Fan Fiction ❯ Storm in the Cat ❯ Storm in the Cat ( One-Shot )

"Storm in the Cat"

Anste

"Good morning, it's 6:00 here in Newark, New Jersey. 78-degree high with a 51-degree low, mostly cloudy with an 81% chance of rain… So folks, bring your umbrellas. Back to you Don."

"Thanks Rae. Hey, have you heard about those small fighter androids by Newtype?"

" NanoFighters? Who hasn't, my son has been begging me for one of them for a few months now!"

"Haha, I heard they have a learning chip and grow stronger with each battle."

"That's true, they're made of nanocells that are developed in the NF itself, and have an aluminum skeleton."

"Wow, that's some heavy-duty stuff for a 15" robot! You've sure been doin'-…"

A hand truncated the speech of the man as it turned off the radio while its partner grabbed an umbrella. Walking out of her apartment, the owner of the hands, a brunette of 15, locked the many locks on her door. Her footsteps were obscured by the sound of traffic as the brunette joined the wave of pedestrians heading toward the metro to Jonton, where her summer job lay before her.

After being smooshed, compressed, and jostled for twenty-five minutes or so, she walked up from the Netherworld to once again stare up at grayish clouds and the overall atmosphere of the decaying metropolis. Of course, there was the exception of the colorful billboards and holographically projected, animated signs of restaurants that contrasted with the graffitied walls and the dull coloring of the decrepit buildings.

The brunette turned and went into a mechanics shop; the bells jingled as she walked through the automatic door.

"Omi-chan, Omi-chan! So glad to see you, Kiara is!" Omillah turned after hanging her light raincoat to face the raven-haired, dreadlocks everywhere, bouncy Kiara.

"Ah, thank God my self-appointed watch dog caught you, Omi," smirked a twelve-year-old girl in the doorway.

"What's cooking Nikki?" inquired Omi following the (dyed) pink haired preteen.

"I finally got the stats back on the test I took to license my repair of NanoFighters," Nikki replied somberly.

"And?"

"Of course I aced it! I am a prodigy, ya' know," winked Nikki mischievously.

"You ham," chuckled Omi.

"Ham and cheese," beamed Kiara hanging upside down from a beam on the ceiling, "Are good to eat!"

Five hours of changing carburetors, balancing monobikes (motorcycles with one wheel: prized for maneuverability, and versatility. Have to be balanced monthly or become cumbersome), and driving away freeloaders, Omillah cleaned up for lunch (joined by Nikki and Kiara).

"Wonder what we should have," inquired Omi, half to herself.

"Maybe a ham and cheese sandwich?"

The three young ladies turned to Nikki's 13" NanoFighter nicknamed Jo (short for Josephina).

"Great idea," Nikki pulled her goggles onto her brow, "I know a great place just about a block from-…"

Thunder crashed and interrupted the girl, "Smack! I forgot my umbrella."

Omillah smiled, pointed to her umbrella and started to walk to the automatic sliding door, "That's alright, I'll go get our munchies."

It was considerably darker and the rain was pelting down, yet Omillah always liked the rain. Rain means the renewal of life.

Walking from the deli, Omillah spotted something in the alley. The brunette walked over and her eyes watered at the sight she beheld. There, tangled in an unnatural position with the blood-like nanocells seeping out of him, was a NanoFighter. Dropping her package and taking off her rain jacket, Omi wrapped up the male NanoFighter and ran (with much hindrance due to the wet and yet, still crowded sidewalk) back to the mechanics shop.

"Is he ok?" Two hours after the find, Nikki came out of her personal workshop (a.k.a. 'The Lab'), to find Omi with new sandwiches.

Grabbing one, the pink haired girl answered, "I fixed the worst of the damage, the rest will regenerate itself," her brown eyes fell upon her friend and coworker. "He's not dead you know, even if he was close. You can breathe. It'll take a day or so before he can tell us who HE is."

The next morning, Omillah walked to the mech (short for mechanical) shop as usual. Walking inside, she turned on the computer and looked at the date: June 30, 2037. Omi investigated the vacant room, "Where's Nikki-…"

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

Omi stuck her head into 'The Lab,' to see the curious sight of a 15" red-orange haired young man hanging on to the ceiling fan while her friend, Nikki, tried to get him down with a broomstick and a ladder, "Ah, standard procedure I see."

Nikki's red face turned to her, "If you're so witty, you get that thing down!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' A THING!"

"YOU, LEPRECHAUN," she shouted, her eye twitching.

