!" Herbert quickly halted her. "I can't seem to find the…DVD. Do you by any chance know where Numbuh 74.239 is so I can inquire as to where he left it?" He assumed he wouldn't have any luck in here, so maybe he could get something out of Dave himself.

"He went top-side a few minutes ago. Must of needed some fresh air, the guy was jittery all over the place." She then pointed down the hall. "He used the first Hub elevator down on the right."

Herbert blinked as he processed the information. Finally, he marched out of the office and made it toward the elevator, not saying a word to the girl as he passed. She only huffed at his rude manner and then proceeded to her intended destination.

"Pushed them out of the ship!?" Dave yelled into his communicator. The orange-haired scientist was pacing around in a clearing somewhere outside. The only thing located in the wide expanse of nature other than himself was one lone tree that stood tall a few feet away. His tongue licked over his braces, and he tried to form an intelligent response. "It's Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 5! Did you honestly expect that they will be done in by some surprise free-fall?"

The girl on the other end sighed, "That could have been avoided if somebody told me he was back before the whole Teenz fiasco."

"That wasn't my fault! You wouldn't answer my calls!"

"Why are you calling me now?"

"Because your sloppiness is just going to make everything worse!" It didn't make any sense. Despite his moral crisis over the possible outcome, it was hard to ignore the cold hard facts that with Numbuh One ... out of the way, things could go much smoother. She could complete her scheme and he could get off scot-free. But now, the pressure was back on now that he knew the bald operative was still out there. Too much was at stake. "I can't wait to hear your new cockamamie scheme to fix all this!"

"Isn't it obvious? With Nigel back in the field, I have leverage to get Father to cooperate. Are we done? I'm a very busy girl as of late."

"FATHER! You've gone to him now?" No no. That wouldn't work at all. "You can't do that! What about me?"

"What about you?"

"You working with Father puts me at more risk, dummy! Officials will start asking questions!"

There was a pause before Rachel suddenly understood. "Oh, I see. You're under the assumption I can cover for you. Sorry, but that's not possible."

"W-Wha–"

"Listen, Dave, you're on your own. Our business ended once you helped me get what I needed. It's not my fault you got sloppy when it came to covering your tracks." There was a pause before she neutrally added, "I'm seeing this through, and I can't help you. It is what it is."

"You…you…" Dave growled into the device, outraged at her claims. "You monster! After everything you did to me, you're just going to leave me hanging by a thread? What about you? How do you think it will all end for YOU? HA! You failed to consider that didn't ya!"

"I don't care what happens to me," Rachel said. The melancholy in her tone...he didn't expect that. "I stopped caring a long time ago."

"…You cold-hearted witch! What are you after? What do you WANT?"

"Goodbye, Dave."

The orange-haired boy was left stunned as she suddenly hung up on him. His fingers meshed the button, but no response came forth. No reply or anything. Her communicator wasn't even properly responding to him anymore. Completely fed up with it all, Dave gripped his device harder as his frustration grew to new levels.

"Wretched girl," he growled spitefully as glared at the ground. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. After all he endured, after all he had to go through since that horrible day she cornered him. He did everything she asked and now he was going to lose everything for it.

And she didn't even care.

"Fine. Have it your way then, Numbuh 362. Now you're a real traitor." He ran a hand down his face as he tried to calm himself, but it was no use. Rachel had left him on his own, and with her radical new direction, it would only be a matter of time before his involvement would be brought to light. He needed a way out. Now.

"There you are!"

"What now?" Dave grumbled as he turned to face the new voice. He looked back towards the tree and gave a skeptical glare to the plump boy who wandered out. "I'm on break Numbuh 65.3, leave me be."

"Save it, Dave," Herbert growled as he stepped out from the tree's trunk. Once on the ground, the wood sealed behind him to conceal the Hub elevator. Now on level ground with the orange-haired teen and lifted an accusing finger. "I know what you've done!"

"W-WHAT?" Dave spluttered. "I-I only did what I had to do! You've gotta believe me!"

"And now it's time to accept the consequences. You've gone too far this time!" The plump teen stepped up with a snarl present. "I know you have a cheat sheet for Yipper Renegade Online!"

"You couldn't even begin to fathom it! This is far bigger than…cheat sheet?" He suddenly slumped in an odd mix of relief, disbelief, and utter bewilderment. "You're…you're here about my cheat sheet?"

