Transmission 33: Under the Tree
The boy has a dream.
He is being dragged somewhere but can't see clearly. His body feels heavy, is if under the influence of something. Suddenly, he is struck by immense pain that courses through his body, but he does not know where it is coming from. As the pain grows worse and worse, he can hear others screaming around him while someone cackles in the distance and he recognizes the laughter but cannot say the name out loud. Then, everything melds together until there is only darkness.
"Ugh…*cough*…*gasp*…wha…where…where am I?" Nigel groans and slowly opens his eyes. As his vision clears, he sees glowing tubes before him, that resemble prison bars. Alarmed, he tries to move but his arms and legs have been cuffed and chained to the floor as he realizes he is in a small jail cell. "Ghh…what the…what's going on here? Am I in prison?!" he shouts, before realizing he is wearing his normal turtleneck. "…but…I was wearing my shirt when I got back…wait…"
"…Nigel…is that you?" hearing a familiar voice close by, Nigel stands up and moves closer to the glowing bars.
"A…Abby? Abby!"
"Yeah…it's me…and I ain't the only one here."
"Nigel! You woke up!" Hoagie shouts from an adjacent cell while Nigel sees Wally standing in the cell opposite to him and Kuki is sitting in the cell next to him.
"Hoagie, Wally, Kuki! Are you guys okay?"
"Ugh…been better…I've got a bandage in my wrist…" Hoagie replies while Abby stands up as well.
"Looks like somebody poked us with a syringe or something…" she mutters and slumps down on the floor. "What heck is goin' on…Abby remembers goin' to sleep in her bed but…this ain't some weird hallucination or somethin', right?"
"I wish it was…but this must be real…" Nigel laments while Wally starts pulling the chains in frustration.
"Graaa! Stupid, cruddy chains! Who the heck locked us here anyway?!"
"I'm scared guys…" Kuki mutters and buries her face into her knees as Hoagie peeks through his cell bars.
"Well…I don't think we can get out of here by ourselves…"
"Somebody must have kidnapped us from our homes…because I remember smelling something odd right before I fell asleep…"
"No way…did we get gassed and then dragged here?"
"Seems like it, Hoagie…" Abby says and looks towards the ceiling. "Do our parents even know we're gone?"
"There's no way of knowing…maybe we've been here for days…" Nigel says while Kuki starts weeping in her cell, causing Wally pull his chains even harder.
"ARGH! When I find who ever locked us here, I'm gonna…!" Suddenly, a loud screech is heard from the end of the hallway to their left and a group of men arrive, all wearing white outfits.
"…are those…?"
"I think they are, Hoagie…ice cream truck drivers…now I'm not so sure if this is real after all…" Nigel says silently as the men stop, stand in-front of the cell. "Who are you? Why have you captured us?!"
"You cruddy ice cream weirdo's, let us out!" the teenagers start shouting, excluding Kuki, who is terrified. However, they are quickly silenced as powerful jolts surge their chains, knocking all five teenagers unconscious.
"Alright, move 'em out. The bosses want to see them." one of the men says as the teenagers are dragged out of their cells and taken away.
…
"Rise and shine, Nigel Uno." a composite voice speaks to Nigel, who slowly regains his conscience and starts looking around once more. He has been chained to a brick wall from his arms and feet, and so too have his friends.
"Guys…hey, wake up!" Nigel shouts as one by one, his friends open their eyes as well, shocked by their predicament.
"Oh that's just great! First we're locked in cells and now we're chained to a wall! Just what the heck is going on here?!" Abby shouts, yanking her arms and legs. She is also wearing her casual clothes instead of the pajamas she wore when she went to sleep, including her hat and the sunglasses she had over them.
"Please tell me this is just a dream!" Hoagie yells and he too is wearing his normal clothes, cap included and so are Wally and Kuki.
"Ghh…whoever's behind this is gonna pay! Grraaahh!"
"Let me out! I wanna go home! LET ME GO!" Kuki screams and starts weeping as the dark room they are in lights up and the teens find themselves in a very large grand hall, complete with a fireplace, a piano, tall glass windows which appear to be covered from the outside and its walls are lined with portraits, some of which Nigel recognizes.
"Huh…wait a minute, I've seen that one before!" he shouts and eyes the framed picture of five well-dressed kids with hollow expressions and blue eyes.
"Well spotted Nigel Uno." the composite voice addresses Nigel as five teenagers wearing deep dark blue school uniforms step out of the only dark corner of the room. "Welcome to our humble home, Nigel Uno…or should we say, cousin Nigel."
"Cousin?! What are you talking about?! I only have one cousin!"
"Heh-heh-heh, of course, that is what you remember after all." the five teenagers walks closer to the wall and stare at Nigel and his friends with their cold, emotionless eyes. "Oh, where are our manners. Allow us to introduce ourselves: We are the Delightful Teenagers from Down the Lane."
"Delightful-what? That's the stupidest name Abby's ever heard."
"More like Delightful Dorks! Those outfits are ug-ly!" Hoagie sneers at the Delightful Teenagers, only to be struck by an invisible force that presses him against the wall. "Urgh…argh!"
"Hoagie! What the heck the are ya doin' to him! Stop it!" Abby yells and the Delightful Teenagers smirk.
"You never knew when to keep your mouth shut, Hoagie P. Gilligan Junior."
"…h…how do you know my name?" Hoagie groans as his body tries to recover from the unknown attack.
"Oh, we know you five very well. After all, we used to be mortal enemies." the Delightful Teenagers reply and step away from the wall. "We fought many times and every so often, you five made a mockery of us, time and time again."
"Now you're not making any sense, I can't even remember ever seeing…" Nigel stops himself, amusing the Delightfuls.
"Hah-hah-hah, of course you can't remember us, you lost your memories a year ago…but we remember everything. How you and your stupid Kids Next Door kept meddling in our plans!"
"Kids Next Door? Wait, ya know about them?" Abby lifts and eyebrow as the Delightfuls put their hands behind their backs at the same time.
"Oh yes we do. How could we not? 'An organization of kids that fights against adult tyranny' Hah, don't make us laugh! The are nothing more than ill-behaved brats who goof off! Kids only exist to serve adults and then grow to become adults themselves!"
