Songs featured:
-Battle for Cleve: "First Flight" by Keiki Kobayashi
Transmission 7: Sports Festival
The boy has a dream: he is facing an enemy in pouring rain. He doesn't know who or what the enemy is, but he feels nothing but hatred towards it. He takes a step forward and attacks the enemy head-on without fear.
Wally wakes up on his side and quickly stands up before looking out of the window. The sun is slowly rising on another windy fall morning, but Wally is troubled. He thinks of the task ahead of him: the dodgeball game against Ernest, but more importantly, Kuki coming over to his house. The mere idea of her visiting causes Wally to blush slightly but he quickly puts these thoughts aside. As he goes downstairs, he is greeted by his mother, as usual. "Good morning Wallabee."
"Mornin'…"
"Is something the matter?"
"I don't know…just tired."
"Then you should drink some coffee. You'll need to keep spry during the Sports Festival."
"Yeah…" Wally replies sluggishly and sighs.
…
Out in the suburbs, Patton stops by Rachel's house to pick her up and she boards the SUV, she pulls back her sleeve and shows her 2x4 wristwatch to Patton. "Did you get Agent Vigilante's message?"
"Yeah. Your hunch was right. The Ninjas are planning something and it's gonna involve McClintock High school. Did ya inform our agents?"
"Yeah, they're keeping their eyes open but I'm worried it's a distraction and the Ninjas are actually planning something worse."
"Well, Switchboard is on full alert and they can scramble ships at a moment's notice."
"And yet we're going to school…"
"Hey, aren't you forgetting why we're there? We promised we'd protect everyone and that's what we're gonna do." Patton says sternly to Rachel as he drives his SUV through the suburbs, towards Fanny's house, where she is waiting on the driveway. "Morning, need a ride?" Patton says jokingly as Fanny hops onto the back seat.
"Morning Fanny."
"Mornin'. Today's gonna be so boring…the Football Teams gonna steal all the attention…" Fanny pouts with her arms crossed.
"Let's hope it's just boring…" Rachel mutters to herself as an uneasy feeling creeps into her mind.
…
And so, the McClintock high school Sports Festival begins. The event consists of the various sports clubs holding exhibition matches and demonstrations. As they agreed, Wally, Nigel and Hoagie have gone to watch the Karate Club demonstration, where Abby is demonstrating various Karate moves with her club mates. But when she asks for a volunteer to join her, Wally pulls up Hoagie's arm. "Your volunteer's over here!"
"DUDE!"
"Come on Hoagie, you don't want to leave the fair lady waiting." Nigel smirks but Hoagie is not amused.
"I'm gonna remember this!" As Hoagie joins her on the tatami, she hesitates for a second but regains her composure.
"You better take off your goggles."
"Huh, why?" Hoagie becomes confused as Abby takes a fighting stance.
"So they aren't gonna break when I hit ya."
"Hit? Wait, what are you doing?!"
For the next 10 minutes, Abby demonstrates different ways to defend from attackers, which basically means she sends Hoagie to the floor multiple times.
After the Karate Club, the boys go to the Tennis court, where Kuki is having a practice match with a Senior. The boys take their seats on her side of the court but then, Hoagie starts imitating Wally. "Come on Kuki, kick her butt!" Kuki thinks Wally said that and, in her confusion, she loses a point to her opponent.
"Oi!" Wally hisses at Hoagie who smirks back victoriously.
"Karma." Suddenly, as if motivated by the cheer, Kuki's expression becomes serious and she goes on a merciless offence, overpowering her opponent. After the match, she greets the boys at the edge of the court.
"Heh, thanks Wally! I heard you cheering for me!" she smiles warmly at Wally, who blushes and looks away.
"Uhm…Yeah…you really kicked her butt."
"I think your plan backfired." Nigel whispers to Hoagie, who's shoulders slump in defeat.
"Tell me about it…"
Lunchbreak begins. As it is a special day, the cafeteria offers pizza, much to Hoagie's joy. However, Wally is not with the others, which makes Kuki worry. "Where did Wally go? I thought he was with you guys?" she asks Nigel and Hoagie, who look at each other and then back at Kuki.
"Uhm…I think Wally said he had to go to the bathroom or something. Too bad, he's missing out on this." Hoagie says as he vigorously eats his pizza slice. Then suddenly, their lunch is interrupted by an announcement.
"Attention all students: A special event will be held at the gymnasium after the lunchbreak. This is mandatory, please go to the gymnasium."
"The gym? Why do we have to go there?"
"I dunno Hoagie, but Abby's got a bad feelin' about this." However, Nigel is furious.
"What's the meaning of this? Why wasn't the Student Council informed of this late change? We're in-charge of the schedule for pete's sake."
"I think I know who's behind this." Rachel looks sternly at Nigel who nods.
"It's Ernest, no doubt about it. Let's move!" Nigel jumps up and rushes out of the cafeteria, followed by the other council members and Kuki but Hoagie doesn't want to part with his pizza.
"Aw but I was still eating!"
"We ain't got time for that Hoagie, come on!" Abby grabs Hoagie by his right arm and drags him out of the cafeteria. They join a mass of students, all flooding towards the gym and by the time they reach it, the seats are almost full. Standing at the other end of the field is Ernest and at the opposite end is Wally, with a dodgeball in hand.
His friends run to his side. "Wally, what are you doing?!" Nigel grabs him by the shoulder.
"Dodgeball." Wally replies, his eyes focused on Ernest.
"You nuts? This is a trap and ya know it." Abby says with arms crossed.
"He challenged me, so I accepted. Besides, dodgeball is my kind of game."
"Abby's right. This has 'Trap' written all over it." Hoagie pleads.