"WHY DON'T YOU SAY THAT TO MY FACE OR MAYBE YOU'RE TOO SHORT," the little man retorted in belligerent anger, his hands squeezed into fists.

Stopping Nikki from chucking a broom at him, Omillah threw the broom into a corner and hushed Nikki out of the room.

Omillah looked up to see the red-orange haired young man staring intently at her. Omi grinned, "I'm sorry for my friend's behavior, she's really cranky in the morning."

"I'll say."

Omillah continued, "You tried to get out of here without paying didn't you? It's one of her pet-peeves."

The little man glowered at the wall in agitation, "I didn't ask for her to fix me."

Omi smiled softly, "Well anyways, you probably won't want to stay here with Nikki, so you can bunk at my place 'till ya' heal up."

"Don't want your help." Then, a small grumbling sound echoed throughout the room and the boy blushed.

"I have some sandwiches that'll fill you up," Omi took a sandwich, "I can cut it down to size if you want."

The small man jumped down. Omi noticed a small cat's tail protruding from the seat his pants, moving to balance him. "My name's Omillah, all my friends call me Omi," she said tearing off a more manageable piece for the boy.

"Loki," he replied bluntly, taking the sandwich and sticking it into his mouth ravenously.

Loki finally agreed that staying with Nikki would be, as implied by Omi, an absolute death wish, so he bunked in Omillah's apartment.

"Here we are! Welcome to my humble abode."

Loki jumped out of Omi's backpack and Omillah put away her coat, umbrella and knapsack. She turned back to see Loki already exploring the outer rims of her living room.

"Make yourself at home," Omi smiled, " Oh! I need to get groceries for dinner, ok? I'm pretty sure you'd rather continue your expedition than come with me. I'll be back in a flash!"

Loki did a "hmn" of acknowledgment; the brunette grabbed her keys and coat once more, and headed out the door.

Loki snooped around the apartment, weaving in and out of rooms, checking under the bed, tables, and behind drawers. Picking up a scent, the red-orange haired young man's attention focused on it. Completely silent, Loki stalked over to the kitchen and saw the gray creature in the cupboard.

"Loki, I'm ho-…" Omillah almost dropped her groceries. The couch was over turned, the kitchen was ripped apart, curtains were nonexistent, and the rest of the apartment had the ubiquitous look of disarray. She found the presumptuous NanoFighter in the corner of the room, squatting in front of a hole in the closet, his tail swaying vigorously back and forth.

Omi sighed and walked over to Loki. She picked him up by his shirt; he struggled as Omi took him into the kitchen.

"LET ME GO!"

"I will give you a sponge, and you will start cleaning the counter tops and floors," Omillah answered calmly as she placed Loki on the counter top and started placing the groceries into the refrigerator.

Loki growled and picked up the sponge given to him, pumped some soap on it along with water, and started pushing it along the counter.

Omillah went into her room to dress herself in cleaning clothes, and then set herself to work.

After the incident with the mouse, Omillah decided to take Loki with her to work, much to Loki's dismay. The agenda was quite the same for a few days; Loki would sit in a corner until he got bored, and then would start snooping around until Nikki suspected him of conspiring against her and her shop. Then the pink haired teen would chase him out of her area with any ominous or fear inspiring miscellaneous object that was close at hand.

"I want it to work," growled Nikki.

"What's broken," inquired Kiara munching on a sandwich.

"It's healed and that thing should start paying me back for the work I did on it."

Omillah looked at Loki sitting in the corned chomping on one of her homemade sandwiches, "It does make sense for Loki to start paying his due."

"HEY CARROT TOP!" shouted Nikki to the NanoFighter.

"I'M NOT A VEGTABLE, YOU FRUIT!" Loki's rebuttal stung back.

"WHY YOU LITTLE…"

Omi stopped the pink haired girl from throwing a glass at the red-orange haired little man and turned to Loki, "Nikki is being kind enough to let you repay your debt to her."

Loki jumped on to the table and walked up to the girls at the other end, his eyes narrowed "What exactly do I have to do."

Nikki smirked.

Loki started helping Omillah with welding, and Kiara with transporting parts for monobikes, cars, and other electrical appliances (including NanoFighters'). Loki was a moderately strong NanoFighter, for he could pick up a car door with relative ease. Yet, compared to Kiara's uncanny ability to pick up three car engines at the same time, the small man's strength was subdued 10 to 1 (mind you, that engines have compacted since out time, thus three car engines would equal one from today).

