Of Fragile Leaders and Terrorists

[prettywitchiusaka]

After months of concepting, outlining, revising, tie-in story writing and promoting, here is the first official chapter of my brand new KND story entitled 'Of Fragile Leaders and Terrorists'. I hope you all enjoy!

Of Fragile Leaders and Terrorists
By Prettywitchiusaka
Artwork by Prettywitchiusaka
Creative Consultants: Alle/NLW, Deltelia, Lord Malachite, Lupinequeen13

Chap.1: The Seige of Invasion

Bright, beautiful, engaging stars lit up the endless space sky around the young observer. A calm, gentle state of mind overtook her as she peacefull gazed at the stars zipping across her head, enlightened by their endless dance. Suddenly though, the sky turned blood red as the stars began to betray her, her mind now filled with fear as the constellations began to show her visions of her past. Visions filled with guilt, pain, and regret. her blunders, her mistakes, the inocent lives she foolishly put on the line, and ultimately...the questioning of her own leadership.

"Sir?", called a familiar British accented voice. "Sir? Sir!", the voice called once more. "Rachel, wake-up!"

Hearing those three words was enough to snap Kids Next Door Supreme leader Rachel, or Numbuh 362 out of her dream state and back to reality. Upon checking her surroundings, she came to realize that she sat perched atop her chair of MoonBase Zeros main bridge, causing the young blonde to sigh in releif that her vision was in reality only a nightmare.

"Welcome back to reality Numbuh 362", said the British accented voice which caused her to yelp in surprise. Upon turning around, the young blonde sighed in releif once more as she came to realize that the voice belonged to Nigel, or Numbuh 1, leader of Sector V.

"Are you alright?", he asked.

"Oh I'm fine Numbuh 1", she replied. "I just kind of fell into a daze is all. Thank you though."

"You're welcome", he replied in a calm tone.

"Now putting that aside, was there something you wanted me for?", she asked in a very sweet tone.

"Well", he began. "Numbuh 5 and I just finished installing that new computer software you wanted Numbuh 2 to build. We were wondering if you wanted to see how it worked."

"Oh of course, I'd love to", she replied.

" Alright then, let's go". he replied.

With that said, the young blonde nervously arose from her chair, only to be surprised by the sight of her friend holding his hand out to her.

"Need a hand", he asked smoothly, recalling from the 'Tag' incident her undeniable fear of heights.

"Sure...thanks", Rachel replied as she took his hand.

"Don't mention it", he replied.

With those words spoken, the British bald boy lead her towards the staircase. Once reaching the staircase, he let go of his friend's hand as they began to walk down and towards the main computer system. At that station sat Abigail Lincoln, or Numbuh 5, stealth spy and second-in-command of Sector V, who was waring out her patience by reading a girly magzine. Upon noticing both her sector leader and Supreme Leader walking her way, the spunky African-American quickly put the magazine down and got into a more suitable work position.

"Hey Numbuh 362", the spunky African-American replied.

"Hello Numbuh 5. Numbuh 1 has told me that the new software has been installed", replied the young Supreme Leader.

"Sure is. You want Numbuh 5 ta' give her da' tutorial boss?" she asked as she stretched her arms out.

"Yes Numbuh 5", the British bald boy sternly replied.

"Sure thang", she replied, pushing a small red button in the process.

Once that red button was pressed, the computer screen turned into a fancy KND desktop with the KND logo in the middle with various sector treehouses in orbit around it, something Rachel was very surprised by.

"So the small icon up here is fo' e-mail", replied the braided beauty. "So that way if you need ta' send an email to a sector or they need ta' send one to you, you can just click on the little S Letter icons and send it like a normal email.

And then there's the delete icon, which I'm sure you already know is fo'. This file is store top secret information, this one's to store any kind of villain plot you guys are aware of, and should ya' ever need ta' video phone any sectors, all ya' have ta' do is ta' click on one of these labeled treehouse icons right here.", she finished.

"Oh wow, this system is incredible!", the young blonde replied in an excited manner. "Thank you guys!"

"Aww, no problem", Abby replied in a cool tone. "But ya really should thank Numbuh 2, he is da' one who created da' system afterall."

"True, but you guys were the ones kind enough to install it", the young blonde replied.

"Ah, all in a days work", Nigel replied in a calm yet confident tone. "I just hope you guys will get a lot of use out of that system."

"Are you kidding?", she asked in a tone of disbeleif. "I wouldn't be surprised if Numbuh 65.3 tried to hog the main computer all the time as a result.'

"Numbuh 362!", yelled a loud, shrill, banshee-like Irish accented voice. Recognizing the voice to belong to Fanny, or Numbuh 86, the new Global Tactical Operative, Rachel turned to face her old friend atop the entrance steps, the usual sour-puss look clearly detailed on her freckled face.

"Yes Numbuh 86", the young blonde replied in a stern tone.

"Ye' have a last minute visitor from Arctic Base who needs te' speak to ye'", the Irish redhead replied in a stern, yet annoyed manner.

Upon those words being spoken, the visitor Fanny mentioned entered the room. A smile then came to Rachel's face as she recognized the visitor to be her old friend Patton, or Numbuh 60, Drill Sergeant Supreme of Kids Next Door Arctic Base. Once his entrance was official, the two operatives began to walk towards their Supreme Leader. But as they did, Patton could not help but clench his free hand into an angry fist as he noticed Rachel laughing at something Nigel was whispering into her ear. He let go of his anger however as he stopped to face his old friend and superior.

"Numbuh 60 reporting for duty sir!", he said, saluting his superior and friend.

"At ease Numbuh 60", she replied as he let his one arm go back down to his side. "Now what brings you to MoonBase Zero today?"

"I've completed the report on the prison escape from yesterday", he sternly replied as he handed the report to her.

"Excellent", she replied as she took the report into her own hands, beginning to skim through the stapled pieces of paper. " Have you been able to locate the perpetrator?"

"Not yet", he sternly replied. "My guess is that it's one of the prisoners that escaped."

" Are there any fugitives we should take cautionary measures on?", she asked in a stern yet concerned tone.

"I would say so, seeings as how most of the escapists were teens we arrested during the 'Treaty' incident and Numbuh 48Flavors. But I promise you that me and my team will have them back behind bars before they can attack the KND", he replied in a determined manner.

"Don't worry, I know you will", replied the young blonde, catching him off guard in the process.

"You do?", he asked.

"Yes, I do. Because I have faith in you Numbuh 60. You always complete your tasks, even if it's through some unorthodox manner I don't agree to", replied Rachel as a small smile surfaced onto her beautiful face.

"S-Sir...", the raven haired boy stuttered, blushing a light shade of pink in the process.

"I don't mean to nag you Numbuh 60, but don't you think it would have been easier to just fax the report up here?", asked a curious Nigel.

Hearing this statement however, caused Patton to snap out of his stunned state and turn to face his fellow operative, anger clearly detailed in his gentle black eyes. He then walked over to the British bald boy and began to stare at him, causing Nigel to become slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm on break and I thought it would be easier to talk to Numbuh 362 about this person", he stated in a stern tone. "Why?"

"Oh no reason", Nigel replied. "I was just-"

"You got a problem with that", he angrily asked.

"Uh,n-no I-"

"You you have some kind of problem with me?! Do you not want me up here or something!?", Patton angrily asked.

"No, but I think you have me confused with someone who hates your guts", the British bald boy replied in a slightly nervous manner.

"You can never be too sure!", the young Drill Sergeant replied. "So what is it!? Am I stepping in on your territory!? Am I-

"Numbuh 60! That's enough!", Rachel angrily shouted, placing her arms into a crossed position as she cut him off in mid-sentence.

"But sir-"

"Patton", she sternly replied, causing him to sigh in anger as he began to calm himself down, leaving Nigel slightly bewildered.

Seeing this little scene however caused Abby to chuckle in slight amusement and Fanny to roll her eyes in utter disbelief, for they both knew the true reason behind his sudden outburst. After a long moment of awkward silence, Patton looked up to face his fellow operative once more, opening his mouth to speak as he did so.

" Sorry Numbuh", he sincerly stated in a calm sounding voice. "I guess I got carried away."

"Uh, that's okay...I think", the sector leader replied in a calm, yet annoyed tone.

"Thank you", the young Supreme Leader replied in a grateful tone. "Now aside from the report, was there anything else you wanted to see me about Numbuh 60?

