Categories > Cartoons > Codename: Kids Next Door > Nextgen Kids: The Nature Wars
Prelude to Adventure
0 reviewsIntroducing Sheila Frantic, daughter of Marine the Raccoon and an aspiring adventurer, and the Dimalanta twins, Mason and Haruka. The last session introduces Sector Z's kids.
0Unrated
This group of one-shots will introduce my favorite Nextgen Kid, along with two of her friends./
Prelude to Adventure
A peaceful noon on Azultown’s eastern beach. The waves brushed along the shore, but the beach was completely barren, except for one woman. Marine Frantic, the 25-year-old Mobian raccoon, sat on the beach with her right hand leaned against the ground behind her, and her left leg stretched out. She clutched a bottle of rum in her left hand as she drank. Marine was dressed sloppily; in a small, light-green T-shirt that greatly showed her belly, and short black shorts. Her arms went over her shirt, but it was kept up by her cleavage. She had no shoes on her bare feet, and her expression looked drunk. Her sky-blue eyes focused intently on the sea. A particular spot has been emitting slight bubbles. She’s focused on that spot for several minutes. Waiting…“GAAASP!” Finally, someone emerged from that spot and swam to shore. She was Sheila Frantic, Marine’s young 5-year-old daughter, in a green T-shirt, black shorts, and bare feet. She was a tan-skinned Australian human, but had brown raccoon ears and a tail. She hurried up to her mother and dropped a few small shells, two gold coins, and a necklace, still dripping wet. Marine had another drink and grinned widely. “Well, it looks like ya made it, Sheila!”“Pleah!” she angrily spat some water out. “Wot was all THAT for, Mum?! I swam all the way down there just for junk! Oi almost drowned!”“He he he! Well, wasn’t it a thrill, Sheila! Divin’ ta dark depths, not knowin’ what lies?”“Hmmm… well, maybe a little bit. But Oi wanted ta find a whole CAVERN o’ treasuhs!! But I only found a few itty-bits!”“Heh heh heh.” Marine wrapped an arm around her daughter. “Sheila… the whole point to adventurin’ is exploring brand new places, learning new things, and using those new things to explore OTHER places! I mean, Ay taught you how ta swim so ya could see what lies under the waves of our own beach! And now that you’re a great swimmer, aren’tcha glad ya saw what was under there?”“But I didn’t FIND anything!!” she stomped in anger. “Wot’s the point of goin’ to all this rubbish if ya don’t find anything?!”“Sheila… have I ever told you about the King of the Pirates?”“King o’ the… Pirates?”“Yeh… ya see, Sheila, the best people in this entire world are pirates. Pirates sail the briny sea, free from all the troubles o’ the world, lookin’ fer only adventures. They chase only dreams, and the wind shows them the way. But there was one pirate… who was greater than all the others. ‘e was the King. And he sailed this WHOLE world. Legends say that before ‘e passed on, he left a GREAT treasure, the most amazin’ treasure anyone’s evuh seen. ‘e told the world, if they wanted ‘is treasure, they could have it. But they’d have ta find it. And so… hundreds o’ pirates, all over the world, set sail to find it. …That was a Great Pirate Era.”“But did anyone evuh find it, Mum??”“Hehe, o’ course not, Sheila! Ta this day, no one even knows if the treasure was real. He mighta just been trickin’ a bunch of blokes inta goin’ out and havin’ great adventures. All we know for sure is… it worked.”Marine turned her daughter around to face the endless sea. “Sheila… the sea is endless. The UNIVERSE is endless. There’s no limit to how many adventuhs you could have. That’s what all them pirates thought. Maybe there was a treasure, maybe there wasn’t. But because o’ that bloke… so many people got to experience that freedom. Oi want /you to have that kind o’ freedom, too. There’s so much in the world ya wanna look at. So many great things…”Oddly, Sheila felt enticed by her mother’s words. Her young blue eyes couldn’t look away from the sea’s endless waves. Just what great things was she talking about? What could possibly exist over those waves? More importantly, is the treasure really real? Now, more than ever… Sheila wanted to know.“And it’s not just the sea Ah’m talkin’ about.” Marine mentioned. “Adventuh can exist anywhere. Have ya ever wondered what’s above those clouds?” Sheila looked up, gazing at the fluffy white clouds overhead. “Or under the earth?” Sheila pressed her left raccoon ear to the sandy ground. “Even the grass beneath our feet! Oi bet there’s LOADS of adventures right under our noses!”Sheila gripped her nose and pulled it up, trying desperately to look under it. She let go and shook her head. “But Mum, Oi thought pirates were bad/?”“Ehhh, there are bad types out there, Sheila… loike Davy Jones or Blackbeard. /They were pretty bad blokes. But they lived by the same morals, Sheila: pirates are free. They’ve raised their sails, and marked the sea their territory. They’ve seen many wonders our eyes could nevuh comprehend. They’ve seen the world… for what it is…”“…Didju ever try to find the treasure, Mum?”“Weeell, Oi did. But then Oi found me own treasure.”“Really?? Wot??”“Your dad. And then Oi got you.” She smacked Sheila’s back. “You’re the shiniest treasure I evuh coulda had. And I want ya to have a happy life.”Sheila felt touched by her mother’s words. An ecstatic expression appeared on her face as she said excitedly, “Let’s go find it, Mum!”“Hm?”“The treasuh, the treasuh!” Sheila jumped. “Let’s go find it together and have RIPPER adventuhs!”“Hehehehe!” Marine plopped a hand on her head. “Yer too young, ya little dinga! But when yer a little older… Oi want you to take yer friends and have GREAT adventures! And find all sorts of ripper treasuhs!”“I WILL, Mum!!”“Ah know ya will… now, come on.” Marine stood up. “We’re drivin’ down ta Virginia fer a few days.” She walked away as Sheila ran after. “You’re about to meet yer first mate.”This next part was written by Numbuh 6.13, with edits done by me. Mika's Note: Hello, fanfiction people! This is one of the future kid pairings I have planned out! It debuts Matthew and Yin's daughter, and David and Ashley's son./
Purple Rose
