[HIATUS] The Tide Rises

Chapter 10

"Why do you target every little thing I do around here?!"

Ocean fiercely glared at Brutus from the control panel she sat by, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. She was tired of sitting around and feeling useless—it was her mission plan! So she had taken a spare choppa sometime during the infiltration and flown over The Authority, hoping to get in on some of the action, or at least offer an extra ride back to someone after everything was over and done with. She had ended up bringing Jules back, but Brutus had made it very clear upon her arrival that he was unhappy with her "reckless" decision. Now in the vault room as Remedy and several other medically trained henchmen assessed for injuries, he had pulled her aside to where they were now and wouldn't leave her alone.

She shied away from most of the conversation, self-conscious at first as he took to reprimanding her in front of everyone, but now, she was done sitting back. "Why do you judge every single decision I make?!"

"Because I'm gettin' sick of you not listening, goin' around putting yourself and others in danger," Brutus argued, trying to keep his voice down in contrast to Ocean's frustrated shouts. "What makes it worse is you brought Fade with you, after it was made clear we have to keep him here to avoid SHADOW's interest. Had you been shot down, you both would've been in trouble."

Fade perked up a little at the mention of his name, as he was leaning against a nearby wall, watching the exchange. He was still a little shaky on his feet from the helicopter ride, and though he was used to air travel, considering he traveled often via flight with his family, Ocean had gone particularly fast. He didn't actually mind—he missed his family vacations. "Hey, I didn't mind-"

"This whole thing was basically a suicide mission, anyway," Ocean huffed under her breath, paying him no mind. "And we didn't get shot down, did we? Brutus, what's the point of me being the leader here if you won't let me do anything the way I want to?!"

Brutus sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "Ocean-"

"If you really think I can lead GHOST like you always say I can, then why won't you just trust me?!"

With that, she grabbed her helmet, stood, and stormed out of the room, not knowing where she was going, only that she would end up breaking something if she didn't get out then. Brutus crossed his arms again, watching as she stomped away; he contemplated whether to go after her or not, but decided against it with another sharp sigh.

Fade flinched as she took the exit right next to him; she showed no sign of stopping or wanting to turn back, and the fury he saw in her eyes as she passed him resisted him from reaching out to calm her down. Instead, he glanced at Brutus and took a deep breath.

Ocean had spent a long while ranting to him about her leadership status while everyone had gone off into battle, and Fade had listened to her words with not a single clue on how to advise her. Her struggles of wanting to do more than stay confined to The Fortilla, her feelings of not knowing what it truly meant to be a leader... and above all, her constant need for Brutus's approval. "If you're the leader, why do you need his approval?" He remembered asking, and she had only shrugged.

Maybe he didn't have any words to offer then, but now, as he looked to the man who was supposedly the root of her insecurities, he asked the same question again inside his head: why?

Brutus turned a little sharper than he had meant to as Fade tapped his arm. Fade stiffened at his direct eye contact and tugged his hood a little further over his head, trying to focus on anything but his unbroken gaze. "What is it?" He asked.

"Sorry, I... I was listening to you guys and she was talking to me about the leader stuff while you were gone," Fade said. "She said, uh, she's technically the leader but needs your approval to make decisions... why's that?"