"I'll be fine! Besides, if I didn't, they would've…" Wally hesitates, which Nigel catches on.
"Would what?" he looks at Wally sternly, but Wally refuses to elaborate.
"It's nothing! Just go to your seats." his friends look on but as they find some free seats, Nigel is unhappy.
"This is not right, not right at all…"
"Abby feels ya…"
Then, the football teams coach goes to the center line. "Welcome everyone! Today, we will be having an exhibition dodgeball match between 10th grade student Beetles versus the Football Team!" A unified gasp echo through the gym.
"Football team?!" Wally's friends shout at the same times as out of the stands, 20 9th, 10th and 11th grade student march to Ernest's side of the field, forming a wall in front of him.
"I knew you'd back-out." Wally glares at Ernest, who huffs confidently.
"Tough! This is proof of MY authority! MAUL HIM!" The twenty players all throw their balls at Wally but since they are going towards the same direction, he easily dodges them and grabs one of the balls. He then throws two balls one after another and immediately takes out two of his opponents, silencing the students watching them.
"Wow, he's actually pretty good…" Hoagie is impressed.
"Yes, but how long can he keep this up?" Nigel says with a grim expression. For the next few minutes, Wally continues to duel the Football Team, evading and firing back any ball that flies at him, frustrating Ernest.
"So ya can fight back huh?" he whistles and more Football Team members rush to his side of the field.
The 12th grade ex-team members, sitting on the opposite side bleachers, become furious. "That cheating son of a…!"
At the opposite stands, Nigel stands up. "That's it!" he runs to Wally's side and takes a ball in his hand, temporarily halting the game.
"What the crud are you…?" Wally asks but Nigel's gaze silences him instantly.
"I am not letting you do this alone! As the Student Council President and as a friend, I will not allow that!"
"Hey, hey, what's the big idea Uno?! Stop interfering in our game!"
"One against 26 is clearly not fair. So, I thought of evening the odds."
"Fine, let's see once and for who the real boss of this school is!" In the stands, Kuki and Abby get up and she also pulls Hoagie off his seat.
"Hey, what are you…?!"
"Come on Goggle Boy, let's give these sucker's a lesson!"
"But I hate dodgeball!" They run across the field and come Nigel and Wally's side, who is surprised.
"Why are you guys doing this?!"
"Like Nigel said, we ain't lettin' you do this alone!"
"Yeah, exactly."
"We're gonna do this together Wally." Kuki says, determination coursing through her.
"Fine, but don't blame me if we lose."
"Lose? Heh, we ain't losin' to these jokers." Everyone takes a ball and prepares to continue the game but Enrest isn't fazed one bit.
"So ya finished with your little moment? Too bad we're gonna MOW YOU DOWN!"
"Not likely!" Nigel shouts as play resumes but thanks to Nigel's leadership, the five teens quickly begin to turn the tide. They operate like a unit and pick off their opponents one at a time, slowly dwindling their numbers. Their resistance also wins them the support of the other students who begins cheering only for Wally's team.
"Come on, let's go show that snake how to play dodgeball!" Fanny stands up and joins the fray, surprising her friends.
"Man, I didn't think Fanny would charge in first like that. Come on, we have to go too." Patton says to Rachel as they follow Fanny down to the field.
"Heh, me neither." Rachel replies but upon seeing the flawless teamwork Nigel and his friends are demonstrating, she smiles slightly. "You've still got the touch, guys…"
At the opposite stand, the ex-vice-captain, Jackson, is amazed by the support. "Damn, what are we doing…Come on you guys, let's go give those 10th graders a hand." He and the other nine ex-members also run to the field, infuriating Ernest.
"You damn traitors!"
"We said you'd burn Ernest!" At this point Ernest realizes that his hold over the student body is completely gone. After 5 minutes, he is the only one left standing. Nigel nods to Wally, who takes a ball and steps forward.
"So, about that one-on-one game you talked about?"
"Grr…fine, bring it on." Ernest picks up a ball but instead of throwing it at Wally, he sends it flying at full power towards Kuki. Wally immediately reacts and runs to intercept when he sees another ball barreling at him.
"Ya cruddy…!" he catches the first ball right in-front of Kuki and slams it towards the other ball, causing them to hit each other but because Wally threw his at full power, it brushes the other ball aside and flies directly at Ernest, who tries to dodge but the ball is too fast and it hits him directly in the forehead, knocking his hat off his head as he falls on the wooden floor with a mighty thud. After a moment of silence, the gym erupts into a roar as every student except the football team begin cheering. Ernest is quickly taken away by his coach and the underclassmen as he looks back at the others with a murderous gaze but as they leave, the tall boy makes eye contact with another member of the team and slip something into Ernest's jersey pocket.
Abby meanwhile pats Wally in the back as his friends gather around him. "What did Abby tell ya? We didn't lose."
"Yeah…sorry guys…" Wally replies but he can't stop himself from feeling guilty.
"Is fine but ya better make sure this never happens again."
"You can tell us if something wrong. That's what friends are for. But man, that was the best game of dodgeball I've ever played."
"Didn't ya say ya hate dodgeball?"
"Yeah, exactly. Usually, I'm the one getting mauled."
Then, Kuki runs straight at Wally and gives him a hug, making him blush while his friends chuckle. "Wally! That was a really cool catch!" she hugs him even tighter but Wally doesn't struggle.
"Yeah…uhm…thanks…I guess." It's at this very moment, surrounded by the four teenagers who reached out to him and wanted to befriend him, despite his attempts to push them away, Wally realizes that he's finally found a place to belong.
Then, as the crowd begins to disperse, Jackson and the other Seniors approach Nigel. "I wasn't expecting you of all people to help us play against your own team."