/Creak… creak…/It was 4 o'clock AM in the neighborhood, so it was terribly quiet, and every little sound could be heard. In this case, you could hear a swing being swung in a backyard nearby. The swing was a wooden one, with two strong ropes making it hang from a tree's branch. It was also adorned with flowers in a certain pattern, which was blue flower, red flower, blue flower, and red flower. Sitting on the swing was a young, 9 and ¾ year old girl, swinging slowly to an unknown beat that only she could hear. Her long, ebony hair flowed down behind her back, reaching up to her waist, and her mysterious midnight blue eyes gazed at the sky in thought."Hey…"The girl was startled as a familiar voice popped out of nowhere. Then, it clicked, and the girl ventured, "Lee?""Yeah, it's me." The son of David and Ashley Grayson moved closer to the fence which separated him from the swing where the girl swung. It was apparent that he had just woken up, because he was still wearing his Yipper pajamas and slippers. "What are you doing here, Haru?"Haruka Dimalanta sighed. "I'm just swinging here. Can't a poisonbending freak get some time of her own on the swing?""A freak?" Lee repeated, sitting on the grass. "You're not a freak, Haru. You're blessed with special talents.""You don't understand." Haruka said, jumping off the swing. Her midnight blue sundress fluttered in the light breeze as she looked toward the green plains beyond her home. The wind blew leaves around her as she continued to speak. "No one has uses for poisonbenders, Lee." Haruka muttered, her eyes narrowed at the plains. "We control poisons that harm a human's mortal life, and other toxic things that are dangerous. I don't see how you wouldn't consider people like that freaks!"Lee and Haruka were silent for a moment, before he mumbled, "I don't think you're a freak, Haru.""Why?" Haruka's voice was slightly choked up as she clenched her fists uncharacteristically. Lee said, "You're special. Your dad was a poisonbender, and yeah, he did join the bad guys for a while, but he met your mom and got together and became good, because your mom convinced him that his powers could be used for good." His robin's egg-blue eyes gazed at Haruka's midnight-blue ones, and he continued."Poisonbending's useful, Haruka. You just haven't seen how yet." His voice seemed to resonate a tone of a boy who had seen much more than what an average boy has seen. "Haru, let me over there. I have to tell you something only your ears should hear."Silently, Haruka opened the door in the fence, letting Lee enter the Dimalantas' backyard. Her bangs were shielding her gaze from Lee, so he couldn't see the look of utter disbelief in her eyes. Once Haruka had closed the gate, she turned to Lee, her gaze searching for an easy answer. "Well, what were you going to tell me?""All I wanted to say was," Lee stated, stepping closer to her. He leaned in towards her ear, and Haruka listened carefully. "All I wanted to say was that maybe you are a freak in your eyes, but in my eyes, you're just a rose that turned a pretty purple. Oh, and a rose that gained some pretty untouchable thorns." And with that, he straightened up, and lightly leapt over the fence, partly because he wanted an easy exit, and partly because he could do so. Haruka stared after him, the wind ruffling her nightgown's ruffles subtly as she watched him enter the his next-door house without so much as a glance back in her direction. She turned to go back inside her house, but her satin slipper stepped on something thorny. For a moment, Haruka's eyes watered, and it suddenly occurred to her that her father, Matthew, had worked in the garden with her twin brother, Mason, to clear away all the weeds and everything thorny. So why did she step on something thorny?Raising her foot daintily, Haruka could make out a long and lithe green stem, riddled with relatively sharp and spiky thorns. Her eyes moved to the right of the stem until she saw a very delicately dyed violet rose. Picking it up gingerly (without touching the thorns, which was very hard to do because it was nearly covered completely by thorns), Haruka examined it before looking back at Lee’s house. Then, without another word, she reentered her home. Two years later, a purple rose bush bloomed in Haruka's garden.Who was that first mate Sheila was talking about? Find out now./Kiss/Mason Dimalanta glumly walked through the halls of Moonbase, in a less than cheery mood. A few hours ago at school today, some girls were making fun of the fact he can't swim, and that totally killed his good mood. His attire nearly reflected his mood, black hair with a black hoodie, shirt, and pants. The left knee of his pants had a flame design, which was also depicted on his shirt, and he had gray eyes. He heard that his best friend, Sheila Frantic, was at the cafeteria, and was hoping she could cheer him up somehow. When he reached the cafeteria, the Faunus raccoon as mentioned immediately spotted him and ran over. "MASON!" she exclaimed, tackling him into a hug and earning a blush. "Where've ya been, Mate? Took ya long enough!""Hehe, you know me!" he sported a smile, before it faded to a frown."Come on, Mate, what's wrong withcha now?"He sighed again. "Well, word got out I can't swim today. Stupid Haruka. She couldn't keep a secret for her life!""Who in blazes cares about that?!" Sheila punched him in the arm."Ow!" he grunted, rubbing the spot she punched. "Man, you and that fist of yours.""A lust for adventuh gives ya weird things, Mate, now stop bein' so sad! So what, ya can't swim? Mr. Beatles can barely swim, and he ended up goin' ta Harvard.""I'll still never understand that. But it's not that I think I'm a weirdo for not being able to swim, it's just… I'm afraid of being a weirdo in general. I mean, the only people making fun of me today were girls… so I'm afraid I won't be able to… you know, find someone…""You have me, don'tcha?""Big difference, Sheila, we're just friends. I don't think I could find someone to be… IN love with me.""Mate, you worry too much. You're just a freaking kid, who cares?""It doesn't mean I can't be worried about it. I mean, what if I never find someone?""Aw, you're loopy, Mate." She smiled. "Ah'm sure you'll find the sheila eventually!" she said positively as they walked over to a vending machine."I don't know. I mean, what if I'm not that good a kisser?" Mason asked, dropping a quarter in the machine and getting a Purple Flurp soda."Well, what woul' THAT 'ave to do with anything?""They say one kiss changes everything. Sometimes, it matters how well you kiss.""Ugh, boy." She face-palmed. "Well, how would it make ya feel if ya at least practiced kissing?""Practice kissing? How?" he asked, drinking his soda."Le's practice kissing RIGHT NOW!"Mason immediately spewed his soda out. "WHAT? That's crazy, Sheila! You're my best friend! That'd just be… weird.""Weird? How?" she asked, getting in his face with a dirty look. "You ain't afraid o' kissing a wereraccoon, are ya? Don't think Ah'm a good kisser?""What? No! I mean, it'd just feel weird kissing my best friend.""I's only a practice kiss, Mate. It doesn't say anything, eh?""I dunno…"She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's just do it.""Okaaay!" he shouted as she dragged him away. At one of the tables, a boy in a black sweater, blue jeans, white shoes, and short black hair with a midnight-blue streak in the middle, heard this, smirked, and became a shadow and followed them."Come on. In here." Sheila said, dragging him into a closet."Sheila, I'm still not so sure about this…""Mate, what's the worst that could happen? We're just two pals practicing a kiss. So what?""I don't know…""Mate, have a little fun once in a while, it'll be great."He sighed. "…Alright.""Tha's the spirit, Mate!" With that, the two friends embraced in a pretend kiss. As the two kissed, Mason could strongly feel his lighter mood coming back. Sheila may have been his best friend, but kissing her just felt so…so magical. Kissing her felt nicer than anything, and he didn't want it to end. They kissed for a few more minutes before finally breaking free. "Whoa..." Mason started as they