"You will OBEY us."
He shook his head defiantly. Suddenly, blinding pain shot through his body. It made him scream with agony and he fell to the floor. He looked up and glared at the blurry figure with anger. His arms and legs were shackled together so there was no chance of breaking free anytime soon.
"You have one more chance, soldier. You will do your duty!"
When he did not give a sign of submission, the same pain shot through him again. This time, he did not scream. He had lost the energy to do that. Black spots covered his blurry vision. He couldn't stand this torture any longer...
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
The heroes were at Doctor Zhai and Sister Peach's wedding. As the newly wedded couple moved in to kiss, Xiao suddenly found himself in Doctor Zhai's place. He looked surprised, and turned to look apologetically at Sister Peach, but discovered that she had turned into a veil-covered Shang.
"Lift the veil..." she urged him.
Blushing slightly, he did as he was told and was in shock to discover Fever Monster under the veil. "XIAO! I LOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!"
The whole wedding plunged into chaos. Before Xiao's eyes, the whole world spiralled.
Darkness.
Then light.
A lone figure stood at the edge of the light. He was covered in silver, and had a long flame of blue hair. His blue eyes shone from his black visor, and he grinned and waved at Xiao. He then did a chin salute.
"No. TC9527, Kalo, Knight of Planet Adeli, ready for orders."
A new and lasting friendship thus began.
"Xiao, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened in my whole life."
A cube, filled with memories of him and his family together, illuminated Kalo although his life had already left him. He smiled, took a deep breath, and whispered.
"Goodbye."
An explosion.
"KALO!"
Xiao woke up with a jerk. He looked around quickly and then realised it was from him. He was covered in cold sweat and tears. Not another nightmare... He hoped he hadn't woken the others.
Slowly, he got up and looked out the window wistfully at the night sky, which was full of stars. It had been a few weeks since Kalo had sacrificed himself to save Planet Xing. Everyone was devastated, especially Xiao, who took it harder than anyone else, but he never let it show. Because of that, some people suspected that he was too cold-hearted to care. Hua seemed to think so too.
He tried to get back into bed and sleep again, but he just couldn't. That nightmare was so vivid, unlike the others. He sighed and got out of bed and went to the window again and stared for a moment. Maybe he should go for a walk. That would always calm him down.
He quietly slipped out of the window, landed on the ground with a soft thud, and walked away.
"He still refused to yield!" The man in a black suit and a hat complained frustratedly. "I think we should kill him now."
A soldier in a yellow suit came forward holding a small box. "Commander, wait. I have an idea."
Out of curiosity, the man opened the box the soldier was holding. Inside the container, it was...
Food.
"That is a good idea, soldier! We can torture him further with food!"
"Ehrm, sorry Commander. Wrong box. That was my dinner," The soldier said and put down the box. He held out another one, this time covered in red velvet and had gold lining at the edges.
When The Commander looked into the contents of the box, he smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes. This is an even better idea..."
Two burglars had their eyes on a new jewellery shop as soon as it had been set up. The shopkeeper had brought in many expensive and attractive accessories and they were planning to rob the shop at night, when no one was around. It would actually have gone successfully if they hadn't heard a voice behind them, asking: "Now just what do you think you are doing?"
They turned to see Xiao standing behind them, glaring. He was walking around in the area when he heard tinkling of broken glass. He went over to find the source of the sound and caught the thieves in the act.
In panic, one of the burglars fired his gun at Xiao. Xiao easily teleported out of the way and reappeared in front of the burglar, dealing with a kick into his face which knocked him out. The other burglar shrieked and dropped his gun. "I surrender..." he stuttered meekly.
After leaving the burglars tied up at the door of the police station, Xiao walked away. He decided to take one more walk around the town before going back to sleep to make sure there aren't more break-ins like this one.
The Commander walked over to the prisoner, who was lying motionless on the ground, held tight by the chains. The prisoner heard him coming near and got up, growing under his breath.
"Now hold still..." The Commander muttered and took out the box and opened it. Inside was a purple collar with needle-looking spikes inside the collar. The prisoner started to panic when he saw it and struggled harder with his bonds and two soldiers had to hold him down before the Commander could get it over his head.
When the collar was stuck on the prisoner's neck, he went limp. His eyes glazed over and turned glowing red. The Commander smiled with satisfaction. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way... Send him to Planet Xing! He will be meeting General Big Guai and Coperal Little Guai. You there!"
He pointed at the soldier who had given him the collar earlier. He was eating his dinner and nearly choked on it.
"Err, take the day off tomorrow," the Commander said.
Big Guai and Little Guai stared at the remote The Commander had just sent them from Planet Hui. It was slick and black, and looked very modern. Big Guai looked up at the intercom where The Commander was on the other line, smoking his tobacco and sitting behind a large chair.
"So, what do we do with this?" he asked The Commander.
