*EDITED* 08/17/14


0:05

0:04

0:03

0:02

0:01

0:00...

The screen went blank, and everyone down in Motorcity braced themselves for the worst. It didn't had to be said, it was something that could be felt, something that lingered in the air every time that tedious capital K appeared on their screens.

It wasn't any different for the Burners, and like everyone else, they waited patiently for the announcement to begin. Their eyes remained intently glued to the screen, where KaneCo's Broadcasting logo shined like a brand new jewel waiting to stun anyone who dared to feast their eyes upon it. The image of the logo subsided, and a broad white stage now took over the screen. As expected, Kane's top elites stood neatly in formation as they waited for the ceremony to begin, and though it wasn't expressed, but it was clear that by the way certain people were dressed in the seating public, that not everyone was a member of the military.

"Oh great! The circus is involved…" Dutch pointed, and he didn't had to explain any further for the rest to understand what he actually meant.

With a sickening expression, Chuck nodded in agreement. The poor lanky teen, still felt sick to his stomach from his encounter with Jacob's smoothie. "Well, I hope they make it quick!" He expressed nervously, scared of another barf tantrum possibly returning. From now on, he'd make better choices when it came down to Jacob's food, he noted to himself. He sighed with regret, and took a moment to glance at the girl sitting next to him, who was leaning towards the counter, while her face rested in her folded arms.

"Yeah well I got a feeling that this isn't something we should be concerned about…" She added carelessly. Despite feeling sick, Chuck felt bewildered by her sudden confidence. Kane's messages didn't always result in threats, but that didn't necessarily meant they should lower their guard.

"Well, we don't know that yet!" Chuck retorted. "For all we know, he could declare war on us at the end of the ceremony. There's a reason why this thing is being broadcasted, you know!"

She straightened herself in her seat, and lightly cleared her throat before glaring back at Chuck. It was his negativity that ticked her the most. "Well, Charles… You said so yourself, it's an award ceremony! I'm pretty sure he just wants to brag about his new toy soldiers, that's all! And I don't even know what's so menacing about them, I mean look at them!" She said, pointing at the rows and rows of cadets standing neatly like statues on stage. Some of them seemed nervous, others uncertain, and very few of them seemed confident to be standing there.

Chuck acknowledged her point, but again, he found it hard to believe. With Kane there was always a catch, something he assumed that she, more that anyone would know by now, and he would've continued to validate his point, if it wasn't for the gradually growing applause resonating from the screen, causing her to grunt, and the both of them to return their attention back to the screen. The rest of the Burners following suit.

Abraham Kane walked up to the stage, and the crowd cheered louder. It was as if the sound was like a drug to him, causing his grin to grow wider with need, waving his hand at the people as he made his way behind the podium. The girl ran her tongue through her teeth, her eyes wincing in irritation at the mere sight of him; hands balling to a hard fist at the image of her dearly despised enemy. He always brought a bad taste to her mouth.

"Good evening, Deluxe!" Kane started, looking straight at the camera with a rehearsed grin on his face. He then relaxed his features, and gave a quick glance to the sitting crowd, "KaneCo Executive Staff…" before returning his gaze back to the camera. "Tonight we gather to honor those who defend our city, the ones who's necks are always on the line for our safety; the loyal, strong and the brave that protect us day and night from the danger that lurks below us."

"Danger? Aha! So he has heard of Texas!" Declared Texas, who without much thought started to karate chop the countertop before him.

"Dude! Do you mind?!" Voiced Dutch, strongly elbowing Texas; trying to bring him back from his self-glorifying moment.

"Will you quiet down you mindless baboon!" Yelled Jacob, throwing Texas a dirty dried cloth to dry off the contents of a glass that he had accidentally tipped.

"Shhh…" Hushed the girl, and the nasty look on her face was enough to end the commotion, and urge the rest to return their attention back to the holographic screen.

"And now, a moment of respect and silence for those who've fought, and lost their honorable battle against Motorcity, the fallen." Announced Kane, his gaze slowly dropping to the ground; bowing his head respectfully.