"Well", the young Drill Sergeant replied as he cleared his throat, walking towards and stopping to stand in front of her. "I know you're probably busy, but I was wondering if-"

But just before Patton could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a loud, red emergency siren, alerting all operative working on the bridge to an unknown threat.

"What's happening?", Rachel asked in a concerned tone as Herbie, or Numbuh 65.3 entered the room in a panicked state.

"Sir, we're under attack!", he said in a panicked tone.

"Who's attacking us?", Nigel asked in a stern yet powerful tone.

"It's the teens", the nerdy boy replied in a fearful tone.

"Again!?", the sector leader replied in a surprised tone.

"What do they want from us this time?", asked Abby.

"I don't know, but we need to take avasive action immediately", the young blonde replied sternly, preparing a plan as they spoke. "Numbuhs 60 and 86, round up all the operatives you can find and begin strategerizing a coordinated strike against the teens. Numbuhs 1 and 5, you stay here and protect the area from any invading teens nearby".

"But Rachel, what about the rest of my team?, Nigel asked in a slightly angered tone.

"They can fend for themselves Nigel. But for now, I need you and Numbuh 5 to stay here as ordered. Understood?", she asked in a calm yet stern manner.

Realizing that she had a point, the British bald boy simply nodded his head in agreement. But seeing this however, only caused Patton to fume up in anger once more towards the bald sector leader. He put his anger aside however as Rachel opened her mouth to speak once more.

"Alright then, everyone clear on what they have to do?", she asked.

"Yes sir!", her four operatives replied in a stern manner.

"Very well", the young blonde replied in a stern tone. "Kids Next-"

But before Rachel could finish, she was cut off by the sound of the bridge door being blasted open. Once the smoke cleared, the five operatives looked up to see an army of teen ninjas littered all over the stairs, thingyy smirks covering each of their faces. In the center of the army though stood one of their leaders, a sunglass wearing brown haired teen named Steve.

" Hello dudes and dudettes!", Steve said aloud in a thingyy tone.

"Oh no, not this jerk again", replied both the young Drill Sergeant and Supreme Leader in unison as they began to recall the teens bacl-stabbing, jackass like nature.

"Ah Sir, shouldn't we be-", Fanny began to ask.

"Right", the young blonde immediately replied.

"Kids Next Door, Battlestations!", she cried, beginning the battle of teens vs. kids.

End chap.1

[prettywitchiusaka]

I'm glad you're looking forward to more, and now after almost a week of waiting, here comes chapter 2. Enjoy!

Chap.2:Alpha

An hour or so after the battle's finish, hammering and buzzsawing could be clearly heard throughout the bridge as operatives began to repair the damage done by the teens. Elsewhere near the computer station, Rachel, Nigel and Abby all stood there, conversing their most recent encounter with the teens.

"Man, those teens sure put up a fight", Abby commented as she stretched out her back, Rachel nodding in agreement.

"Yeah", Nigel chimmed in suspiciously. "But didn't you find it odd that-"

The Sector leaders sentence however was abruptly cut off by the sound of two loud voices entering the room. Turning around, the three friends came to witness both Fanny and Patton coming down the stairs, bickering like no tomorrow. Sighing, Rachel crossed her arms as her two friends came to stand in front of her, the bickering immediately ending as they did.

"So, I assume you have a report, or is that arguing what you two would call flirting", she asked sarcastically.

"Well everythin' was going fine until freezer boy started shootin' wildly into the air at the teens" Fanny shouted angrily.

"We were cornered and to take abvasive action! Besides, you would've done the same thing if you were in my shoes", Patton angrily replied back.

"No I wouldn't", she barked back.

"Just admit it, I was right", he barked back.

"Fine! I was right", she replied.

"Thanks. I was right, wasn't I" he replied in a devious tone, the smirk on his face only agrivating the Irish redhead once more.

"Why you little-", she began to hiss as she went to grab his neck.

"Anyway", he said as he walked over to his superior. "Are you alright Rachel?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine", the young blonde replied sweetly.

"You're sure?", he asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes", she replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

"But what if-"

"Just relax Patton, I'm fine. You worry way too much about me", sh replied as a devious smirk apperared on her face, causing the young Drill Sergeant to blush in emberassment.

As this little scene played out, Nigel and Abby could not help but look at each other with looks of amusement and disbelief as Fanny slapped her hand to her forehead in annoyance. Suddenly though, the doors opened once more. Turning around, the British bald boy and the spunky African-American sighed in releif upon seeing the rest of their team walking down the stairs in a hurry. Those teammates were Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr., or Numbuh 2, scientist and pilot of Sector V, and Kuki Sanban, or Numbuh 3, nurse and distractionist of Sector V. Followed by them were Wallabee Beatles, or Numbuh 4, hand-to-hand combatanist of Sector V, and Alex Dawson, or Numbuh 273, mutant of Sector V. Once down the stairs, the four friends quickly ran over to the small group of five in a worried fashion.

"Oh, thank goodness you guys are okay!", replied Kuki as she mauled Abby.

"I agree with Kuki-chan. I'm so glad you guys are okay", Alex replied in a releived tone. "Except for you freezer boy", the mutant brunette stated, her voice immediately switching from a releived tone to a bitter tone.

"The feeling's mutual",, the raven haired boy replied in the same bitter tone.

"Aside from that, I'm glad to know that you guys are okay", replied the British bald boy.

"Ah don't worry Numbuh 1, we're okay", Hoagie replied chipperly. "But man, you should have seen the fight! First I punched them, then I whacked them, then I-"

"Two-Seventy-Three just put up her guard sheild, didn't she?", Wallly asked in a suspicious tone.

"Welll...yeah", the plump pilot replied. "But if she hadn't, I would've punched them, and then I woul've whacked them", he continued as both Nigel and Wally sighed in annoyance.

"Well getting past that, 86-chan, are you alright?", Alex asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine, and don't call me that", the Irish redhead barked at her 'friend'.

"Rachel-san?"

"I'm okay", the young blonde replied.

"Abby-sama, are you okay?", the mutant brunette asked as she took the braided beautys hands into her own, her brown eyes now shaped like big, bulgy, anime puppy dog eyes.

"Relax girl, Numbuh 5's fine", the spunky African-American replied calmly.

"Are you sure?", her hyperactive friend asked. "Because if not, I can help. I can make you food, I can comfort you, I can-"

"She's fine!", the seven friends replied in an annoyed manner.

"Alright, sheesh", Alex replied in a sassy tone as she let go of her friends hands.

"Man, that was some fight though, huh?", Hoagie asked in a tone of disbelief.

"It was, but didn't you guys find it odd that they'd just attack at random?", Nigel asked suspiciously.

"Come to think of it...I did", replied the young Supreme Leader in a suspicious tone.

"Me too", the young Drill Sergeant replied in a smimilar tone.

"What do you think they wanted", Wally asked in a curious tone.

"I'm not sure, but they obviously wanted something", Rachel replied as she cuffed her chin in suspicion, trying to analyze what they could've possibly wanted.

"Well maybe they didn't want something. maybe they just wanted to bug us", Kuki replied calmly.

"I don't know Numbuh 3. The teens actions are more coarse, but just like Father they always have a reason behind what they do", Patton sternly replied.

"Maybe they wanted something you're keeping top secret", Nigel suggested.

"Impossible. There's nothing we're keeping under lock and key right now", Rachel replied calmly.

"You sure about that girl?", Abby asked, thingying an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Positive", the young blonde replied. "Unless of course", she began to say as she turned towards her Irish friend with a look of suspicion.

"Hey don't look at me. I learned my lesson from the last time", Fanny remarked in a slightly annoyed tone, recalling the time she had not told anyone that the Recomissioning Moduel was still operational.

As the conversation progressed, Alex walked over towards the computer system, beginning to throughly examine the mahcine as she began to move her hand across the keyboard in hopes of getting a vision. A unique gift bestowed on her in addition to her telekinisis was the gift of foresight, which had recently grown in power to show her not only visions of the past, but also visions in her sleep. The mutant brunette sighed in disappointment, upset that visions had come to her. But upon touching the monitor screen with her hand, she suddenly felt a a giant shockwave come over her body.

Shortly afterwards. Alex found herself floating in some sort of abyss, her body feeling as light as air as it continued to fall into nothingness. "Where...am I?", she thought to herself as she opened her brown eyes, beginning to take in her surroundings. Upon opening her eyes completely, she came to face a monitor errily close to the one on the bridge. Standing herself up straight, the mutant brunette them became confused as to what appeard on screen. What appeared on screen was the image of a stern looking boy around her age dressed in gold and purple, a light purple scarf covered his mouth and a black and blue mask covered his eyes.

