Chapter 17

Breaking Point Part 1

It had been Sapphire's birthday a week ago. But birthdays didn't matter anymore.

She waited until Niko had left the room. Then, she slammed her fist into the wall hard enough to break through. She gritted her teeth and forcefully stopped her tears. Her father would be chastising her for crying. As soon as she had started, she stopped crying. She pressed the button on her helmet.

"Insurgency lockdown. No one in, no one out for any reason until I give permission." There was no reply until Sapphire yelled:

"DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!"

Niko was walking towards the door and saw it was locked. He looked down in exasperation and decided it was time to try out one of the new powers he got. He touched the door and with a puff of smoke he disappeared and reemerged on the other side and walked to his quarters and decided to play a little chess to pass the time the lockdown was in effect. Luckily Rouge was there when he got there. For some odd reason, she was the jewel hungry thief he was used to knowing. When it came to chess, she was as docile and not sticky-fingerish as she usually was. She was a calm and collected individual. Maybe it's because chess gave her something to take her mind off of treasures. Maybe. So as soon as he got in the room he removed his visor and set the pieces up.

"So," Rouge said while moving her pawn two spaces to open the game up. Niko let her go first because he believed in the "ladies first" rule when it came to playing a game like this, even though White is supposed to go first, she was allowed to go first anyway. "How was your time in a coma?"

"I gained new powers." Niko replied.

"Oh really?" Rouge said losing all interest in the game to hear what new powers her friend gained. "Like what?"

"Well the armor is one." Niko said as he captured Rouge's Bishop and the scoreboard above them went up 5 points for Niko. The score was now 7 to 4. "Oh and I can warp places by turning into a puff of smoke. Watch."

Using the power he used in the medical ward, he disappeared and comes back with two Subway Meatball Mozzarella sandwiches and hands rouge one.

"You know how powerful that would be in the field?" She asked amazed and face full of sandwich.

Niko nodded and suddenly Sapphire busts in looks at Niko and rouge and through facial recognition, they knew she wanted them in her office now. They looked at each other and swallowed hard. Hoping they weren't in any trouble, especially Rouge, they walked to her office and were handed a piece of paper with a mission statement.

"You're sending us on a mission?" Niko asked. Sapphire nodded. She knew this was a bitch for her send him on this one, but he didn't have anyone else she could trust with this.

"Rouge!" Niko said excitedly. "Our first mission and I already know this place like the back of my hand. Let's do this mission with flare!"

"You got it Foxy!" Rouge said, just as happy.

Suddenly Silver walks in and looks at Niko and rouge then at Sapphire as if she was crazy.

"Lemme guess?" Niko asked. "Silver's to go with us?"

"I can't trust you idiots out there alone," Sapphire hissed. Her voice used to be friendly, warmer, even though she was captain. All traces of that had vanished. "You're to guard the perimeter. No one goes in the Insurgency, and no one gets out. Now get what you need and follow Silver. You're going to be out there for a while." She turned around to leave, but hesitated in the doorway. She looked down and closed her eyes, but she spoke what was on her mind.

"Oh, and, Niko. Don't yell at your damn captain again. I brought you into this, and I can take you out of it." With that, she left.

Silver leaned in the doorway. "You really fucked up, didn't ya?"

Niko looked down and decided this was enough. His friend turned into a general practically overnight and he had living with it until now and now he was sick of it! He handed he communicator, badge, whatever he received from the Insurgency and walked away.

"Tell your captain," Niko said angrily. "She doesn't have to take me out. I'm leaving it on my own. I put my life into this, played patience, but this is where my limit peaks out!"

Niko blew the door open in anger and walked out, with rouge in pursuit.

With a smirk, Silver turned around in the doorway in one simple motion. "That's what she wants you to do, you know. She didn't think you'd be able to handle much more, so she gave you the opening." She shrugged, "But whatever. Don't try and stay to prove anything. It's not hurting me at all."

"Niko..." Rouge said sympathetically and looked at Silver. "He's busting his ass off trying to play by the rules, keeping any info on the Director he gets from Shadow and Omega to himself afraid to make anyone mad and make them think he's trying to be a hero, and you can't show a little empathy?! This is what Niko tried as a kid, to keep his powers from being discovered by letting himself get beat up. He knew if he showed he had a breaking point, his powers would no longer be a secret and he would be shipped off to a government lab to be experimented on or something. Sapphire's putting that same pressure on him and it sucks for him. I'm glad Niko decided enough was enough. I could tell he was reaching his boiling point every night. If he wasn't gonna leave, I was gonna make him eventually. Tell Sapphire Niko and I decided to take the info we discovered on our own and find the Director ourselves! Niko feels no need to prove himself worthy for anything on her standards. Also it's healthy to cry, if you hold in tears, you let darkness in. Enjoy the darkness she lives in trying to find the Director on her own. He's gonna find the director on his own and don't even think to stop us. It won't be for your benefit stopping us. We have more info and if you want it, you'll have to get in your own or probe it out of our dead brains."

Rouge looked at Sapphire, flipped her off and she and Niko left.

Well that concludes that chapter! Thanks to chipmunkfanatic for being the first to review this story! I'm working really hard on it so the review I got has been super helpful in me continuing it! So don't be bashful guys! Review this as well!