NT Rangers - Lad 20 - Refuse (Patreon)

Lad stared at the the self-proclaimed Hero harshly. “Don't- Don't look at me like that! You're a puppet. I programmed you to obey. To adore me. You should be kneeling.” He pointed at Lad accusingly. Lad felt his knees weaken, but his resolve kept him standing. His programming was like an alarm blaring in his mind, periodically sending waves of dagger-like pain through his head and into body.
“It is painful to resist so just stop.” The Hero advised angrily, through gritted teeth.
“You feel it. Don't pretend you don't.”

Lad sighed. “Do whatever you're going to do, 'Hero.' I'm not submitting to you. If you can turn me into a complete puppet, do it. If you can make me kneel, do it. Right now you're just standing there crying like some little kid that didn't get his way.”

“I'm not crying.” The Hero whined. He seemed to be trying very hard to do something. Lad  couldn't help but laugh through the pain. He covered his mouth and tried to stop himself.
“What's so funny?”

“You...” He breathed.
“You look like you're trying to shoot lasers out of your eyes or something. It's so sad.” Lad looked around at the empty space. The pain was beginning to fade the more he blatantly resisted.
“This isn't your domain. You can't actually do anything to me here.” Lad asserted.

The Hero stared at Lad with wide, uncertain eyes. After a pause of him not knowing what to do he shouted something perplexing.
“Choronia, More power! I need it.”

Lad felt sick as he said that. The words meant nothing but it felt like a presence had entered the conversation. He stared up in confusion as a figure twice as tall as the hero appeared behind him. It had a feminine shape but the body had no texture. One side was simply black and the other was simply white. Six wings spread out from it's back and six rings spun around it slowly and freely. It had hands with long sharp fingers, one in black and another in white that landed on the Hero's shoulders, clasping them like a mentor as it stood behind him. There was no expression on it's face or where a face looked like it should be, but Lad felt an old pain and hate from it like something that had lived before, during and after, and was not pleased. The voice that came through masked all of that and set a new eerie glow about the void with each word.
“My Hero. To exert such power beyond our reach. The cost would be great.”

“Whatever the cost is-”

“H-hey! What are you making a deal with? What are you giving away?” Lad asked quickly.

“Shut up! I am in control.” He shouted back.
“Another seal. Go ahead and release it, just give me the power to punish him! Right. Now.”

“The third seal is broken. The power is yours.” The voice sounded Cheerful. The long, pointed fingers rapped on the Hero's shoulder as it stood behind him. With renewed strength the Hero grinned at Lad. He seemed disappointed briefly, like something what whispered in his ear that he did not like, but he calmed himself and seemed to come up with a plan that was just as good in his mind.

“You want to be free? You don't want to follow orders? Fine...  I withdraw the programming.”

“Wait-” Lad felt a pulling in his mind. He held his head in his hands and bent over.

The Hero closed his empty palm into a fist and pulled. “Too late to kneel now!” He laughed.
“Who's laughing now, idiot! Who's the child now! Look how sad you look!” He teased, aiming all of Lad's retorts back at him.

The void retreated and Lad was still standing with Kai and Yeong. They caught him as his eyes rolled back and he went limp. He could still see as he was lowered onto his back, convulsing.
“What's happening!?” Yeong shouted.

Kai supported his head with her lap. “I-It's a seizure it looks like!”

Yeong held him and stopped him from turning or writhing too much. “Lad? Lad! Come back!” He smiled, feeling somewhat free as his eyes closed.

-

He opened his eyes in what felt like an instant in a dark forgotten room with machines attached to him. There was a tube in his throat that he had to pull free with some effort. Various needles stuck in his veins were taken out and tossed asside.
“Where am I... Where is everyone?” He wondered out loud, throwing his legs over the side of the hospital bed. There was light coming in from the cracks in the door. There was dust on the machines, like nothing had been visited or used in a while.

'It's been about a month now, so they forgot about us. Everyone came for the first couple of days but eventually they stopped.'

“That's impossible. And who's us?”

'I'm you. You're me. I'm the part of you that was awake and listening through most of our coma.'