"You can't fool me, Dave. Everyone knows that a Ren-bark Warrior cannot perform a sky barrage tactic unless their intelligence is at least a minimum of eight, and your warrior only has seven for that stat. Meaning the only you could have executed that move was if you cheated!"

"…Oh drat, Herbert. It appears you have discovered my true intentions," Dave deadpanned. Idiots. This whole organization is made up of a gaggle of idiots, he lamented. He couldn't believe he got so worked up for nothing. He settled for a weary sigh and waved Herbert off. "Report me to the administrators of the site then, I don't care."

"I'm sure you don't," Herbert stiffly replied as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "But that will have to be sorted out later, I'm here to inform you of your new assignment. As Head of the TND 2x4 Department, it is your duty to obtain any technology the Kids Next Door has that may be of use to us."

"Why thank you, Numbuh 65.3, because I would have never known what my job was unless you explained it to me," Dave snipped as he tucked his communicator away. He composed himself and readied to complete his latest task. "I'm assuming you've filed out the proper paperwork if you're already here, so what do I need to get this time?"

"Of course I've filed out the necessary paperwork. What do you take me for?" Herbert scoffed. "We need you to procure the KNDNA Tracker."

Dave's brows quirked slightly as he repeated Herbert's order in his head. "That's a rather interesting piece of equipment to request."

"Numbuh 5 called in the requisition some time ago. She believes it may help track down Numbuh 362, so the Overseer has approved of the order."

Unbeknownst to the rambling Herbert, Dave tensed at the mention of Numbuh Five. His fist clenched as he relayed over previously gained information. According to Rachel, Numbuh Five was now with Numbuh One. This meant Numbuh Five didn't want the tracker, Nigel did. Of course, Herbert didn't know that.

At the thought of the bald teenager, Dave felt the tingles of anger bubbling. If he were to end up paying for his crimes, then it would be all that idiot's doing. That's it! If he hadn't stuck his nose where it didn't belong and stayed submerged in the depths of space like he was meant to be, then none of this would be happening to him. Rachel would have rallied the Teenz into action by now, and he would have dodged the oncoming implosion of the Kids Next Door with ease.

But now was different. Now that she-devil would blow it all open at once with Father of all monsters being the one to light the fuse. And it was due in part to Numbuh One.

"…Ah, so that's it then," Dave hummed to himself. His newest realization had finally made sense of it all. "How utterly cliché."

Herbert stopped short of another useless speech concerning conduct or some other meaningless babble when he realized Dave wasn't even listening to him anymore. "Are you thinking clearly?"

"More so than you could imagine," Dave answered in a monotone as he clasped his hands behind his back. "I'll fetch the DNA tracker. It shouldn't take long."

Herbert only snorted as he straightened his pocket protector. "Don't slack off. We can't afford to waste any more time."

Dave said nothing as Herbert walked back towards the tree, disappearing as the Hub elevator lowered him down into the depths. The boy then contemplated to himself, thinking over recent developments. Nigel knew who his target was now, and Rachel had left him for dead. He supposed it was foolish to think she had ever considered him at all. Once he served his task, he was useless.

But then he smirked. They needed the KNDNA Tracker now, something he had to get. Now, he had the option of choosing whether he simply parted with it once it was in his grasp. It appeared he wasn't so useless now after all.

It appeared he had a bit of leverage now.

"There's gotta be something on," Tommy muttered from the confines of his bedspread. He clicked over to the next station and groaned. He didn't want to watch a lame two-hour documentary on the history of the world's first typewriter, he wanted to watch some decent cartoons. After limbering his fingers for another round of channel surfing, the boy dove deeper in his quest for quality television.

Laying away in his bed this morning, the youngest Gilligan child decided to distract his mind from the normal family turmoil and divulge in Saturday morning programming. At least that way, he could act like everything was okay.

Tommy shook his head and meshed the remote buttons a bit harsher. He was doing this to forget about his problems for a while. It's a comedic catharsis or something…oh fantastic. He was thinking of adult words now. The kid frowned as the images flashed by, none of them catching his interest. He was honestly about to be ready to quit and play his video games. Figuring it was useless, he stopped at a random station and put the remote down for a moment. Tommy then leaned over his bedside and fumbled his hands around for his bin of games.

"– and the hamster will be receiving The Medal of Crazy-Hero-Coolness for pulling Numbuh 775 out of the taffy meltdown."