smiled and stared into each others' eyes. "That…""That was RIPPER, Mate! See, you're not such a bad kisser aftuh all! Now stop fretting and le's go get more o' that Purple Flurp!""Sounds good to me! Let's go!" With that, the two friends headed out to the cafeteria. Once they were gone, that same boy emerged from the shadows of the closet with a camera. "Heh heh heh!..." He smirked deviously.Mason’s HouseMason and Sheila were now at Mason's house, sitting on the couch. Well, Mason was sitting, Sheila was just lying back as they were both drinking their favorite soda and watching TV when Haruka ran in."MASON!" she yelled. "There's a bug in the kitchen!"Mason just sighed and got up to walk to the kitchen, spotting the small beetle on the ground. "Watch this, Haruka." he smiled, and with that, the older brother aimed his hand at the bug and sprayed it with some toxic gas, killing it. "Anytime you see a bug, a little gas will kill it right away.""Ew! It's body's still there!""Well, just step on it." With that, Mason walked back and sat on the couch with Sheila."We interrupt this program for breaking KNN news." Melody Jackson spoke as she and her brother, Danny appeared onscreen. "Earlier today at the Moonbase may have SEEMED like some ordinary day… but one operative, Numbuh 13.2036, lurked in the shadows, and saw otherwise." The two friends spat their soda at the screen when the image of them kissing was shown."It seems that Mason Dimalanta and Sheila Frantic have taken their already close friendship to the next level." Danny continued."Seems ONE certain poisonbender got a little… healing."Danny Jackson burst into laughter. "GOOD ONE, SIS!""HA HA HA HA!" The two turned to Haruka standing by their couch. "I KNEW you two would get to it eventually! Mason and Sheila, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Ah ha ha ha-"Mason growled and threw his soda can at her."AHH!" she screamed, running away."Oh, MAN!" Mason yelled angrily. "That stupid Dillon York! Why does he always have to be so snoopy?""Snoopy? He's not a dog, Mate!" Sheila joked."SHEILA! This is serious!""What? Why?" she asked. Sheila gasped loudly, suddenly horrified. "They aren't banning KND SEA travel, are they? !""NOO! ! Now that everyone knows we kissed, people are gonna think we're… you know, dating.""Oh. Is that all? Mate, I thought it was something way worse. Why ya worry me?""Aren't you worried at all?""No. It's no big deal, really. We're jus' a couple o' pals messin' around. Don' matter if nobody else sees that, eh?""But Sheila-"The raccoon girl just sat up and said, "Mate, you need to lighten up. Drink some soda, why don'tcha?" she asked, handing him her soda. Mason just took it and smiled, drinking away. He stopped to look at her smiling face, then, "BURP!""Ew! Tha' was weak, Mate! Here's how ya really do it! Ahem: BUURP!" The two laughed happily."Oh, no you didn't!"Suddenly, a giant glass with a face and some purple liquid burst through the wall. "Aw, yes she did!"The two friends exchanged confused glances."Ah'm the Kool-aid Guy's brother, Purple Flurp Guy. OH YEAH! Hey, tilt your heads back, and I'll pour my liquid into your mouth!"The pair of friends smiled as Sheila walked over and punched a hole in his glass, spilling all his Purple Flurp out. They drank the waterfall of his spilling soda and burped some more.This segment was written by Numbuh 6.13, showing Mason and Haruka’s relationship. (Also, edits done by me.)/Teach Me/Aah. The blissfully peaceful neighborhood of Cleveland, Virginia. It is 6:00 A.M., and so, there are no kids awake, leaving their parents in relative peace and quiet for the time being."Teach me!"Well, I did say for the time being."No!"OK, picture this. The Delightful Mansion. Then, move your gaze to the side. No, not that side, the /other side, the other side! OK, good. That's the Dimalanta household, where Matthew, Yin, Haruka and Mason Dimalanta reside."I said, teach me!"OK, ow, those voices hurt my ears. Who am I? I'm Mika, Numbuh June-13 of the KND. Otherwise known as Numbuh 6.13, the author of this one-shot. So stop paying attention to me and pay attention to the yelling voices behind the Dimalanta home."I said no!" A boy's voice yelled. In reply to his statement, a girl's voice – Haruka's – demanded, "Why won't you teach me?""You're a girl!" Mason stated plainly. "Girls and poisonbending don't mix!"In response, Haruka harrumphed and glared at him with her midnight blue eyes, exact copies of those of her father's, Matthew. "Well, I'm a poisonbender whether you like it or not, so you have to teach me!""And what are the consequences if I don't teach you?" Mason hissed uncharacteristically, his black hair messed up because he tugged on it in frustration. It didn't help that he looked totally angry because he was wearing his favorite black T-shirt with a flame design on it. Haruka smiled, well, smirked. She was definitely used to getting her way. "If you don't, Mum and Dad's gonna ban you from hanging out with Sheila."Sheila Frantic was the daughter of Elijah and Marine Frantic, and was Mason's best friend and crush. It didn't help that the Frantics and the Dimalantas were family friends, and nearly always hung out on weekends. Mason visibly paled. He cherished his moments alone with Sheila (because the last time they were alone, they found out that Dillon York had caught them making out in the Moonbase closet), and he didn't want his parents to actually ban him from her. Then, his fists furled and unfurled as he said, "You little-""Ah ah, remember about your temper!" Haruka's mouth curled up in a slight smile. Mason was so much fun to tease. "Sheila won't like it if you're a big ol' hothead!"Mason sighed in defeat, but otherwise he reluctantly said, "Fine. I'll teach you how to poisonbend. But why not learn from Dad or his friends, they’re fairly good. …Well, except Leo, unless you wanna know how to fart.” There was silence from Haruka before she replied, "I want to learn from you. You're my brother, and Dad's nearly always too busy to teach me good tricks. Mum's not a poisonbender, so I'm turning to you.""Oh." Immediately, a blush graced his cheeks as he realized that Haruka was putting her faith in him, considering the fact that the girl nearly always seemed to be fighting with her twin brother about everything. Haruka smiled before punching her brother on the shoulder lightly. "Baka (Idiot). Even though I fight with you, you're still my brother. And siblings always care about each other, right?""Y-yeah." Mason twiddled his fingers before he suddenly felt his twin sister's fragile arms wrap around him in a hug. Immediately his cheeks flared up in embarrassment."Arigato, Kuya. (Thanks [Japanese] Big Brother [Tagalog].)" Haruka said before letting go of her brother. She then – almost instantly – whipped her brother with a gust of purple poisonous gas. Mason was flipped over and he belly-flopped onto the grass. The boy blinked as Haruka teased, "Be alert, onee-san/! Always be prepared!"Then, a smile crept over his face as he stood up and tut-tutted Haruka. "That's not how you're supposed to bend! It goes like this..."Numbuh 6.13 wrote this segment introducing Sector Z's children; however, the Bruce Uno in this fic is a different character from Violet's boyfriend. This Bruce is from a separate universe, but he wound up here after the events with Arceus. Interesting backstory, I know, but just roll with it./But Daaaad!