Reconcilations

[Shay Cormac]

Eyes fluttering open ever so slightly, the Templar sprawled across the rather cleanly made bed noticed no more than the pain in his chest, lungs wheezing out shallow breaths from his nose. Shay Cormac's vision faded into the rather calming scene around him, watching as the darkness formed blurry splotches of color.

Despite the seething pressure on his torso, Shay felt rather tame. Even now, only seconds after waking up from his slumber that seemed to have taken forever, it was strange to feel.

Then again, he remembered that only minutes ago, he was busy getting the wind knocked from his body by another faction entirely. After what, two days in a row doing nothing but mission after mission? The Templar could only imagine what had happened while he couldn't see what was going on. Even then, it all felt so distant from him...

Only a moment later did Shay realize why.

Agnès. Though he could barely see, Shay immediately saw the small woman's eyes widen in surprise. He swore he could have seen a slight smile form at the end of her lips, but Shay knew he wasn't ready to strain himself too much to notice, simply letting his head fall back down on the pillow of the bed.

If he was listening in a bit harder, Shay might've been able to hear her voice. Calling for him, the Templar had to assume, but all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.

At least, Shay would have enjoyed that privilege, but he suddenly felt the small grasps of hands on his shoulders, the voice of Agnès becoming louder, causing a bit of a ring in his ears.

"Shay!" the Templar could make out from the small voice, finally clear now. Agnès gently shook the towering privateer's body, seeming to do a good job on waking him up.

Agnès watched as the man she was taking care of jolt upwards, sweat dripping down Shay's cheeks. The two Primes stared at each other for only just a single second before Shay's caretaker reached to his chest, pushing him back down onto the bed. Feeling a sudden jolt of pain in his stomach, Shay sucked in the air through his teeth realizing what that gesture was for.

"Please," Agnès began, "stay down for now."

Squinting, Shay stared at the woman for another short second, her worried expression not helping to ease Shay's nerves. Then, he chuckled, Shay's voice broken a bit by sudden gasps and wheezes.

"Say," Shay mumbled, reaching up to cover his forehead, "how long was I out?"

"Barely an hour, which is exactly why you need more rest," Agnès replied, a bit of a stern tone in her voice.

Shay could only think of how frustrating all of this must have been for her, and it only made him appreciate her presence a bit more than he did already. The Templar didn't think too much of the situation other than the obvious; she was healing him through some sort of magic, and he couldn't be more than happy enough about it.

"Wait," Shay broke the sudden quiet in the room to ask, "what happened to Victor? Gilgamesh, the others?"

Deafening silence followed short after. Agnès' mouth stayed open to think of a response, but she didn't need to say a thing.

Shay could see in the look she gave him the answer to all of those questions. The Templar almost laid himself back down, thinking about the implications, but before he could even try, Agnès confirmed it to make the pain of loss seem all the more burning.

"They're gone, but..."

"I know," Shay quickly chimed in, not wanting Agnès to think about it further. The privateer was certain he didn't want to either.

Finally, the two Primes present in the room had a chance to look over each other, and despite all the destruction and rubble outside, watch as the bright sunlight cracked into the room from the clear windows adjacent to Shay's bed. Agnès could already tell Shay didn't need explaining that he was inside of the palace, or at least he presumed so. Even then, the thought wasn't pleasing. Of course, the building was rather huge, and there was barely a chance anybody from LAW would so suddenly barge in, but...

Shay couldn't help it, he felt worried as all hell. Agnès was feeling it too, but looking at Shay's face as he loomed over the dusty outsides of the palace walls, the healer could tell there was something bothering him.

"Agnès?" Shay called, looking back at the girl in question.

"Yes, Shay? Do you need anything?" Agnès quickly jumped up, hands tensed in case she needed to help tend to a wound she didn't see beforehand.

"Do you think," the Templar began, hesitating for only a moment longer, "we're doing the right thing?"

Agnès stopped, her arms loosening up, yet the expression on her face only getting tenser.

"I--... What do you mean?"

"All of it," Shay came back, more expression in his voice than even he expected, "New Babylon, fighting for Gilgamesh, that one Stormtrooper camp? It's only been two days, yet the claims those men were making as they blew us over..."

