Chapter 5: Depression
"Hey, you guys!" Kitty cried to no one in particular, "Did you watch the News Flash?"
"No, but I heard it," cracked Jake as he folded his mask and stuffed it into his overturned helmet.
Finding herself alone with Jake, Kitty asked where Chance was.
Jake grinned and gladly answered her. "He's downstairs polishing the Turbokat."
"What?! You gotta be kindin' me! That's the last thing on Earth Chance would ever do!" Kitty declared. However, uncertainty betrayed her as it spread across her face.
"You don't believe me?" Jake asked with a note of disappointment.
"Well, why should I? It's not like you tell the truth every time. You know, if you were in my shoes and I in yours, you'd find it hard to tell if I were telling the truth or not. By the way," Kitty said, changing the subject, "do you know that Feral will blast our tails off if we show our faces in Megakat City?"
Jake shrugged. "He's always like that. It's nothing new."
"Yea, but this time he's got a reason for doing so," Kitty replied, worriedly.
"So, what do you expect me to do?"
"Nothing, it's just that..." Kitty thought for awhile. She realised that she did not know what they should do. Heck, she didn't know what she should do, either. Feeling Jake's contemplating gaze on her, expecting her to have an answer, she said the only thing that was in her head. "I don't know!"
Jake looked at Kitty and for the first time since she had been with the Swat Kats, he could see that she was really exhausted, sad, confused, unsure, and tired, all in all a really bad combination. He walked to the television set and turned it off, plunging the room into semidarkness.
"Cheer up, Kitty, something's bound to happen," he said assuredly.
"But from now to then, what can we do to help? The Commander will send his entire force after us if he sees the Turbocat flying around."
"Something's bound to happen," repeated Jake softly as he placed Kitty's legs onto the floor and settled into the sofa.
Jake watched Kitty as she nestled her head into a cushion, closing her eyes for a while. Jake crossed his hands over his waist and closed his eyes too. He knew what Kitty was feeling like. He just couldn't bring her to understand that he would not give in so easily. After the few hours that the Swat Kats had been working with Felina, he knew that Kitty had began to build some trust and companionship towards the Lieutenant. It was the first time after many years that she had been able to work with another female kat, Jake realised, and maybe that was putting Kitty over the edge.
As Jake was about to really enjoy his nap, he heard someone calling his name. Opening one eye, he saw Chance standing in front of him.
"Good morning, Jake," said Chance with an evil smile, "I need you to go out and get me more of that wax stuff for polishing, pronto."
Jake was just about to protest when Chance whirled around and headed downstairs. Groaning, Jake glanced over to Kitty, who was still asleep. Her red hair was long, curling naturally, framing her flawless face. To his surprise, he found himself in apparition of a bittersweet fantasy; here he was with a beautiful individual and he had no way of telling her all that was in his heart. She seemed like a princess out of a storybook, but it was a different story altogether when she was awake. She was a kat whose temper and strength matched those of a male as she had spent most of her life surrounded by them.
Jake admired the strength of her will, but he could also tell that all her fear and shame were bottled up inside her. He wanted to be there for her if that bottle ever shattered for he longed to hold her in his arms. Jake felt an attraction towards her, one that he had never felt before, and one that he could not explain. Twice he had told his best friend, Chance, that he neither liked nor trusted 'the rogue,' but both times he was lying. Jake had tried many ways, before, to express his true feelings but Kitty would always brush them aside as some silly joke or something. Sighing, he turned, threw his leather jacket on and strode out of the door.
Kitty awoke a few minutes later and seeing that Jake was already gone, she placed her feet back on the armrest. Trying to get more sleep, Kitty found that she had to do something before she burst with rage. She felt that it was her duty to get the Lieutenant back and not spend the time sleeping. Getting to her feet, she decided to see how Chance was doing. Kitty walked down into the basement and by the flickering light of a lamp, she could make out Chance soaping a wing of the Turbokat.
"Chance?" Kitty called softly to him as she paused on her way down.
Lost in his own thoughts, Chance continued scrubbing the wing.
"Chance," Kitty continued settling down on a step, "I know how you're feeling about losing Felina. Felina's by far the closest thing to me...like an elder sister. She's taught me many things during that last few dreaded hours. But I want you to know that Jake and I will always be here for you no matter what happens, alright?" She paused and raised her voice a bit louder. "Chance?"
As if hearing her for the first time, Chance looked up. "Did you say something, Kitty?"
Kitty's shoulders slumped. "Nothing. I was just wondering why you didn't use the extra lights, you and Jake fixed in last month."
"I know what you said before so, you can quit acting," said Chance guiltily, "Anyway, thanks for your support."
"Well, now you know," said Kitty as she pulled a seat from the corner, "By the way, do you know where Jake is?"
"Yeah. He's out buying wax. Why?"