Tommy jerked his head up at the odd words from his TV set. Confused, he looked back to the small screen, and to his shock, there was a sharply dressed child sitting at some makeshift news desk. His eyes scanned the words on the crayon written poster board behind the two children, and he was stumped further when it read 'KND Early Bird Report'. Since when did they get this channel? Neither he nor his brother were associated with the Kids Next Door any longer.

"Wait, Hoagie never did take down the antenna," Tommy muttered in remembrance. While his brother was still serving, he recalled him secretly putting up an antenna made up of forks, a cracked frying pan, and a fishing rod one day while Mom was out. He had explained to him that it would hook them into some sector's kid broadcast network. Then Hoagie chuckled that they could watch some Numbuh Ten girl without Numbuh Five bopping him upside the head, whatever that meant.

Memories of his brother caused his eyes to waver. The whole deal stank, it just wasn't fair. Tommy glared at the show for reminding him and he poised to change the channel. But after a moment, he decided against it. Besides, there was nothing else on at the time. So once he put the remote down, the chestnut-haired youth crossed his arms and got caught up with the happenings of the Kids Next Door.

"In other news, our top story this morning is still the teen prison riot that occurred just last night at Kids Next Door Moonbase," the girl intoned as the report began. The screen then shifted to images and footage from the apparent raid. Teen Ninjas and operatives were huddled together in large masses, punching, kicking, and shooting anything that moved.

"D-Branch Security detected a class seven Teen Sky Raider in orbit in the late hours past curfew. While the outlining stations kept this threat at bay, an inside agent activated release codes to the decommissioning center, freeing hundreds of rabid Teenz." The station played footage of cell doors being flung open and a stampede of angry teenagers itching to get free. "Many young cadets were overwhelmed in the flood of teens –a reported twenty-two operatives sent to the Medical Grove for mild injuries– but thanks to the resilience of the Elite D.O.H-D.O.H squad, the teenager opposition was pushed back with only a handful of listed fugitives escaping."

"One notable mention of escaped Teenz is one Wallabee Beatles," the boy began where his co-host left off. Beside his head appeared a small image of a snarling Wally, and it seemed that some wisecracking operative of the station had doodled a fake mustache over his picture. The boy anchor ignored this and moved on. "The former Numbuh 4 is well known as the Hand-to-Hand Combat Specialist of the old sector V and, more interestingly, the former teammate and obvious 'crush' of Supreme Leader Numbuh 3.

"While there is no evidence linking the Supreme Leader to Numbuh 4's escape, many operatives have their own opinions due to the two's history." The boy paused as another image appeared, this time of a younger Wally and Kuki together. The cheerful girl was hugging the growling blond while he wore a Mrs. Huggykins outfit against his will. "Even confirmation from Numbuh 85, Head of Decommissioning, that the Supreme Leader led the detainment team personally does little to dispel these rumors. Despite the accusations, we have been unable to reach Numbuh 3 for comment."

Tommy piqued a small interest in the report, remembering those two used to be on his brother's team. Before he could think further about the possible drama of the story, the girl keyed in again, revealing another story that instantly caught his attention.

"But interestingly enough, this isn't the only new rumor concerning old operatives of sector V," she began in a serious voice. Shockingly, the next picture to appear was an old image of Nigel Uno from years ago. "Several eye-witness accounts claimed to have spotted the missing Numbuh 1 during the riot. The sector V leader disappeared without a trace years ago, but now has appeared to have resurfaced according to the statements of many present during the fighting."

"H-He was bald and he had t-these weird s-sunglasses…" They cut to an interview with a young cadet who was present at the moonbase. The small girl shyly shifted about, obliviously nervous about being on camera. "…and…a-and h-he was bald…"

Tommy froze as the story went on. That couldn't be right. Numbuh One was gone. Hoagie had told him so himself. They couldn't be right, but at the same time…was it possible? Had the bald boy returned?

"While this would explain how Numbuh 4 was one of the rare few able to escape, many moonbase officials have disclaimed this rumor. However, the Decommissioning Department has reopened Numbuh 1's case file. Tune in to KND Nightly News for more on this story."

"It's that time of year again, folks!" the boy exclaimed mirthfully, blowing the somber mood out of the window as they switched subjects. "The KND Ice Cream social is right around the corner, and this year there will actually be blurpurple berry and I like to eat my toenails and – THAT'S IT MARK!" The boy suddenly snapped as he leaped to his feet. Without warning, he stood on the desk and went to tackle an operative off-screen. "MESS WITH THE TELEPROMPTER WHILE I'M ON AIR WILL YA?" The camera was suddenly tipped over making the broadcast appear sideways. The anchor girl appeared on again making the 'cut off' motion across her throat.

