1. Needing to remember, wanting to forget

Allies and Enemies

Summary: A new operative; Numbuh 8 is sent from the Kids Next Door Moon Base to help Sector V. Somehow she knows Numbuh 1, 2 and 4, who else does she know?

NOTES: I recently went back on to fanfiction and noticed that I wrote a chapter for a Kids Next Door fic and never continued it. After re-reading it my obsession for Kids Next Door returned. I have watched a lot but not all episodes so if some facts about some members are wrong please don't hesitate to correct me in reviews and what not. I have not written a fanfic/story in a long time so try and go easy on me. Some of the scenes from my old fanfic will be used in this one. Originally my OC was Numbuh 7 until I realised that there was already a Numbuh 7 from Sector L. I also realised that there is a Numbuh 8A and 8B but why not just plain 8 then I guess? XD

Rated T for abuse, slight violence in future chapters.  
>WARNING: There will be SPOILERS in future chapters.<p>

I DO NOT OWN CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR. I only own my character Numbuh 8 and any OCs I may (may not) add in the future. TBC.

Chapter 1: Needing to remember, wanting to forget

Lights were flashing, the alarms were blaring, a message alert rang throughout the treehouse of Sector V. "Come on! Let's go Kuki!" exclaimed Numbuh 4 as he grabbed Numbuh 3's hand. Both of them raced towards the briefing room. When they arrived they saw Numbuh 2 and 5 already sitting down and Numbuh 1 holding a message. Numbuh 4 jumped and landed next to Numbuh 2 on the couch while Numbuh 3 took a seat next to Numbuh 5.

"So what's the emergency Numbuh 1?" asked Numbuh 2.

"No emergency Numbuh 2. However, I have some important news for everyone." Numbuh 1 adjusted his sunglasses and cleared his throat. "It seems that Numbuh 274 is sending a new operative from the Moon Base to Sector V. In other words, we have a new team mate."

Chatter started to build up between the other members, when suddenly Numbuh 5 popped up with a question.  
>"Numbuh 5 hears ya Numbuh 1, so we get a new operative. So who is he?"<p>

"More like _she_," corrected Numbuh 1. "From the message here, it says that we're getting Numbuh 8 from Sector R. She comes from the coldest areas of Russia. It also shows a history and statistics of Numbuh 8. KND operatives from the Russian KND state that she had helped them in a dangerous mission and had decided to nominate Numbuh 8 to go to the academy to train which led to her joining the KND. Obviously she accepted and in the end..." Numbuh 1 stopped. His eyes widened as he skimmed the next few sentences. 

"And in the end? Go on Numbuh 1!" said Numbuh 4 who was actually quite curious to find out more about his future team mate.

"And in the end, after only a week, she took the academy's exam and passed with flying colours. One hundred and ten percent," Numbuh 1 was flabbergasted and dropped the message. The message flew into Numbuh 2's hands and he continued off where Numbuh 1 had stopped.

"Other than that, Numbuh 8 has never failed any of her missions until the most recent one. Two weeks ago, Numbuh 8 suffered from an accident in a successful attempt to save Numbuh 274 fff.. frroommm..." he stuttered.

"Oh, just spit it out already!" shouted Numbuh 4 in his usual impatient manner.

Numbuh 3 snatched the paper out of Numbuh 2's hands and read the last word, "Father!"  
>"Father!" exclaimed the rest of the team.<p>

"Well that's what it says on the piece of paper!" said Numbuh 3 while hitting the message with the back of her hand. 

Numbuh 5 put a hand under her chin, lost in thought. "Numbuh 5 thinks we should welcome the new operative."

"Wait, so the new operative is a girl? Bleagh, why did we have to get a cruddy _girl_?!" said Numbuh 4 in disgust with a lot of emphasis on the word girl. Numbuh 3 slapped him on the back. "What was that for?" exclaimed Numbuh 4.

"Hmph," Numbuh 3 turned away from Numbuh 4, "It's going to be nice having another girl around, we can play tea party!"

"Well, girl or not, I for one think that Numbuh 5 is right, we should welcome Numbuh 8, so team, let's set up." So for the rest of the day, the members of Sector V decided to set up the tree house for the new operative.

The next day, came sooner than expected. It was early, eight o' clock to be exact, Sector V was already waiting for the arrival of Numbuh 8 at the docking bay. The docking bay was newly built for landing purposes only as Numbuh 2's inventions took up most of the room in the main hangar.

Numbuh 4 yawned, "When in the cruddy hell is she gonna come?!" said Numbuh 4. 

"Don't worry, Numbuh 4, Numbuh 274 reassures me that she is always punctual. Numbuh 274 told me that she should be arriving at five minutes past eight," said Numbuh 1.

It was four minutes past eight.

"Look up there!" said Numbuh 2 as he grabbed onto his hat and pointed up to the sky.

The rest of Sector V looked up. A KND plane was flying past the tree house.

In the plane's cockpit sat a red headed girl. "Are ya ready to drop Numbuh 8?" said Numbuh 86 with her infamous Irish accent. A kid who was standing on top of a KND launcher nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Fire!" shrieked Numbuh 86 as she ordered her fellow operative to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, something shot out of the plane. Smoke billowed in the air. It soon cleared to show that a kid was paragliding downwards, a skateboard was attached to the kid's feet. Gliding down to the direction of the treehouse's docking bay, the kid started spinning, round and round until the skateboard touched down onto the wooden floor. 

Numbuh 1 had set an alarm to five minutes past eight and now it was counting down.

Five...

Four...  
>Red sparks started flying from the skateboard which was skidding on the floor.<p>

Three...  
>Two...<br>One...

The operative's skateboard then stopped right in front of Sector V. The operative wore a long sleeved shirt similar to Numbuh 1's, only it was black and had a single red stripe going around the higher torso, matching blood red pants with a black paisley bandana tied to the side, a pair of simple black shoes, a watch, a helmet which had a dark visor and a small backpack.

Numbuh 8, flipped her skateboard up with her foot and caught it with one hand, she used the other hand and saluted Sector V. "Numbuh 8 reporting for duty."

The members of Sector V were shocked by the arrival of Numbuh 8, so shocked that they just stood there, jaws dropped. The first to snap out of it was Numbuh 1, he held his hand out and said, "Welcome to Sector V, Numbuh 8."

"Thank you, sir."

"Numbuh 1 is just fine, no need for formalities Numbuh 8."

Numbuh 8 nodded in response, she looked at the rest of the team. And then suddenly she started to snigger which soon built up to a laugh.

"Hey, what's so funny!" said Numbuh 4 who was confused, pointed to Numbuh 8.

She stopped laughing, "You guys seem the same as always."

"Huh?" said an equally confused Numbuh 2.

Numbuh 8 removed her helmet which revealed a girl's face but instead of having regular coloured hair such as blonde, black or brown, her long flowing hair was white. She looked up, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes.

"It's great to see you guys again, Nigel, Hoagie, Wally," Numbuh 8 looked at three boys.

"Wha?" said Numbuhs 1, 2 and 4. Numbuh 3 and 5 stared. No body seemed to know what was going on.

"You might not remember me with my appearance and fashion change and all but do you recall the name Talia Ustinov?"

"Talia... you mean the Talia from Kindergarten? THAT Talia?" said Numbuh 4.

"Same one," said Numbuh 8 a.k.a. Talia with open arms.