"You will use it to control someone I'll be sending along here. He's very skilled and swift in combat. He used to be a traitor but we finally caught him when he was in hiding. He is now under your control with this remote," The Commander explained. "In fact, I think you are familiar with him."
"Shao Dragon? But-"
"No, no, not Shao Dragon," The Commander said. "He's-"
Just then, the door opened and someone crept in. Big Guai turned around to look and saw no one. He shrugged nervously and turned back, just in time to see a blue cat with dark stripes over his body standing in front of him. There was a purple glowing collar attached to him and his eyes were glowing red, hostile and murderous. Big Guai nearly fell over in shock.
"-Cat Assassin."
Xiao was just walking home. He had finished patrolling the whole town for free and finally felt tired. He wished he had a watch. It was already probably three in the morning already, and tomorrow is a school day.
A loud clang caught Xiao's attention. He looked around for the noise. "Who's there?" he asked cautiously. There was no response.
Xiao's eyes narrowed. He walked over to the alley where he had heard the sound. There was definitely someone... or something in the dark corner.
"Show yourself!" Xiao said, then felt stupid for saying that. It was probably some homeless guy or a rat.
...or a cat.
Xiao's nose started to itch and turn red. He let out a huge sneeze and quickly wiped his nose. He quickly backed out of the alley but something stopped him from behind. He turned to see a blue cat with dark stripes over him.
"...Little Angel?" Xiao whispered, instinctively backing away and covering his nose. He could never forget that cat. After all, he cared for him, fed him, and even slept with him despite his family's protests after he found him in an accident with a car. Then, a few weeks later, the heroes discovered the cat's secret identity. He was a killer called the Cat Assassin and was on an order to kill Xiao. Because of Xiao's kindness during his injuries, he reformed and left. Now, Xiao was facing him again. He didn't know what to say.
After a few seconds, Xiao walked over to the cat, meaning to carry him in his arms. He did not expect him to suddenly lunge out with his claws and scratch him across the chest! Xiao stumbled back, sneezing again.
"Angel?" Xiao asked, shocked. Don't you remember me? Just then, he noticed his eyes. His red glowing eyes. Is... is he under someone's control?
Cat Assassin attacked again, but this time Xiao dodged. Everywhere the cat slashed, Xiao dodged. He was hesitant to hurt the cat, but there was no other way to stop him. Xiao was knocked against a wall when Cat Assassin finally struck him. He got up painfully and looked at the cat, who sprung-
"HUAXIN METALLIC CHAIN!"
The cat was caught midway with sparking chains. Xiao looked at his rescuer. A boy gazed down from a balcony, dressed in green with spiky pineapple hair and tanned skin. He was holding onto a chain with one end wrapped around the cat. He was also trying to look awesome and cool at the same time, and since he was on high ground, it was very effective. That is, until someone opened the door and shouted at the boy angrily: "OI! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"
The boy fell from that balcony, startled. He quickly got up again, brushing his hair and fixing a few flaws with a mirror before putting it away. He then smiled heroically. "The main character always comes at everyone's time of need!"
Earlier that night, Hua was awakened by Xiao's scream. He couldn't really make out what he said, but he was sure that it was a nightmare. Annoyed, he fell back onto the pillows. If he couldn't get enough beauty sleep, then it's all Xiao's fault!
A few minutes later, he got out of bed. He knew Xiao was going through a hard time and didn't want to hurt him further by saying something wrong. In fact, all the heroes hadn't spoke to Xiao for weeks. This shows how little they know about Xiao even though he's been with them for so long. He needed to know if Xiao was okay. He himself had nightmares, and he knew what it felt like. He walked quietly over to Xiao's bedroom and knocked softly.
"Xiao?"
There was no answer. Hua frowned, and debated whether he should knock the door down or not. He tried the handle and found it locked. He felt like a snoop when he peeked through the keyhole. As much as he could see through the keyhole in the room, he saw it empty.
"Xiao?" he tried again. He then sighed. He placed his hand on the doorknob and used his magnetisms to draw the lock back.
Click.
Hua opened the door and looked in curiously. Xiao was nowhere to be seen. He looked out the window for a moment. Did Xiao... go for a walk? Hua wondered. He ran over to the window and peered out. No sign of Xiao.
Hua groaned. He was probably getting dark circles around his eyes. How can the audience love him if he had panda-eyes? He rubbed his eyes worriedly and fumbled around in his pockets for a mirror.
Was it safe for Xiao at this hour? He could probably handle it. Hua really should go back to sleep. But somewhere inside him told him that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Xiao and he didn't do a thing about it.
"Xiao owes me SO much." he grumbled and jumped out of Xiao's window, catching himself with electromagnetic waves easily and flew out, searching for Xiao.
Xiao rolled his eyes. He sneezed again and sniffled, rubbing his nose. He then noticed that the cat was gone. He felt something behind him and quickly turned, just in time to move away before Cat Assassin could hit him. Hua unleashed his chains on the cat again and tried to catch him, but he was swift. He appeared in front of Hua. Hua dodged before Cat Assassin could touch his pressure points and freeze him, but the cat was still able to injure him, throwing him against the wall.
