NT Rangers - Lad 13 - Work with Sebek (Patreon)

Lad stared hard at Sebek. He hated the Orc, but at the same time he felt like more of an outsider to Echo than Merit. He was willing to sell them out. Whatever he knew, it could be useful.
“You're going to tell them everything you know, understand? Tell them everything that I can...” He inhaled and shook his head.
“Can't...” He began to sweat.

Merit chuckles. “Oh... That is against our Lord's interests. Not good.” She teased.

Sebek leaned on the glass. “I was an outsider, for the most part. That one-” He motions towards Merit in the other cell.
“Contracted me since I had good connections in the area. Was about to get a good in with the Org but now I'm seein' that probably wasn't a good thing. Huh, champ?”

“Shut up! I did it for my sister.”

“Yeah, well, at least she's safe and you know... You're actually way less trustworthy to them than me right now.”

“What?” Lad stared up at him incredulously.

“Look at you, you're sweating and close to throwing up. For what? Suggesting that someone that might do 'something' help out your side just a little?” He laughs.
“You're fuck. You belong in here more than I do, Lad.”

Merit chimed in. “You are indeed fucked. You should forget about trying to resist. Work with them.”

“Shut up, bitch!.” Sebek argued.

“Can you turn me in?” Lad asked, panting at the thought.

“Not as bad off as you but I still can't reveal something like that to them.” Sebek leaned forward, lifting a brow.
“But... Do you want to?”

Lad shook his head and blinked. “What do you mean?”

“What if it is a better world.” he whispered.
“For people like us. Like your sister. Screw that bimbo over there. Maybe we move to the top and give that Hero what he deserves.”

In Lad's mind, that sounded quite nice, though the wording and the tone was lost on him. All he heard was 'what the Hero deserves' and he imagined... Well, everything. He shook off those thoughts with some effort and stared Sebek down.
“I thought you were going to help me, not move me closer to being a slave.”

“Is that what you want? To keep you from doin' what Echo wants?”

Lad had to struggle to answer but when he did he shouted.  “Yes! I don't want to do bad things for some Hero I'm FORCED to believe in.”

Sebek smiles. “Alright. So I turn you in. Tell them you're brainwashed. It's for their good, and yours, right?”

“What?”

“You should not have trusted that one.” Merit chimed in.
“Truthfully, coming here at all was a bad decision unless you planned to work with me.”

“What do you mean what?” Sebek asked.
“It's for the best.

“But then I'll just be in here while you-”

“Have more freedom? Of course, but I'll vouch for you, Lad. Promise.” He winked.
“Sorry but, it's nothing personal.”

Lad's hand shook as it raised to the release for the cell. “What's happening?” He uttered in confusion.

Merit slid up to the glass and grinned. “Ho... You got the full dose of programming! Destroy the threat, Lad, do it!” Merit cheered him on.

Lad shook his head, but as the glass opened he activated his suit as well. “No no no... I don't want to.” He was fighting his urge to kill Sebek, but his body was almost moving on it's own. Almost, because half of him still did wish to see the Orc dead. Sebek made it easy by not only threatening him, but his Lord. So it pushed him over the edge. Lad stepped forward as Sebek stepped back.

“Hey now... Maybe we can work something else out!”

Despite being larger, Sebek knew what the suit meant so he was backed easily against the wall. “I- I have to.” Lad claimed. He felt himself beginning to surrender to the feelings of anger and catharsis. He tore Sebek away from the wall and took him to the ground. His the Orcs hands slammed uselessly against Lad in his suit, Lad simply placed his small hand on Sebek's neck and started to slowly press down. Lad's eyes were wider in surprise than Sebek's and somehow more fearful as gradually the Orc stopped being able to slow.

“Yes!” Merrit continued to cheer.

“N-no.” Lad cringed and attempted to hold back, but everything in his mind and body were fighting back against resistance. He was losing. Sebek fell unconscious just as Security entered the room. He looked back. Kai was with them.

“Don't do it! It's terrible all the things he did but it isn't worth it.” Kai pleaded. It was enough. Lad stood up and backed away, still shaking. Still craving to go back in and finish the job. He was pulled back before he could return, however, and his suit was deactivated.

Kai exhaled. “The hell was that?”

Lad looked over fearfully. “Were you watching?”

She shook her head. “No, but when the doors open it's not exactly something I can ignore, idiot...” She looked down at Sebek's unconscious form.
“Well... You aren't a murderer. If you wanted to kill him you absolutely could have before any of us could get here.”

“Yeah...” Lad felt empty. It was only a matter of time until Sebek woke up and told them everything. He was being resuscitated as they spoke. Lad frowned and turned around as Sebek's eyes opened and he breathed.

Sebek looked over, acknowledged Lad and Kai and felt his throat. Something stirred inside him. The young Orc rolled his eyes and shouted.
“Okay, I'm ready to talk! He beat it out of me! It's not much, but I'll tell you what I do know. Just stop manhandling me, dammit!”

Lad turned back around and made eye contact with Sebek. He winked. The Security stated that they would need to take him to the medical bay to be sure. Three of the four men helped him up and began to walk him out. Lad stepped forward, causing Sebek and the other guards to flinch. Kai grabbed him.
“Woah woah! Thought we were done?”