"Talia!" Numbuh 4 roared with happiness as he ran towards her, embracing her into a hug. He let go and looked at her, grinning from ear to ear.

Numbuh 2 walked towards her and gave her a high five, "Heh, hey, long time no see eh Talia?"

"That's Numbuh 8 to you now bub," giving Numbuh 2 a playful punch to the arm. Numbuh 8 then slung her arms around Numbuhs 2 and 4, all three of them smiling. "The it's Numbuh 2 and 4 to you too!" said Numbuh 4 as he pointed towards Numbuh 2 and himself.

"Can somebody PLEASE tell Numbuh 5 what's going on here!" said Numbuh 5, her arms flapped out.

"Well, you see, Numbuh 5, I used to go to the same Kindergarten as Wally, Hoagie and Nigel here, until I moved away that is," explained Numbuh 8.

Numbuh 1 froze. He walked towards Numbuh 2 and 4 and grabbed the two by the ears and pulled them to the side. The two boys cried, feeling the pain on their ears, walking wobbly with Numbuh 1. "We need to talk." said Numbuh 1 while dragging them away to the side.

When they were far enough so that no one else can hear them, Numbuh 1 released the two and whispered, "Who's Talia?"

"You don't remember her?" said Numbuh 2 in shock.

"Quiet!" hissed Numbuh 1" And no... other wise why would I be asking?"

"How can you forget her Numbuh 1?" whispered Numbuh 4 irritably.  
>"I remember you guys and Numbuh 86... but I don't remember who Talia is!"<br>"Oh, crud. Numbuh 1, we made a promise to Talia to never forget her! Talia always takes her promises seriously!"

"Well I don't remember her and saying that isn't going to make me feel better is it!" Numbuh 1 was frustrated. He could not remember anything about anyone called Talia.

"Does a girl who had black hair and gave us lunch money when we didn't have any ring a bell?" said Numbuh 2 trying to jog Numbuh 1's memory.

"Umm..." Numbuh 1 thought aloud, "come to think of it, I do kind of remember that..."

"THAT was Talia," said Numbuh 4.

"But she's changed so much! The girl who did all of those things in Kindergarten looks so different. She had black hair for crying out loud!"

Using his head for once Numbuh 4 retorted back at Numbuh 1, "well remember that message we got? It said she had an accident with father, maybe that's why her hair is different!" 

Numbuh 1 thought carefully and came to the decision that he would keep an eye on Numbuh 8. The three then walked back to the girls and saw that Numbuh 8 was talking to the other two girls. They were all getting along well.

"What took you guys so long? Everything okay?" asked Numbuh 8, she was curious as to why Numbuh 1 pulled Numbuh 2 and 4 away to the side.

"Hey, Talia," said Numbuh 1 nervously with his weird smile, the one he always used when he was nervous.

"That's Numbuh 8 now!" said Numbuh 8, grinning slightly, she seemed to have not notice his nervousness as she quickly gave him a hug. He was stiff, surprised by her action but then returned the hug so that things wouldn't turn awkward.

"Welcome to Sector V, Numbuh 8," said Numbuh 5 as she put a hand onto Numbuh 8's shoulder.

"Thanks Numbuh 5, it's really an honour to work along side the famous Sector V,"

The six of them entered the tree house.

When they reached the briefing room Numbuhs 2 though 5 quickly rushed through a different door, towards another room. As Numbuh 5 passed Numbuh 1, she whispered just so only Numbuh 1 could hear, "Don't forget the plan! We'll come get you in a minute!" As the door slammed shut, Numbuh 1 jumped as realised that he was alone in the briefing room with Numbuh 8.

Numbuh 8 looked at the closed door then looked at Numbuh 1. Her eye brow was raised.

"Hey, Numbuh 8," said Numbuh 1 as he rubbed his left arm with his right hand, breaking the silence, "um, it's good to see you again... after all these years... and you know..."

"It's great to see you too Nigel, really." She looked at him and gave him a warm smile, not a smirk, nor a grin but a real smile.

Numbuh 1 blushed a little bit but it quickly faded. Guilt filled his mind because he didn't fully remember Talia at all, he knew what he said was a bit of a white lie. But these thoughts stopped as they heard a knock coming from the door that the others went through.

"Let's go in," Numbuh 1 opened the door and then pushed Numbuh 8 in.

"SURPRISE!" Confetti flew down from the ceiling and there was a banner hanging from above saying, "Welcome to Sector V! Numbuh 8!"

"Oh wow, thanks a lot guys... I really don't know what to say," said Numbuh 8, who was happily surprised yet embarrassed at the same time from all the attention she was getting.

"You can thank us later, check out your room girl," said Numbuh 5 who then dragged Numbuh 8 towards another room which had a door marked with a large number 8 which was splattered on. Numbuh 8 gasped. Her room was enormous.

On one side of the rooms were shelves, mostly full of books, magazines and CD cases. To the other side of her room was a desk with the latest KND computers, monitors, gadgets and that wasn't all, there was a staircase which led up to another floor.

"Go check it out," Numbuh 2 gave an encouraging nudge to Numbuh 8. She walked up the stairs and saw another room which slightly smaller than downstairs. It had a large bed with red covers, a desk for planning of two by four technology similarly to Numbuh 2's and the rest of the room was filled with drawers and closets which were waiting to be filled. Other than that there were many windows which was what Numbuh 8 liked.

"How did you guys know what I liked?" Numbuh 8 was stunned. "You should thank Numbuh 274 for that, he told us," said Numbuh 3 while clapping her hands.

Numbuh 8 chuckled a bit, "I should have known."

"Once you're done unpacking Numbuh 8, please report to the briefing room, we will wait for you there so we can debrief you about things you need to know about the tree house, the situation here with the adults and so on," said Numbuh 1.

"Yes, sir!" said Numbuh 7 saluting.

"And that's Numbuh 1 to you, I told you already Numbuh 8, there are no need for formalities here."

She chuckled and answered, "Understood, Numbuh 1."

The rest of the team left the room leaving Numbuh 8 to sort out her things. She let out a sigh. She had just arrived but it already felt like a long day to her. She placed her skateboard and helmet next to the door, she would be using them later and her bag onto her new bed. She started putting them into their new respective places, clothes went into drawers and closets, books went onto her new desk and last but not least she pulled out two photos. The first was a photo of her, Numbuh 274 and Numbuh 60, she had just graduated from the academy at KND Artic Base and the second was a photo of her class in Kindergarten, here, when she still lived in America before moving to Russia. At the back row, you could see miniature versions of Numbuh 1, 2, 4 and herself. She stared at the photos, she had been waiting for this moment of finding her friends, probably her only friends before joining the KND, for God knows how long. She had no luck finding them until about a month ago when she joined the KND. Thanks to Numbuh 274, her first and closest friend in the KND, she was given the permission to check files on the KND super important C.O.D.E.M.O.D.U.L.E. to see if her friends had joined the KND as well.

"Chad," she muttered aloud, a hand touched her hair. Her white hair that she had soon grown accustomed to. She knew that she would have to eventually explain to her new team mates about what happened in the last mission. Her body shook as she thought about the events that happened that day, of what that _man, _the KND's worst enemy known as Father did to her, what he could have done to her fellow KND operatives. Numbuh 8 closed her eyes and shook her head. She did not want to let negative thoughts fill her mind, being in Sector V and finding her friends was a happy occasion and she wouldn't let someone let alone the thought of Father ruin her mood. Numbuh 8 then placed the two photos on her desk, grabbed her skateboard, helmet and a much lighter backpack then headed back towards the briefing room.