"Good day Kids Next Door operatives. Since I am inclined to keep my identity a secret, I shall be known to all of you as Alpha", the boy replied sternly.

"Alpha?", Alex thought to herself as she stared at the boy, frightened by the aura she sensed from him.

Suddenly though, Alex woke up to find herself in Abby's arms, she and everyonelse had concerned looks on their faces as they eyed her.

"Hey girl, you alright?", Abby replied in a concerned tone.

"Daijoubu", she replied calmly, all the while muttering the phrase for 'I'm alright' in Japanese.

"What did you see", Rachel asked in a curious manner.

"I saw a monitor screen", she began as she sat herself up. 'And on that monmitor screen I saw a boy about our age dressed in gold and purple.

"Did he have a name?", Nigel asked suspiciously.

"Yeah...he called himself Alpha", she said.

"Alpha..., Rachel replied, interested by merely just the boy's name. Suddenly though, she heard a panicky voice ring through her ears only a few seconds later.

"Sir! All Kids Next Door computer systems have gone offline!", Herbie shouted in a panicky tone.

"What!? How is that possible", Rachel asked in a tone of panic and disbelief.

"I don't know", Herbie replied in a similar tone.

Suddenly though, the blank monitor screen returned, playing the image of a boy wearing gold and purple. The image casued much confusion amongst operatives present on the bridge, with the exception of Rachel and her small group, who recognized the image described to them from their friends vision. Alex in particular was stunned as she clamped her mouth to her hand , a mix of disbeleif and horror clearly detailed in her brown eyes as she did so.

"I'm gonna take it that's da' guy you saw", the braided beauty asked in a suspicious tone as Alex nodded her head.

"That's him...that's Alpha...", the mutant brunetted replied in a frightened, almost whispered tone.

"Good day Kids Next Door operatives. Since I am inclined to keep my identity a secret, I shall be known to all of you as Alpha", the boy replied sternly, causing all operatives present in the room to stare at the screen in curiousity.

"As of now, I'm certain all of you are wondering why it is that I've hacked your system? Well to answer that question, I called here to inform you of the teen attack quite recently. You see, the thing is...I sent them to attack you", he replied in an arrogant tone that caused a stir of surprise from all operatives present in the room.

"Yes...I pretended to be Father, and sent them up here to cause mischeif. Not because I wanted something, but so I could use them as a warning. Not to the organization as a whole, but to one person in particular. And that would be your dear Supreme Leader miss Rachel McKenzie, Numbuh 362", he replied in a stern tone that caused the young blonde and everyonelse( particularily Fanny, Patton, and Sector V) to gasp in shock.

"Now I'm sure some of you might feel that this is merely because I don't like a girl in the role of Supreme Leader. But beleive me, it goes beyond that", he continued in a bitter tone.

"It's not to much that you're female, it's what you've done that's angered me enough to take action. Your mistakes and pacifistic views have cost this organization its reputation and even its very existence on several ocassions. In fact, with the way you run it, I'm surprised it's still standing", he continued.

"I can't sit idly by and let this continue anymore. But instead of attacking you, I've decided to start you off with a warning Numbuh 362. Either step down from your title and return to being a spy, or else...That is all", he finished as the transmission ended.

Once the transmission ended, many operatives in the room began to chat in a panicked tone, all of them in shock of what they'd just seen and heard. As this went on, Rachel continued to stand there in shock as she began to absorb everything that had just been said to her, her beautiful face switching from a look of shock to a look of stern determination as she did so.

"That bastard", Nigel replied as he watched this scene unfold, anger clearly detailed on both his handsome face and in his British accented voice.

"I know...he's such a tacky dresser", Kuki replied in a sassy tone that caused the rest of Sector V to stare at the little Asian girl with looks of complete anger and disbelief. "What?"

"Sir", Patton said in a determined tone. "Let me and my team take him on. We'll have this jerk hunted down and arrested faster than you can say-"

"You will do no such thing", the young blonde replied bluntly, causing the young Drill Sergeant to stare in complete shock. "But Sir-"

"I said you will do no such thing Numbuh 60, is that clear", she sternly asked as she turned her head to slightly face his gaze, watching him sigh in disappointment after a short moment of silence.

"Yes Sir", he said in a disappointed tone.

"Sir...what are we goin' te' do", Fanny asked as she stared at her leader, concern clearly visible in her voice as she did so.

"Call a meeting", the young Supreme Leader replied in a stern tone that surprised her small group. "I want every Kids Next Door operative at the Super Convention Center in 0500 hours...all of you must be aware of the plan of action I've decided to take for this situation."

End chap.2

[prettywitchiusaka]

Chap.3: Relentless Determination

On the one hand, the Kids Next Door Super Convention Center in the heart of Manhattan was a place where large events too big for Global Command to host took place. But on the other hand, it was also a place where important meetings and announcements were communicated to operatives worldwide. It served its second prupose today, for as per Rachel's request, every known Kids Next Door operative stood present in attendance for the meeting she'd called. As they patiently awaited for the meeting to begin, many operatives began chatting with their friends, curious as to what their leader had called them all here for. But none however, were as curious as the six operatives of Sector V.

"Amazing", Hoagie said in a slightly calculating manner. "A few hours have passed and everyone's still talking about that Alpha guy."

"Well of course Numbuh 2", the arm crossed Nigel replied in a stern tone. "He hacked all Kids Next Door communication devices and threatened Numbuh 362. Someone like that would only cause a stir aomngst us."

"Yeah...", the arm crossed Abby replied. "But it does make ya' wonder what kind a' plan she's gonna' enact."

"Oh, I sure hope she doesn't decide to fight him on her own", Kuki replied in a concerned tone.

"I hope not either, but you know how Rachel-san is", Alex calmly replied.

"Don't worry Kuki, I'm sure she's plannin' a full on nuclear cheese strike on him", Wally replied in a confident tone.

"You really think so", the little Asian girl asked as she turned to look at her friend and secret crush.

" Of course. Numbuh 362 can't be entirely pacifier, so it only makes sense", the Australian blonde replied in the same confident tone.

"Right", the spunky African-American replied in a sarcastic tone. " Well, knowin' Numbuh 362 she probably wouldn't want ta' solve thangs' peacefully."

"Exactly", Wally replied in a tone that caused Abby to slap her hand to her forehead, and Kuki to giggle at his response.

"You know I've been thinking, what if he doesn't mean anything by this", Hoagie stated.

"What do you mean", Nigel asked in a calm tone.

"Well maybe he doesn't mean anything by it. Maybe it's just a joke", his plump friend replied.

"No Hoagie-kun...he was serious", the mutant brunette replied in a rather blunt tone.

"How do you know that?", the plump pilot asked.

"Yeah, how do you know that Two-Seventy-Three", the short Ausssie asked.

"Well...in truth I don't", she confessed. "My Aura Compability powers have never been able to sense the auras of objects and people past physical reality, but from the stern and hate-filled tone in his voice, he seems dead serious in his intent."

"Well serious or not, we're going to protect our leader and friend...no matter the cost", the British bald boy replied in a stern tone that caused his friends to nod in agreement.

"Kids Next Door, attention!", Fanny screamed in her shrill voice, alerting everyone's attention to the small stage as a small platform carried up a stern looking Rachel.

"Kids Next Door rules!", she cried out to the operatives in the audience.

"Kids Next Door rules Sir!", the operatives cried back to her.

"At ease everyone", she replied as she walked over to the small pedestal in the middle of the stage, preparing to make her announcement. "As all of you know, a kid our age hacked into our communications system to send out his message, a message of terror. This message was sent out by one only known as Alpha. We know nothing about him with two exceptions. One is that he is a terrorist, the other is that he wants me out of the title of Supreme Leader."

"Obviously I can't give into his demands, but at the same time I can't risk the safety of this organization. For if there's one thing Alpha has shown us, it's that he won't give up. And so my fellow operatives, that is why I have devised this plan."

"You mean we're going to enact biological warfare on him", Numbuh 74.239 asked in an excited tone.

"Are we going to blow up his base", Virginia, or Numbuh 23 asked excitedly.

"Are we going to crash one of our ships into his base", Numbuh 20,000 asked rather enthusiastically, causing all operatives near him to stare at him in a frightened manner.

