Nextgen Kids: Eve of Apocalypse

by Gamewizard2008

Fourth Saga of Gameverse. The Nextgen KND enter their next year of adventures and villain-fighting! Between the mysterious agents of Team Gnik, the candy-loving Big Mom Pirates, or the rise of Galaxian Emperor Tachyon, the operatives are practically overwhelmed by so many new threats. But an old foe delivers news of an even worse crisis, doomed to arrive this year.

1. Sector W7

Hello there, everyoooone! You've briefly been introduced to them in Viridi's Last Stand… but NOW it's time to officially meet Sector W7! They're some of my favorite children from One Piece, plus one OC! This story is also the first of my new saga, called the Big Mom Saga!

Chimney, Dreamer of Trains

Bathhouse Factory

Mechanical pumps were the only thing heard in these vast, hollow halls. The only beings that roamed the halls of this base were robotic ducks, armed with bathing supplies. Kids were tied within the center of this factory, trapped in bathtubs as mechanical arms forcibly bathed them. Mrs. Dirt watched this from her control station, a wicked smile on her face. "YOU kids should've thought TWICE before refusing to take your daily baths! You'll be scrubbed so clean you'll NEVER get dirty again!"

Hidden from her vision, behind one of the tubs' legs, a very small girl, only 3 inches tall, had her back pressed against the leg. She had grass-green hair, midway to her elbows, an orange shirt, aqua-blue vest, an orange patterned skirt with dark-green stripes, long orange socks, and blue Mary-Janes. "We'll see WHO thinks twice about something." she said, her black eyes glaring. She looked at her wristwatch communicator and spoke, "This is Numbuh 76.2, I'm close to the control room. Going in."

Spy of Sector W7, a Lilliputian

AEINCHA

A shadowed girl, with a wide grin on her silhouette, spoke, "Oi, Aisa-chan. How many are there?"

"Gyom-gyoooom." Her bunny companion said.

A girl in a brown, raggedy dress, angel wings, a white hat, and bare feet, closed her eyes as visions of robotic ducks and bathing children appeared in her mind. "There's 30 Duckbots. …Oh, make that 29. One of them died of a stroke. And there's 40 children."

Mantra Specialist of Sector W7, a Shandian Nimbi

AISA

"Can we take 'em?" another girl asked.

"Yah… we can!" The leader declared with a smirk. Immediately, the Duckbots jumped with a start when three garbage cans shot up, and the three girls wore them as separate pieces of armor. "Sector W7! THRASH 'EEEEMM!" Numbuh W473R, aka Chimney, the team's leader and pilot, exclaimed.

"Gyoooom!" Her rabbit, Gonbe, followed.

Chimney ran first, swiftly jumping around and bonking all the robo-ducks with her trashcan armor. Five ducks were charging at Aisa, but she held up a rope, tied around a big, dark-green pumpkin, and swung the iron-hard pumpkin around as it bashed all the Duckbots away.

Numbuh 777; Apis, the team's Animal Telepath, a girl in a mustard-yellow dress and pointed, white hat, closed her eyes and spoke to the rats within the walls. The rodents came pouring out, climbing up and entering the openings on the Duckbots to chew them out from the inside.

The three girls ran forward as Chimney spoke into her wristwatch, "Oi, April-chan! Are you in position?"

Somewhere else in the base, in another bathing room, Numbuh 7-Strokes stood in the room's doorway, looking at the trapped kids with an expressionless frown. "I'm here." She spoke with no emotion. "I can't free these kids with the water still running."

Artist of Sector W7, a German human

APRIL GOLDENWEEK

"Don't worry! We're going to shut it off!" Chimney assured.

"Gyooom!"

They turned down several more halls as Chimney jumped and kicked all the robotic ducks. "These things aren't the best defense, huh?" Apis asked.

"Mrs. Dirt's in the room down on the right!" Aisa spoke.

"Let's KICK HER ASS!" Chimney yelled determinedly.

"Gy-o-o-o-o-om!" Gonbe looked frantic at what she said.

"Uhh… don't tell Granny Kokoro I said that."

The three (plus one) soon reached the metal door as Chimney kicked it open, and the girls rolled in. "OKAY, Dirt O bāchan! Time for you to-" Chimney was blasted with a hose and pushed away.

"YOU Kids Next Door brats aren't getting the dirt on me!" the old woman exclaimed, armed with a shower hose and a belt of soap bars. "But I think a FEW of you could use a scrub. YOU, young lady!" she pointed at Aisa, who flinched. "Those feet of yours must be FIIILthy! HAVE a SLIP!" She hurled a soap bar at Aisa's feet, making the Nimbi slip and fall on her face. Apis tried to leap at her, but Mrs. Dirt blasted her away with a shower blast.

"Ouch-ouch-ouch-ooouuuch!" Apis shook frantically, her skin burning.

"AYAAAAAAAHHHH!" Chimney shook around even more.

"Gy-u-u-u-u-uh!" Gonbe was afraid to attack the bath-themed villain.

"Awww, what's wrong, Little Bunny? It's just a shower. If your kind had more of these, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE FLEES!"

"Gyooooo!" Gonbe shielded his eyes from the incoming boiling spray. But when Mrs. Dirt tried to fire, nothing came out.

The robed woman looked at her shower confusedly. "HUUUH?!"

"Hey, guys, I did iiiit!" Mrs. Dirt turned around, her eyes widening at the tiny girl that stook out from a slot on her control panel. "I disabled their water flow from inside!"

Aisa spoke in her communicator, "Now's your chance, April!"

In the alternate room, April Goldenweek began to paint blue paint marks on each of the tied-up kids. The children felt incredible strength as they broke free of their bonds, confident smirks on their faces.

"Aaaaahhh-AAH!" Chimney ran forth and kicked Mrs. Dirt against the controls. She turned the woman over, holding her fist back. "And FYI: bunnies don't get flees!" With that, Chimney's fist was the last Mrs. Dirt saw before she blacked out. "…Do they?" Chimney asked. The girls shrugged.

They all gathered outside of the mid-ocean base where Aaron and Rhilliane Doblemitz guided Mrs. Dirt onto the S.P.R.A.Y.S.H.I.P.. Meanwhile, the imprisoned kids were speaking to Sector W7. "Thanks for the save." A boy said. "My hands were getting so soapy, I couldn't hold a game controller again!"

"It's all in a day's work!" Apis said brightly.

Aeincha was seated on Apis's shoulder when a whiff fell in her tiny nose. "Ewwww!" she pinched it shut. "You kids stink!"

They all blushed. "Uwuh, take a bath when you get home! At least it ain't against your will!" Chimney stated.

"Gyom-gyom." Gonbe agreed.

"Anyway, we'll be happy to take you home on our R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!" Apis smiled.

"Cool! Thanks, Sector W7!"

Downtown Water 7

After bringing the kids home, the girls and rabbit had returned to the island town of Water 7. It was a big, bustling town, built around an enormous water fountain. There were no roads, only canals, and people got around on horse-like fish called Yagara. Sector W7's treehouse was built atop the gigantic fountain (but no one noticed it but the children for some reason).

"WOOHOOOO!" Chimney cheered, raising fists in the air. The Sector W7 Leader wore her usual orange-and-red-striped dress with a yellowish-white, open blouse over it. She wore brown sandals with red straps, and had her large blond hair in frizzy pigtails that stuck up diagonally. As always, she sported her huge grin of bright white teeth. "That Dirty Baasan didn't stand a chance! We BLEW her bath salt!"

"Gyom-gyooom!"

Leader and Pilot of Sector W7, a 1/4th mermaid

CHIMNEY

"Oi, why they giving me the introduction now?" she asked.

"Still didn't give mine." Apis said.

Animal Telepath of Sector W7, an Arceist

APIS

Gonbe looked at the camera with annoyance. "Gyoooom…"

Pet of Sector W7, a cat—I mean, rabbit

GONBE

"Gyom, gyom!" he nodded.

"Now let's celebrate with ice cream!" Chimney declared.

The five kids and rabbit approached an ice cream stand and ordered their favorite flavors. Chimney got vanilla, Apis got blurpleberry, Aisa got chocolate, April got cherry, and Gonbe got carrot. Chimney also bought a strawberry one, and as they sat at a table, Chimney set the strawberry on the table for Aeincha. "And Aeincha gets an EXTRA big one!" she grinned. "We won the mission thanks to you!" ("Gyom-gyom!")

The Lilliputian laughed sheepishly. "Oh, come on, guys. You could've done it without me. I mean, April's the one who freed the kids."

The 12-year-old girl quietly licked her ice cream as she painted on a canvas. "I was just doing my job." she said simply. April had a doll-like appearance, with blushed cheeks, and her dark-red hair tied in braided pigtails. She wore a wide pink hat, a dark blue T-shirt with the word "Golden" written in orange, a sky-blue overshirt with a cloud pattern on it, a maroon-colored skirt, and blue-striped stockings covering her legs. She also had big, red shoes with white soles and stripes. Being the oldest of the team, she seemed to stand out the most, even though they all had something unique about them.

"Since that crazy business with the Viridi War, these everyday villains are a walk in the park to us." Aisa said. "The REAL villains are people like Viridi, not your everyday dentist or lunch lady. Don't you think?"

"It's true." Chimney frowned (but still grinned). "These Akuyaku-sans are jokes. Why is it the Kids Next Door evolved but they don't?"

"Maybe if you all were as big as me, it'd be more of a challenge!" Aeincha beamed. The kids (except April) exchanged laughter.

An alarm went off in Chimney's phone. "Oi, I have to go now." she said, standing up. "Granny Kokoro-san wants me to help load coal on Puffing Tom."

"Are you delivering to Santa Claus?" Apis grinned.

"Hahahaha! See you later, Sector-chans!" Chimney waved as she walked away, followed by her pet rabbit. ("Gyooooom!")

Puffing Tom Station Blue

Chimney trudged into the train's boiler room, her skinny arms hauling an enormous sack of coal, as big as a bed as she only inched a little at a time. "GYUH!" she finally stopped to catch her breath, sitting with her back against the sack. Eventually, she stood up and began to toss coal into the boiler with a shovel. This lasted for several minutes until she stopped. "Oiii… that's more exercise than the missions."

"Gyoooom…" Gonbe panted as well.

Chimney shot him a glare. "You didn't even help, don't give me that crud." ("Gyom…" Gonbe was ashamed.)

The girl then entered the engineering room, looking at the empty seat. Her eyes wide as always, Chimney jumped in the seat, viewing the wide expanse of the endless sea, and the underwater tracks that stretched across. She gripped the train's lever and screamed with excitement, "Attention all passengers, this is your captain Chimney speaking, we'll be departing Water Seven in 3 minutes, please fasten your safety belts as we head for Kamabakka at ELEVENTY KAJILLION MILES PER HOUR!"

"Gyooooooooooom!"

"Chimney-"

"GAAAAH!" Both kid/rabbit fell out of the seat. Chimney jumped to her feet, seeing her old, chubby grandmother in the doorway with a wide smile similar to Chimney's.

"Chimneeeyy… you weren't driving unauthorized, were you?" She had a drink of rum.

"Ohhhh Granny Kokoro-san! I wasn't really driving it!" Chimney yelled with her hands up. "I was checking the ignition thingymawhatsit!"

"Nyah, ha ha ha ha ha ha." She had another drink. "Okey-dokey, Chimney." The old woman approached the windshield and stood by her granddaughter as they stared at the sea. "So, Chimney… how are things with you and your friends?"

"We're doing just fine, Kokoro-san!" Chimney grinned.

"Gyom-gyom!"

"I heard you kids got in a war recently."

"Yah, but we beat 'em bad! That Viridi furīku-san's factory didn't stand a chance against our R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!"

"That is a pretty impressive train, Chimney. And you built that all by yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah, I did! Don't you remember, Kokoro-san?"

In fact, Kokoro did remember. Chimney's been into trains as long as she can remember. …She can't remember too far, but it was enough.

Chimney lay on her belly, her feet in the air as she wore a bright smile. The 2-year-old girl was happily drawing in her sketchbook while Kokoro sat at her control panel, guzzling down rum. "Chimney? What are you drawing?"

"I'm drawing my own train, Kokoro-san! I'm going to make it myself, and I'm gonna drive it!"

The woman approached her ecstatic grandchild and peered down. It was a silly, little kid's drawing of a train, choppily scribbled with grey coloring. "What are those things on its sides?"

"Oh, those are rockets! I'm naming it Rocket-train! It's gonna fly, and drop people off anywhere they want!"

"Nyah, haha hahaaa! You've been drinking too much soda, Chimney. Trains don't fly."

Chimney jumped to her feet with a frantic, furious look. "Says who, Kokoro O bāchan! I gonna make it fly ALL through the sky!"

"Neeeee hahahahaha! Only someone drunk with too much soda would say that! After all, I was drunk enough to pilot a Sea Train."

The drunken woman led her granddaughter beside the windshield, where they stared into the bright, open sea. "Chimney… there's no limit for how far your imagination can stretch. If a great man can make a train that drives along the sea… someone just as crazy can make a train that drives in the sky. Chimney… I want you to make a train like that. Set your dreams high… and make a train like no other."

Chimney's wide, vibrant face filled with even more wonders.

And even today, her face looked no different. "Granny Kokoro… I'm gonna build the bestest, most epicest train in the whole universe! It'll fly in the sky! And go underwater! It can BREAK through anything! And it's indestructible! YEAH!" She stood upon the control panel with a determined grinned, raising a fist. "And I'm gonna PILOT that train! I'll make it go super-ultra fast and I can take anyone anywhere! EVEN to the other side of the UNIVERSE!"

"GyyyOOOOOoooommmmm!" Gonbe declared.

"Naaah ha ha! I knew I shouldn't have given you that much soda as a baby. Anyway… we need to deliver the rest of this coal. How would you like to drive the first stretch, Chimney?"

"AWESOOOOME!" Chimney eagerly hopped down and onto the seat. The excited 9-year-old started to fiddle around as the train started up. The Puffing Tom sped along the track in minutes, set on its straightforward path along the ocean tracks. "By the way, Kokoro-san. How did you move here from Oceana again?"