	2. No turning back

Notes:

HEY guys (: I'm back with Chapter 2! I re-read chapter 1 on fanfiction and realised that I had a few typos e.g. accidentally hitting the 7 instead of 8 ): PLEASE FORGIVE ME. Since it's summer holidays I'm going to try my best and aim to write a chapter every 1 - 2 weeks. (If I don't do this again I hope you guys can forgive me) There are times when I find it hard to write down the scenes that are in my head because either 1. I'm not sure how to explain it and English isn't very good. ):

But ANYWAYS here's Chapter 2 and hope you all enjoy! ^^

Chapter 2: No turning back

Numbuh 8 entered the briefing room.

"Hey, Numbuh 8!" Numbuh 3 waved towards Numbuh 8 who walked towards her and took a seat next to her.

"So, what's the situation Numbuh 1?" "Yeah, what's up?" The team was curious as to what their latest mission would be. "Well team, some of you may have noticed but lately there has been a lot of activity concerning the Ice Cream Men. As you know, they still never stop to let any kids get any ice cream but this time they seem to be doing some extra dirty work for the Delightful Children From Down The Lane." There were murmurs between the other five members. The holographic projector turned on, showing a map of the neighbourhood, there were several blips on the map. "As seen on the map, these are the locations that they've hit, thanks to some operatives from the Moon Base, we were able to discover several things that have been stolen. However, we have not been able to find a connection between any of the missing items." A list of items popped onto the hologram, slowly scrolling down for the others to read. "Honour students homework, suits and dresses, ribbons and ties... wires?" read Numbuh 8 aloud.

"It doesn't make any sense! What is all of this crud for?" screamed Numbuh 4, scratching his head. "That's what we need to find out. For some reason the trucks seem to disappear whenever an operative is in pursuit. We have to be on the look out, who knows what those Delightfuls are up to," replied Numbuh 1. "Until any of us can find one of those ice cream trucks, follow them and figure out where they go, all we can do is wait. This will be our top priority mission for a while. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads.

Numbuh 1 looked at his hard copy of the list of missing items, a hand rubbing his chin. He could not understand why on earth anyone let alone the Delightful Children would want any of these items. Did they not have enough suits or dresses and what not?

"Hey Numbuh 1? If there's nothing else for today then I'm going to head home first, I told my _parents_ that I'd go help them unpack since we just moved here and all," said Numbuh 8 with a strong emphasis on the word _parents_.

"Sure, go for it!" said Numbuh 1, still looking at the list .

She stiffened. "You're not going to ask?"

"Ask? Oh, you don't need to worry about the treehouse or anything Numbuh 8, just go!" His hand motioning for her to go.

"Um, yeah, I'll catch you later Numbuh 1, later guys." Numbuh 8 turned away from Numbuh 1. She frowned and then walked out of the treehouse. This went unnoticed by everyone except Numbuh 4 who tapped Numbuh 2 and whispered to him before running off to follow Numbuh 8.

Numbuh 2 walked up to Numbuh 1, "Hey Numbuh 1! What were you and Numbuh 8 talking about?"

"Oh nothing special, she just wanted to go home to help her parents unpack and stuff." Numbuh 1 waved his hand as he said this.

"Her parents?" replied Numbuh 2, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, her parents Numbuh 2. Who else would I be talking about?" Numbuh 1 stared at Numbuh 2, his head bent down, looking at him in the eye.

"But Numbuh 1... you know Numbuh 8 is really sensitive when people say the _p_ word."

"What on earth are you talking about Numbuh 2?!" Numbuh 1 threw the paper aside. He became both annoyed and impatient from not understanding what Numbuh 2 meant.

"Numbuh 8's dad left her family when she was a baby, she's just with her mom."

"Oh..." His voice fell but then, "Then why would she say parents?! How would I know that?"

"BECAUSE Numbuh 1, she's our best friend... YOUR best friend. We knew this since Kindergarten! Why didn't you ask her?"

"I don't remember all of this! I don't remember her being my best friend or anything! I mean hardly remember her and I don't know. I just... I just don't know Hoagie. "

Meanwhile, Numbuh 8 was skating back towards her new home.

"Numbuh 8! Wait up!" She turned around to see Numbuh 4 running at full speed, trying to catch up to her. She skidded to a stop. When he finally reached her, he bent down arms on his knees panting heavily. The poor boy, he had not expect her to skate so far away from the treehouse, then again even if Numbuh 8, who was quite tall for her age, had walked, her long legs would have probably brought her much further away from the treehouse, than the Aussie would have expected.

"You okay?" Numbuh 8 patted her friend on the back.

"That's what..." Numbuh 4 took a deep breath, "What I wanted to ask you."

Numbuh 8 was surprised, she raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you ask that? Of course I'm okay, Wally," but Numbuh 4 knew better.

"I saw your face earlier on you know," he was serious, "I saw how you looked after you and Numbuh 1 talked, so talk to me. What's up?"

Her face fell. Numbuh 8 looked at Numbuh 4, although other people thought that Numbuh 4 was well... a bit dim, Numbuh 8 knew that Numbuh 4 would not stop asking her if she was alright until she gave him a decent answer.

"Got time to talk?"

He grinned, "Got all the time in the world."

The two the walked together.

"You remember the reason why I left during Kindergarten? To go back to Russia?"

He thought, "You said it was family stuff but you never really said _why_, why."

"It was family stuff. I just wasn't ready to share at the time. It's hard to talk about it." She gulped. Thinking about the things that she went through the past few years, amongst the things that were happening more recently.

"Do you remember my mom?"

Numbuh 4 chuckled, "Of course I do, she was super nice, letting us have fun, watch TV at your place..."

"She's gone." Numbuh 8 choked out.

"What?"

"She's... gone Numbuh 4,"

"Gone where?"

Tears were threatening to fall down her face but she pushed the feelings back. It was hard. Her chest tightened and it felt hard to breathe. Thinking about what had happened was already painful. Saying it was even worse. Numbuh 8 turned away from Numbuh 4.

"She's dead, Wally."

Numbuh 4 did not know what to say.

"What? But why? Talia..." It was a lot for Numbuh 4's brain to process. He remembered Mrs. Ustinov as she was one of the few adults that he did not mind, in fact he kind of liked her because of the way she treated kids. She would welcome Numbuh 8 and others; Numbuhs 1, 2 even 86 and himself to her home, let them watch TV, read them stories, made them brownies. What could he say to make Numbuh 8 feel better, he had never experienced what Numbuh 8 what going through and he was not known for being the best comforter either.

"She died of cancer... it's a kind of disease and the doctors said that they couldn't help her." Numbuh 8 urged herself to explain the situation. At least in her mind, if there was anyone she could explain things to it was Wallybee Beatles; Wally, one of her best friends during her Kindergarten days, her team mate and friend now. Numbuh 8 didn't need someone to understand, just listening was enough, at least someone would know her situation if anything.

"When my mom found out she had cancer, we decided to go back to go back to Russia. She missed it a lot over there and she wanted to spend whatever time she had left there. "

Numbuh 8 stopped walking.

"That's the long story short."

Numbuh 4 looked at the ground and then he looked up at her, looking at her in the eye.

"Are you... okay?" It was all he could muster. It was the _only_ thing that he could say.