"Not our team. We resigned yesterday. We got tired of Ernest and his bullying."
"I see…"
"Hey, can we come to the Stu-Co room? We wanna talk about him."
"Of course. You can tell us anything." Nigel and Jackson shake hands as the gym is emptied.
"Aw man, now we have to go to the football field next…" Hoagie laments as he, Abby, Kuki and Wally walk out to the courtyard.
"I know what ya mean Hoagie. After that game, those punks are the last people I wanna see."
"Hey guys, can you wait a bit? I forgot something in my locker." Kuki says hesitantly.
"Sure, we'll wait." Abby nods and Kuki replies with a smile. She then runs to the main building and goes to her locker, taking out the four-leaf clover medallion from it. Then, she is reminded of how Wally stepped in-front of the ball and threw it back, causing her to blush slightly. However, before she can close the door, someone grabs her from behind.
…
Meanwhile, Patton and Rachel have stayed behind in the gym as they receive an emergency message, which shocks them to their cores.
"Attention all TND agents in Cleve Sector, this is TND Global Command. Large Teen Ninja force has been detected approaching the city. Multiple Octopaddlers and a Really Really Incredibly Destructive Machine have been confirmed. Repeat…"
Up in the Moonbase, Eliza has been informed of the situation and she has gone to the TND's Global Command Center, where she meets up with Herbie, Teen Fleet Commander Bartie Stork and Global Armory Chief Rosa Zanardi. "Supreme Commander!" Herbie salutes Eliza as she arrives.
"I heard the alert. What's the situation on the ground?" an alarmed Eliza replies while satellite footage of the Ninja forces is being shown on the large main monitor.
"They really pulled one on us. Those Ninjas appeared out of nowhere and they mean business." Rosa says, clenching her fist.
"We're counting about 13 Octopaddlers escorting a single RRID Machine. They've also brought a fleet of Battle Ready Vans and Battle Ready Cycles as support. Cleve Sector has already scrambled their ships and agents, but they're outnumbered." Herbie explains as Bartie steps forward.
"Other TND Sectors are also coming to their aid and Numbuh Kappa-7's Special Forces have sent a team as well."
"What about the local KND Sectors?"
"Well Numbuh Alpha, Moonbase did issue an order to intercept and they have joined in the defense effort, but other Sector's in the nearby cities and states have refused, saying they'll risk endangering their own Sectors to surprise attacks." Herbie says as Eliza kicks the floor.
"Argh, don't they realize this affects us all?! If the Ninjas recover a foothold on Cleve, it's gonna get worse for kids and teenagers alike. I'm going down there!" Eliza tries to turn around and walk off, but both Rosa and Bartie step in her way.
"No! You need to stay here, Numbuh Alpha, you're the Supreme Commander of the TND. You can't just rush out by yourself."
"But…"
"Aren't you forgetting that Cleve Sector is our best Sector? They've been through worse, right?" Herbie gives Eliza a sharp look, reminding her of what her old Sector accomplished just a year ago and relents.
"…you're right, sorry…I'm just not used to watching from the sidelines…"
"Well, you better get used to it. That's part of being a Supreme Commander." Herbie gestures her to sit down on the large chair meant for the TND Supreme Commander and she promptly does so.
"Okay, let's do this. Numbuh Iota-3, I want the Intelligence Section and the Communications Section to work together and keep us up to date. Contact Numbuh Epsilon and give her the details as well. She's in charge on the ground."
"Roger that." Herbie nods and walks over to the CIC, relaying Eliza's orders to both Sections under his command. Then, one of the coms operators gestures to Eliza.
"Supreme Commander, we've made contact with the Ninjas."
"Who? Our forces aren't even close yet."
"It's…just one agent…Agent Halcón." the operators words alarm Eliza immensely though she tries to hide her reaction.
"Kid?! You can't attack them by yourself!"
Back on Earth, on the vast farmlands east of Cleve, The Kid flies his Valkyrie 2 high above the cloud layer, directly on top of the Ninjas armada that is rapidly approaching the city. "*whistle* Been wondering where you freaks were hiding but this is alright with me, I don't have to look for ya. Time to give you guys a welcoming gift. Here we go!" rolling his fighter to the left, The Kid enters into a steep dive and as he clears the clouds, his HUD is filled by Cycles and Vans, none of their pilots aware of what is about to happen. "Hah-hah, time for some target practice! YEEEHAAAA!" Switching weapons, The Kid flies through the Ninja formation, unleashing a hail of short range 2x4 micro-missiles, shooting down over a dozen in only a few seconds before pulling up hard and fleeing back into the clouds before the Octopaddlers can respond with their laser cannons.
Up ahead, Cleve Sector's air units see the plume of debris in the sky and set their sights on the Octopaddlers. Then, the Really Really Incredibly Destructive Machine deploys two tentacles from its saucer-shaped body, each tentacle tipped with a laser cannon and begins firing at the approaching TND ships beyond the range of their return fire. "Spread out!" the flight leader shouts, forcing Cleve Sector's air units to break formation to evade the incoming lasers.
Behind them, a formation of P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s fly low to the ground. Unlike the normal KND model, these ships have a large additional drill mounted on the nose, allowing them to perform ramming attacks at high speed. "Keep her steady. We gotta get as close as we can." Charles says to the pilot while clenching his Shockwave Mace. "Not a single one of those things are gonna reach the city, ya hear me?!" he shouts over the comms, prompting everyone to reply at once.
"YES, SIR!"
"Hah, alrighty then. Time to punch it! Can't let Halcón get all the glory!"