"Just wondering," Kitty answered with a shrug.
Kitty slid into a seat and faced the computer. After waiting for the computer to boot up, she typed a series of code words into it and she found herself entering the police mainframe. There were many 'roads,' which was what Kitty preferred to call them, leading in and out of it. Kitty travelled on one which lead her directly to where all the maps and plans of Megakat City, above and below ground, were kept. Zooming in to a spot, she found herself in Feral's office and all of a sudden, memories of her time in the Enforcers' headquarters came pouring back.
Unknown to Kitty, Jake had returned to the hanger with the wax, which he tossed over to Chance, who gracefully caught it with one hand. Jake flicked on a stolen police radio that was already set to the police frequency. The sudden burst of sound made Kitty leap to her feet instantly. She turned around furiously, like a protective tiger, and saw Jake looking sheepishly at her while spilling out his apologies.
Kitty frowned. "There's no need for a grand entrance, Jake."
"I said I was sorry."
"I heard," Kitty said with a grin and then added, "Sometimes I think you take me too seriously."
Dropping the subject, Jake ran over to the computer and said, "Hey! Isn't that Feral's office?"
"That's right. Why?" Kitty asked as she settled back into the seat.
"Won't it be strange for Feral to find some fire-crackers in his office that accidentally exploded in his face?" Jack asked with a touch of glee in his voice.
Nudging Kitty off of her seat, he studied the structure of the building and the office, committing them to memory.
Kitty stood up and brushed her pants. "You're not serious are...no, that's a stupid question. You're almost always serious when it sounds like you're not." She paused knowing he had not heard a word she had said.
Rolling her eyeballs, she looked around the hanger for another chair, but found no other. Irritated, she tapped on Jake's shoulder. "Monsieur Jake, you're sitting on the only available chair in this hanger. And I believe the others are in the attic. Now, since I got to this chair first, I suppose you could kindly give it back, right?"
"Umm...nope!" replied Jake with a teasing grin; eyes still glued to the screen. "If you want to sit, you'll have two choices. First, you could go to the attic to get one. And the second, you'll have to force me off it."
To his surprise, instead of going to the attic or forcing him off, Kitty sat on his lap and gained control of the computer again. She zoomed out and continued examining the layout of Megakat City.
"Me and my big mouth," groaned Jake.
"Serves you right for taking something that wasn't yours in the first place," Kitty said, who was now grinning.
Suddenly, they heard Chance swear aloud.
"Hey, you guys!" Kitty cried to no one in particular, "Did you watch the News Flash?"
"No, but I heard it," cracked Jake as he folded his mask and stuffed it into his overturned helmet.
Finding herself alone with Jake, Kitty asked where Chance was.
Jake grinned and gladly answered her. "He's downstairs polishing the Turbokat."
"What?! You gotta be kindin' me! That's the last thing on Earth Chance would ever do!" Kitty declared. However, uncertainty betrayed her as it spread across her face.
"You don't believe me?" Jake asked with a note of disappointment.
"Well, why should I? It's not like you tell the truth every time. You know, if you were in my shoes and I in yours, you'd find it hard to tell if I were telling the truth or not. By the way," Kitty said, changing the subject, "do you know that Feral will blast our tails off if we show our faces in Megakat City?"
Jake shrugged. "He's always like that. It's nothing new."
"Yea, but this time he's got a reason for doing so," Kitty replied, worriedly.
"So, what do you expect me to do?"
"Nothing, it's just that..." Kitty thought for awhile. She realised that she did not know what they should do. Heck, she didn't know what she should do, either. Feeling Jake's contemplating gaze on her, expecting her to have an answer, she said the only thing that was in her head. "I don't know!"
Jake looked at Kitty and for the first time since she had been with the Swat Kats, he could see that she was really exhausted, sad, confused, unsure, and tired, all in all a really bad combination. He walked to the television set and turned it off, plunging the room into semidarkness.
"Cheer up, Kitty, something's bound to happen," he said assuredly.
"But from now to then, what can we do to help? The Commander will send his entire force after us if he sees the Turbocat flying around."
"Something's bound to happen," repeated Jake softly as he placed Kitty's legs onto the floor and settled into the sofa.
Jake watched Kitty as she nestled her head into a cushion, closing her eyes for a while. Jake crossed his hands over his waist and closed his eyes too. He knew what Kitty was feeling like. He just couldn't bring her to understand that he would not give in so easily. After the few hours that the Swat Kats had been working with Felina, he knew that Kitty had began to build some trust and companionship towards the Lieutenant. It was the first time after many years that she had been able to work with another female kat, Jake realised, and maybe that was putting Kitty over the edge.
As Jake was about to really enjoy his nap, he heard someone calling his name. Opening one eye, he saw Chance standing in front of him.