Bringing in a few boxes about eight times his size, Loki noticed a door which he had never bothered to see or open. Finishing his load, the red-orange haired young man ran up, leaped, and managed to hit the opening button. Nothing happened, and the door stayed shut. Glaring at the door, Loki's curiosity grew tremendously for the lone fact that it was a locked door. He needed to find a key.

After an hour of searching to no avail, Loki sat cross-legged, staring anxiously at the door, trying to think of places he had missed or ways he could penetrate the lock. Yes, he did consider breaking down the derisive door. Omi walked in, putting her hair into a braid, and she saw the little man sitting there with his tail twitching in agitation, cursing randomly when he knew that a certain plan would ultimately be a failure.

Omillah smirked at the risible, yet familiar sight of a cat looking at a door apprehensively, waiting for its owner to let it out for its nightly run. She walked up as she taped her knuckles and placed the card key in the slot. Inside, the floors were padded with a beat up old leather punching bag in a corner, and some other various worn down, yet still reliable equipment. "Welcome to the training room," smiled Omi, "It's all worn down, but it's just the way I like it."

Loki glowered at her as though she had betrayed him, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

Omillah shrugged and went in, "You never asked."

Loki went through the revelation that the same person who would cook better than he, also was more skilled in Martial Arts than he. So Omillah became his sensei, but it was more to the likeness of two martial artists teaching each other. For, Omillah always fought on his level, well… always a little above it. She still was the sensei, you know.

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

"A kitchen," Omillah gave Loki a strange look for not recognizing her kitchen.

"I KNOW THAT! But you said you'd be training me today," retorted Loki.

The brunette sobered and pulled out a few items from her cupboard and fridge. She put everything on the table along with a bowl and wooden spoon.

Loki's tail twitched impatiently, "What does this have to do wi-…"

Omillah spun around and with great speed and accuracy measured flour, eggs, cacao powder, oil, milk, vanilla extract and sugar, put everything in the bowl, and started to churn it with the alacrity of an electronic mixer on "whip crème". Loki looked in awe at all the mixing, placing into the oiled pan, and sticking into the oven. This all was done in less than five minutes.

Omi turned and smiled at Loki, "Your turn!"

"Uhhh…" dumbfounded, Loki just stared.

Loki started his intensive training of making cakes, flipping pancakes in the pan, and delivering miscellaneous foods over long distances on foot. Omillah drilled Loki every single day in these exercises and taught him techniques.

Omillah did volunteer work in her spare time such as weekends. Loki's training involved some of these chores.

"Alrighty," Omillah breathed in a swig of air, "Deliver this to Mrs. Cooks." She handed the croissants to Loki.

"Whatever," he grumbled as Omi tied the parcel onto his back. Loki started to head for the door.

"Oh, watch out for…" The door shut before Omi could finish her sentence.

"He's going to regret it…" sighed the brunette as she walked into her room to change and then go after the doomed little man.

"GET HIM!!!" The gang of boys pulled their triggers as they snipped out of their "secret" base, paintballs disgorging from their semi-automatics, pistols, and catapults.

Hair standing on end, paint splattered on one side, and breathing heavily, Loki leaned against a wall out of sight and out of reach of the terror inspiring kids. The closest they got to hitting him was when a paint ball hit a lamppost and paint splattered onto his side, yet they were very close.

"Nothing could possibly… Be worse… Than… That," huffed Loki, hands on knees.

To make sure of this, Loki decided to take a short cut through the yard. Well, the gate was open. Jogging silently, the red-orange haired young man made his way to the back of the yard. He froze. In front of Loki was a Komodo dragon, its tongue sifting through the air.

"Aren't those illegal?" screamed Loki inside.

The huge lizard's eyes fixed on the place where Loki hid and started to cumber itself there.

Loki noticed that the beast was in a cage and relaxed a little, "Ha!"

Then a stubby, wild looking old man with an Australian hat came out of the house with a shot gun, "What's that Bessy? Fresh meat? Well then, have fun babe!" The mad old man laughed menially and pulled a rope, which opened the gate to the Komodo dragon's cage. The animal seemed to smile grotesquely at the thought of a meal, as it cumbered with great speed to the opening. The man blocked the exit from the yard of doom, and the Komodo dragon was getting closer to Loki. The little young man looked up the tree and decided to chance it. Climbing the tree, a shotgun blast boomed past.

"ALIEN ROBOT INVADERS, EH? WELL I'LL TEACH YE' TO TRY TO USE MY YARD FOR YER EXPEREMENTS!" the man cackled insanely and shot a few more times.

