Renegade Pt 1

--- Last Time ---

Agent C: I loath your presence. The man you have become… you’re not the leader - the man I looked up to. But, the most frustrating thing about all of this, is that I can still see that man when I look at you.

*C clenches his fists*

Agent C: And that’s the most frustrating part. Dumb ass, stop wearing that mask of yours and come back to the light already.

*He sighs*

Agent C: Pft. ‘I just wanna hit him sometimes, he's so thick headed now’... You were right. You're always right, N. I really wanna knock some sense into him.

--- Pandora Rendezvous Point ---

*As the piercing rays of sunlight stream through the open gap in the tent, Agent C strains to wake himself up.  Checking over the crystals that were keeping his comrade alive, he sighs, before heading out. Scanning his surroundings, he makes a beeline toward his target. C is disgusted with the man before him, but kicks him awake.

Agent C: Wake up, dog. The extraction team will be here soon.

*Lorenzo, who had been leaning up against a tree, opens a single eye, giving the man an unimpressed flat expression*

Lorenzo: Wow, rude. Looks as though your manners have gone downhill. As it is, if the extraction team is yet to be here, then we have no need to interact with each other. You obviously have better things to do with N - who is obviously alive still, or you’d have come at me with a god killing weapon rather than a kick - and so there truly is no need for you to ‘lower yourself to be in my presence’. If I make a fool of myself before your extractor team, it would hardly affect your standing.

Agent C: Huh. Oh, look at the bastard son of Zeus, running his mouth like always. It’s because of N I need your help, dog. When you earn my respect, I’ll give it. Besides, if you look over there, your excellence, you’ll see them. It’ll take about an hour for them to reach us. As far as they know, and as far as Pandora knows, you’ve been deep undercover. Faking your death to gain intell on Phoenix. That’s your cover. You wanna be persecuted? Then blow your cover. Otherwise, stick to that story. Now, if you could be oh so kind as to get your ass up and go check over N, then help me pack up.

*Snorting softly, Lorenzo did pull himself up either way, not because he had been demanded to, but rather only because the mention to help. Either way, he remained even more unimpressed with his once comrade. If C was supposed to be helping him change his mind about Pandora, he really was horribly failing. Personally, he couldn’t see himself sticking to any roles for long. He’d stay only long enough to see if these ‘changes’ really were what N had said, or if it was merely how things had been twisted for her benefit.*

Lorenzo: Perhaps you should use the word ‘please’. It gets a better response. And, funnily enough, that crosses over any form of bloodline. *He put his hands into his pockets* Perhaps rather than acting like a child with their toy taken from them, you might want to say why, precisely, you need my help for N? I thought you had it covered?

Agent C: Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sounds of you checking over the person who's had your back since the beginning, and you packing up. Amusing, you of all people calling me a child. Pft! A dog calling me a child. Says the one with daddy issues.

Lorenzo: *A smirk crossing his face* Oh? That so? Isn’t that why you’re acting like this now? Weren’t you the one who used to call me ‘Daddy’? Looking at that, when my target has always been gods as a whole, and yours is completely focused on me? Who looks like the one with the ‘Daddy issues’?

*He snorts and shakes his head*

Lorenzo: That is besides the point. Are you going to tell me why you need me to help N, or are you going to just stand here arguing with the ‘dog’?

*C snatches Lorenzo's collar, eyes twitching, and his inner ‘self’ beginning to show. C growls, eyes bloodshot red.*

Agent C:  Don't test me, Lorenzo. Maybe you forgotten, but ‘WE’ used to be a family. We used to be close. WE used to be Brothers! But that all changed when you let them all die. All for your little get away. I wonder if N knew exactly what you did before you betrayed us…? I wonder, would she still be that willing to stand by your sorry ass? NOW go see her! It may be one of the last times you ever will…. At this rate, she’s going to die…. She almost did last night and not even my abilities can save her, not on my own. Humans are weak creatures, after all, not like you and I. So GO!

*Lorenzo’s eyes flash and he grabs hold of C’s front in a viciousness that he had not shown before, his limbs practically shaking. That he had been accused of leading those people to their death! That was not how it happened! It wasn’t! But…..in a way, it was his fault. His burden to bear. But he could never reveal the real; reason, and what finalized his decision to abandon Pandora.Instead, he just gave C a look of disgust and shoved him away, before heading towards the tent.

As he walked, he took a breath, and another, calming himself enough to put on his usual facade again*

Lorenzo: You still have yet to say how I’ll be able to help. Perhaps instead of ranting, you might want to reveal that so I can, Oh, I don’t know, help? As you said, N is human, and weaker of body. Time is ticking, C. Tick tock, tick tock.

Agent C: maybe if you shut that big mouth of your and use that so called brain you once were known for you might figure it out. Use that devin blood of your for good use, something you haven't don for the last six years already. You know as well as i, if  i do any more than i have what the risk could be.