"No...you will do nothing...I will be the one to fight him", she replied in a stern tone that caused everyone( particularly Fanny, Patton and Sector V) to gasp in utter shock.

"That's right, I will face-off with him on my own. This might seem unnecessary to all of you, but you must understand where I'm coming from with this. Alpha has made it clear that he doesn't have a problem with the Kids Next Door, just me and how I run the Kids Next Door. Therefore, it makes sense that only I deal with him personally."

But upon finishing her speech, operatives of all kind began to shout at her, throwing her way offers of help or ideas they could give her in order to help her succeed. None of them were adament about their leader being so selfless, and as a result they couldn't bear the idea of her sacrificing herself this way. But as the requests continued on and on, Rachel could feel herself losing her patience. As a result, she finally opened her mouth to speak once more.

"Quiet", the young blonde angrily shouted out to the crowd, silencing them at once."Look, I appreciate all of your desires to help. But I'm the one he wants, and as a result, this must be my fight only. I'm sorry none of you agree to that, but I can't risk the safety of any of my operatives."

"Meeting ajourned", she sternly stated, turning to face an unresponsive Fanny upon hearing no response.

"Numbuh 86", she said angrily, the tensity in her voice snapping her out of her unresponsive state.

"O-oh, right", she said in a slightly startled tone. "Kids Next Door, dismissed!"

"Kids Next Door rules", the operatives replied rather reluctantly.

...........................................
Shortly after the meeting had ended, Rachel conmtinued her walk down towards the Convention Center docking bay, a stern look present on her beautiful face as she did so. But inspite of this, deep in her thoughts she could not help but think and be saddened by the scene from earlier. She knew very well that her operatives cared about her, and were determined to help her win this battle. But inspite of appreciating their efforts, it was not enough to make her change her mind about the current situation.

"How brave of you to take him on by yourself. But can you really?", asked a voice that caused the young blonde to yelp in surprise.

While catching her breath, she turned to face a figue appearing from out of the shadows, that firgure being none other than a stern looking Patton.

"Must you always scare the crap out of me", Rachel asked in an angry tone.

"Well", he began in a devious tone. "I will admit that I get a kick out of playfully teasing you. But that's besides the point", he ended in a serious tone.

"What do you want?", she asked in a stern tone. "To give me a proposition?"

"Not a proposition, but more so an observation", he replied.

"An observation?", she asked rather confused.

"Yes", he said.

"What for?", she asked.

"Well to be honest, I know you pretty well Rachel", he began. "You're quite strong both physically and mentally. A fiery soul who is brave and won't give up even when there's no hope left. And yet at the same time...you're quite fragile. You can be a little too soft on people every now and then, and even too selfless at times."

"What's your point?", the young blonde asked.

"My point is that you can't face this guy alone", Patton stated in a stern manner.

"Oh really, and why not?", she asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Because for all we know he might want you dead instead of just out of your position", he angrily replied.

"That's a risk I'll have to take. But I in no way intend to risk the lives of my own operatives", Rachel sternly replied.

"While I respect your selflessness, taking down a terrorist is not a one man job", Patton said in an angry tone.

"So you're suggesting I let this organization suffer along with me", she asked angrily.

"What I'm saying is that you should at least have the help of one other operative to take him down, and I'd be more than willing to help", the young Drill Sergeant replied in a determined tone.

"I can't let you do that", the young blonde angrily rplied.

"Why not!?", he asked.

"Because", she began in an angry tone, clearing her throat in the process. "Because this is my fight", she replied calmly, her response causing Patton to stare at her her in shock and defeat.

"But Sir-"

"Listen", she began by cutting him off. "I appreciate you concern and determination Patton, but I must fight this battle alone. Besides...I won't forgive myself if one of my operatives is hurt because of me, and I'd rather not have this end in bloodshed. And so I ask you this as both your friend and superior...don't get yourself involved", she replied in a stern yet clam tone.

Having said her piece, the young blonde walked past her surprised friend and continued her walk down to the docking bay. But as she continued to walk down the corridor, Patton did nothing but stare back at her, determination clear on his handsome face as he did so.

End chap. 3

[CCACorn26]

An impressive start I see to this new story of yours, prettywitch, and already, the mystery surrounding Alpha has the Kids Next Door buzzing with concern. Everybody's concerned about Rachel as she prepares to confront Alpha herself, but what does Patton have in mind for this new villain? I can suppose that the story will get darker as it unfolds, and I trust that you will develop it as you deem appropriate.

[prettywitchiusaka]

Thanks C7.

I don't intend for the story to become overly dark as it progresses, but I have some pretty intense stuff coming up, so I'll count that. As for what Patton's plan is, well...let's just say that'll become clearer in later chapters.

[prettywitchiusaka]

Well, after a few days of waiting, here comes chapter four. The first of two chapters that don't entirely focus on Rachel. Enjoy!

Chap. 4: Disappointment

Two hours or so afterwards, all time seemed to have slowed down on MoonBase Zero. This however was not too surprising, for it was midday afternoon on Global Command. A time when the workload began to slow down, and operatives began to start packing it in for the night. This however, was not the case for Rachel and Fanny, who were now making their midday check up of the base, disagreeing over how to handle a certain situation as usual.

"But Sir", the Irish redhead said in a rather whiny tone. "They captured the wrong fugitive! Why should we let those stupid boys off so easily!?"

"Because they've seen the error of their ways and are determined to capture the correct one", the young blonde replied in a stern tone.

"But it's inexcuseable!", Fanny replied.

"It may be inecuseable, but don't you think it's better to let them learn from their mistakes so that it helps them become better operatives in the future?", she asked in a stern tone that caused her friend to stare in shock yet sigh in annoyance.

"You're too fair Sir", Fanny replied in a calm tone that caused her friend to release a small chuckle.

"All leaders must be fair towards those who work under them Numbuh 86, for if any said leader were to act in a tyranical manner and rule with an iron fist, there would be no fairness. This would only lead to the underlings to rebel in fair retaliation, since fair compensation has not been granted to them."

As that was said, a moment of silence broke out between the two female operatives. As this continued, Fanny began to process in her head what she wanted to say to her friend. Or rather...what she had wanted to tell her since early that afternoon. But as the words began to process, the Irish redhead could feel herself beginning to feel jittery, like butterflies were roaming around in her stomach. She immediately understood what this feeling was, nervousness, nervousness that her friend would reject what she was about to say. In spite of understanding this, she shrugged the feeling off as best she could and opened her mouth to speak.

"You know Sir...you're right", the Irish redhead replied, a nervous tone clearly obvious in her voice as she spoke. "But...fair leaders also deserve fair compensation. And protection when threatened. After all...they are vital components to-"

"Oh no, not you too", Rachel said in an annoyed tone, realizing immediately where this conversation was heading. "Let me guess, you want to throw a proposal at me?

"No, I just want permission to be your personal body guard until we-"

"Permission denied Numbuh 86", the young blonde angrily replied as she continued to walk down the corridor.

"Denied", Fanny screiched, continuing to walk alongside her friend. "Just like that!?"

"You know very well I won't endanger the lives of my operatives", the young blonde sternly replied.

"But ye' can't fight this guy alone", the Irish redhead protested.

"Funny, you sound like Patton", the young Supreme Leader replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Well as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. This Alpha guy may very well kill ye' if ye' act on yer' own!" Fanny angrily replied.

"That's a risk I'll have to take. But whether you agree with me or not, you will obey my order and stay out of this!", Rachel angrily replied, her words causing her Irish friend to stop dead in her tracks as she(Rachel) pressed on through the corridor.

"No", Fanny angrily answered, causing her blonde friend to stop and stare at her both shocked and anger.

"You're defying my direct order?!", Rachel asked in an angry tone, annoyed by her friend's rebellious nature at this point.

"That's right. I'm not listenin' to yer' orders this time. I'll protect ya', no matter the cost", she yelled in a firm yet determined manner.

"Oh really? And what makes you think you can ignore direct orders!? Is it because of your position!?, the young blonde asked as pure anger clearly poured out from her voice.

"That's not it!", her friend barked back.

"Then what is it!?", her blonde friend barked back.

"It's because I refuse to let someone I care about sacrifice themselves so stupidly", Fanny screamed at the top of her lungs.

Upon hearing that sentence, Rachel just stood there silently at the obviously angered Global Tactical Operative. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes clearly defined her reaction as shock and surprise, proving that her friend's words had gotten to her. Her shock only continued as the Irish redhead opened her mouth to speak once more.

