Chapter 8 – Quiet times
MEOW! Good afternoon my fellow kitties!
Jason: What in the hell is up with her?
Nikki: -sighs- She saw a movie that had a lot of cats in it.
Jenny: -giggles- I think it's kinda cute!
Nikki: I think it's bloody annoying!
(jumps in front of Nikki's face) Meow!
Nikki: GAAHHH!
Kai: …as if she wasn't hyper enough before…
(Makes purring noises)
Nikki: -rubs temples- somebody just start the damn chapter already.
MEOW MEOW! Enjoy! MEOW!
Jason: … bloody hell…
It had been a week since Nikki and Jason had arrived in Orb. They knew it would only be a matter of time before they would have to fight again, so they used whatever free time they had to enjoy the peace, however long it lasted.
Nikki wanted to spend as much time as she could with Kai. Once the fighting started up again, she knew they might not be able see each other as much.
That was why; they were at that moment sitting together on a blanket out in the park that held many memories for the two. They brought a big enough blanket for just the two of them, and also a basket with a small portion of food.
Kai was sitting with his back against the tree, Nikki sitting in between his legs and resting against his chest. He had his arms loosely wrapped around her. Not much was said between the two, they mostly just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet sincerity of the park.
Nikki stared up at the sky, a content smile on her face. She found it hard to think that just over a week ago she was thinking about putting a bullet into her head because of how depressed she was. But now that was the furthest thing from her mind. The man she loved had his arms around her and she felt happier than anything. But her thoughts suddenly turned around when she remembered what was coming up. Despite what Kai told her, she still felt responsible for everything that had happened, that it was her doing that caused her friends to be attacked by this man. She wasn't entirely close to him; for goodness sake she couldn't even remember the guys name! But she knew that him and Darren were close brothers and strangely she understood the pain and anger he was feeling. She had felt the exact same way when she thought she had lost Kai, it was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.
But she needed to focus on what was happening now. Through much research and computer hacking, she discovered that this man was planning a huge invasion on ORB, most likely to come after her, so she planned to take her own army to the front lines and face him. She couldn't take the chance of losing anyone else that she cared about.
Kai on the other hand, was watching the girl he had his arms around. She was staring vacantly at the sky, obviously with a lot on her mind. She looked happy for a while but her face suddenly turned sad and he wondered what his girlfriend was thinking. He lifted his hand and gently brushed it against her cheek. Nikki snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Kai's hand on the side of her face; she curiously turned to look at him.
He smiled at her "You ok?"
She smiled back "Of course I am, why are you asking?
He gazed at her "Well you looked sad for a minute"
She sighed before turning around to full face him. "I…I guess I'm just a little nervous…about the battle that's coming up."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Why would you be nervous? You're one of the best and most respected mobile suit pilots in the PLANTS."
Nikki shook her head. "It's not that…I just wonder what will happen when I face him, considering I was somewhat acquainted with him"
Her boyfriend gave her an encouraging smile. "None of us really know, but I have faith in you Nikki, we all do. And I'm positive that you'll end all this the right way." He pulled her closer and gazed into her eyes. "But no matter what, you know I'll be always be there to give you strength."
Nikki stared intently at him while he spoke, never breaking her own gaze from him. She saw the sincerity and love in his eyes and knew she would never doubt him.
Leaning forward, she tucked herself under his chin and wrapped her arms around him. Kai gently wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.
"OY! There you two are! We've been looking all over for you two!"
Nikki groaned, annoyed that their moment was interrupted. She turned her head to see Jason and Jenny walking towards them. Jason grinned at her while she just glared back.
"Hey there sis! What's up?" The frisky blonde exclaimed as he plopped down next to the older couple.
This just caused Nikki to growl at him. "What do you think you idiot? Usually when you see a couple spending time together it's usually wise to LEAVE THEM ALONE! And don't call me that, I'm not your sister!"
Kai grabbed her waist before she could conflict damage onto his best friend, giving Jason the chance to scutter away from her. "Nikki calm down, they've been looking for us for a while."
This didn't do anything to cool her temper, although she didn't struggle from his grasp. "Well they better have a damn good reason!"
Jenny, who was surprisingly calm, took the initiative. Unlike her boyfriend, who was using her as a shield from the angry brunette. "It's time to start heading back, preparations have started and Cagalli wants to have a private word." She rolled her eyes. "She made it an official order in case we tried to refuse"
Nikki deflated. "She doesn't give us much time out does she?"
Jenny shifted nervously. "Well, actually she only wants to see you Nikki…"
Nikki stared at her best friend. "Why just me?"
