FicWad

This chapter was written by Numbuh 6.13. Not only was it the last chapter she wrote for the Gameverse, but it was made to be a “pilot episode” for the Nextgen Series. Originally, I excluded this chapter from the continuity because it was never complete and the plot of it makes it non-canon. However, I’ve decided to write my own ending to this chapter that makes it somewhat canon. Keyword somewhat. This chapter is still optional reading.

This takes place, not only before the Nature Wars of Nextgen, but also before the plot of First Gen! :O So, for those who haven’t read First Gen, you can sort of get a visual on the parents as operatives, and otherwise, it’s just fun to see both Gens interacting!





Now loading…

Kids Next Door mission…

Operation:

D.U.S.K.





Delightful

Unveils

Shadowy

Katastrophe

 

 

Falling…





I blinked, then looked down. Then, I screamed.





I was falling. Falling into the dark abyss.





I couldn’t move. I was immobilized, my hands and legs frozen into place.





“/Help!” I shrieked, trying my hardest to move, but it was no use. I was stuck, falling./





Suddenly, right before my eyes, my life played out like a movie. But in each segment, there was a time of darkness, a time where I felt no happiness. A time where…





Where I felt one with the shadows.





Then, it faded, and I was back to falling. Sprawled out, I felt vulnerable as the darkness engulfed me.





“/Somebody help me!”/

 

“Ashley? ASHLEY!”





“AH!” A sandy-blonde girl gasped, sitting up in her bed at lightning speed. Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of her head, and her hair was curiously out of place for a Delightful child.





A blonde-haired boy with a bowl cut looked at her, concerned. “Are you okay? You were sweating and screaming for help.”





“Y-yes…” Ashley Uno murmured, combing her hair back into place with her fingers. She still couldn’t forget the way the darkness flooded into every crevice of her mind and being. The darkness had felt tangible, and then felt like gas, and at one point it had felt like…like she was part of the darkness. “I just had a nightmare…”





Olivia – or Ogie, the brown-haired girl – was in the process of intricately braiding her hair and spraying it with hairspray so that it would stay up. “What was it about?”





“Well…” Ashley was interrupted by a loud snore on their left. The children all looked towards their left – or, in Bruce and Ogie’s case, their right – and nearly sweat-dropped as they watched David sleep face-down on his pillow, snoring loudly. “Someone should really get a plug for that guy.”





On the right side of the bed, Lenny was rousing, yawning. “Funny, I thought Bruce was the heavy sleeper.”





“Dead right you are.” Bruce boasted proudly. “I could sleep through a hurricane!”





Ogie rolled her eyes. “You could sleep through a whole unorthodox universe merging involving two girls who liked you.”





“He could sleep through the end of the world and wouldn’t know it.” Lenny deadpanned, switching on the lampshade on his side of the bed. “That’s our Bruce for you.”





The aforementioned blonde blushed in embarrassment. “It’s not fair that you guys can tease me! You guys have embarrassing stuff about yourselves, too! Like Ashley’s-”





“Bruce!” Ashley whacked him with her pillow.





“Ashley, what exactly happened in your dream?” Ogie asked.





Ashley gulped uneasily. She wasn’t too comfortable with explaining what happened in her dreams, or nightmares. “Well, you see…”

 

KND Moonbase, Year 2031





“RABBIT EARS!”





Nine-year-old Panini Drilovsky giggled mischievously as she nimbly darted amongst other KND operatives on the Moonbase. She clutched a red Rainbow Monkey in her arms, obviously snatched from someone. Her ebony hair – shaped like a bunny’s ears – bobbed in the air as she passed Harry Gilligan, one of Hoagie and Abby’s triplets.





“What the-” He was cut short as another blur zoomed past him. His dark skin felt singed as he felt the blazing hot blur chase after Panini. He winced, tugging on his blue hat.





Harry’s younger, triplet brother, Artie, shook his head. “Only a fool would-”





“-piss off Cheren.” Their youngest triplet sister, Haylee, finished, blinking her bright-browns behind a pair of yellow goggles. “Then again, that’s Panini for you.” Her aviator’s hat was lopsided as she hopped towards the next broken S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. “She also forgot our supposed meeting.”





Indeed, it was the current Supreme Leader, Cheren Uno, who was chasing the giggling Drilovsky. He was practically a ball of fire as he blazed past operatives, startling them. He had only just rounded the corner when he nearly bumped into his older sister, Aurora.





Aurora had been simply minding her own business, of course, sipping some cocoa and whistling a Courtney Gears tune. (She wasn’t sure who this Courtney person was or where she came from, but she sounded OK in Aurora’s ears.) Of course, Cheren just /had /to nearly run into her. Her cocoa had spilled all over her orange tank-top, and now it was ruined.





“CHEREN!” Aurora screamed, making all the operatives nearby wince. Although she wasn’t a Fulbright, she sure did have the ability to scream really loudly.





Somewhere on the Whizbee deck, Panini’s older brother, Francis, was playing the sport with Mason Dimalanta, Leanne Grayson, Dillon York and Sheila Frantic. The raccoon girl was cheating by flying up with her tail, but otherwise it was a pretty normal game.





That is, until Aurora screamed.





Francis had been about to toss the Whizbee when Aurora had screamed, so, as if on instinct, he dropped the saucer and ran towards her, forgetting all about the game. He swore under his breath as he heard Panini’s high-pitched Irish giggle ringing in the air, and ran past everyone else.





“’ey, you ol’ drongo!” Sheila yelled, waving her hands before realizing that it was hopeless. “Mates, Oi’m guessin’ our game o’ Whizbee’s ovah.”





“’Guess Aurora’s just more important.” Mason said.





“Yeah… I kinda noticed…” Leanne hissed through her teeth. Her shadow, Ash, rose up, prodding Leanne with a shadowy finger. The brunette pushed her away, and Ash frowned, her white shadow smile turning upside-down.





Dillon looked at the others. They all looked so gloomy, but he wasn’t really affected. He was just the judge, referee, and scoreboard after all. “Hey, why don’t we play something else? Maybe we can invite Haruka or Lee, or both…”





“I’ll find Lee!” Mason answered automatically.





“Haru’s moine!” Sheila chirped. Together, the two benders ran off toward the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s.





“What happened?” Francis asked Aurora, dismayed.





Aurora nearly seethed. “Cheren and Panini happened. They just whizzed past me, poof! My cocoa’s wasted and I’ve ruined my tank-top.”





“I’ll go after them.” Francis offered, but Aurora shook her head.





“They’ll turn up. Then I’ll unleash my wrath.”





…





“GIVE IT BACK!” Cheren yelled angrily. The operatives running around felt really sorry for Panini, but the others were simply amused. Panini was the only one brave and tactful enough to piss off the Supreme Leader, and the only one easily forgiven because she was his best friend.





Panini stopped abruptly, holding out the toy. “OK.”





Cheren blinked, his flames dying down. It wasn’t like Panini to just give up something she stole from him. There was something wrong. “…Is there a catch?”





“No, not this time.” Panini crossed her heart. “Ah just forgot that Ah’m supposed to meet Haylee at the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s to talk about her time machine.”





Cheren looked interested. “A time machine?”





“Yeah.” Panini blinked innocently. “Want to come, almighty Supreme Leader? Unless yer too busy…” she winked.





Cheren chided her, “That’s HEAVENLY Supreme Leader to you, Rabbit Ears. And yeah, I’ll come.”





“YAY!”





A few minutes later





“…So, that’s how the time machine works!” Haylee explained proudly. “I call it the-”





Kids Next Door: T.R.A.V.E.L.E.R.

Time Rider Accesses Various Eras Leisurely Entering Rips





“Now let’s try it out!” Haylee said excitedly.





Lee looked uncertain as he swept back his blonde hair. His shadow, Damien, looked a bit creeped out as Ash sidled up to him and started cooing like a dove. Leanne rolled her eyes as she tugged on Ash’s ‘sleeve,’ making her slink back into place. Damien relaxed just as Lee asked, “But what date, Hayl?”





“Maybe…oh, I know!” Haylee dove into the time machine, setting up dials and stuff. “How about when our parents were itty-bitty babies?”





Harry shook his head, disagreeing. “No! Let’s see when they were cruddy teenagers and they were all mushy about each other!”





“EW!” Lulu Whitby wrinkled her nose before sidling up to Kirie Beatles, who patted her head silently, no words escaping her lips.





Artie coughed. “Not to be rude or anything, but I would like to see our parents as eleven-year-olds; back when they were still cool operatives!”





“BABIES!”





“TEENAGERS!”





“PRE-TEENS!”