Loki climbed to a high branch, and leaped to another tree, then leaped to the wall, and finally to solid ground. As soon as the blessed free ground touched his feet, the red-orange haired young man ran as fast as his little body could let him, all the way to Mrs. Cooks' front door. The old woman and opened the door, "Oh, hello!"

"Here's your… Delivery Ma'm." breathed Loki as he took off the croissants and she picked up the parcel.

"Why thank you, here's your pay," the elderly woman beamed, "I just love the different color packing, very brightening. Keep up the good work, dear."

She shut the door, and Loki collapsed in exhaustion.

"Need a ride?" Loki looked up to see Omillah with her bicycle.

He made a sound that resembled "Feh.. K… euw."

Omi just smiled, picked up her 15" companion, placed him in her backpack, and peddled back to her apartment.

Nikki walked to face Omillah's apartment building, Josephina sitting on her shoulder. Entering the access code for the building, Nikki then took the elevator to Omi's apartment. The young teen pressed the buzzer.

Omi opened the door sweating slightly, "Hi Nikki. How may I be of service?"

Nikki entered the apartment to see the air conditioner on 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the NanoFighter doing a series of punches and jumping kicks over a piece of twine that rose to his shoulders and was strung from one side of the apartment to the other, then a larger copy that was to Omi's size. Nikki watched as Loki, even though small, threw powerful punches, jabbing left then right, ducking to the other side of the twine, repeating the punches, and doing a jumping side kick to the other side.

When he finally noticed that they had company, Loki's eyes narrowed as he spotted Nikki, "What are you doing here?"

Nikki glared back at the presumptuous red-orange haired 15" fighter, "That is none of your business, and you should show more respect to the one who saved you!"

"Hmph." Loki continued with his exercise.

Omillah led Nikki to the kitchen and started making some coffee, "So."

"So," answered Nikki sitting down at the kitchen table, "How's it going?"

"Usual. Taxes, loud neighbors, the occasional mouse," Omi gave Nikki her coffee.

Loki growled at the mention of the name of his adversary.

"No," Nikki sipped the dark liquid, steam rising onto her face, "I mean about the NF."

"What about Loki?" The brunette took her own coffee and sat down.

"Well," Nikki dipped a cookie from a nearby plate into her coffee, "A stubborn, foul mouthed, quick to fight, obnoxious NanoFighter is not exactly the ideal for a house helper."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you? Anyone would," chuckled Omi taking a sip of her own coffee, which was lighter with crème.

"What I'm saying is that I think you should switch his personality chip," Nikki quickly added, "It's for the best. I even have one for you." The pink haired girl took out a chip from her backpack and held it out to Omillah. "It's much more serene, and very attentive. Perfect for delivering groceries to little old ladies. If you want something different," Jo's back flipped open; she pulled a wire from her back and plugged it into the wall, then attached another wire to the TV. A browser appeared on the screen. "We can get another on the internet."

Omi put on a sad smile, "Thank you Nikki."

Loki's fists clenched as Omi's hand reached for the chip. No. They're all the same!

Her hand closed Nikki's over the chip, "But I'd never accept such a gift. I know you are just trying to help me out, and I am very thankful. But I'm ok, really." Omillah's smile brightened "I like Loki just the way he is, and wouldn't want him to change, not one bit."

Loki's eyes widened, her words echo through his being. I like Loki…Wouldn't want him to change… Not one bit.

"Fine, suit yourself," Nikki sighed in defeat, "But don't forget my offer."

Jo unplugged herself and rolled up the cord. Nikki walked out of the kitchen and turned to the door to see Loki leaning against the wall of the kitchen, "I don't know what she sees in you."

"Feelings mutual," the red-orange haired young man growled as she passed.

"Ready for some chicken, it's almost ready!"

Loki turned around to face the beaming brunette.

"Thank… You… Sensei." The young man bowed deeply.

Omillah's eyes widened, "What's this for?" She bent down to his level.

"For… For everything."

Omi picked up his chin gingerly with her finger, "No need for formalities," she beamed once again, "We're friends ya' know!"

Loki grinned, "Right!"

"On forward, our chicken awaits!"

"6:00, weather will be sunny, 95-degree high with a 81-degree low, summer is finally living up to its name."

"You can say that again R-…"

Loki jumped; his hand flipped the switch of the radio and he soundly landed on his feet.

"Come on Loki, or we'll be late," Omillah called as she straitened her sock in her shoe so it fit with more comfort.

"Jesh… Always early, always rushing to work," Loki grumbled, "I don't get why. We aren't due 'till 6:45!"