The redhead shrugged. "She didn't say, but I wasn't about to argue against an obvious order."
Nikki sighed before standing up. "Guess I better start making my way over.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Kai asked from where he was sitting.
She smiled at him. "As much as I'd love that, it's best if I go alone, Cagalli's made it clear that she only wants to see me. Besides you still have some time to relax, you should take advantage of that."
He stood up and pouted at her. "Yeah but it'll be boring without you."
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing him to place his hands on her waist. "I'll try not to be too long; we don't go out to fight for another week or so. So I'll make it up to you ok?"
He grinned at her "Sounds like a fair deal to me"
A smirk appeared on her face. "I'd like to seal that deal if it's alright with you."
Leaning forward she planted a kiss on his lips. But just as she was about to pull away, he held her in place not wanting to let go just yet. They were quickly lost in their own world as they clung to each other, their mouths moulding together. Being bold, Nikki ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He instantly opened his mouth for her and their tongues met in a heated battle. The lovers groaned, their hormones rising. They couldn't feel close enough as both their bodies and mouths meshed further and further into each other.
Meanwhile, the other couple were watching them with wide eyes. Jenny couldn't help a blush from spreading across her face."
"My gosh, do they even realize we're watching?"
Jason snorted. "You know what they're like, one look into the others eyes and the rest of the bloody world doesn't even exist."
She giggled. "Aw but you know these two; they can't stand to spend anytime away from each other."
He rolled his eyes. "Well we can't have Cagalli waiting, I don't want to be at the receiving end of her wrath SO WHEN YOU TWO ARE QUITE FINISHED!
His loud statement caused Nikki and Kai to break apart slowly. But although the moment was over, they continued to keep their gaze on each other. Both were out of breath from the heated kiss.
"I'll be back…" she whispered
"I'll be waiting for you." He told her in the same soft tone.
Giving him one last brush of the lips, she turned and walked off. Once she was out of sight, Kai sat down again, a dreamy smile across his face. A loud cough broke him out of his trance, and he turned to his two friends staring at him with raised eyebrows.
He grinned. "Oh yeah…forgot you two were here"
Jason huffed at him. "Enjoy yourself did you?"
Kai laughed. "You know very well that I did, and besides it's not like you don't have those kinds of moments with Jenny here.
The said redhead blushed. "Well that's true but it's usually something we do in private…
Jason nodded in agreement. "You see? You don't just go making out in front of people! It's weird!
Kai just sniggered at him. "When you're in love, you tend not to care whose watching. You two should know this very well." He laughed harder when their faces turned bright crimson.
Once her face returned to normal Jenny turned to him. "So what're we going to do while we wait for her?"
Jason shrugged. "We could always hide and make her think we left her." The blonde grinned, thinking about a confused looking Nikki searching the whole park.
Kai shook his head. "Mate, she's not stupid. She'll know very well where we would be" He stared intently at his best friend. "And whose idea it was, and you don't want her angry at you again do you?"
Jason shook his head rapidly. "Ok, ok it was a bad idea. So what do we do then?
Jenny waved her hand enthusiastically. "Why don't we play a game or something!"
Her boyfriend looked at her and screwed his face. "What are we? A bunch of ten year olds?"
She glared at him "Well we have to do something until Nikki gets back! We don't know how long she'll be!"
He playfully glared back at her. "Well I ain't playing any sissy game.
Kai watched the playful banter in amusement. He would never get tired it. Letting out a sigh, he lay down on his back. He was happy to just lie there until his girlfriend returned. She told him she would come back straight after. And no matter how long it took he would wait for her, because that is what he promised her.
Nikki on the other hand, had reached the building and she was striding quickly down the hall towards Cagalli's office. She wanted to just get this over and done with. The sooner the meeting was finished, the sooner she could go back to her friends. Goodness knows she wanted as much freedom she could get her hands on before the fighting began.
Reaching the door, she reached up and hastily knocked on it. She was surprised to hear Lacus's voice. "Come in"
She opened the door to see her sister leaning on the desk. She looked around to find no one else. Feeling confused she looked at Lacus. "What're you doing here? I thought it was Cagalli that wanted to see me."
Lacus smiled at her. "She does but I wanted a quick word first"
Nikki raised an impatient eyebrow. "Well what is it then?"
Lacus shifted nervously for a moment. "Well…I wanted to talk about when I…kept the truth from you…"
Nikki sighed. This wasn't something she was particularly in the mood to talk about; sure she was annoyed at Lacus for not telling her. But she couldn't hold a grudge against her sister for something that was long past. She promised herself that she would not get angry.