/"Come on… come on…"Since it was a quiet 4 o'clock morning in the neighborhood, you could hear every single noise coming out of houses with windows open. And it just so happened that the only house with their windows open was the Delightful Mansion. In one of the rooms, a boy and a girl played /Guitar Hero furtively, their fingers mercilessly tapping the colored buttons to the beat of "Dirty Little Secret", the girl's chosen song. It was the boy who had spoken, and he was currently neck and neck with his sister as they reached the last measure. Unfortunately, he missed a button, and lost a multitude of points, considering his sister chose Hard, and he chose Beginner."Aw…" The boy moaned, looking at the very big difference in scores. The girl looked at him, which seemed strange, considering her brown bangs covered her eyes, which were a bright green. "…You fail…." She said simply."So what if I failed?" The boy retorted, taking off the guitar. "You couldn't even play to the beat of Digimon Adventure's ‘Butterfly’ on Medium, Leanne!"Leanne Andrea Grayson looked crossly at her brother, but didn't say anything as she took the Wii remote out of the guitar she wore. "I'm bored, Lee. Can't we wake up Lulu and Denny?""You know Aunt Ogie wouldn't allow that." Lee Andrew Grayson looked unhappily at the Wii Remote. His father, David, had bought the Wii for all of the family members to play with, which meant everyone had their own remote. Cool, right?"Diwata?" Leanne asked quietly, absently twirling the remote in her hand. Lee shook his head. "Aunt Luna won't allow her to play either. It's too early." He tossed his Wii Remote into the box unhappily."Then we can eat breakfast." Leanne started towards the door to the big room she and Lee shared. "And don't you dare joke about breakfast. It's not a break."..."Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom." Lee said as he entered the dining room. Leanne followed suit, only this time greeting the other people in the room. "Hi, Aunt Luna, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Olivia, Uncle Leonard."Bruce Uno looked up from his newspaper. "Ashley, have you been teaching them good manners? You know we aren't the Delightful Children anymore.""Aw, come on, Bruce." Luna Martinez-Uno smiled sweetly. "Let Ash have her fun. She'll teach them good manners if she wants to. Right, Ogie?"Ogie Ravenhearst-Whitby looked at them out of her glasses, and from the top of her book. Her eyes seemed to be smiling. "Yes, Ashley definitely will. She won't listen to you, Bruce.""I most certainly will not." Ashley Sommers-Grayson smirked as she slid Lee and Leanne's plates towards them. "You two are certainly up early.""I challenged Leanne to a Guitar Hero marathon." Lee boasted. Unfortunately… Leanne said, "He lost on Beginner level." She smirked at her brother before taking a bite out of her scrambled eggs. Lee glared at her, his blue eyes narrowed before he turned to his mother. "How come Diwata, Lulu, and Denny can't wake up this early?""They're nine years old, Lee." Lenny leaned back on his chair. "They'll wake up sooner or later, because it's Saturday.""Wait for it…" David signaled with his fingers three, two, and one, just before three nine-year-olds burst into the room hyperactively. One of the children – a girl – was wearing a black silhouette. As they hurried towards their respective parents, David smiled smugly at his son."Hi, Lee!" The silhouetted girl greeted to the sandy-blond. Lee chuckled. Man, could Diwata get so hyper. They were lucky she wasn't spouting off fireworks by now. "Hi, Dee Dee. Take off the silhouette, won'tcha?""OK!" The girl tore at the silhouette until it finally came off, revealing bright blond hair like her father's, and a pair of brown eyes like her mother's. "What's for breakfast?""Ooh! Do we have paaancakes?" A small, brown-skinned girl asked. Her round glasses nearly toppled off her face as she climbed into her father's lap. Her black hair, tied up in pigtails with two ribbons, bounced as she jumped up and down on Lenny's lap. Lenny smiled at his daughter. "Yes, Lulu. You can request pancakes." His daughter's full name was Columbine, but she really preferred Lulu or Colly."How 'bout waffles? I love waffles!" A peach-skinned boy tugged at his mother's sleeve excitedly. You couldn't see his face because he wore his father's old football helmet, quite efficiently, might I add. He was Daniel Whitby."Yes, Denny." Olivia giggled softly as she winked at Ashley knowingly. Leanne looked at the others, quite unamused as she said, "Mom, could I go visit Mason Dimalanta?""Why, so you could make kissy faces at him?" Lee made a kissy face at his sister, who stuck out her tongue in reply."No, he's got Sheila Frantic already, doofus. And look who's talking, being a gentleman/," Leanne emphasized the word gentleman, "to Haruka Dimalanta?"Lee looked embarrassed as Dee Dee, Lulu, and Denny all crowded around him. His face was red as he tried really hard to endure their questions."Do you really like /Ate Haru?" Dee Dee asked curiously, using a term her mother Luna often used for her. She was an only child, so Dee Dee never knew how to be called an older sister, or Ate/."Have you /kissed her?" Lulu bounced around him excitedly, giggling with glee. Kissing always interested Lulu."Do you liiiiike her?" Denny asked smugly. David laughed as he stood up and shooed the three away from his son. "Alright, you three, eat your breakfast. Leanne, of course you can, if Lee goes too.""But-""No buts." David said firmly. "Either he goes, or you both don't. Or else I'll call Moonbase and proclaim your crushes on Haruka Dimalanta and Francis Drilovsky. And if that doesn't work, your aunts will speed dial all of the previous members of the KND who are married.""Does that include…" Lee and Leanne's worst fears were realized as their father ticked off the names of all of the previous KND members."Patton and Fanny Drilovsky, Abby and Hoagie Gilligan, Kuki and Wally Beatles, Nigel and Rachel Uno, Kade and Eva Jackson, Sonya and Lee Harper, Bartie and Virginia Stork, Rainier and Daniella Narboneta, Blythe and Andrei Martinez, Flynn and Jacquiline Macalima, and should I mention Matthew and Yin Dimalanta, Yang and Scarlet Bean, Kami and Jeremiah Heartly, and Aeron and Marie Mel Ordonez, and Ruka and Jeanelle Azuma, and…" He droned on and on, listing countless members."Uh, I think they got the point." Bruce piped up. David stopped momentarily, smiling timidly before saying, "Well, all I'm saying is that either he goes, or you're both old. End of conversation, capiche?" He smirked before sitting back down on his seat and reached for the newspaper. There was momentary silence in the dining room as Dee Dee, Lulu, and Denny munched on their breakfast. The adults were busy with their own things, and the twins just stood there, frozen, until the twins both screamed unhappily,"DAAAAD!"