Numbuh 8 sighed. She sniffled a bit and turned to Numbuh 4.

"I will be," she looked at him, "so don't worry about me."

Numbuh 4 was still worried about her but he let it slide.

"So um... how is this related to Numbuh 1?

"I told him that I was going to go home to help my parents unpack cause of moving here. "

Numbuh 4 was beyond confused."Parents? But I thought you said..."

"Adoptive parents. They were friends with my mom... What bothered me I guess was that he didn't ask me about it, like he forgot that my dad left my family and it was just me and my mom and stuff."

"Oh..." He was going to need a talk with Numbuh 1. "I'm pretty sure he was um... you know... focusing on the mission and stuff... Numbuh 1 is like that you know and he's just super serious with his missions and all."

"I guess... anyways, we're here."

They stopped in front of a small two story house.

"You better go back, the others are probably going to get worried about you if you're gone for too long," said Numbuh 8 as she waved towards Numbuh 4 to hurry back to the treehouse.

"I'll catch up with you later on today, or tomorrow at school, it'll be my first day in Gallagher Elementary."

Every kid who lived in the neighbourhood went to Gallagher Elementary.

"So maybe we'll probably have class together! That's awesome! Anyways, I'm going to head back to the treehouse and Numbuh 8, you know I don't ever really do this at all and stuff and you know but," Numbuh 4 did what no kid who knew him would expect from him but he gave Numbuh 8 a quick hug.

"Look, I know you haven't been here in a while but, now that you're back, your best friend is here for ya Talia," He gave her a thumbs up and then rushed off back to the treehouse, leaving Numbuh 8 alone outside her home. Although not many people knew, Numbuh 8 knew that inside, what appeared to be an impulsive and arrogant kid, Numbuh 4 was actually a big softie who cared a lot about all of his friends. Numbuh 8 shook her head. That boy. She entered her home then placed her helmet on a bench which was next to the front entrance, leaned her skateboard on it and slipped her shoes off. She called out.

"Auntie Zhanna? Uncle Val?"

"In here honey!" called woman's voice. Numbuh 8 walked into her kitchen, a sweet scent of chocolate and vanilla wafting in the air.

"Uncle Valentin and I already unpacked most of the things, we left your boxes in your room so that you could sort things out when you have time dear, how was your day with your friends?"

Unlike many adults, Numbuh 8's adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Valkov, also known as Auntie Zhanna and Uncle Val short for Valentin were a quiet and kind pair.

"It was good, I'm glad I got to meet up with them, at least now I know who I can meet up with tomorrow for class." Numbuh 8 sniffed the sweet, sweet air. She loved cookies, being a baker herself and just being a person who loved food, the smell of freshly baked goods were would always make her day.

"What are the cookies for?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I thought it would be nice to make some to thank to our new neighbours, they helped us move some of our boxes, honey, I got a bit carried away though so there will be some leftovers for us," Mrs. Valkov pointed towards some cookies that were already sitting in a tray as she was taking out another tray from the oven.

"Can you bring those over? You can have these ones once they've cooled down and you come back."

"Sure, Auntie Zhanna," Numbuh 8 took the tray of cooled down cookies, it was hard for her not to take one because they just smelt amazing to her. As if reading her mind.

"You better not take any from there! You have your _own_ batch here, Talia," said Mrs. Valkov knowingly.

Numbuh 8 pouted,"Yes, Auntie Zhanna. Be back soon!"

Numbuh 8 slipped her shoes back on and left the house, a tray of cookies in hand. As their house was located in the corner, they only had one neighbour. She reached the front porch of her neighbour's home, shocked. In front of Numbuh 8, was a huge house. It was not a mansion like that, that belonged to the Delightful Children From Down The Lane and Father, but for a house, it was pretty big in her books. She gulped. Big houses were always quite intimidating her. Not because of the size, but because of the type of people she was going to meet. Her mum, nor Mr. and Mrs. Valkov were very well off, not that they were poor, but they definitely weren't as well off as other families. Numbuh 8 took a deep breath then walked towards her new neighbours door. She was about to knock until she heard someone call her name.

"Numbuh 8!" she turned around, flabbergasted at who she saw.

"Numbuh 274, sir!" Numbuh 8 saluted, nearly dropping the tray of cookies but caught her balance and stood upright.

"At ease, Numbuh 8," in front of her stood the person who was known as the _best_ Kids Next Door operative, Numbuh 274. The Supreme Leader of the KND walked up towards her.

"What are you doing here and are those... cookies?"

"Um.. yah they're cookies... for my new neighbours, Auntie Zhanna asked me to bring them over, why are you here?"

He dropped the bomb.

"I live here."

She blinked.

"Say that again?"

"Um... I live here? This is my home Numbuh 8."

It took Numbuh 8 a moment to process what he said.

Her finger pointed towards him "You..." then towards the gigantic home,"Live here?"

He nodded.

"I see." She nodded as well. In all her time knowing Numbuh 274, she never realised that he was, in her head she insisted on saying, very very well off, when deep down she was thinking more along the lines of _rich_. It made a lot of sense though, seeing as he constantly had a lot of extra curricular activities such as football and his violin classes. Someone needed to be paid for teaching him. Although it wasn't anything personal, Numbuh 8 was always more weary of people who's family had a lot of money, possibly because of how some of the richer kids in Kindergarten were not very kind to her, bullying her and teasing her about the clothes she wore or about things such as how lame her toys were and what not. She shook her head. Just a load of bad memories.

"I guess we're neighbours then huh?"

Numbuh 274 scratched the back of his head,"I guess so." He grinned at her. "I'm not doing anything right now since I just finished paper work at Moon Base and my parents don't have any other plans for me today. Got time to catch up for a bit? It's not often that I get time to just relax."

Numbuh 8 smiled at him,"Why not."

They both then sat by the side walk, Numbuh 8 passed the tray of cookies to Numbuh 274.

"Better save some for your parents too right?"

"Can't hurt to have one or two though," replied Numbuh 274 as he grabbed a cookie, he grabbed another and offered it to her.

She pouted, "Auntie Zhanna said I have my own batch and that I shouldn't take any of yours, if anything, if I have one I might end up eating all of them."

The boys face scrunched up, pretending to be serious he said in a firm voice, "Numbuh 8, as Supreme Leader of the KND I order you to take this cookie! Besides," he munched his own cookie, "It's not fun eating cookies alone."

Numbuh 8 laughed at him before taking the cookie.

"So, how was meeting the Sector V today? Everything alright?" asked Numbuh 274.

In response, Numbuh 8 nibbled on her cookie. She swallowed. "Honestly, it's been a bit of a dream come true, as cheesy as it sounds. I never expected to find them again and I wouldn't have if you didn't help me."

"It's what I do," said Numbuh 274. He frowned slightly, a frown that Numbuh 8 spotted immediately.

She had just finished her cookie, her head tilted downwards, lost in thought. She already knew why he was frowning. She swallowed again. She looked at Numbuh 274 with a stern look on her face. As he finished his cookie, Numbuh 274 noticed the look on her face.

"What's with that face?"

"Can I be honest with you, Chad?"

The blonde boy looked at her.

"What's up?"

"You're doing _it_ again."

Numbuh 274 knew what she meant. She was referring to him saying the phrase, _"It's what I do."_

Numbuh 8 had only been in the KND for a few months, but within those few months she was able to become close friends with Numbuh 274 and they had often referred to each other by their first names; only when other KND operatives were not around of course. He wasn't exactly sure how their friendship became so tight.