“/LOOK OUT!”/ The rest of their audience – except for Kirie – screamed as the triplets accidentally switched on the portal with a certain button. (Honestly, who puts an AUTOMATIC START AND SET DATE button on a time machine?!) The portal started working, swirling with blue light, and then, it sucked all of the kids in, leaving no one behind.





Then, when it had finished its job, it sat, abandoned, behind a really old S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. All energy was gone from it, and it looked like any old rusty thing, sitting there in front of dust.





All that was left of the children was Cheren’s red Rainbow Monkey.





Delightful Mansion, Year 2011





“…I see…” Ogie murmured thoughtfully.





Ashley sat cross-legged on the bed, having recounted her dream to those who bothered to listen. David had finally awoken at one point during the story, and was now contemplating as well what it meant. “Well, maybe we should tell Father…”





“NO!” Bruce said sharply. “If Father finds out, he’ll…he’ll…”





Lenny shook his head. “You don’t want to know. It’s better we keep it a secret.”





“OK…” Ashley murmured, blinking her Delightfulized blue eyes. For a minute there, her eyes flashed brown, then it became blue again. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blue portal popped into the room, right across the balcony, startling the Delightful Children.





“What’s that?” David asked.





Ogie inspected it. “It appears to be… some sort of portal…”





“AGGH!” Voices screamed from within the portal, and soon, the voices became real as children tumbled out of the portal into the room.





The Delightfuls were all freaked out as they hid under the covers like a regular child would when scared. Ogie was on the floor, staring in awe as the portal closed up and the children brushed themselves off.





“Where d’you suppose we ended up?” a brunette girl asked, and Ogie could only assume her eyes had blinked beneath her very, very long David-reminiscent bangs. She straightened her skirt as she looked at a boy who looked a lot like her, only with blonde hair.





“I dunno, somewhere?” the boy replied, fiddling with a holster on the side of his belt.





A blonde-haired girl with purple and green, mismatched eyes made a sign language gesture that meant, I think I know where we are. A glass-eyed girl clutched that girl’s sweater in terror, and a helmet-headed boy freaked out behind her.





Ashley was peeking out from the blanket, and was surprised to find David’s face within the brunette and the blonde boy’s features. She was also mildly surprised to find herself within them, but other than that, she didn’t pay attention, except to the helmet head that looked oddly like Lenny. She couldn’t help it, so she laughed. Out loud.





Everyone froze. The newcomers all turned around, and blue eyes met green, blue and violet/green eyes before everyone screamed.





“Holy s*!” The girl shrieked. “Is that M-” Her voice was muffled by the mute girl, who only waved a simple ‘No’ to her words. She understood immediately, and shut up.





Lenny approached them cautiously, forgetting to put on his helmet as he asked, “Who… are you?”





“Why the fudge do you want to know?” the sandy-blonde boy asked.





“CHILDREN!” A voice roared from the doorway, and all heads swiveled to see Father burning with flames. “DID I JUST HEAR PROFANITY IN HERE?”





The brunette blew a raspberry. “Dead right you did, Grampa!”





“GRAMPA?” Father had had it. He nearly burned the whole mansion down. “I AM NOBODY’S GRANDFATHER!”





The sandy-blonde rolled his eyes. “Leanne, you shouldn’t have done that! Now he’s mad!”





“But Lee,” Leanne pointed out, “he is our Grampa!”





Father was still burning, so Bruce tentatively asked from under the covers, “How are you related?”





“Through-” Leanne’s voice was muffled again, this time by Lee’s hand. “Kiwee, tew him to stop!” (Translation: “Kirie, tell him to stop!”)





Kirie signed, and Lee dropped his hand, not to his side, but rather, to the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. holster on the side of his belt. He pulled out the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. slowly, signaling for the others to do the same with their weapons, and they did so. Damien – being Lee’s shadow – earned a shadow G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. as well, and Ash got a shadow S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. from Leanne. Then, on cue, they all pointed the weapons at the Delightful Children and Father.





“Sector RZ and Kirie are out! PEACE!” Lee yelled, shooting a few gumballs before tumbling out the balcony.





Leanne walked over to the balcony, waved good-bye, and toppled over, landing in Lee’s arms like an acrobat before landing on the ground. “Sayonara!”





“Bye, Mommy!” The glass-eyed girl – Lulu – giggled before hopping off the balcony and into Ash and Damien’s linked shadow arms.





Denny – helmet-head Jr. – waved at Lenny. “Bye Daddy, see ya soon!” Then, he also jumped off, landing into the shadows’ seemingly solid arms again.





Finally, Kirie was left alone, silently gazing at the Delightfuls. Then, her eyes flashed, and she drew out two fans and opened them, releasing pink blossoms into the air that temporarily blinded them, allowing her to leave and land safely on the grounds.





“Come on, guys!” Lee hissed, pointing to the nearest house, which was the treehouse of Sector V. “Let’s take refuge there! It’s a KND treehouse!”





The others all nodded, then ran as they realized Father was still there. Lee and Leanne grabbed their friends into a Shadow Veil for swift escape.





Inside the mansion, the Delightful Children were hiding under the covers still, with Father getting doused by cherry blossoms, and Lenny in the middle, holding umbrellas around him and Ogie, who was still on the ground.





“…Wait…” Lenny drew out slowly. “…Did he just call me… Daddy?”





KND Moonbase, still 2011





“Numbuh 362, sir!” Fanny Fulbright, Numbuh 86, saluted. She wore her signature colander, green shirt, and orange skirt.





Rachel McKenzie smiled, nodding at her. She wore an orange sweater with tiger stripes. “At ease, Numbuh 86. Anything to report?”





“Well, Numbuh 1.31 seemed to ruin a playground with his… peculiar stench.” the redhead said.





Rachel groaned. She’d heard reports from Sector R about their leader having an unusual gas problem. “Well, send Sector W on it, won’t you? Harvey usually keeps good air fresheners.”





“Yessir!” Fanny saluted again before yelling, “SECTOR DOUBLE-YOUUUU!”





Rachel chuckled before heading towards her office, eager to get away from most of the playing operatives. It was really stressful being the Supreme Leader, and Rachel always took every chance she had to take a break.





No sooner had she set foot inside her office when suddenly, a few kids ambushed her from the inside. She gave a muffled squeak, then a relieved sigh as the kids got off her. She sat up, her head spinning, as she tried to recall who they were.





“I didn’t give any orders to attack, you numbskulls!” a brown-haired boy hissed, his red glasses flashing. The flash, however, didn’t hide his eyes from Rachel, and she saw her eyes copied perfectly into his face.





“Like ye wouldn’t have attacked ’er, Cheren.” Another voice commented. Rachel’s gaze swiveled towards a black-haired girl with her hair tied up in a tall ponytail, split in the middle like a rabbit’s. Freckles were spattered on her cheeks, and Rachel had the sudden impression of Fanny and Patton combined. “Ye just like to blame ’em when yer scared.”





A girl that reminded Rachel strongly of Hoagie – what with her aviator’s hat and yellow goggles – chirped, “Derp to all of you. Now stop fighting.”





“Yes, please stop.” A pair of African-American boys, one with dreadlocks and darker skin, said simultaneously, stepping closer to the girl.





Suddenly, a tan-skinned girl in shorts and sandals stepped out of a corner, and Rachel choked out a gasp. She looked like…like some… Rachel did /not /dare to say the word ‘freak.’ Hybrid, maybe? A raccoon-human hybrid, that’s what the girl was.





The girl slapped her forehead. “Oi. Somebody ’elp me ’ere.”





“Easy peasy.” A feminine voice drawled, and suddenly, before Rachel’s eyes, purple noxious gas wrapped around the triplets and the others, separating them into two groups. Their source was none other than a pigtailed girl sitting on the desk, with another boy in a flame shirt hanging upside-down from the ceiling’s bars.





Rachel wanted to scream. “Excuse me, but…” So, she did, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY OFFICE? WITHOUT PERMISSION?!” In the process, she had stood up and was now fuming.





“OH!” A girl shrieked from behind the desk, her head bumping against it, judging from the loud thud.





Another voice, this time a boy’s, started cooing. “It’s okay, Aurora. It’s just a bump…”





“Who was that?” Rachel asked pointedly.





The glass-eyed boy – Cheren, she assumed – sighed. “/That /would be my older – and more childish – sister, Aurora, and her boyfriend, Francis.”





“He’s NOT my boyfriend!” Aurora screamed, jumping out from behind the desk to tackle Cheren to the ground. “Take that back right now, or I’ll…I’ll hit you with my S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.!”





Cheren barked, “You wish! You can’t attack your Supreme Leader, doofus! Now get off me, I’m your brother!”