“How does that make sense?”

'Not sure.'

Lad began walking towards the door. “There should be someone here... Why would they not know I'm awake?”

'Why would they care? They already replaced us. The same way they replaced Raithe. We thought about that for a while after we knew. I guess the answer was, it wouldn't take too long for ChesAn to forget about us.'

Lad left into the hall. He walked towards the lab where Lacie was commonly found, and found as he tried to open the door that he had lost his clearance. He knocked on the door loudly.
“What's that noise...” He heard her voice before she saw her. She stared at Lad nervously as he appeared in the open door.
“Oh! You're awake.”

“Yeah. Uhm... I'm ready to go out again.”

She scratched her chin. “The truth is, we don't need you anymore, okay? I'm glad you're awake but now that you no longer work for us you shouldn't wander around like this. You'll mostly be restricted to your room.”

“My... my room? What about Leto?”

Lacie brightened. “Oh! She's actually the reason you two can still stay here. Your replacement took a liking to her, so he asked for you and her to be able to stay as a favor. You should go thank him.” She looked up in thought.
“I think most of the time he's hanging out in Kai's room?”

Lad rushed down the hall. Ahead he saw himself leaning by the door that belonged to Kai. 'You don't want to see this. It'll hurt too much. You should just forget it.'

“The hell are you talking about?” He rang the bell. The door opened after a minute. Kai was standing in the door in her underwear. She was sweating rather heavily.

“Lad! Woah, this is crazy. You're actually awake!” She was standing to block the sight of something and he could hear sounds coming from inside.
“What- What's going on? Did you miss me?”

She blushed. “Oh... Yeah, totally. We all missed you.” Lad pushed past her and was confronted with the sight of his sister on her back mewling. Her feet were over her shoulders and her body was contorted into a lewd position. He saw the culprit on top of her. Sebek was slamming his member down into her, her voice lifting with every thrust.

“Yes! Yes! Oh god, yes! Impregnate me!” Leto begged. Lad stumbled back into another body that caught him.

“Woah, there. Welcome back to the world of the living.”

Lad turned. “Yeong!” He tried to go and hug her, but she kept him at bay.

“Hey buddy. Sorry, you were gone for so long I got back together with my old boyfriend.” She chuckled.
“Yeah yeah... I got 'Orc'd again. What are the odds, right?”

“Pretty high.” Kai laughed.
“Sebek is awesome. He filled your spot so well.” She claimed.
“But uh... We're kinda all busy right now so could you wait?”

Lad backed out. The door closed as soon as he left. He saw himself again. 'It's rough... I wish you didn't have to see that.'

“It's not real...” He began to tear up and walk down the hall.
“How could this happen?”

'What? Think about it. They all just liked us because we were interacting with them with our trait. The moment we were unconscious it was just a clock ticking down to them no longer being under our spell. What? You thought it was real love? Can we even have something like that?' He shook his head.
'I think...'

“What?”

'I think we might have made the wrong choice. We were a bit hasty. We thought we were way better than we were. Now we lost everything. I think that there is still a chance we could go back to the Hero. If we go back to the Hero and Echo and we give them everything... I think we'll be able to feel something again. Even if it is fake, you know?'

“That-” Lad stared down at the floor. He was at a loss.

“Is complete bullshit.” A voice came from behind him. Kara pushed past and stepped between both version.
“Sorry Lad. It's been a while since I've done this. I had most given it up.”

“W-what?” He questioned.

'Oh great... It's you.'

“Yeah.” She grinned.
“It's me.”

'We have actually been looking for you, my dear.' the voice changed. In the eyes of the image of Lad that he was staring at the eyes shifted. One black and one white within the familiar face that was his.

'You can both come and we will welcome you gladly.' He opened his arms.

“Are you believing this shit?” Kara asked incredulously. Lad stared at her. He was still recovering from what he saw and she could tell.
“I'm sorry...” She opened her arms and hugged him tightly.

“This is like a nightmare. The reality is, you're still unconscious. That prick back there is controlling your dream.”

'She knows, Lad.' The voiced stated.

'She knows from this that you were working with us.'