"These guys are nuts." Abby says to her friends, only to be hit by the same invisible force herself. "Gah! *cough*…urgh…"
"Abby!" her friends shout as the Delightfuls stare coldly at their captives.
"Why have you captured us? What did we ever do to you?!"
"Oh, you wish to know, Nigel? Well, that's very simple: you are the reason Father lost his memory!"
"Father? Who's that?" Hoagie asks as Nigel is suddenly struck by a scary thought.
"Are you…talking about…Uncle Benedict?"
"DO NOT USE THAT NAME HERE!" The Delightfuls roar and subject Nigel to the same invisible force, pressing him against the wall. "That man means nothing to us without his powers, which you took from him, before destroying his memory too!"
"Ugh…ghh…*cough* it's easy for you to speak…when we can't remember…" Nigel hisses at the Delightfuls are suddenly covered by a black aura with a red outline, startling Nigel and his friends.
"What the…"
"What's happenin' to them…?"
"I don't know Wally…" Nigel replies as the Delightful Teenagers begin levitating.
"For 5 years, we were kept in suspended animation, because of you! And then, when we were freed, we learned Father was no more! Our only parent couldn't recognize us and now, he's a nobody. Father was the founder and CEO of Evil Adult Industries, which we have now inherited, along with this incredible power and we intend to finish the job he started, to take over this planet and turn it into a world ruled by adults!" The Delightful Teenagers shout and surround themselves in massive flames but then, they land, and the flames subside. "We will have our revenge, Nigel Uno, you can be sure of that."
"If it's revenge you want, why not just kill us right here and now?" Nigel asks, alarming his friends.
"Fool, don't give 'em any ideas!" Abby says to Nigel, who stares intensely at the Delightful Teenagers through his sunglasses.
"Sharp as a tack, aren't you, Nigel? Of course, taking your lives here would be the easy way, but where's the fun in that? No, we have something much better planned for you: Instead of killing you, we'll simply turn you into mindless slaves. We are not so foolish as to let such valuable pawns slip by our hands."
"What do you mean…are you going to brainwash us or something?"
"Something like that, but much more…painful. But why explain, when we can simply demonstrate." The Delightful Teenagers point their hands towards Nigel and his friends, sending five black tentacles at them and as they wrap around their captives, they are subjected to immense pain and visions.
"ARRRGHHH!" the five teenagers writhe in pain, much to the amusement of the Delightful Teenagers.
"HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH! We'll take our sweet time breaking your minds, before we wipe out your identities completely! HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!" the Delightful Teenager's mad cackling rings across the room as they torture Nigel, Hoagie, Kuki, Wally and Abby with childish glee until suddenly, Nigel's silver wristwatch starts blinking. "Hmm? What is that?" distracted by the blinking, the Delightfuls' grip loosens, just as a blue light beam is fired from the wristwatch to the ceiling, which creates a blue, swirling vortex. "No! Impossible!" the Delightfuls yell as a large orange ball of electricity appears out of the vortex and dives down, destroying the tentacles before ramming the Delightful Teenagers with enough force to send them flying across the room into the opposite wall. "UARRRRGHH!"
"Urgh…what's going on?" Nigel says as the sphere hovers in-front him and his friends and out of the sphere appears a blond-haired teenager, wearing dark-red, orange and yellow armor with orange biomechanical wings in his back and orange three-toed steel talons in his feet. The stranger then turns around to face Nigel and shatters the chains binding him and his friends with an electric bolt, causing them to fall to the floor. "Ugh…*pant* who are you?"
"If you want to escape, listen to the wristwatch." the stranger replies and his voice seems familiar to the teenagers. Nigel then looks at his wristwatch and realizes it is showing a spherical, 3D map. "Go, get out of here!" the stranger shouts as the Delightful Teenagers emerge from the dust and rubble, surrounded by flames.
"Grrr…YOU! Interfering in our business again!"
"Blame yourselves for that!" the stranger replies and turns his back on Nigel. "Stop wasting time and run! I'll hold 'em off!"
"…right! Come on!" Nigel gets up and so do the others as a mechanical voice starts talking to them through wristwatch.
"Go through the door to your right and run down the hallway, quickly."
"Nigel, what the heck is goin' on here?!" Abby shouts as Nigel starts running.
"I don't know, but we've been given a chance! Follow me!" he replies, and the others start running after him.
"NO! YOU WON'T GET AWAY!" the Delightfuls roar, only to be struck by the stranger's thunderbolt, stunning them. "Ghhh…CURSE YOUR TEENS NEXT DOOR! RAAAARGH!"
"4 cycles left."
"More than enough! GRAAAHH!" the stranger then charges at the Delightfuls head-on and they do them same, creating a bright flash as they collide.
…
With the Delightfuls occupied, Nigel and his friends run down a dimly lit hallway, following the wristwatch's instructions. "Turn left in the next intersection."
"Since when did ya have GPS in your cruddy wristwatch?!" Wally shouts while holding Kuki's hand, keeping her close.
"Ask Rachel! She's the one who gave it to me!"
"Abby knew she was hidin' something when she let it slip ya had a girlfriend!" Abby yells as they turn left and run down a smaller side corridor.
"We can worry about that later!" Nigel replies as a red dot appears on the hologram generated by his wristwatch.
"Wow, that's a hologram! I've only seen them in movies! And those guys, they were controlling fire! That other guy looked really cool too!"
"Save the nerd talk, Hoagie! Nigel, where are we goin'?!"
"No idea! Damn, a dead end!" Nigel shouts upon noticing the closed steel door ahead of them.
"What do we do now?!"
"It's gotta be locked!" Kuki and Hoagie start panicking as the wristwatch speaks again.
"Press the green button while pointing at the door." Nigel does as he is told and presses the green button, causing a small barrel to pop out from the watch and it fires a red laser beam into the door, blowing a big hole into it.
"Wow!"
"Holy crud!"
"A LASER! NO WAY, YOUR WRISTWATCH HAS A LASER GUN TOO?!" Hoagie's eyes nearly pop through his goggles from the shock as Abby recognizes the beam.
"That's just like that weird bra my sister had!" she notes while Nigel receives new instructions.
"Go down the stairs to the very bottom, pass through the corridor and destroy the door at the very end."