Prelude to Adventure
A peaceful noon on Azultown’s eastern beach. The waves brushed along the shore, but the beach was completely barren, except for one woman. Marine Frantic, the 25-year-old Mobian raccoon, sat on the beach with her right hand leaned against the ground behind her, and her left leg stretched out. She clutched a bottle of rum in her left hand as she drank. Marine was dressed sloppily; in a small, light-green T-shirt that greatly showed her belly, and short black shorts. Her arms went over her shirt, but it was kept up by her cleavage. She had no shoes on her bare feet, and her expression looked drunk. Her sky-blue eyes focused intently on the sea. A particular spot has been emitting slight bubbles. She’s focused on that spot for several minutes. Waiting…“GAAASP!” Finally, someone emerged from that spot and swam to shore. She was Sheila Frantic, Marine’s young 5-year-old daughter, in a green T-shirt, black shorts, and bare feet. She was a tan-skinned Australian human, but had brown raccoon ears and a tail. She hurried up to her mother and dropped a few small shells, two gold coins, and a necklace, still dripping wet. Marine had another drink and grinned widely. “Well, it looks like ya made it, Sheila!”“Pleah!” she angrily spat some water out. “Wot was all THAT for, Mum?! I swam all the way down there just for junk! Oi almost drowned!”“He he he! Well, wasn’t it a thrill, Sheila! Divin’ ta dark depths, not knowin’ what lies?”“Hmmm… well, maybe a little bit. But Oi wanted ta find a whole CAVERN o’ treasuhs!! But I only found a few itty-bits!”“Heh heh heh.” Marine wrapped an arm around her daughter. “Sheila… the whole point to adventurin’ is exploring brand new places, learning new things, and using those new things to explore OTHER places! I mean, Ay taught you how ta swim so ya could see what lies under the waves of our own beach! And now that you’re a great swimmer, aren’tcha glad ya saw what was under there?”“But I didn’t FIND anything!!” she stomped in anger. “Wot’s the point of goin’ to all this rubbish if ya don’t find anything?!”“Sheila… have I ever told you about the King of the Pirates?”“King o’ the… Pirates?”“Yeh… ya see, Sheila, the best people in this entire world are pirates. Pirates sail the briny sea, free from all the troubles o’ the world, lookin’ fer only adventures. They chase only dreams, and the wind shows them the way. But there was one pirate… who was greater than all the others. ‘e was the King. And he sailed this WHOLE world. Legends say that before ‘e passed on, he left a GREAT treasure, the most amazin’ treasure anyone’s evuh seen. ‘e told the world, if they wanted ‘is treasure, they could have it. But they’d have ta find it. And so… hundreds o’ pirates, all over the world, set sail to find it. …That was a Great Pirate Era.”“But did anyone evuh find it, Mum??”“Hehe, o’ course not, Sheila! Ta this day, no one even knows if the treasure was real. He mighta just been trickin’ a bunch of blokes inta goin’ out and havin’ great adventures. All we know for sure is… it worked.”Marine turned her daughter around to face the endless sea. “Sheila… the sea is endless. The UNIVERSE is endless. There’s no limit to how many adventuhs you could have. That’s what all them pirates thought. Maybe there was a treasure, maybe there wasn’t. But because o’ that bloke… so many people got to experience that freedom. Oi want /you to have that kind o’ freedom, too. There’s so much in the world ya wanna look at. So many great things…”Oddly, Sheila felt enticed by her mother’s words. Her young blue eyes couldn’t look away from the sea’s endless waves. Just what great things was she talking about? What could possibly exist over those waves? More importantly, is the treasure really real? Now, more than ever… Sheila wanted to know.“And it’s not just the sea Ah’m talkin’ about.” Marine mentioned. “Adventuh can exist anywhere. Have ya ever wondered what’s above those clouds?” Sheila looked up, gazing at the fluffy white clouds overhead. “Or under the earth?” Sheila pressed her left raccoon ear to the sandy ground. “Even the grass beneath our feet! Oi bet there’s LOADS of adventures right under our noses!”Sheila gripped her nose and pulled it up, trying desperately to look under it. She let go and shook her head. “But Mum, Oi thought pirates were bad/?”“Ehhh, there are bad types out there, Sheila… loike Davy Jones or Blackbeard. /They were pretty bad blokes. But they lived by the same morals, Sheila: pirates are free. They’ve raised their sails, and marked the sea their territory. They’ve seen many wonders our eyes could nevuh comprehend. They’ve seen the world… for what it is…”“…Didju ever try to find the treasure, Mum?”“Weeell, Oi did. But then Oi found me own treasure.”“Really?? Wot??”“Your dad. And then Oi got you.” She smacked Sheila’s back. “You’re the shiniest treasure I evuh coulda had. And I want ya to have a happy life.”Sheila felt touched by her mother’s words. An ecstatic expression appeared on her face as she said excitedly, “Let’s go find it, Mum!”“Hm?”“The treasuh, the treasuh!” Sheila jumped. “Let’s go find it together and have RIPPER adventuhs!”“Hehehehe!” Marine plopped a hand on her head. “Yer too young, ya little dinga! But when yer a little older… Oi want you to take yer friends and have GREAT adventures! And find all sorts of ripper treasuhs!”“I WILL, Mum!!”“Ah know ya will… now, come on.” Marine stood up. “We’re drivin’ down ta Virginia fer a few days.” She walked away as Sheila ran after. “You’re about to meet yer first mate.”This next part was written by Numbuh 6.13, with edits done by me. Mika's Note: Hello, fanfiction people! This is one of the future kid pairings I have planned out! It debuts Matthew and Yin's daughter, and David and Ashley's son./
Purple Rose
/Creak… creak…/It was 4 o'clock AM in the neighborhood, so it was terribly quiet, and every little sound could be heard. In this case, you could hear a swing being swung in a backyard nearby. The swing was a wooden one, with two strong ropes making it hang from a tree's branch. It was also adorned with flowers in a certain pattern, which was blue flower, red flower, blue flower, and red flower. Sitting on the swing was a young, 9 and ¾ year old girl, swinging slowly to an unknown beat that only she could hear. Her long, ebony hair flowed down behind her back, reaching up to her waist, and her mysterious midnight blue eyes gazed at the sky in thought."Hey…"The girl was startled as a familiar voice popped out of nowhere. Then, it clicked, and the girl ventured, "Lee?""Yeah, it's me." The son of David and Ashley Grayson moved closer to the fence which separated him from the swing where the girl swung. It was apparent that he had just woken up, because he was still wearing his Yipper pajamas and slippers. "What are you doing here, Haru?"Haruka Dimalanta sighed. "I'm just swinging here. Can't a poisonbending freak get some time of her own on the swing?""A freak?" Lee repeated, sitting on the grass. "You're not a freak, Haru. You're blessed with special talents.""You don't understand." Haruka