"Oh, Chimney. Do you ever get tired of this?" ("Gyoooooom…")

Aeincha, the Lilliputian Who Was Equal

Sector W7 Treehouse

The sun was rising over the town of Water 7, and its morning rays sparkled off the enormous fountain. Aeincha was up early, dressed in warm white pajamas as she tiredly trudged down the halls of their base, rubbing her eyes. At her size, it took a lot longer to get down the halls of the treehouse, but she still managed to make it to the kitchen. The tiny girl gripped and climbed one of the cabinet doors and made it onto the counter. From there, she looked at the top of the fridge and took out a grappling hook, launching it to the top. She held tight and climbed her way up, then threw her grappling hook to open one of the upper cabinets. She threw the hook to the cabinet's ledge and climbed inside.

There, she found a cereal box of Rainbow Munchies that was three stories high. She threw her hook to pull the box over, and a bunch of the colorful pieces poured out. She picked up one and munched away. That was all she needed. With that, she jumped her way down, and once on the floor, she stared up at the towering refrigerator, as high as a skyscraper. The massive door was shut tight, and was very heavy to the tiny Lilliputian. She would struggle greatly trying to pry it open. By then, she would be too tired to get what was inside.

"AEIN!" Aeincha screamed. A terminal on the fridge's door beeped and accepted the passcode. It immediately came open on its own. She smiled brightly and began to climb her way up the fridge's many platforms. She reached the glass of milk that was twice her size, with a bendy straw sticking up. She jumped and gripped the edge of the milk glass, climbing up to reach the straw. She opened her mouth very wide to fit the entire end of the straw inside. She inhaled with all the strength in her little lungs, and the milk slowly rose up. It was able to reach and enter her mouth, and Aeincha felt her head swell, closing her mouth tight as some milk spilled out. She fell on her back on the fridge's shelf, and the huge swell of milk forced down her tiny throat, and into her tummy. "Hoooo…" She sighed in relief.

With that, she jumped out of the fridge, and yelled, "CLOSE." The door snapped shut. "Ahhh… well, that's my daily exercise!" She beamed. She began to walk to the couch to watch some TV when she felt some light quaking. She looked right, seeing her leader, Numbuh W473R Chimney, bare feet, raggedy clothes, and eyes shut with tiredness. Aein sported a smile. "Hi, Chimneyyy!"

"Hey… Aeincha." She spoke very groggily, but her wide grin still showed. "You need help getting breakfast?"

"I got it by myself!" she grinned.

"Oh… yaaaaawwwn. You could've asked me for help."

Aeincha looked curious. "Chimney… your hair."

Indeed Chimney's pigtailed hair was unraveled, revealing her hair as extremely disheveled and unkempt, so big and puffy that it was almost as big as her. "Ahhh… I took off my braids last night. I don't have a comb."

"Ha ha ha ha! I'll braid it for you! Lie down!"

Chimney lay back on the couch with her head hanging over the right armrest. Aeincha lifted a giant comb with both arms, using all the strength in her tiny arms to pull the right half of Chimney's hair over to its side. Once finished, she dropped to the floor and tossed her grappling hook up over the combed-down hair. Still holding one end, she climbed up the hook's end, and began to wrap the rope around the thick, strong hair. Once it was scrunched enough, Aeincha grabbed a group of bands and walked to the end of Chimney's pigtail. She struggled to pull the bands around the huge hair and pull them back to their proper spot. She repeated this with the other bands until Chimney's right pigtail was puffy like it should be. She proceeded to repeat this entire process with her left pigtail.

When Aeincha finished, Chimney still had her eyes closed, her mouth hung open in tiredness. As Aeincha stood on her face, she sported a humorous smile. Chimney's mouth was so big and wide, she was always worried about falling inside. Chimney could swallow her whole. Of course she wouldn't do that.

Aeincha hopped over the giant mouth and approached her friend's feet. Chimney's toenails looked very dirty, and Aeincha could pick up the smell. "Your toes can use some work, too!" she beamed. Aeincha went to grab a file, still having to lift with both arms as she began to smoothen Chimney's toenails. She also got a can of nail paint, carefully painting her friend's toenails a shiny red. Afterward, she stared at her reflection in the shiny, red nail, giving another smile. "Good as new!"

Apis, Aisa, and April were up shortly after, rubbing tired eyes as they walked in. "Hey, what's going on?" Apis asked.

"Oh… Aeinchan's just fixing my hair." Chimney said tiredly.

"Do you guys want a pedicure, too?" Aein asked.

"Sure!" The girls (minus April) grinned.

Apis, Aisa, and April all sat on the couch as Aeincha began work on all three. She washed Aisa's messy red hair, scrubbed the bottoms of her dirty feet, painted Apis's fingers white, brushed her hair, wrapped April's pigtails, and patted her dolly face with powder. "Hm hm hm!" Apis laughed. "You're really good, Aeincha!"

"Thanks!" the girl beamed, starting to paint April's nails blue. "I've been thinking of going to beauty school when I get bigger."

"Oh?" The girls looked baffled.

"Um… older." She corrected. "For some reason, I'm just really into appearance."

Apis looked a little concerned. "Um… that's great, Aeincha. But don't you think you're a little… small?"

"Hm?" Aeincha looked up. "Well, I was never too small for our missions."

"I know… but, I mean, you being your size, it might be hard to fix so many big peoples' hair or nails, and you might get tired."

"Well, that's why I practice with you guys!" Aein smiled. "So I'm ready for it!"

"But-"

"Besides, at my size, it's easier to see the messy marks, so I can get every single detail! I wanna take cosmetology to brand new heights, despite my size."

"Well, if you wanna follow Kweeb." April said simply.

"Aaaahh! Aeincha'll do just fine, on'nanoko-chans!" Chimney assured, making Gonbe roll over for a carrot. "If Aeinchan wasn't tiny, she wouldn't be special. She'd be just like any other boring on'nanoko-chan."

"Gyom-gyom." Gonbe nodded, successfully earning his carrot.

"Hm-hm-hm! Thanks, Chimney!" Aein grinned.

Chimney looked confusedly as Gonbe ate his carrot. "I still don't see why a cat likes a carrot."

"Gyom." Gonbe shrugged.

Suddenly, the treehouse flashed red as alarms blared, and the tiny Lilliputian fell over in shock, her tiny ears taking the impact the worst. "Oiii! What does Cheren-chan want?" Chimney exclaimed, running to the TV. Larry MayHence's face appeared onscreen.

"This is Moonbase calling Sector W7. There is a KND shipment of candy under attack by Candy Pirates close to your sector. You are ordered to fly out and stop them ASANow."

"Oi, give us a little warning when you're gonna go all blare like that!" Chimney shouted angrily.

"Gyom-gyom!"

The transmission ended as Chimney faced her team with a serious look. "Let's GO, Sector-chans!" The other girls got off the couch, and Apis carried Aeincha as they followed Chimney.

Middle of the ocean; candy shipment

The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. came speeding toward a pirate ship and 4x4-tech ship. The pirate ship had candy decorations and a Jolly Roger of a pirate skull with big lips, surrounded by candies. Chimney set the train on autopilot as the five operatives + rabbit leaped out and landed perfectly on the KND ship's deck, with Aeincha hanging onto Apis's shoulder. "Oi, kaizoku-sans! Better step away from the candy or else!" Chimney exclaimed as they all glared.

"Gyom, gyom!"

"Oi, is this wot the Kids Next Door have for backup?" one of the candy-crazed pirates asked. "I's just four wee tykes and a rabbit!"

"HEY!" Chimney screamed. "Gonbe's a cat, and you mean FIVE wee tykes!"

"Wot? Five?..." The pirates looked down, and finally spotted the Lilliputian on Apis's shoulder. "Ohhh, look a' that, lads! It's an even WEE-ER tyke! This'll be easy!"

"Says you!" Aein yelled, leaping off her friend's shoulder and dashing to bite the pirate's leg.

"Yooo-owch!" Chimney then leapt to kick the pirate in the face, flinging Aeincha off as Gonbe jumped up and caught her. Aisa pulled out an Impact Dial and aimed at some incoming pirates, pressing the button to blast a series of rapid gumballs as if it were a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.. April dodged as some pirates tried to whack her with candycane swords, slipping behind and painting pink symbols on their backs. The pirates began to feel weak, falling to their knees in depression.

Apis looked up and saw a flock of seagulls overhead. Using her telepathic abilities, she called the birds down, and they began to swarm and peck the faces of the pirates. Aeincha was surrounded by a group of towering pirates, but kept a confident look as she ran and jumped, avoiding their sword-swings and stomps. With that, she ran and leapt onto Gonbe's back, riding the rabbit horseback style as she made Gonbe pounce and kick off the pirates' faces.

Chimney knocked the leader of the bunch down and grabbed his shirt collar, readying her fist. "Send our message to Stickybeard-san!"

"We don't WORK for Stickybeard-" Chimney punched and knocked him out.

"Ohhh… B-Boss…" One of the fallen pirates groaned.

The battle was watched by a large figure from the other ship. Suddenly, a very fat pirate, with black hair, a big mouth, and exposed belly took a mighty leap and quaked the KND's ship upon landing. "Arrrr, what's the rest of you lot doing, ahhhh?" he asked with sort of a lazy, out-of-breath tone.

"Oi, who the heck are you, Fat-san?" Chimney questioned.

"Gyon, gyom?"

"I be Commander Fat Jack, ahhhh, and Ah think you little munchkins needs a wee tutorial." He took another mighty leap, creating a shockwave that knocked the children over. Aeincha was the first to recover, feeling the quakes strongest as Fat Jack stomped her way. Chimney ran forth with an aerial kick, her foot coming in contact with the pirate's big belly only to bounce her way. Aisa aimed her Dial and launched a barrage of gumballs, but they had no effect on the squishy belly as Fat Jack leapt in attempt to smash her, running away just in time. April ran to try and paint something on his belly, but Fat Jack released a "BUUUURRRP" of dark green gas that swallowed April's face. The 12-year-old coughed and was punched away by the fat pirate.

Gonbe ran forth, carrying Aeincha on his back as the rabbit leapt and bit his buckteeth through the pirate's belly. Aeincha began climbing the squishy substance, going to Fat Jack's face and tossing her grappling hook to his eye. "NNN!" The pirate smacked her off, then grabbed and threw Gonbe away. Aeincha landed on her front, trying to recover, but the enormous pirate stomped forward and squished her tiny legs beneath his boot, and her tiny bones cracked like sticks.

"OOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!" Aeincha's never felt more pain in her life.

"AEEEIINCHAAAAAN!" Chimney screamed, mouth wider than ever.

"Hnn-hnn-hnn." A wicked grin appeared on the commander's face. "Sorry. I's means to squish the rest of you." He lightly raised his boot over the rest of Aein's body.

"AAAAHH!" Chimney leapt forward, full of rage, and kicked the pirate dead in the nose, knocking him backward slightly.

"Oi, Boss, we got the load, so let's go!" a pirate yelled from the ship.

"Arrrr, this be the end you'll hear from me for now, ahhhh." And the pirate mightily leapt to his ship, making it shake. Sector W7 only watched as they sailed with the candy.

Aeincha lay on the deck as her four towering friends stood around and looked down with saddened eyes. "Aeinchan?" Chimney said, still grinning even though she was sad, as she bent down and scooped her friend in her hands. Aeincha's legs were squished flat, and blood dripped. She was unconscious as the friends exchanged worried looks (but April looked the same as always).

Moonbase Hospital

Aeincha was lain on a hospital bed as doctors tried to fix the tiny girl's legs, having to use magnifying glasses to do so. They also invited Melody Jackson and Haruka to help. Melody helped to ease the pain with Water Healing, and Haruka stuck her fingernails into Aeincha for a Healing Sting. Since Aein was so small, a regular dose of Haruka's poison was more than enough for effective results. The rest of Sector W7 stood by the entrance as Chimney clutched a doctor's coat. "Oiii, Numbuh Medical-Jargon-chaaaan! Is Aeincha-chan gonna be okay? Is she gonna live the rest of her life like Mr. York-san?!"

"Gyom-gyom!"

The doctor pulled Chimney's hands off and said, "Your friend will be fine. Thanks to these two, we were able to treat her legs just in time and she'll be on her feet again in a couple days. Just give her bones time to heal up."

The doctors proceeded to wrap Aeincha's legs in bandages; or tape. Whatever they used for her. "Well, I guess I have tonight's headline." Melody said.

Haruka spared her a glare before lightly picking up Aeincha in both hands and setting her in a tiny wheelchair. "Here you go, Aeinchan!" she said positively. Haruka knew about Aeincha's dream of being a cosmo, even though she was so small, and Haruka could relate to that. Haruka wanted to go in the medical field and use her poisonbending to treat people. Although if it wasn't for Lee, she wouldn't have decided this.

Haruka carried the tiny child and carefully placed her in Chimney's hands. "There you go. Just let her rest up!"

The three girls and rabbit (not April) smiled at their sleeping friend, feeling extremely thankful.

Sector W7 Treehouse

"Mmmmm…" The sun was setting over Water 7 as Aeincha began to awaken. When her tiny eyes opened, she found the enormous, smiling faces of Chimney, Aisa, and Apis looming over her (and April's frowning face).

"Oi, Aeinchan's awaaaaake!" Chimney exclaimed.

"Gyoooom!"

Aeincha sat up and found herself on the living room's couch. She felt a numbness in her legs, and found they were wrapped in bandages. "The doctors said your legs would be fine after a few days." Apis explained. "That was a close call though!"

"We'll file the mission report about this Fat-san later." Chimney said. "But le's watch some TEEEVEEE!"

"Gyoooom!"

"Chimneeeeyy!" Aisa yelled. "Aeincha probably wants some peace and quiet! You feeling okay?" she asked her friend.

"Hm hm! I'm fine!" she said with a light smile. She looked away and frowned. "Actually… I've been thinking."

"Mmmm?" Chimney moaned as the girls looked curious.

"Well… I almost died today. I could've been killed. And, well, I haven't really been the most helpful in fights. Maybe…Maybe I shouldn't go into cosmetology."

Needless to say, the girls were surprised (even April, though she didn't show it).

"I mean, not like this. Maybe I could do things better if I was bigger. I'd be able to fight better on missions and you guys don't have to waste time carrying me around."

"But… Aeinchan. You're our tiny spy." Chimney said. "How you gonna be spy if you're not tiny?"

"Gyom-gyom!"

"I'll just spy the normal way! I'm already agile enough!"

"But who's gonna help fix our train?" Chimney questioned.

"We could always train hamsters. …Do we still use those?"

"No no no!" Chimney shook her head furiously. "We can't be Sector W7 without our Tiny Spy! YOU'RE STAYING tiny!"