The teenagers enter the stairwell and run down as fast as they can while alarms start ringing everywhere.
"CAPTIVES HAVE ESCAPED! CAPTURE ON SIGHT!"
"Just what kinda crazy place is this? First it looked like a castle but now everything's feelin' really high-tech!" Abby remarks, having noticed how the gothic hallways the ran through earlier have given away to stainless steel walls and doors with electric locks.
"It's like we're in some super villain's hideout!"
"We very well might be, Kuki." Nigel mutters as they reach the end of the stairwell and run down the corridor before Nigel once again blows up the door ahead of them.
"Man, that's so cool!" Hoagie shrieks as they pass through the destroyed door, only to arrive at a massive hangar filled with black and red vans, massive flying ships and shell-covered bicycles. "…I take that back, THIS is cool…" Hoagie's jaw drops at the sight before them while Wally scratches his head.
"This is just like those sci-fi nerd movies ya talk about…"
"Find the nearest van and press the blue button while pointing at it."
"Van? Of course! We'll use it to escape!" Nigel says as Abby grabs his shoulder.
"That one! Let's take it!" she shouts, and the teenagers run over to the black dark red van, that has fins stick out from its sides and the roof.
"Hey, this is something you'd drive Wally."
"*gag* No way, this ain't my style!" Wally says to Kuki as Nigel follows the watch's instructions again, which causes the van's doors to open by themselves.
"Get inside! Hoagie, you drive!"
"On it!" Hoagie replies and hops on to the driver's seat while Nigel takes the passenger seat and Wally and the girls climb in from the back.
"Wow, are these guns?" Kuki says and examines the futuristic-looking weapons hanging mounted on the passenger compartment's walls.
"Who cares about that, look!" Abby points out of the window as the hangar is slowly filling with men wearing ice cream salesmen outfits and masked people wearing the same black and red armor that came out of Cree's bra.
"Drive Hoagie!" Nigel shouts as Hoagie finds the ignition button and the van's engine comes roaring to life.
"Hold on!" Hoagie violently reverses out of the van's parking bay and accelerates away as the ice cream begin firing lasers at them.
"Oh crud, they're really shooting at us!"
"Take the ramp on the left and drive as fast as you can."
"You heard it, punch it Hoagie!" Abby shouts and grabs Hoagie's seat's backrest.
"Grrr…here we go!" Hoagie turns the van towards the ramp that leads down a upwards-going tunnel and he floors the van's accelerator. As they race up the tunnel, Kuki sees a faint light in the distance.
"Guys! There's the exit!"
"Give her all you got Hoagie!" Nigel shouts as the van powers through the tunnel at full speed until they reach the light and the teenagers are immediately blinded for a fraction of a second but when their vision clears, they see the bright open sky overhead before realizing that they are several hundred meters in the air.
"…ha…HAAAAAAAHHH!" the teenagers scream as the van's nose begins slowly pointing downward before it starts plummeting towards the ground at high speed.
"Flight-mode engaged." a mechanical voice says from the dashboard as jet engines fold out from under the van while swept back wings extend from the van's side-skirts and the van starts flying.
"…Huh?...Gu..guys…We're…flying…WE'RE FLYING! WOOHOOO!" Hoagie yells, overcome with joy that his dream of flying is finally fulfilled. "I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO FLY!"
"…this…van can fly…" a dumbstruck Nigel slumps down on his seat while Kuki, who had been holding to Wally for dear life, runs excitedly to the front of the van.
"Oh my gosh! This is so cool!"
"Uhm…guys…look…" a pale and stuttering Wally points at the rear window, prompting Nigel to peek at the side mirror, only to be stunned by what he sees: a massive, black and red flying ship with multiple turrets on its deck and a tall mansion identical to his uncle's mansion serving as the bridge.
"No way…"
"We were inside that?!" Hoagie yells upon seeing the ship from his side-mirror.
"You were right Kuki…it is a super-villain's hideout…"
"What kinda mess did we just get ourselves into…" Abby laments and lowers her cap slightly. "Didn't we just come back from the Christmas party? What the heck is goin' on?!"
"I don't know, Abby…but staying here is not an option. Hoagie, can you fly this thing?" Nigel asks Hoagie, who grips the steering wheel.
"Uh…I think so…" but as he tries to move the wheel, the mechanical voice speaks again.
"Auto-pilot disengaged." the van shudders and Hoagie struggles to keep it steady.
"Woah…uhh…come on…"
"Boy, if ya crash this thing, Abby's gonna…" Then, the van buckles, causing Abby to fall backwards but Kuki and Wally manage to catch her in time. "Hoagie!"
"I'm trying…I've never flown a flying van…or anything before…" Hoagie grits his teeth and does his best to stop the van from rolling and diving. "Urgh…work with me you stupid…" then, a memory flashes by his eyes and an odd sensation runs through his body. He's flown before, the sensation tells him, and Hoagie's expression becomes serious. Taking a deep breath and relaxing his muscles, Hoagie quickly glances at the dashboard and presses four buttons in quick succession, causing the van to stabilize.
"The shaking stopped…well done Hoagie." Nigel smiles and pats Hoagie on the shoulder.
"Eh-heh-heh, it was nothing…I guess I have flown before…I just don't remember it."
"You dummy." Abby says jokingly as Nigel looks out of the window.
"We need to get out of here right now. Does this thing have a GPS or something?"
"Hold on…I think it's that green button there." Nigel then presses the said button, causing an LCD screen to pop out of the dashboard, which shows him their current location. "Huh, we're not far from Cleve."
"Abby says we go home."
"Yeah, we gotta let our folks know we're okay."
"That's exactly what we'll do Wally. Hoagie, take us home."
"Heh, with this baby, it's gonna be a short flight." Hoagie smirks and applies thrust, sending the van soaring through the midday winter sky while behind them, the massive ship disappears into the thin air.
After 10 minutes, the teenagers arrive over Cleve in their flying van. "Take us down somewhere safe and we'll drive home from there."
"Gotcha." Hoagie replies to Nigel and soon enough, he finds an empty parking lot and lands van there, but before they can drive away, a single word appears on Nigel's wristwatch: "Closet."
"I knew it…" Nigel thinks as Abby peek over his backrest.