said, jumping off the swing. Her midnight blue sundress fluttered in the light breeze as she looked toward the green plains beyond her home. The wind blew leaves around her as she continued to speak. "No one has uses for poisonbenders, Lee." Haruka muttered, her eyes narrowed at the plains. "We control poisons that harm a human's mortal life, and other toxic things that are dangerous. I don't see how you wouldn't consider people like that freaks!"Lee and Haruka were silent for a moment, before he mumbled, "I don't think you're a freak, Haru.""Why?" Haruka's voice was slightly choked up as she clenched her fists uncharacteristically. Lee said, "You're special. Your dad was a poisonbender, and yeah, he did join the bad guys for a while, but he met your mom and got together and became good, because your mom convinced him that his powers could be used for good." His robin's egg-blue eyes gazed at Haruka's midnight-blue ones, and he continued."Poisonbending's useful, Haruka. You just haven't seen how yet." His voice seemed to resonate a tone of a boy who had seen much more than what an average boy has seen. "Haru, let me over there. I have to tell you something only your ears should hear."Silently, Haruka opened the door in the fence, letting Lee enter the Dimalantas' backyard. Her bangs were shielding her gaze from Lee, so he couldn't see the look of utter disbelief in her eyes. Once Haruka had closed the gate, she turned to Lee, her gaze searching for an easy answer. "Well, what were you going to tell me?""All I wanted to say was," Lee stated, stepping closer to her. He leaned in towards her ear, and Haruka listened carefully. "All I wanted to say was that maybe you are a freak in your eyes, but in my eyes, you're just a rose that turned a pretty purple. Oh, and a rose that gained some pretty untouchable thorns." And with that, he straightened up, and lightly leapt over the fence, partly because he wanted an easy exit, and partly because he could do so. Haruka stared after him, the wind ruffling her nightgown's ruffles subtly as she watched him enter the his next-door house without so much as a glance back in her direction. She turned to go back inside her house, but her satin slipper stepped on something thorny. For a moment, Haruka's eyes watered, and it suddenly occurred to her that her father, Matthew, had worked in the garden with her twin brother, Mason, to clear away all the weeds and everything thorny. So why did she step on something thorny?Raising her foot daintily, Haruka could make out a long and lithe green stem, riddled with relatively sharp and spiky thorns. Her eyes moved to the right of the stem until she saw a very delicately dyed violet rose. Picking it up gingerly (without touching the thorns, which was very hard to do because it was nearly covered completely by thorns), Haruka examined it before looking back at Lee’s house. Then, without another word, she reentered her home. Two years later, a purple rose bush bloomed in Haruka's garden.Who was that first mate Sheila was talking about? Find out now./Kiss/Mason Dimalanta glumly walked through the halls of Moonbase, in a less than cheery mood. A few hours ago at school today, some girls were making fun of the fact he can't swim, and that totally killed his good mood. His attire nearly reflected his mood, black hair with a black hoodie, shirt, and pants. The left knee of his pants had a flame design, which was also depicted on his shirt, and he had gray eyes. He heard that his best friend, Sheila Frantic, was at the cafeteria, and was hoping she could cheer him up somehow. When he reached the cafeteria, the Faunus raccoon as mentioned immediately spotted him and ran over. "MASON!" she exclaimed, tackling him into a hug and earning a blush. "Where've ya been, Mate? Took ya long enough!""Hehe, you know me!" he sported a smile, before it faded to a frown."Come on, Mate, what's wrong withcha now?"He sighed again. "Well, word got out I can't swim today. Stupid Haruka. She couldn't keep a secret for her life!""Who in blazes cares about that?!" Sheila punched him in the arm."Ow!" he grunted, rubbing the spot she punched. "Man, you and that fist of yours.""A lust for adventuh gives ya weird things, Mate, now stop bein' so sad! So what, ya can't swim? Mr. Beatles can barely swim, and he ended up goin' ta Harvard.""I'll still never understand that. But it's not that I think I'm a weirdo for not being able to swim, it's just… I'm afraid of being a weirdo in general. I mean, the only people making fun of me today were girls… so I'm afraid I won't be able to… you know, find someone…""You have me, don'tcha?""Big difference, Sheila, we're just friends. I don't think I could find someone to be… IN love with me.""Mate, you worry too much. You're just a freaking kid, who cares?""It doesn't mean I can't be worried about it. I mean, what if I never find someone?""Aw, you're loopy, Mate." She smiled. "Ah'm sure you'll find the sheila eventually!" she said positively as they walked over to a vending machine."I don't know. I mean, what if I'm not that good a kisser?" Mason asked, dropping a quarter in the machine and getting a Purple Flurp soda."Well, what woul' THAT 'ave to do with anything?""They say one kiss changes everything. Sometimes, it matters how well you kiss.""Ugh, boy." She face-palmed. "Well, how would it make ya feel if ya at least practiced kissing?""Practice kissing? How?" he asked, drinking his soda."Le's practice kissing RIGHT NOW!"Mason immediately spewed his soda out. "WHAT? That's crazy, Sheila! You're my best friend! That'd just be… weird.""Weird? How?" she asked, getting in his face with a dirty look. "You ain't afraid o' kissing a wereraccoon, are ya? Don't think Ah'm a good kisser?""What? No! I mean, it'd just feel weird kissing my best friend.""I's only a practice kiss, Mate. It doesn't say anything, eh?""I dunno…"She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's just do it.""Okaaay!" he shouted as she dragged him away. At one of the tables, a boy in a black sweater, blue jeans, white shoes, and short black hair with a midnight-blue streak in the middle, heard this, smirked, and became a shadow and followed them."Come on. In here." Sheila said, dragging him into a closet."Sheila, I'm still not so sure about this…""Mate, what's the worst that could happen? We're just two pals practicing a kiss. So what?""I don't know…""Mate, have a little fun once in a while, it'll be great."He sighed. "…Alright.""Tha's the spirit, Mate!" With that, the two friends embraced in a pretend kiss. As the two kissed, Mason could strongly feel his lighter mood coming back. Sheila may have been his best friend, but kissing her just felt so…so magical. Kissing her felt nicer than anything, and he didn't want it to end. They kissed for a few more minutes before finally breaking free. "Whoa..." Mason started as they smiled and stared into each others' eyes. "That…""That was RIPPER, Mate! See, you're not such a bad kisser aftuh all! Now stop fretting and le's go get more o' that Purple Flurp!""Sounds good to me! Let's go!" With