"Why not?!" Aeincha yelled. "You guys always insist on helping me get breakfast! And you didn't even think I could GO into cosmo! Me getting bigger would change everything for the better!"

"But… it just wouldn't be the same if you were bigger." Apis said. "I mean, it's just…"

"Well, I know I'll be bigger than my parents and everyone else… but, it would just be hard to fit in in this world. It's like when people who move to America have to learn English. If I'm bigger, you guys won't have to worry about me. If we go to Mrs. Chariton's…"

"NUH-uh!" Chimney shook. "As your leader, I ORDER you to stay tiny!"

"You can't order me to do that!"

"Can too! I'm BIGGER than you!"

"CHIMNEY!" Apis and Aisa shouted.

"You wouldn't be ANY good to us if you were bigger!"

"What?!" Aein screamed, suddenly hurt.

"The reason you're cool is BECAUSE you're tiny! It's what makes you special and THAT'S why we're Sector W7!"

"Whaddyou mean? How can I be any different if I'm not tiny? Except being less of a burden!"

"We never thought of you as a burden." Apis told her.

"Yeah. You're actually pretty fun." Aisa said.

"I don't care. Lilliputians don't have that Kateenian pride. We were supposed to stay hidden from the world to begin with. And maybe this is why. If I stay part of this sector, I need to get bigger."

"If you get bigger, you ain't gonna be IN this sector!" Chimney shouted, becoming more angry while her face grinned. "I'm kicking you OUT if you do that, Chan!"

"Why would you?!"

"Because you'd be going against your LEADER! I won't accept you if you're any bigger than my face! YOU'RE STAYING TINY!"

"Gnnnn!" Aeincha was getting more angry. "Why can't you just understand?!"

"Why can't YOU?! The ocean's always been blue, but it's never changed! Trains are powered by coal, why should that change?! YOU'VE always been tiny! And you're NOT GONNA CHANGE!"

"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"

"Are you not listening?! BAKA-CHAAAAN!"

"Gyooooom!"

Apis got between them and touched fingers to both their mouths. "Both of you stop! You two are best friends! You shouldn't fight like this!"

"She is not sounding like my best nakama now!" Chimney shouted.

"Well, I'M getting tired of your big mouth!" Aein shouted.

"Uuuugh!" Apis groaned. "Sigh… I think we all need a while to calm down. Aeincha… I'll take you to your room." With that, she lightly gripped the tiny child and carried her away.

"Fiiine! Baka on'nanoko-chan!" Chimney yelled.

"Gyoooooom!" Gonbe was still furious. (End song.)

Aeincha's Room

Apis set her friend on her giant (regular sized) bed and pulled the covers up over her. "You needed to rest, anyway." She said.

Aein lied back on her huge, thick pillow and sighed.

"I'm sure Chimney didn't mean what she said. She's just… I mean, we're all so used to you being small… it's hard to see you as otherwise."

"Well, if she isn't worried about my safety!" Aein yelled.

"It was just one mission, Aein. Everyone gets in accidents like these. Even Fybi, remember? You don't have to change your life."

"Why is the whole thing such a big deal, anyway?"

"Hmmm… to be honest, I'm not sure. When we first met you, Chimney didn't even KNOW you were tiny! Remember?"

"Hmmm…"

"Anyway… whatever decision you make, I'll go with it. But… you should still think about it." And with that, Apis left Aeincha in her room in the dark.

Aeincha rolled to her side and tried to clear her mind. This whole event put a lot of memories through Aeincha's head. When they first came here from Lilliput, she didn't have friends for a while.

Aeincha was 2 years old when her family sailed from the Bermuda Triangle on their toy-sized boat, made of whatever scraps they could find. The whole journey, Aeincha's head rested in the window, staring wonderfully at the vast, endless sea. She wanted to reach out and touch the huge waves, but was far too short. And if she got in, she wouldn't be able to swim.

They landed at an old scrap yard on the coast of Water 7 and settled into a gap within the wall, having enough space to set up a bed, kitchen supplies, anything they needed. "Welcome to your new home, Aein!" her father smiled.

"How come we moved again?"

"The economy in Lilliput is running down. That's why we're taking the simpler life as Borrowers. We'll acquire only what we need and be able to survive."

Aein couldn't help but stare at the thousand-foot tall fountain in the distance, and the huge, bustling town built around it. "Can we make new friends here?" she asked excitedly.

"No." Aeincha frowned as her father led her away. "Humans wouldn't take well to seeing people like us. Borrowers need to stay hidden."

Aeincha entered the entrance gap of her new house, head down in sadness. She heard someone walking, turning around as she spotted a human girl, about her age, with pigtails, sandals, and a wide grin on her face, walking with a little blue rabbit. The human girl had a huge mouth. Huge enough to swallow Aein whole. Do all humans have a mouth like that? Is that what they're for?

Aeincha stepped a bit closer as the girl dove into a pile of rubble, only her bottom half sticking out as she shuffled around. She came out, holding an old train lever. "Aaaahh! This should work!"

"Gyooom!" the rabbit agreed, and with that, they walked away. Aeincha remained hidden as she watched them leave.

Aeincha lived on Water 7 for 2 years. She found out the girl's name was Chimney, and she had a friend named Apis. Whenever her parents were out borrowing, Aeincha would sneak out and look for these two. They usually hung around the scrap yard. Every time they came, Aeincha would hide and watch them play. The two had lots of fun together. Aeincha wished she could join in that fun. She didn't have any friends to play with since she moved, and she wanted to play with them. But she felt what her parents said might be true. They were so big compared to her. She wouldn't fit in right with them. They wouldn't accept her. But they looked so nice. And Aein really wanted to play with them.

"Oi, Apis-chan! Are all our crates loaded?" 4-year-old Chimney asked, pretending to drive a small train made of stone and scrap.

"Our crates are just fine!" Apis smiled.

"Greeeaat! Let's haul these doggies to Candy Land nooooww!"

"Gyom-gyoooom!"

Aeincha watched again as the two pretended to pilot the train. Every time she watched them, it made her hurt that she couldn't have fun with them, too. Aeincha finally wanted to do something about it. She couldn't stand seeing them have fun and not have fun herself. She wanted to take a chance and be friends with them. But she was still afraid they would say no. With a deep breath, Aeincha summoned the courage to walk out and approach them.

"Gyuh-oh!" Chimney exclaimed. "The wheels' malfunctioniiiinng! We're getting BUMP-py-y-y-y-y-y-y!"

"WhoooOOOaa-oooOOOOaaa-oooOOOOAAAA!" Apis wobbled around on one leg.

"Um… EXCUSE MEEE."

The girls immediately ceased playing, looking for the source of this voice.

"OVER here."

Chimney and Apis looked down and finally spotted the voice's owner. Chimney hopped over the wall of their train, her bare feet landing flat on the ground, and approached the small girl, bending over as she stared questioningly.

Aeincha felt so nervous. This was the first time a normal human's noticed her, and it was her first time being so close to one. She had no idea how they would react. She was afraid they wouldn't accept her. She struggled to bring up the words… but she did. "Um… I was wondering… can I play with you guys?"

There was no answer right away. Chimney and Apis remained silent, looking at each other questioningly. Aeincha already felt she knew their answer. Her head faced down, disappointment and sadness on her face. She knew she wouldn't be accepted. She was far too small. She could never fit in with them. It would never work out. She felt stupid for even trying. Because of her size, they would never accept her like-

"Okay! Sure!"

Aeincha's head shot up in surprise. She couldn't believe her ears. Suddenly, she was lifted lightly in Chimney's hands, the pigtailed girl running around and back onto her pretend-train. Chimney set Aein down by her feet, under the fake controls. Aeincha remained confused as Chimney returned to "driving" her "train." "EAAAHHNN! The tracks are ending!" Chimney screamed. "We're gonna drown! Apis! Activate the brakes!"

Apis pretended to pull on a lever. "It's no use! The brakes are broken!"

"Gyaaah! Quick! Repair-person! Hurry and fix the braaaakes!"

"Huuurryyyyy!" Apis wobbled as the train "sped faster".

"Gyooo-o-o-o-o-o-o!"

Aeincha shook back to reality. Apparently she was the repair-person. "R-Right!" she turned and bent down before the wall, pretending to crawl through a tiny opening and repair broken wires. "…Ahhh, here's the problem! Someone left chocolate in here."

"Daaah… that was me." Chimney admitted.

"Okay! The brakes are fixed!" Aein announced.

"Apis! Hit the brakes!"

Apis nodded seriously, pulling as hard as she could on the fake lever. Chimney shook from the imaginary force as the "train" was slowly screeching to a "stop". "NYUUAAAHH!" Chimney was blown back by the force, knocking Apis over. Aeincha held tight to the floor to avoid blowing back as well.

The "train" was mere "inches" from the broken "ledge", but it "stopped" just in time. Chimney and Apis recovered, shaking their heads and smiling brightly at their "success". As Aein opened her eyes, she was grabbed in Chimney's hands as the hyper girl raised her in the air. "WE DID IIIIT!"

"YAAAAaaaay!" Apis raised her arms in victory.

"Gyooooooom!" Gonbe was just as excited.

A bright, excited smile appeared on Aein's face. As Chimney kept her sky-high, she stretched her arms and legs in victory. "Yaaaaay!"

That was the day she first met Apis and Chimney. The first time she spoke to normal humans. They were so big. She was nearly 2 inches tall. But they accepted her as if she was as tall as them. They didn't seem to take notice in her size at all. All they saw was just a new potential friend who wanted to play with them. …In fact:

"Oiii! That was FUUUN!" Chimney exclaimed as the three gathered off of the pretend-train.

"GYoOOOOoom!" Gonbe exclaimed.

"I thought we were gonna CRASH for a minute!"

"Good thing we had our trusty repairwoman!" Apis beamed, smiling down at Aeincha. "Ooh?..." A look of realization appeared. "I'm sorry! I don't think we got your name!"

"Yeeaaah! What is it?" Chimney grinned.

"Gyoooom!" Gonbe followed.

"I'm Aeincha!" Aein smiled.

"Hi, Aeincha!" Apis greeted. "I'm Apis! This is Chimney, and her cat, Gonbe!"

"Uh… cat?" Aein looked questioningly. "It… looks like a rabbit."

"Nnn… rabbit?" Chimney was confused.

"Gyoooom…"

Aein laughed, "Ha ha ha! Anyway… it's nice to meet you all!"

"So are you new here?" Apis asked.

"Well, kind of. My family moved here from Lilliput. It's an island of little people, like me. My parents say there's a lot of us around the world. But we mostly stay hidden from regular humans."

"Nnn? Little people?" Chimney kept her excited grin as she and Gonbe looked closer at Aeincha. There was something different about her. Something Chimney hadn't noticed before. But she couldn't put her finger on what. She stared harder and harder at the green-haired girl. And Aeincha smiled back. …Finally, it dawned on her. "AAAAHH!" Chimney screamed in utter panic, and Gonbe mimicked. "Y-Y-You're… TIIINYYYY!"

"Gyom-GYOOOOM!..."

Apis and Aein stared disbelieved, anime-sweatdrops appearing on them. "Chiiimneeey! Of COURSE she's tiny!" Apis pointed out. "She's nearly ANT-size! She's no bigger than your pinky-toe!"

"Aaaah! You KNEW?! ?" Chimney took Apis's dress, looking furious. "Why didn't you tell me?! Look at her! She's so tiny! I could've stepped on her with my feet! How could you, Apiiis!" Aein giggled happily at their antics.

"Ah ha ha!" Apis laughed. "But I thought you knew! I mean, why else would you make her a repairman?"

"It's just a JOB no one had yet! We needed one, and SHE came along! NO ONE told me she was TINY-"

"AAAAHHH!" Aeincha screamed, shivering with utter fright.

"What? What is it?" Apis asked as they looked down at her in surprise.

"Y-You guys are…" Aein shivered, pointing at them fearfully, "GIAAANNNTS!"

"AAAAAAAH!" This news took Chimney by great surprise. "I'M GIAAANNT!"

"Gyooooom!" Gonbe was equally surprised.

"APIS!" she took her friend by the shirt again, "WE'RE GIANTS! We might STEP on people! AAAAH!" Chimney looked down frantically, stomping her feet about aimlessly. "KOKORO-SAAAN! Are you THEEERRE? I THINK I STEPPED ON YOOOOUU! AAAAAHHH!..." Chimney began to run around the field uncontrollably. She stopped when she collided with a wall, and fell flat on her back, alongside Gonbe. Seagulls began to flap over their faces, as Apis and Aeincha burst into laughter.

That memory put a smile on Aeincha's face. Back then, Chimney didn't know she was tiny. …Well, she acted like she didn't know. She never understood Chimney sometimes.

Aeincha knocked on the door to her house one day as her parents answered, looking worried. "Oh, Aeinchan!" her mother exclaimed, bending over. "Where were you?"

"'Hoy, Misses Aeinchan!" a voice said from above.

The parents looked up, and- "AAAAAHHH!"

Two human girls, one with a huge, wide grin, and one with a thick mustard-yellow dress, towered over them. Aein's father stepped back in fright while her mother quivered. "Mom, these are my friends!" Aeincha smiled. "Chimney and Apis! Oh, and Gonbe!"

"Gyooooom!" The blue rabbit opened his mouth wide, startling the parents more.

"It's okay! They're nice! They're really fun and they took me around the city!"

"Are…Are you… sure…" her father stuttered.

"Calm down, Dad! Tomorrow, they wanna take us to try Grandpa Banban's super salty meat!"

"It's so SAAALTYYYYYYY!" Chimney screamed.

"Gyooooooom!"

Chimney really scared her parents. They were more comfortable around Apis. They've both been really great friends since then, but Chimney especially. She remembers when they went to Arctic Training, and met Aisa.

Sometime after they entered Arctic Training, they met with a barefoot girl with a brown, dirty dress and wings. "Hi there!" she greeted back. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Chimney-chan! This is Apis, and Aeinchan!" the grinning girl introduced.

The winged girl looked more closely at the shivering, tiny girl on Apis's shoulder. "Ohhh! I thought you were a parrot!"

"Mmmmm!" Aein shot her a playful grumpy look.

"I'm Aisa! I'm a Nimbi!"

"Nnn? A Nimbi?" Chimney questioned.

"Gyom-gyom?" Gonbe asked.

"You know! A sky person!"

"But why are you here?"