"'Closet'? What's that mean?"
"Nigel?" Kuki asks as she notices Nigel's stern expression.
"…Hoagie, let's go to my place first."
"But Abby's house is the closest."
"Abby, I understand, but we NEED to go to my house first, no matter what." Seeing Nigel look at her with such stern look, Abby puts her hands up.
"Okay, okay, chill Nigel…"
"Sorry, I didn't want to sound mean, but…I know what this word means…I found out something right before I was knocked out. I'll explain the rest later."
"Sure, if ya say so." Abby replies as Hoagie drives them to Nigel's house, but along the way, none of the teenagers say anything as the realization of what they have just gone through begins to sink in on them. Who were the Delightful Teenagers and why were they after Nigel and his friends? What are the Kids Next Door? How exactly did they escape? All these questions begin filling their heads until they arrive at the Uno residence.
But as Hoagie parks the car and the teenagers climb out of the van, the front door flies open, and Monty runs outside with Margaret on tow. "Nigel!" Monty shouts and grabs Nigel by his shoulder.
"Dad…I…uh…"
"Why didn't you tell us you were out on the town with Eliza?!"
"Huh? What do you…?" a confused Nigel asks as Margaret takes over.
"She rang us last night and said she was coming over for Christmas, without warning, and told us she was having fun with you and your friends in downtown."
"But we…"
"Now Nigel, I understand that you want to spend quality time with your older cousin, but you need to tell us if you leave the house. Why, we thought you were kidnapped, until we noticed that your outdoor shoes were missing." Dumbstruck by what he's just heard, suspicion starts rising within Nigel, but then, it is overtaken by relief, and he suddenly hugs Monty. "Nigel?"
"I'm sorry dad, I should've told you…It won't happen again."
"Agh, Nigel, there's no need to cry about it." but Nigel refuses to let go of his father, prompting Margaret to also hug her son, while Nigel's friends look on silence, none of them unable to speak out and tell the truth of what really happened to them. Then, Nigel let's go and adjusts his sunglasses.
"What day is it, dad?"
"What day? My, it's the morning of Christmas Eve, old bean. What, did you have so much fun you forgot the date?"
"Eh-heh…maybe. Dad, can I borrow some stuff from the garage?"
"But of course, son."
"Thanks dad. Come on guys." Nigel waves to his friends and leads them to the garage.
"Thanks for having us, Mr. and Mrs. Uno!" Kuki says as the teenagers enter the garage while Nigel's parent's go back to the house.
"I say, have you noticed the odd smell hanging in the air lately?"
"Hmm…not really. I think your nose is playing tricks again, Monty." Margaret says to Monty as she closes the door, but nobody realizes the house being watched.
"The targets have entered the building."
"Standby. Once they have found the book and left the trove, capture on sight."
…
"Nigel, what were your parent's talkin' about back there?" Abby says to Nigel as he rummages through Monty's toolboxes.
"It means Rachel isn't the only one who knows something we don't."
"Wait, you mean your cousin's in on this crazy stuff too?" Wally asks while leaning onto the hood of Monty's green family wagon.
"No doubt about it. Why else would she suddenly call my parents and make up such an obvious lie? But I guess I owe her another one…I can't imagine what my parents would do if they knew the truth…"
"Me neither…my mom would flip…or then she just wouldn't believe it. I mean, what sane person would? If you had told me yesterday that I'd end up kidnapped from Abby's house by a bunch of creepy, symbiotic teenagers with fire powers and saved by a talking wristwatch and a flying blond guy with lighting powers and escape a massive flying ship/mansion thingy in a flying jet van, I would've called you crazy."
"Ooh, you went to Abby's house!" Kuki interrupts, causing both Abby and Hoagie to become flustered.
"Y…yeah, so? She invited me in, that's all."
"Ain't nothin' wrong with that, Kuki! And if Abby remembers right, didn't ya want Wally to stay at your place?" Abby's remarks silences Kuki and she covers her face to hide her red cheeks while Wally shrugs.
"I was too tired, so I don't remember anything…ow! Oi!" he yelps, having received a swift kick to shin from Kuki but then, Nigel interrupts them.
"Guys, focus. We're dealing with something way beyond anything we've ever experienced. Those Delightful Teenagers or whatever were going to torture us and then brainwash us! At least try to take this seriously."
"We are, Nigel, but you're taking it way too seriously."
"I have to, Abby! If what those freaks said is true, they are my cousins and I'm somehow responsible for my uncle's memory loss…maybe for all of us too." Nigel's voice fades as he closes the toolbox and shakes his head.
"Come on Nigel, don't say that. We've got no proof those guys were telling the truth back there."
"I know Hoagie…anyway, here, you take this." Nigel hands Hoagie a large flashlight and puts on a headlamp.
"What the heck are ya plannin' now, Nigel?" Abby lifts an eyebrow at Nigel while Kuki puts her hand up.
"Are we going spelunking?"
"Something like that…follow me." Nigel says sternly and leads his friends out of the garage and into the house proper.
"Nigel, what are you doing with that headlamp?" Monty peeks from behind his newspaper as the teenagers walks past him.
"We're going to the attic." Nigel replies quickly without making eye contact and starts climbing the stairs with his friends.
"Oh I see, be careful in there! Hmm…but doesn't the attic have lights? Oh well."
But instead of heading to the attic like he said, Nigel instead walks over to his room. "Hey, why are we going there? I thought you said were going to the attic?"
"Come inside, quickly." Nigel whispers to Hoagie and gestures to everyone to enter his room.
"Nigel, Abby's startin' think ya hit your head or something…pe-ew! Why's it stink in here?!" Abby shrieks and puts her hand on her nose while Kuki does the same.
"Ew…it's so stinky…Wally, did you fart?"
"Did not!" Wally snaps at Kuki as Nigel shakes his head.
"No, this odor is probably from the gas that knocked me out. Hmph, looks like whoever captured me didn't see what I had just found before that." Nigel smirks and picks up the photograph lying on the floor.
"What's that?"
"This, Abby, is the picture I told you guys about earlier." Nigel replies and shows the photo to his friends, who immediately recognize Rachel despite no seeing her face.
"Ya were right, that really is Rachel."