"That's right!", she yelled. "Contrary to what you and half this organization thinks, I have feelin's! I care about other people, otherwise I wouldn't even be in this organization in the first place! I know I'm ruthless and mean-spirited like me' father! In fact, I know that's why almost everyone hates me! But just because I hate the guts of most operatives in this organization doesn't mean I don't care!"

She said as she stopped to catch her breath, her friend continuing to stare at her in pure shock as she did. After a small moment of nothing but silent breathing, the Irish redhead opened her mouth to speak once more, a look of disappointment clear in her emerald green eyes as she did so.

"Rachel", she began in a whispered yet sad sounding tone. "I adore you...you're me idol...and me best friend...I wish I were more like you...I mean I practically worship the ground you walk on as if you were some sort of great god...And all because I think yer' an amazin', wonderful person...Which is why unlike the 'Zero' incident, I will be disobeyin' yer' orders this time...because I won't let someone I love die just because of some stupid boy..."

Upon finishing her speech, the Irish redhead tilted her head in sorrrow as a small tear began to form in her eye, signifying her feelings towards her friends decision. By this point, Rachel had gotten over the shock of what Fanny had said, and was now incredibly touched by by her friends words and decleration. Deciding to show her gratitude, she put her hand on her friends shoulder, which immediately caused Fanny to shoot her head up and face her friend smiling at her sweetly.

"I love you too Fanny...as a friend of course...and that's exactly why I can't let you or anyone else help me", the young blonde replied in a sweet, yet calm tone.

"But Sir-"

"Don't get me wrong though", Rachel quickly replied, cutting her friend off in the process. "I do appreciate what you were trying to do for me though...Now why don't you go back to your office? You have quite a bit of paperwork to complete before the day's through."

And with that, the young blonde released her friends shoulder from her grip and continued to walk down the corridor, leaving Fanny alone to stare in sorrow as she did.

......................................................
Shortly afterwards, Fanny slowly sulked back to her office, a sad expression was clear on her freckled face she she continued to revisit the memory of what happened between her and Rachel, as if it were some sort of endless nightmare. Upon reaching her office, the Irish redhead opened the door and quickly let herself in, closing the door in the process. Immediately afterwards, she banged her head against the door and let it hang there, allowing herself to drown in her own sorrow once more as she began to think over her own stupidity.

Rachel was relentless and stubborn, she had always been that way for as long as Fanny knew her. 'What made her think the young blonde would change her mind so easily?' she thought to herself as she continued to hang her head in sorrow, angered and saddened by her friends decision.

"Damnit Rachel...why do ye' always have to be so damn selfless...", Fanny asked in a melancholy tone, allowing a stray tear to fall down her cheek as she spoke.

Deciding that she needed to take her mind off the current situation, she walked over to her desk to start filing more paperwork. But as she walked over, she couldn't help but notice something just sitting right there at the front of her desk. What that object was was a tiny yellow box, wrapped with green ribbon with no name tag attached to it.

"What's this", she asked as she took the tiny present into her hands, still rather curious of its content despite the lack of tag. After shaking the present to guess its content, she untied the green ribbon and opened the yellow box lid. But as she did, a light began to flash inside the box, causing Fanny to stare in confusion. As this occurred, a giant explosion followed by a high-pitched scream could be heard throughout the base, both terrifying and confusing all operatives on the base.

"What was that", asked a shocked and concerned sounding Rachel as she sat atop her chair looking down over the main bridge.

"I don't know, Sir. But whatever it was, it came from the left quadrent of this level", Herbie replied in a concerned tone.

"The left quadrent", the young blonde replied in a frightened tone, remebering at once that Fanny's office was located in that area.

"Come with me Numbuh 65.3, we've got to see what's going on", she quickly responded in a slightly panicky tone, Herbie nodding along in agreement at his leader's statement.

Immediately afterwards, the young blonde and the nerdy boy rushed out of the room and began to run down to the left quadrent, fearing the worst as they approached their destination. Upon reaching the area, they came to find a group of operatives stationed in a concerned fashion outside of a smoke induced office...Fanny's office to be percise.

Now feeling her stomach beginning to turn, the young blonde pushed past various operatives and ran into the smoke induced room, Herbie following in pursuite. Upon entering the smoke induced room, the two operatives stood to face Fanny. She lay still on the floor, her back turned and her helmet lay off to the side. Horrified by this image, Rachel collapsed to her knees and began to frantically shake her hurt friend, praying that she was still alive.

"Fanny", she cried as she continued to shake her friend "Fanny, wake-up! Wake-up!"

Upon getting no response, the young blonde perceeded to give up and turn her friend onto her back. What came afterwards...was not a pretty sight to behold. The Irish redhead was revealed to have bloody brusis on her hands, neck, right cheek and left eye. Witnessing this sight caused Rachel to gasp in shock as she raised her hand to her mouth, her fear now escalating into anxiety as she continued to star at her wounded friend.

"Sir", the nerdy boy replied, causing his frightened leader to look his way. "I think you might want to take a look at this."

Seeing that he held a burnt yellow box in his hand, the young blonde took it into her own hands and looked inside the box. Upon doing so, she found a small inscription that read 'I gave you a warning. But because you didn't take it seriously, prepare for the most unpleasant bloodbath of your life.'

Upon reading that inscription, Rachel froze, her anxiety beginning to escalate higher and higher as she did. She had listened to his warning and had refused to heed it without a solo fight. But because she didn't, her operatives were now going to pay the price, and that scared her beyond speakable terms.

End chap. 4

[prettywitchiusaka]

Well after a long wait, here comes chaper five. The second and last chapter not focusing entirely on Rachel. Enjoy!

Chap. 5: Fake Mission

After the cold-blooded attack made on Fanny, a week went by. Not much had changed, except had Alpha had proven himself to be not only a genuine threat to Rachel, but to the entire organization. This threat however, was not the thought that occupied the minds of the residents of Sector V, who had been cooked up in heir treehouse since early that morning. Despite their need to fresh air, they'd all managed to find enjoyable ways to occupy their time. Wally and Kuki were enjoying playing a videogame on the love seat, Hoagie was busy reading a comic on the arm of the loveseat, and Nigel was going over mission reports while Abby sat beside him reading a girly magazine.

"Yay", Kuki cried out in delight as she began to do a little victory dance. "I win! I win!"

"No way!", Wally replied in angry tone. 'How could you have beat me!? I just taught you how to play this afternoon!"

"I guess I'm a fast learner", the litle Asain girl replied in a cute tone that angered the short Aussie even more than before.

"But that's not fair", he replied. "You shouldn't have beaten me!"

"Ah, come on. You're just mad because you got beaten by a girl", Hoagie replied in a calm tone that caused Kuki to giggle at their short friend.

"I am not! I just think it's unnatural for a girl to beat a guy in videogames is all", Wally quickly replied, his weird remark causing his chubby friend to stare at him in confusion.

"Hey guys. Anything new?", asked a familiar voice that caught the attention of all five operatives. Upon turning around, they came to face Alex, who had just walked out of the kitchen and was now standing right behind the chair Nigel and Abby were seated on. Although she had a smile on her cute face, what really caught the interest of her friends was the fudge and vanilla iced cake she held in a protective tupawear case in her hands.

"Hey girl", Abby said in a happy yet calm tone. "Done with yo' bakin' I take it."

"Uh-huh", the mutant brunette replied in a rather chipper tone.

"Say Two-Seventy-Three, is that a Chocolate Shmoo Cake", the plump pilot asked, all the while staring at the cake.

"Yeah", she replied.

"Ooh, I love Chocolate Shmoo Cake! Can I have some", he asked as he inched his way towards the cake, causing Alex to levitate the cake in the air via telekenisis out of his reach.

"It's not for you, huh?", she replied in a snarky tone. "It's for 86-chan."

"No fair! Why does Numbuh 86 get a cake", the Australian blonde asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because", she began. " I called to see how she was doing, and she asked me if I could make her something so that she had something to stave off boredom with, so I said yes."

"How is she doing by the way", Nigel asked in a stern yet concerned sounding tone.

Upon hearing that phrase, Alex let out a small sigh, indicating to the others that it wasn't all good news. Levitating the cake down onto the nearby table, she walked over to the other side of the couch a plopped herself in between Nigel and Abby, ready to tell them what she had learned.

"Okay for the most part", she began in a melancholy tone. " The rest of her wounds are holding up well, but the doctors are keeping her for testing, just to make sure no long term damage has been done to her eye."