"Good morning, Jake," said Chance with an evil smile, "I need you to go out and get me more of that wax stuff for polishing, pronto."
Jake was just about to protest when Chance whirled around and headed downstairs. Groaning, Jake glanced over to Kitty, who was still asleep. Her red hair was long, curling naturally, framing her flawless face. To his surprise, he found himself in apparition of a bittersweet fantasy; here he was with a beautiful individual and he had no way of telling her all that was in his heart. She seemed like a princess out of a storybook, but it was a different story altogether when she was awake. She was a kat whose temper and strength matched those of a male as she had spent most of her life surrounded by them.
Jake admired the strength of her will, but he could also tell that all her fear and shame were bottled up inside her. He wanted to be there for her if that bottle ever shattered for he longed to hold her in his arms. Jake felt an attraction towards her, one that he had never felt before, and one that he could not explain. Twice he had told his best friend, Chance, that he neither liked nor trusted 'the rogue,' but both times he was lying. Jake had tried many ways, before, to express his true feelings but Kitty would always brush them aside as some silly joke or something. Sighing, he turned, threw his leather jacket on and strode out of the door.
Kitty awoke a few minutes later and seeing that Jake was already gone, she placed her feet back on the armrest. Trying to get more sleep, Kitty found that she had to do something before she burst with rage. She felt that it was her duty to get the Lieutenant back and not spend the time sleeping. Getting to her feet, she decided to see how Chance was doing. Kitty walked down into the basement and by the flickering light of a lamp, she could make out Chance soaping a wing of the Turbokat.
"Chance?" Kitty called softly to him as she paused on her way down.
Lost in his own thoughts, Chance continued scrubbing the wing.
"Chance," Kitty continued settling down on a step, "I know how you're feeling about losing Felina. Felina's by far the closest thing to me...like an elder sister. She's taught me many things during that last few dreaded hours. But I want you to know that Jake and I will always be here for you no matter what happens, alright?" She paused and raised her voice a bit louder. "Chance?"
As if hearing her for the first time, Chance looked up. "Did you say something, Kitty?"
Kitty's shoulders slumped. "Nothing. I was just wondering why you didn't use the extra lights, you and Jake fixed in last month."
"I know what you said before so, you can quit acting," said Chance guiltily, "Anyway, thanks for your support."
"Well, now you know," said Kitty as she pulled a seat from the corner, "By the way, do you know where Jake is?"
"Yeah. He's out buying wax. Why?"
"Just wondering," Kitty answered with a shrug.
Kitty slid into a seat and faced the computer. After waiting for the computer to boot up, she typed a series of code words into it and she found herself entering the police mainframe. There were many 'roads,' which was what Kitty preferred to call them, leading in and out of it. Kitty travelled on one which lead her directly to where all the maps and plans of Megakat City, above and below ground, were kept. Zooming in to a spot, she found herself in Feral's office and all of a sudden, memories of her time in the Enforcers' headquarters came pouring back.
Unknown to Kitty, Jake had returned to the hanger with the wax, which he tossed over to Chance, who gracefully caught it with one hand. Jake flicked on a stolen police radio that was already set to the police frequency. The sudden burst of sound made Kitty leap to her feet instantly. She turned around furiously, like a protective tiger, and saw Jake looking sheepishly at her while spilling out his apologies.
Kitty frowned. "There's no need for a grand entrance, Jake."
"I said I was sorry."
"I heard," Kitty said with a grin and then added, "Sometimes I think you take me too seriously."
Dropping the subject, Jake ran over to the computer and said, "Hey! Isn't that Feral's office?"
"That's right. Why?" Kitty asked as she settled back into the seat.
"Won't it be strange for Feral to find some fire-crackers in his office that accidentally exploded in his face?" Jack asked with a touch of glee in his voice.
Nudging Kitty off of her seat, he studied the structure of the building and the office, committing them to memory.
Kitty stood up and brushed her pants. "You're not serious are...no, that's a stupid question. You're almost always serious when it sounds like you're not." She paused knowing he had not heard a word she had said.
Rolling her eyeballs, she looked around the hanger for another chair, but found no other. Irritated, she tapped on Jake's shoulder. "Monsieur Jake, you're sitting on the only available chair in this hanger. And I believe the others are in the attic. Now, since I got to this chair first, I suppose you could kindly give it back, right?"
"Umm...nope!" replied Jake with a teasing grin; eyes still glued to the screen. "If you want to sit, you'll have two choices. First, you could go to the attic to get one. And the second, you'll have to force me off it."
To his surprise, instead of going to the attic or forcing him off, Kitty sat on his lap and gained control of the computer again. She zoomed out and continued examining the layout of Megakat City.
"Me and my big mouth," groaned Jake.
"Serves you right for taking something that wasn't yours in the first place," Kitty said, who was now grinning.
Suddenly, they heard Chance swear aloud.