A/N aint got much to say except here we go again…
I staggered to my feet and looked at the mountains in the distance, the sun was just barely peeking over the top and behind me the sky still had stars in it, it truly was a sight to be admired.
I felt stiff so I twisted and stretched as every bone in my body popped. I felt better, so I picked up my helmet and went through the gates. I walked slowly towards the kitchen, but I couldn't stop thinking about the dream I had just had.
I giggled to myself "A black tiger with red stripes, and red eyes that was cryo-froze and put into orbit around the Earth only to come down now, and is now headed for here? That's impossible, if that's true then GDI forces must be gathering preparing to strike Beijing." I said with a laugh.
I opened the door to the kitchen; all I wanted was a drink of water. I got a cup out of the cabinet, and then I got the water out of the water barrel and drank it down with a few big gulps and then got another drink and did the same thing, I then put the cup over by where the dirty dishes would be.
I then headed for my room… I got there and opened up the door, I was shocked at what I saw.
There was the scent of cigarette smoke and alcohol in the air, there were playing cards strode all over the room, guns lying everywhere, and money too, there were whiskey bottles and cigarette butts all over the place, and then the culprits where there…
Frank was laying half way on the bed still holding an empty bottle. Diemos was sitting hunched over in the corner sleeping with his armor and helmet on, Jeremiah was lying face down in the middle of the floor with playing cards lying all around him, and Anton was a sleep lying halfway over a table. And they were all snoring very loudly
"Oh hell no" I mumbled to myself shutting the door.
"Wake up" I said loudly.
They all began stirring.
"What."
"Huh."
"Vhat is it."
"I have a hangover to shame all others".
"It is 3:29 AM"
They all grumbled as they got up.
Frank tried to sit up but just fell off of the bed, Anton fell too taking the table with him, Jeremiah tried to get up but he slipped on a card and busted his ass, and Diemos stood and stumbled towards me but also slipped on a card.
"Damn it guys" I lectured as they rubbed their heads and back.
I didn't know what to say… I already knew what had happened; somehow they had gotten a hold of alcohol and partied down silently in the room.
"Shifu's going to have 3 heart attacks and a stroke when he sees this." I said.
"What do you want us to do about it" Frank said using the bed for support as he stood up.
"Well my first thought would be to clean up and have it done, before I get back" I said as they all looked at me strange.
"Where are you going" Deimos said taking his helmet off.
"There is something I have got to do" I said taking my armor off, because I was tired of wearing it, as Anton smiled lightly.
They were curious but I was an Apostle (High rank in Nod militia) that makes me a higher rank and they aren't supposed to challenge someone with stripes.
I had a good feeling that they were going to clean up because they knew if they got kicked out they had nowhere to go.
I left it right where it was so they could clean it up too.
I was now in my jump suit which I had been meaning to wash.
I went out of the door that I had come into.
I then went to the door next door, I was about to knock but it was 3:30 AM, so I just cracked the door and peeked in. She was sitting upright on the bed looking down.
I slowly opened it up; she didn't even look up at me.
I came in and then I slowly closed it, I then approached the bed and sat down beside of her.
"Tigress is something wrong" I said softly.
She turned her head the other way.
"Tigress please, I'm sorry, I never meant for it to happen like that, it's just that when you asked me to promise you to never be that person again it reminded me of something and I zoned out…" I said kind of embarrassed.
That was the dumbest excuse ever it wasn't even relevant…
She slowly turned to me "What".
"Look if I tell you what's wrong with me you have to tell me what's wrong with you." I said making eye contact.
"Ok" she said staring at me.
"Ok, Tigress what I am trying to tell you is that, I can never make that promise to you…" I said looking down.
"Why" she asked still looking at me.
"Because I have already made that promise and… broke it" I said.
"You did" she asked.
"Yes, when me and Cameron where growing up… actually on the same night my whole family died… see our dad was a soldier too and he was telling stories and he made us promise never to do what he had done… a few hours later he was dead, along with my brother, who were killed by…" I stopped to let a single tear roll down my right cheek even though I didn't show any emotions.