Tommy paid no mind as the screen was suddenly replaced with a picture of a hamster hanging on a tree branch; he was too engrossed with what he just heard. While it was just a rumor, he still couldn't believe the coincidence. Was Numbuh One really back? A lot of those KND kids seemed to think so. The boy turned in his bed and let his legs dangle off the side. He didn't know what to make of this new information.

Wait. Why should he make anything out of it at all? It was just stupid Numbuh One. Why should he care about some hot-shot who left all his friends and family behind for a better life? If Nigel was back on the scene, then Tommy hoped they caught his big bald butt and decommissioned him. He certainly wouldn't shed any tears. He had way more important things to worry about than that guy. Like getting an A on the spelling test on Monday, trying to get the neighborhood bully to stop stealing his Yipper cards, helping mom take care of his brother…

His brother.

A thought struck Tommy instantly causing him to blitz off his bed. The young boy then scurried around his room in his PJ's desperately looking for something. He then went to his waste bucket and dug down past week-old gum and a half-eaten cheeseburger until he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, and quickly began unfolding it.

It was an old parchment Hoagie had tossed aside before. Filled from line to line of random equations; some simple, others more complex. Yet despite every equation, they all remained unfinished. The solution was left blank. While Hoagie failed to fill in the answer, Tommy had watched and saw that no matter what, they all equaled the same thing: one.

"The answers…are all one," Tommy slowly started. He glanced back to the TV again, then looked down at the sheet once more. "Numbuh 1's codename is…one." It couldn't have been that simple, but at the same time, there was a chance it was. This happened to Hoagie while in the Kids Next Door and he focused mainly on the numbers two, three, four, and five. The codenames of his teammates. But there was one number missing, one teammate missing. But now…maybe the answer wasn't number one. Could it be that the answer was numbuh one?

Was Nigel the key to helping Hoagie?

"It has to be it. It's the only thing that makes sense!" Numbuh One must have the answer on how to help his brother get better. It's what all the equations pointed to. That meant all he had to do was find Nigel…but how the heck was he supposed to do that?

"It's just a lame rumor at best," Tommy slumped and let the paper fall to the floor. The only thing he had to go on was a sketchy report by a bunch of kids. Even if they were KND it wasn't enough ground. He had no solid evidence that Nigel was really still around or not. He would more than likely end up stumbling around in the dark not knowing up from down. "It would be a waste of time."

Feeling dejected, Tommy hopped back on his bed and was content to just sink into the mattress. But then his eyes caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off somewhere to the right. He glanced over and saw that it was coming from a picture frame on his counter. Sitting up, he reached over and gently picked it up. It was a photo of him and Hoagie at his KND graduation. It was when he first found out he was assigned to sector V before they had to stop Father. He wanted to take a picture with the whole team but they didn't share the same idea, exactly. However, Hoagie caved in and agreed to be in one picture.

He studied the picture. He had held the camera up at an odd angle just to where he was able to squeeze them both in. He stood there with a face-splitting grin, while a scuffed and battle-weary Hoagie gave a more tame, genuine smile. However, it wasn't long afterward that Tommy found out Hoagie pulled the 'bunny ear' trick on him. At the time he had been annoyed, but now it just made him wish things were still like they appeared in the picture. His brother was up and about building things, flaunting his smarts, coming up with the cheesiest pick-up lines, and trying to fit in a wisecrack in every sentence. With a heavy heart, he placed the frame back. He then stared at the floor. What would Hoagie do if he was in this situation?

"Sometimes a kid's gotta do, what a kid's gotta do."

Tommy's hand snapped to the phone on the counter, and he began dialing a number he still kept in touch with. His fingers drummed against the counter, hoping she was home today.

"Hello? Mrs. Kaway? It's Tommy Gilligan and I…really? Thanks!" He chirped a bit when the woman went off the line for a moment. Soon a new familiar voice came on the line. "Hey, Sonia I didn't think you'd be home today…day off huh? Okay, that can work…No I didn't want to hang out or anything just listen. I…" He stalled for a second, glancing at the picture frame again. He nodded with the determination. If there was even a slim chance he could get his bro back, then there was only one thing he could do about it.

"The Tommy needs a favor…"