WHAT? /Rachel’s mind was spinning. /Supreme… LEADER?





“Okay, first of all,” Rachel stepped forward, jabbing a finger into Cheren’s chest. He was a good deal shorter than her. “/I’m /Supreme Leader around here. And second, WHO THE CRUD ARE YOU?”





Cheren smiled weakly. “I forgot. I’m Cheren, and this is my sister, Aurora.” The blonde girl waved, and Rachel blinked. Was that… her hairstyle?





“This is Panini, I call her Rabbit Ears.” The freckled girl grinned, showing off an array of sharp teeth, making Rachel shudder. “And this is her brother, Francis.” The boy emerged from his hiding spot and waved awkwardly at Rachel.





“And now, the triplets, Harry, Haylee, and Artie. We call them the HAH for short.” The three kids all struck a few poses, and Rachel had to giggle.





Cheren blinked, waving off the noxious purple gas still wrapped around him. “Um, Haruka? Let us go now.”





“Oh, right.” The pigtailed girl sucked the gas back up her dress. “Sorry. That was unladylike of me.”





Cheren rolled his eyes. “Now, as I was saying, these guys are Mason and Haruka, the poisonbending twins…”





“Poisonbenders?” Rachel stood at attention.





Aurora stepped forward, putting a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. A shudder ran through Rachel, and suddenly, she had a glimpse of herself, only older, and Aurora, only younger. She looked so similar to herself, and it made Rachel’s blood… well, in other words, Rachel felt a connection with this girl that she couldn’t explain.





“Calm down, M—Rachel.” Aurora said gently. “Almost half of our operatives are benders, and they don’t harm their fellow operatives.”





Rachel blinked. “/You’re/ operatives?”





“Well,” Haylee began, adjusting her goggles, “you see, Mrs. Uno—I mean, McKenzie, we came from the future…”





Rachel was about to reply when Fanny marched in the door, her back to them. “All RIGHT, Sector V! Ah’m gettin’ the Supreme Leader right now! Yeesh, that Nigel Uno… Numbuh 36-”





By that point, Fanny had turned around, and saw the assortment of children inside Rachel’s office. Most of them were familiar faces, but it was Panini and Francis’s faces that made her holler.





“SECTOR V!!!”





“FREEZE! WE’VE GOT WEAPONS!”





Cheren and the others stiffened, and Rachel could see the boy’s arm reaching for a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. on his belt, alert and ready.





Suddenly, Sector V burst into the room in various poses, holding 2x4 weaponry, which they pointed at the kids. Hoagie looked a bit surprised to see the triplets, but nonetheless, he said, “You’re cornered, whoever you are.”





“Heh. Whatever you say, D—Hoagie.” Haylee smirked. She suddenly pulled out a metallic cobra, which hissed and flared out his hood. “Sic ’em, Amy!”

 

Kids Next Door: K.O.B.R.A.

Katastrophic Object Based Reptilian Animal





The K.O.B.R.A. hissed menacingly, advancing on the operatives slowly. While Haylee and her brothers smirked and high-fived, Hoagie and the others – except Nigel, Fanny, and Rachel – were scared silly as they inched away slowly.





“U-uh… we surrender!” Wally held up his hands.





Nigel face-palmed. “UGH! You guys never learn!”





“Relax, you guys, they’re good guys.” Rachel explained, casting a glance at Haylee. The girl hurriedly whistled for the K.O.B.R.A., and it retreated, giving another hiss before disappearing into her pocket. “Okay, for starters, this is Cheren, Aurora, Haylee, Harry, Artie, Mason, Haruka, Sheila, Panini, and Francis. Did I miss anyone?”





Suddenly, a boy emerged from the shadows. “How ’bout me?”





“Uh… I never really got your name.” Rachel said.





He shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m Dillon York.”





“Okay… and this is Dillon.” The CURRENT Supreme Leader finished with relish, glancing at each of them in turn before turning to Nigel. “So, what are you worried about?”





Nigel stood straighter as he reported, “Numbuh 362, we’ve found some operatives in our treehouse trying to contact Moonbase, so we brought them here.” At this signal, Hoagie and Abby exited the room for a few moments. Then, they came back, handling a group of familiar faces.





Dillon’s eyes widened. “Leanne! Lee!”





“It’s Kirie and the others!” Haylee cheered, running up to hug the Japanese-Australian. Kirie smiled, and sign-languaged something that the others didn’t quite catch.





“Uh, excuse me?” Rachel asked. “What did she say?”





Kirie repeated what she said, and Cheren translated this into, “She said they just came from Lee and Leanne’s grandfather’s house.”





“Ahem.” Abby coughed, tapping her foot.





Cheren sweat-dropped. “Oh yeah, sorry. This is Leanne and Lee, the Grayson twins.” At the sound of their names, they both waved in sync, making Sector V shudder for some reason. “This is Lulu and Denny Whitby.” The two children hopped around, giggling. “And this is Kirie. She’s mute.” Kirie only waved, a smile gracing her lips.





“Okay… so, why’d you run to our treehouse?” Wally asked cluelessly.





Ash rose from the floor, and Wally let out a girly squeal as he hid behind Kuki, who giggled while patting his head. Leanne blinked behind her bangs, and then drew out, “What, haven’t you guys seen a shadowbender before?”





“A bender!” Instantly, everyone except Rachel froze into position.





Rachel wanted to bang her head against the wall. “Good gods, everyone, calm down! They’re GOOD guys, remember?”





“Oh yeah…” The others murmured their agreement, dropping their weapons.





Lee rolled his eyes, and Damien simply scoffed silently as he avoided Ash, who was again cooing like a little dove. Leanne whacked her shadow, making Ash scowl, before the two shadows faded back into place.





“So, what /are /ye guys really doin’ here?” Fanny asked skeptically.





Lee jumped right in. “We were escaping from Grampa’s fiery wrath!”





“Yeah! He was so pissed off because we spoke some profanity!” Leanne continued. “Something about his ‘Delighted Children’ learning bad words or something!”





Nigel perked up. “Are you talking about Father and the Delightful Children?”





“Yeah!” Lulu giggled shyly. “Mama was shivering on the floor, and Daddy was really protective of her.”





The others blinked, then slowly inched away. “Riiight…” Abby drew out.





Cheren gestured for the little girl to come to him, and she followed, with Denny hot on her heels. Then, he discussed something severe with the two, making them nod vigorously before they faced the others.





“Guys, we kinda need your help.” Cheren explained. “We need to get back to the future, and fast.”





Kuki scratched her head. “Why?”





Aurora stepped forward to explain. “Well, just being in the past is simply unnatural for us future guys, and if we stay for more than one month, we start to…um… well, I’ll say pixelate.”





“We’ll go KABLOOIE!” Denny laughed, clapping his hands together to emphasize his point.





Panini cocked her head. “That’s why we need yer help ta get back to the future.”





“Why does that sound familiar…” Rachel fleetingly glanced at Fanny, but the Global Command officer had her gaze fixated on Francis, who looked uncomfortable to be stared at by his mother in the past.





Sheila, on the other hand, was nonetheless peppy. “Orright mates, let’s hoist up the main sail and set sailin’ towards the future!”





“Sheila,” Mason said slowly, “we don’t have a time machine.”





The raccoon girl drooped. “Oh. Well, that sure is a bummer.”





“But,” Haylee drew out slowly, “if I had the right technology, materials and equipment, I /could /build a time machine in this timeline. D—Hoagie, do you have any 4x4 technology on hand?”





“Only 2x4.” Hoagie said apologetically, doubting her tone as she said his name. “Kinda outdated for you.”





Haylee shrugged. “Well, I guess I’ll have to downgrade a little. Haylee’s on the case if you can provide me materials.”





“List away.” Abby declared.





Harry’s eyes flashed, and he held on to the rim of his cap. “Brace yourselves.”





“Okay, I’ll need…” Haylee pulled out a long scroll out of her pocket. And when I mean long, I mean LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LOOOOOOOOONG scroll. “Some 4x4 screwdrivers with the knife capability, then at least ten kilograms of nanometal, blah blah blah blah blah, and I’ll need some good ol’ fashioned soda, and maybe a cupcake if you can.”





Wally’s head was spinning. “Uh, what?”





“Basically, I need screwdrivers, ten kilos of metal, some other stuff, soda, and a cupcake for my snack.” Haylee deadpanned.





“Oh.”





Nigel smirked. “Consider us on the case. All right team, let’s move out!” Sector V ran out of the room, dragging Fanny along with them. That left Rachel and the future kids.





“So… can we stay up on Moonbase or something?” Haruka asked.





Rachel nodded slightly, then started staring again at them, but this time, she was conceptualizing some thoughts in her head as she scanned Cheren and Aurora.