Maybe it was the way he saw her improve so quickly in terms of her potential of being a great KND operative or maybe it was how she always had every and any operatives back in a mission no matter what the situation. As Supreme Leader of the KND, he respected and valued her a lot for many reasons. However, Numbuh 8 was not just a good KND operative, she was a good friend as well. She cared about pretty much all kids to the point that she maybe worried a little bit too much. Many kids in the organisation could vouch for that.

For instance, when Numbuh 274 had too much paper work she would stay back to help him out, even miss out on a mission just so he could have an earlier night as well as taking some stress off his shoulders. At times, she even brought him lunch just because she was worried that he hadn't eaten. However, these weren't the aspects that moved Numbuh 274. No. The one thing that Numbuh 274 appreciated the most from Numbuh 8 was the fact that he was the one person who would not judge him or expect anything from him. Not many kids realised it but being Supreme Leader can be hard some times and it was not easy keeping a mask of always being alright in front of everyone. Everyone, not just kids but especially his parents just expected Numbuh 274 to be _perfect_.

Perfect. All the operatives within the KND expected him to somehow have the power and knowledge to solve every and any problem, at any point of the day, week, month, heck year. It was a round the clock job for him. Although Numbuh 362 had a small idea of the pressures he had to endure, no one really noticed or seemed to understand until Numbuh 8 came along.

"You shouldn't do that you know?" Is what she said to him at the time. "I know, I know, you're the best, it's what you do and all of that. But in general and especially when something goes wrong, you give yourself so much pressure, you beat yourself up and it doesn't do anyone any good, especially not yourself. You don't have to do things by yourself all the time. Just because you're Supreme Leader, doesn't mean you have to solve everyone's problems or... or what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to be perfect, Chad. We all make mistakes and you know what? It's okay. We make mistakes, so we learn how not to make them. We always have room to improve so stop giving me that, it's what I do mumbo jumbo and stuff and just be you. Complain a little bit here and there and just relax a bit. Don't forget, you're a kid too."

That's what she said to him and although he never admitted it, it meant a lot to him. So, as a friend, he really cared a lot about her. However, nearly every day for the last two weeks, Numbuh 274 had been mentally beating himself up because of what happened during his last mission with Numbuh 8. He had made one of the biggest mistakes of his life. He was frowning because he of _all_ people had let her down.

"_It's what I do." _It's as in protecting other kids. Yet he was unable to protect her from Father of all people.

"I can't help it!" he shouted out loud. Numbuh 8 didn't move.

"Look at yourself, Talia. Look at your hair, it's like that and we all know that it's my fault!" He slammed his fist onto the sidewalk and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through his knuckles where it had impacted with concrete. He winced. Numbuh 8 was calm, she quickly untied her signature paisley bandana and reached for his hand. To her slight annoyance he pulled it away from her.

"Talia..."

"Stop being a baby."

Numbuh 274 felt a pair of hands grab his injured hand; it was bleeding. Numbuh 8 sighed. She started tying her bandana around it.

"Before you say anything else," her voice was firm, "One, I told you before it's not your fault, so stop thinking that way, if it's anyone's fault it's Father's, two, don't do that again and three for being Supreme Leader of the KND sometimes you can be so dumb." Her bandana was now neatly tied on Numbuh 274's hand. He was silent.

"Don't forget to clean it properly when you're in your home later and stuff," He was still silent.

"Hey!" he looked at her, she was smiling at him and he just could not understand why. No matter what happened to her, this girl just always seemed happy. She punched his arm lightly.

"We'll get Father the next time round, so stop being a stuck in the mud and all. If anything I like my hair," she flicked her head, her hair flowed to the side.

"It's cool like this. It makes me unique you know," she stuck her tongue at playfully at Numbuh 274. He let out a small laugh. This girl. She never failed to surprise him.

"I'll make it up to you some how," was his reply. He paused for a moment and then.

"You sure you want to be here?"

"What do you mean?" Numbuh 8 was confused.

"I know you know want to help but after what happened... I'm just worried about you, Talia. At least in Russia you're safe and you don't need to see or deal with him anymore!"

"No!" she exclaimed back. "Look, Chad, I'm really happy here you know. I get to see my old friends, start fresh and look I even have the awesomest neighbour!" She looked at him.

"Anyways, I don't just need to do this, I have to do this. After what he did to me, I just have to."

"That's the thing though... you don't you know that right? Other operatives can handle it." Numbuh 274 was persistent.

She sighed for the um-teeth time that day.

"I don't know... Just something in my gut tells me that there's something I need to do here and I need to do it myself okay?"

Numbuh 274 let out a small "Okay..." He knew how stubborn Numbuh 8 could be.

Numbuh 8 looked at her watch, it was getting late.

"Hey, I need to head home now, need to sleep early as well cause it's first day of school tomorrow."

The two stood up.

"I'll see you soon, Chad."

"See you soon Talia, take care of yourself and if you need me just call yah? And tell your Auntie Zhanna thanks for the cookies."

He waved goodbye and saw her walking away. He turned around to head home.

"Hey Chad?" He suddenly felt a pair of arms embrace him from behind.

"You're the best."

She gave him a little squeeze. She let go of him and then rushed home. Unbeknownst to Numbuh 8, Numbuh 274 face was completely red.


	3. School, ice cream trucks and fun

Notes:

I'm back with my 3rd Chapter of Allies and Enemies (:

Would like to say thanks to Pink2D and Nekolover3 for the reviews ^^

_** Nekolover3**_ - I will try my best to update when I can! Since my English is not very good, sometimes it takes me a bit longer to write my ideas properly for each chapter! Thank you for the support!

_** Pink2D**_ To be very honest I am not quite sure yet about love interest.

I really want to see where I'll take the story because I'm kind of winging it although I have ideas here and there. I haven't exactly figured out how I'll tie it all together yet. *Fail writer here* " Maybe depending on the feedback I get from people I'll lean it to either Nigel or Chad. WE'LL SEE XD

Chapter 3: School, ice cream trucks and fun

"Have a nice day in school dear!"

"Thanks Auntie Zhanna, Uncle Val! Have a nice day at work as well!"

The next day came, Numbuh 8 was up early, with her helmet on, backpack well on her back, she rode her skateboard. Unlike other kids who were obsessed with their bikes, Numbuh 8's obsession was with her skateboard. She woke up early just so she could have the extra time to ride it longer before arriving at Gallagher Elementary. It was a smooth ride until, she heard it.

_Da dun, da dun, da dun dun dee dun, da dun dun dun da dee dun._

A truck zoomed past her at what seemed to be lighting speed. But it wasn't just any truck, her eyes widened, it was an Ice Cream truck.

"What the?! B.O.O.S.T.S. on!" Two thrusters came out of no where at the back of her skateboard.

Boosting

Operative

Over

Super

Terrific

Speeds

The thrusters activated and off she went, rushing behind the Ice Cream Truck. She was gaining speed to the point that she caught up to it, until it made a sudden sharp turn.

"Crud." She aimed her watch towards a lamp post and pushed one of the buttons on the side. Out shot what seemed to be a small dart with a mini grapple at the end of it. It looped around the post and hooked around it. Then with all her might she pulled. Her skateboard took a sharp 90 degree turn, following the truck. She released the grappler.

