Chapter Text
Somewhere in the middle of the night inside a fancy ice cream joint that is called the Menchie’s Super Ice Cream Palace. Usually it would be packed on a Friday night but this time it is different. Inside the wonderfully fancy ice cream joint, every single table except one that had been cleared out. The neon lights dimmed to a soft blue-green glow, the jukebox plugged in and currently playing ‘Fortunate’ by Maxwell. A hand-lettered sign on the entrance door that reads ‘RESERVED KND PRIVATE PARTY’. In the only open area, a single long reddish table was buried under every flavor Menchie’s Ice Cream had ever invented. Eight bowls, eight spoons, and one giant cake shaped like the Moonbase.
Sitting at the head of the table is the one kid that is the whole reason why this is happening. A dark skinned boy with a dreadlock haircut wearing his favorite green pullover hoodie that has the Notre Dame Fighting Irish arch and logo as his usual KND uniform, and it is his favorite college football team. The boy’s name is Elijah Thompson, but to those who is a KND operative, he is better known as Numbuh 411. Unlike other operatives, Elijah was special. He holds the title in KND as the Grand Archivist and Keeper of Unknown Knowledge. His tight curls were freshly lined up this morning because he wanted to look good for his farewell party and embracing the memory wipe. Currently, he was smiling. A real one, not the nervous kind most kids wore on decommissioning day. Because Numbuh 411 knew everything. When I say everything, I mean everything.
Every single mission report since the Medieval era. Every code name. Every hidden treehouse location. Every single place Father had ever hidden a root beer and candy stash. And most importantly the one secret no operative has ever dreamed of knowing such knowledge. He knew exactly where and who Numbuh 0 was right now. Today. This very minute.
To this day as today is his thirteenth birthday, Elijah hadn’t told a soul. Not even Rachel aka Numbuh 362. Some secrets were too big for even the Supreme Leader to handle and grasp on it. Across from him, Fanny Fulbright, aka Numbuh 86, stared into her melted bowl of Rocky Road ice cream like it had personally betrayed her. Her red hair was out of its usual underneath her helmet, hanging in angry waves as she wanted to mark this special occasion. Her decommissioning blaster sat on the table between them like a loaded gun nobody wanted to touch or use.
The rest of Sector V sat in awkward silence as that is expected in this given situation. Hoagie was stress-eating sprinkles straight from the jar. Kuki kept offering everyone hugs. Wally pretended he wasn’t crying into his napkin. Abigail adjusted her hat even though it looked just fine. And Nigel just watched Elijah with that serious Numbuh 1 stare but behind his shades, he was tearing up hard like a baby. Elijah was heavily known as the big brother to all of the KND kids as he helped guide and shared his wisdom to them when they needed it the most. But he has more of a close connection with Rachel, Fanny, and all five members of Sector V. Looking up at the digital clock on the wall that was showing it is closely approaching midnight as his time as a KND is coming to an end, Elijah stood up, clinking his spoon against his glass of root beer float to get everyone’s attention.
“Alright, y’all. Speech time. Even though I already made one yesterday, I wanted to make a second one here with all of you. My friends. My little siblings.” Elijah sees facial expressions from each of them. “I’ve been in the Kids Next Door since I was five years old. Got recruited after I hacked all elementary school’s access to every report card of every kid and changed all to A’s just so everyone can have a cool summer break and not spend them in summer school. Best day and first solo mission of my life.”
Soft laughter rippled around the table. Fanny and the others couldn't help but grin and praise on that historic KND move that he performed.
Elijah continued. “I’ve kept every secret this organization has ever documented. Every win. Every loss. Every time Numbuh 3 accidentally rainbow-monkeyed an entire mission. Every time Numbuh 4 punched a rainbow monkey and cried about it later when the girls jumped on him as punishment.”
“Oi!” Wally protested through tears and blew his nose.
“And yeah… I know things I’m not supposed to know anymore after tonight. Big things. Important things. Things about where certain legendary operatives are hiding out these days.” He let that hang in the air for a second, his brown eyes sweeping the table. “But that’s the job, right?. We protect kids. Even from the truth sometimes.” He looked straight at a heartbroken Fanny. “Especially from the truth that sometimes makes it hard to accept and embrace it.”
Fanny’s lip trembled. She gripped the blaster’s grip so hard that it might break the device itself. “You have no idea.”
“I’m not scared,” Elijah said softly. “I’ve had the best years of my life with y’all especially with my former team. The Triple Threat. I got to be a hero. I got to matter. And now I get to grow up knowing, deep down, I did something that counted. Even if I won’t remember it until midnight, tomorrow, and going forward.” He raised his root beer float up with a warm big brotherly smile that they were all going to miss dearly. “To the Kids Next Door. The baddest kids in the whole wide world. And to Numbuh 86… the toughest, meanest, most loyal head of decommissioning who ever hated her job.”