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy and wise," beamed Omillah at the red-orange haired young man climbing into her backpack.

"Whatever."

Stepping out of the metro, Omillah was blocked by a band of three boys, classmates of hers. "So, Omi, right?" This one had his black hair slicked back, glasses on, and was the shortest of the group. He was obviously the leader, "I see you have an NF too. Or, excuse me, NanoFighter. Since you have been using it as a delivering boy, I doubt a girl like you would know its real purpose.

This was too much for Loki, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOUR-EYES!?"

The boy's eyes narrowed, "Plenty enough, to debunk you as defect. With no regard to your superiors… Omi, I guess you really don't know how to train a NanoFighter, shame, shame. Maybe a sweet, quiet girl wouldn't have the heart. I will be generous and offer my services to you, as a trainer."

"DON'T INSULT OMI LIKE THAT YOU SLUG!"

"I am flattered for the offer, but I think I can pull it off on my own. Thank you," Omillah answered politely. The brunette tried to walk around them, yet they blocked her once again.

"After it insulted me like that? No, no my dear Omi. You must accept or see your NF get torn to pieces," smirked the slick haired boy. His cohorts laughed dully behind him. There was no intelligence behind their grunts and snorts. NanoFighters came forward from behind them.

Loki grinned as well, "Finally some action!"

He jumped down and did a few warm ups, "I'm ready."

The black haired boy laughed, "So it wants to fight, I guess we do need some entertainment! We'll enjoy teaching you what real NF can do."

"Shut up and let's fight," growled Loki.

They moved into an alley. The three NF of the boys stood on one side, Loki on the other. The boys had standard models with some experience. One of the fighters charged, while the others departed to the sides, obviously to trap him. Loki smirked at the cheap attempt to fool him. Instead of going for the loudest, and nearest in the center coming straight for him, Loki swerved to his left and with speed, agility, and accuracy did a series of punches to the kidneys and punched into the would-be attacker's gut that slammed the NF into a wall. Then, Loki sped to the second, did a jumping spinning side kick, uppercut, elbow strike, high punch. He was out. Now the first attacker came up behind him and did a round house kick. Loki dodged and kicking the NF's leg from under it, then knocking the opponent up into the air before the NF could fall to the ground and then did a spinning heel kick into the attacker's gut. Loki returned into his ready position while the last NF skid face first into concrete.

The boys were wide-eyed and aghast. A golf clap could be heard as a smiling Omi lightly tapped her hands together. The boys quickly picked up their NF, one crying, and ran off with their tails between their legs.

"HAHAHA! YOU SUCK YOU FAGS!" Loki called, leaping in joy.

"I guess you need to satiate your need for a fight, now and then. I'll remember that," Omi smiled as Loki strutted up next to her.

"When's the next fight?" grinned Loki.

Omillah gave Loki a noogie with three of her fingers, "Silly goose."

"HEY!"

An open window: if you stare straight out, your eyes fall upon a brick wall of the building next to you. Loki walked up to it silently, making no sound whatsoever. The sun had not yet risen, and neither had Omillah, who still wandered in the great realms of slumber. Jumping onto the sill, Loki reached up and unlatched the window. Painstakingly delicate was Loki's work as he slid the window up. The red-orange scalp of the NF poked out first and looked to his left at the emergency stair system close by. Loki's lavender eyes reflected an eerie glow as the streetlight's radiant shine reached the window where he lingered. Loki leaped to the stairway and landed with no objection from the rusty stairway. Loki went up the honeycombed steel plates till he was on the roof. The little man eased his body as he walked to the corner that he favored most of all. Loki sat down and waited. He waited for the sun.

"So, you turn it on yet?"

"Think so."

The voices entered his ears. The first thing he had ever heard. Opening his eyes, the NF opened his eyes to look up at the boys with red do-rags on their heads.

"It works! So what are you going to name it?"

"I dunno…"

"Hey! How 'bout Wolf?"

"You named yours that. Actually… I think you named all of yours that!"

"Only three!"

"That's all you have."

"No! There's Lily!"

"That's your sister's that you always steal."

"Borrow!"

"Whatever."

"Remember that DVD we saw last night?"

"That old school one?"

"Yeah! It was, like, Dog-something…"

"Dogma?"

"Yeah that's the one! You should call it Jay, cause he was cool!"

"No… Reminds me too much of you."

"Wow! I'm a cool old school movie person!"

His companion rolled his eyes and looked at the NF before him. He got it. "Loki."

"What?"

"His name will be the Angel of Death that quit his job in a drunken rage."