that, the two friends headed out to the cafeteria. Once they were gone, that same boy emerged from the shadows of the closet with a camera. "Heh heh heh!..." He smirked deviously.Mason’s HouseMason and Sheila were now at Mason's house, sitting on the couch. Well, Mason was sitting, Sheila was just lying back as they were both drinking their favorite soda and watching TV when Haruka ran in."MASON!" she yelled. "There's a bug in the kitchen!"Mason just sighed and got up to walk to the kitchen, spotting the small beetle on the ground. "Watch this, Haruka." he smiled, and with that, the older brother aimed his hand at the bug and sprayed it with some toxic gas, killing it. "Anytime you see a bug, a little gas will kill it right away.""Ew! It's body's still there!""Well, just step on it." With that, Mason walked back and sat on the couch with Sheila."We interrupt this program for breaking KNN news." Melody Jackson spoke as she and her brother, Danny appeared onscreen. "Earlier today at the Moonbase may have SEEMED like some ordinary day… but one operative, Numbuh 13.2036, lurked in the shadows, and saw otherwise." The two friends spat their soda at the screen when the image of them kissing was shown."It seems that Mason Dimalanta and Sheila Frantic have taken their already close friendship to the next level." Danny continued."Seems ONE certain poisonbender got a little… healing."Danny Jackson burst into laughter. "GOOD ONE, SIS!""HA HA HA HA!" The two turned to Haruka standing by their couch. "I KNEW you two would get to it eventually! Mason and Sheila, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Ah ha ha ha-"Mason growled and threw his soda can at her."AHH!" she screamed, running away."Oh, MAN!" Mason yelled angrily. "That stupid Dillon York! Why does he always have to be so snoopy?""Snoopy? He's not a dog, Mate!" Sheila joked."SHEILA! This is serious!""What? Why?" she asked. Sheila gasped loudly, suddenly horrified. "They aren't banning KND SEA travel, are they? !""NOO! ! Now that everyone knows we kissed, people are gonna think we're… you know, dating.""Oh. Is that all? Mate, I thought it was something way worse. Why ya worry me?""Aren't you worried at all?""No. It's no big deal, really. We're jus' a couple o' pals messin' around. Don' matter if nobody else sees that, eh?""But Sheila-"The raccoon girl just sat up and said, "Mate, you need to lighten up. Drink some soda, why don'tcha?" she asked, handing him her soda. Mason just took it and smiled, drinking away. He stopped to look at her smiling face, then, "BURP!""Ew! Tha' was weak, Mate! Here's how ya really do it! Ahem: BUURP!" The two laughed happily."Oh, no you didn't!"Suddenly, a giant glass with a face and some purple liquid burst through the wall. "Aw, yes she did!"The two friends exchanged confused glances."Ah'm the Kool-aid Guy's brother, Purple Flurp Guy. OH YEAH! Hey, tilt your heads back, and I'll pour my liquid into your mouth!"The pair of friends smiled as Sheila walked over and punched a hole in his glass, spilling all his Purple Flurp out. They drank the waterfall of his spilling soda and burped some more.This segment was written by Numbuh 6.13, showing Mason and Haruka’s relationship. (Also, edits done by me.)/Teach Me/Aah. The blissfully peaceful neighborhood of Cleveland, Virginia. It is 6:00 A.M., and so, there are no kids awake, leaving their parents in relative peace and quiet for the time being."Teach me!"Well, I did say for the time being."No!"OK, picture this. The Delightful Mansion. Then, move your gaze to the side. No, not that side, the /other side, the other side! OK, good. That's the Dimalanta household, where Matthew, Yin, Haruka and Mason Dimalanta reside."I said, teach me!"OK, ow, those voices hurt my ears. Who am I? I'm Mika, Numbuh June-13 of the KND. Otherwise known as Numbuh 6.13, the author of this one-shot. So stop paying attention to me and pay attention to the yelling voices behind the Dimalanta home."I said no!" A boy's voice yelled. In reply to his statement, a girl's voice – Haruka's – demanded, "Why won't you teach me?""You're a girl!" Mason stated plainly. "Girls and poisonbending don't mix!"In response, Haruka harrumphed and glared at him with her midnight blue eyes, exact copies of those of her father's, Matthew. "Well, I'm a poisonbender whether you like it or not, so you have to teach me!""And what are the consequences if I don't teach you?" Mason hissed uncharacteristically, his black hair messed up because he tugged on it in frustration. It didn't help that he looked totally angry because he was wearing his favorite black T-shirt with a flame design on it. Haruka smiled, well, smirked. She was definitely used to getting her way. "If you don't, Mum and Dad's gonna ban you from hanging out with Sheila."Sheila Frantic was the daughter of Elijah and Marine Frantic, and was Mason's best friend and crush. It didn't help that the Frantics and the Dimalantas were family friends, and nearly always hung out on weekends. Mason visibly paled. He cherished his moments alone with Sheila (because the last time they were alone, they found out that Dillon York had caught them making out in the Moonbase closet), and he didn't want his parents to actually ban him from her. Then, his fists furled and unfurled as he said, "You little-""Ah ah, remember about your temper!" Haruka's mouth curled up in a slight smile. Mason was so much fun to tease. "Sheila won't like it if you're a big ol' hothead!"Mason sighed in defeat, but otherwise he reluctantly said, "Fine. I'll teach you how to poisonbend. But why not learn from Dad or his friends, they’re fairly good. …Well, except Leo, unless you wanna know how to fart.” There was silence from Haruka before she replied, "I want to learn from you. You're my brother, and Dad's nearly always too busy to teach me good tricks. Mum's not a poisonbender, so I'm turning to you.""Oh." Immediately, a blush graced his cheeks as he realized that Haruka was putting her faith in him, considering the fact that the girl nearly always seemed to be fighting with her twin brother about everything. Haruka smiled before punching her brother on the shoulder lightly. "Baka (Idiot). Even though I fight with you, you're still my brother. And siblings always care about each other, right?""Y-yeah." Mason twiddled his fingers before he suddenly felt his twin sister's fragile arms wrap around him in a hug. Immediately his cheeks flared up in embarrassment."Arigato, Kuya. (Thanks [Japanese] Big Brother [Tagalog].)" Haruka said before letting go of her brother. She then – almost instantly – whipped her brother with a gust of purple poisonous gas. Mason was flipped over and he belly-flopped onto the grass. The boy blinked as Haruka teased, "Be alert, onee-san/! Always be prepared!"Then, a smile crept over his face as he stood up and tut-tutted Haruka. "That's not how you're supposed to bend! It goes like this..."Numbuh 6.13 wrote this segment introducing Sector Z's children; however, the Bruce Uno in this fic is a different character from Violet's boyfriend. This Bruce is from a separate universe, but he wound up here after the events with Arceus. Interesting backstory, I know, but just roll with it./But Daaaad!