HA! I got it up! FINALLY! DAMN SCHOOL!! Ah, whatever… It's unfortunate, but this chapter is going to be extremely sappy, so don't kill me please!
Chapter 10- Modification Complications
That morning, everyone awoke refreshed and rested, despite the fact they didn't get much sleep. The only exceptions to these two rules were Brad and Naomi, who both came into the room looking like zombies.
Naomi came into the room with a drowsy, but nonetheless happy look on her face. She looked over at her boyfriend, Brad, and kissed him softly on the lips.
Brad looked surprised, but gave her a sly grin while she mouthed a silent "thank you."
After the normal morning shenanigans (I.e.: Brad and Naomi kissing ((again)), Bit stealing Leena's food ((*sigh* again)), and Nikita shouting obscenities in four languages ((English, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese…wow, he's cultured 0_0;;)) while waiting for his food), they finally ate breakfast, made by master gourmet Jamie.
"Wow, this French Toast is great! Your best batch ever!" Leena said, stuffing her face with another one.
"Yeah, my compliments to the chef!" Nikita said, pouring more syrup on his batch.
Finally, all of their bellies were filled, and they all sighed in contentment.
"Oh, man! That was great!" Bit sighed.
"Hey, Doc. Do we have a battle scheduled soon?" Nikita asked, rubbing his belly with a wide grin.
Doc shook his head. "No, still nothing." He sighed. "Somebody's gotta challenge us soon! I wanna buy some new models…"
Everyone sweat dropped and sighed in exasperation at that comment.
"Well, I think it's good there are no battles today." Nikita said, getting up. "I need some time to modify the Jackal anyway…"
"Hey, let me help you out!" Leena said suddenly, standing up.
"H-huh?" he stuttered suddenly. After all, help from the most unexpected source was very surprising…
"Yeah. I've modified my Gun Sniper lots of times, so I can give you some advice." She said, her violet eyes twinkling happily.
Oh man, oh man, oh man…THIS KICKS ASS!!!!!!!
Nikita had to use all of his energy to keep himself contained at the happiness that was bubbling inside of him. "O-okay, sure! Thanks!"
"No problem!" She said, smiling.
"Meet me in the hanger in ten minutes, okay? And wear somethin' ya don't mind getting dirty…" He said, walking off toward the hanger to get the parts ready.
Leena went back to her room and changed into a pair of slightly ripped and faded jeans, and a black tank-top shirt. She tied an old red bandanna around her hair to keep it clean, and grabbed a pair of working gloves from her drawer.
She was just about to walk out, when she noticed Nikita's army jacket lying over the back of her chair. She picked it up, and wrapped it around her waist.
Meanwhile, in the hanger, Nikita quietly slipped into his old, gray working jumpsuit, and zipped it up. He fetched all the remaining parts, and laid them out neatly.
[Yawn.] Hey, master, you gonna modify me today or somethin'? The Jackal asked sleepily.
"Yeah, I figured you wanted some more weaponry than those 50mm's or the blades or the 'Chaff Dischargers', so I'm gonna put some more on ya. I even got Leena to help me out!"
Oh…so, you gonna make yer move? It asked slyly.
"Oh, yeah…WAIT A SECOND!! HOW THE HELL'D YOU FIND OUT?!!!!!!" He bellowed, jumping up and dropping the extra stabilizer he was carrying on his foot. "OWWW!!"
If yer done droppin' things on yer foot now, it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure that out. I mean, when you were pilotin' me two days ago after ya found me, I felt the energy that was bubblin' inside ya when she realized it was you…
"Whoa, that disturbs me…" He said in a dumbfounded tone.
The Jackal made a shrugging noise. Well, I suppose I should wish ya luck…I think she's in the hanger…
"WHAT?!"
"Nikita, who are you talking to?" Leena's voice asked suddenly.
He turned around, and saw the beautiful, red-haired bombshell looking at him with a very strange expression in her eyes.
She was dressed in a pair of old, faded and torn jeans and a black tank-top shirt that showed just a tiny bit of cleavage (which caused him to blush the color of her hair). The old red bandanna wrapped around her hair made her look completely different, and some of her hair went down over one eye. He also noticed his green jacket wrapped around her waist.