She continued to stare at me.
"My brother, Jacob, he was the one who killed my whole family, I will probably never know why… but then I guess… I don't want to know why. All I know is that I broke my dad's promise, and so I can't promise it to you too" I said calmly.
"You can promise-" she said but was cut off.
"I could, but in the end I would end up breaking it, believe me if I thought I could get away with it I would, just because I am here does not mean I'm in the clear, I thought that there were no others like me here and then an SOS beacon is detected, that could had just as easily been GDI" I said.
"But GDI can't come through the portal" she said.
"That's where you are wrong, my Brother Jacob has an implant too, that means he can activate the portal, and he was there at the Scrin Tower with the 666th armored. The only real difficulty for them would be to figure out how to open it, and even then they don't know what's on the other side, and the idea of a 2nd Scrin invasion terrifies them so we might be safe." I said.
She just stared at me, she sensed the faintest hints of a lie but why would he lie.
"In other words, there are just too many scenarios where that goes wrong, and I hurt you, I can't do that, I could never… besides if I throw down my weapons and wave the white flag who will answer the call?" I said.
"We will" she said sternly.
"But see that's not your problem that's our problem, anything that comes from our time is our problem, anything threatens my brothers lives is my problem, anything that threatens your life is my problem" I said.
"I am fully capable of taking care of myself, and if needed I could also take care of you. And besides if it threatens China or the Valley it becomes our problem" She said crossing her arms.
Taking care of me? That sounds nice, but highly improbable I thought to myself.
"I like the idea of this whole you taking up my roles and responsibilities and in return I give up my entire fighting capability, and then bow down to you, and simply turn the other cheek when someone else takes a shot at me, but I don't think that could ever happen." I said crossing my arms and looking at her.
She didn't know what to say, she wanted that just not for me to know...
"If someone ever took a shot at you I would take a stand against it, anything to keep you from doing what you have done." She said.
"That's what I like to call a problem… it's a man's job to fight for himself, and if he can't then he's not a man… You know that so tell me why don't you just tell me why you want me to stop fighting" I said.
She thought for a moment…
"That's your problem, thinking like that has already brought you several world wars, and multiple other side conflicts… tell me how many more will it take you to realize your mistake? I just want you to stop this senseless violence and be mine, and if stopping the fighting is only way for you to be mine, and to keep you from being hurt then it has got to go" she said loudly and angrily without even realizing it.
Dayum she finally admitted it, can you believe it.
When she realized what she had said, she blushed madly.
I didn't know what to say so I just thought for a moment.
Someone who wants me this much cannot be bad for me, no one has loved me this much in a long time, and when they did, did they want it so much more different?
I quickly jerked her into a hug.
"Tigress…" I closed my eyes mumbled into her ear, "I am yours, and that's why I have to fight, that's why I can't let them win. If I back down they will destroy us, I know you don't know what I'm talking about, I don't want you to, it's my demon I let it out of the jar, it's my problem."
She was shocked, and confused.
"What demon?" she asked.
I didn't let go I just pulled her closer when she said that.
"The enemy is among us, he's lurking in the shadows, and don't never think he's not there because he is." I mumbled into her ear, with my eyes still closed.
"What are you talking about" she whispered.
She still didn't understand so now I had to take a different approach…
"Even though he was built to destroy and had, had everything except to the will-to-be extracted from him, he still loved her very much, and would do anything to see her happy. He knows he can't win the fight with the others of his kind without hurting the one he cares most for, but he's got to try, and so in the end he has to pick up his weapons and fight, or have everything he cares for be crushed, so he begs and pleads with her to forgive him, but she would rather him be safe than protecting her. All this time she couldn't see he had no choice, she couldn't understand that the things he did he did for her, she disowned him and it destroyed him, but he never stopped loving her, he just wanted her to know that…" I said slowly getting up and hanging my head as I walked towards the door.
