Akito and Estelle in Codename: Kids Next Door

chapter 1

There was a story some kids tell of when the world was ruled by an evil adult. A story about a boy, a book, and a tree. We are shown a familiar orphanage of kids lugging bags and doing back-breaking manual labor. They had been making a substance known as tapioca pudding.

"At this rate, we'll never get adopted..." Cherry pouted as she walked with Atticus, this was before they were adopted by Cinderella and her father, but after they had first met and became friends. "We'll be slaves forever!"

"No, we won't!" Atticus told her. "I just know we'll get adopted."

The kids then dumped the flour into the pudding mix like they were supposed to.

"Where are those brothers who're supposed to help us?" Cherry looked around.

"Just have faith, Cherry," Atticus assured her. "They'll be here soon."

Cherry and Atticus then loaded their flour and went off to get some more.

One of the boys they had been looking for seemed to had find a way to escape. "Hey, if you guys want out, you'll follow me and Benny." he then told them.

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Atticus said, pulling Cherry along by her wrist.

Cherry made herself walk after Atticus.

The boy then took them to a secret way out. "Come on, Benny, we're outta here!" he then called to his brother with glasses.

"Yeah, it's time we get out of here before you-know-who gets here." Atticus said.

"Come on then!" the boy said, leading them away.

They came out to one door after the first boy and he led them out to climbing up a tree.

"Wait for meeee!" the boy with glasses who was the first boy's brother whined. He then groaned as he followed his brother into climbing up the tree with him.

"Give us your hand." Atticus said, extending his right hand to the boy with glasses as did Cherry.

Cherry was never good with climbing trees, so she accepted Atticus's hand.

The boy with glasses took Atticus's hand and they followed the first boy all the way up to the top of the tree. "Monty, come back," he told his brother. "You can't just walk off in the middle of your shift. Pappy's gonna be awfully sore."

"Oh, let him, Ben!" the first boy scoffed. "We've been slaving away making tapioca for him for 110 days straight and all he does is sneer like he's the evil king of the world or something!"

"Um, he kind of is." Atticus said.

"Well, I'm sick of it!" Monty jumped down. "I just wish we could... I don't know... Fight back or something!" he then kicked against the tree's trunk.

This made the tree rumble and shake.

"Nice going, genius!" Cherry latched onto the branch with a glare.

However, the trunk opened up to show a secret door much to their surprise.

"A secret door." Atticus said, stepping inside first.

"Whoa, check it out!" Monty went after him.

"Hey!" Ben whined as he stood outside the door. "Where are you guys going?"

Cherry came inside the secret door with the boys. "Sure is dusty in here..."

"I wonder how long this has been inside this tree?" Atticus said.

"What is this-" Ben was about to ask until they were suddenly dropped from where they were standing.

The four kids screamed as they fell through the tree floor, went down a slide that spun and twirl all around and made them all land into a room which looked like a secret headquarters of some type.