"I'm here, Numbah 2. What did you want me for?" Numbah 1 asked as he stepped into the Med Bay where his friend had asked to meet him. "In here!" Numbah 2's voice beckoned him into one of the rooms, when the bald boy stepped inside he saw Numbah 2 standing next to a giant scanner machine in the center of the room and Numbah 86 busy with a computer terminal to the right of the room.
"Hey, Numbah 1. Glad you took my advice to visit as soon as possible." Numbah 86 said as she spun around in her chair to face Numbah 1. "Me too, but why are you here, Numbah 86?" Numbah 1 asked. "I used to be a nurse, or did you forget? Plus, I'm doing a favor for Numbah 362." Numbah 86 replied.
Even though their demeanors were pleasant, Numbah 1 couldn't help but notice that Numbah 86 had the same nervous look she wore at the hospital. Numbah 2 also had a nervous glint in his eyes, combined with the fact that Numbah 2 always held his arms (which were now bandaged, for some reason) close to his chest when Numbah 1 was around.
Why were they so nervous around him?
"Alrighty, all I need you to do is step inside the scanner so we can get a good look at your body and brain. Gotta make sure the G.K.N.D didn't scramble your mind or anything like that." Numbah 2 interjected, the bald boy stepped inside of the scanner and stood still. The machine started to whirr and beep, a pulsing green glow emanating from the markings inscribed on the scanner.
"This is how I was able to back up my claim of you being mind controlled to everyone. Albeit, back then I was scanning the security camera footage and not your body." Numbah 2 commented. A wave of green light in a grid pattern floated up from the bottom of the scanner and slowly went up and down his body a few times, making a warbling sound as it went.
A "ding" sound rang out, followed by Numbah 2 beckoning Numbah 1 out of the scanner. The boy opened his eyes and stepped out, walking over to the computer terminal where Numbah 86 and Numbah 2 were huddled around the screen.
"This is strange. Look at his right ankle, looks like it was pretty messed up a while ago but it's completely healed now." Numbah 86 whispered.
"Maybe the G.K.N.D used some kind of advanced healing tech on him?" Numbah 2 whispered back.
"Maybe. That's not my main concern, though. Look at the memory bit of his brain." Numbah 86 pointed out.
"Woah, it looks like--"
"What's the diagnosis?" Numbah 1 asked, making both of them jump. "Let me ask you a question first. I'm assuming that you have some level of memory loss around the Galactic Invasion, right?" Numbah 86 asked, keeping her eyes on the computer screen. "Yeah, after the visor went on, my memory totally blacked out. Apart from the little glimpse of...of what I did to my dad, I don't remember anything that happened when the visor was fully functional." Numbah 1 explained, a sour taste in his mouth at the mention of his dad's pain.
"Fully functional?" Numbah 2 asked.
"Yeah, the visor became half functional at some point. That's when I woke up and Chad was...and I was...anyway, at that point I could think clearly and freely but I couldn't control my body at all." Numbah 1 continued, the sour taste in his mouth turning to a bitter sting at the mention of what he'd done to Chad. "It was actually pretty scary." He added.
"Well, from the scans we have here, it seems that your brain is experiencing a sort of selective but total memory loss." Numbah 86 said as she zoomed the screen in to the pre-frontal cortex part of the brain.
"Memory loss? But I know who I am and who you guys are just fine!" Numbah 1 protested.
"Selective memory loss." Numbah 86 corrected, empizing on the selective part. "When that visor went on your head, it basically shut down your brain in a way that you were still breathing and walking and talking, but you had no free will or memories of that time. My theory is that when the visor came off, it took all the memories of what you did while you were under the control of Numbah Infinity and Numbah 74.239 with it." Numbah 2 explained, turning around and leaning against the nearby wall with his arms folded against his chest.
"Nigel, have you been having any vivid, jarring, nightmares lately?" Numbah 86 asked as she finally turned around to look at the hoodie wearing boy. "Yeah, actually. I've had nightmares in the past, but ever since the Galactic Invasion, they've gotten a lot more frequent and a lot more memorable." Numbah 1 revealed with a shiver. "From the scans and what you've said, these nightmares are your brain trying to remember and tell you what happened but they don't have the material to back it up." Numbah 86 explained.
After a quick physical exam to make sure that none of his motor functions were hampered by the visors influence, Numbah 86 left to do other things. Numbah 2 was about to leave as well when Numbah 1 stopped him.
"Nigel?" Numbah 2 asked in a confused tone.
"You and I need to talk in private." Numbah 1 stated, grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt with an urgent tightness.