Just at that moment, The Kid dives out of the clouds once again but this time, his target is the formidable RRID Machine. "That's the thing I heard about in the reports. Yeesh, that fossil's packing quite a punch." Without fear, he weaves through the Cycles and Vans trying to intercept him and readies the Valkyrie 2's long-barreled laser cannon. "How do you like this?!" he fires a powerful thin beam at the RRID Machine, but it deploys another tentacle, this one being equipped with an energy shield emitter that blocks the laser attack. "Huh? That's not cool at all. Fine, I'll just go around it." but as he approaches the machine, it releases more tentacles in an attempt to grab The Kid's fighter, forcing him to back away and climb away from the RRID Machine's reach. "Hmph, this is gonna be tougher than I thought…"
…
At McClintock High School, Patton and Eliza receive orders from the Moonbase, but have refused to join the battle. "If this school is their target, then that means they've got Ninjas waiting here too. We'll stay behind and secure the school." Rachel informs TND Global Command and then turns towards Patton.
"What a day this turned out to be."
"No time to complain, Numbuh Zeta. We need to find and capture any Ninjas that infiltrated the school. I'll relay this order to our other agents, you go ahead and look for anything suspicious."
"Got it." Patton gestures with his index and middle fingers and runs out of the empty gym.
"No matter what happens, I'll protect this school and all my friends." Rachel says to herself and sends her orders before heading to the courtyard.
Inside the school, Patton meets up with 3 other agents and has them check the upper floors while he heads to the cafeteria, which is eerily empty. "Dammit, just what the heck is going on here…" he clenches his fists when he notices traces of blood on the floor, and they lead to the cafeteria's courtyard side entrance. "Hmm?" tapping his 2x4 wristwatch, Patton turns invisible thanks to its in-built stealth cloak and starts following the blood trail. But upon opening the door, he sees a member of the Rockets looking around frantically near a corner. His nose is bloodied, and he is clutching something. Then, he runs around the corner and Patton gives chase. "Where are you going?!" Following the boy through the school's backyard, Patton arrives to the school's trash compactor, where the Rocket member stands, still acting suspicious. Not wanting to wait any longer, Patton activates his custom, camo-patterned, dark green and black Battle Ready Armor with a full helmet resembling an army combat helmet, mounting a set of goggles. Then, he draws his Shrinkified Multi-Rifle and points it at the boy before decloaking. "Hold it! Don't move." he shouts, using a voice changer to make himself sound robotic.
"Urgh…"
"You're with the Teen Ninjas, aren't you? What's in that box?" Patton pokes his rifle barrel at the boy, who refuses to turn around. "Speak up or I'll make you." Then, his HUD's alarm goes off, prompting Patton jump backwards as a burst of laser fire lands between him and the boy. "Ghh…" an angry grimace appears on his face two Teen Ninjas appear, pointing their wrist-mounted Heat Laser Cannons at him.
"Step away from our mule." the taller Ninja with a slightly ornamental helmet says as he and his female subordinate land. "Your time in this high school is over, TND traitor."
"Who are you calling a traitor?" Patton replies angrily as he aims his rifle at the Ninjas.
"You and everyone else who works for the TND. You guys have betrayed your fellow teenagers by being all chummy with kids."
"That so? Well, too bad I don't give a damn about your rules."
"Come on, let's just beat this punk up and head to the principal's office already. We've got a schedule to keep." the girl Ninja says as she deploys her second Heat Laser Cannon.
"I know. You, mule!" he shouts at the bloody nosed boy and gestures him to hand the box over. "Give me the box." But the moment the boy offers it to him, Patton fires a Stupefying beam from his rifle, encasing the box in blue crystal.
"Nuh-uh-uh, I know that box has S.I.N. in it and I'm not letting you guys spread that junk here." his cold and confident voice angers the Ninjas while the boy quickly runs away.
"Grr, you just made the biggest mistake of your life!" The Ninjas charge at Patton who takes a combat stance, ready to take his foes on by himself.
…
Out in the farmlands to the east of Cleve, the battle between the Ninjas and the TND has descended into a full blown melee as 2x4 ships and Ninja Vans and Cycles fill the sky while the Octopaddlers have come under attack by the two KND Sectors who accepted Numbuh 81's order to help. They've brought with them a force of S.T.A.N.K.'s, a flight of 8 F.L.I.E.R.P.L.A.C.E.'s and a G.O.G.O.-G.O.R.I.L.L.A. "Kids Next Door, Battle Stations!" the leader of Sector V's successor, Sector CL shouts as they charge head on against the 13 Octopaddlers. However, the Really Really Incredibly Destructive Machine has so far remained unharmed and has shot down many TND ships, much to The Kid's frustration, who can't seem to find away around the tentacled behemoth's defenses.
"Okay, this thing is really starting to piss me off! Where the heck is its weak spot?!" he shouts as he weaves through a barrage of laser fire. "Hey, Switchboard, don't ya have any info on that big lunk?!"
"This is Numbuh Psi. We've never met such a big RRID Machine before, it's not matching any of our existing data files." Angelie replies from the Switchboard
"Gah, you're useless!"
"Hey, we're doing all we can! Why don't you stop complaining and focus on your job?! If they break through, they'll come after all of our agents at McClintock!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Then, from the corner of his eye, The Kid sees Charles' P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s approaching. They had performed a wide turn and are attempting to flank the Ninjas. Picking up on their tactic, The Kid starts harassing the RRID Machine, doing all he can to keep its attention away from the P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s. "Alright you damn octopus, follow the birdie."
"Time to turn up the heat! Charge!"