"Oh please! Trying to turn the situation around to mask his mistakes." She expressed, with a low irritated tone, but no one dared to share a comment.

"May those souls rest in peace. Their service and dedication will always be honored here in Deluxe." With each word, his tone became more sorrowed, and eerie, and like a charm, the public silently bowed for respect. A couple of silent seconds later, Kane gave the crowd a somewhat sympathetic smile before turning his attention towards the rows of KaneCo cadets that stood neatly in formation behind him. He gave them a quick salute, and like programmed robots, they saluted back. "At ease…" He called, and they immediately returned to their previous stance. "Tonight we honor you cadets, the future of this city's victory relies on your hands. We will honor and award your great achievements, for all your hard work and dedication. We will start by calling those who ranked in Second Lieutenant, and so on… Once your name is called, you will walk up to me, salute, and will be pinned, after that, you may go back in formation until you are dismissed. Is that understood?" He called to the army of cadets, and they quickly responded with a loud howl of approval.

"Very well…" Said Kane walking back to his place behind the podium, where a list of names awaited him. He cleared his throat lightly before calling the first name out loud, officially commencing the award ceremony.

As she gave the large group of cadets standing on the stage a quick mental count, she sighed annoyingly. "This is going take a while…" She commented, strumming her fingernails desperately against the counter top.

/

A full hour and a half had passed, and Kane was still calling, saluting and pinning cadets, and as much as they tried keeping count of who got pinned and who didn't, it was still hard to keep up with. They were all dressed in the same pale blue color, all of them sporting that monotonous Deluxe stare, causing them all to look like cloned versions of themselves.

It was no surprise that the Burners started to get bored with the program, and Texas was the first to let it show. The martial artist was wearing what looked like virtual glasses, which he usually used to watch some of his favorite vintage action movies, since the rest of the Burners never showed interest whenever he suggested the idea of watching the flicks. Texas was flaying his hands in the air, kicking and punching with excitement; mimicking whatever it is that he was watching, which was probably one of his exciting karate action packed movies; anything was better than this oh so boring mandatory award ceremony. "Kachaw!" He shouted in a low high pitched voice.

Dutch rolled his eyes as the sound of Texa's voice reached his ears, he too was trying to kill time during the never ending announcement. He held three cards in his hands, and gave the green robot that hovered before him a quick glance; who was also holding three cards in his synthetic robotic hands. "Your turn, buddy!" He informed, sighing a smile at him. The robot replied with a low high pitched buzzing hum, and threw his picked card, which caused Dutch's eyes to widen. "Are you serious? That's three times in a row!" He protested, throwing his cards down on the countertop, causing his opponent to hum cheerfully at his triumph. He peeked at the screen, and Kane was still calling names, and pinning cadets. With all the time that's passed he was sure that they'd at least be more than halfway done, but that didn't seem the case.

"Man how much longer is this gonna take?" He sighed annoyingly, and the sitting duo next to him darted their eyes at him.

"I don't know bro, but I swear I'm gonna shoot myself in the head if this keeps up!" Said the girl, with a little desperation in her tone, her fingernails still strumming the counter top, each time harder and harder as her patience was clearly starting to loose control.

"You can always help me with the dishes…" The old man sang suggestively, scrubbing burnt food from a pan with an old worn out sponge.

In response, she let out a sarcastic bark of laughter, and stood from the stool to stretch her legs. "You know what?" She started, shoving a hand into her pant's pocket. "I can't take it!" She said, shaking her head, and finally pulling a set of keys out. She didn't need to explain any further for the rest to understand what her intentions were. "I seriously need to get out of here before I loose my mind, so unless none of you wish to join me, you guys can fill me in when I get back!" Was all she explained.

No one seemed surprised by her sudden decision, after all, she wasn't the type of person who sat and waited for action to come at her. The award ceremony didn't seem important to her, neither to the rest, minus Chuck; who still had a gut feeling about something bad happening. He hated the fact that he had to wait and see for himself if that was true or not. He hated even more that he was the only one concerned, and he wished more than anything that his best friend would show more interest in something so serious as a Kane announcement, even if it was just a stupid boring military award ceremony.