"LINE UP, troops!" the Drill Sergeant thundered, and all cadets lined up in a straight row, standing straight, and Aeincha hopped off Apis's shoulder and did the same. "It's your first day of training." He spoke as he slowly paced and studied his cadets. "When you graduate from here, you'll hopefully be full-fledged troops, good at combat, spying, or whatever field befits your…" He noticed an empty spot in the line up, looking down and spotting a very tiny girl. "What the?! Who the heck is this?!"

"M-My name's Aeincha." She spoke with a frown. "I'm from Lilliput."

"You can't be in the Kids Next Door like that! Adults will waste you in centiseconds!"

"Heeeeyy!" Chimney shouted. "Who says she can't be in here?"

"I do." He stated. "She wouldn't last in the big field. I'm taking her to transport and having her sent ho-"

"NAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Chimney furiously tackled the older boy, shaking him by his shirt collar. "AEINCHA'S STAYING HEEEEEERRRREE! SHE'S STAYIN' SMALL AND KICKIN' YOUR TUSHIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

"Ack-ack-ack!" he choked. "Okay okay, fine!" He pushed Chimney off. "See how long she lasts!" he yelled, standing and brushing himself. "Don't whine to me if she gets stomped!"

"YAAAAAAAHHH!"

Aeincha was able to use her tiny size to her advantage. She easily dodged the training robots' shots and crawled into their circuitry to disable them. When her team battled other teams, she was able to best the opponents by sneaking up, and tickling them from under their clothing, getting them distracted so the others could run and attack.

In the end, she was allowed in the KND, Sector W7, as Numbuh 76.2. Chimney raised her high as they all cheered in victory.

About a year as a team, a girl named April joined, because her team had been decommissioned. But for the next 2 years, Aeincha had fun with her new friends.

Aisa held her little friend and ran around the treehouse, and Aeincha screamed as she felt like she was flying like an airplane. She was then seated on Gonbe's back, holding on tight and riding him like a horsie. Later, Aeincha sat on the lap of Apis's dress as the religious girl held her copy of the sacred texts open in front of them, reading a page. April was later bent over, looking closely at Aeincha's feet as she carefully painted her toenails different colors. Chimney was then eating popcorn, and when she got a kernel stuck in her teeth, she put Aeincha inside her gaping mouth so she could get it out.

Finally, all five friends and rabbit were riding down one of Water 7's many waterslides, from the top of the fountain, zooming at high speeds toward the ocean. April was in the back, the only one not cheering, Apis in front of her, then Aisa, then Gonbe, then Chimney, with Aeincha seated on her lap. They zoomed straight into the water below with a great splash. Unfortunately, Chimney was the only one who could swim, but they came out okay.

These memories made Aeincha realize: maybe she reached this conclusion too quickly. It was only one mission, and it apparently wasn't fatal. She had so much fun with her new friends, and her small size made it better. It really wouldn't be the same if she was bigger. Her friendships were practically founded because of her smallness. She wouldn't wanna change that. And Chimney didn't want that to change either. She decided… (End song.)

Later

After an hour passed, the W7 team came into Aeincha's room. "Oi, Aeincha-chan…" Chimney spoke first. "About what I said in there… I'm sorry-"

"Don't worry, Chimney." She stopped her. "I've been thinking… maybe I overreacted. It was only one mission. And my legs'll be fine in a few days. If I wasn't small… maybe I wouldn't be any good."

"Oiii, I didn't mean that!" Chimney shouted. ("Gyom-gyom!")

"I-"

"Hm hm hm! Don't worry, Chimney, I know what you meant! I mean… this is why we're Sector W7! We all have something that makes us different! Chimney's half-mermaid, Aisa's a Nimbi, April's 12, Apis is an Arceist, Gonbe's a weird cat-"

"Gyom."

"-… and I'm really tiny!" she smiled brightly. "I don't really care if I'm too weak to fight now. You guys accepted me even though I was small. I can't get rid of what made me different. …I'm staying tiny!"

"That's our Aeincha-chan!" Chimney exclaimed as she raised her friend high.

"Aaaaahhh easy, Chimneeeyy!"

"And if we ever see that fatty again, we'll pop him like a balloon!"

"I've got a new idea for a picture now…" April said.

Somewhere on the sea

The pirate ship sailed into the sunset as Fat Jack munched and chewed on a big, red lollipop when his phone rang. He answered, "Hello? Oi, Captain."

"Did you obtain the sweets?"

"Yeah, Mama, ahhhhh, I got 'em right here. Ah'm bringin' 'em in."

"Was there any trouble?"

"No, Mah, it was jus' some pesky kids."

"Hmmm… interesting. Well, as long as they get to me shortly. You did well, sweetie."

"Mmmm, thanksh, Mah. Ah'll see you in a bit." With that, he hung up, and proceeded to eat his lollipop.

Aisa, the Nimbi Who Could Fly

Sector W7 Treehouse

Another peaceful morning over Water 7. It had been 3 days since Aeincha's injury, and the Lilliputian's legs were healed. Already, she was trudging down the hall in her pajamas, rubbing her tired eyes on her long journey to the kitchen, to begin her morning exercise. When she arrived at the living room, she caught notice of a familiar, white-capped barefoot girl sitting on the balcony, on her knees. Aeincha quietly approached her friend Aisa, who stared dreamily at the white, puffy clouds in the heavens.

Aeincha sat down beside her friend's left foot and spoke, "Hey, Aisa!"

Aisa flinched lightly and looked down behind her left. "Oh, hey, Aeincha. I never hear you there!" she smiled.

"That's why I'm tiny!" she grinned. The two friends exchanged in laughter. Aeincha then asked, "So, whatcha staring at?"

"Oh… just the clouds." Aisa said, staring back up at the sky. "Aeincha… ever wondered what it looks like above the clouds?"

"Well, I wouldn't know. I'm not the one with wings!" she beamed.

Aisa looked at her with a frown.

"Oh…" Aein frowned, "That's right… you can't-"

"Yeah." Aisa looked away. "I don't really get it either. I was born here on Earth, but my parents told me we were Nimbi. But I was told that all Nimbi are born airbenders… so if I'm a Nimbi, how come I'm not an airbender? Why can't I fly? I've always wanted to see what it was like above the clouds…"

"Well, you don't need wings to fly, Aisa. The Kids Next Door has plenty of jetpacks."

"It doesn't work that way, Aeincha!" Aisa looked at her with furrowed eyes. "Ever wonder why airplanes or helicopters could never see Skypia? The only way to find Skypia is to use wings or take the natural entrances. And most of the time, you need airbending for that, anyway."

Aeincha stood up and gave a smile. "Well, let's try to make you fly! Come on, I'll help you!"

"Don't you think I tried?" Aisa asked, standing up.

"It doesn't hurt to try some more. Come on!" she ran off excitedly, and Aisa rolled her eyes.

"Aaaaannnnd GO!" Aisa began to dash hurriedly around the couch, not stopping for a second as she tried to gain speed. Her bare feet quickly became sore, but she needed as much momentum as possible. "Aaaannnnd FLY!"

Aisa turned, ran toward, and jumped off the couch, frantically flapping her arms in midair. "OOF!" In the end, she plopped to the floor on her front. Aeincha approached her giant face with a sheepish smile.

"Heheh, heheh. Ooookay. Maybe you don't need a running jump."

Later, they were in Aisa's room, and Aeincha sat on her nightstand, her head moving up-and-down as her Nimbi friend bounced and bounced on her bed. Since running speed wouldn't get wind under her wings, they decided to try jumping. Aisa seemed to get slightly higher, as Aeincha yelled, "Okay! NOW you can try it!"

With a few more jumps, Aisa took a mighty leap forward. "OOF!" She plopped down on the floor with a thud. Aeincha grinned sheepishly at Aisa's dizzy face.

They decided to try a more gentler approach as Aisa was bent over on all fours while a box-fan was blowing forcefully against her, forcing Aisa to squint. Aeincha could see her wings blowing slightly, and she suspected her friend would have liftoff. "Maybe just a BIT more…" With that, Aeincha turned the fan's setting from "High" to "Supah Crazy." The fan blasted wind with incredible force, and she was forcibly pushed backward, going out the window and plopping onto the balcony below.

This gave Aein an idea, and Aisa was now backed against the living room wall, upside-down as the top of her head touched the floor. The blood was rushing to the uncomfortable Aisa's head, and in time she would be lightheaded, so maybe that would enable her to fly. After a while, she got up, and was feeling quite dizzy. Aeincha stood on the floor and watched her friend with excitement, hoping she may fly. But as Aisa wobbled her way, she turned and dizzily fell back, crushing Aeincha under her rear. She was too dizzy to feel her friend's squirming.

Later…

"My head hurts…" Aisa said.

"Let's go to the bathroom, I'll wash your hair." Aeincha offered, hopping off the couch.

They were later in the bathroom as Aisa sat in a chair, backed to the sink as she bent her head back into the sink. Her cap was off, so her hair was under the faucet as Aeincha turned the hot water on. She climbed onto the soap bottle and jumped on the lid to squirt the substance into the sink. Afterwards, she got down, gathered some soap in her tiny hands, and began to scrub Aisa's scalp as hard as she could. It helped to relieve the pain on Aisa's head, even though she could barely feel Aein's scrubbing. "Siiiigh." Aisa breathed. "Maybe my wings were never cut out for flying."

"Maybe you're an earthbender!" Aeincha beamed. "That's why you're barefoot!"

"I tried earthbending already. That didn't work either."

After Aisa's hair was washed, Aeincha was seated on her shoulder as Aisa walked through the living room. "Maybe your wings are just stiff!" The Lilliputian figured. "Bend over, I'll try to flap them!" Looking unsure, Aisa bent over, and Aein got on her back as she gripped her left wing. The tiny girl tried to haul her wing up and down, but it was surprisingly heavy. At one point, Aeincha tried to forcefully tug on it, and-

"AHHH!" Aisa screamed, quickly standing back straight as Aeincha flung off.

Aeincha got up and rubbed her head. "Okay… you can still feel your wings."

"Siiigh. Maybe it just isn't in Shandian blood. But thanks for trying to help, Aeincha."

"You're welcome." Aein frowned, standing and brushing off. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"It's okay." Aisa smiled as she picked her friend up. "Why don't we grab a bite at Grandpa Banban's?" She set the Lilliputian on her shoulder and approached the balcony.

As they were about to walk down the balcony stairs, a chilly wind suddenly came by and blew past their hair, and Aeincha had to hang tight to Aisa's dress. A bright smiled appeared on Aein's face. "That's it!"

"Hm?" Aisa looked curious.

"Maybe the reason you haven't flown is because you never bonded with your natural element!"

"Hmmm… well, now that you mention it."

"Come on: let's try ONE last time!" she gestured Aisa to head back up, and she did so.

The Shandian Nimbi now stood before the balcony's railing, eyes closed and her arms spread out as the peaceful winds chilled her skin. "Aeincha… I don't know. I mean, it's too dangerous to jump-"

"Quit worrying." She cut her off, seated on the railing with a smile. "And you're not gonna jump. Just clear your head of worries, get adjusted to the air, and when you feel the motion in your wings, that's when you fly." Of course, Aeincha just based all this from how she thought elements work.

Aisa just stood there. The wind continued to blow her hair and dress. It was a good feeling, hearing only the sounds of wind and the streaming of the massive fountain's water. Their treehouse was stationed directly on top the fountain, and the view of the expansive city was marvelous. Hundreds of miles above the ground.

Aeincha nodded, feeling that her friend was getting it. In only a few moments, she would be off her feet. However, another forceful wind suddenly came by. "Whoooa-oo-oo!" The Lilliputian lost her balance on the railing. Aisa shot her eyes open wide. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

"AEINCHA!" Aisa's friend went falling over the balcony to the hundred-mile drop. The Nimbi immediately jumped off, arms stretched directly downward. "UNGH!" She successfully gripped her falling friend, but she herself was about to come in contact with the ground below. Aisa held her friend close and shut her eyes tight. The drop seemed inevitable.

But just before she fell past the buildings' roofs, she felt a sudden brush of air, and she continued to fall. Aisa squinted her eyes open, but was surprised when there wasn't ground up ahead. Instead, the ocean's great horizon was drawing closer. She looked down, seeing the town underneath, and looked back, seeing the great fountain draw further from beyond her feet. She faced ahead again, and a wide smile appeared on her face. "Hahaha-HYEAAAAHH!"

As she stretched her arms, still holding Aeincha in her left, the Lilliputian opened her eyes as well. Powerful winds brushed past their hair as she saw the city passing by from below. She turned around, seeing Aisa's whole body, from her head to her feet, touch nothing. Aeincha stretched her arms, and she felt the sensation, too. "WAAAHOOOO!"

Aisa set Aeincha on her back, and the Lilliputian held tight as her Nimbi friend soared excitedly around the air. She did a few spins as she soared down just above the rooftops, then back to the sky. They both looked back, seeing the water town draw farther and farther away. They faced ahead again, and the puffy clouds were drawing closer. In seconds, the two were above the clouds, and both their minds were filled with excitement and wonder.

Aisa's smile couldn't be more wide, and her eyes never much joy. It was incredible. "I…I can't believe I'm flying!"

"Seeee? You can do ANYthing you set your mind to!"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Aisa flew down and blew through some clouds, getting herself and Aeincha wet. "I don't understand… how did it happen?"

"I don't know!" Aein said, holding both arms straight out. The tiny child has never felt this much excitement. "Maybe it just happens when you're in danger! …WAAAAHEEEEEEYYYY!" Aisa did a few more twirls through clouds, but her little friend stayed on her back.

"But this… I'm flying!" Aisa couldn't find the words. "It's just!... so… great!... It's the most wonderful feeling in the world!"

"Well, where you gonna fly TO?"

"I…I dunno!" Aisa began to look worried. "If I land… what if I can't fly again?"

"Don't show fear!" Aeincha cheered. "Just keep flying!"

"Says the girl who's relying on me not to drop her!"

The two continued to fly for several more minutes. The only sounds were that of the wind blowing against their faces.

"If you can only see Skypia if you have wings, shouldn't we be seeing it?" Aeincha asked.

"I dunno. Most clouds in the sky are just plain Island Cloud. There could only be so much in the White Sea."

Eventually, the Nimbi child soared to a random cloud, taking a soft land on her feet. She wiggled her toes on the soft, white substance and bounced a little. She's never felt anything more soft. Feeling clouds under her feet was much more relaxing than earth, or any other solid substance.