"Aww, we look so adorable…but why is Rachel wearing a colander?"
"Hah-hah, it's like an imitation samurai helmet."
"Notice the letters in the back?" Nigel points at a large TV screen in the background and true enough, "KND" is displayed on it.
"KND…Kids Next Door! Wait…does that mean WE were…"
"Most likely, yes Hoagie, we were members of this organization." Nigel says as Kuki crosses her arms.
"What did those weirdo's call it…Oh right, 'an organization of kids that fights against adult tyranny' *giggle* that's funny."
"So, you're sayin' we were hanging out with a bunch of weird kids and beat up adults or something?" Wally asks and Nigel replies with nod before opening the small safe next to his wooden closet.
"That would explain these pictures." he says as he gives his friends more pictures, which show the group as kids, posing victoriously over unconscious adults and to their shock, some of them are wearing the same ice cream seller outfits as the men who appeared inside the ship.
"Yo, these guys look familiar!" Abby points at one of the said pictures as Hoagie removes his hat and scratches his head.
"Ice cream truck drivers are evil? Man, this is getting way too crazy…but that doesn't explain why we need this." he gestures with the flashlight, prompting Nigel to the photos back and lock them in the safe before showing Rachel's picture to them again.
"Look on the other side." he says and turns the photo around.
"'If you're ever in trouble, look in the top left corner of the closet.' I don't get it." Hoagie replies as Nigel walks over to his closet and opens the door and presses the top left corner, causing the backwall to slide away, revealing the dark corridor beyond it. "Oh…"
"What the crud…?"
"You…Nigel, there's tunnel in your closet…" Abby points at the corridor as Nigel turns on his headlamp.
"I'll lead the way. Whatever's in there might finally give us the answers we need." Nigel says and steps into the closet.
"Uh…maybe we should call someone…" Hoagie hesitates but Abby pushes him forward through the door.
"Come on, Goggle Boy, after what we've been through already, this ain't gonna stop us."
"Ooh, this so exciting!" Kuki says as she and Wally enter the closet last, but the moment they door, the backwall slides out and locks itself, plunging the teenagers into darkness. "EEEEEK!"
"Oh great, it's locked!" Wally shouts and knocks on the wall, but it does not budge.
"We'll worry about that later. Hoagie, turn on your light."
"Uh…sure thing Nigel." Hoagie replies and shines the light down the corridor, which is completely made of wood. "This thing seems to go on pretty far…"
"Then let's find out where it leads. Follow me." Nigel leads his friends through the wooden corridor, which seems to go on forever.
"Guys, Abby thinks it's a bit too quiet here…"
"Are you sure this is safe, Nigel?"
"I'm not sure of anything right now, Kuki. But one thing is for sure, somebody wanted us to come here." Nigel says as they arrive on a large balcony overlooking a dark, round hole, also made of wood. "What the…?"
"It's a dead end." Abby mutters as Hoagie notices something about the wooden wall.
"Hmm…hey guys, this is a tree trunk, look." He points the light upwards and they see a round ceiling. "Growth rings!"
"We're inside a hollowed-out tree!" Nigel shouts in surprise. "How…?"
"This tree is over 560 years old. But why couldn't we see it from the outside?"
"Don't ask me, Hoagie." Abby replies and nudges the stunned Nigel.
"So, what we do now?"
"I…I don't know…wait, didn't your parents mention a treehouse once?"
"Yeah…hold up, are ya sayin' THIS used to be that treehouse? No way."
"Wow, it must've been gi-hugic!" Kuki shouts and her voice echoes throughout the trunk while Wally notices something in the corner of the balcony.
"Hey, check it out, it's a slide!"
"A slide?" Nigel quickly runs over to him and there indeed is a slide going down into the dark hole below them.
"Where do you think it leads?" Hoagie says as he kneels next to it and peeks over the edge.
"There's only one way to find out!" Without any hesitation, Nigel jumps on the slide and quickly vanishes into the darkness, alarming his friends.
"Nigel! Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Abby throws her arms in the air just as Wally follows Nigel's example.
"LET'S GOOOoooo…"
"Guys! Are you outta your minds?!"
"Wait for me Wally! WEEEEEEEeeeee…" Kuki jumps as Wally, leaving only Hoagie and Abby on the balcony.
"Uhm…well, ladies first."
"I told ya, you guys were crazy. Fine, outta the waaaaaay…" Abby slides as well, followed by Hoagie and the five teenagers speed down the twisting, looping, spiraling and undulating metal slide in total darkness until Nigel lands on a huge pillow and so do the others.
"Oof…guys, everyone okay?"
"Woohoo! Holy crud that was the best slide ever!" Wally shouts while Hoagie pumps his fists in the air.
"Hah-haaa, that was epic!"
"Let's do it again!" Kuki cheers as Abby stands up and adjusts her cap.
"So, where the heck are we now?" she asks as Nigel turns his headlamp back on and surveys the room they've landed in when suddenly, a blue light shines down from the ceiling, revealing to the teenagers where they have arrived: a large round room lined with computer screens, gadgets and weapons made of junk with a round elevated section in the middle, where the blue light is shining and next to it is a single lever.
"Wow…is this…an armory?" Hoagie says and begins surveying the gadgets with interest. "Man, somebody must've had fun making these…" he picks up a weapon made of two planks joined together by a hinge on one end and a magnet on the other while the lower plank has two handles and a trigger. And the moment Hoagie pulls the trigger, the upper plank swings forward with immense force. "WOAH! Hey guys, check this out!" he yells and repeatedly pulls the trigger. "Hah, this thing is wicked!"
"That's nothin', look at this!" Wally gestures while holding a weapon made of a bottle, tin can and a flashlight, all connected to a single long plank. "This looks like a gun!" but upon pulling the trigger, a red laser flies out and hits the nearby wall. "WOW!"
"Foo', careful with that! Are ya tryin' to blow the place up?!" Abby snarls at Wally while Hoagie's eyes light up and he runs over to Wally.
"No way, that's a laser gun! So cool!"
"Guys, what are these?" Kuki says while holding a pair of bongo drums with lenses on them.
"Huh? Those look like drums…but why the lenses?" Hoagie scratches his chin as Kuki moves the lenses over her eyes.
"Hey! You guys look so tiny!"