"Activating Hyper Acceleration Boosters!" On Charles's oder, the P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s deploy their boosters and barrel towards the Ninjas at full speed, still hugging the ground. The RRID Machine notices them but it's too late: the nose-mounted drills of the P.I.P.E.P.O.D.S. tear through the Octopaddlers, ripping them apart as they do so. "YAAAAHOOOOO!"" Charles yells as they complete their run and perform another wide turn but now, the RRID Machine sees them coming and bombards them with its laser cannons. "Woah, hold on guys, we got incoming!"
Seeing his chance, The Kid performs a Split-S and transforms his fighter to robot mode in mid-air, evading a pair of tentacles in the process. "Ghhh…" The Kid grits his teeth as the deceleration subjects him to G-forces. "Hah, weren't expecting 'The Kid Special'!" diving past the tentacles, The Kid lands on-top of the RRID Machine and fires everything he at the armor at point-blank range. Then, one of the machine's legs is hit by a concentrated barrage from the S.T.A.N.K.'s cannons, causing cracks to from on the armor.
"The legs! Hit the legs!" Sector CL's leader shouts to everyone, prompting Charles' P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s to make a beeline for the RRID Machine's crab-like legs.
"You got it, kid. We're gonna tear 'em apart!" With the Octopaddlers our of commission and unable to provide ground support the RRID Machine, it's movements become erratic, as if unable to handle attacks from multiple directions.
"Damaged leg in sight. Here we go Boss!" the pilot of Charles' P.I.P.E.P.O.D. shouts as they barrel towards the immobile leg and strike the ship's drill into it, causing sparks to fly. The other P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s join in and ram into the remaining legs. However, the RRID Machine brings down on of its tentacles and begins firing on the P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s instantly shooting down 4 and injuring their crews. "Boss, it's gonna shoot us down next!"
"Keep pushing! Just a little more…ARGH!" Charles screams as a laser pierces the P.I.P.E.P.O.D.'s cockpit, filling it with smoke and debris. Quickly regaining his composure, he sees the pilot slumped unconscious over the control panel while the P.I.P.E.P.O.D. is somehow still aloft and drilling. "No, dammit…hey, you okay?" Charles grabs the pilot and to his relief, he doesn't have any serious injuries. "Evacuate the ship!" he shouts as he hands the unconscious pilot to a subordinate.
"But what about you?!"
"I'm gonna finish the job! Now go!" Charles shouts as he hops on the pilot's seat and floors the ship's boosters while the rest of the crew eject using D.R.O.P.P.U.P.O.D.s. "We're not gonna lose to you, ya damn robo-squid! RAAAAARRRGHH!" Charles screams when suddenly, the damaged leg fractures from the tip and the sudden loss of balance causes the RRID to start falling on it's side but before it hits the ground, it manages to stop itself with it's tentacles. "Hah-haa! Told ya!" Charles grins as the P.I.P.E.P.O.D. flies under the fallen machine and slams into a field nose first. Above the RRID Machine, The Kid, who's transforming fighter jet jumped off, notices a hollow space below the massive saucer, where the legs connect to the body.
"Ah-ha! Gotcha now!" he dives towards the underside of the RRID Machine and fires his lasers cannons and remaining missiles into to it. The munitions do their work and the machine's center erupts, blowing up the canopy directly above the hollow area, stopping the monster on its tracks and throwing the Ninjas into disarray.
"NO! The RRID Machine!" the Ninja who led the attack hits his Battle Ready Cycle's control panel.
"What do we now?! We can't hit the school without…"
"I know! Grr…we were told this thing was indestructible…it only lasted 15 minutes…We'll keep up the attack! Our guys in McClintock should have the school secured by now!" the leader shouts and has the Cycles and Vans break off and keep going towards Cleve.
"Gah, they just when to give up. This is Agent Halcón to everyone, if you can still fight, follow me! The rest of you, help the injured. Vamos!" The Kid transforms his fighter and gives chaise, along with what remains of Cleve Sector's ships and Sector CL's 6 still flying F.L.I.E.R.P.L.A.C.E.'s. "None of you putas are gonna get to Cleve!" The Kid shouts as he begins sniping the Cycle's with Valkyrie 2's long laser cannon.
...
Back in Cleve, the students of McClintock High School are completely unaware what is happening outside the city, except for the TND agents currently searching the school for Ninjas. All of them have their B.R.A.'s active and their faces covered to hide their identities and luckily for them, everyone has gone to the football stadium to watch the Sports Festival's main event, a friendly match between Hendry Middle School's 8th graders and McClintock's 9th graders. This has given Rachel the chance to inspect the tennis and baseball fields for anything suspicious but so far, she has found no one. "Where are they…if the Ninjas wanted to take over the school, they'd have sent plenty of them to overpower us…" then she gets call on communicator. "Numbuh Epsilon here. Numbuh Zeta? Okay, I'll be right there." noticing the slight panting in Patton's voice, she quickly runs to the school's backyard, towards the trash compactor. There, she first sees 4 agents and finally, Patton, surrounded by 6 Stupefied Ninjas. "Wha…what happened here?!"
"These guys thought they could take me on and failed. They can thank this little creep for leading me here." Patton walks over to the back of the trash compactor and drags out the tall boy with a bloody nose, his arms and legs having been Stupefied.
"Ghh…damn you…" the boy curses at Patton, who kneels and glares through his visor.
"Now tell me, just how deep is the football team in with the Ninjas?"
"I'm not telling you anything!"
"That's fine, we've got ways to make you talk." Patton says and turns towards Rachel. "These were all the Ninjas that showed up at school. They didn't have nearly enough to capture this place."
"Then this had to have been a diversion or something…but for what?" Rachel says the tall boy mutters to himself.