She proceeded to walk forward, Aeincha seated on her shoulder as they looked around with wonder. Almost every direction was pure white with cloud, except the bright blue sky above them with the sun lighting up the sea of clouds. They never imagined being up this high; not counting in their ships. Aisa was afraid of stepping into an opening and plummeting both of them to the great sea below.

"Oh?... What's this?" Aisa perked when they found an opening inside a small mount of the cloud. They exchanged curious looks, and Aeincha jumped off her friend's shoulder to go in first. Aisa crouched down and crawled after her, watching as her friend jumped down a series of small footholds. They entered a dark cave inside the Island Cloud, and Aisa watched her little friend run toward a set of ruins. Aisa stepped next to her as both girls looked around marvelously. They didn't expect this to be inside any Island Cloud.

"It's… old ruins." Aeincha spoke. The stone carvings were ancient and withered, depicting images of an Indian race, with wings. There were also writings below the images, in a strange language. Aeincha approached the symbols and studied them closely. "Is it… Skypian?"

"It's Ancient Skypian…" Aisa studied as she stepped forward and squatted down to study the markings. "But I… can't read it." It was too bad, thought Aisa to herself. These images looked so familiar. They seem… like her. …Aisa flinched, suddenly feeling a nearby presence. Her attention directed to the entrance. "Someone's coming!"

"Oh?" Aisa snatched her friend in both hands and went to hide behind a ruin. Aisa sat with her back against the monument, clutching a hand over Aeincha's tiny mouth while squeezing her own lips shut. A figure was climbing down the entrance, walking across the soft cloud floor in only sandals. In their right hand, they were clutching some kind of rod. The cave was still too dark to see the figure clearly, but it was a girl, a Nimbi. The girl stopped before the monument and began to stare at the images. Aisa and Aeincha carefully turned around to peek behind. They recognized the girl.

"Hey… it's Jesbi! Supreme Skypian Leader!" Aisa whispered.

Hearing a sound, Jesbi looked to her right. "Prithee, what hath been spying on me?"

The girls flinched slightly, so Aisa put Aeincha on her shoulder as she walked out. "Sorry…" she said. "I was just… flying by and-"

"I am aware." She cut off. "Pray tell… dost thou know the story behind yon carvings?"

The three looked at the images again. "Uhhh…"

"These be the ancient Nimbi race called the Shandians. They were a race of Indian Nimbi whom were bound to the earth, rather than clouds. They made their home on what is now known as America. But 'twas fair Shandia in their time. Alas, British settlers come and banish fair Shandians from the land. 'Twere forced to find a way and make a home in the sky."

"Wait… you mean the Indians that lived in Old America were Nimbi?" Aeincha asked. "How come that wasn't mentioned in the history books?"

"'Twas mentioned at first, but across time, none ever believed men with wings ever existed. So the books were changed. But when the Shandians moved to the sky, they were shunned by the Nimbis of the air, too. So, they were ordered by yon king to live in Skypia's outlands. Soon, matters settled below on the earth. Some Shandians chose to remain below, while others in the sky. They mated with various peoples. Some Shandian descendants take the form of humans, while others hold Nimbi wings. But 'tis a shame, really. To be hated by thine own kind. I, myself, am part Shandian. I do not know wherefore such past hatred for other beings hath sparked. Mayhap the disappearance of the fair Skypian princess, long long ago. Sparked a great hatred and distrust of beings not of the air. Things are not entirely different now, but 'tis better. Thou art lucky to have friends like thine. From girl of dolly size to one of giant mouth." Aisa and Aeincha exchanged sheepish grins.

"So… is that why I couldn't fly?" Aisa asked. "But how did I fly now?"

"It is said that the blessing of Goddess Palutena enables the power of flight in Nimbi. In ancient tales, Shandians art otherwise flightless. Yet, even the goddess's powers bare limits."

"Then… can you help us?" Aisa asked. "I wouldn't wanna risk Aeincha's life again."

"I shalt supply you. Let us leave hither." The Nimbi leader walked out first, and Aisa followed.

They climbed out of the cave, and Jesbi handed Aisa a pair of conch-shells with holes like shoes. "These art Jet Dials." Aisa slipped the shells on her feet. "They wilt function like fair jetshoes and allow thee to fly without wings. 'Tis not as satisfactory as unleashing yon true Nimbi spirit, but rather than yon land-dweller jetshoe, it leaves a trail of cloud, not smoke."

Aisa tapped the buttons inside with her toes, making the shoes thrust her forward a little. "Well… they'll come in handy. Thanks, Jesbi."

"My welcome to thee." And with that, Aisa soared away using her new rocket shoes, leaving a trail of clouds as Aeincha held onto her shoulder. Jesbi watched until they were behind the clouds, and flew away.

Sector W7 Treehouse

Aisa came in for a calm landing on the balcony, then pulled her Jet Dials off as she walked in. "They're not so bad. Pretty fun." Aisa said.

"It isn't the same as flying normally, is it?" Aeincha said.

"No… nothing will be the same as that. Oh well… at least these Jet Dials will be helpful. Come on, let's go see what everyone else is up to!"

She took a few steps forward through the living room when the rest of Sector W7 ran in. "Oi, there you are!" Chimney exclaimed. "Where the heck were you on'nanoko-chans?"

"Gyom, gyom!"

"Hm hm hm!" Aeincha smiled. "We were just out!"

"You can say we had our heads in the clouds!" Aisa beamed.

"Oi, head in the clouds? Wha'does that mean?" Chimney asked.

"Oh, Chimney! Don't act so paranoid!" Apis grinned.

"Who wants to go down to Grandpa Banban's?" Aeincha exclaimed.

"YAAAAEEEEHH!" the girls (except April) cheered ecstatically and scampered down the treehouse.

April, the First and the Last

Sector W7 Treehouse

Another peaceful day on Water 7. Man, this town is nice. It was noon as four of the team members, plus Gonbe, stood together and posed, while April Goldenweek studied them and carefully painted on her canvas. They've had a good past few days, so Chimney decided they should have a group photo. But who would want that if they have their own professional painter? Normally, it's a process that would take hours or days, but April only started a few minutes ago, and she was close to done.

A few minutes more, April painted the last whisker on Gonbe's face. She turned the canvas around, and the sector beamed, wide eyes and mouths, at their beautifully painted selves. "OOWAAAAAHH!" Chimney's eyes sparkled. "IT'S SO LIFELIIIIKE!" ("Gyom-gyooooomm!")

Aeincha was impressed as well, but after a while, she frowned. "Uhhm… there's something missing."

The others' smiles faded, as they noticed as well. There was only four of them, plus Gonbe. "Oiiii! April-chan's not in this picture!" Chimney exclaimed. ("Gyom, gyom!")

"It's okay." April said, no emotion like usual. "You guys have known each other longer."

"But we're Sector W-Seveeeeen! You should be in it, tooooo!"

"Are you sure, April?" Apis asked. "You're part of the team, too."

"It's no big deal. Besides, adding extras to it will make it less of a masterpiece."

"…Well, you're the artist…" Apis figured.

"Ahhh, you're a baka-chan. Oh well, le's watch some KNN news!" Chimney grinned.

"Gyom, gyom!" The rest of the kids hurried excitedly to the couch, while April walked over less ecstatically. Chimney grabbed the remote and switched the TV on, and Melody and Danny's images were shown.

"And so ends the tale of the silly chipmunk who tricked a corporate businessman into signing away his rights to the sock-sewing company." Danny spoke. "Well, there's our random story conclusion for those just tuning in, you Mel?"

"Um, thank you, Danny, in other news, there has been a recent increase in assaults from Candy Pirates on unsuspecting Kids Next Door candy shipments. A report from Sector W7 cautions everybody to be on the lookout for notorious pirate, Commander Fat Jack. Rumored to be extremely dangerous, obsessed with candy, and very mean to tiny people. …In unrelated news, Sector I sees its last few days as their second-to-last teammate has gone rogue, and is scheduled for decommissioning." This caught April's attention, but her expression didn't change. "The remaining operative will be temporarily moved to a new sector."

"Awww. Poor guy." Apis frowned.

"Gyom, gyom." Gonbe was just as sad.

"It's so sad when friends have to part ways like that because they get too old." Aisa said.

"Good thing WE'RE not growing up for four more years! Even MORE!" Chimney exclaimed.

"YAAAAY!" the girls, except guess-which-one, cheered excitedly.

"Oh!" Aeincha's smile vanished, remembering once again. "Except…"

The kids looked at April with sad, apologetic looks. "April… we-" Apis tried to speak.

"It's okay." she said, still not changing her look. "Our time still has to come eventually. You guys will be just as good without me."

"'ey, whatchu talking about, anyway?" Chimney asked. "You don't get decommissioned just for turnin' 13, anymore, you gotta turn traitor! You ain't gonna turn traitor, are you?"

"Um… I-"

She was interrupted when the alarms suddenly rang. Panini Drilovsky's face appeared onscreen. "This is Moonbase calling Sector W7. There are some Teen Ninja warships passing close to your sector, and they're loaded with boxes of sick chickens. They might be trying to use them for a new Chickenpox Cannon. Ya have to stop them."

"Oi, we can't ever have a day off here." Chimney said exhaustedly. ("Gyom-gyom.")

"Alright, team! Let's goooo!" The rest of the team hurried off excitedly. April looked at the screen for a few seconds, lost in thought, before chasing after them.

Warship squadron, middle of the ocean

Indeed, the Teen Ninjas were sailing off to whatever destination, carrying loads of bawking chickens. Nya LaMar and Hoagie III were in the control room of the flagship, staring out at the sea.

"Ugh! I can't beLIEVE that Maddy brat kept us in her toy box for three weeks!" Nya shouted in anger. "What took Shade so long to come get us, anyway?"

"Why you so mad, Nya? I kind of liked being an action figure." Hoagie III said coolly.

"Ugh. Well, as soon as we power up our cannon, HER neighborhood is gonna be FIRST to go."

One of their monitors started to beep all of a sudden. "Unknown vessel coming from the south." a girl reported.

"It's those KNDorks!" Nya concluded. "Ready the bikes! Oh, and DON'T touch my CDs!"

The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. was zipping toward the warships at high speed across the water. The ships began to blast their cannons, but the train swerved around and dodged before shooting to the sky, going just above the ships' towers. The teens got in bikes and started to fly after the sector, but the train endured the laser strikes as they kept flying. "Oi, time to drop in, chans!" Chimney exclaimed.

"Remember, we gotta get the chickens onto our train and take them to be treated." Apis reminded.

"Yeah, yeah. LE'S GO!" Chimney set the train to autopilot as the five girls and rabbit dropped to the decks of individual ships. Chimney whipped out some M.A.R.B.L.E.s and started to throw them around her ship, bombing holes in the floors and cannons. Aisa whipped out her Conache Pumpkin, tied to her rope, and hurled it forward to bash a row of Teen Ninjas. Another ninja tried to grab her from behind, but she jumped back and bashed the iron pumpkin at his face.

"OW! How do you people EAT those-" Aisa bashed him again and knocked him out.

On another ship, Aeincha stood confidently as a group of Teen Ninjas surrounded the tiny child. "Ugh. We have to put up with THIS again?" Tracy asked. "All right, Teens: don't show ANY mercy." They all drew out lasers and took aim.

"GYOOOM!" Gonbe jumped on Tracy's head and bit on her nose, making her shoot her laser upward aimlessly. When the teens were distracted, Aeincha ran and climbed up one's body, going to his chest and pressing the switch on the right nipple. His armor deactivated, so Aein got inside his clothes and began to crawl around. As the ninja tried to grab her, Gonbe jumped over and bit hard on his ear. The other ninjas chased him and tried to help, but Aeincha slipped out of his clothes and grabbed on to another one.

Coincidentally, April Goldenweek landed on the flagship. As she broke into the storage, gangs of Teen Ninjas began to swarm her, but she swiftly dodged around and painted black marks on their armor. They looked confusedly, and were about to attack again, when- "Don't help bring those chicken crates onto our train." April said. Against their own will, the ninjas stopped attacking and began to haul the crates away.

"Guys, what're you doing?!" a female ninja yelled, who wasn't hypnotized. "Don't help them!" The ninjas worked harder to carry on their task, and April proceeded to hypnotize this girl as well. With that, the 12-year-old decided to head to the upper floors.

In another ship, Apis was surrounded by more ninjas as she looked to the crates of chickens. She closed her eyes and spoke telepathically, and the chickens suddenly broke free from the crates and began to tackle the teens, forcing them to catch chickenpox.

Meanwhile, Aisa was using her new Jet Dials to fly as she held the Conache Pumpkin down and bashed the heads of the Teen Ninjas that were hit. Suddenly, Aisa was kicked down to the floor by another ninja, recovering to see it was Shade. Aisa glared and got up, aiming to throw her Conache when- "Straight throw, then left swing." Shade dodged the predicted throw, and when Aisa swung leftward, Shade attempted to jump over and kick her.

Aisa gasped, sensing Shade shooting upward and shooting down, knuckles first. Shade stopped mid-kick, shot upward, and shot down to strike with her knuckles, but Aisa dodged right right away.

"Huh?" Shade was a little surprised. She began to run around and around Aisa in circles, going faster and preparing a strike. Aisa sensed Shade coming from the left, so when the ninja attempted the attack, Aisa swiftly turned and flipped backward and avoided. Shade's eyes widened, and she felt she understood. "So, you know Observation."

"Huh?" Aisa asked.

"But I believe you Skypians call it Mantra. Perhaps a true test is required." Shade zipped to the other side of the room and extracted a series of lasers from under her armor (how do they fit all these weapons?). They looked around aimlessly, ready to shoot in random directions. With that, they let fire, and the room was storming with lasers. Aisa sensed where each shot would be, and she moved quickly to avoid the ones coming at her. She dodged her way over to Shade and swung her pumpkin, knocking the ninja upside the head, and backward. Shade got up as her lasers retracted. "Hmmm. Seems yours are enhanced. I shall see more later." The ninja threw a bomb down that flashed and blinded the whole area, and when the light faded, she was gone, leaving a confused Aisa.

April made her way to the control room on the flagship. Nya and Hoagie stood in the center as some ninjas tried to attack, but she dodged and painted pink on them, forcing them to become sad. "I won't hurt you if you choose to surrender." she said to Nya and Hoagie.