“I do.” Kara admitted. Lad felt nervous and frightened.
“But I don't actually hate you for it. In fact.” She released him from the hug and leaned back to smile proudly at him.
“You did the right thing.”

“What do you mean... I betrayed you guys.”

“Lad. The important thing is not that you made a stupid choice. Although... I don't think most of us could have done differently if we were in your position.” He looked up at her with wide, watery eyes as she explained.
“The important thing is you didn't wallow in it. You fought every step of the way and you even hurt yourself yo fight it. You fixed it. That's what matters.”

'She is lying to you. She is in YOUR mind right now, as am I. If we work together we could-'

“Shut up.” Lad asserted.
“Choronia. That's your name, right?”

The version of him across the hall sneered. 'The moment you allow her to win and wake you up, you will be ruined. They will imprison you.'

“I believe in Kai and Yeong. I- I don't believe in this fake world you made up. They would never do this to me.” He looked down at his hands. He felt something from them. A vague warmth.
“In fact... They're still with me even now. How long has it been Kara?”

“It has been a month. You got pretty messed up, Lad. We actually spent enough on you to buy a small nation. The boss's 'princess' wouldn't have it any other way.” She grinned.

Lad nodded. “If that thing is still in me, does that mean that not all of the programming is gone?”

“This part isn't programming. It's a small piece of it. We need to get this thing out of your head before you wake up. Okay? Listen... It's going to try and mess with you. We don't have a way right now but-” She was interrupted by Lad walking past her. He stepped forward to confront Choronia, wearing his skin. It grinned cockily.

'You are still-' It was slapped very suddenly and very harshly.

“Get out.” Lad ordered.

'Or what?'

“This is my mind. I'll make it uncomfortable for you.” Lad claimed. Kara looked on, supporting him from the rear. She looked incredibly amused and slightly aroused. Her tail swayed slowly back and forth behind her. She did not look the least bit surprised as the scenery began to shift. The figure was suddenly stuck within a pillory, hands and neck bound.

'H-huh?'

“You're forgetting something very important.” Kara warned.

'What is that?' It asked.

“You retreated.” Lad finished that thought.
“You tore up my brain on the way out but that doesn't change the fact that you had to run away from my mind and my will. You didn't win against me. You lost on the same ground that I am standing right now. Whatever it costs me, do you think I can't make you run a second time?”

It's black and white eyes were wide. It had a calculating expression after Lad spoke. There was a long pause before it finally said.
“Fine.” It sighed, it's voice no longer coming through Lad's mouth. It seemed to be coming through the space itself. The pillory was disassembled but the control it had was split. The voice stopped where Lad stood. Behind him was the facility and Kara. Unchanged. The same figure that stood behind the Hero stood before him, within it's domain across from Lad. It stood over two meters tall with it's hands folded in front of it. Lad began walking forward, the void retreated into facility with each step he took.
“Half the seals are broken already. You will not be able to do this when I am free to break through into this world. Enjoy it while it lasts.” Those were the last words it spoke before Lad stood right in front of it, looking up. The entirety of it's void-like domain that existed within him had retreated to a tiny circle around it.

Lad eyes the feminine shape up and down. He let out a short laugh before giving it's otherworldly ass a tap.
“Run along now.” The last little bit of space faded to a pinpoint and Choronia disappeared.

“Oh!” Kara intoned. She sounded impressed.

Lad slowly opened his eyes to a bright room. On either side of him. Kai and Yeong were holding one of his hands. Lacie was at the foot of his bed with a clipboard in her hand and behind him, Kara was looking down over him. She had her hands on either side of his head, gently pressing her fingers into his temple.

“Guys...” He began to feel emotional and tried to sit up, but pain shot through his back and head.

“Hey hey, relax, okay?” Lacie begged.
“We need you to just lay here for a little while longer. You're healing.”

Even if it was a nightmare he still remembered it and felt anxious, no matter how irrational it might be. “I- I want to get back to work as soon as possible. I don't want you to have to replace me for good...”

Lacia cocked her head to one side. “Have to what? We didn't replace you. Nobody can replace you.” She stated.