"…ghh…that damn Japanese girl…why'd the Captain have to go after her…"
"What did you say?!" Rachel grabs the boy by the collar but he refuses to speak any further. However, his words have set alarm bells ringing in Rachel's head.
"Numbuh Zeta, we're going to the school. The rest of you, get a ship here and take these Ninjas and this snake back to the base. Inform all other agents to form a perimeter around the school, understood?"
"Yes, Commander!" as she hands the boy to the agents, Rachel runs back towards the gym with a confused Patton.
"Hey, where are ya going?!"
…
It's been 20 minutes since Kuki left for the lockers and Wally, Abby and Hoagie are waiting in the courtyard. Behind them, the Football field's stands are almost full. As the clock hits 12:50, they become worried. "What's takin' that girl so long?"
"Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?"
"She would've sent a message if she had to take longer, Hoagie. Hold up, imma call her." But when Abby tries to call her, she gets no answer. "Now she ain't answering her phone!" Then, for some reason, Wally is alarmed and he starts running towards the rear entrance.
"Hey, where ya goin?"
"To the lockers! I've got a really bad feeling about this!" Seeing the worry in his eyes, Abby runs after Wally and catches up with him.
"Why are ya runnin' all of a sudden? Wait, is there somethin' else you ain't tellin' us?"
"…The reason I agreed to play that cruddy game in the first place was because that bastard threatened Kuki!" Wally replies as he runs faster, prompting Abby to follow.
"He WHAT?! Come on Hoagie, we gotta move!"
"I'm coming!" Once they reach the lockers, she's not there. "I don't see her…" Hoagie pants while Wally and Abby look around. "Hey look, that's her locker!" but they reach it, Wally, Abby and Hoagie find Kuki's locker door wide open.
"Why did she leave it unlocked?" Abby looks around the hall while Hoagie inspects the other side and makes an observation: Kuki's locker key is still in the keyhole.
"I don't think she had any choice. Look here." he removes the key from the door, and it's heavily bent from the handle. "By the looks of this, it was pulled open so hard that the key bended when it was pressed against Wally's locker door."
"Oh crud…We need to find her, NOW!" Wally shouts as when they notice a splatter of blood o the floor and not far from it, a broken tennis racket.
"What the heck? That's Kuki's racket." Abby picks it up and notices more blood stains on it. Then, the out of the hallway that leads to the gym, Patton and a visibly worried Rachel arrive.
"Guys!" she shouts before seeing the broken locker and the tennis racket. "Wha…where's Kuki?!"
"That's what we're trynna figure out. She said she needed somethin' from her locker after the dodgeball match and didn't come back." Abby replies as Rachel's face becomes serious.
"I…no, we heard from a Rocket member that the football team had…gone after her."
"THEY WHAT?!" Wally shouts angrily while Abby looks directly into Rachel's eyes.
"Girl, you ain't serious, right?"
"She is! That guy had a bloody nose when I found him." Patton replies as Abby looks at the racket and then at the floor.
"Then we ain't got time to lose. You two check the upper floors and we'll go this way!"
"Right! Let's go Patton!" Rachel nods and dashes upstairs with Patton while Abby leads Wally and Hoagie around the corner and they immediately see something on the floor.
"Hey, that's Kuki's shoe…" Abby picks up the green shoe and looks around. The trio glance at each other and without saying anything, they begin to realize something horrible must have happened to her. They then start shouting her name in the empty corridors.
"KUKI?!"
"CAN YOU HEAR US? MAKE NOISE IF YOU CAN!"
"KUKI, WHERE ARE YOU GIRL?!"
Then, Hoagie makes a left turn towards another corridor and sees another object on the floor not far from him. "Guys, I found something!" he runs to grab the object as Abby and Wally join him in the corridor. "It's her scrunchie."
"This is my cruddy fault…" Wally says to himself, but Abby overhears him and grabs him by the shoulders.
"Hey, stop talking and keep looking for her!" she looks at him sternly.
"I know but…" Then, Wally hears a faint sound. "Hey…you guys hear that?" The others become silent, trying to listen.
"I don't hear anything…" Hoagie says.
"Shh!" Wally concentrates heavily and then he hears a very faint, "bang". His eyes widen and he runs past Hoagie towards the end of the corridor shouting Kuki's name while his friends do the same.
"KUKI, IF YOU CAN HEAR US, WE'RE COMING!"
"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR US KUKI! DON'T WORRY, WE'LL FIND YA!"
"KUKI!" They arrive at another T-intersection and notice another object on the floor.
"Her phone! Man, it's totally busted!" Abby picks up the shattered phone as the others listen in both directions. Suddenly the banging can be heard much more clearly. Wally leads them to the left corridor and the sound becomes louder, so they stop to listen again.
"I can hear it. Somewhere in this corridor." Hoagie says as he looks around frantically the source of the sound.
"Yeah, but from where?" Wally turns his head to the right and notices a small, shiny object in-front of a door not far from him.
"Her necklace…She's there!" Wally runs to the small janitors closet and picks the necklace up. Wally then puts his ear against the door and hears the faint sound of weeping.
"Kuki!" he grabs the handle, but it doesn't budge. "Ah crud it's locked! Come on guys we need to get this door open! She's inside!" he tries to pull the door as Hoagie and Abby join him.
"But we don't have a key!" Hoagie says as Wally prepares to use brute force.
"Then I'll just have to break it!"