"I give." Hoagie raised his hands. Nya immediately bashed his head. "Oww!"

"Say… how old are you, anyway?" Nya asked April, raising a brow.

"I'm… 12." she answered. "My birthday is in six months."

"I see…" a witty smile appeared on Nya's face. "So, let's say I let you catch me. After six months, you won't even be recognized for it. You'll be hanging with us and kids will think of you as ANOTHER smelly teen."

"It happens to everyone eventually." April said.

"DON'T you have any EMOTION, Girl? YO' friends won't care about you anymore and they'll be forced to attack you. That's what happens with ALL 13-year-old operatives. Your friends today become enemies tomorrow."

"Sunni and Marcus are thirteen years old. They were allowed to stay."

"That's because they still acted like brats. Look at yourself. You don't even SOUND like a kid. You ain't whiny like yo' little teammates. And HOW many kids would rather PAINT instead of eat ICE CREAM? …Besides the French."

"Painting is an enticing and concentrative sport."

"Right. You ain't cut out to be a kid, Kid. Why don't you just ditch yo' lame friends and hang with us? That's what Ms. Abrams did when she was young."

April stared at her for a few seconds. Her frowning, toneless expression didn't change. "GYAH!" Suddenly, Chimney bursted through the door, startling April and the teens. "Oi, April-chan, I got finished early! We takin' these pizza-sans down?"

"…Right." April nodded and immediately slid over and painted yellow on Nya's and Hoagie's chests.

"PAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!…" The two were forced to laugh uncontrollably, and couldn't focus. Nya fell to her hands and knees as April looked at her with her usual frown. As Nya wiped a tear from her eye, she fell to her front as she held a small, folded paper at April's feet.

"HYAAAHH!" Chimney jumped high and stomped Nya with great force, knocking the teen out as the smile stayed on her face, but some of the paint began to fade. "Oi, what a saiko-chan. April, can you paint them so they lose their dumb teen brains? Or, do they need NEW brains."

"…" April stared at Nya for a few seconds. "Let's leave them be. Without the chickens, they won't be very much."

"Ahhhh. If you say so, Chan. Le's go home." With that, Chimney walked off.

April bent down and picked up the tiny slip. She stuffed it in her pocket, sparing one last glance to the ninjas before walking off.

Sector W7 Treehouse

"HOOOO-yah!" Chimney sighed in exhaust as they returned to the treehouse, the sun setting over Water 7. "Those chickie crates were HEEEAAAVY." ("Gyom, gyoooom.")

"I'm glad we didn't catch chickenpox." Apis said. "Who wants to watch Avatar?"

"You guys go ahead." April said, walking off. "I'll be in my room."

"Doing WHAT, April-chaaaan?" Chimney yelled.

"Just to mellow out." And with that, she was gone down the hall.

The four kids and rabbit looked at each other curiously.

In April's room

April closed her door and went to sit on her bed. She would normally use her alone time to paint… but she didn't feel like it. Her head was clouded with thoughts and memories. Deep down, she was secretly worried she would be decommissioned, and never get to play with Sector W7 again. It's just like with her old sector… (Play "Chopper's Sad Theme" from One Piece.)

Several years ago

Sector GD, stationed in Gobi's Desert. That was where April was stationed. A team of five: Numbuh 5-Kegs, Trenton Boom. Numbuh February, Selina Valentine. Numbuh 1-1, Paula Doublefinger. Numbuh 11-Long, Dazun Sclice. …And then there was April.

Trenton was the team's weapons expert. He was mostly into bombs and blowing things up. Wasn't really right in the head, but he was still a good kid. Selina was a rather cheerful girl, the combat specialist, and probably the light of the team. She was very swift and nimble, not to mention really thin. Paula was pretty goth and tomboyish. She wore a spiked black jacket, which could shoot actual spikes. And Dazun was the big, strong leader. He was the oldest, and he was skilled with swords. Then April, she was the Artist and Hypnotist, and the youngest of the team. But they all seemed pretty old, even before decommissioning.

On a regular spring's day (though they couldn't tell seasons in the desert), April was happily painting a portrait of her team, a smile on her doll-like face. The four members were bunched together, making their own poses, as April carefully painted their images. It didn't take long before she was finished, and she turned the portrait around to show them.

"Hey, not baaaad!" Selina beamed.

"Hm. Pretty slick, Girl." Paula said.

Trenton frowned, noticing something. "Um… ain't there someone missing?"

The others frowned, noticing as well. April was absent from the picture. "You… didn't paint yourself." Selina said.

"Well, I wasn't standing there." April said, still keeping a smile. "An artist has to paint what they see."

"But you're part of the team…" Selina spoke once more. "All of us should be in it."

"It's no big deal." April shook. "Painting the four of you is just as good."

"Hm. You're way too nice." Dazun said coolly. "Care about yourself every now and then."

"Hm hm hm, okay." April laughed. "Let's do something else."

"Ahhh, anyone wanna go to the pool?" Trenton asked, the African-American boy picking his nose. "These desert climates ain't doin' it right for me."

"I rather like it." Paula said with a smug look. "The idea of dehydrated organisms baking in the heat, their bones rotting away for hundreds of years."

"How dark." Trent remarked.

The alarms suddenly blared across the treehouse. The Moonbase Missions Debriefer appeared on their TV. "Listen up, guys, there's a rogue teen operative by your area. Our Decommissioning Troupe is too preoccupied, so we need you guys to stop him.

"Kids Next Door, LET'S GO!" Dazun cheered, and they all hurried off.

They hurried to the nearby desert town, where a renegade operative, turned 13, was frantically sneaking around. As he hid behind an alleyway, he flinched when someone spoke from behind. "Hands in the air, Teenager, it's time for decommissioning." Numbuh 11-Long said as Sector GB stood, ready for battle.

The teen hurled M.A.R.B.L.E.s at them, blowing Paula and Selina back. Dazun zipped forward, swiftly swinging blades, but the teen hurriedly dodged his attacks and countered with a metal staff. He eventually jumped back, but Trenton hurled two bombs by his sides, exploding and blowing him further. Through the smoke, Selina flexibly flipped over, leaping behind the teen as she caught his head in her legs. The teen bashed the girl with his metal staff and escaped, but found April standing behind.

"Heh. What're YOU gonna do, Painter?" he said smugly.

April zipped over and quickly painted a pink mark. The teen fell into depression. It was hopeless… he would be captured either way… what life is there without the Kids Next Door, anyway… there was no point in running… it was over.

With the teen defeated, Sector GD brought him to Moonbase. There, the Head of Decommissioning led him to the chambers. The sector only watched with pity, emotionless looks as the plunger device sucked away everything he ever knew.

"Thanks for the help." The Decom. Head congratulated. "Sorry we had to drag you in our business, but… what can you do with so many rampant teens."

"Yeah, yeah, no prob." Trent said. "'ey, le's go down to Spiders' Soda Shop!"

"YEAH!" the sector (except April) cheered and hurried off. April stayed to look at the memory-washed teen before following them.

They went to the Spiders' Soda Shop, to have drinks of their favorite brews. "Ahhh… someday, I wanna OWN this joint." Trent said, kicked back on his stool as he clutched a glass's handle.

"That'll cost ya quite a few Pokémons." The owner, Spider Nickey, replied.

Dazun Sclice chugged a whole glass of soda in one round before noticing the still-full glass on the counter beside him, seated before a frowning April, her head down. "What's wrong, April?"

"…When we get too old… will we end up like that teen?"

"Man, relax, April. You know there's still TND."

"But… we can't hang out together… can we?"

"Well, not usually. But… not all friends can hang around together all the time. Sometimes… we're forced to go separate ways. But we'll still always be friends. You know that, right?"

April looked up at him with a light smile. "Yeah… I guess you're right."

"That's more like it." He slapped her back. "Come on, just drink yo' soda. Can't be a kid if you don't like soda." April did so and drank, but only lightly. Part of her still felt upset.

Three months passed. Daz's 13th birthday had come. The sector stood before him in the living room, sad looks on all their faces. "We're really gonna miss you…" Selina said.

"It'll be a'ight. If I'm lucky, I'll remember not to attack you guys too much."

"Too bad our success rate isn't the highest." Paula said. "You coulda been a TND."

"Well… not everyone can reach the stars." Daz said. "But it's all about the journey. …A'ight, let's go. Better off ta save them decommissioners' trouble."

And so, they flew up to Moonbase, and calmly walked to the Decommissioning Chambers. Daz willingly sat on the chair and strapped on. The Decommissioning Head was ready to push the button as he spoke, "Any last words?"

"Yeah…" He looked at April, who only frowned. "I just wanna say… don't worry about the future. Live in the moment. …Got it?" he winked.

April's emotionless expression didn't change. But she was sad deep down.

Without another moment, the operative pushed the button, and Daz's memories were sucked away. The friends knew it wouldn't be the same.

"You sure you wanna be leader?" Selina asked Trent once they arrived back at the treehouse.

"Yeah, it's a'ight." he said. "Ah mean, Ah'm just a boom guy, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Well, then don't whine to us." Paula remarked. "Besides… it won't be too long."

In reality, Trenton's birthday was only four months away. They seemed to have gone by TOO fast. Trenton was always a good kid. He liked to make fireworks and launch them as victory for their missions. He knew how to be creative and colorful with them, always making fancy shapes. Of course, he had help with the colors using April's paint. When they lit a firework show in the sky, April memorized the patterns quick, and painted them. She had quite the collection. And one time, Trenton blew himself up while being a daredevil, and the result was rather silly. April giggled as she painted his goofy, soot-covered form.

Sadly, due to unexplained reasons, Trent decided to turn traitor, going to attack another treehouse with his bombs. Trent's decommissioning time came, and his pleasant memories were lost from his mind. Selina was the most upset, it seemed.

"Well… who's gonna be leader now?" Selina asked when they returned home.

"Well, I don't wanna do it." Paula decided, even though she was the oldest.

"I'm not cut out…" April already knew.

"Well, girls, I guess we're going leaderless." Selina figured. "Ho well… why don't we go get some drinks."

They never did pick out a leader, and their success rate dropped lower. Without the two boys, things weren't the same. In two more months, it was Paula's birthday, choosing then of all times to attack a popular toy store. April heard it was something about her family needing money. It was her turn for decommissioning. April remembered coming to Paula's house often. They shared a lot in common. Her goth theme was something April was into, painting Paula in so many dark, freaky poses, some of which involved her spikes. It was good practice for April painting pointed objects. And they liked to think dark, depressing poems or haikus.

When Paula was decommissioned, April was sad they couldn't do that stuff anymore. Still… at least she had Selina.

April spent almost every moment of the next three months hanging out with Selina. Her positive attitude brought some light to April's heart. In the old days, Selina taught April some yoga, of course the blond, thin girl was more flexible than April was. Instead, April mostly painted images of Selina bent in different angles. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. The blond gymnast always put a smile on April's face.

"Sigh, well it was now or never." Selina said when decommissioning time had come. She hadn't gone traitor, but she claimed she wanted to enroll in this fancy cheerleading school that would take up too much of her time. April couldn't understand why, for a couple reasons.

"I'll miss you…" April frowned at her taller friend.

"Hmhmhm, it's okay!" Selina put on a grin. "Remember, April: keeeep smiling!" Still keeping her bright smile, Selina sat on the chair and was strapped on. Even after the plunger finished sucking her memories, she still kept her silly smile.

Finally, April was all alone. She was 11 years old… her birthday was six months away, and then it'd only be a year left. Her room was stashed with so many paintings of her friends. Looking at them over and over, only made April feel more sad. So many memories from so many moments… April wished she could make more. She wanted to keep her collection going.

Being only by herself, April didn't receive any missions for a few days. In time, she was called to Moonbase, where the new Supreme Leader, Cheren Uno, met with her in his office. Cheren spoke professionally. "April, there can't be only one person in a sector. I've decided to relocate you to Sector W7, in Water 7. We've arranged for your family to move there, wink-wink. You'll have one day to get your stuff together, and the next, you'll be moving."

April turned away, not changing her frown. "I'll get prepared, then."

Cheren frowned, feeling April's sadness. He stood up and put a hand on the tall girl's shoulder. "April… your sector was one of the nicest. I know how it must feel for you… but they would want you to keep going."

"…I want to leave my paintings in the treehouse. …I don't want anyone coming in."

"…Okay. I'll mark it as off limits. And set securities around it, just in case."

April returned to the treehouse and had finished gathering her things. Her paintings were left piled in her room. She looked at them for several minutes. Dust began to form on the dried paint. The treehouse was dark, almost all power was off. April was hoping it'd stay this way. She'd want no one tampering with her history. She debated whether or not to take her paintings with her. She decided not to… it was too painful to even touch one.

The following day, April and her father moved to Water 7, much to his chagrin. Her mother died a few years ago, so it was just the two of them. They weren't close at all… he was pretty mean and self-centered. They weren't rich. Her father worked as a sculptor, so that's the closest they are, their interest in art. But April felt like she was closer to her cousin, Mary. Her parents were rich, but they refused to lend April's father any money, due to bad tension. April always loved playing with Mary, but they didn't see each other much since April joined the KND, and without her friends, April felt more alone.

As their small family settled into their new home, Cheren had brought April up to the treehouse atop the enormous water fountain. "Everyone, this is April Goldenweek. Her sector was recently decommissioned, we had to relocate her. I'm sure you'll all get along nicely. April… good luck."

"OI, a new FRIEEENNND!" Chimney screamed as the girls and rabbit immediately ran to greet her. ("Gyom-gyoooom!")

"Hi!" The very tiny member smiled and waved. "I'm Aeincha! I'm from Lilliput."

"I'm Chimney!" Chimney grinned. "These are Aisa, Apis, and my cat, Gonbe!" ("Gyom, gyom.")

"Isn't he a rabbit?" April asked.

"Nnn? …Rabbit?" Chimney and Gonbe looked confused.

Chimney was pretty clueless, April observed. She spent the next year, hanging out and playing with them. They were such fun kids. Chimney liked to pounce on her shoulders and ride her whenever they had victory. She painted Aisa's dirty fingers and toenails. She used different color symbols on Aeincha, making the tiny girl dance and do all sorts of fun stuff, which the girls giggled at. She painted pictures of Arceus and other religious references for Apis. And in general, she painted many pictures of them.