Shay only stopped for a moment, looking at Agnès' face. She seemed to be stuck on what to say. Perhaps she was doubtful too?

Either way, the Templar continued only by finishing off his last thoughts clouded in doubt, "Do you think that we really are fighting for the wrong side?"

[Jak Mar]

The Endless dunes...

The Wastelands

It didn't matter what the location was even called to the Wastelander King, it was all the same to him except for the fact that his Wastelands.... the ones he strived and toiled with so many other wastelanders banned from Haven City... to create was no longer there. There WAS no new utopia named Spargus here, all his work he worked for so long was gone but fate had other plans for the torn and old Wastelander King.

The man used to the sands had managed to grab some water before heading into the wastelands and he used his walking stick to push himself toward what was a ruin of something. Damas had to conserve the little resources he had at least he had his memories.

After what seemed like hours, the king finally stopped at some ruins. Guards were running around amiss and didn't even bother to ask the wastelander to stop as he moved forward to study the ruins. The castle was that of a olden one, not unlike he had ever seen before. He took a piece and studied it, sniffed it, and then threw it to the ground and shook his head.

He moved toward the door as he knocked on it "Who's... in there... I wish you no harm.. I only wish to help.

The man with the long ears name was Damas and he was Jak's father.

[Joline]

Shay's words hit her hard. She hadn't given what she was doing any thought. She opened her mouth for but a moment as though she wanted to speak, but not a single word came out. Her eyes wavered, her shoulders trembled and she had to look away.

For a moment, she thought she had no answer. Then a glimmer of anger flickered in her eyes.

"The accusations that were thrown at us were one thing," she admits. Her words seemed to drip with venom and anger as she spoke, though try as she might, she couldn't change her tone. "While I know we are no paragon of good, neither were they, attacking a city. If they wanted to deal with us specifically - if we were so horrible we had to be dealt with--" her hands balled up into fists and her arms began to shake at her sides. "Why would they not at least try to deal with only us? Why risk the casualties of innocent people who are not in any way responsible for our actions?"

Agnès' face felt hot with anger. Those people, the ones she had fought - they were no heroes out seeking justice or acting in service of some greater good. They were little more than raiders or bandits. However, she observed through her blind rage that Shay's expression had become... almost concerned, with a hint of a sick feeling.

She wanted to brush it off as it just having come from his wounds, though she had to admit, she had never been this aggressive before. Surely it wasn't a pleasant sight. Agnès took a deep breath, relaxed her hands and put one to her chest. She gently shut her eyes and sighed. "I... should probably stop," she muttered and returned to Shay's side. If she recalled correctly, she had tended to his wounds to some degree, at least dealing with whatever was closest to any vitals first and foremost. He couldn't be in too critical of condition, at least not at the point where his life was in jeopardy, though even the most brief and minimalistic of once-overs showed he was clearly not doing well.

With a snap of her gloved fingers, her hands began to glow light green once more. "I apologize," she started, "but I did most of the healing that might cause pain while you were asleep. Re-aligning certain bones, reconstructing damaged parts of your body closest to organs and vitals... I dealt with that first--"

At last Shay spoke up. "That sounds like a good thing. Why did you apologize?"

Agnès moved her hands toward Shay, looking for a point where his injuries were worst, or where she had yet to properly treat his wounds. "It may have made your sleep less restful. I've heard the pain can trigger nightmares from my old friends--" hastily she added, "my friends back home. Though I thought your situation was serious, and weighing death against the chance of an uncomfortable experience, I... made the choice for you."

Shay smiled a little at that. "I don't think you would have had much luck asking me a few moments ago, since I was unconscious." Agnès wasn't sure if it was a joke or not, but at a time like this, she wanted any excuse to laugh or feel a little at ease.

A look out the window, at the chaos that had been left behind in their battle, shook her free of whatever momentary joy she had gotten from what might not even have been a joke. While a city's worth of people was out there, helpless, she remained locked within her room, tending to the only person she truly knew in this world.

With a sigh, she started to work on dealing with little things - aches, stiffness, the sorts of things that would start to matter now that Shay was awake. "Are you proposing that we leave?" she asked nervously. Gathering what confidence she had left, she added boldly, "whatever you choose to do, I'll stay by your side."