“What about Sebek?”

“The Orc?” Lacie laughed.
“He's a prisoner, first of all. Second, he's not you.”

“He's a prick.” Kai chimed in, holding his hand even tighter.
“We've been waiting for you to wake up this whole time precisely because you're now an irreplaceable member of the team.”

“Not just that.” Yeong added, her face red in the cheeks.
“But you're irreplaceable in our lives.”

Lad laid back down and laughed. “Thanks.”

-

Eventually people did have to leave. He was stuck in the room, even though he was awake. He could not move his body. He had to just lay down and wait. As he was about to fall asleep he heard the door open and stared at it. A pale figure with dark eyes and long black hair stood in it. She was like a character from a horror film that would not be out of place crawling from a television set, so it was a bit unnerving to see her back-lit within the doorway. She slowly stepped towards the side of the bed.
“Drianna?”

“Hm?” She stared down at him. Strangely, he could see she was wearing a thick metal collar around her neck.
“What?”

“You... Are in my room.” Lad said, as if that fact deserved some type of answer or explanation on its own.

“Yeah?” She continued to stare down at him.

“Why? Am I not allowed to?” She made annoyed face at him, her eyes narrowing.

Lad stared back at her with a confused gaze. “Are you? I've been asleep. I don't even know why you're loose. Did you break free?”

She lifted a hand and brushed it through her hair before pulling on the collar. “I wish. Actually, this thing makes it so I can walk around freely. So they say.”

“So, uh... Why are you here if you can go anywhere?”

Dri sneered at him. “Why are you asking such stupid questions. You're gonna ask the same thing over and over again?”

“Uhh...” Lad was not sure in how many more words he could say yes, but that was the implication in his drawn out tone.

“For your information, I come here all the time. Even before you were awake.”

He was surprised and a bit interested. “Why.”

“Why!? What the hell! Stop asking stupid questions!”

“Is it a stupid question?”

“Yeah. It is.” She bared her teeth and walked over to one of the chairs beside him to plop down. She sunk into it and crossed her arms. She was no longer naked. Instead she wore a red and white ChesAn jumpsuit. It suited her. Lad could not tell, but it looked like she was sulking.

“Are you... Watching over me?”

“If it was obvious then why'd you ask?” She pouted.

“Do you feel like you owe me?”

She glances away from him as she uttered. “Y-yeah.”

Lad smiled brightly. “I mean... You saved me right after I saved you so we're probably even.”

Drianna stood up. “Oh okay. I guess I'll kill you, then.” Lad did not look the least bit worried as he hand moved close to his neck so she relented and leaned herself over his bed.
“You're so annoying. I actually really hate you.”

“Is that so?” Lad closed his eyes and settled in comfortably.

“Uh huh. If I didn't have this on I would eat you right away.” She warned.

“Oh no...” Lad responded halfheartedly.

She brought her face close to his, her eyes wide and wild. “Can you be a bit more normal? It's stupid. You deserve to die.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at me like you don't trust me. Like you're scared. That's normal.”

“Why should I be scared. You said it yourself. You have that collar on so you can't hurt me or anyone else.”

She stared at him for a moment, then claimed. “You seem like you'd be the same even if I didn't have it on. I wanna take it off. If I do I'll prove that I can kill you. I'll eat you up for sure.”

Lad's lips quivered into a smile. He almost could not contain a giggle as he said “So scary. You're actually so scary, Drianna. Eat me up? What's that like?” He opened his eyes and looked at her surprised face. Even though she was the personification of what most people's sleep paralysis demon would look like, Lad felt safe. She was likely correct. Even if she did not have a collar he felt like he would act the same. It was just a feeling.

“Stop making fun of me...” She pouted, looking away.

Lad mustered enough motion to lift his hand and pat her on the head. “Sorry. It's okay. You are scary. I guess I'm just weird.”

“Tha-that's right. Fucking weirdo...” There was no protest to him patting her on the head. He stared at her. There was no blush but he could see that she was embarrassed. But there was something else.

'Pretty...' He thought. He could not help himself.

“I'm gonna keep sitting right here. Unless you don't want me to.”