Chimney sitting at her control station, a wide grin on her face. Aeincha peeping out of April's big shoes. Apis, eyes buried in her Book of Arceus. Aisa, holding a bow and posing like cupid as she stood along the shore, with the skies in the background. Chimney about to stuff Aeincha inside her big mouth. Apis on her hands and upside down, while Aisa stood on the soles of her big shoes. Aisa giggling at Gonbe trying to eat a Conache Pumpkin. Apis and Chimney both making wide grins, trying to mirror the other. And not a one had April herself…

April had so much fun with her new friends. They were so energetic. So carefree. …But April couldn't feel that way. Soon, she would be getting decommissioned as well. Her good times with Sector W7 would end. She would be leaving them, and another stash of paintings would lay and gather dust. She didn't want to forget them. She didn't want to forget her friends. If her memories were gone… it would just be her and her dad. She would forget all the nice people she ever knew. Her heart would always have an empty spot inside. Dazun… Paula… Selina… Trenton… Chimney… Aeincha… Aisa… Apis… Gonbe. So many spaces… empty.

Current time

April strongly resisted the urge to cry. She didn't want to leave her memories behind. She wanted to keep remembering them. There was only one way to…

April unfolded the paper and studied the map with a circle on one spot. Without a second thought, April stood and headed to the hangar. (End song.)

Unknown forest area

Stars lit up the blue night sky. April took Sector W7's backup S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and took land in the dark woods. She studied her map as she walked several yards forward. It wasn't long before she found Nya, Hoagie, and their Teen Ninjas, standing in a clearing with some ships.

"Awwww. You decided to come after aaaaall." Nya cooed.

"Yes… I've decided to join you. But on one condition: your ninjas won't attack Sector W7."

"Alright, fine, we'll let your bratty friends go. It's just GREAT to have you along, April! And have WE got a surprise for YOU!"

One of the ships' hatches opened, and a gang of teenagers stepped off, dressed in armor. Their helmets were off, and April's face was stricken with horror. They were Dazun, Selina, Paula, and Trenton, in Battle Ready Armor and looking like your everyday teens. Trenton nodded his head to some music in his headphones, Selina smiled as she texted mindlessly on a cellphone, Paula had a cigarette in her mouth, and Daz looked bored as he was munching on nachos.

Seeing her old friends hurt April greatly. She couldn't believe they were with the Teen Ninjas. The ones she spent her greatest moments with, the ones she loved, were enemies of the Kids Next Door. April wonders how much crime they've caused against the KND. How many times they avoided arrest. They barely looked the same anymore. They looked like the lazy, disrespectful teens the KND, and even adults, hated so much. They didn't look like they engaged in childish activities, the activities that filled them with spirit. They were… old.

"It'll be just like old times!" Nya beamed. "Sector GD is BACK again! Fightin' for the GOOD team this time! And with their good ol' hypnotist, the teens'll be STRONGER than ever! We can force ALL the brats to spill their secrets! And some upgrades for OUR side wouldn't be bad, either! So COME ON, April! GET IN and let's go for a pizza!"

April wanted to spend more time with her friends… but not like this. She didn't want to do… smelly TEEN stuff. No playing Frisby or splashing in the pool. (Even if April didn't swim.) …Not like Sector W7.

"OIIII!" April gasped and turned around with a start. There stood Sector W7 their selves, all looking angry and serious. "April-chaaaan! Don't GO with THEEEEM!"

"Gyom-GYOOOOooom!"

"How did you guys…"

"Ahem!" April looked down and saw Aeincha holding the heel of her left shoe. "Good thing there's so much room under your nose!" she smiled.

"She stowed away on your S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and we tracked her." Apis explained. "April, don't join them! You don't know what you're getting into!"

"I don't care!" the artist shouted. "It's better than forgetting all the good times I had with you all! Besides… I'm just not right for your team. I already feel like a teen myself. I'm just… not as excited as you four are. Knowing I have less time than you, I should join them and get it over with. And at least this way… you guys will be safe. I won't have to fight you."

"I DON'T CAAAARRRE!" Chimney screamed, angrier than ever. "YOU ARE still part of Sector W-SEVEEEENN! YOUR LEADER didn't dismiss yoooouuu!"

"April… we know you're not as enthusiastic… and you're older… but you're still our friend." Aisa said. "We wanted to spend the next six months playing with you, too. It wouldn't be the same."

"FRIENDS STICK together, APRIIIL! Are you our FRIIIEEEEND?" Chimney screamed.

"Uh… I-" April felt conflicted.

"QUIT WHINING, kiddies!" Nya shouted. "April's practically a teen now! SHE belongs with her REAL friends. Come on, April! We had a pizza party all set up for you!"

"April, YOU'RE still a Kids Next Door operative!" Chimney stated. "YOU'RE a kid-chan! Do you wanna stay with us and go down supah big water slides? Or you wanna listen to loud cruddy TEEN music?!"

"APRIL!" Nya shouted.

"April!" Chimney yelled.

"Gyom-gyom!" Gonbe shouted.

"April!" Apis shouted.

"April!" Aisa yelled.

"AAAPRIIIIL!" Aeincha screamed.

April fell to her knees, gaining a headache. If she stayed, she would forget everything. If she went, it wouldn't be the same. Her old friends had changed. She would abandon her new, energetic friends. She was so upset when Sector GD left. Sector W7 helped to fill up their void. She loved being an operative… going on missions and fighting villains with her friends. She never wanted to be against them. But Sector GD… wasn't Sector GD anymore. But Sector W7 would still be her friends for 6 more months… and even beyond then, they would still be her friends. She knew it.

"April!" Daz shouted, happy to see his friend.

"April!" Selina exclaimed.

"Yo, April!" Trenton greeted.

"Hey, April!" Paula greeted.

"Apriiiill!" she heard Aeincha say.

"HOAGIE!" Hoagie III exclaimed.

April stood up confidently, clutching her paintbrush as she raised her arm in defiance to Nya.

"I'm staying with Sector W7." She stated.

WHHHHHAT?!" Nya looked furious. "After ALL this crud we set up… you're STAYING?!"

"I'm sorry. But… you guys stink."

"GrrrrrRRRRAAAAHH! Teenagers: ATTACK THEEEEM!" Before their eyes, swarms of hidden Teen Ninjas flew out from beyond the bushes. They swooped down, blasting lasers, but the sector was quick to dodge as Aisa whipped out her Conache Pumpkin and swung it upward to knock some ninjas out of the air. Chimney jumped and landed on a ninja's back as she flew it around and rammed other aerial ninjas. Some ninjas landed and tried to step on Aeincha, but the girl dodged and jumped onto Gonbe's back as she rode him and made him bite their noses.

"Grrrrr!" Nya grumbled, looking at Sector GD, who were uninterestingly carrying on their own business. "DON'T just stand there, TAKE those kids out!"

"Siiigh." Daz sighed, putting his nachos aside. The decommissioned team finally jumped in and began to battle the operatives.

As Aeincha hopped off of Gonbe, she turned when Trenton Boom suddenly appeared behind her. "Hey." He smiled and waved before trying to stomp on the tiny girl. She dodged and attempted to climb up his leg, but he was able to swat her away. He pulled out a few simple firecrackers and chucked them at the Lilliputian. Since the bombs were much bigger at her size, the small explosions were deadly, so she ran quick to avoid.

Apis saw her friend trying to run, so she spoke telepathically with Gonbe, and the little rabbit nodded and ran to her aid. He helped Aeincha on his back as the two ran to avoid firecrackers. Gonbe grabbed one of the explosives in his mouth, and Aeincha yanked his fur as he pounced over to Trenton. The rabbit leapt and shoved the firecracker in his mouth just as it popped. Trenton frantically tried to shake the burn off, but Aeincha leapt off Gonbe's back and onto Trent's hair, then hung upside-down as she threw her grappling hook into his mouth, down his throat. She dropped down and hung as Trent coughed, making him aimlessly rush forward, and bash his head into a tree.

Apis smiled, but suddenly encountered Paula. The goth teen extracted spikes from her armor's knuckles and started trying to punch the Arceist, but Apis was quick to dodge. Apis quickly spoke to the nearest animal, and a squirrel came charging from a tree to crawl up to and around Paula's head. The girl frantically tried to shake it off, and when she tried to grab it, she accidentally scratched her face with her spikes. She was able to shake it off and run at Apis, aiming to punch the child, but Apis ducked, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her forward, making the teen stab her spikes into a tree. She struggled to pull herself free, so Apis was able to jump over and kick Paula's head against the tree, knocking her out.

Aisa faced Selina Valentine, glaring up at the teen, while she gave a snarky grin. Aisa swung her Conache, but Selina dodged nimbly as she landed on the pumpkin, jumped, and kicked Aisa in the face, knocking her backward. Aisa wiped the blood from her nose and became more serious, knowing to make use of her Mantra. She got up and put on her Jet Dials, flying around the air as she pulled out her Impact Dial and shot gumballs at Selina. Selina evaded the bullet gums as she hopped on Aisa's cloud path and chased after her. She swung her foot, but Aisa ducked and flew downward, causing Selina to fall, but she landed on her feet. When she turned around, she was too late to dodge as Aisa rammed her from the air.

Selina got up and growled, deciding to use her armor's jetpacks to fly instead. She swung her feet at Aisa as the two engaged in aerial combat, but Aisa swerved and dodged on her Dials as she flew circles around Selina. The thin teenager was tangled in the twin cloud paths, making her fly uncontrollably as she collided with the ground. Aisa shot down from the air and rammed her, knocking the girl out.

Next, Chimney faced Dazun Sclice. The buff ninja whipped out his blades and swung down, and Chimney yelped in fright as she narrowly avoided. Daz chased as the pigtailed girl ran, slicing several bushes as he did so. Chimney then ran up the tree and kicked off, kicking both feet against his face. Daz was barely fazed as he ran after her again, but Gonbe leapt in front of him as Aein jumped off and grabbed his face. The huge teen grabbed the doll-size girl and pulled her off, but Chimney ran over, carrying a heavy discarded tree branch as she bashed Daz's head and knocked him back.

April smiled at her friends' success. Suddenly, the 12-year-old was punched by Nya from the side of the head, knocking her into a tree. "NO ONE double-crosses Nya LaMar and gets away with it!" April weakly recovered and looked at her. "I'm takin' that little dish and makin' you eat PAINT."

April stood up and glared hatefully. "You can attack us as much as you want… but you'll NEVER get me to turn against my friends. An artist paints what they feel. Their emotion is expressed through their work. The pain I endured, watching my old sector's decommissioning. The void that opened in my heart. It's time you see it with your own eyes." And April put her paint dish away, and pulled out a new one with black, purple, and other dark colors. The artist zipped around Nya, painting the ground in various dark colors. Nya only watched confused as the ground around her became black and purple.

When April stopped, Nya suddenly found herself in a terrifying realm of evil and darkness. It was an endless black void, and anyone who's fallen in is destined to drift forever. A purple tentacle lashed out from the void and took Nya's right wrist, and she struggled to pull it off. Another tentacle from the left, and her left wrist was binded. Soon, her ankles followed, and her limbs were stretched away as a terrifying demon of darkness made itself known. Nya's eyes widened with horror. This demon fed off the evil and hatred that lied within peoples' hearts. …And it was hungry, for Nya.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Its jagged, black teeth gnashed, and she was swallowed into its vortex.

Sector W7 only stared as Nya lay knocked on the ground, face frozen with fear. They spared a glance to the only teen remaining, Hoagie III. Hoagie's face sparked with remembrance, and the boy fake-hacked and did a fake-stroke before making the gesture of hanging himself, and falling down.

A clap was heard behind them, and with a start, they jumped around to see the recovered Sector GD. "Nicely dooone!" Selina beamed, clapping.

"Man, who knew little people hurt so hard?" Trenton said.

April's mouth dropped slightly. "Uh… guys?"

"Nice to see you again, April." Daz smiled.

April couldn't find the words. They… remembered. "You are…"

"Yeah, we're TND." Paula replied, blowing out smoke. "Apparently you don't need good mission success, so long as you go willingly. …Oooorr, maybe they just thought we were nice."

Tears began to form in April's eyes. "Guys!" she dropped to her knees.

"Hey, don't cry." Selina smiled, getting to her knees and touching April's shoulders. "None of us could ever forget you. Even if we do smelly teen stuff, we're still the same sector."

"You see, April?" Daz spoke. "Everything always gets better so long as you keep moving forward."

"Thanks to this little bitch, we're a team again!" Trenton followed. "And none of them even know!"

"But you're handling pretty fine without us." Paula observed.

April turned around, seeing the smiling and waving Sector W7. She looked back at Selina, still crying. "I've never forgotten you! I've thought about you guys every day! Ever since you…"

"Calm down, April." Selina smiled. "You could never leave our hearts. Even when we're teens… we're still a team."

"Yeah." Trent nodded. "And maybe when yo' time comes, Nya's gonna wanna put you with us."

"And having those brats in in a few more years wouldn't be bad." Paula said.

"But until then, you need to KEEP smiling!" Selina grinned.

"Just keep hanging out with your friends for now, and we'll see you in maybe a few months." Daz assured.

And for the first time ever, Sector W7 saw April smile. Selina kept her grin as they both stood up. "Well, we should probably bring these pizza-heads back to headquarters." she decided. "All Nya needs is a little cocoa."

The sector approached the fallen Nya and Hoagie, as Hoagie got up slightly. "Am I still playing dead?" he whispered.

"Yeah." Selina said. Hoagie went back to being unconscious.

Daz put Nya's arm over his shoulders while Selina held up Hoagie. "We'll see ya later, April." Daz told her. After gathering the rest of the ninjas, Sector GD boarded the teens' ship and were flying off, disappearing into the night.

As April watched them leave, the smile stayed on her face. "Oi, April-chaaaan!" Chimney exclaimed. "We still gotta watch Avataaaahh!" ("Gyom-gyoooom!")

April turned to them, still smiling, and nodded. "Yes. Let's go do that."

"OOOOYAAAAHHH" As Chimney raised her arms in victory, the team of five plus one rushed back to the ship.

Sector W7 Treehouse

Upon their return to the treehouse, Chimney went to get the painted portrait of her and her team. Using some paint of her own, she added April Goldenweek to the picture. She then showed it to April herself, and the 12-year-old giggled at how choppily drawn she looked, compared to everything else. Her beady black eyes were different sizes, she had a silly smile, and she had short, stubby arms holding a brush and paint dish. April grabbed a nail and hung this painting in the living room. This would always be a reminder of their friendship.