She looked back up at Lacus. "It's alright Lacus…there's nothing to talk about. I know Kai's alive now it's fine…"
Lacus shook her head. "No it's not fine! You were suffering! And I had the one thing that could've stopped it! But I didn't, I just idly sat by while you cried your heart out every night!
By this time she had tears threatening to fall. Nikki gazed sadly at her sister, the slight grudge that she knew she held for Lacus evaporating fast. She, herself, may have been going through a hard time, but she had no idea just how torn apart Lacus had felt not being able to say anything. She was broken out of her thoughts when Lacus continued talking.
"But…I couldn't say anything, Cagalli didn't want me to. Kai even told me not to which surprised me…but we all had the same motive for doing it. We just wanted to protect you from this man that's after you; we knew that if he thought he had succeeded then he wouldn't hurt you. But you were hurting enough as it was!
Lacus collapsed onto her knees, her shoulders shaking. Nikki walked over to her, and then bent down to her level. Pulling her into a gentle hug, she spoke softly to her younger sister.
"Look Lacus…I know it was for a good cause. But however painful it was, it wasn't your idea to keep the secret from me. So, although I was hurting for a while, it didn't last. Because I found out that he was alive, and you all knew I would eventually come to know that. So you don't have to worry, I'm not angry anymore. In fact, I'm happier than I have been my entire life."
Lacus pulled away slightly and looked up at Nikki. She was smiling at her, warmth gazing out from her blue orbs. It was completely different from the way she was back on the Eternal; back then she was blank and looked as if she didn't care about anything. But now her big sister was back to her normal caring self, and she knew that it was thanks to Kai who made it possible.
She smiled back. "Thanks Nikki… hearing that from you makes me feel better."
Nikki placed a hand on her head. "I'd do anything for my sis, you know that."
And it was the truth, more than Lacus knew. Nikki was prepared to go to all lengths for her sister. Lacus was the only family she had left, and she would do anything to protect her. It was at that moment, that the bond between the two sisters became stronger.
Suddenly, the door flew open revealing a worn out and very breathless Cagalli. Nikki stood up to face the Representative, staring at her obvious exhaustion in bemusement.
She smiled. "Representative, well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Are you alright?"
The teasing tone did not amuse Cagalli. "Watch your tone; you have no idea what I've just been through."
Nikki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And pray tell what you've been through, have you been running?"
Cagalli stomped past her, her mood becoming worse with Nikki's sarcasm. Slumping in her chair, she glared at the brunette across from her. "It's none of your business, and don't speak to me like that I outrank you, Clyne."
Nikki smirked and folded her arms. "Not necessarily, Attha. The only two people that outrank me are Lacus and Kira. I strictly command and follow the rules and regulations of the Zaft Nation only." She leaned forward and leered at Cagalli. "And even though they are my commanding officers, I still flow my own way. You are talking to a ex-leader of a rebellion group so I suggest it'd be wise that you don't provoke me…you really don't want to see what I'm like when I'm pissed off." She leaned back, seemingly satisfied with her end of the argument. "So therefore, seeing as how I'm practically my own boss, I don't need someone such as you ordering me around. Especially since there will be times on the battlefield where I will be the one outranking you in the ways of combat."
Cagalli couldn't find a way to counter, because she knew it to be true. She wasn't as skilled in the cockpit of a Gundam as Nikki, so if they were to be ever fighting together she'd automatically be put under Nikki's command.
Lacus stood nervously as her sister and best friend glared daggers at each other. She wasn't sure why Nikki was like this towards Cagalli, but she guessed it might've been something to do with the order that was carried out to hide the fact that Nikki's best friend and boyfriend were still alive.
Nikki broke the silence. "Anyway, I didn't come all this way just to argue. You wanted to see me Cagalli and considering the fact I was informed it was urgent, I made my way over immediately." She sat in the chair across from the Representative, never breaking her intense stare with the blonde. "So what is it you wanted to discuss with me?"
Cagalli leaned forward. "I was informed that there was a sighting of the man that's apparently after you and your friends."
Nikki leaned forward; this was news to her. "And where was this sighting exactly?"
Cagalli approached her answer cautiously. "Apparently only a few several miles from our borders, it turns out that he is making his way here sooner than we anticipated."
Nikki stared with wide eyes. He wasn't supposed to be coming this early! They had been keeping careful tabs on him for the last week and according to their records, he was meant to be half a world away. How the hell did he get so close to ORB without them noticing?
Nikki clenched her fist. "That damn bastard, I underestimated him." She turned to Cagalli "How long until he reaches here?"