Hmm… /Her eyes narrowed as she took in her future children which she didn’t recognize. /Cheren… looks like Nigel with hair… and MY brown eyes. Peculiar… Then… Aurora… practically my mirror image, but with blue eyes.





“Uh… M-; Rachel?” Aurora nearly slipped.





Rachel’s eyes widened. She was about to call me something! And it’s…





At the realization, Rachel fainted.





Cheren looked at Aurora, slitting his throat with an imaginary knife as he glared at Aurora, his eyes casting a clear message to his sister: Darn it, Aurora, you made Mom faint!





Delightful Mansion





As Ashley took a shower, she couldn’t help but shrink away as the sun’s rays shone through the small window in the bathroom. Then, afterwards, she reprimanded herself for it.





/What is the matter with you? You usually love sunlight. /Her thoughts churning, she switched off the shower and wrapped a towel around herself before getting out of the shower area and heading for the dressing room.





As she passed by their bedroom, she could hear Bruce and Lenny bickering about whose turn it was to take a bath, making her giggle. Then, she walked on, glancing at Ogie as she passed, all dressed up in her sailor suit. The brunette smiled in acknowledgement, then entered their room.





/Three… two… one… /Ashley rolled her eyes as she heard Ogie’s voice screaming at Lenny and Bruce. She could almost feel the two boys trembling in fear as she closed the door to the dressing room. Once there, she selected her traditional sailor suit from a selection of clothes that fit her somewhat dreary personality. Sure, she was Delightfulized, but she did have certain likes and dislikes like any other kid.





“Should I wear the carnation pink ribbon,” Ashley asked herself, “or the fuchsia pink ribbon?”





/Go with fuchsia. It’s pretty. /someone said.





Ashley smiled. “Alright then… hey, who said that?”





I did… Suddenly, Ashley’s shadow rose up from the floor, making the poor girl shriek in surprise, dropping both ribbons to the floor.





“I’m dreaming…I’m dreaming…” Ashley breathed in and out slowly. “1…2…3…”





/You’re not dreaming. /The shadow approached Ashley, cocking its head, and Ashley could see a faint trace of a white smile on her face. It suddenly occurred to her that the shadow wasn’t really talking out loud, and that she could hear her in her mind.





“So… you’re my shadow… do you have a name?” Ashley asked.





Unfortunately, no. /The shadow let out a silent sigh. /But since you are my mistress, you are supposed to name me. I am merely your shadow.





Ashley blinked. “Oh…well…”





“Ashley?” Ogie’s voice called out from outside the door, making the two stiffen. “Are you done in there?”





Ashley hesitated, but her shadow nodded, allowing her to reply, “I’m almost done!”





“Yeesh, girls take so long in putting on clothes!” Bruce’s voice mumbled.





Ogie snapped, “And you boys just throw on what’s lying around!”





“Hey! I’ll have you know this is my best suit!” Lenny argued.





Hm? The Shadow Ashley looked at the real Ashley, blinking expectantly.





“I’ll call you… Nikka.” Ashley declared. “Nikka, my shadow!”





/Any particular reason why you chose that name? /The shadow – Nikka – thought-spoke.





Ashley shrugged. “I like the name. Actually, it’s the nickname of a girl in a movie I saw, Danika. They called her Nikka there.”





Alright, my mistress. /Nikka curtseyed. /Now, may I suggest to getting to your peers?





“Ah… of course…” Ashley picked up the fuchsia ribbon and the carnation pink ribbon, stuffing the latter into her ribbon box and tying up the former into her traditional bow before heading outside. Before she opened the door, Nikka faded back into her shadow, so she simply walked out, looking as she always did as a Delightful.





David smiled gratefully at Ashley for finally appearing, because her appearance had halted the ongoing war between Ogie, Bruce, and Lenny. However, Ashley didn’t get that, and for some reason, her ‘brother’s’ smile made her cheeks grow a light pink.





“Great… you’re done. Father’s waiting for us.” Ogie said stoically, turning pointedly away from Lenny and Bruce.





Bruce added stiffly, “We’ve got another plan for the KNDoofuses, so hurry up.”





Ashley sighed, then merged with the four to form the Delightful Children From Down The Lane again. Heading down the stairs, they were just about to turn left towards the dining room when a giggling shadow tackled the five to the ground.





“Play with me, play with me!” the shadow giggled.





The five separated, laughing as they got up, brushing off the dirt on their clothes, while Bruce knelt down and hugged the little girl, who had torn off her silhouette and was hopping around excitedly.





“Blythe, let your siblings eat.” A voice chided gently from a nearby doorway. The shadowed being revealed herself to be their Mother, her blue eyes showing amusement as she collected the little girl into her arms. “Now go, my children. Your Father awaits.”





“Yes, Mother.” The five chanted, before briskly walking towards the dining room, praying that Father wasn’t angry for them being late.





Father wasn’t angry, which was lucky for them. He was distracted by the fact that Sector V wasn’t home in their treehouse yet, wrecking all of his plans for them. He was so distracted that he only noticed his Delightful Children when they politely tapped their spoons against their glasses.





“Ah, I’m sorry, my children.” Father’s gaze swiveled over each child in turn before waving his hand in a dismissive manner. “I was just distracted. Go on and eat.”





Bruce looked at his plate, then back at Father, then back at his plate again, then at the food. He drooled, but not in public. He excused himself, then drooled outside the dining room.





As the Delightful Children ate, Ashley only picked at her food with her fork, suddenly not feeling very hungry. She poked the yolk of her egg, and moved around the strips of bacon on her plate.





Nikka didn’t dare move, what with her being a shadow, but she did communicate with Ashley telepathically. What’s wrong, Mistress?





“/Nothing…” /Ashley sighed, then said, “May I be excused?”





“Ashley, you haven’t even touched your food, yet.” Father pointed out.





The sandy-blonde girl only shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”





“Okay, I’ll eat your breakfast then!” Bruce said cheerily, reaching for the plate. Then, in a few minutes, he had devoured the egg and bacon, making the others sweat-drop as Ashley slipped out of the room.





As she headed towards the gardens, Nikka grew worried for her mistress, but didn’t dare disturb her, like the loyal and respectful shadow she was. Ashley looked around, hoping for something of a target she could play around with. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a few dummies Father used to attack whenever he was in a flaming rage. Smiling, she ran over to it and set it up.





/What are you doing? /Nikka sat on a nearby rock, or rather its shade.





“I…I don’t really know.” Ashley confessed, loosely tying the dummy to a stick. “I just wanted to kick around this dummy for fun.”





If you weren’t my mistress, I’d say you are weird. Nikka commented dryly, twirling a strand of her shadowy hair.





Ashley smiled weakly. “It’s a way to vent out my anger and annoyances. All right, here we go.” Stepping away from the dummy, Ashley positioned herself, like she would in a martial arts battle. Then, silently screaming a battle cry, the Delightful started pummeling the dummy with all her might.





Nikka watched with renewed interest as her mistress hit the dummy with various kicks and punches. She noted the way her left arm gave more power into a punch. The way she grappled the dummy with her legs in such an acrobatic manner that the shadow was left speechless when Ashley finally stopped. The dummy had been reduced to strips of cloth and sawdust.





That was amazing, Mistress! /Nikka praised. /Where did you learn such amazing martial arts moves?





Ashley blinked before shrugging. “I…I always knew them… it’s like I was born for these things…”





Well… /Nikka smiled, her faint white mouth now glowing brighter. /Since you showed me something only you know, I’ll show you something only shadows know. Come.





The girl stepped closer to the shadow, curious, when suddenly, Nikka hugged her tight, making them both fade into the shadows of the mansion.





“AAGGH!” Ashley panicked, running around in the darkness. “What did you do?”





I used Veil. /Nikka said calmly. /It’s one of your powers as a shadowbender.





“Shadow…bender?” Ashley drew out nervously.

 

KND Moonbase

 

“Now look what you just did!” Cheren’s voice yelled angrily.





Aurora shot back, “Look, I made a mistake! I’m not perfect and you know that!”





Rachel slowly stirred, sitting up wearily. Her head continued to spin as Cheren and Aurora continued to bicker. Finally, Sheila stepped in the middle of them and said, “Oi! Aren’t you two mates? Stop arguin’!”





“…” Cheren turned away pointedly from Aurora, who sighed.





Rachel stood up, holding on to Haylee and Harry for support, before saying, “So… you’re…”





“Yes.” Aurora replied, tossing a strand of her hair back. “Me and Cheren are your children in the future with Nigel Uno.”





Dillon commented, “Heh. She was knocked out cold by the sheer meaning of it.”