"Good thing those KND scientists know their stuff," she thought as she continued to pursue the truck. Being friends with KND scientists had it's perks. Numbuh 74.239 had made a what-was-_supposed_-to-be-a-watch device for her use. It was a funny story to her at least. Numbuh 8 realised one day that her watch had stopped working so she asked Numbuh 74.239 if he could fix it for her. However, him being so obsessed with creating things, not only did he fix the watch but he added in three special features, each feature had it's own button on the watch to activate it.

"You were just supposed to _fix_ my watch Numbuh 74.239!"

"But doesn't this make it so much cooler?"

She had to admit. It was a huge upgrade for her and it was something she totally did not expect.

"Let's see, if KND 2x4 tech is really up to par." The cover of her watch popped up revealing a crosshair. She bent down and aimed it at the truck.

"Fire away," she muttered to herself as she pressed the second button. Out launched what seemed to be nothing to the naked eye but it was there; a small metallic bug that was smaller than a finger nail latched onto the truck.

"Booyah," she smirked. Numbuh 8 stopped the pursuit and the truck zoomed away. She looked at her watch, a blip appeared. The bug was a tracking device and it sent signals to her watch so she would know exactly where it went. She would have continued to chase after it but she knew that she had to get to school on time. It was her first day and if she was late she was sure to get a scolding from her Auntie Zhanna if she ever found out. She turned her skateboard towards the direction of Gallagher Elementary.

Numbuh 8 soon arrived in front of the large school.

"Numbuh 8!" She saw Numbuhs 4 and 5 get off the school bus.

"Told ya she was probably gonna skate here," said Numbuh 5.

"Well, I was _hoping_ that she was going to take the bus is what I meant Numbuh 5,"

"Nuh uh, you bet that she was going to take the bus when I said that she was gonna skate, so you owe me a quarter!"

Numbuh 4 crossed his arms and looked at Numbuh 8.

"Why didn't you take the bus. You always used to take the bus. Now I owe Numbuh 5 a quarter."

"Why did you bet her in the first place?" She laughed.

"And skating saves money, Wally, anyways," Numbuh 8 took out a piece of paper from her backpack.

"The school sent me my timetable, the other day," Numbuh 5 stretched her hand out.

"Let Numbuh 5 see?" Numbuh 8 passed her timetable to Numbuh 5. The girl scanned the paper and grinned.

"Well, seems like you got class with us and Mrs. Thompson, girl."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 8. They high-fived. The three then walked together into Gallagher Elementary.

"So class, here is your new classmate, I hope you all make her feel welcome," said Mrs. Thompson gesturing towards Numbuh 8 who was standing in front of the class.

"Talia, please introduce yourself to the class,"

Numbuh 8 looked at the class of children, she was pretty nervous as she felt many pairs of eyes staring at her. Numbuh 8 already noticed some kids were staring at her, whispering and pointing at her hair. She wasn't really sure what to say. Mrs. Thompson noticing the young girl shaking slightly spoke up.

"Just share a little bit about yourself Talia, you know where you're from, how old you are and just some facts."

"Um... hi guys. My name is Talia Valkov, I'm from Russia, I'm eleven years old. I haven't been to school in a while because back in Russia I was homeschooled which is why I'm one year older than everybody else, so I hope you guys go easy on me if I'm not sure about what to do and stuff..."

She was about to say a little bit more about herself until she heard someone, or should I say five someones say in unison,

"So you're saying that you're stupid?"

Numbuh 8 turned to her right and saw to her slight surprise, five kids all sitting together at one desk. Mrs. Thompson stomped over towards them.

"Is there something you Delightful Children would like to share with the class?"

"No, Mrs. Thompson," said the five delighfulised children.

Numbuh 8 took notice of the Delightful Children From Down The Lane. Although she had heard a lot about them, even gone to the Delightful Mansion, she never had the _pleasure_ of actually meeting them. The five children stared at Numbuh 8 which only led to her staring back at them in return until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Mrs. Thompson.

"Now Talia, please take a seat so we can start class, I'm sure you can get to know your fellow classmates during recess or after school."

Numbuh 8 proceeded to walk towards her new desk which was behind Numbuh 5. She sat down. Class proceeded. The day started off with English Language, Numbuh 8 was slightly frustrated by the constant feeling of the five pairs of eyes glaring at her every now and again. Luckily for her, English Language seemed to be the only class she had with the Delightful Children at least for this day. Other than that, the rest of the day went by normally for the fourth graders and the day was coming to a close with their last lesson of the day.

Mathematics.

Today they were learning about patterns and sequences, Numbuh 5 was focused on doing the problems written on the board when suddenly something landed on her desk from over her head. It was a small piece of paper folded into a triangular-ish shape with the number _8 _clearly written on one side. Seeing that Mrs. Thompson was focused on copying questions from her textbook onto the board Numbuh 5 opened the note.

"_Chased Ice Cream Truck this morning. Tracker just confirmed location now. Tell others to meet after class."_

Numbuh 5 extended her right arm out and gave a thumbs up. Numbuh 8 grinned at her response. She stared at her watch. Her grin widened as she saw the stationary blip on the screen.

When class ended, Numbuhs 4, 5 and 8 headed towards the entrance of Gallagher Elementary.

"So what's all this we got ta go as soon as possible stuff anyways?" said Numbuh 4 but Numbuh 5 just shushed him. They saw Numbuhs 1, 2 and 3 waiting for them by the flag post.

"So, what's the situation Numbuh 5?" Numbuh 1 as always was the first to react.

"Don't ask Numbuh 5, Numbuh 8's the one who knows what's going on here," said Numbuh 5 pointing to Numbuh 8.

"I'll explain on the way, Numbuh 2 how fast can you get us some sort of transportation?"

"How fast you say?" answered Numbuh 2.

"Faster than you can say..." he was about to make one of his jokes until Numbuh 5 slapped his arm.

"Ouch, what did you do that for?"

"Don't you get started Numbuh 2, just get us a ship!"

"Alright, alright already, sheesh just wanted to make a joke," said Numbuh 2 as he rubbed his arm, he took a remote from his backpack. It just had one big red button. Numbuh 2 pushed it and suddenly in a patch of grass near the school, the ground formed two doors which opened up. A vehicle of some sort was being leveled up on a platform.

It was a S.C.A.M.P.E.R..

"Sweet. Nice one Numbuh 2," said Numbuh 8 who grinned at the ship. Numbuh 2 gave her a thumbs up and winked.

The team then rushed into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R..

"So, care to tell us what's going on now, Numbuh 8?" said Numbuh 1, sitting on his armchair.

"I didn't have time to tell you guys before class but this morning on the way to school I got a bit side tracked cause I was going after one of those Ice Cream Trucks. But the thing is I have good news and bad news." stated Numbuh 8.

"Good news is, I got a tracker on it and got us a location, the bad news is that I literally_ just _lost signal."

"So what are we waiting for!" said Numbuh 3 throwing her hands up in the air.

"Yeah! Let's go for it!" shouted Numbuh 4.

"Which way Numbuh 8?" asked Numbuh 1

"I entered the location details of the tracker before it lost signal into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. already, Numbuh 2, any idea what kinda place it is?" said Numbuh 8.

"Seems like an abandoned warehouse," said Numbuh 2.

"Numbuh 5 don't like the sound of that, it's suspicious you know," responded Numbuh 5.

"Well, no matter what we have to figure out what those Ice Cream men are doing and this is out main lead right now," said Numbuh 1.