"Two days, maybe sooner." She replied
Nikki slumped in her seat in shock. She wasn't ready to face him yet, and she only had up to 2 days to prepare herself. She knew that her friends and comrades would be fighting besides her but when it came down to it, she would be clashing blades with this guy herself…this was her fight.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, she stood up. "Thank you for informing me Cagalli, I will start preparations immediately. I will have someone notify you when I am ready." Without another word she turned and strode out of the office.
Out in the park, Nikki's friends were oblivious to the warnings and dangers that were upon them. As far as they knew, they still had a long while before anything was to happen.
Kai was still on his back, his eyes closed, feeling relaxed. Near him, Jason and Jenny were snuggled together sharing whispered conversations and small kisses in between. He blocked them out, not wanting to eavesdrop. Instead he refocused his mind on Nikki. It had been almost an hour since she had left and already he was eager to hold her in his arms again. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard someone running their direction. He turned to see Nikki sprinting across the park. At first he thought she was just anxious to be back, but that changed when he saw how stressed she looked. He lifted himself to his feet, worried about what could be wrong.
She screeched to a halt in front of him, immediately bending down to catch her breath. Kai stared bemusedly at her, wondering just how far she ran.
After calming down, she straightened and looked at him. "We have to get going right now!" She walked around and started pushing him. "Come on! We have very limited time! We have to start preparations right now!"
Kai turned around and caught her arms. "Nikki, calm down. What do you mean we have limited time? What's going on?"
She started to get slightly frantic. "Cagalli said there was a sighting of him a little way away! He's going to be here in a matter of days! I have to recruit soldiers! I need to get an army together! I-
She was interrupted when Kai placed a finger on her lips. "Ok, ok first of all you need to breathe when speaking for that long." She glared at him "Second, you can't just run around and prepare everything in the panicked state you're in. So we're all going to go back to our rooms, sit down and discuss what we're going to do ok? Then once we've decided we can start working on those plans of yours. We'll recruit soldiers, organise a fleet for your command and also we'll need to make sure to go over everything with the Representative and the Chairwoman so they're aware of our schedule…alright?"
Nikki gawked at him; she had no idea that he could rationalize so well. Oh well just another good reason why she loved him so much.
She smirked at him. "Well since you have it all worked out, what are we waiting for?"
"Hey! What secrecy is going on between you two now?"
Jason and Jenny, damn it, she had forgotten about them. She turned to her two friends with a sheepish smile. "Hey guys"
Jason peered at her. "Don't 'hey guys' us, what's going on?"
Nikki turned serious. "Cagalli informed me that "he" was sighted. He's a lot closer to ORB than we anticipated, we don't have much time."
Jenny looked concerned. "How long do we have?"
Nikki sighed. "A couple of days at the most"
Jenny and Jason stared at her in horror. "WHAT?"
She nodded. "I know, so that's why we need to head back and start organising everything."
When they all nodded, she grabbed Kai's hand. "Let's go, maybe if we finish all the preparations fast enough we can have some free time before we head out. But even then we must always stay alert."
The four hurried back to headquarters in silence. The streets were filled with people scurrying past them; unaware of just how close danger was to arriving. Nikki wondered if they should warn them of the gunfire that was about to take place, or maybe even evacuate the city. Either way she wanted the citizens out of harms way, she wouldn't be able forgive herself if innocent blood was spilt. So she would do whatever she could to protect these people and the city of ORB at all costs.
They rushed into the large building (Kai held the door open), and made their way to Jason and Jenny's room. Once they were all inside, Nikki closed the door and locked it to avoid any interruptions.
The two couples sat down, each with their significant other. The room was silent for a moment before Nikki spoke. "Since this is on short notice, I'm hoping you guys each have some sort of idea about how we can bring up a force big enough to be ready in two days.
Jason lifted his hand. "I have an idea, but I don't know if any of you will like it."
Nikki shook her head. "Doesn't matter, anything is appreciated."
Jason hesitated before speaking, "We split up, gather and prepare our own forces and then join up into one army when he invades.
Nikki took that into thought, he was right she didn't like the idea of separation. But if it meant gaining a large army then she may as well take that into perspective. It could give them an advantage if they had the numbers of their side.
She stared at her friends. "Ok, that's a good way to start. We'll hold onto that, unless anyone else has some other strategy.
Jenny spoke from her spot. "Must we separate four ways? I mean I know it could give us more numbers but the thought of us splitting up…I can't seem to settle on the idea. Why don't we go in pairs but still bring in soldiers for each? That way we don't have to do our jobs alone.