"Wait, leave this to Abby." she takes a hairpin from her bag and begins picking the lock. "Hold on baby, we're comin'." Finally, the lock opens with a loud click and Abby quickly pulls the door open. Inside, they see something that breaks their hearts. Kuki is lying on the floor on her side, shivering and shaking. She weeps silently and she is clearly injured. "KUKI!" Abby goes to her friend's side and takes her in to a tight hold. Wally and Hoagie can only look on silently. "Oh you poor girl, what happened to ya?" Kuki remains unresponsive but as Abby straightens her up, they see the full extent of her injuries. Her blouse and top have been ripped top to bottom, she is missing a shoe, she has bruises on her legs, arms and on her left cheek and a small bloody cut above her left eye while her black hair has clearly been pulled. Abby brushes her bruised cheek and gives her a hug, causing Kuki to break out in tears. Her crying makes her friends feel horrible, but Wally starts shaking from rage.
"There, there, baby, it's alright. We're here with ya. Ya got nothing to worry about." Abby says silently as Kuki cries against her chest while a confused Hoagie looks around the corridor and crosses his arms.
"How did she end up here…"
"I…tried to…fight them off…like you taught me...but *hick*…" Kuki says with a shaky voice as Abby looks her in the eye.
"They? Was it the football team?"
"Er…nest…" Kuki manages say the name but then she begins to cry even louder.
"What?! He did this to ya?! That little…"
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Wally roars and disappears behind a corner before anyone can stop him.
"Wally!"
"Hoagie, go get help, NOW!"
"Right!" Hoagie tries to run after Wally, but he can't keep up and quickly loses him. Just as he about to run past the staircase, Nigel and Fanny along the ex-Football team members are walking down the last steps but as Nigel enters the corridor, Hoagie runs into him.
"Hoagie! Watch were you're going!"
"NIGEL! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!"
"Calm down. What kind of trouble?" Nigel grabs Hoagie by his shoulders as he tries to catch his breath.
"…Kuki…"
"Kuki? What happened?!"
"She got attacked…by Ernest!"
"She WHAT?!" Nigel's sunglasses nearly fall off from shock when right at that moment, Patton and Rachel almost jump down the stairs and join them.
"Hoagie, did you find her?" Rachel asks and Hoagie nods.
"We found her in the janitor's closet near the science lab and she's in bad shape but Abby's with her!"
"THAT BASTARD!" Fanny shouts in rage as Nigel collects himself and looks up at Rachel and Patton.
"Rachel, go with Fanny and help Kuki."
"On it!" As the girls leave for Kuki, Nigel turns back towards Hoagie.
"Where's Wally?"
"He…I think he…went after Ernest!"
"That's not good! Okay Hoagie, you and Patton come with me. We need to stop him before something really bad happens."
"We'll come too." Jackson says, prompting Nigel to nod.
"Thanks, I think we need all the help we can get. Let's hurry!"
…
Wally runs to the courtyard and stops for a moment. His mind is completely consumed by rage. "Where are you, you son of a…" Then he remembers the football team's changing room and heads towards them. He runs around the stadium, goes behind the largest stand and enters the tunnel, where he turns left and stops in-front of a reinforced steel door. He then looks at the emerald-coloured necklace he's been holding in his hand the whole time before he closes his fist around it and puts it into his pocket. Before Wally can barge in, however, he hears noise from inside and puts his ear against the door.
"That damn bitch, she grazed my eye…" Wally recognizes Ernest's voice immediately.
"How the heck did she take out eight of our guys with a racket…" a 10th grader says while being clearly in pain.
"Doesn't matter, that cow wasn't a match for us and she's not getting out of that closet any time soon. Maybe this will teach Uno and Beetles not to mess with me. Too bad we couldn't go further."
"What are we gonna do now?"
"Well, if nobody finds her before the festival ends, I might just take her back home and have some fun, HAHAHAHAHAH!"
Suddenly, the changing room is silenced by a loud bang as the metal door begins to shake. As the sound becomes louder, the weak metal hinges holding it up begin to break under pressure. Finally, the hinges give away and the heavy door falls to the ground with a huge bang as an enraged Wally stomps in, startling everyone inside, even the Captain. "ERNIE! YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"
"Beetles?! Heh, looks like you found my little gift. That's punishment for defying me!" Wally slowly approaches Ernest and notices his bruised face but also, a trange yellow hue emitted by his eyes. Then, Wally sees the broken locker door that Ernest punched-in to his right.
"YOU MADE THIS PERSONAL WHEN YOU HURT KUKI!"
"You think you can take all of us on?! If you lay a finger on me, you'll get expelled, just like your girlfriend will be too!" he replies confidently while pointing at his injured eye while the rest of the football team stand up and move between Ernest and Wally.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! I GONNA…I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR FACE IN!" Wally rips the broken locker door of its last hinge and charges like a man possessed against the panicking quarterback.
"D…DON'T JUST STAND THERE, GET HIM!"
"RAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Wally roars as the football team attack him.
…
Fanny and Rachel run towards the science lab and as they round a corner, they notice Abby sitting half-inside the janitor's closet. "Abby!"
"Rachel, Fanny! Get over here, she needs help!" As the girls reach the closet, they are horrified.
"Oh Kuki, how could they do this you?" Rachel kneels next to Abby and puts her hand behind Kuki's back, but she is still unresponsive.
Fanny however is furious. "That bastard actually dared to lay a hand on you…where is he? I'm gonna bash his skull in!"
"Fanny, calm down. Run to the infirmary and alert the nurse. We'll bring Kuki there."
"Oh, right, I'm on it!" Fanny dashes away as Abby and Rachel help their friend on her feet. Rachel then takes off her sweater and puts it over Kuki like a blanket.
"Don't worry Kuki, everything will be okay." Rachel says as she and Abby help her up and lead her away but, in her mind, she is equally enraged and disappointed in herself. "How could this happen…I promised them…dammit…"
…
Nigel, Hoagie, Patton and the Seniors arrive at the courtyard. As they look around, they notice some members of the football team running in panic out of the tunnel. "There! Let's go." As they approach, more and more football team members run towards them and Jackson stops a bruised 9th grader.