"Sweet! Kudos on getting the name! Where'd you get that from?"

The one who gave the name to the NF, twitched in the eyebrow, "Forget it."

He turned back to the NF, "So, Loki. Welcome to the 'Red Fangs'!"

"Yeah man! All the way!"

"Beautiful isn't it?"

Loki spun around quickly to find that Omillah had awakened.

The brunette smiled, "Quiet moments make you think, ya' know?"

"Yeah," Loki turned to face the rising sun.

Omi sat down beside her 15" friend and they sat in silence.

"I," Loki started, "I was taken away from my original owner, a guy who was part of the 'Red Fangs'. A gang of a few people. Not the biggest, yet a sufficient family."

Omillah kept her silence.

"One day, the whole gang was challenged. We all lost," Loki growled the last syllable. "The ones who challenged the gang took all of us NF as their own. And then they… Took us to a place with cages on top of each other. They wanted to show us how things worked there…" He drifted.

Omillah looked at her friend and noticed he had start to shake, her eyes softened and she reached over and embraced the small body in her arms. "If it hurts to think of it, then release the pain. I won't tell."

The small man started to cry. Something he never knew he could do before. He cried until he shut off from low energy and stress on his emotion chip. Omillah took Loki into her arms and looked at her sleeping friend. The sun shone on his slightly wet features of his face. The brunette stood there and looked up at the sea of gold that lay glistening on the horizon. A breeze played with her hair as she turned and walked back to her apartment.

"197… 198… 199… 200," Loki finished his last push up. Standing up, the young man went down to make breakfast. It was a day or so later, and nothing was mentioned of the incident on the roof.

Omillah was already up and had the pan out, "Today you will make pancakes, with blueberries and crème. Now remember, try not to crush the blueberries."

"Picky, picky," grumbled Loki as he started.

After he was finished, Omi critiqued. "Yum," beamed Omi as she tried the pancakes, "The crème's a little watery, churned it too much, I'm afraid."

"TOO MUCH!? I THINK THAT YOU JUST DO THIS SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO COOK! FIGHTING'S ALL ABOUT POWER, IF YOU DON'T HAVE POWER, YOU'RE WEAK AND YOU LOSE!"

"Anyone can fight with power. Martial Art however, is an art, as is implied by the name. You must use restraint or your moves become too predictable and sloppy. If you put everything out in each of your attacks, you won't have any energy to bring yourself back in time," Omi put her head on her hands, then grinned and stuck her tongue out, "You're right, it does seem like I'm making you make me breakfast for the fun of it, though!"

Loki's eye twitched at the statement but disregarded it, "What's next?"

"We have to deliver Mrs. Yolanda's medicine again," answered Omillah, putting her shoes on.

"Why do you help her? You aren't even related to her! Why do you bother, you don't even get paid!"

"If we do not," Omi finished tying her shoe and stood up, "who will help her?"

"But why?" Loki gave her a confused look, "If she is no longer efficient enough to go a mile to the pharmacy, why should you waste your time on something that cannot improve?"

"Because she is a living being. Living things should be cherished and protected, because life is something more beautiful and precious than any expensive jewelry or material thing. Life is more important than pride. If it means to make one living person happy, and maybe even extending his or her life on this planet one more second for them to enjoy it, walking five miles is nothing. Yet," the brunette saddened, "there are times in which death is unavoidable; if someone is in danger of being killed, or has been and others are in danger, then the oppressor must be stopped."

The girl smiled and walked out of the door with the brownie cake she had made for the elderly woman, "Aren't you coming, Loki?"

The red-orange haired young man jogged tentatively up to the brunette, and they left.

Walking back, Omi decided to stop at a café for a bite to eat. When the two of them finally got their order, a limousine pulled up in front of a building across from them. First a few thug-like men got out, and then they opened a door for a pompous man, adorned with a tailored suit, and a platinum and gold watch. Omi noticed NanoFighters following in the bodyguard's footstep.

"Them," Loki hissed with loathing and abhoration, his hair standing on end; his tail erect.

"They're the ones who beat you up and left you there, aren't they?" Omi sipped her mocha latte.

Loki jumped down and was about to run over there, but Omi stopped him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS ISN'T YOUR FIGHT!"

"I will not let one of my friends go and kill himself. Think. You are out numbered so pure brute strength will be suicide," Omi took another sip.

"So what do I do," glared Loki.

"Observe, calculate, and think up a plan. They must have some weakness."