"If anything we're just gonna kick their butts!" shouted Numbuh 4 who took out a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R..

"Numbuh 2, land us some where near by and we'll proceed on foot," ordered Numbuh 1.

"You got it!" Numbuh 2 then swerved the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. behind a building nearby. They all got off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. Armed with weapons, they headed towards the warehouse. The warehouse had no windows, the only entrance was the front door. Numbuh 1 signaled to the rest of his team.

"Alright team seems like we only have one way in. Be ready and when I give the signal we all rush in." The rest of Sector V nodded.

"Now!" They blasted the doors away with their weapons and jumped in.

"Alright you cruddy adults!" shouted Numbuh 4.

"Come out now so I can..." he stopped.

"There's no one here?" said Numbuh 3 as she looked into the warehouse. There were just a few crates piled here and there but there was no one else there other than themselves.

"I don't understand," said Numbuh 8 as she looked around the crates.

"This is where the tracker said the Ice Cream truck went before I lost it's signal."

"Maybe the truck left already," said Numbuh 3 as continued to search around the warehouse.

"But that doesn't explain why I lost signal," replied Numbuh 8 as she inspected the warehouse. Other than the crates, the centre of the warehouse was completely empty. Numbuh 8 bent down and swiped her finger on the floor. She brought her hand to her face.

"Dust," she muttered. She was beyond confused. She paced around the warehouse.

"This is a waste of time!" said Numbuh 4 flinging his arms into the air, "the adults must've left already!"

Although this seemed to be the case Numbuh 8 was not convinced. She continued to pace around the empty space. The others watched her and she bent down again, her fingers repeating the same action.

"No dust..." she muttered again.

"Let's go guys, I honestly don't think the adults are here," said Numbuh 1.

"Numbuh 8 let's go back to the treehouse and think of plans to find those Ice Cream trucks. I'm sure we will figure something there.

"If you say so Numbuh 1," was her response. She was sure the adults were nearby. She just knew it. The team walked out of the warehouse. Before Numbuh 8 left the warehouse she took out a small device form her pocket. It was a small digital camera, no larger than her hand. She snapped a photo of the empty space and then followed the rest of her team back to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R..


	4. Confusion topped w an angry girlfriend

Hey guys! (: Back with Chapter 4 of Allies and Enemies~ Sorry it took me a much longer time to finish this chapter than I thought but here it is! If y'all have time please give me some comments about what you'd like to see in this fanfic, whether it be villians they meet, love interest for Numbuh 8 [seems like it's 1 or 274 though right now], or more interaction between certain characters (: Thanks for the continuous support and hope you guys enjoy my fic!

Chapter 4: Confusion topped with an angry girlfriend

"So Numbuh 5 wanted to ask ya, why did you introduce yourself to the class as Talia _Valkov _instead of Talia _Ustinov_." Numbuh 5 joined Numbuh 8 on the outdoor terrace. They had just returned to the treehouse. Everyone was convinced that the Ice Cream Truck must have left the vicinity but Numbuh 8 still was not convinced. She leaned against the railing of the outdoor platform, looking out towards the neighbourhood.

"It's a long story Numbuh 5," said Numbuh 8 in response. The truth was that ever since she decided to go back to America, she thought it would be best to adopt the name Valkov as to avoid explaining her family situation to other people as well as have a fresh start but at the moment, this was the last thing on her mind. Numbuh 8 was annoyed. She was so sure that they would find something or at least some hint, as to what the connection was between the disappearing Ice Cream Trucks, the Delightful Children and what not.

"Hey," Numbuh 5 put a hand on Numbuh 8's shoulder, "Numbuh 5 knows that you're upset about the Ice Cream Truck lead and all but we'll get them, so don't worry about it."

"Hopefully..." said Numbuh 8.

"Anyways, let's go back in the treehouse and grab some ice cream or watch TV," said Numbuh 5 as she dragged Numbuh 8 into the treehouse.

"Kay," was the reply she got in return.

The two girls walked back into the treehouse to find that Numbuh 1 was waiting for them. His arms were folded and he looked serious.

"Numbuh 8, can I have a word with you?" said Numbuh 1.

"What's up Numbuh 1?" Numbuh 8 waited for him to respond.

The boy paused and looked at Numbuh 5. He raised an eyebrow.

"_Alone_ if that is alright."

Numbuh 5 put up her hands up defensively, "Numbuh 5 gets the message, I'll be at the TV room with everyone else then, catch you two later." She walked away towards the TV room.

Numbuh 1 signaled to Numbuh 8 to follow him. The two walked to the Briefing Room.

"So? What's up then?" Numbuh 8 wasn't quite sure why her leader had asked to talk alone. Did she do something wrong? He looked stern.

"Well... um... you see..." The supposed serious demeanour that he had just held a few seconds ago suddenly crumbled away. Numbuh 1 was trying his best to keep cool but he was finding it extremely difficult. His left hand grabbed his right arm tightly and he turned his head away from Numbuh 8 but suddenly turned to look at her.

"What I wanted to say is that, I um... I..." he stopped. Her big emerald green eyes stared into his dark brown eyes. He stared back as if hypnotised by them.

"You wanted to say?" Numbuh 8 was confused.

Numbuh 1 snapped out of his trance as he heard her voice.

"Um...I wanted to apologise about the other day."

"Huh?" Numbuh 8's head tilted to one side. She blinked.

"Yesterday, I was really focused about the mission and wasn't thinking properly when you were talking about helping your parents move in but after thinking about it I got very confused because you know... you're just with your mom." He said this all very quickly.

Truth be told; when Numbuh 4 told himself that he needed to have a word with Numbuh 1 the other day, boy did he have a word with Numbuh 1.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FORGOT?" shouted Numbuh 4 at Numbuh 1. Despite being the shortest member of Sector V, Numbuh 4 literally towered over Numbuh 1 in rage. However, Numbuh 1 was just as mad.

"Numbuh 4, stop shouting at me! Look, I already told you the second Numbuh 8 arrived, I DON'T REMEMBER HER," he retorted.

How was he even supposed to know that Numbuh 8 only lived with her mother when he didn't even remember her. Numbuh 4 scrunched his hair with both his hands in frustration. He didn't want to shout at Numbuh 1 but after seeing how Numbuh 8 was and talking to her about her situation, all he saw was red, even towards Numbuh 1. He huffed and folded his arms.

"I don't get it. Why does me and Numbuh 4 remember her but you don't?" said Numbuh 2 who was quite curious as to why the situation was how it was with Numbuh 1. It didn't make any sense.

"That's what I'd like to know too, Numbuh 2." It was honestly frustrating and it was getting more and more frustrating by the second for Numbuh 1.

"Well, you better at least say sorry to her," said Numbuh 4 sadly, he looked down towards the ground and said quietly, "she doesn't even have a mom or a dad now."

The room was silent.

"What did you say Numbuh 4?" uttered Numbuh 2.

"She told me that her mom's gone and some of her mom's friends adopted her. That's why she told Numbuh 1 that she had parents." He paused. "She probably wanted to talk about it."

Numbuh 1 and 2 didn't say anything. This was the first time they saw Numbuh 4 look so solemn. Numbuh 4 turned around and started walking away from the other two. He stopped.

"You have to remember her Numbuh 1, you can't keep lying to her forever, so hurry up and remember before she finds out."

And that was how it went.