“I just want to talk.” He promised, leaning in to whisper to the Orc.
“Why? I tried to kill you?”

“Yeah... Tried. But you didn't.” Sebek whispered back.
“Pussy. Consider yourself 'owed,' fucker.”

Lad stumbled back with wide eyes. There was a loose code among those in the poorer sections where survival was more akin to living in the jungle than anything close to normal city life. Take care of your own and always repay what's owed. Self-fulfilling rules, the only kind that could really exist. Consequences naturally fell upon any that did not follow them. To Sebek, his life was lost and Lad could take it if he wanted, but then the Human gave it back by stopping and releasing him.

-

“What happened there?” Kara asked inquisitively. It was the first time he had spoken to her personally aside from the interview, and that was before he knew her position within ChesAn. They were alone in a room. He was not restrained, but he was 'grounded' in a sense for what he did until everything could be figured out. Since it was a matter that was so deeply related to security and one of the Rangers themselves, Kara became involved.

Lad rubbed his eyes wearily. He had not gotten much sleep and when he did sleep he dreamed of the Hero.
“I just snapped.”

“Because of what happened to Leto? You and Yeong at that party?”

“All of it.”

She stared at him appraisingly. “You say you snapped, but what were you planning on doing when you went in there with the cameras off?”

“I.. Wanted to understand why. For both of them.” He lied.
“When Sebek was especially unapologetic, that's when I just started seeing red.” Lad looked up.
“Am I in big trouble?”

“I'd say... If he died you would not even be in huge trouble.” Kara shrugs.
“And he didn't so I'm not too concerned. What I'm concerned with is why. It seems you have a good explanation.” Lad wished to confess right then and there but he could not physically bring himself to. He sighed heavily.
“What's wrong?”

“You knew the Hero, right? The actionless actor?”

Kara cocked her head to one side curiously. “Yes.”

“What'd he look like? Do you remember?”

She smiled subtly. “Not sure if this is a trick of the event but... Probably as generic as can be. Short, messy dark hair. Average build and height. Bright eyes.” Most of the description triggered Lad as images of his Hero flashed in his mind.

“What was he like?”

Kara did not seem to feel any issue running down this line of questioning. She looked up in thought and folded her hands together over the table in front of her.
“He was... Flawed. I think that's the best way to describe him. He was considerate to a fault and smart and eager to learn, but he was so... Driven when he set his mind to something he wanted that it could be annoying.” She clicked her tongue.
“Thinking about it, I don't think it was his fault for the most part.” She mulled over something for a few moments.
“I think a lot of it was me.”

“You shouldn't blame yourself.” Lad said out of instinct.

“Well...” She shrugs.
“I should a little bit. I was a bit of a monster back then. I didn't have a pure heart, I didn't have pure intentions or goals, I messed with him on purpose in many cases.” She stared off in no particular direction and furrowed her brow.
“By the end I think that... He was probably trained to believe that I was poison.” She smirked.
“I'm the one who gave him that idea. Many times.”

“Do you regret it?”

Kara looked at him for a few very long seconds. “I regret the things I did to him and the way I treated him. But aside from that, no.”

“How do you do that? Did you figure out some way to make amends or something?”

“In a sense. My kind back before him were strange. The way we gathered power was by drawing 'strings' essentially from living things to take a piece of their power. I had a LOT of strings due to my methods and I kept those ever after I left. I wandered for a while and gathered even more... I was treated like a goddess for a time in Aoia due to 'my' power. Then my... Love... Met me and convinced me very succinctly and cruelly that I actually had nothing of my own.” She smiled wistfully.
“So I cut all the strings I had and started over.”

“And now you're a Great Master.”

“Mhmm.” She nodded.
“Point is, you can't exactly come to terms with things that happened in the past until there's no more strings connecting you to them, in a sense. Cut them, let them go and go from there.”

Lad blinked. “So wait... You weren't even really connected to the Hero by much near the end, huh?” He felt a compulsion to ask.
“What would he consider to be of the greatest importance to him, then? What would tie him to the- the world?” Lad clicked his tongue. He felt forced to say it but it sounded so strange and leading. Kara looked both amused and confused by the question.

“What would 'connect' him to this world... Hm.” She perked up.
“Oh, if anything it's likely going to be everything he created, no?”

“What do you mean?” Lad leaned in close, it felt in that moment like someone else was speaking through his body.

“Jeane and him, they liked each-other, sure but the reason he picked her was for the greater good. If I were thinking about what would tie him to everything here, his pride... It would be his descendants. The ones he's responsible for.”

“Like, Janna and Joseph?”

Kara chuckled. “Try like... Every single Fox on the planet. Kai, her parents, their parents and then of course there's his kids with Jeane and those descendants. He was probably super attached to all of them. But that's just my opinion. Maybe it was literally just Jeane..”

“You're sure it wouldn't be you?”

Kara smiled contentedly. “I'm sure he forgot all about me. He had every right to.” She points.
“And he should have.”

“Did you actually cut your 'string' to him?” Lad asked.

Kara leaned back in her chair. “Any other questions? Comments? I think I'm satisfied.”



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