[Shay Cormac]

A small knock on the private palace door broke the slight silence that had previously filled the air.

Shay began to sit up, completely forgetting what he was going to say or do, all the while Agnès almost jumped in her seat, Shay nonetheless surprised at the sudden noise. Only a moment later, a voice was heard beyond the small wooden door that gently shook the room.

"Who's... in there... I wish you no harm.. I only wish to help."

A second passed, the two Primes whom were previously making conversation sat in silence, slowly staring at each other in seeming uncertainty. The voice sounded... old, almost. Either that, or sickly, hurt. Even Agnès couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious either way. Then again, with how many citizens there were out there seeming to be frantically looking for a place to stay, the two New Babylonians came to an agreement on what to do without saying a thing; Shay only having to nod his head once.

Deciding to speak up, Agnès got herself up from her seat, listening to the deep creaking of the wooden floor beneath her as she stood.  

"Hold on!"

Agnès almost hurriedly jogged over to the door only a few meters away, Shay pulling his legs over the side of the bed, frantically looking for his weapons. Only being able to painfully reach over and grab his flintlock from the top of the nightstand, the door crept open as Agnès peeked her rather small head through the door, having to look up at the strange person whom wanted the two Primes' attention.

Looking up ever so slightly to get a good look at the man's face, Agnès' first observation was the rather large pointed ears atop of the also large man's head. Even in Agnès' eyes, this stranger looked rather... unique. Shay however, leaning over to the side, had his eyes widened in curiosity. Perhaps it wasn't the first time he's seen such an appearance within the realms of the Omniverse, but it certainly has felt like it's been awhile since he has.

Stuttering slightly, Agnès quickly opened her mouth to speak. "Sir, are you hurt?"

"I--..." the man at the door stopped himself, surprised of how quickly this small girl opened up to help him. He continued, sighing slightly as he saw what the two were up to, seeing the Templar's shirtless yet bandaged body, "I only need permission to assist here. These people, they... look to be in a panic. I'm not sure exactly what happened here, but I need a place to rest; that won't happen if half of the city is ablaze."

Agnès looked back immediately, Shay already hiding his flintlock away knowing the man meant no harm. There wasn't a chance in the world he was going to hurt the two by the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice, even from all the way across the room. Besides, Shay wasn't in the mood to fight again anyways, the Templar ached to get a break from conflict.

"Well, uhm..." Agnès looked down in a moment of confusion, not sure if she had any authority to say. Then again...

Looking back at Shay, Agnès' eagerly awaited some sort of cue from the Templar. Noticing the girl's eyes staring at him as if she expected something, Shay blinked realizing what she had wanted. At that point, the choices in Shay's head slimmed down to two options; deny the man and give him directions to some sort of safer area to reside in, or let him help.

Sighing, Shay cracked a smile and nodded at Agnès.

Nodding back in response, the wind vestal turned back around to face the mysterious man. Looking up, Agnès spoke clear as crystal.

"I'm not sure exactly if the two of us are to allow this sort of thing, but..." Looking back up, Agnès spoke clear as crystal, "please then, join us, we've got work that needs to be done."

A groan could be heard from across the room. The privateer getting back up on his feet, Shay couldn't exactly tell if the floor was making those awful noises, or his aching bones were to blame. Either way, Shay was awfully good at walking injuries off, so he'd have to painfully assume this time wouldn't be any different. Or at least, he hoped so.

Slowly walking over behind Agnès, Shay nodded at the man as the girl below his chin held the door open. "If you were wonderin', this here is Agnès Oblige," the Templar introducing the girl to this elven-looking individual, right before raising his hand to point at himself, "and I'm Shay. Shay Patrick Cormac. Yours?"

Finally, the stranger sighed in relief. He felt slightly comforted knowing that the first people he'd have actually talked to within this city of ruin were of better hearts, or at least to him. Holding his hands to his back, the long-eared man stood up straight to  properly reveal his name that the two Primes before him were eagerly awaiting on hearing.

"You may call me Damas."

"Well," Shay voiced, looking at both his friend and new comrade, "let's get started, then?"