Everyone raised their glasses. Even Fanny, though her hand shook. They all spoke in unison. “To the Kids Next Door!.”
Elijah sat back down. The cake was cut and divided. Presents were opened as he got a new skateboard from Sector V, a hand-drawn card from Kuki that was 90% glitter, Rachel giving him a brand new pair of Jordans and last but not least from Fanny… a small silver key on a chain.
“It’s to the old Sector Z’s treehouse,” she muttered, not looking at him. “The one where nobody cares to use or step foot inside. Figured… you might want somewhere quiet to… I dunno…spend your last minutes as a KND before becoming a teenager.”
Elijah smiles and puts it around his neck while saying. “Why, that is very sweet of you, Fanny. Really sweet. I mean it.”
Fanny rolls her eyes and says “Oh shut up, Elijah.” She says while looking away, trying to hide the fact that she is blushing and wiping her eyes before the others notice.
The party wound down. One by one, the others said goodbye with hugs and promises to 'accidentally' run into him from time to time and pretend they didn’t know him. Fanny flies Elijah to the legendary treehouse that is located in a small apple orchard as the treehouse had a few apples on their branches. Using the key, they entered inside the dusty interior before pulling up a chair at the table with them facing each other. They sat there like it was hours but really it's in minutes. Fanny pulls her sleeve back to see her Rainbow Monkey digital watch to have a look.
"What time do I have left?." Elijah asked calmly and worried free.
Fanny sniffled hard, her fingers tightening around the blaster as she checked the watch. "Four minutes," she choked out. The treehouse smelled of old wood and forgotten adventures, the faintest hint of apple blossoms drifting through the cracked window. Somewhere outside, an owl hooted too loud in the silence between them.
Elijah nodded. "Cool. Cool. I'm happy to know that I'm getting decommissioned from someone that I know and trust."
Fanny's grip on the blaster faltered for a fraction of a second before she swallowed hard and tightened it again. "You're not supposed to make this easy," she mumbled, her voice thick. The blaster's weight felt wrong in her hands as it felt too cold and too final. "You have so much more to give. You're leaving us too soon."
"We all have to walk this path one day, Fighting Irish." Elijah reaches to lift her chin up to face him. He lifted her head up. "Hmph. You got a lot of snots in that nose of yours. Here." He pulls out a small roll of very soft toilet paper from his jacket's pocket.
The blaster wobbled in Fanny's hand as she took the tissue with her free hand, blowing her nose loudly after pulling a few sheets. The scent of apples grew stronger as a breeze rustled through the half-open window, carrying with it the distant chime of a grandfather clock striking somewhere in town. "You're such a jerk," she muttered wetly, crumpling the tissue in her fist. "Even now."
"In your words that means being a good big brother." Elijah leans back in his chair before looking at the moon through the window. "I love it when the moon is full."
Fanny's finger twitched against the trigger guard. The blaster hummed softly as it powered up, casting a faint green glow across the dust motes floating between them. "Two minutes," she whispered, her throat so tight it hurt. "I hate this."
"I know." Elijah responded.
"I really...really hate this." Fanny says again.
Elijah smiled before chuckling, stood up, and opened his arms. "Come here, my little Fighting Irish."
Fanny set the blaster to the side, jumped out of her chair and crashed into him, and hugged him so hard his ribs might have creaked. She was crying into his hoodie, angry Irish sobs that shook them both.
“You’re the best operative I ever met and have the privilege of knowing you, Elijah Thompson. Numbuh 411." she choked out. “And the best friend. And I never got to tell you...”
“I know,” he said gently while patting her head. “Me too.”
They stood like that for a long time. Finally, she pulled back, wiped her face with her sleeve, and picked up the blaster off the table. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore.
“Ready?” She asked.
Elijah stands in front of her while holding her hand to give her comfort. He prepared himself mentally and emotionally on this day of forgetting everything and everyone, including forgetting the girl in front of him that he loves unconditionally. "Do it."
Fanny raised the blaster. The red light blinked on, indicating that the safety is off. “Goodbye, Numbuh 411." she said, voice cracking.
"Goodbye, Numbuh 86." Elijah gave the one last smile. "See you on the other side."
The beam fired right at his face. And the boy who knew where Numbuh 0 lived today smiled one last time……before he forgot everything. Including her. He blinks for a minute before looking at her and then looking around.
"Hey, yo, where am I at?. What is this place?." Elijah asked.
Fanny sighs sadly. "Come follow me. I'll take you home."
Elijah smiles and nods before he follows her. "Sounds good, redhead nappy."
Fanny froze mid-step at the awful nickname that the now decommissioned Elijah just gave her. "Just follow me."