"I can't just sit here and watch! Half of those were my friends when we were all owned by the Red Fangs (gang) before they defeated us and left me to die because I wasn't worth it," Loki's fists pulsed and he gritted his teeth. "You don't even know what we were put through! They put us in cages like lab rats, divided us, stuffed us into the many already packed cages and only fed us when it was convenient. Those who weren't strong enough to fight after the first few days were disassembled for their parts right in front of us," the red-orange haired young man trembled in rage, "I lost my third battle and was left out there to die! AND YOU TELL ME TO STAY PUT WHILE MY FRIENDS ARE BEING STILL HELD THERE?"

"Revolution."

"What?"

"If none want to be there, then if all united, they can easily usurp the opposing monarchy. There are probably ¼ of the city's NanoFighters in there. I heard from Nikki that she's been losing customers to a fierce gang of some sort that can never be tagged by the police because they are so high up in society. They probably took apart all those spare parts from those NF to make their own NanoFighters. Free parts means more income with less pay. It's a scam, and a pretty large one from what you told me. So if we were to let those birds out of their cages, maybe we can convince them to pay their captors back for all of their hospitality," Omillah's eyes weren't seen as she sipped her coffee, "Loki?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could give them a little present without being seen?" The brunette handed him a tracking device, "Watch out for the windows, there may still be someone in the car."

Loki grinned, "Cake."

Taking the device, he disappeared in the forest of legs. Loki finally reached close to the car and scouted a weak point: only one visible human guard in front of the door of the building, a two NanoFighters guarding the car. Going in the wake of a group of tourists, he got close enough to roll under the car. Taking the device given to him, he plastered it and was about to turn it on.

Loki rolled as a punch flew right though where his head would have been, the red-orange haired young man glared at the one who had almost knocked his lights out. An attack came from behind in a form of a low swipe kick. Loki couldn't prevent from being tripped because he was already bent over from the low height situation under the limo. Once he hit the ground, Loki quickly rolled to avoid being kicked in the face, and caught the leg of another attacker.

"Cat boy?"

Loki stared up at the face of the NF whose leg he had in his hands and his eyes widened, "Ennol?"

Loki found himself in a choke and getting a major noggie from the man with blue tinted glasses; his silver hair braided and reaching down to the middle of his back, "HAHA! Damn, I thought you were dead kid!"

"DON'T CALL ME A KID!"

"Same old Loki," Loki turned to see Ricky with his black messy hair spraying across his face, crouched down grinning, "So what are you doing here?"

"Placing a tracker."

"I know you weren't smart enough to pull that one from your thick skull." Ennol placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, if you had it your way you'd run up here and get yourself killed in a blink of an eye," nodded Ricky in agreement.

"THANKS A LOT!"

Ennol placed his hand on Loki's mouth, "Do you want to kill us all?"

"Ditch these drags and come with me."

"No can do," grimaced Ennol.

"They put this thing inside of us that when they want they can just push the button and we feel this extreme pain," Ricky explained with a somber look. "They gave us all a test run the first time we got it. Hurts like hell and back."

"I know a person who can take it out of you, just a mile from here," explained Loki. "I need you to help me plan this!"

"HEY SCUM! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Ennol signed for Loki to stay, and the two NF crawled out of the back and walked to the front.

"WHAT YOU TWO BE DOIN' BACK THERE?" interrogated the guard.

"Checking the back. Saw a group of punks eye'n the limo like fresh meat, wanted to make them think twice before mess'n with the boss's car."

"And who would be scared of shits like you," the guard guffawed and kicked Ennol, sending him skidding on the concrete, "Next time I see ya' think'n, ya gonna feel the wires pinch!" The guard left and sat back in the chair.

"Damn, I'm sick of that fruit," Ennol spat, "As soon as he sleeps, I'm in."

"Ditto," growled Ricky, "Death's better than this."

Waiting till the man was asleep all three retraced Loki's steps, and Omillah put both NF in her backpack. She "borrowed" a bike and got to the mech shop in fifteen minutes.

"What's this?" inquired Nikki looking at the two new NanoFighters, "No more dysfunctional NF, I hope."

"Unlike Loki, we actually know when to stop being #ss holes," smiled Ennol sweetly.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"Well, I guess since you are being polite," smirked Nikki, "How may I help you gentlemen?"

Nikki gladly helped out by taking out the "pinchers" inserted in their main chip and disposing of them in a passing garbage truck.

Loki walked into the room where his two comrades were resting.

Ennol opened one eye, "Hey."

"Hey," Loki jumped on to the padded table on which Ennol and Ricky lay. "You okay?"