"Poor Fanny.", Kuki replied in a concerned tone. " I sure hope that Alpha guy gets whats's coming to him soon."

"He'll get his just dessert soon enough Numbuh 3. Although...I wonder how long it will take before his reign of terror ends. It's bad enough that he threatened our leader, now he's even attacked a high ranking officer to get to her', Nigel replied in a stern tone.

"Well it makes sense he'd go after Numbuh 86", Hoagie replied. "She is very close to Numbuh 362"

"But it's not just people close to her, he's also started attacking other sectors as well", the British bald boy replied in a stern tone.

"I know", the mutant brunette replied in a melancholy tone. " He's attacked Sector P...Sector B..., Sector Q...Sector N...he's even attacked Sector W."

"Yeah...and the worst part is that it's totally in random order", Abby sternly stated.

"Mm", Alex replied in a blunt tone. "I even tried to track his next move via premonition."

"Did you have any luck with that", the sector leader asked.

"Yeah, did ya', the braided beauty asked.

'No", she replied. " Every time I tried, I couldn't get a vision."

"Don't worry Two-Seventy Three. I'm sure you'll get a vision soon", the little Asian girl said in a reassuring manner.

"Arigato Kuki-chan", Alex replied, all the while uttering the word for 'thank you' in Japanese. 'I hope I get one soon."

"Numbuh 5 hopes ya' do too...Especially seein' as how his attacks are gettin' more violent", Abby replied a stern yet calm tone.

" And it doesn't help that they've found no evidence at the crime scenes", Hoagie replied in a blunt tone.

"Yes...he's proved much sneakier than Rachel initially anticipated.", Nigel replied.

"That...or someone else is much sneakier than she anticiapated", Abby sternly replied, causing all eyes to fall on her for a moment.

"Well either way, I think the only way to resolve the whole thing is for Numbuh 362 ta' just go in with a cruddy team and beat the guy up", Wally replied in a determined tone.

"But it's not that simple Numbuh 4" , Hoagie spoke up. "We all know Numbuh 362 is stilll intent on fighting Alpha herself."

"Yeah, but sooner or later she'll have ta' face facts and get someone ta' help her", Abby replied in a rather matter of fact tone. "Her plan's gettin' more operatives hurt than it is protectin' them."

"Yes...but Rchel is very stubborn...Afterall...even though she knows it herself...she refuses to admit that facing him herself is impossible", Nigel replied in a stern tone.

"Boss", Abby whispered in a tone of disbeleif.

'Nigel-kun", Alex whispered in a tone of disbeleif.

Suddenly, a loud sound could be heard throughout the room. Recognizing it to be the Mission Speck machine, Hoagie quickly ran over to the main computer and took out the little piece of red paper dangling from the machine.

"What does it say Numbuh 2", Nigel asked in a curious tone.

'It's a Mission Speck from MoonBase", Hoagie said in a surprising manner. "It says that Knightbrace went on a toothbrushing spree and we need to stop him."

"Finally! A mission", , the Australian blonde replied in a tone of delight. 'I've been waitin' for one all day!

"Yay! Mission! I call shot-gun", Kuki happily chirped as she ran off to the hangar.

"Oh no ye' don't", Wally angrily replied as he ran towards the hangar, the plump pilot happily following in pursuit.

Getting up from their seats, Nigel, Abby and Alex all began to head towards the hangar. But as this occurred, the mutant brunette stopped dead in her tracks as a feeling came over her. It was presence...and one that made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Upon noticing this, the spunky African-American walked back towards her friend and put her hand on her shoulder, causing the uncomfortable feeling mutant to look up at her stern looking friend.

'You okay girl", the spunky African-American asked.

"I...I felt something...a presence", Alex began in a shaky yet whispered tone. "It wasn't the form of a human...but from what I felt...it seems rather disturbing..."

" What kind of presence was it", Abby asked.

"It was an electrical surge...and a powerful one at that", her friend replied.

"Is it comin' from inside the treehouse", Abby asked in a stern tone.

"Hai", the mutant brunette replied, all the while mutter the word 'yes' in Japanese.

"Which means we probably shouldn't leave", her friend replied sternly.

"Is something wrong', asked a familiar British accented voice that caught the two friends off guard. Turning around, they ame to find that it was only Nigel.

"Alex felt a presence", replied the braided beauty in a stern yet calm tone.

"A presence", Nigel asked.

"Yes", Alex replied. "An electrical surge. "One so powerful that it exploded in a disturbing manner."

"Was it inside the treehouse", he asked.

"Without a doubt", she replied. 'The pressence I felt is strongest in this area."

"Which means that if we try to leave, it will activate."

"That's exactly what I was thinkin', Abby replied in a stern yet calm tone.

Once those words were spoken, the three friends immediately began to run towards the hangar. Once there, they came to find Hoagie in the kock pit of the COOLBUS, ad Kuki and Wally sitting in the passanger seats, talking like normal.

"Hey guys", Hoagie happily said. "It's about time you three showed up."

"Guys, get out of that COOLBUS! We're not going on that mission", Nigel angrily shouted.

"Why not", Wally asked.

"Yeah", Kuki replied. "Wally and I settled the shot-gun dispute."

"That ain't it girl", Abby angrily shouted. "Alex felt somethin'."

"Big deal", the Australian blonde replied. " Two-Seventy-Three feels stuff all the time."

" This is different Wallabee-kun", Alex yelled. "The presence I felt was disturbing. So much so that it could be a genuine threat to us all!"

"Which is exactly why we should ignore that mission and figure out what this presence is", the British bald boy stated.

"Well if that's how you feel, then we don't mind-", the plump pilot began as he was cut off by the sound of the engine turning on.

"Numbuh 2", Nigel angrily dshouted.

"It wasn't me", Hoagie shouted, surprised by the sudden engine movement.

As this occurred, electrical surges bursted from out of the COOLBUS, drowning the room in white electrical charges. As this happened, all six friends could do nothing but stare in shock at what was happening. After a few moment so eternity, they came to realize that fear ahd overtaken them.

"Hit the deck", the sector leader cried out as he, Abby and Alex huddled together and fell to the floor, the rest of their team doing the same.

"Guard Shield, up", Alex shouted in a feirce voice, her eyes glowing pink and her hands emitting telekenetic energy as she did.

Within an instant, pink circular orbs surrounded her huddled group, the now huddled Wally and Kuki, and the now fetal positioned Hoagie. But even as this occurred, the electrical surge continued to spread throughout the area, terrifying the six friends even more than when it first began. After what seemed like a moment of eternal waiting, all that could be heard throughout the treehouse was a gihugic explosion.

..........................................................
The sound of running, it was the only sound that could be heard throughout the dimly lit corridor as Rachel continued to run, a concerned look clear in her eyes as she relentlessly ran towards her destination. Upon reaching her destination( which was the MoonBase infirmary), she ran through the lobby like a madwoman and ran to Room 209, the room she had been told Sector V was resting up in. Catching her breath slightly, the young blonde slowly opened the door. What came afterwards, was quite the shock to her. The six members of Sector V were sitting on two infirmary beds( boys on the right bad, girls on the left bed), their wounds mouting to no more than deep, bandaged cuts, and their moods as lively as ever.

"Hi Numbuh 362", Kuki happily chirped.

"You...you guys are okay", Rachel replied in a tone of shock and surprise.

"Well of course we are", Nigel replied calmly.

"Yeah. We might've ben of worse if Alex hadn't thrown uo her guard shield", Abby said cooly.

"Well he said 'hit the deck', I just assumed that also meant 'throw up the guard shield", Alex replied in an explaining manner.

"True, but it was yo' quick thinkin' that saved us", replied the spunky African American as she noogied her friend, the mutant brunette giggling and blushing like crazy as her idol and friend did so.

"Still though", Hoagie began. "To think we actually survived a stunt like that, guard shield or not."

"How did this happen", the young blonde asked in a curious tone.

"Well it was an electrical surge", he continued. "One that was set off when the COOLBUS engine was turned on."

"And right before, Two-Seventy-Three felt a strange presence in the treehouse", the sector leader sternly aded on.

"Mm", the mutant brunette replied a low, stern tone. "And a disturbing one at that."

"Oh...I can't believe this is happening", the young Supreme Leader replied in a tone of sorrrow and disbelief. "I mean you guys got off easy...But so many others have ended up in the hospital because of his antic...No one is safe from his wrath as long as I try to stop him myself."