“Yeah, that’s Aunt Rachel all right.” Leanne murmured, playing with her hair and casting glances at Francis. “Faints when she can’t take it anymore.”





The CURRENT Supreme Leader glanced at the shadowbender. “Am I really like that in the future?”





“Yes.” Lee, her twin brother, put in. “Because of Cheren and Aurora – mostly Cheren though – Uncle Nigel tells stories about how you faint into bed because of what crazy stuff they do.”





Lulu toddled up to Rachel, tugging on the hem of her shirt. Rachel looked down, and Lulu said, “Mama says that Cheren’s got Nigel’s daredevil streak and jumped off a cliff one time.”





“CHEREN!” Rachel said sternly. “You’re not allowed to jump off a cliff, even for recreation, at your age! What did your father say about this?”





The FUTURE Supreme Leader gazed at his shoes in embarrassment, red flooding his cheeks as the others laughed. “HA HA HA!” Mason guffawed, thumping his fist on Rachel’s desk. “Cheren’s getting chewed out by his mother in the past! BWA HA HA!”





Haruka smacked the back of his head with a Poison Whip, but even she was struggling not to giggle and roll around in circles, like Panini, who was doing just that. Leanne and Lee were high-fiving and laughing, while Sheila had simply sat on a nearby file drawer and laughed her heart out.





“SHUT UP!” Cheren roared, blazing into flames.





Rachel jumped back, as did everyone else, as Cheren blazed bright orange flames. He seemed undamaged by them, and, truth be told, he looked pretty scary to mess with right now.





However, it didn’t faze Aurora as she dumped a bucket of cold water on him, dousing the flames immediately. Cheren jumped around, yelling, “COLD! COLD! COLD!” He shivered, sneezing, as he glared at his sister. “Where’d you get that?”





Aurora didn’t reply, but she did point to a broken glass panel labeled EMERGENCY BUCKET OF ICE COLD WATER. USE IN CASE OF FATHER.





“Father? You mean Grandpa?” Leanne asked, walking over to the panel and tracing the letters on the cold glass.





Rachel blinked. “No, we mean Father. Wait, Father’s your grandfather?”





“Eh, somewhat. Our parents sort of renounced him.” Lee nodded.





Rachel was about to ask more when Sector V came rushing in, holding what looked like ten tons of metal, other gadgetries, and a cupcake and a soda. At this sudden development, Haruka swooped in and whispered in Rachel’s ear, “You can’t tell them now. When we leave, perhaps you can tell them whose kid is whose. But for now, stay quiet.” At this, Rachel nodded vigorously.





“All right, Hayl, we got all the stuff you needed.” Hoagie panted, dropping a 2x4 toolbox outside the door. “Plus some of my tools.”





Haylee grinned. “Perfecto! Now all Haylee needs is some help!”





“We’re perfect for that!” Harry and Artie said at the same time before the triplets dove into the metal junk and started pulling out parts. The others all sweat-dropped as they pushed the metal away from Rachel’s office to give them some space to work.





Delightful Mansion





David walked by the balcony, holding and eating what looked like a slice of fruitcake. He looked around, admiring the gardens, when he noted the sawdust and strips of cloth on the grass.





/Heh… looks like Ashley’s been practicing again… /He grinned at the thought, when suddenly, Ashley appeared out of thin air. David nearly choked on his fork as he watched Ashley’s shadow rise up as if it was alive. Ashley seemed to giggle, and then, without warning, the shadow hugged Ashley again, and they disappeared.





David’s fork clattered to the ground.





In the future; Uno Residence





In the kitchen, Rachel was busy cooking dinner, while Nigel was setting up the table. The blonde-haired woman anxiously checked the oven, and was pleased to see that the turkey hadn’t exploded in her face like before. Turning it off, she took out the turkey and set it in the middle.





Nigel smiled. “That looks delicious, Rach.”





“Thanks, /Nigie./” Rachel teased, using Lizzie’s old nickname for him.





The baldheaded man rolled his eyes as he kissed his wife on the cheek before heading towards the stairs to call their children. “Cheren! Aurora! Chris! Time for dinner!”





“They’re probably still at Moonbase, Nigel.” Rachel commented. “And I think Chris is sparring with Maddy. Try and call the Gilligans, I remember them talking about a new invention.”





Nigel nodded before heading towards the phone. He dialed in the Gilligans’ number, and waited for someone to pick up.





“/Hello? Abby speaking.”/ The brown-skinned woman spoke.





“Abby? It’s me, Nigel. Are your triplets home, yet?”





“/No.”/ Abby replied. “Abby’s guessin’ they’re still up on the Moonbase with the others.”





Nigel looked at Rachel and signaled that the triplets weren’t there, too. “Okay, Abby. Hey, if you want, you can come over for dinner with Hoagie.”





“/Deal.”/ Abby said before putting down the phone.





The Brit shook his head. “Rach, the triplets aren’t there either.”





“How about Kirie?” Rachel suggested, coming out of the kitchen.





Nigel smiled before dialing the Beatles’ number. It was Wally who answered this time. “Oi, Nigel!” he said. “Oi was jus’ about to call you!”





“About what?” Nigel asked.





The Australian replied, “About Kirie. She’s not home yet, and Kuki’s gettin’ worried. Did your kids see her?”





“That’s the point. Cheren and Aurora aren’t home, yet.” Nigel explained. “I called you two and Abby and Hoagie about that, but you all said you didn’t know. This is strange.”





Wally sighed. “Ah know. Kuki’s throwing a fit over here.”





“Well, tell her you guys can come over for dinner.” Nigel suggested. “We’ll talk about their disappearance later. Oh, and call Fanny and Patton, too. They might be in the same boat.”





As he put down the receiver, Rachel asked skeptically, “Nigel, I don’t think our dinner party will fit in the dining room.”





“That’s why I asked Hoagie to build a room specifically for times like these.” Nigel grinned. “Come on. Time to set up our first ‘Where the Heck Are Our Kids’ party.”





Timeskip





Once they were all settled, Rachel gazed at their guests. All the mothers – Kuki, Abby, Fanny, Ashley, Ogie, Yin, Danika, and Marine – looked absolutely worried for their children, while all the fathers – Wally, Hoagie, Patton, David, Lenny, Matthew, Nolan, and Elijah – were talking amongst themselves about it.





Kuki looked around, speaking in her emotionless businesswoman tone. “All right, now Rachel, Nigel, why are we all here again?”





“As you all know, our kids aren’t here.” Rachel began, to nods of agreement. “We deduced that they’re on the KND Moonbase, but reports from Lizzie and Herbie’s son says that they aren’t there.”





Marine said, “Orright, we know that. The question is, where are the little sheilas and boomers?”





“I can deduce that there is a 10% possibility that they were kidnapped.” Yin said, copying Rachel’s sword, Fi’s talking style.





Danika replied, “But on the Moonbase? I called up both Doblemitz twins, and they said their children were up there the whole time, and with no reports of villains attacking.”





“That /is /a problem.” Ashley murmured, eating a sliver of turkey.





Ogie added, “And what about Denny and Lulu? They’re only seven years old, for Arceus’ sake!”





“Look,” Fanny said, “Panini’s a reckless firebender! She could set off a bunch of bombs that could destroy Virginia as we know it!”





Yin only sat there, quiet, while Matt whispered reassurances to her. The Chinese woman, however, was still not appeased.





It was only later that Rachel suddenly got a call on her cellphone. She signaled to the others to keep quiet, before answering her phone. “Hello? Rachel speaking.”





“/Principal// Rachel!” /a voice cried. Rachel recognized it as Aaron Doblemitz, the only son of Raissa and Pete. /“Rhilliane just found out where they went!” /Rhilliane was Aaron’s cousin, and Riana and Peter’s daughter.





Rachel said, “Okay, Aaron, hold on. I’m putting this on loudspeaker for everyone to hear.” She did so, then said, “Go on, Aaron.”





“/Rhilliane said that she detected traces of a portal near the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.es!”/ Aaron cried, panicking. “And when I ran it through the 4x4 technology detector, I picked up some residue of what Rhilliane calls Time Dust!”





Suddenly, Rhilliane’s voice came on. “//Principal/ Rachel, I also picked up Cheren’s Rainbow Monkey in the debris. And I saw particles of Aurora’s DNA, too, through Diwata’s DNA detector!”/





“/We found every kid’s DNA /near the Time Dust!” Aaron added. “And when Diwata ran it through Haylee’s scanner, it said that they went…”





“/To the past!”/ the twins said together.





There was silence from all the parents. Then, all the mothers fainted. “Oh, brother.” Elijah muttered.