/"Come on… come on…"Since it was a quiet 4 o'clock morning in the neighborhood, you could hear every single noise coming out of houses with windows open. And it just so happened that the only house with their windows open was the Delightful Mansion. In one of the rooms, a boy and a girl played /Guitar Hero furtively, their fingers mercilessly tapping the colored buttons to the beat of "Dirty Little Secret", the girl's chosen song. It was the boy who had spoken, and he was currently neck and neck with his sister as they reached the last measure. Unfortunately, he missed a button, and lost a multitude of points, considering his sister chose Hard, and he chose Beginner."Aw…" The boy moaned, looking at the very big difference in scores. The girl looked at him, which seemed strange, considering her brown bangs covered her eyes, which were a bright green. "…You fail…." She said simply."So what if I failed?" The boy retorted, taking off the guitar. "You couldn't even play to the beat of Digimon Adventure's ‘Butterfly’ on Medium, Leanne!"Leanne Andrea Grayson looked crossly at her brother, but didn't say anything as she took the Wii remote out of the guitar she wore. "I'm bored, Lee. Can't we wake up Lulu and Denny?""You know Aunt Ogie wouldn't allow that." Lee Andrew Grayson looked unhappily at the Wii Remote. His father, David, had bought the Wii for all of the family members to play with, which meant everyone had their own remote. Cool, right?"Diwata?" Leanne asked quietly, absently twirling the remote in her hand. Lee shook his head. "Aunt Luna won't allow her to play either. It's too early." He tossed his Wii Remote into the box unhappily."Then we can eat breakfast." Leanne started towards the door to the big room she and Lee shared. "And don't you dare joke about breakfast. It's not a break."..."Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom." Lee said as he entered the dining room. Leanne followed suit, only this time greeting the other people in the room. "Hi, Aunt Luna, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Olivia, Uncle Leonard."Bruce Uno looked up from his newspaper. "Ashley, have you been teaching them good manners? You know we aren't the Delightful Children anymore.""Aw, come on, Bruce." Luna Martinez-Uno smiled sweetly. "Let Ash have her fun. She'll teach them good manners if she wants to. Right, Ogie?"Ogie Ravenhearst-Whitby looked at them out of her glasses, and from the top of her book. Her eyes seemed to be smiling. "Yes, Ashley definitely will. She won't listen to you, Bruce.""I most certainly will not." Ashley Sommers-Grayson smirked as she slid Lee and Leanne's plates towards them. "You two are certainly up early.""I challenged Leanne to a Guitar Hero marathon." Lee boasted. Unfortunately… Leanne said, "He lost on Beginner level." She smirked at her brother before taking a bite out of her scrambled eggs. Lee glared at her, his blue eyes narrowed before he turned to his mother. "How come Diwata, Lulu, and Denny can't wake up this early?""They're nine years old, Lee." Lenny leaned back on his chair. "They'll wake up sooner or later, because it's Saturday.""Wait for it…" David signaled with his fingers three, two, and one, just before three nine-year-olds burst into the room hyperactively. One of the children – a girl – was wearing a black silhouette. As they hurried towards their respective parents, David smiled smugly at his son."Hi, Lee!" The silhouetted girl greeted to the sandy-blond. Lee chuckled. Man, could Diwata get so hyper. They were lucky she wasn't spouting off fireworks by now. "Hi, Dee Dee. Take off the silhouette, won'tcha?""OK!" The girl tore at the silhouette until it finally came off, revealing bright blond hair like her father's, and a pair of brown eyes like her mother's. "What's for breakfast?""Ooh! Do we have paaancakes?" A small, brown-skinned girl asked. Her round glasses nearly toppled off her face as she climbed into her father's lap. Her black hair, tied up in pigtails with two ribbons, bounced as she jumped up and down on Lenny's lap. Lenny smiled at his daughter. "Yes, Lulu. You can request pancakes." His daughter's full name was Columbine, but she really preferred Lulu or Colly."How 'bout waffles? I love waffles!" A peach-skinned boy tugged at his mother's sleeve excitedly. You couldn't see his face because he wore his father's old football helmet, quite efficiently, might I add. He was Daniel Whitby."Yes, Denny." Olivia giggled softly as she winked at Ashley knowingly. Leanne looked at the others, quite unamused as she said, "Mom, could I go visit Mason Dimalanta?""Why, so you could make kissy faces at him?" Lee made a kissy face at his sister, who stuck out her tongue in reply."No, he's got Sheila Frantic already, doofus. And look who's talking, being a gentleman/," Leanne emphasized the word gentleman, "to Haruka Dimalanta?"Lee looked embarrassed as Dee Dee, Lulu, and Denny all crowded around him. His face was red as he tried really hard to endure their questions."Do you really like /Ate Haru?" Dee Dee asked curiously, using a term her mother Luna often used for her. She was an only child, so Dee Dee never knew how to be called an older sister, or Ate/."Have you /kissed her?" Lulu bounced around him excitedly, giggling with glee. Kissing always interested Lulu."Do you liiiiike her?" Denny asked smugly. David laughed as he stood up and shooed the three away from his son. "Alright, you three, eat your breakfast. Leanne, of course you can, if Lee goes too.""But-""No buts." David said firmly. "Either he goes, or you both don't. Or else I'll call Moonbase and proclaim your crushes on Haruka Dimalanta and Francis Drilovsky. And if that doesn't work, your aunts will speed dial all of the previous members of the KND who are married.""Does that include…" Lee and Leanne's worst fears were realized as their father ticked off the names of all of the previous KND members."Patton and Fanny Drilovsky, Abby and Hoagie Gilligan, Kuki and Wally Beatles, Nigel and Rachel Uno, Kade and Eva Jackson, Sonya and Lee Harper, Bartie and Virginia Stork, Rainier and Daniella Narboneta, Blythe and Andrei Martinez, Flynn and Jacquiline Macalima, and should I mention Matthew and Yin Dimalanta, Yang and Scarlet Bean, Kami and Jeremiah Heartly, and Aeron and Marie Mel Ordonez, and Ruka and Jeanelle Azuma, and…" He droned on and on, listing countless members."Uh, I think they got the point." Bruce piped up. David stopped momentarily, smiling timidly before saying, "Well, all I'm saying is that either he goes, or you're both old. End of conversation, capiche?" He smirked before sitting back down on his seat and reached for the newspaper. There was momentary silence in the dining room as Dee Dee, Lulu, and Denny munched on their breakfast. The adults were busy with their own things, and the twins just stood there, frozen, until the twins both screamed unhappily,"DAAAAD!"
Sign up to rate and review this story