"Well why don't you let us help you", the plump pilot asked.

"Yeah", Wally loudly chimmed in. "Besides, after what happened, I want ta' get even with that guy!".

"I can't let you do that", Rachel sternly replied.

"Why not", Nigel sternly asked.

"Because I'm the one he wants", she sternly shouted at him, her voice becoming shakier as she continued to speak. "My operatives continue to be hurt because of him...and I can't risk letting them pay the price for his grudge against me...not anymore..."

Upon finishing her sentence, the young blonde hung her head in sorrow and shame, a stray tear falling from her eye as she did. Sudddenly though, Rachel looked up to face Alex levetating her tear via telekenisis, the rest of Sector V right behind her. They all had warm, peaceful, genuine smiles on their faces, something that surprised her.

"Don't cry sweetie", Alex said in a very sweet tone.

"Yeah, we're here for you", the little Asian girl sweetly replied.

"You don't have to do this alone Rachel...We want to help you", the sector leader said.

"He's right ya' know", the braided beauty calmly replied.

Upon hearing these sentences, Rachel could not help but be touched by her friends loyalty, and sleflessness. Still though, it was not enough to convince her to change gears. Sighing, she looked up to face her friends once more, opening her mouth to speak as she did.

"Thank guys...but no thanks...", she calmly said. "I need to do this alone.

And with that, the young Supreme Leader opened the door and exited the room, leaving her six friends shocked and astonished as she closed the door to their room.

"I can't believe it! She blew us off", Wally yelled in an aggivated tone. "What will it take for her ta' take offered help!?"

"I don't know. But even if she don't want our help, Numbuh 5 ain't worried", the arm crossed Abby replied.

"What do you mean you're not worried!? She could get killed if someone doesn't help her", Hoagie hysterically stated.

"Because...there's one person that'll try and protect her...no matter what", the spunky African American replied in a tone that caused her five friends to realize who it is she was referring to.

......................................................
Shortly wafterwards, Rachel continued to walk down the corridor back to her office, a mixture of sorrow and anxiety swirling inside of her as she did. Suddenly though, she stopped dead in her tracks as her anxiety overtook her. The only way she could let it out though, was by crying. As her tears began to fall, she could not help but wonder if she was doing the right thing. On the one hand, her loyalty, her honour, her courage, and her selfessness made her stick to her guns of a one-woman operation. On the other hand, she wondered if her strategy was correct by allowing Alpha to wreak havoc this way. Was it too simple? Had he expected her to do this? Would he continue targeting sectors until she broke down and surrendered? She wasn't sure what to think.

"Sir", asked a familiar, nazly voice that brought her back to reality. Upon looking up, she came to face Herbie standing in front of her.

"Numbuh 65.3", Rachel said in a surprised tone as she wiped her tears away. "What can I do for you?"

"Well...uh...I don't know how to say this...", the nerdy boy replied.

"Well then just say it", she replied.

"Well...you see...we sent Numbuhs 41 and 42 to investigate the Sector V attack...they found no evidence again..."

Upon hearing that sentence, Rachel felt her anxiety increase once more. Not only had Alpha proven to be far cleverer than she had expected, he was also much sneakier than she expected as well. She knew that she must stop him before he could cause anymore harm. But as she did, only one question ran through her anxiety filled mind...How...?

End chap. 5

[CCACorn26]

The casualties are mounting, and Alpha is hiding in the shadows. I'll commend Fanny and Sector V for wanting to help Rachel out, but with them out of commission, Rachel is running out of options. I couldn't help narrowing my eyes with outrage as I realized just who was in Sector W, but let us hope that Rachel succeeds in taking Alpha and any minions he has down.

[prettywitchiusaka]

Sorry about offending you with Sector W, but because Harvey is close to Rachel, it would only make sense in my head.

Ah yes, Rachel is running out of options indeed. Who will be left to help her you'll just have to wait and see, but for now Fanny and Sector V are clear out of the picture. They will however, get brefi cameos in teh second to last chapter of this story.

Overall, I'm glad to see you're enjoying this story so far.

[CCACorn26]

Jul 19, 2009 19:07:33 GMT -5 prettywitchiusaka said:

Sorry about offending you with Sector W, but because Harvey is close to Rachel, it would only make sense in my head.

Oh? Well, no need to worry, prettywitch. It was most likely the effect of learning that Alpha was targeting Lee and Sonia, which told me that Alpha doesn't care about age levels. If it helps, I also remember a similar form of amazement that Grandfather targeted the regular adult villains first, then moved on to Senior Citizombify everybody else -- whether 60, 40, 20, 15, or 10 years old -- which told me that any evil that could match or even exceed Grandfather would need to target kids, teens, and adults at once, at least in the Kids Next Door world. I can only wonder who Alpha will target next, but with each new casualty, Rachel will be that much more determined to defeat him once and for all.

[prettywitchiusaka]

Oh good, I'm glad to see we got that out of the way.

You're pretty much right on the money. As long as they have something to do with Rachel, wether it's a personal connection or not, he will go out of his way to attack that person or group of people. And yes, Rachel is becoming more and mmore determined to stop Alpha on her own, but soon enough however, she will receive help. WEther or not she wants that help though is left to be determined.

[prettywitchiusaka]

As promised, here comes chapter 6. Enjoy!

Chap. 6: The Protective Fool

Rachel had made a promise to herself, a promise that she would find a way to cease Alpha's reign of terror. And yet two days later, she had not kept to her promise. Instead, she found herself walking down one of the many corridors of the Arctic Training Base, beginning completion of her weekly inspection of the base. Right by her side was the bases Second-In Command Jeffery, or Numbuh 600, who under requested orders had been asked to fill in Patton's usual spot.

"Well, cadet activity has been pretty good this month", Jeffery optimistically said.

"Most of them have reached level 40 in their training, and many of them are looking forward to their graduation next month", he stated as he turned to look at his leader, sighing in annoyance as he came to find her staring off into space.

"Sir", the blue eyed boy asked, bringing her back to reality a few seconds later.

"O-Oh yes, excellent work Numbuh 600", the young blonde quickly replied.

"This is the third time you've spaced out today Sir. Is something wrong", he asked in a concerned tone.

"Is it that obvious", she asked in a tone of disbelief.

"I'm not as stupid as I look Sir", the blue eyed boy replied as a moment of silence came upon the two aquaintences.

"Would you like to talk about it", Jeffery asked as he broke the silence, surprising her in the process. "Look, I may not be very smart, and I may not know you as well as Numbuh 60 does, but I can help if it's a matter of the heart.

Upon hearing that sentence being uttered, a moment of silence befell the two aquaintences once more as Rachel contomplated what to do. On the one hand, she felt that she must soely shoulder her burden in all forms. But on the other hand, the lonliness she felt from this situation was urging her to tell someone of her miseries. The young blonde tried to stick to her gun and go with the first option, but Jefferys concern and kindness had unfortunately won her over. Sighing, the young blonde then opened her mouth to speak.

"It's just this whole Alpha thing Numbuh 600", Rachel replied in a melancholy tone. I'm doing all I can to try and stop him...and yet he's always one step ahead of me every time...It's making me question wether I can protect this organization...It's also beginning to make me question...my own leadership skills..."

Having said her piece, Rachel continued to look down at the floor, a look of sorrow clearly detailed on her face as she did. Now understanding the burden and the pain of her situation, the blue eyed boy walked over to his Supreme Leader and gave her a comforting smile, something that caught her off guard.

"May I suggest having someone help you fight him", the blue eyed boy suggested in a sweet tone. "If so, then I'd suggest Numbuh 60."

"Thank you", she replied sweetly. "But I can't risk hurting anymore of my own operatives."

"Ah, come one", he replied. " I mean Numbuh 60's been pretty much helping you from the start."

"What", she asked as she turned to face her aquaintence, shock clear in her voice as she did.

Upon hearing that sentence, Jeffery put his hands to his mouth in fear, realizing what he had just done. Curious, the young blonde began to eye the now frozen second-in command, a suspicious look now clear on her beautiful face as she did.

"Do you know something", she asked in a suspicious tone, causing him to quiver in fear.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", the blue eyed boy replied in a nervous tone.

"You know something, don't you Numbuh 600", Rachel asked as she raised the tone of her voice to anger.

"Yes", he nervously replied after a long moment of silence.

"Alright then, thank you for being honest", she sincerely replied. "Now what is it?"