"Uh…no one..." He said, losing himself in her eyes.
She just stared back at him with that same strange expression in her violet orbs.
"Well, um, maybe we should get to modifying the Jackal…" She said, breaking the silence that filled the air.
"Yeah, he's probably gettin' antsy over there…" He said, looking at his zoid with a humored expression on his face.
At this, she looked even more confused than before.
"Never mind." She said, holding a hand up. She walked over to the organized pile of parts on the floor. "Jeez! I've never seen a more organized scrap pile in my life!" She marveled loudly.
"Well, it took me two years to find all those parts, so you could say I'm fairly dedicated…" He said, blushing, but also letting his eyes show that he didn't like the "scrap pile" comment too much.
"Well, I didn't mean it in a bad way…" She said, seeing the look on his face and in his eyes. "What I meant to say was that even Bit never organizes his scavenger finds this well! I've never seen someone so dedicated to it…"
"It takes skill…" He said unenthusiastically, shrugging his shoulders.
"Alright, genius, what are ya gonna use on your zoid?" She asked sarcastically.
"Well…" He walked over to a pile set up on a small brown tarp on the floor near the feet of the Black Jackal. "I checked over the zoid yesterday, and I discovered about six plates of armor that can come off to house hidden armaments. So, I picked out…"
He pointed to a pair of Weasel unit missile pods. "Arming these as my secondary hidden weapons…"
"Why secondary?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at his choice.
"Well, I was going to put as the primaries originally, but then I decided to put on THESE babies…" He pointed toward a pair of 70mm long-range sniper rifles. "If I can rig up a pair of scopes in the cockpit, I can use the Jackal as a sniper zoid, too."
"Wow!"
"…And then I decided to put my blades in the last hidden spot for melee purposes, and mount a pair of ion boosters on the back." He said, pointing to each piece of equipment with a smug look on his face.
"Why the boosters?" She asked in confusion. "The way you're arming it, it'll be so weighted down, you'll barely move faster than a Dark Horn!"
At this question, his smile grew. "One thing you don't understand. All of these armaments I'm addin' are all LIGHT WEIGHT arsenals…"
"Jeez! Where'd you find all this stuff?!" She exclaimed in surprised.
He chuckled softly, and winked. "Uh-uh. Not telling. That's my secret…"
She managed a smile. "Alright genius, lets get started…"
And so, they both set to work installing the 70mm sniper rifles in the plates after removing the blades and installing the scopes so they were out of the way of his eyesight, and could pop up at any time he wanted them to. An hour later, they were finished, and took out the missile pods.
"Hey, Leena!" Nikita started, but cut himself off.
"Huh? What is it?" She asked, whipping her brow of the sweat that had gathered there.
"Uh…nothing. Nothing at all…" he said sadly, picking up a wrench, and starting the work on the missile pods.
"Okay…whatever…" She said, taking a seat next to him, and helping him with the plate.
After another hour and a half, they finished installing the missiles and re-installing the blades, and reworking all the wiring that goes into fixing it.
"Whew, I'm beat." Nikita said, plopping down on a supply crate.
"Yeah, me too." Leena said, taking a seat on a crate next to him.
Both remained in silence, catching their breath from their hard labors.
"…So, uh, did you enjoy the movie last night?" Leena asked suddenly.
"Yeah, I've loved The Shining since I was six!" He said happily.
"Yeah, I thought it was okay-wait a second! Did you say six?!"
"Yeah, everyone I knew at the time was scared of it, and I was curious, so I rented it and watched it with my mom!"
"Jesus…and to think I was scared out of my wits…" She giggled. "…Hey, sorry about usin' you like a teddy bear last night…"
"Eh, no problem!" He shrugged. "Next time you need a cushion, I'm your man!" He said, jerking his thumb at his chest.
"…Okay, thanks." She chuckled sarcastically.
Both started laughing at their own jokes.
Dammit! This jus isn't working! Both thought in unknown unison.
I need to get this out in the open… Nikita thought grimly.
Okay, here goes… Leena thought nervously.