"Wait! He's bumping ranks, he's done with the Ultra Elites, I think it's almost done!" Called Chuck, trying to miraculously change her mind. But her mind was determined, and she rolled her eyes, shook her head and turned to leave.

"…The time has come to announce Detroit Deluxe's newest Commander…" Kane's voice announced, and a sudden silence took over their surroundings.

"Yeah well like I said, you can tell me all about it when I get back!" She said, carelessly making her way towards the parked cars.

"Deluxe! Meet our newest commander…"

"Alright…" Responded a disappointed Chuck, turning his attention back to the screen, Dutch and Jacob doing the same as they listened with sudden curiousity at what was left of the award ceremony.

"…Commander Chilton!" Announced Kane, with great pride in his voice.

She heard it, she heard the name loud and clear, like a ping that suddenly triggered something horrible inside of her, something horrible enough to make her stomach turn, and the air around her seemingly heavy to fill her lungs. "W-what?" She whispered in disbelief, before daring a glance back at the screen. Her eyes widened in shock. "Th-that's not possible," She breathed painfully before she crumbled to her knees in defeat.

The effect didn't take long to reach the other's either, and with the pierced shock in their eyes, Chuck, Dutch and Jacob quickly turned to glance at the now stupefied girl. It didn't take long for Texas to find out as well. He didn't share a thought, a word, anything, the concern in everyone's eyes was enough for him to know that his friend and leader needed support at the moment.

/

Feeling as if someone had suddenly punched the air out of him, the stunned, and confused teen stared back at the crowd. He shook his head in confusion; everyone was staring at him; smiling, clapping and cheering him on, like millions of fans requesting their beloved star to receive their well deserved prize. But he wasn't a star, and he was very well aware of that, he was just a teen, and this was surely a mistake, he thought. But the pride smile that Kane was currently giving him said otherwise, and without much choice, Mike sucked in a deep breath and took a step towards his superior. It took him a couple of seconds to recoil, his mind racing with thousands of questions, too distracted for him to react properly, but he finally saluted as he stood before Kane.

The pride in Kane's face almost turned sentimental as he pinned the Stars and Sabers on Mike's uniform, like a father who had the honors of making all of his child's dreams come true.

"Recite the ode cadet." Kane instructed, raising his right hand.

Mike blinked, and for a split second froze, but he mimicked the action before they both recited in unison, "I solemnly swear loyalty to Deluxe, and to defend it at any cause, to forever wage battle against it's enemies..."

"Congratulations Commander…" Kane finished, shaking Mike's hand in a congratulatory manner, and the crowd once again cheered for him.

It all happened so fast, so unexpected, and he still couldn't believe it. How far he's gotten in so little time compared to others. How young he was. He must've broken a new record or something, he thought, Deluxe's youngest commander. The tittle felt too heavy on him, but he trusted Kane and his decisions, and with a quick glance to his leader, he smiled, and accepted his fate.

/

Her eyes watered, and a single tear trickled down her cheek. Though she wasn't sure if it was because her lungs begged for air, or because the image before her was an illusion, but the pain in her heart confirmed that it wasn't a dream, and those tears were in fact caused by the sudden ghost on the screen.

"…pri…" She heard a distant voice, though she knew it was near.

"Capri!" Chuck called to her, this time she finally reacted and slowly turned her horrid gaze to him. Chuck sighed worriedly at her, unsure of what to say as he knelt down, and helped her to her feet.

Capri didn't say anything either, she was too stunned and hurt to do so, her feet wobbling as she stood, too numb to function properly. Her mind twirling with unwanted thoughts and memories. She closed her eyes, unwilling to hold anything back, she desperately clutched to Chuck, burying her face in his chest as her heart gave up, allowing low sobs to escape her lips.

Chuck was dumbfounded, and so was everyone else. They all had questions, they all wanted to know how, or why? But it just wasn't the right time to do so. Their leader was upset, and right now she needed their comfort more than ever, without questions asked.

The ceremony was finally over and the broadcast finally ended, making the screens return to its regular TV programming.