"Sorry Sir, I can't tell you. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone", Jeffery replied in a tone of loyalty.

"I'll tell you where you can find the cheapest version of the original version of Star Wars on Ebay if you tell me", she replied in a sweet tone, realizing her bribe had worked upon seeing his eyes light up in delight.

"Alpha's not the one stealing the evidence, Numbuh 60 is", he quckliy replied, only to realize what he'd done onec he saw the surprised look on her face.

"Numbuh 60's...stealing the evidence", the young blonde replied in a whispered tone of shock and disbelief, not quite unbderstanding why her friend would do a thing like that.

"Well techincally I've been the one stealing the evidence, he's just been examining it. But still, it was his idea", he quickly replied, covering his mouth again right afterwards.

"But why would he...", Rachel asked in a whispered tone, too confused to even finish her own sentence.

"He was only doing it to help you Sir", the blue eyed boy said, his sentence causing his leader to snap out of her stunned state and sigh in aggrivation.

"Why does that not surprise me", she asked in an aggrivated tone, annoyed that she hadn't realized it sooner.

Now angry and annoyed, the young blonde began to walk down the corridor to find Patton's office, prepared to confront him as she did. As she continued, all Jeffery could do was stand in place, regret clear in his eyes as he thought about what was to come for his friend.

"Oh man, I sure hope Patton will be okay", he replied in a whispered, concerned tone. "But man, is he going to kill me this time!"

...............................................................
Silence, it was a rare, unique part of reality that let you accomplish work without being distracted. This seemed to be the case for Patton as he sat at his office desk, intently looking over a piece of a broken COOLBUS. And yet even though hours had been put into exmaining it and several other pieces for clues, he had found nothing. Annoyed, the young Drill Sergeant sighed and threw the small piece into a small pile of parts on his desk.

"Nothing", he whispered, pinching the middle of his forehead in aggrivation. A sudden knock at the door however, alerted him to his feet in a slight panic.

"One second", he yelled to the knocker, quickly putting away all of the small parts into his desk. Once all the pices were safely tucked away in his desk, the raven haired boy quickly threw himself into a straight standing position, so as not to draw suspicion. "Come in."

Upon hearing his order, the knocker obeyed and opened the door. But as they did, a small look of horror became apparent on Patton's face as he saw that his visitor was his own friend and superior Rachel. A look of anger was clear in both her eyes and her face. Noticing this, he looked at her sternly and and opened his mouth to speak.

"Numbuh-"

"At ease soilder", Rachel angrily replied, cutting him off as she walked over to his desk, an angry look present on her beautiful face.

"You look angry. Is something wrong", he asked, confused by her mood.

"Open the contents of your desk", she sternly ordered, pointing to his desk compartments as she did.

"Why do you need to-"

"Just open them", she replied in an annoyed tone, cutting him off once more.

Knowing he couldn't defy her orders, the raven haired boy began to open the contents of his desk, albeit rather reluctantly. Nothing seemed to happen as he kept opening them, until he opened the last one on the right side of the desk. Upon seeing it opened, Rachel gasped in shock. For all the missing evidence, it was all there in that little compartment.

"I don't believe it...", she replied in a shocked yet whispered tone, now realizing that Jefferey had been telling her the truth.

Now annoyed, she crossed her arms and stared intently at her friend. This caused Patton to gulp in nervousness, for he knew what was coming.

"Well...knowing you I assume I don't need to ask for your modivation, do I", she sternly asked.

"No", he replied bluntly. "I just wanted to help you figure out who this Alpha guy was. But since you wouldn't let me, I had Jeff get the evidence for me and then took matters into my own hands."

"Did you have anyone else helping", she asked.

"No", he quickly replied.

"Patton", she said in a tone of disbelief, not buying his answer for a second.

" I had the 44 twins get the evidence frm Sector V a few days ago", he quickly confessed. "How did you even find out about this?"

"A little birdie told me", she replied, causing the raven haired boy to immediately sigh as he realized who she was referring to.

"You know, I really got to stop telling Jeff my plans", Patton said in a tone of slight annoyance.

" Actually, I'm glad he blabbed. I can't believe you disobeyed me again", she replied in an angry tone.

"Yes. But I had to", he sternly replied.

"Oh really, and why is that", she asked.

"Because you refuse yo listen to reason", the young Drill Sergeant angrily shouted.

"Oh, so automatically because I decide to fight someone on my own, that's considered refusing to listen to reason", the young blonde angrily asked.

"It is when you're dealing with a terrorist", he angrily shouted.

"You seem to be forgetting who you're talking to Numbuh 60", she sternly stated.

"Oh I do", he sternly replied. "But just because you have a high IQ and you were a top spy does not qualify you to take on a terrorist by yourself."

"Patton, I respect your concern. But wether you agree with me or not, I can and will take him down myself", the young Supreme Leader replied in an angry tone.

"And that's exactly your problem! You say it's a one person job, but is it really", he asked, thingying his eyebrow in confusion.

"What's that suppost to mean", she angrily asked.

"It means you can't win if you face him alone, and you know it", he angrily shouted.

Upon hearing that sentence, Rachel felt shock come over her as the room went silent. This silence however, was broken she opened her mouth to speak, Patton still intently staring at her as she did.

"Fine...", she began. "So I can't face him alone...I know that...But even with that in mind, I have to do this alone! I refuse to let my operatives to be hurt by him any longer!"

"I'm not saying you have to, all I'm saying is that you need some help", he sternly replied.

"He has already attacked seven sectors and one high ranking officer within the last week! I can't take a chance that he'll violently hurt whoever's with me if I ask for their help", the young blonde angrily replied.

"Besides, he's already attacked almost everyone who's close to me. Who's to say you won't be his next target", she asked, thingying an eyebrow in confusion as she did so.

"If so, then I'll give him a fight he'll never forget", the raven haired boy replied in a determined tone.

"But you might be killed", she angrily shouted.

"I've almost been killed before and that hasn't stopped me from bringing scum like him to justice", Patton replied in determined yet angered tone.

"While that may be true, that doesn't mean your impulsiveness couldn't kill you in the future", Rachel sternly replied.

"Wait, so it's okay for you to worry about me, but it's not okay for me to worry and want to help you", he asked in a now annoyed tone.

"That's because it's different", she angrily replied.

"How is it different", he angrily asked.

"Because you'll be attacked because of me and I can't let you or anyone else die as a result", she yelled.

And as she yelled, a moment of silence once again came upon them. As this occurred, Patton felt shock overcome him as Rachel just stared intently at him. This silence however, was broken as she once again opoened her mouth to speak.

"Now I'm going to tell you this one last time...And this time, heed it as a warning...Don't get yourself involved", Rachel said in a stern yet angry tone.

Having said her piece, the young Supreme leader began to walk out of the room, closing the door behind her as she did so. Once she was gone, the young Drill Sergeant slumped into his chair in sorrow, upset by the fact that she had discovered him so quickly. Sighing, he rested his forehead on his hands, his mind continuing to drift towards the situation, and the one he cared about as he did.

"I'm sorry...", he began in a low, whispred tone. "But no matter how much you tell me not to...I will always protect you...even if I have to die doing so..."

End chap. 6


So,depending on that last line, what do you think Patton's motivation for helping Rachel is now?

[CCACorn26]

Training levels for the cadets, prettywitch? Jeffrey may be better at focusing on those aspiring Kids Next Door than he is at keeping secrets, resulting in the greater tension I sense between Patton and Rachel as of now. One can suspect that Patton will attempt to risk everything he has to take down Alpha himself... only to argue with Rachel once more about it in the future. Continue developing this story as you wish.

[prettywitchiusaka]

Pretty much, Jeff is a complete and utter moron. Loyal, yes, but one can only question just how well he is at keeping secrets since he sold out his own friend for Star Wars. As a result, he has created yet another tense argument between Rachel and Patton.

Again, you've hit the nail right on the head. Patton's pretty much willing to do anything to keep Rachel from dying at this point, as well as keeping the organization safe from Alpha. But not before he has one last argument with her over it. That however, will not be until chapter eight.

[CCACorn26]

Oh? Well, prettywitch, to take this train of thought to its conclusion, one might opine that despite the feelings you've described, Patton and Rachel would find a romantic friendship almost impossible to initiate. Their thought processes oppose each other, and they're afraid of any ripple effects across the Kids Next Door in general. In the case of Alpha, those two might wind up gaining any more doubts between them as the casualties continue to mount.