"If the numbness in my brain and body is ruled out… yeah."

"Ennol, I thought I told you to stop smoking that stuff." Ricky was sitting up.

Ennol grinned back, "Eh, you know how bad habits are hard to kill."

"And so are you." Loki smirked at his two friends.

"True, true." Chorused back the two.

"So Cat Boy," Ennol turned to face his red-orange haired companion, "What do you want to know?"

&nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p;

"Ah, shift's finally over," the guard yawned and started to walk inside from his night post, rifle in hand. No sooner did he open the door, than a hand hit a pressure point rendering him unconscious, dragged him into the a bush, and a figure emerged with the same attire yet different in some way. The new guard passed the figure with no second thought. The disguised one walked until it reached close to the storage door. It took out a device and pressed it, the cameras made a strange beeping noise. The stranger walked over to the door and slid a card key, opening it. Walking into the room it walked to the back and opened the door.

"Thanks Kiara." Omi, Loki, Ennol, and Ricky walked in with headsets; Ennol with his twin swords on his back, Ricky with his adapted shot gun (equal to full sized bullet round), Kyo the same, and Omi with a shotgun, pistol and semiautomatic for Kiara.

"Kiara is always glad to help friends," beamed the girl taking off the cap, freeing her dreadlocks.

"All in? Ok now, to your right there should be a vent, follow it till it forks, turn left until you hit a shaft going up. There're rings. Go up one story." Nikki's voice went through the headset.

"Copy that."

"Alright. There should be a vent opening right below you in a sec, and you're there. The cameras are still paused."

Omi undid the vent cover, dropped the rope, and slid down, soon followed by the others. NF debris spewed across the room and stacked cages were just as described: stacked bodies in cages. All five, using a skeleton card key created by Nikki, started opening the cages. The occupants filed out until the floor, tables, and the tops of cages were covered; all cages were unlocked.

Ennol went to the most well seen place in the room, a bookshelf. "All of you here have survived hell for only a couple of days or maybe for a couple of years. But no matter how different we may seem to each other, we still have one thing in common; our suffering. We have suffered far too much in this place to let it stand! We suffered and were tormented far too much, and far too long to let them take another one of us into this slavery! LET'S JOIN TOGETHER TO MAKE THE ONES WHO MADE US WATCH OUR FRIENDS TORN APART BY THEIR HANDS, LET THE ONES WHO TOOK AWAY OUR FREEDOM, OUR LIVES, AND THE LIVES OF THE ONES DEAR TO US PAY FOR THEIR TRANSGRESSION! THE RECONING HAS BEGUN!"

Cheering and war cries echoed the room and the wave of NF surged through the door into the hallways: destroying all that stood before them. Their destination was the Executive suite. A few guards shot into the mass to no avail, and their radios were jammed. The original five shot down the guards in return.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?" screamed the suited man with the platinum watch as the doors to the Executive suite were knocked down. As the doors fell down, one of the braver overseers shot .45 calibers into the crowd.

"ENNOL!" roared Loki as he saw his friend fall to the ground. The crowd around him passed and went to envelop the foes that lay before them. Ennol's legs were shot off and Omi quickly wrapped her bandana on the wounds, picking Ennol up.

Kiara appeared behind Omi, "The bombs are set."

Omillah looked sadly at the scene that she beheld in the hallway, "Loki, go get everyone out of here. Kiara, look for injured. I'll take Ennol."

"Yes Omi-chan."

After they returned, Nikki told them that this was just one of the illegal NF producers in the country. Many of the NF that survived set out to these places. That group named itself Liberators of Oppressed NanoFighters (LONF). They asked Ennol to be their leader. He said that getting his legs blown off once was enough for him. He suggested Ricky and the raven-haired man, quipped that he always knew that Ennol was trying to get him back for stealing his girlfriend, and accepted. Ricky then got slugged in the face, thus starting one of the first NF moshpits (One hits one, then accidentally hits another, then someone trying to pull them apart gets hit, until all who were there, plus some more, are fighting and rolling around in the mud. A.k.a.: Moshpit). Loki, Ennol and a few other friends bunked in Omillah's apartment. They all agreed that life wouldn't be complete without Omi's delectable cooking.

Before they all diverted into different paths, they built a memorial to all who died in the 1st Stand. Omi persuaded them to include the opposing force. She was still saddened about the deaths on both sides, yet she knew it was just. Life was being oppressed and life will be renewed in the end. Ashes of a tyrant give nutrients to the flowers of freedom. May ashes fall over the land and make meadows; may the storms feed them.