"*snaps finger* Ah-haa, they're binoculars!"
"You've got 'em upside down. Flip 'em over." Wally notes and Kuki does so, only to see and extremely detailed magnification of Wally.
"EEEK!" startled, she drops the drum binoculars, but Hoagie manages to grab them before they hit the floor.
"*sigh* That was close. Ooh, these things are really cool. They've got a night vision function too!" As the trio examine the gadgets, Abby walks over to a silent Nigel.
"How did all this stuff end up under your house? Cuz we sure ain't on ground-level."
"No idea...and the computers are only showing these odd letters." Nigel replies and points at the blinking computer screens. Then, he notices the lone lever jutting out of the ground and approaches it. "Hmm…now why is this here…" but the moment he grabs it, he is struck by a vision. "Urgh…wow…"
"Nigel?"
"Abby…I think…I've been here before…"
"Really?"
"Yes…now I'm certain…just like how Wally didn't remember he could swim…or how Hoagie knew how to fly…then…that means…" Nigel pulls the lever, causing the entire room to shake while the top of the elevated section splits and slides aways, and out of the hole rises a platform with a pedestal made of golden wood.
"Yeesh…what the heck is that?" Abby raises an eyebrow as Nigel steps on the platform and gestures to his friends.
"Everyone, come over here." he waves and walks over to the pedestal, followed by his friends and they all notice the tattered book sitting on the pedestal.
"What's a crummy book doing here?" Wally asks as Nigel opens the book and is immediately struck by another vision.
"…The Book of KND…" he mutters as his friends gather around him and they begin reading the book together.
"Look at all those schematics…is this some sort of a manual?"
"More like a journal…or a scrap book, Hoagie." Nigel replies silently.
"'The Alamode', '2x4 Technology'? None of this is makin' any sense, it's just a bunch if kid nonsense." Abby folds her arms as Nigel notices a page that mentions the name "Grandfather".
"Grandfather? Who is…urgh…ghhh…argh…" he is immediately hit by another headache fit and so are his friends.
"Aw no, not again…"
"When are these…*groan* stupid headaches gonna end?!" Wally complains while holding his head while Nigel grits his teeth and powers through the pain until the fit goes away.
"Man…is it just me or have these headaches become worse since we went to your uncle's wrecked mansion?"
"Yeah, they're been really painful…" Hoagie and Kuki say to Nigel, who shakes his head.
"I don't know…huh?!" Nigel shouts as he finds a page near the very end titled "Last Note, to Ben." "Ben…no, it can't be…this is talking about my uncle…he's called a brother here…which means…my dad…was IN the KND?!"
"Wow, really?"
"I'm not certain, Hoagie…" then, Nigel finds the last page with text on and he nearly drops the book upon reading is.
"Nigel? Hey, what's wrong with ya?" Abby nudges the stunned Nigel, who shakes his head and takes a deep breath.
"That's my handwriting." he points at the last page, which has a single sentence written on it.
"'WE ARE KIDS NEXT DOOR!' You wrote that?" Kuki asks, prompting Nigel to close the book.
"It has to be…and that confirms all of my suspicions. We were a part of this KND organization when we were kids but lost our memories and now, people who DO remember us from back then, are after us." Nigel frowns and walks away from the pedestal with the book in hand.
"That's crazy…are ya sayin' Rachel and your cousin are in on this too?"
"Not just them, Abby but perhaps Patton as well, considering he was always absent at the same time as Rachel and the two were nearly inseparable." Nigel's deduction shocks his friends, but none of them disagree with him.
"Uhm…so what do we do now?" Hoagie asks.
"We need to find Fanny, bring her here and tell her everything. We have that flying van, so we'll use it to get to her house quickly and then come back. After that, we'll think of our next move." Nigel explains as his friends step down from the platform before he pulls the lever.
"Abby's got just one question: how the heck are we gonna get outta here?"
"Hmm…let me see…" Hoagie starts surveying the walls around the room and soon, finds a switch that opens an upwards going staircase. "Ah-ha! Found it!"
"Good job, Hoagie. Now, let's go everyone." Nigel says and leads his friends up the stairs but as they climb them, Kuki nudges Wally.
"Uhm…you don't think those Delightful whatever are coming after us?"
"If they do, I'll beat the crud outta them for kidnapping us."
"I dunno, those guys-controlled fire, Wally. Ya sure you'd stand a chance?" Abby says over her shoulder as they arrive to the end of the stairs and stop in-front of a hatch made of floorboards. Nigel then grabs the handle and pushes it, but the hatch refuses to budge.
"Urgh…it's…too heavy…"
"Lemme try." Wally comes to his side and pushes as well and the with their combined effort, they manage to push the hatch open, only to realize they've arrived at Nigel's front lawn. "No way!"
"This was here the whole time?!" Nigel shouts as they step out to the snow-covered lawn.
"Huh, no wonder it was so heavy." Hoagie mutters as they regroup and star walking towards the van when suddenly, Kuki is struck by a purple beam that traps her in crystal.
"KUKI!" they all shout as the trapped teenager falls on her back, her eyes having turned completely blue.
"KUKI! What the crud happened?!" a panicking Wally shouts and tries to break the crystal but his punches do nothing. "Gah, don't just stand there, we gotta help her-GAH!" before he can finish, Wally is also trapped in crystal and so are Hoagie and Abby.
"GUYS!" Nigel yells as he is suddenly surrounded by a group of strangers wearing gray and blue ninja armor and their faces are covered by mirrored visors. "Who are you?! What have done to my-GUAH!" Nigel also falls victim to the crystal but while he cannot move or hear, he can see as the attackers pick up him up, along with his friends.
"All targets secured." One of the attackers speaks to his gauntlet.
"Well done. Load them up and bring them here, quickly. We're on a tight schedule." a voice from the gauntlet says as a ship made up of a school bus with a massive jet engine strapped to its roof arrives, destroying the van Nigel and his friends escaped in with its lower hull-mounted laser turret and lands onto the street. One by one, the captured teenagers are thrown inside the flying bus and four of the attackers board it while the rest scatter and disappear into the shadows.
Then, the bus takes off and flies at an immense speed up, breaking through the atmosphere.