She just sat there on the bed, and watched with a sad look on her face as he slowly walked away.
I was about to pull the door open when I heard the softest voice coming from behind of me.
"All along she just wanted him to know she cared if he came home, unlike those who told him what to do, and she didn't care who won and who lost as long as he was there when the sun went down, she understood he wanted to protect their way of life as all good soldiers do, but she never could understand why GDI and Nod couldn't coexist together, but then, that wasn't in question was it. And she never disowned him she couldn't do that, because she herself knows how that feels and would never do it to someone else, especially someone she loved very much even from the start, even when he was collapsing at her feet, and she carried him into the kitchen. In the end she has forgiven him for everything he has done even though it was incredibly wrong, and she will always forgive him for his mistakes, because she loves him, and she knows he would do the same for her, because no one has ever treated her the way he has." She said getting up and walking over to me and putting her hand on my shoulder.
I looked at her and smiled warmly and she smiled back.
"Tigress he cares for your well-being, he just wants you to know that he would do anything for you, he also wants to know why you were awake when you should be sleeping." I said still smiling but her smile turned into a frown as she turned around, this bothered me so I walked up to her.
"I had a weird dream" she said looking down and shaking her head.
"Me too" I said.
She turned to me "well mine was very weird, it was about a black tiger with red stripes who had come out of some metal tube, that's weird right?" she said with a small chuckle but I just stood there frozen with fear.
She saw this and took two steps towards me; she sensed fear all over me.
"Is there something wrong, Niko?" she asked raising her eyebrow.
"Tigress…" I said slowly "by any chance did this tiger call himself the Wanderer?"
She giggled "actually he did, how did you know?"
"Because I had that same dream…" I said still looking straight forward.
She just smiled "it's just a coincidence" she said trying to stop me from being scared.
I snapped out of it and smiled "yeah just a coincidence" I said even though it was pretty odd.
She still knew I was scared but she didn't point it out, she didn't want me to think she was using her predator instincts as a weapon.
"So what do you want do now?" I asked trying to change the subject.
"well I have to get up in the next two hours so we might as well try to get some sleep." She said.
"Um… yeah" I said walking towards the door but then I remembered my room was destroyed.
She sat down on the bed and starred at my back with a satisfied look on her face, she knew what had happened.
I stood there and eventually turned around "yeah… they destroyed my room" I said hanging my head.
She giggled "I know, so… since you have nowhere else to stay why don't you stay in here with me for the next two hours?"
I just starred at her, I didn't know what to do, I had never had anything to do with girls because I had always been in the Nod militia that was my life, and if everything would had gone as planned I would had been getting out soon, that would be 7 years, the required amount of service years.
Geez I wish I knew what to do. I thought to myself.
I began to blush uncontrollably, she just giggled…
She continued to smile at me while I debated with myself…
This is awkward…
She just wants you to sleep with her.
I know but I just feel so out of place.
She loves you and you love her, what's the problem?
But what if she wants to…
She doesn't… look just go for it, it'll make her happy.
Oh alright…
"Um, sure" I said rubbing the back of my head, and slowly walking over to the bed.
She gestured for me to sit next to her, and I did so.
We both laid down on our sides facing each other, eventually we both fell asleep.
Meanwhile somewhere outside of eastern Afghanistan
The Wanderer was beginning to remember, but it was coming to him in painful flashes.
He rolled around on the ground screaming in pain as the memories hit him relentlessly.
Some were good, some were bad, but all were painful.
Eventually he found the strength to stand up, he glared to the East with pure hatred in his eyes, as his claws shot out and he growled uncontrollably, he now knew what he had to do, he didn't know how to do it, but he would make a plan, he used to do it all the time, because once upon a time he was a great leader…
"This is my last shot, this is my second chance, and I must not let it go" he said to himself.
A/N Sorry for taking so long to update, but I have been slacking, even though I have a lot of the plot together, there are two roads to take I must choose one. (He debates with himself for about 10 minutes) I have made my decision…