He now turned to Xiao and walked towards him. Xiao still did not want to hurt the cat but he crouched into a defensive position. Suddenly, he had his hand out, palm facing Cat Assassin. The cat looked confused for a second as memories came flooding back to him.
"Why would you bring a cat home? You're allergic to cats!" Doctor Zhai protested.
"He is injured." was Xiao's simple answer.
...
Cat Assassin tried to creep out of the house unseen that night. Xiao caught him in the act.
"You're injured. Don't go anywhere."
He slept with Cat Assassin that night. It was then Cat Assassin discovered Xiao's allergy to cats.
...
"Your claws are too long."
His fur was brushed by Xiao. That was the best thing he had ever felt.
...
"Xiao, you idiot!"
"He was sent here to kill you!"
"He... must have been forced to." Xiao argued.
...
A hand, held out gently. Not striking Cat Assassin like what his father did when he was a kitten.
"Little Angel..."
"Something's wrong." Big Guai said.
"What is?" Little Guai asked.
The duo was hiding behind the garbage at the back of the alley.
"The cat isn't responding to my controls." Big Guai said, twiddling with the remote. "Aha! We're good."
Cat Assassin's claws suddenly raised, bringing them down onto Xiao. But before they could touch Xiao, they stopped midway. Xiao opened his eyes in amazement. He saw Cat Assassin trying to stop himself from hurting Xiao. He then realised that there was a strange looking collar around Cat Assassin's neck.
"Here, let me-" Xiao said, reaching for the collar. Instead, Cat Assassin swiped his hand away and stumbled, yowling as the collar sparkled with electricity and went dead. He knelt on the floor, panting heavily.
Xiao stared at the cat for a full minute, wondering if he was still dangerous or not. He decided to risk it. "L-Little Angel?" he called out and walked over to the cat, cuddling it. A small purr answered Xiao. His heart leapt. For the first time in forever, he smiled... and then sneezed right in the cat's face.
Hua got up, his head spinning. He looked around for the cat and saw it together with Xiao. He was just about to attack him, but stopped, stared, then smiled too.
"Darn it! We failed again!" Big Guai said.
"Don't worry, Big Guai. We haven't." Little Guai reminded him.
"Wait, what?" Big Guai asked.
"Remember what the Commander said?" Little Guai said.
Flashback started
"Oh, remember, if anything goes wrong, you can press the big red button." The Commander said.
Flashback ended
"Well, here goes." Big Guai said, hitting the red button.
A beeping noise came from the collar. Xiao looked down curiously. He was then startled by Cat Assassin's yowling. The collar had started to tighten and strangle him!
"NO!" Xiao cried, and tried to pry it loose. It was stuck tight and he was unsuccessful. He panicked and ran over to Hua, who was frozen in shock too.
"Hua! Do something!" Xiao shouted. "Use your magnetic powers!"
"I... I cant!" Hua said. "This isn't metallic! It's probably polymer..."
Xiao ran back to the cat and continued to pull on the tightening collar. "Help me!" he shouted at Hua. Hua quickly came over and helped.
"It's no use! It's locked!" Hua told Xiao.
Cat Assassin had already fainted from loss of air. Xiao did not want to watch the cat die slowly in front of him. He gave another desperate tug on the collar. No, please no, not another one...
A single tear fell from Xiao's eye and dropped onto the collar. The collar sparkled again and smoke came out from it. The collar loosened its hold on the cat's neck before breaking off completely.
Cat Assassin gave a loud gasp of air. Xiao blinked. The cat looked up at Xiao. He seemed to say 'I'll be fine'. Xiao sneezed again and looked as if he could shout for joy. He decided against it, and settled for hugging the cat. His Little Angel.
Hua glanced at Xiao and Cat Assassin. He put his hand on Xiao's shoulder. "Alright then. Let's go home."
Xiao nodded and carried the cat, walking back to their home.
"Seriously now, how did we fail this time?" Big Guai asked angrily.
"General, the instruction paper came with the remote control. We haven't read it yet," Little Guai said. He held up the small slip of paper and read it aloud. "Warning: The collar is not water-proof. It will be damaged if put near water, along with its remote control."
Big Guai looked down at the remote he was still holding, which suddenly blew up, blackening the duo.
"SERIOUSLY! SHUT UP! WE HAVE WORK TOMORROW YOU INCONSIDERATE FREAKS!" the same guy who shouted at Hua was now shouting at Big Guai and Little Guai.
THE END
So if anyone was confused, this story used to be simpler. Then I decided to change it a little.
Okay. Maybe a lot.
I know you guys reading this were like "Xiao's tears are magical"
I was really bored and decided to fix something. Cat Assassin was the first thing I thought of.
If you liked this, please leave a review down below.