Unknown Location

A shadowed man sat alone in his dark office, a lollipop in his mouth, when his phone rang. He reached for it on his desk and spoke, "Hello? …What? You got beaten? D'oh, whaddo I pay you ninjas for? Ahhh, just return to base, we'll get more chickens later. You still got those CDs, right? Hnnn-niiiiice! A'ight, I can let this one go. Later." With that, he hung up. The buff teenager stood up from his desk and went to stare out his wide windows, overlooking the peaceful ocean under the blue night sky.

"Hnnn… those Kids Next Dorks have gotten stronger. Too strong. We'll need to step up our game if we're ever gonna beat them. Heh… good thing I have just the plan. The perfect, unstoppable team of assassins." The teenager, Eldwin, spun around and pointed a finger. "CP10!"

There stood a group of seven figures in dark, hooded robes. Their faces weren't shown, at the moment… but Eldwin had total faith in them.

Gonbe: Little Wanderer

Sector W7 Treehouse

Another peaceful morning on Water 7. Just like always. Chimney was peacefully at rest in her room, a blindfold over her eyes and a smile on her face. Asleep on her belly, her loyal cat Gonbe, who was actually a rabbit. The sounds of a train's horns echoed from the distant station below, so far away, but the sound reached Gonbe's ears nonetheless. His big ears perked, and he awoke first, eyes and smile as wide as his master's.

As he awoke, Chimney also sat up, removing her blindfold to reveal her wide, wakened eyes. "Uwwwaaaaahh!" she stretched her arms, and her mouth grew wide. "Another DAAAaaaay, GonBEEEEHHH!"

"Gyom-gyoooooom!"

Gonbe hopped off the bed to let Chimney throw off her covers, the girl hopping off and slipping on her sandals. A grin on her face, she walked out to the living room, alongside her bunny. "HEEEY, Sector-chaaaaans! What's new today?"

"No new missions, yet." Apis responded. "Oh, and Chimney: your grandma called and said she needed help loading coal again."

"Ahhhh." Chimney sighed in exhaust. "Oi, I'm comin' Kokoro-san. Gonbe, watch after the on'nanokos."

"Gyom-gyom." Gonbe nodded. Still wearing his grin, he watched as his master left.

Of course, almost instantly, Gonbe became bored. Normally, he would always stick by his master, but he wouldn't go against her orders. He would stay and look after the girls. But they barely needed looking after. They were just doing whatever like usual.

He decided to approach Aisa first, and the girl was currently organizing different-colored apples at the kitchen table. He climbed onto the table and pointed at the apples. "Gyoooom?"

"Oh?" Aisa looked at him, then smiled. "Oh hi, Gonbe! These're Skypian apples! They're supposed to be magical and each has a special effect. I'm thinking of trying them."

The one that caught Gonbe's interest was the orange one. In his eyes, the orange apple looked like a big, juicy carrot. ...He wasn't sure why he liked carrots, being a cat. Regardless, he snatched the apple and gobbled it in his huge, wide mouth. "Oh, Gonbe, be care-" Aisa tried to say, but Gonbe was already chewing.

"Gyo?" They looked as a mustache suddenly appeared on Gonbe's upper lip.

In seconds, Aisa began to giggle. "Hehehehehahahaha! You silly rabbit! ...Cat. Thing."

"Gyo-gyoooo!" Gonbe angrily ripped the mustache off. He looked around, and decided to approach Apis, who was once again reading her Book of Arceus on the couch.

"..." Apis peeped over the book and noticed the rabbit grinning at her. "Hm hm hm! Hi, Gonbe! What's new?"

"Gyom, gyom."

"Hahaha! Good point! Nothing's new that we don't know! ...You probably feel lonely, with me being the only one that understands you."

"Gyom, gyom." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't matter. I mean, we're all different, right? And we're still friends!" she grinned.

"Gyoooo, gyo!"

"Uh, huh!" she agreed. "Anyway... wanna hear a few passages?"

"Gyo, gyo." Gonbe shook his head. "Gyoooo..."

"I guess some people wouldn't find it exciting. Well, have fun!" Apis waved as Gonbe walked away.

Gonbe then approached April, who painted on her canvas from the corner of the room, eating a rice cracker. The painting was of the current scene itself, with Sector W7 doing their own thing. April looked down and noticed the grinning rabbit. The 12-year-old smiled and said, "Hey, Gonbe. Wanna be in a picture with me?"

"Gyoooo, gyo!" he agreed.

They went to April's room where the girl stood before a mirror, with Gonbe rested happily on her head. April carefully painted the image, and every now and then, she gave light chuckles. This is the first time she's painted herself in any of her pictures. It was a warm feeling. Painting a picture of herself with a friend. She wishes she'd done it more often.

Soon, April finished the portrait, and she held it up to show Gonbe. "So? How does it look?"

"Gyoooooom!" Gonbe really liked it.

"Hm hm hm! I think I'll hang it up here. Come and see it again if you want." With that, Gonbe hopped off April's head as she hung the painting on the wall.

Gonbe returned down the hall, and on his way, he ran into Aeincha. The tiny Lilliputian smiled and waved at the huge rabbit. "Hey, Gonbeee!"

"Gyo-gyoooo!" he grinned and waved back.

"Hm hm hm hm! Got anything to do today?"

"Gyoooo… yo." He shrugged.

"Oh. …Wanna go for a ride?" she asked excitedly.

"Nnnn…nya?" He asked. Aeincha grinned.

"WHEEEEE!" Moments later, Gonbe was scampering excitedly throughout the treehouse, his tiny passenger on his back as she raised her arms in the air. Gonbe scampered into the living room, where he pounced on Aisa's head and made her hat slip off, but she slipped it back on. He then jumped onto Apis's lap, startling and making her drop her book. As April was walking down the hall, Gonbe came charging by, running around the girl's long legs before speeding further down the hall. Gonbe then went into Aeincha's room and started bouncing and kicking off of almost everything. The whole world zipped before Aeincha's vision as he did so, bouncing up-and-down on his back, and her excitement grew and grew.

Eventually, Gonbe stopped for a rest, lying on his front on the floor while Aeincha lied on his back. The soft, warm, furry back of the tired rabbit was more comfy than any bed (or pillow at her size), and his soft purring eased her mind. "Hehehehe! You're really soft, Gonbe! Like a stuffed bunny-kitty!"

"Gyoooo…" Gonbe was still too tired.

"You know, Gonbe, when I first saw you, you looked kinda scary. I mean… big cats eat little people. Er, and big rabbits, too. But you're really fun, Gonbe! And SOOPER cuddly!" she hugged the giant rabbit tight.

"Gyo-gyoooo!" he blushed.

"Anyway… yaaaaaaawwn… I woke up kinda early… I think I'm gonna sleep a couple more hours… yaaawn." And the Lilliputian was fast asleep, feeling warm and cozy on the rabbit's soft back.

Gonbe turned his head back, smiling at the tiny, peaceful Lilliputian. The bunny crawled onto Aeincha's bed and gently set her before the pillow, pulling the huge blanket over her form. "Gyo, gyo…" He patted her head lightly with his paw.

Gonbe returned to the living room and stepped out onto the balcony. He rested his head on his arms as he lay on the breezy balcony, staring at the great horizon in the distance. His huge ears picked up almost every sound from the town below, from the happy, laughing children, the neighing of Yagaras, and the ringing of bells. The rabbit was slowly drifting to sleep from the calm wind blowing through his fur. Even without his master, this was such a great day. Chimney really cared about her friends… and Gonbe could see why.

"Ha ha ha ha!" came Aisa's joyous laugh, seeing the mustache grow on Gonbe's face.

"Hm hm hm hm!" Apis smiled at the rabbit, sitting with the Holy Book on her lap.

"He he he!" April chuckled, painting the picture with Gonbe on her head.

"WHEEEEeeee!" Aeincha screamed with joy, riding Gonbe's back.

"Gyoooo…" His master had such great friends. He loved playing with them. But neither of them compared to his master herself. He hoped she would be back soon. Then maybe, they could all play together. Until then, Gonbe would rest peacefully, and awaken at the sound of his master's footsteps, and the shout of her loud voice.

Gonbe's ear shot up, catching another sound. Gonbe sat up and looked around frantically: it was the sound of the Puffing Tom's horn. He looked past the balcony's fence, seeing the smoke rising from the train in the distance. "Gyom, gyom!" Gonbe felt excited as the train sped toward the city. Was his master coming back? Was she home? Gonbe hopped on the fence, squinting his eyes hard, desperate to see if Chimney was crossing through the distant town.

A strong wind suddenly blew, and Gonbe lost his balance. "GYO-O-O-O-O-O!" The rabbit went tumbling over the edge, taking land on one of Water 7's many gigantic waterslides, which came from the giant fountain. The rabbit went zooming down the slippery slide at high speeds, going faster and faster as he would soon shoot into the ocean. Gonbe nudged his way to the right of the slide, and took a mighty leap, landing on one of the smaller slides as he zipped around, narrowly dodging Yagaras that were passing by.

After zipping around a few more turns, Gonbe was thrown over the slide's ledge. Meanwhile, as Grandpa Banban was cooking fish at his floating boat restaurant, the old man was startled when something crashed through his roof, knocking down a pile of barreled supplies. The man jumped around, still shaking with shock, when Gonbe rose up from the pile, looking dizzy. "Gyooooo…"

The man stopped shaking and sighed in relief. "Aaahhh… just you."

The rabbit grinned as he shook his head and hopped out of the pile.

"Hmm… where's your master, anyway. She didn't throw you out, did she?" he asked.

"Gyom-gyoom!" he shook his head.

"Ahh… well, anyway… here's a fish for the road." He tossed the rabbit one of his cooked fish. "Still don't get why a rabbit likes fish…"

"Nnnn… gyo-gyoooo." He shrugged and hopped out of the restaurant.

The little rabbit went to an alleyway corner to begin munching on the tasty meat. His ears perked, hearing another sound. He abandoned his tasty fish and walked around the building, finding a group of six kids, three on either side of the river, kicking a ball to each other. A brown-haired girl on the farthest side from Gonbe got the ball, and after a few kicks, she sent it flying straight over to Gonbe, bashing the rabbit in the face. "Gyoooo…"

A boy went over to retrieve the ball, but- "Huh?" took notice of the dizzied rabbit. The rest of the gang hurried over to see what their friend found.

"It's a rabbit." A girl observed.

"Aww, you knocked him out, Abi!" another boy shouted at the brown-haired girl.

"Ayako's the one who didn't catch it!" Abi yelled.

"Gyooo…" Gonbe's vision began to fade.

"Oh no! You probably gave him brain damage!" the other girl yelled.

"Don't be silly, Yoko!..." In seconds, the world went black around Gonbe.

Sunset…

Dusk was falling over Water 7. When Gonbe finally came to, he found himself on a soft blanket in a basket, inside someone's house. "Gyom-gyoooom?" He hopped up and curiously walked through the open door. There was a rather obese woman with orange hair, cooking at an oven. She turned around and smiled at the rabbit.

"Oh, helloooo! My, you sure can sleep a while!"

"Gyom-gyooooom?"

"My kids brought you here after they knocked you out. It's why I keep telling them to be careful." She turned around to resume her cooking. "I sent them out to get some groceries a while ago. I hope they didn't get lost." A thought occurred, and she turned and smiled at the rabbit again. "Perhaps you could go out and look for them for me!"

"'yoooo… Gyo, gyo!" Gonbe smiled and nodded, hopping out of the house.

"Hm hm hm! What a sweet rabbit!"

Sector W7 Treehouse

"OOOLAAAAA!" Chimney screamed, kicking open the door to the living room. "I'M BAAAAACK!"

"Hi, Chimneeey!" Apis cheered as all four girls smiled at their leader.

"Oi, why does Santa Clause send so much coal?" Chimney said exhausted, falling back on the couch as her sandals slipped off. "Heeeey… where's Gonbe?"

"Hmmm. I haven't seen Gonbe since this morning." Apis said.

"Last I saw, he was giving me a piggy-back ride!" Aeincha cheered.

"That is what he was doing." Aisa remembered.

"Nnnnn. Where'd that neko-chan go?" Chimney asked.

Water 7; close to the shoreline

Nighttime soon came over Water 7. Gonbe continued to search for the kids, but had no luck. The alleyway he was in was nearly pitch-black, and the rabbit was becoming terrified. "Gyo-o-o-o-o-o!" he shuddered.

A sound reached his ears, and he kept following the path. He soon reached one of Water 7's shores, where strange men dressed in yellow protection suits stood on the deck of a ship. Gonbe stepped closer, and his eyes widened in shock: those men were leading the children onto the boat.

"But Mister, I don't feel sick." The girl, Yoko, said.

"Can't we say 'bye' to Auntie first?" Ayako asked.

"It's too dangerous, kids." One of the men spoke. "Unless you wanna infect her, too."

The children and men were soon all on the ship, and Gonbe hurried over quickly. Before the ship's plank was lifted back up, Gonbe hurried on and made it on the deck. The rabbit hid behind some crates, gone unnoticed by the men. He turned around and peeked past the fence, as Water 7 drew further and further away. "Gyo… (Chimney)?"

Unknown Laboratory

A woman stared at the tiny monitors, watching as the ship returned from Water 7. She stepped away.

In the darkness of a lab, several glasses of potions and chemicals boiled on a table, releasing steam that poured and spread along the ground. A scientist experimented with the chemicals closely, and he himself was emitting a strange, pink gas that spread along the ground and mixed with the steam. The woman walked in, and spoke quietly. "Shipment 4 is back. And they've brought the kids."

"Mmm, from Water 7, yes?"

"That's the one."

"Make room in the Biscuit Room! I'll get the candies ready…"

"Will do… Master Caesar."

"Shurororororo!" The scientist held a tiny piece of wrapped butterscotch, and stared closely through his goggles.

Sector GD are based on the members of Baroque Works, Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine. I actually took both of April's name variants, Ms. April Fool's Day and Miss Goldenweek, and came up with April Goldenweek. Also, introducing my own OC, Aeincha, because I just love little people. (Now that I realize, Aeincha kinda looks like Ain from Film Z.) Oh well. No relation. So, which one-shot was your favorite? Mine was April's, 'cause it's more sad. Second, Aeincha, third, Aisa. Anyhoo… this was the start of the Big Mom Saga. Next time, the Christmas story of my series, Operation: FROST. See you in December.