Matt shook his head. “The hell do they have to go to the past.”





Back to the past





Rachel watched in awe as Haylee scrambled over to the top of the time machine, fiddling with a few wires. Harry was adjusting the panel of numbers on the side, while Artie was testing out the zappers. He was zapped repeatedly by Harry, who snickered.





“Wow. They take after Numbuh 2, don’t they?” Nigel commented, sitting beside her. “They’re like him, but split into three.”





Rachel nodded, but silently, she knew the reason why.





“Oh no!” Haylee cried out suddenly, dropping her wrench on Harry’s toes.





Harry yelped out in pain, while Artie laughed, shouting, “KARMA! KARMA! KARMA!”





“What is it?” Rachel asked.





Artie looked at what his sister was working on before exclaiming, “We don’t have Time Dust!”





“Time Dust?” Everyone except for the future kids echoed. “What’s that?”





Haylee explained, “Time Dust is what keeps this baby going. In the future, you could find Time Dust anywhere near a few timebenders. Anyone know any timebenders?”





“I mean… you’d know that better than we would.” Hoagie said.





“What about Mr. King—I mean, Jagar King? He’d be a kid in this time.”





“Jagar?” Rachel repeated. “Well, we… had an operative by that name… but I’m afraid he passed away.”





“Oh…his time already came, huh?”





Artie snickered. “Good one!”





“But why did you mention him like he’s still alive then?” Nigel asked.





“Well, because he-” Sheila was about to say before Mason cupped her mouth.





“Oh, I know!” Haylee perked up. “Instead of a timebender, we COULD fly up to Planet Secco, in Galaxia, and look around the Ancient Wastelands! There’s a bunch of Timeshift Stones there, and THAT means there’s probably some Time Dust buried! Of course, we’d need an earthbender or something to dig that place up.”





“Great.” Abby face-palmed at Haylee’s random explanation. “Now how do you suppose we find ’em? Abby’s pretty sure you won’t see any earthbenders or timebenders just walkin’ around in public!”





Leanne ticked off a few people on her fingers. “I /could /mention Toph Beifong. She’s an earthbender. Not to mention Anthony, Cheren’s cousin…”





“Awww, Anthony STINKS!” Panini yelled, remembering the boy’s terrible earthbending. “His SISTER on the other hand….”





“I completely forgot!” Haruka exclaimed. “Nebula’s a spacebender! She could help out!”





Rachel tapped Leanne and Haruka’s foreheads. “Are you forgetting that we’re in the /past? /We don’t know any Anthonys OR Nebulas!”





“…” Aurora cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowed.





Cheren looked at her. “Aurora, you know we haven’t told her about Uncle and Aunt yet.” At this, her face cleared.





“Well…” Haylee was cut short by a ringing on her wristwatch. “Wait, I’ve got a call.” She pressed a button, and a holographic projection came out, revealing a very distraught yellow-haired girl beside a yellow-haired boy and a small golden-haired girl.





The distraught one screamed, “HAYLEE!”





“Rhilliane?” the others wondered out loud.





Haylee blinked in surprise. “Rhilliane, how’d you call me? You know we’re in the past!”





“/Diwata found a way.”/ Aaron mumbled from behind his cousin. Diwata giggled and brandished a wrench at the others.





The young Gilligan’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, Rhilliane, are our parents alright? Are they worried or something?”





“/WORRIED?”/ a male voice yelled from somewhere in the hologram. “WE’RE GODDAMN WORRIED ABOUT ALL OF YOU!”





Haruka and Mason paled. “It’s Dad.” the poisonbenders whispered.





Aaron walked over to the side, saying, “Mister //Dimalanta//, please stop yelling. You’re going to freak out your kids.”





Matt grumbled something incomprehensible before falling silent as the past KND operatives looked at each other, question marks practically popping out of their heads. Rhilliane shot a glare at Aaron, who grinned sheepishly.





“Ah, well, Rhilliane, quick question.” Haylee asked.





The yellow-haired girl cocked her head. “Ask away, Hayl.”





“Know any timebenders or earthbenders in the past? Or can you perhaps send us some Time Dust to get us home?”





“/Yeah//, you guys have to get back here soon. Your parents are going bananas over here!”/ Rhilliane said.





“Mom? Dad?” Artie piped up, sliding up beside Haylee and looking at the hologram. “Are you guys there?”





A voice replied, “Artie? Artie, is that you?”





“Mom!” Harry cried.





Another voice replied, “That’s Harry! Oh man, they really /are /stuck in the past!”





“/I got it!”/ Diwata skittered back towards the cousins and drew a map. “I can detect an earthbender somewhere near the past Sector W’s treehouse. Can’t find any timebenders though, sorry.”





Aurora looked relieved as she said, “Well, Dee Dee, you guys have to go. We need to get on track and find those benders.”





“/Bye, Aurora! Bye Cheren!”/ Diwata giggled before Rhilliane switched off the hologram. However, before she did so, a feminine voice yelled from within the hologram.





“/I SWEAR, HOAGIE GILLIGAN JR., IF OUR CHILDREN DON’T GET HOME SOON, YOU CAN BE SURE THAT YOU’LL NEVER SEE YOUR TOOLBOX AGAIN!”/





Hoagie’s eyes widened. Haylee groaned, while Artie and Harry only sank to the ground as a male voice yelled back at her.





“/OH, COME ON, ABBY! IT WASN’T MY FAULT THEY TIME-TRAVELED! /ARCEUS/ DAMMIT, HAYLEE AND HER BROTHERS DIDN’T MEAN TO!”/





Abby paled, and Cheren face-palmed. So much for keeping the future secret.





“/Both of you, stop it! Kirie went back in time too, you know!”/ another voice cooed. “See, Wally and I aren’t freaking out. You two are the only ones making a racket!”





Wally, upon hearing his name, looked at the others while question marks popped out of his head. Kirie sighed before signing, Even in the past, Dad’s tactless and dumb.





Finally, a quiet voice murmured, “You do realize that your kids and your past selves can hear you?”





“/Say what?”/ an Australian voice asked. “Sheila, Sheila, are you there?”





Sheila’s face lit up. “Ma!”





Rhilliane paused. “Mrs. Frantic, please, I’m turning off the hologram right now!”





“/But don’t we get to see our own children?”/ another voice drawled, this one making Dillon pale. “Nolan, tell them.”





Another voice – Nolan, they assumed – countered, “Yeah, don’t we even get to talk to them? I mean, the girls are worried sick over here.”





“/Well… alright…”/ Rhilliane murmured. “Haylee, get those past operatives out of there NOW!”





Rachel, already understanding, started yelling, “All right, KND, move out! These kids need to talk to their parents in private!” To the others, she said, “Go on and use my office. You won’t be disturbed there.”





“Thanks.” Cheren looked like he wanted to add one more word to that statement, but Aurora was already hauling him away.





Abby touched her cheeks. They were warm for some reason, and she didn’t dare think that she was actually blushing. She had heard the whole future conversation, and yet still didn’t want to believe that… that…





“Abby?” Rachel looked at her skeptically.





Abby sighed, tugging on the rim of her cap. “A-Abby’s fine. Nothing to worry ’bout, Numbuh 362.”





“…Come here.” At Rachel’s order, Abby came closer. The blonde leaned by her ear and whispered, “You figured it out, didn’t you?”





Abby looked surprised, before saying accusingly, “You knew all along, didn’t you?”





“Yes…” Rachel said guiltily. “And I believe you do need an explanation, so follow me to my office.”





Rachel’s Office

 

“Mom?” Cheren looked at Rachel as she entered the room after Abby. “What’s Aunt Abby doing here?”





Rachel gazed guiltily at her shoes, and suddenly Cheren understood. He wordlessly stepped aside as Haylee, Harry, and Artie looked at Abby, embarrassed.





It was Harry who spoke first. “…Mom?”





“…” Abby gazed at the triplets solemnly, making them shiver, before she walked over and hugged the three of them. This surprised the three of them into silence as Abby hugged them.





Once she let go, Abby murmured, “Is Abby really your mom in the future?”





“Yes…” Haylee replied, taking off her goggles to show Abby Hoagie’s light-brown eyes, copied exactly into her face.





Abby smiled, biting her lip in her mind. “…You really are Hoagie and Abby’s kids…”





“/I get that you’re having an emotional moment and all,”/ Rhilliane said from the hologram, “but can we get on to talking?”





Cheren and the others glared at her, making her flinch, but otherwise Abby and the triplets looked back at Rhilliane, who had turned to Diwata. The golden-haired girl was toying with a few wires, then suddenly, the picture turned into a high-definition hologram, which Haylee projected onto the wall.