…
"They've disappeared?!" The Delightful Teenagers shout at a computer screen inside their wrecked grand hall.
"Seems like it. The Ninjas haven't been able to find them anywhere." Omnius replies as he glares coldly through the screen.
"Grr…no matter…we at least got their brainwaves and DNA, so it is not a total loss. Have you ordered our forces to go underground?"
"Yes, all Evil Adult Industries facilities have been secured and the Ninjas have gone into hiding as well. All is ready for the GKND's arrival."
"Excellent. Now we simply wait…and strike when the time is right, HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!"
…
Unable to move or hear anything, Nigel and his friends have been laying on the flying bus's cargo hold's floor but they are not alone there, as Fanny has also been captured in crystal and is laying splayed on the floor nearby. Nigel, who is on his side, can see a window from the corner of his eye and he realizes he's in space. "Impossible…" he thinks as the bus shudders and slows down, before it lands. Then, the rear door opens and to Nigel's shock, he sees teenagers wearing uniforms enter the bus and carry them outside. After all six of them are dropped to the floor, they are struck by green beams, which dissolve their crystal prison. "Urgh…guys?!" ignoring everything around him, Nigel is solely focused on his friends.
"Man…what was that…?" Hoagie mutters before he sees a rifle barrel pointing at him. "WAAAH!"
"On your feet, all of you." one of the four masked attackers says in a distorted voice as the teenagers are threatened at gunpoint.
"Grrr…who the crud are you people?!" Wally shouts as a scared Kuki grabs his left arm.
"*sigh* Abby's getting' real tired of getting' captured today…" Abby mutters while Fanny glares murderously at their captors.
"Just who do ya think ye are, barging into my house and trapping me like that?! Well? Say somethin'?!" she roars while Nigel grips the book he brough with him.
"…are you with those Delightful Teenagers or are you the Kids Next Door."
"You'll learn soon. Now, follow me." the stranger replies and the teenagers are lead through a door into a hallway before they board a large elevator.
"Wow…this place looks pretty cool."
"Not the right time that, Hoagie. Can't ya see we've been captured again?"
"Uh…yeah, of course I know that, Abby, but I can't help it! This elevator is made out of a truck bed!" Hoagie replies while Abby shakes her head and notices Nigel eyeing the masked stranger who spoke to them.
"So, I'm guessing you're not going to tell us anything?"
"No, but you'll soon meet someone who will explain everything." the stranger replies with a distorted voice while Nigel squints at them. Then, the elevator stops, and they are led through another hallway and stop in-front of a guarded door. "Go inside." the stranger gestures to Nigel and his friends, who begrudgingly enter the dark room.
"More dramatic lightin'? Yeesh."
"Welcome." a female voice speaks to them as the lights are turned on and the group sees an orange-haired teenage girl sitting at the end of a long table. She is wearing green and white armor and has large, green-lensed shades on her face, but Nigel instantly recognizes her.
"Eliza…"
"WHAT?!" his friends shout as the girl smirks and removes her sunglasses.
"*chuckle* Nothing escapes you, does it, Nigel?"
"What's going on here? Where are we? Why are you wearing that armor? Why are we…?"
"Nigel!" Eliza silences her younger cousin with a single hand gesture. "Calm down. I'll explain everything to you all." she says calmly, but the teenagers remain suspicious of her.
"How do we know we can trust ya? Incase ya didn't know, we were already kidnapped once today and nearly tortured to death, so Abby's not in the mood for any more surprises!" Abby yells, prompting Kuki to hold her shoulder.
"I totally get how you're feeling right now, Abigail, I really do."
"No ya don't, you're just…" but then, Nigel moves his hand in-front of Abby and looks over his shoulder at her.
"That's enough, Abby. Let's hear her out." he says and Eliza gestures everyone to sit down.
"*sigh* So, where should I begin…" Eliza crosses her arms as Nigel removes his sunglasses.
"Why don't you start off by telling us where we are right now?"
"You're at KND's Global HQ, the Moonbase, more specifically, at the TND's Extension."
"TND? What's that?" Hoagie asks cautiously.
"The Teens Next Door, we're just like the KND, but we're made up of teenagers over the age of 13, who used to be in the KND. I'm the TND's Supreme Commander, Numbuh Alpha."
"Wow…I can't believe we're on the moon…" Kuki whispers to Wally as Eliza continues.
"Now, when I said I'd tell you everything, I wasn't really being honest. I can give you an overview of your pasts and the reasons why you lost your memories, but I can't go into the little details…"
"Is it because of the headaches?"
"Exactly, Nigel. Hmph, you're still way too sharp." Eliza smiles slightly before frowning. "If I'd start going through every detail, your minds would overload and you might even suffer a really bad fit that could leave you in a coma."
"*gasp* That's scary…" Kuki covers her mouth while Nigel leans back on his chair and looks sternly at Eliza.
"I see…then make it short." he says, and Eliza starts briefly explaining the six teenagers their shared past, their history in the KND and what has happened in the past 6 years and upon finishing her explanation, Nigel and his friends are left utterly stunned.
"…wow…that's…insane…" Hoagie mutters and has to take off his cap while Abby shakes her head.
"Man, this is way too crazy…"
"So we willingly gave up our memories because Wally lost his and that's the reason we suffer these fits?"
"That's the gist of it. Now…if the situation was different, we would've just let you guys live your lives as normal teenagers in Cleve…but things haven't gone the way we hoped for. The Galactic Kids Next Door are coming to destroy Earth and we need your help." Eliza says as she looks at each teenager individually before pointing at Nigel, Abby, Hoagie and Kuki and then Wally and Fanny. "Since you four gave up your memories willingly for their sake, it wouldn't be right to just force you all to get your memories back. That's why, I'm asking you, if you want your memories back, because we can restore them, and it would cure your conditions."
The six teenagers are taken aback by Eliza's words and look at each other in silence before Nigel places the book on the table. "You said you were going to let us live normally…then why was there a message written in a picture of Rachel that mention my closet? What was the point of that?"
"…we didn't know she had planted that there. We've tried very hard to keep you guys from discovering your pasts, for your own safety but she acted on her own. Rachel has been watching over you guys for over a year after all."
"That explains everything…then what was that underground room below my house? And this book, what's its purpose?"