"Hey, what's going on in there?"
"It…It's Beetles! He's…gone insane!" The student shouts.
"This is exactly what I feared. Let's step on it." Nigel leads the other boys into the tunnel and find the changing room and immediately notice the kicked-in door.
"Woah, did he…" Hoagie can't get the words out of his mouth as gather in-front of the fallen door.
"Be on your guard, guys. We don't know what's waiting inside." Nigel enters first, followed by Hoagie, Patton and the Seniors. Before them is a disturbing sight: Lying on the floor are 8 students with varying degrees of injury. Some of them have only cuts or bruises but three appear to be much more seriously injured.
"Man, what the heck happened here? Even the lockers are broken. It's like a war-zone." Hoagie looks around while Nigel crosses his arms.
"Wally really went all out…it must've been a heck of a fight…" Nigel says grimly as Patton points at two students who clearly have been stepped on by cleats.
"They must've panicked and surged out of that one door." he kneels next to a student and inspects him. "We need to get these guys to the hospital."
"Leave that to us. I'll make the call and the rest of you help these guys out of here, okay?"
"Got it, Boss."
As the Seniors begin moving the injured, Nigel, Hoagie and Patton continue to look for Wally. Hoagie finds Ernest's Slouch hat lying on the floor and then, notices the shower door partially broken. "Uhm…guys, I think I know where he is…" he points at the door and all three run into the showers where they see Wally, who has pressed a severely injured Ernest against the wall. Without hesitation, the three boys rush to stop their friend. Nigel grabs him from the back while Hoagie and Patton grapple his arms, trying to make him release his grip on the quarterback.
"Wally, you have to let go! That's enough!" Nigel howls into his ear.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"He's already unconscious! You're gonna kill him at this rate!"
"HE HURT KUKI! I'M NOT DONE WITH HIM!"
"We know what he's done, but you need to calm down!"
"I…I…GAAHH!" Wally finally let's go, allowing the others see the damage Wally has done to the quarterback. His swollen face is nearly unrecognizable, he is missing all of his front-teeth and his nose is broken. Wally hasn't escaped injury himself: His nose is bleeding, and his face and arms are bruised but as the boys pull him away, he lets out a painful cry and grasps his left side.
"What's wrong?!"
"Gah…that damn coward…he had that…" Wally weakly points at Ernest's right hand. Nigel takes a closer look and notices something in Ernest's hand: a metal object wrapped around his fingers with a small nob over each finger.
"What is this?"
Patton's eyes widen as he recognizes the object. "That…That's a knuckleduster! How did he sneak that into school grounds? Those things are illegal!" All feel nothing but disgust towards the unconscious quarterback. However, their attention is concentrated on Wally, who gasps in pain.
"Come on, we have to get him outside." Nigel says but before Patton steps away from Ernest, he notices something jutting out of his pocket that sends chills down his spine.
"No…no way…" he reaches into the pocket and pulls out a tiny, opened vial of S.I.N. "Ghh…you…you had this?" he asks the unresponsive Ernest and closes his fist around the empty vial. "You were right Rachel…this was all a diversion…" Patton mutters angrily as he starts draggin Ernest out of the showers.
In the tunnel, Nigel and Hoagie help Wally towards a pair of paramedics who had just arrived.
"Hey! Our friend needs help! He's hurt really bad." Hoagie shouts as two paramedics carrying a stretcher stop and help Wally onto it. The woman medic inspects him and pulls up his hoodie and t-shirt, revealing a dark bruise on his left side, right at the point where the lowest ribs are.
"This doesn't look good; do you have any idea what caused this?"
"I think he was punched with a knuckleduster. The guy who did it is knocked out in the back of the shower room." Hoagie points at the changing room just as Patton appears, dragging Ernest with him.
"I see. Don't worry, we'll take him to hospital. Can one of you come with him?"
"I'll go." Hoagie says but Nigel can say anything, Hoagie puts his hand on Nigel's shoulder. "You're in the Student Council so you guys should stay. Don't worry, this is the least I can do for him…"
"Right. I promise we'll make everyone aware of what Ernest has done."
Up in the infirmary, Abby also volunteers to go with Kuki to the hospital. As both are taken away, the members of the Student Council reconvene in the courtyard as the vice-principal speaks through the intercom.
"Attention all students. There has been an incident within the school grounds. All those not directly involved please leave the school premises immediately. Do not disturb the paramedic's work. I repeat…"
"What a day this turned out to be…" Nigel laments.
"Was it that bad in there?" Rachel puts her hand on Nigel's shoulder who shutters.
"Bad doesn't even describe. I've never seen anyone look at another person the way Wally did at Ernest. He was like a demon…"
"So, what do we do now? Leave this to the police?"
"We need to go through our evidence one more time to build a strong case against Ernest before the police arrive. Because Wally assaulted him, he's now under the threat of expulsion, and I will not allow that!"
"You two go on ahead. We'll catch up." Rachel says as Nigel and Fanny nod before leaving for the council room. Then, Rachel sees Patton's furious expression that he's tried to control. "What is it?"
"…you were right all along…Ernest had this…" Patton opens his fist and shows Rachel the empty vial of S.I.N.
"Wha…no…no, no, no, NO DAMMIT!" Rachel collapses on her knees and punches the ground in frustration while Patton kneels next to her and put his hand on her back.
"They tricked us…and we fell right into it…"
Then, a voice is heard from Rachel's wristwatch:
This is TND Global Command. Ninja attack on Cleve successfully repelled, I repeat…"
End of Transmission 7