*Closing his eyes, Lorenzo takes yet another breath.*

Lorenzo [Inner thoughts]: He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. N is more important. Telling him why he’s an idiot would only prove him right, after all. And one of us has to attempt to be above this

*He opened the tent again, ignoring C for now and instead approached N, eyes trailing over the set up. After all, he had left N in C’s care and moved out of the way to avoid being a distraction. As such, he wanted to be sure whatever he did, he didn’t disrupt something that might actually be keeping her life stable, since C had, still, not informed him of precisely what was the main thing he needed to focus his ‘divine blood’ on.*

*Looking over her, the warmth leaving the tent like it was leaving her, barely able to see the breath she drew, he thought of something...but he wavered. As strong as he was, the likelyhood of him succeeding weighed on his mind. Was the cost of him succeeding worth the toll on his physical and mental well being? She looked like a corpse lying there, rightfully so - her condition pointed to the end. If he didn't act she would surely die, but if he did, how long would she last for? No, that didn't matter. Those trivial things didn't matter right now*

*Taking a breath, he decided. Because he hadn’t made his orders clear enough was the reason for this. While it wasn’t directly his fault, Lorenzo was not above taking responsibility. As such, he stepped forwards and knelt at her side, reaching out his hands and began to focus on his aura, moving it, channeling it, changing it from its natural state into healing. He placed his hands a little above her stomach and began to channel that healing aura through her. He ignored any interference from outside, focusing entirely on N.*

*He was no full god, and certainly not one related to healing, so the task was harder than it would have been for any god of healing, or indeed, any god. However, he was a child of Zeus, and that meant where he lacked in true healing, he made up for in power, so you last longer as he fought for N’s body to listen to his direction and start to truly heal*

*Her body began to regain some of its warm the week presence began to grow slightly, enough for her eyes to flicker open, briefly, coughing violently and wheezing she a feeble not left her lips*

Agent N: L-Lorenzie?

Lorenzo: *Fighting to keep his voice soothing while still focusing on healing* Shhhh. Rest. Let me save you. If not for your sake, or for mine, then for C’s. He waits for you, so you must live.

*She breath a small sigh, her body aching, but with the little strength she had, she laced her fingers with his, before closing her eyes again, letting the soothing darkness of sleep take her.*

*Quickly, he looked over her once again, making sure she was merely asleep, not dying, twitching a little at the fact her hand was clenched over his. Still, he wasn’t about to stop until he was sure it was safe to. Eventually, exhausted, he slowly tapered off the power so the change would not be a shock to her system, and, finally, slumped by her side, using his free hand to wipe the sweat that had gathered at his brow, trying to ignore the faint trembles in his limbs, hoping only that he didn’t look as weak as he felt at that moment*

Agent C: So, you chose to save her, huh? I guess there's some hope for you yet. Here, they don't have much, but it's enough to add to what you’ve already done, and another for yourself - cant have to collapsing on me now, can we?

*Lorenzo wanted to snarl, or make a snide comment, but was too tired to be bothered to respond, other than a grunt and carefully taking the offered object, tired eyes fighting to focus on what, precisely, C had given to him. It was one of the crystals that had been used for healing N before. He sighed, but clasped it in his free hand, holding it to his chest as he allowed the energy to seep into him, like warmth from a heated stone into wind frozen skin. It certainly felt like warm energy was returning to his body. It wasn’t much, not enough to truly give him his energy back, but it stopped the world from graying and spinning around him, so that, at least, helped.*

Lorenzo: Thanks.

Agent C: Hm… No problem… Thanks…for saving her. Even if you chose to abandon us again….. *Sigh* I'm just glad she's alright - well, as alright as she can be. She was damn near inconsolable after she thought you have perished, almost went insane. But, after the stages of grief, she took on this mask, forcing smiles, but becoming bitter she blamed herself that ‘her’ decisions were the downfall of 226. But I guess that's was to be expected. Funny when I look at it. There are so many things I wanna say, so many questions I want answered. But not now, not in front of her. We’ve dug this hole so deep. So, tell me ‘Daddy’, how do you plan on getting out of it?

Lorenzo: *Closing his eyes* Maybe I have an idea, maybe I don’t. Maybe I’m just seeing what comes. I don’t yet, after all, have all the tools to either make a ladder or dig myself deeper into this pit.

Agent C: *Sigh* Fine. But, whatever you do, don't make her cry again. I’ve seen enough of her tears to last me a lifetime. And I don't care how you plan on achieving your end goal, just don't do it though Phoenix. You may not trust ‘us’, but you should be especially wary of them. That's all I’ll say for now. So rest up. I’ll be breaking down this tent soon. 20 minutes, to be exact. The extraction team are coming with healers more qualified than you and I, so she’ll be in better hands.

Lorenzo: Right….

*He already had a feeling he couldn’t use Phoenix. Especially if what N had hinted, what he had heard, were true. But he would need to go back at some point. There were good people there, good people who did believe as he did, who would feel betrayed by what Phoenix had done. But, he couldn’t think on that right now*

Lorenzo [Inner thoughts]: Before I do anything, I need to regain my strength, and do as I promised - to hear Pandora out. After that….well, we’ll see.

Lorenzo: I’ll keep an eye on N until it’s time.

Agent C: Sure… I’ll we’ll be moving out a precisely 600 hrs so until then.

[END]