"Oh..." was Numbuh 8's response. She couldn't put her finger on it but she felt that there was something odd with Numbuh 1. She shook her head.

"So... um... what did you mean by parents? Numbuh 8?" asked Numbuh 1 nervously.

Numbuh 8 opened her mouth, she was about to explain until suddenly they heard some shouts coming from somewhere within the treehouse.

"I'm telling you that you CAN'T go in there!" They heard Numbuh 2's voice along with another voice that was unfamiliar to Numbuh 8.

"Don't you tell me where I CAN and CAN'T go!"

Numbuh 1 knew that voice all too well and slapped his forehead.

"NIGEL UNO, GET YOUR BUTT HERE WHERE I CAN SEE YOU."

A somewhat chubby girl stomped into the briefing room in rage.

Numbuh 1 sighed into his hand, his girlfriend never had a sense of good timing with things it seemed.

"Hey Lizzie."

Lizzie stomped towards the two operatives, grabbed Numbuh 1 by the hem of his shirt and tugged.

"Don't you "_hey, Lizzie_" ME, Nigel Uno, have you forgotten what day it is today?" She tugged him to the point that their noses were almost touching. He laughed in a some what high-pitched tone nervously. Lizzie glared at him. They stayed like this until Numbuh 8 cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt but who exactly are you... um Lizzie was it?" said Numbuh 8 who slowly walked towards Lizzie, her green eyes never leaving Lizzie's brown ones. Numbuh 8's eyes narrowed to slits.

She grabbed Numbuh 1's arm firmly and Lizzie gasped as Numbuh 8 pulled him out of her grip.

"I don't appreciate it when people shout at my friend," said Numbuh 8 softly as she pushed Numbuh 1 lightly so that he was now standing behind her. Lizzie was fuming. She tried to grab Numbuh 1 to pull him back over but each time Lizzie tried Numbuh 8 stood in her way. Lizzie's face turned red and she stamped on the ground.

"And _who_ exactly are you?"

"I'm Talia Valkov a.k.a. Numbuh 8 of Sector V," said Numbuh 8.

"You still haven't explained to me who you are, Lizzie. Are you an acquaintance of Numbuh 1?" Numbuh 8's head tilted playfully to one side. Although she did not realise it at all, Numbuh 8 was seriously pushing Lizzie's buttons. Lizzie looked like she was going to burst.

"Did you just call me, an _acquaintance _of Nigel Uno?" Lizzie snarled and stepped forwards, her face looking up to Numbuh 8's face. Numbuh 8 was much taller than the small form of Lizzie. Numbuh 8 was unfazed by Lizzie. However, Numbuh 1 knew that look, if he did not step in then they would be in for some trouble.

"I will have you know that I am Nigel Uno's..." Numbuh 1 stepped out from behind Numbuh 8 and stepped between the two girls.

"Girlfriend." Numbuh 1 stated.

Numbuh 8 blinked and looked at Numbuh 1. Her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Say that again?"

Lizzie jumped in.

"I'm Nigie's girlfriend. What do you not understand when he says the word _girlfriend_."

Numbuh 8 replied with a simple, "I see." Her fists clenched tightly. She was trying her best to stay calm.

"Now if you'll excuse us," Lizzie said sternly while looking at Numbuh 1, "Nigie and I have a date to go to because it's our 3 months anniversary."

Numbuh 8 looked at Numbuh 1, although her face didn't show it, her eyes looked empty and cold. Numbuh 1 immediately felt bad.

"I'll head to the TV room to see the others then," Numbuh 8 walked away from the other two kids to leave the Briefing Room.

Numbuh 1 wanted to follow her but Lizzie started shouting at him again.

"Honestly, Nigie I thought you would have told everyone that we were together, not to mention your team mate. And what's with her being so rude to me anyways and that white hair? She looks like a grandma!"

Numbuh 8 stopped walking and stood still. She waited. Numbuh 1 looked at Lizzie nervously and was about to say something until Lizzie continued.

"And how could you, how COULD you forget that it's our 3 months anniversary today!" She kept going on and on.

Numbuh 8 exited the room and slammed the door behind her. Her eyes were closed and she took a deep breath, her right hand massaging her forehead. She heard wood creaking and looked up to notice that Numbuhs 2, 3, 4 and 5 were standing in front of her; probably eavesdropping.

She looked at the rest of the team.

"Are you serious?" Her hand pointing behind her back towards the Briefing Room.

"Sadly," replied Numbuh 2 flatly.

"I ought to beat up the crud out of that girl!" shouted Numbuh 4.

"Did you hear what she said about Numbuh 8? Why I oughtta..."

"Drop it Numbuh 4," said Numbuh 8, "she's not worth the time." Numbuh 8 walked away and sighed. She needed to clear her head.

"If anything, Numbuh 1 seems to _approve_ of her behaviour showing as he didn't say anything," muttered Numbuh 8 as she walked away from the rest of Sector V.

"I'm going to go out to skate for a bit. If you guys need anything call me."

"But, but, but!" Numbuh 4 was about to go after her but Numbuh 5 put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Give the girl some space," she said softly to Numbuh 4.

"We should all talk to Numbuh 1 later, cause Numbuh 5 thinks that boy got things wrong."

"What, can I ask has Nigie gotten wrong?"

Numbuhs 2, 3, 4 and 5 turned to see Lizzie with her arms on her hips glaring at the team. Numbuh 1 was standing behind her, his head buried into his hand.

"Why you little..." said Numbuh 4, who wanted to beat up Lizzie on the spot but was interrupted by Numbuh 3 who grabbed him and put her sleeves on Numbuh 4's mouth muffling his voice.

"What did you say?" shouted Lizzie. That seemed to be only thing she was doing all day.

"He didn't say anything," said Numbuh 3 casually as she kept hold of Numbuh 4 who was trying to speak but was still muffled by her sleeves.

"Let's go Nigie, we have a date to go to anyways," and with that Lizzie grabbed Numbuh 1's hand and left the treehouse.

Numbuh 4 broke out of Numbuh 3's hold.

"What the heck was that?! How could Numbuh 1 let _her_ of all people talk like that about Numbuh 8 and she's still so so cruddy annoying!" His hands gripped his hair tightly.

"Yeah... I mean Lizzie was shouting at Numbuh 1 until Numbuh 8 stepped in and he didn't do anything when she started saying those mean things about her," said Numbuh 2, who like everyone else was quite disappointed at their leader for doing nothing to defend Numbuh 8.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 8 herself was thinking exactly the same thing as she skated around the neighbourhood. Her head ached with the amount of things that bothered her today.

"_Let's go guys, I honestly don't think the adults are here," _was what _he_ said.

"_Girlfriend."_

"Pshhhh," hissed out Numbuh 8.

"_I'm Nigie's girlfriend. What do you not understand when he says the word girlfriend." _was what _she_ said.

"_And what's with her being so rude to me anyways and that white hair? She looks like a grandma!"_

She was not sure what she was more annoyed at; not finding the Ice Cream Truck, Nigel or Lizzie. At this moment, they all annoyed her. However, before she could continue debating on which of the three were more annoying, she heard _that_ familiar sound again.

_Da dun, da dun, da dun dun dee dun, da dun dun dun da dee dun. _

_Da dun, da dun, da dun dun dee dun, da dun dun dun da dee dun._

"Are you kidding me?!" Not one, but two ice cream trucks zoomed past her and she was determined not to lose them this time.


End file.