“/Okay//, I’m putting your parents onscreen now…” /Diwata mumbled, toying with a few more wires until a picture popped up. The band of parents were fully displayed inside Nigel’s expandable room (courtesy of Hoagie).





Future Abby paled as she saw Abby beside the triplets. “Hoagie, it’s… Abby…”





“/Well, whaddaya know?”/ Future Hoagie grinned. “Future Abby meets Past Abby in an ABBY-smal paradox! HA HA HA, geddit? Abby and abysmal? HA HA HA!”





The Gilligan Triplets and Abby groaned while Future Abby slapped him with her hat. “//Past or future, you never changed!”





Delightful Mansion





David ran. And ran. He dropped off his unfinished slice of fruitcake in the kitchen, and saw Blythe devour it eagerly, much to Mother’s chagrin. But he didn’t care. All he cared about was that he saw Ashley disappear. Into thin air.





“Guysguysguysguysguys!” David yammered, pounding on their bedroom door. He fell in when Lenny opened the door and blinked at him in surprise.





Ogie looked up from her book. “David, what did you eat? You’re more talkative than before!”





“Guysguysguysguysguys!” David continued, unable to stop. Bruce, annoyed, walked over to him and slapped his face repeatedly. “Calm. Down. David!”





David pushed him away. “OK, OK, I’m done!”





“What’s got you all pumped up anyway, David?” Ogie asked, one of her eyebrows rising.





David brushed back his bangs, revealing his eyes for once. “I was looking at the gardens while eating a fruitcake…”





“No wonder you’re hyper.” Lenny joked.





The brunette glared at him before continuing, “Then I saw the remains of a dummy, so I assumed Ashley was practicing. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Ashley-”





“I did what?” a voice asked.





David instantly froze, falling over as Ashley walked inside the room, normal. Nikka snickered in her mistress’s mind, but not in the present. The sandy-blonde girl looked confused as the other three Delightfuls laughed at David, who had ducked into the bathroom after Ashley had arrived.





“What’s up with him?” she asked Ogie, who shrugged.





Lenny replied, “He’s been like that ever since he ate that fruitcake.”





“Fruitcake?” Ashley echoed. “I’m going to go get some.” And with that, she left, her shadow rising up as soon as she shut the door.





Mansion bathroom

 

David breathed in and out, sitting on the clean white tiles of the bathroom. He felt the rising and falling of his chest, and the fast hammer of his heartbeat as he watched the slow ticking of the clock in the bathroom.





Three minutes passed, then he stood up and approached the sink. He splashed water onto his face, then reached for a towel. He wiped his face slowly, feeling the softness of the towel, before removing it to look at his reflection.





Then, he nearly jaw-dropped.





“What…” David touched his face in the mirror. Or at least, he knew it was his face, even though it looked nothing like him. The boy in the mirror looked exactly like David, except for the fact that the bangs were brushed to the side to reveal a pair of striking green eyes. On his head was a beret (David had NO idea why), and his clothes were… well, they weren’t a suit and a tie as far as David was concerned.





The boy’s heart started hammering again as he clapped his hands. The boy in the mirror did the same. Each movement he did, the boy in the mirror copied, and it was only ’til David glanced down did he realize that he was still wearing the suit. He breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up again. His real reflection was back.





Relieved, David walked back outside, but he didn’t even notice that his eyes weren’t blue anymore.

 

Uno Household; future

 

“/Abby’s really pretty in the future…”/ Abby murmured, gazing in awe at her future self through the hologram. Future Abby’s ebony-colored hair was plaited into an intricate braid laid on her left shoulder, with tiny wisps of hair framing her face. On top of her head was the famous old red cap, and her pretty amber-brown eyes were gazing at the triplets with relief and happiness. Dressed in a modest dark-blue blouse and a black skirt, Future Abby looked like she just came from work.





Future Abby smiled. “Glad you like the style.”





“Alright then,” Future Rachel clapped her hands together. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?”





Past Abby leaned towards Rachel. “Even in the future, you get right to the problem.” she whispered, making Past Rachel’s cheeks pink.





Danika York leaned forward. “Alright, enlighten us, Rachel. How will the kids get back?”





“We need to contact one of the earthbenders or timebenders in the past, if what our kids explained was true.” Future Nigel explained, walking around. “We know there’s an earthbender near Sector W.”





“That’s right, Angie!” Future Rachel beamed. “You guys just need to contact Angie Granite, Rachel! She can use her earthbending to dig Time Dust out of Planet Secco.”





“/W-W-Wait… since when is that girl an earthbender?”/





“Oh, wait… which point of the timeline is this? Is it before we even hear of benders?”





“Sounds like it.” Kuki said. “So, Nigel and Fanny don’t even have theirs, yet.”





Past Abby blinked. “Nigel’s a //bender? Fanny’s a bender?//”





“Er, yeah…” Future Abby looked sheepish. “They’re both firebenders, and Danika and Ashley here are both shadowbenders. Marine-” the aforementioned raccoon waved, “-and her husband Elijah are a lightbender and poisonbender respectively.”





Rachel looked at Abby, absolutely confused.





“Well… you guys leaving or not?” Future Rachel asked the ones in the past.





Past Abby swallowed before nodding discreetly. Rachel only gave a slight nod.





“/Alrighty then…”/ Cheren began. “Kids Next Door… BATTLE STATIONS!”





Panini grumbled, “No need to shout in my ear.”





KND Moonbase





On the Moonbase bridge, the rest of the operatives were waiting for those in Numbuh 362’s office. Kuki was dangling her feet on a ledge while chatting animatedly to Wally, who was sitting on the lower ledge. Nigel was lying down, staring at the dome-shaped ceiling, while Hoagie was entertaining – or rather, boring to death – those who cared to listen to his corny jokes. Fanny was rocking back and forth on her feet, while Patton was just staring at a wall.





“Oh look, they’re back!” Kuki beamed.





Everyone snapped out of whatever they were doing to see the future kids walking over. Most of them looked grim, but the younger ones – who weren’t really aware of the direness of the situation – looked as giggly as ever. However, what surprised them was that Abby was with them, talking with Harry.





“Did anyone notice Abby going with them?” Nigel asked skeptically.





Everybody shook their heads. However, Nigel noted the twitch in Hoagie’s eyes when he saw Harry and Abby. Heck, it was hard /not /to notice Hoagie fidgeting in his place as his gaze burned into Harry’s skull. That only meant one thing.





“Hoagie?” Kuki asked, turning to the goggle-wearing operative. “What’s wrong?”





Hoagie flinched before replying, “N-Nothing’s wrong, Kuki…”





“Hm…” Fanny glanced at him, tracing his gaze over to Abby and Harry. Then, she grinned evilly. “Oh-hoh-hoh! Ah see now! Yer jealous!”





Wally looked confused. “Why would Hoagie be jealou—oh.” By that point, Patton had placed his hands on the Australian boy’s head and turned it over to the brown-skinned girl and one of her future sons. He grinned as well. “Hoagie’s jealous of Harry! Hoagie’s jealous of Harry!”





“N-No I’m not!” Hoagie blushed furiously. “I swear on my Yipper cards that I am not jealous!”





Kuki giggled. “Hoagie and Abby, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”





“ARRGH!” Hoagie yelled, silencing the chatter from the surrounding operatives in the Moonbase. “I SWEAR TO NUMBUH ZERO AND SECTOR Z, I AM NOT JEALOUS OF HARRY AND ABBY!”





Silence.





Then…





“Derp me.” Haylee stated. Everyone turned to her, and she blinked. “What? It’s a silence breaker.”





Rachel shook her head as she approached. “Numbuh 2, you don’t just shout those kinds of things out loud here in the Moonbase. Honestly, I thought you’d know by now.”





“You’re jealous of Abby and Harry?” Abby raised an eyebrow.





Harry turned as pale as chalk as he excused himself and ran to the Moonbase bathroom. Artie shook his head. “Never say that around Harry. He’s afraid he’ll be doing the Back to the Future movie thing.”





“Eh?” Hoagie jaw-dropped at the mention of the movie. “So, what you’re saying is…”





Leanne bashed Artie’s head, making him whine. “Idiot! Now you’ve let them in on the joke!”





“What joke?” everyone asked.





Lee sweat-dropped. “Er, ya see…”





“HARRY’S MY SON!” Hoagie yelled again.





This time, the whole /universe /fell silent at the time-space continuum changing statement. Most of the operatives who had no idea why they were gathered around jaw-dropped before escaping to their S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s and returning to Earth, leaving the whole Moonbase to the remaining kids.





Abby face-palmed while blushing. “The idiot scared off all the other operatives!”