The genius boy's eyes lit up with nervousness and his face paled. "Uh, can't it wait? I got some 2x4 projects that-" Numbah 2 rambled as he tried to step out of the room but Numbah 1 tugged at his sleeve with shaking hands. "Please, Hoagie. I need to talk to you. I need to know." Numbah 1 pleaded, his voice broken, his eyes were so wide and desperate. "Please." Numbah 1 repeated, quieter this time but still just as desperate.
Numbah 2 took a deep breath and stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him. Only once the door closed did Numbah 1 finally release the captive shirt sleeve.
"First it was Numbah 86 and Numbah 85 who were acting weird, then everyone becomes so hostile towards me for seemingly no reason and now you're acting all jumpy around me too! Tell me what happened!" Numbah 1 begged, his voice broke again and he blinked back the hot tears he could feel forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Nigel, I don't think you're in the right head space to kn-"
"I don't care! Just tell me! I need to know! I deserve to can't live with this dread of what I might've done anymore!" Numbah 1 burst out, now actively fighting back tears.
He felt like such a hypocrite, demanding that his best friend spill all his secrets while keeping secrets himself. But he'd lost enough sleep over what he'd done to his dad and Chad, he was certain he'd go crazy with guilt if he was forced to continue laying awake all night, dreaming up all the awful things that he might've done.
Numbah 2 sighed sharply, resigning himself to the upcoming agony that he knew was coming. "Okay, fine." He rasped. Numbah 1 steeled his nerves and braced for the drop, his whole being drenched in dread.
"While you were being puppeted, you came to us first, then you went after your parents. Everything seemed fine until you stepped out of that capsule and started making, demands, eventually leading you to throw Numbah 3 against a wall. From there, everything was chaos. You attacked Numbah 4 and broke his nose, you threw Numbah 3 away after she tried to intervene, you did-" Numbah 2 paused to gesture to his bandaged arms, Numbah 1 choked back a sob as simmering guilt boiled over and slammed into him like a sledgehammer. "-this to my arms. "You nearly...nearly offed Numbah 5, to put it nicely. Nevertheless, I don't hold anything against you, none of Sector V does, you were the one who told us to run away after all. I suppose it's just...a bit jarring? To see you again?" Numbah 2 revealed.
It felt like someone had tore the air from his lungs. Numbah 1 couldn't think, any rational thought drowned out by a screeching buzz of guilt and self-blame. The crying started out as strangled whimpers as the boy made a last ditch attempt to keep his composure. But the agony overwhelmed him and the whimpers turned to weeping, then full on sobbing as he stumbled back until his back hit the wall, sliding down the wall with his face cupped over his crying face.
Numbah 2 didn't hesitate to step forward, he knelt down and hugged him but Numbah 1 didn't return the gesture, he just kept crying. "I'm sorry. I'm...so so sorry! I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything..." Numbah 1 mumbled in between sobs, his voice feeble and broken.
"You're a horrible person."
"What kind of monster are you?"
"He only trying to calm you down because he's afraid of you."
"You're a traitor to your friends."
"You don't deserve his pity."
Self loathing thoughts from the darkest depths of the boys mind sprung forward, jeering alongside the guilt in a chorus of emotion.
"You don't deserve his pity."
"You don't deserve his pity."
"You don't deserve his pity."
"You don't deserve his pity."
"You don't deserve anyone's pity."
The screaming in his head grew louder and louder, he cupped his hand over his ears and tucked his head into his knees in the hopes of slicening the nasty thoughts but they just kept coming. He knew it wasn't true, he knew he wasn't a traitor and that he was deserving of pity, but in the heat of the moment it felt so much easier to believe the dark thoughts then fight them. So he believed.
After learning the terrible truth, Numbah 1 had quickly left the Moonbase and went home despite his friends pleas to stay. He'd been quiet ever since he's gotten back from the Moonbase, his parents had taken notice and asked him what was wrong but he'd told them that he was just tired before quickly going up to his room.
Now he was laying in bed with the covers pulled over his body, curled up in a ball as his brain kept replaying what he'd heard over and over again like an unpleasant song stuck on loop. The screaming buzz of guilt and shame had quieted down to a nagging whisper, still there but able to be ignored. And dispite his best efforts to do just that, his mind kept wandering back to that whisper like a fish on a hook.
He briefly thought of the treehouse and his friends, but shuddered and quickly shoved that thought down. He couldn't face them, not yet. Numbah 1 still had his team's best interest at heart, so staying in his room was the perfect excuse to give both himself and Sector V some breathing room.