"Sorry Nigel, but I can't tell you. We're running out of time, so I want to hear your answer." Eliza shoots down Nigel's question, frustrating him.
"Hold on, you're not blackmailing us here, are you?" Hoagie asks while Fanny hits her hands against the table.
"Cause if ye are, you're gonna regret it!"
"I'm not!" Eliza pleads and Nigel can tell she is telling the truth. "You six are very important friends! No just to me but to many others here in the TND! Please understand, your conditions will only get worse if we don't give you your memories back! If you had been Decommissioned instead…you wouldn't have this condition…" she yells, prompting Nigel to put his sunglasses back on and sigh.
"I understand, Eliza…but just answer this one question: Were we manipulated at any time in the past year?"
"No. We only interfered when it was really needed, like when Abigail found her sister's Battle-Ready Armor. We had to take it away, because it had a tracking beacon that would've attracted the Delightfuls attention." Eliza's answer reminds Abby of her sister, and she clenches her fists.
"Cree…" Abby mutters and looks at Eliza. "If we agree to this thing, does that mean I'll know why my sister hates me?"
"Yes, and lots of other things too." Eliza replies and stands up. "I'll give a moment to think about it." she then walks out of a side door, leaving the six teenagers, who sit around the table, trying to come to terms with everything they've heard.
"…man…who would've thought we'd get involved in something like this…" Hoagie says and scratches his head.
"We lived a lie…in a way…" Nigel says while Wally finally speaks up, having remained quiet so far.
"…you guys gave up your memories because I lost mine…" he mutters and clenches his fists angrily.
"Wally?" Kuki puts her hand on his shoulder as he lifts his head and looks at his friends.
"Does that mean this whole thing was my fault?"
"No. I refuse to believe that." Nigel shakes his head and turns to face Wally. "It's proof that the five of us were very close friends back then and I am not going point to any fingers." he says sternly while Abby lifts the lid of her cap and eyes Wally.
"We gave 'em up willingly, Wally, if what Nigel's cousin said was true. Which meant we were okay with it."
"Can we really be sure she was tellin' the truth?" Fanny says, prompting Nigel to frown and eye the book.
"…I want to believe her…though the way she acted now compared to October is giving me doubts…"
"I want my memories back!" Kuki puts her hand up and looks at her friends with determination. "I want to know everything about my past! Don't you guys want that too?!"
"Yes…but is it what our old selves would've wanted? Eliza did say that we all went through really traumatic experiences…"
"I don't care!" Kuki shouts at Nigel and stands. "So what? I can handle it, because I want to know all the birthday parties I had, all the times I played with my friends and what I did in that KND!"
"…you know…she's got a point." Hoagie also stands. "There's so much stuff I want to remember too. How I got this titanium plate in my shoulder for example."
"Yeah, me too! These nightmares are pissing me off." Wally gets up as well, prompting Abby to smirk and stand up too.
"Abby don't wanna live the rest of her life without knowin' why Cree don't wanna see me anymore."
"You're right. Livin' in ignorance is not how I want to live." Fanny hits her hands together and finally, Nigel chuckles and picks up the book.
"I see…then I guess we all agree. Even if we have to deal with the bad memories."
"Don't worry, we'll make SO many great memories from here on!" Kuki jumps up and everyone nods at each other confidently.
"Alright, then let's get our memories back, guys."
"YEAH!" then, the same side door that Eliza walked through opens by itself.
"I'm glad to hear it. Go through the door and we'll get you your memories back."
Eliza speaks to them through the room's intercom and the group enter the dark corridor, which leads them to a large, round room lined with stainless steel with a single powerful light shining down from the curving ceiling.
Then, a round pedestal rises from the floor, holding six glass containers while six round platform are mounted in-front of them. "Welcome to the Erasure Reversing Chamber. Move over to your designated platforms and we can begin." a Scottish sounding voice speaks to the teenagers as the platforms lower down to the floor.
"Wow…uhm…I don't have a good feeling about this after all…" an afraid Hoagie says but Abby slaps him in the back and walks past him.
"Too late for regrets, Hoagie." she says as she approaches the pedestal with her name on it and one by one, the teenagers step on the platforms, causing glass walls to trap them inside.
"*gasp* What's happening?" Kuki shrieks while Wally presses his hands against the glass.
"Oi!"
"Calm down, it's a security measure. Now, face the containers." Begrudgingly, the teenagers turn towards the pedestal and notice objects inside the glass containers: Nigel's holds cracked, black sunglasses, Hoagie's has broken, yellow-lensed goggles, Kuki has a necklace holding a cracked pink crystal, Wally's container has a singed wristband while Abby has a large gold earring and Fanny's has a yellow weapon holster. The six objects are all giving the same, faint blue glow.
"Why…does it look so familiar?" Nigel mutters and looks at his friends, who are also puzzled.
"No kidding, these goggles look like something I wore in those pictures."
"I don't remember this necklace…" Kuki says but feels as if the necklace's crystal is calling out to her.
"The moment the containers are opened, place your hands on the objects and don't let go, no matter what."
The teenagers look at each other one more time and nod, all prepared for whatever happens next as the containers slide open and each of them grabs their respective item. "Beginning Erasure Reversal process!" The teenagers are immediately hit by a surge of energy, subjecting them to pain they have never felt before.
"GUUUAURRRGHHH!" their screams echo throughout the chamber as their minds are flooded by visions and sounds, they cannot recall.
"…Are we men, or are we kids?!"
"…my dad is Numbuh 0?! Oh my gosh…!"
"…this is for all the cuddly things in the bedroom!"
"…but I don't make mistakes!"
"…you're still my sistah."
"This oughta take the cake!"
As the pain becomes unbearable, one by one, the teenagers fall on their knees, all feeling like their heads are being torn apart while their bodies are enveloped in a blue light that fills the entire chamber until all they see is white while the visions and voices keep pouring into their heads. Then, they stop screaming and collapse all at once but before everything turns black, they all hear something.
"Kids Next Door, Battlestations!"
End of Transmission 33
Note: Alright, now it's time for the story to pick up, drastically. I've been waiting for a year to write this one, ever since I finished RETRIBUTION. And this also means I need to make more concept art for new characters and new designs, so look forward to that.