"Leena, I-"
"Nikita, I've-"
Both cut themselves off, half-expecting the other to finish, the other half restraining their vocal cords. Both of them quickly thought of just leaving it here, and getting up and walking out of the hanger, but they both held their positions, and looked at each other quizzically.
"I'm sorry…were you going to say something?" He said, blushing in embarrassment.
"No…not really…" She said, fascinating her gaze on a spot on the floor.
"No, go right ahead…" He said.
"Well…uh…ya see…the thing is….um…" She fished around for the words, but nothing came, so she shouted it. "NikitaI'minlovewithyouandIwantyoutosayyoulovemeback!" She exclaimed, running the words together.
"Huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Can you please repeat that?"
"Okay, um, Nikita, I'm in love with you and I want you to say you love me back!" She shouted, even louder than the last time, but this time her words were clearer.
HUH?! She does?! Well, then I guess this makes MY job much, much easier…
"Leena?" He said softly, making sure not to give her the wrong idea.
"Yes?" She stammered worriedly.
He silently clasped her hand, gave it a soft squeeze, and smiled happily. "I too have a confession to make…I'm in love with you as well."
Both sat there in awkward silence, staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.
They both silently moved their heads closer to each other, and soon found themselves kissing the other on the lips.
Yeah! Go Master! The Jackal whooped rather loudly, even for Nikita's tastes.
They parted from each other slowly, and both gave the Jackal a deathglare.
"Shut up!!" They both shouted in unison.
The Jackal let out a small "eep!" and shut up.
Nikita, now running on the pure adrenaline running through his veins, scooped Leena up in his arms by her waist, and jumped up the Jackal's legs into the cockpit.
"Nikita! What the hell are you doing?!" She screeched as he set her down in the front seat, and jumped into the back seat.
"We're gonna make sure that the Jackal recognizes the hardware!" He said loudly. "What'd ya think we were gonna do?"
"Uh…" She blushed. "Never mind."
"Uh…" He made a dumbfounded sound, and clicked up the Jackal's computer systems. "Okay, lets get to work on the combat system, 'kay?"
"Yeah, sure! Why not?" She said, looking behind her, and winking.
They spent another half an hour making sure the Jackal knew about the new weaponry.
After they both finished, the Jackal's computer beeped.
"Whoa! What the hell?!" Leena exclaimed suddenly.
"What's wrong?" He said, looking around her seat so he could see the computer. "What's it doin'?"
"The computer says that the Jackal's combat system is makin' up some combination attacks for your weapons!"
"Really?!" He patted the control panel lovingly. "You really doin' all that, buddy?"
Of course I am, ya dumbass! The Jackal roared loudly in exasperation. What'd yer girlfriend just say?!
"That is a very immature attitude, young man!" Nikita scolded, pretending the Jackal was a little kid.
It gave what sounded like a tired, exasperated sigh. How in the crimson hells did I get stuck with such a dimwit for a pilot?
"I'm not that stupid!" He retorted angrily.
"Yes you are." Leena said simply.
"Oh! Not you too!" He grumbled sadly.
Both of them chuckled at the other's goofiness.
"We're such goofballs…" Leena muttered as she jumped out of the front seat of the Jackal.
"Yes, we are…" He agreed, following her down to the floor.
They both held each other's hands, and started walking back into the base.
"So, do ya think we should tell the rest of the team?" She asked seriously, looking to him for an answer.
He shrugged. "I dunno, it's your decision, Leena…"
"Okay, I guess we'd better get to it, then…"
Both of them looked into the other one's eyes, and smiled.
"…I think it's a good plan…I mean, they'd find out anyway…" Nikita agreed lazily as they exited the hanger.
…AND…DONE!!! FINALLY! JUST TO SAY, I'M NOOOOOOT A ROMANTIC IDIOT! THIS IS NOT MY FORTE!!
Naomi: ::grabbing the shotgun in advance:: Oh, shut up!
Hey, why'd you grab my shotgun?
Naomi: I thought you were going on a rant again…
But that's not all my weapons…I mean, there's my Katana, my Desert Eagle, my Stinger Missile Launcher, my P-90 Assault rifle, and my-
Naomi: Jesus! Where the hell do you keep all that crap?!
Uh…::thinks for a minute:: my room…