“But is it true?” Nigel asked Rachel, who nodded mutely. “Ah…”





Fanny rolled her eyes. “It’s always the same with ye stupid boys. Blurtin’ out things that aren’t s’posed to be blurted out!”





“/I /don’t blurt things aren’t that out to be…eh…blurted!” Patton twisted his tongue in defense of himself and the other boys.





Panini and Fanny both stuck out their tongues. “As if!” they said together. Blinking, they looked at each other, before Panini turned away, biting her lip.





“So, I end up with Numbuh 5 in the future?” Hoagie asked loudly.





Cheren glanced at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to. If you didn’t, then Haylee, Harry, and Artie would be disappearing right about… now.”





“NONONONONO!” Haylee shrieked, her voice echoing through the Moonbase.





Everyone covered their ears, wincing as Haylee continued her tirade. Mason grumbled, “I swear, if Haylee didn’t look so much like her dad, I’d say she was Aunt Fanny’s daughter with that set of lungs…”





“Eh?” Fanny blinked as Harry came back, looking green.





At the mention of their mother, Francis and Panini looked at each other, biting their lips. The black-haired girl tugged on her sweater sleeve nervously while her brother combed his fingers through his red hair, which was styled exactly like Patton’s.





Sheila looked at them, then at Fanny and Patton, before yelling, “PANINI AND FRANCIS ARE—mmph!” By the last part, the future kids tackled her to the ground, resulting in an operative pileup. The unfortunate part was that the present operatives were included in the pileup.





In order, from top to bottom, was Cheren, Aurora, Mason, Leanne, Haruka, Abby, Hoagie, Lee, Dillon, Nigel, Rachel, Panini, Patton, Fanny, Francis, Haylee, Artie, Kirie, Kuki, Wally, and then, finally, Sheila. The others didn’t join in the pile up because they might be squished.





“Mmmph!” Sheila protested from beneath the pile. “Mmmph, mmph-mph-mmm!”





Cheren hopped off the pile, followed by everyone else. Kirie did a thumbs-down while mouthing, /Kirie disagrees/.





Sheila brushed herself off, saying, “I was gonna say Panini and Francis were siblings, ya drongos! Honestly, I’d say you were a bunch of dingoes runnin’ loose with a bunch o’ dodo feathers in their mouths!”





“Suuuure you were.” Mason said sarcastically.





Dillon poked Cheren on the shoulder. “Cheren, shouldn’t we be going somewhere? Y’know, bender-hunting?”





“You really wanna go without weapons?” Patton asked.





Leanne rolled her eyes. “Uh, hello?” Her shadow rose from the floor, followed by Lee’s and Dillon’s. Aurora and Panini smirked before making flames erupt from their palms, while Mason and Haruka surrounded themselves in gases (green and purple respectively), giving them a mysterious sort of look. (They kept their gasses away from the flames.) Sheila only grinned and tossed a Light Ball at Wally, bonking his head on purpose.





“’ey, you cruddy sheila!” Wally protested.





Sheila grinned. “That’s my name, so don’t wear it out, mate!”





“Anyway, we’ll supply ye with 2x4 tech, IF the blabbermouth manages to.” Fanny glared at Hoagie, who glared right back before running off to the weapons room. Then, he came back, loaded with S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.s, G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.s, the works.





Those who didn’t have weapons on hand took one, but those who did only smiled. The Grayson twins were two of them. “We don’t need those. We got our 4x4 versions of the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. and the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. right here.” They patted the holsters on their belts.





“…” Kirie took out two Japanese fans and opened them, releasing pink blossoms. When one of them touched Patton, however, he flinched, running as far away as possible from them. “…?”





Patton said in response to her silent question, “Those flowers are deadly sharp! You’ll get nasty papercuts!”





“Eh?” Everyone flinched as blossoms hit them as well.





Kirie smiled apologetically and shrugged, closing the fans and putting them in a hidden compartment inside her sleeve. Cheren looked at her pointedly, and she sighed, picking up the blossoms before blinking and sign-languaging irritatedly.





“What did she say?” Abby asked.





Cheren narrowed his eyes, translating her sign language. “She said she doesn’t need to pick up the flowers because they disintegrate IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS?”





“Oh gumballs.” They looked down to see the petals burning a hole right through the Moonbase floor, right under their feet. Momentarily, they all looked at each other, before yelling, “AAAAAAH!” and falling down on a C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.’s roof. They were all relieved for a moment, before the roof caved in, and they fell inside. At one point, Denny accidentally knocked the ‘head-for-Earth’ button. The ride started, making them all lurch forward before they zoomed towards Earth at lightning speed.





Fanny was clutching the handlebars on top. “Can’t ANY of ye stupid boys STOP this STUPID C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.?”





“I CAN’T!” Hoagie yelled, fists clenched onto the headrest of his seat. His hat flew off, revealing his brown hair. “Whoops!”





Abby caught the hat while holding down her own and playing monkey-bars on the handlebars. “Watch where you’re flying that thing, kid!”





“I caaaan’t!” Denny wailed, gripping onto the wheel for dear life. “It’s set on direct course to Earth!”





Cheren crawled over and held on to the driver’s seat. “Where does it say that, Denny?”





“Here!” Denny pointed to a radar, which Cheren examined before yelling with wide eyes-





“WE’RE GONNA CRASH INTO THE DELIGHTFUL MANSION!”





“WHAAAAT?” Everyone panicked while still holding on to whatever they were holding on. The Gilligan Triplets were subsequently clawing the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. seats while trying to get a good grip. The Dimalanta twins were in the midst of trying to hold on to a headrest while keeping Haruka’s skirt down. The Grayson twins were gripping the windowsill of one window, while Kirie and Lulu were clutching each other and the seat for dear life. Sheila was laughing, her tail spinning, and Dillon was already hugging the floor, his shadow, Mario, looking around and deeming the situation dire.





“HANG ON TO YOUR UNDERWEAAAAR!” Cheren yelled as the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. made impact.





BOOM!





…





…





…





On that day, the Kids Next Door, past and future, died. The Delightful Children were mortified to find Denny and Lulu with cracked necks, glass and shrapnel puncturing Cheren’s, Hoagie’s, or Fanny’s throats, Mason and Haruka’s heads smashed against a wall, or Sheila with her arms ripped off when trying to grab part of the mansion out the window.





King Household, real time





The blue aura faded from Haylee’s brown eyes. Where in one minute she was just clinging a seat on the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S., she was now standing in a calm family home with spiritual decorations and several antique clocks recording different times. A pale-skinned adult with a blue overcoat stepped back from her, an aura around his clock necklace. “So… would you still like to borrow some Time Dust?” he asked.





“…Uh…” Haylee smiled, glancing away awkwardly. “I think I’ll just put this project on the back-burner for awhile. Thanks anyway, Mr. King.” Haylee turned, taking her T.R.A.V.E.L.E.R. and leaving the house.





Mr. King’s daughter, a skinny girl with pink-blonde hair and thin jeans, giggled from the couch. She was lain on her front while reading a book, swinging her legs up above her. Her book was titled, /World of the Void/. “What did you show her, Dad?”





“A potential future.” He shrugged. “Even I didn’t look at the details. But it appeared to be a future she didn’t desire. A river that veered off the predestined path and poured down a cliff with unwelcoming rocks at the bottom. Now that Haylee knows what awaits her, she will keep following the main river.”





“That kinda betrays the moral of how we can choose our own destiny, doesn’t it?”





“There are good choices and regrettable choices when following destiny. And awareness of what awaits on the wrong path can be a great influence, I agree. Alas…” Mr. King closed his eyes, visualizing many grim futures where their children perish, “there are too many cracks in this river. Too many for it to flow cleanly. Potholes that need to be filled… for our future to be pure.”





His daughter frowned, finding the words foreboding as she closed her book.





Meanwhile, Haylee returned to Moonbase, where Cheren was angrily chasing Panini around, and Dillon, Francis, Mason, Leanne, and Sheila were playing Whizbee. She regretted to inform them the project was cancelled… “But trust me, it’s probably for the better.”





Mika’s Note: Aaron and Rhilliane Doblemitz are otherwise known as the future Numbuh 44s, only in cousin form, though they really look alike. And guess what? Both their parents are twins! (Basically Pete married Raissa, whose twin sister Riana married Pete’s twin brother, Peter.) I don’t know if that is possible, but, yeah.

Game’s Note: So yeah, Mika never continued this story after they crashed in the mansion, so this was the ending I came up with. Basically, that whole story never happened, and rather it shows what happens if time travel heavily changes the pre-established canon. Of course, this is the only story to show the Delightful Children when they were still around, not only giving them some individuality, but showing one of them awakening her bending.