Nikki nodded at her. "I like that idea, ok Jason and Jenny you're ideas will be meshed together. We will separate, but we'll do it in pairs for support and safety as well."
She turned to her boyfriend sitting next to her. "Kai? Do you have any ideas?"
Kai was silent for a moment with his head bowed. After a minute of silence from him he looked up. "Let's fool and surprise them."
Nikki raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to elaborate on that?"
He stared at his hands, speaking carefully about his plan. "When they arrive in ORB, we'll make them think they have us by surprise. We'll evacuate the citizens so to make it look abandoned, when they see how empty it all is they'll automatically think that they can take the place for themselves…. well at least I hope." He paused. "Then when they're too comfortable with that fact, we will jump out of hiding spots that we can assign to each unit. This way we can catch them off guard and gain ourselves 'another' advantage in the offensive."
He looked at the others to see their reaction towards his strategy. Jason and Jenny were gawking at him, amazed that he was capable of thinking up a strategy like that. Nikki, on the other hand, had this smart talk come from her boyfriend earlier so she wasn't too surprised. She was beaming brightly at him, seemingly rather impressed with his plan.
"That's excellent Kai! The only flaw is whether or not he would fall for it; it may look suspicious seeing the city empty. But if he thinks like a usual arrogant terrorist then they'll be playing right into our hands."
Kai turned towards her. "What about you Nikki? Do you have one final idea that can add to all of ours?"
Nikki smiled. "I do, but this is just to be precautious. Kai, you mentioned separate units' right?" He nodded. "Well we're going to include some extra troops to make up for a backup unit. It'll need to be a fairly large one because this is only if things start looking bad for us. So if it does start to get bad, this unit will be our reinforcement. Fair enough?" They all nodded, happy with Nikki's final plan.
She then stood up. "Alright, well then how are we going to pair off then?
"I think we should just stick with our boyfriend's Nikki." Suggested Jenny. "I mean not only would each pair have a skilled coordinator I don't think you'd want to separate from Kai anyway…am I right?
The slight blush on Nikki's face indicated that she had hit the nail on the head, causing her to smirk.
Nikki glared at her best friend. "Fine then, you go with Jason and I'll go with Kai. You two guys agree with this?"
The two boys glanced at each other before swinging their arms around their girlfriends.
"Of course we do" The guys said with smirks, making the two girls blush.
Nikki stood up. "I'll go with Kai to tell Lacus and Cagalli our plans. You two can start straight away on gathering our forces.
Jason stepped forward. "Where should we meet, we'll need those last moments to put things together. That way it's fresh in our mind on the battlefield."
She nodded. "Good idea Jason, but we'll have to figure that out later…here take these. She dug into her bag and pulled out four earpieces and four contraptions that looked like bracelets. "The earpieces are obvious, but these…" She held up the bracelets. "The remote controls you can attach to your wrist, all you simply do is press the blue button and your voice will be transmitted into our pieces. All of them are connected by limitless distance network. So no matter how far we all are from each other it won't matter; we can still keep in contact. But only use them if it's an emergency."
Jason grinned while attaching the remote to his wrist. "These are sweet Nikki! Where did you find them?"
Nikki shrugged. "I made and customized them."
Jason's eye went wide, but before he could say anything Jenny spoke. "Alright, we'll get going." She smiled. "We'll see you later then ey?"
Nikki nodded and smiled back. "Yes, good luck with everything."
End of Chapter
WOOHOO! Let the games begin! BUAHAHAHAHA!
Jason: What happened to kitty mood?
Nikki: I don't know, she switches personalities so fast it makes my head spin.
Jenny: (still giggling) She makes me laugh when she's like this.
Kai: She almost destroyed the house last time…we need to keep her in check.
WHO'S DESTROYING MY HOUSE! (nostrils flare)
Everyone: …
Jason: I vote we knock her out or something.
Nikki: We need someone who can control her.
Kai: We're her OC's, you'd think we'd be able to.
Nikki: She's our creator! She has control over US!
AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT SLAVES!
Jenny: Maybe we should preview the next chapter…
Jason: Yeah, before she explodes.
YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME FOOL! I AM INDESTRUCTABLE!
Nikki…um here's the next preview.
Kai: Jason put the frypan down.
She smiled knowingly. "There's a couple of people I know that may be able to help us, one is an old friend of mine. The other…well he's a little hard to get a hold of but he may give us some assistance if he hears ORB is being invaded."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?"
She turned to him. "The first is a expert mechanic. She knows everything there is to do with customisation, installation, building and just all around everything."