A knock at the door intercepted his thoughts. "Nigel? Can I come in?" His dad's voice was muffled from the other side of the door. "Yeah." The boy mumbled out a response. He heard the door creak open slowly, followed by his dad's heavy footsteps which stopped at the side of his bed. "Nigel? If something's wrong you can tell me. I won't be angry." Monty reassured him, a pang of guilt over making his dad worry gave that nagging whisper a platform to become a little louder. "I'm fine, Dad. Just tired is all." Numbah 1 replied softly.
He heard heavy footsteps again, but they only went to the foot of his bed before Monty sat down on the bed. Numbah 1 felt a gentle hand pat his back and he instinctively shuffled a bit closer to the kindly hand. "Nigel, look at me, please." Monty beckoned after a few moments of slience, the boy slowly sat up in bed with the blanket draped over his shoulders like a cape and his sunglasses pushed up over his nose to hide his red and puffy eyes.
"I know something is upsetting you. I'd like you to tell me what's wrong, so I can help you feel better. It's not healthy to bottle things up." Monty said. "I'm not bottling anything up. I'm fine, today just tired me out." Numbah 1 stated, curling up into a ball with his head down. Monty didn't say anything, instead he just sighed before putting an arm around his son's shoulder and pulling him close. At least when he was lying to his friends, he had a good reason for it. Now he felt that he was just being selfish.
"My boy, you are many things...but a good liar isn't one of them." Monty said. Numbah 1 straighted in suprise, he turned to look at his dad who just chuckled at the suprised look on his face.
"How? How did-I didn't think-I mean, I'm not! I..." The boy stammered and stuttered before giving up. "How did you know?" He asked. "When I told a lie as a boy, I did the same thing you did. Pulled myself close, couldn't look someone in the eye, couldn't talk clearly, all nine yards."
"Now-" Monty said with a bit of authority in his voice. "-can you please tell me what's bothering you?" He asked. Numbah 1 swallowed thickly before relenting. "I found out today that I didn't just hurt you. While I was being controlled, I hurt my friends too. I feel terrible about it and I don't know what to do. I want to see them but I can't bring myself to face them after what I've done." Numbah 1 explained, both parties stayed in contemplating slience for a moment before Numbah 1 piped up again.
"Do you think they'll ever forgive me? Hoagie said that they don't hold a grudge against me, but I'm not sure if he was just saying that to save my feelings or not." Monty thought for a moment or two, before replying with: "I can't tell you if they'll forgive you or not, because I'm not them. But my advice would be to wait until you feel comfortable seeing them again, when you feel comfortable, go to them and see what happens."
"Okay, that sounds like a plan." Numbah 1 said with a renewed sense of confidence. He and Monty hopped off the bed and went downstairs, the rest of the day carried on as normal.
Why did the treehouse seem so much bigger now?
That's what Numbah 1 thought as he stood at the entrance, looking up at the massive Headquarters with one hand on the ladder. It had been two days since Numbah 2 revealed what happened, now Numbah 1 felt comfortable enough to go back and face his friends.
But now the treehouse seemed much bigger and indimidating, even though nothing about it had changed. The boy took a deep breath to steel his nerves, "You're already here, you may as well follow through. Just do it." He thought. Every step up to the treehouse made his stomach churn, the higher he went the higher his anxiety climbed but he kept going until he reached the main room. At least, he thought it was the main room but he wasn't sure because the room was pitch black and eerily slient.
Numbah 1 took a few hesitant steps forward as he squinted through the dark blanket enveloping the room. "Hello?" He asked into the pitch blackness.
"Suprise!" The rest of Sector V and Numbah 362 suddenly yelled as the light was turned on to reveal them all standing in the center of the room, in front of them was a table with a jumbo tub of Rocky Road ice cream on it, adorned with a bow. Party banners were strung from the ceiling that read: "PARTY TIME!"
"What's all this?" Numbah 1 asked as he stepped towards the display. "We wanted to suprise you with something nice to cheer you up!" Numbah 3 cheered as she leapt at Numbah 1 and hugged him tight. "So, we all pitched in and got you the biggest tub of Rocky Road that we could find. I know it's your favourite ice cream flavor." Numbah 2 explained. "You guys did all this for me? Thank you so much!" Numbah 1 congratulated them as he pryed Numbah 3 off of him.
"You guy's are the bestest friends I kid could ask for! Now let's eat!" Numbah 1 cheered, everyone clapped and cheered along with him. Then they all are ice cream, watched cartoons and played video games for the rest of the day.