/

After being dismissed, the commander made his way down the stage along with the sea of cadets. Every now and then, people interrupted his pace to congratulate him for his newly earned title, while some of his comrades glowered with envy as they passed by. Mike lowered his gaze. He couldn't really blame them for doing so, he was so young, so unexperienced compared to others.

A woman approached the teen, her eyes wrinkled with years of experience. "Congratulations Commander!" She said, smiling warm and kindly; almost inviting. Mike smiled sheepishly as the realization started to sink in. This woman trusted him.

Mike shifted his weight unsurely. "Er… Thanks." He replied. It was flattering to be admired, to be looked up to, and as he resumed his walk, the more it grew. People who he's never seen before wanted to share some praise with him. They all trusted him.

And as he made his way through the crowd, he couldn't help but noticing how certain cadets joined with their families. He noticed the pride in the father's faces, the warmth in a mother's hug… How much he craved that. Mike sighed, it was impossible for him to say otherwise. While other's envied his rank, he envied the fact that at least they had a family to celebrate their success with.

He didn't remember much of his family, but he knew for a fact that he missed the unknown feeling. Luckily for him, the feeling subsided as he spotted a familiar face in the crowd, causing his frown to flip. Julie grinned at the sight of him, her eyes glimmering in pride as she neared her beloved boyfriend. However, her feet halted, and her smile died when another figure won her over towards Mike. The sight of his superior always felt like an instinct call, and like always, his right hand flew towards his forehead to salute.

"Sir." Mike respectfully saluted at Kane.

Instead of showing his usual assertiveness, Kane's features softened, and he placed a caring heavy hand on Mike's shoulder. The commander raised a confused brow at the action.

"At ease commander, I'm just here to personally congratulate you, son." He replied, and Mike's posture relaxed, his hands gliding towards his pockets in a relaxing manner, as a small thankful smile spread across his face.

"Thank you, sir…" He replied, his gaze suddenly falling to the ground in thought.

Kane noticed this of course, and curiosity started to rise in him. "Is something wrong, commander?" He asked with little concern.

Mike seemed surprised at the question, his eyes widened a bit, but he straightened his posture to properly face Kane again, and he sighed. "I-I'm sorry sir, But I'm still kind of… Surprised with the new rank, I guess…" Mike shrugged. "I don't fully understand… Why me?" Kane tilted his head and arched an eyebrow at the teen, and for a second, the commander regretted his words.

Kane smiled, and the worry flew out of Chilton's shoulders at the instant. "Son," He started in a low voice that was only meant to be audible for the two of them. "You've outshone your comrades, in all skills; mentally and physically. Your talent and dedication goes beyond my highest Ultra Elite, and I trust you, Chilton. You've earned this rank, and I know it may seem drastic, but I know you won't let me or this city down."

Mike smiled at his words, how could he not? He'd just made it, and it was hard for him to believe, that's all. He gave Kane a respectful nod, and firmly shook Kane's hand. "I won't let you down, sir." He answered with certainty.

"I know you won't." Responded Kane with reassurance.

Julie, who's been standing this whole time next to Kane, took a step forward, and cleared her throat, taking both men's attention. "Congratulations Commander." She said, shyly extending a respectful hand towards Mike. He chuckled nervously under his breath, and wrapped his huge hand around her small one and shook it.

"Thank you." He replied politely, and though he tried his best to control himself, he still felt as his cheeks began to burn to a blush. It's not that he was embarrassed, but Julie always had this effect on him, and having her father around didn't help the situation what so ever.

Kane chuckled, and took a step back into the conversation. "That being said, if you don't have any plans for tonight, how would you like to join me and Julie for a celebration dinner?"

The sudden offer caused both Mike and Julie's eyes to widen. He didn't exactly had anything planned for the night, other than probably see the girl who was standing right in front of him. Julie's eyes darted to Mike's as she looked for support in them. He knew what she was thinking, how awkward this might turn out to be, but Mike's gaze softened as he put more thought into Kane's offer. "Um… Sure! Thank you!" He quickly answered, still surprised that Kane trusted him so much to the point of inviting him over to his home for dinner, a dinner to honor him? This for sure had to be his luckiest day.

Kane nodded. "Very well, I'll see you in about an hour?" He suggested, and Mike nodded. Kane grinned at the silent response, and gave his daughter a knowing look before he left the unknown couple to themselves, to which Julie just rolled her eyes, and pursed her lips in distaste.

There was a brief silence between the two, both of them tracking Kane's distance, and when it was obvious that he was out of earshot, they both turned to look back at each other.

Julie smiled warmly. "I'd kiss you right now but, you know… Too many people around!" She chuckled.

Mike gave her a half smile for her comment, but his expression quickly changed, and he scrunched his eyebrows at a thought.

Julie raised a questioning brow at this, but with a smile she asked, "What?"

"You knew didn't you?" Mike asked.

Her smile faded as she registered the question. "About what… About your rank?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because commander I already told you, I didn't want to spoil the surprise for you… " She replied, daring a few steps closer to him. She sighed, and lightly brushed the new stars and sabers pinned on his uniform. "I know what you're thinking…" She started, causing Mike's wondering gaze fall upon her. "And trust me, I had to take a double look on the files when I first came across them. You are till this day the youngest commander KaneCo's ever had." Though he should feel pride, it was still a little unsettling.

"My dad trusts you, Mike, and I can honestly see why… This city needs someone like you up there. I-I know it's hard to explain, but you just have that edge. So don't beat yourself so hard, this was very well deserved, and I'm very proud of you." She took a moment to gaze at him, a prideful smile growing on her lips. Mike was speechless for her words.

Having little to no care about being seen by the people around them, Mike brought her into a tender hug. Julie was surprised at the gesture, her cheeks blushing lightly, her eyes nervously scanning the area for her father's presence, but her worries melted at his closeness, and she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Thanks, Jules…" He whispered to her, a warm smile spreading across his face. Julie wasn't family, and he wasn't allowed to speak freely about who she was to him, but she was more than enough, and all he had. A blessing in disguise.

With a light and nervous chuckle, Julie broke the hug, once again scavenging her surroundings for any sign of her father. It was a tedious habit that she had, but doing things behind her father's back demanded high quality caution. She didn't enjoy one bit of it, but knowing her father, Kane would never tolerate such nonsense like dating. She huffed a breath, and darted her troubled gaze towards Mike. Her boyfriend wasn't just anyone… And the thought brought a relieving smile to her face.

"You know… I was thinking." She started, and Mike slightly tilted his head at her, contently waiting for what she had to say. "You're right! I think it's time we let my dad know, and now that you're coming over to our humble abode, we should definitely take this opportunity to finally let him know that you and I… You know…" She shuffled her feet shyly at the insinuation.

In a matter of seconds, Mike's expression changed from warmth and care to sudden fear and nervousness. Wasn't he the one trying to convince Julie not too long ago about doing this? He wasn't exactly sure if it was the way his day was turning, and he still wasn't sure how to swallow his recent events, but besides worrying about the large responsibility now resting upon his shoulders as commander, he also had to worry about letting his superior know that he's been lying to him, and secretly dating his daughter. He swallowed hard at the realization. Kane trusted, and expected so much of him, and knowing how protective he was over Julie didn't brighten up the situation whatsoever. He glanced down at Julie in thought and forced a nod, somewhat agreeing with her.

She smiled, and let out a heavy sigh. "Great! Well I guess I'll see you in a bit." Julie said, with a sense of satisfaction on her voice.

With a nervous grin, Mike nodded again. "Yeah…"

'This ought to be an interesting night…' He thought as they both parted their separate ways.


Thank you guys for the reviews!

And yes I decided to make Capri (For those who don't know who she is... She is Mike's older sister, she was meant to be on season 2 of Motorcity, meaning she is canon...) part of the story because frankly there's not much of her out there and even though she wasn't part of the show (AHEM Because of Disney's fault...) And we don't know much about her I will try my best to do her character some justice! I seem to like her a lot, so lets revive her purpose!

Please review! I would greatly appreciate it! :)