LUCEM
XC Chapter

That's funny" said the man, unhappy. “You used to like me for being a sneaky and slippery beginner who was willing to take any job I could get.”

“I like you,” said another man, boil, “when you finish the job. But in the last year, you were nothing but dead weights. We've given you plenty of opportunities to right your wrongs, but you don't seem to be able to do it right.

You're lucky Lucio can fix his hand so quickly, but we still don't know anything about his mental state. And I swear to you, Panpan, if there are unanticipated and irreversible consequences to your actions, I will challenge you before the committee.”

"You wouldn't dare."

“You may have escaped this nonsense while Anna was still completely alive, but we all know that the only reason you got this far is because of Anna's penchant for Lucio, who keeps guaranteeing you for unexpected reasons.all of us.”

"For some unexpected reason for all of us?" Panpan laughing. “You mean, you don't remember why you held me back all this time? Let me help refresh your memory. As I recall, you liked me the most when I was the only one willing to do the despicable, immoral, and ominous work that helped make this movement begin. Pause.

“You held me for all these years, because instead, I kept the blood away from your hands. Or have you forgotten? You once called me your savior."

"I don't care if I ever call you a prophet." Something's shattered. Metal and glass slammed hard into something else.

“We cannot continue to pay for your careless mistakes. We are at war now, and at the moment we are barely defending our lead. If you cannot understand the possible consequences of even a small setback at this critical moment, you do not deserve to stand between us.”

Accident suddenly. A door, slammed shut.

The panpan sighed, long and slow. Somehow I knew, even from the sound of her breathing, that she was not angry.

I'm appalled.

He seems tired.

Gradually, hot fingers came out from around my throat. After a few seconds of silence, my eyes opened.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes adjusting to the intense bursts of white light. I felt a little unable to move, but I seemed to be fine.

"Lusio?"

Soft Panpan sound. Much softer than I expected. I blinked to the ceiling and then, with great difficulty, managed to move my neck. I looked into him with eyes.

He doesn't look like himself. No shaving. Not sure.

"Yes?" I said, but my voice was rough. Not controlled.

"How are you feeling?"

“I feel stiff.”

He pressed the button and my bed moved, adjusting me so that I sat relatively upright. Blood flowed profusely from my head to my extremities and I was a little dizzy. I blinked, slowly, trying to recalibrate. Panpan turned off the machine that was attached to my body, and I watched its movements, mesmerized.

And then he straightened.

He turned his back to me, facing the tall little window. Too far for me to see the view. He raised his hand and combed his hair with *******.

"I need a drink" he said to the wall.

Panpan nodded to himself and walked out the next door. At first, I was shocked to be left alone, but when I heard the muffled sound of movement and the familiar, clanking vibration of the glasses, I was no longer surprised.

I'm rattled.

Or maybe even a hotel room.

Everything is very white. Sterilely. I'm in a big white bed with white sheets and a white blanket. Even the bed frame is made of white wood. Beside the various carts and monitors that were now dead, there was one nightstand decorated with one simple lamp.

There was a thin door that opened slightly, and through the sloping light I thought I saw what served as a closet, though it seemed empty. Close to the door was a suitcase, closed but not open. There was a screen mounted on the wall right in front of me, and underneath was a drawer. One of the drawers wasn't tightly closed, and it caught my interest.

It occurred to me that I was not wearing any clothes. I was wearing a hospital shirt, but no real clothes. My eyes scanned the room looking for my white uniform and I couldn't find it.

There's nothing here.

I remember then, at the last moment before I fell asleep, after Magenta had closed that door. I remember lying in bed. I remember downing the last bottle I had when the call dominated the contents of my head.

I glanced at my open hand. I tried to move my index finger, touch a part of my face and it all felt better now, but my head was throbbing. Even though the pain has been reduced to a dull pulse. I take that as a good sign.

Carefully, I began to move my legs.

Panpan reappeared. His military clothes are no longer there. Tie, missing. The top two buttons of his shirt came off, his ink-black curly hair was more clearly visible, and his hair was disheveled. He seemed more relaxed.

He remained in the doorway and gulped down a drink from a glass half full of yellow liquid.

When he made eye contact with me, I said,

“Master, I was wondering where I was. I also want to know where my clothes are.”

Panpan gulped again. He closed his eyes as he swallowed, leaning against the door frame. Sighs.

Panpan said nothing.

I didn't say anything else.

With her eyes closed, I felt it was safer to look at her. I took advantage of the rare opportunity to peek at the half-open drawer, but I still couldn't make sense of it. And I turned to look at his face, which I had never seen so close. Gentler. Relaxed. Almost smiled. Even so, I can tell that something is bothering him.

"What?" he said without looking at me. "What's that now?"

"I'm just wondering, Master, are you okay."

Eyes open. He tilted his head to look at me, but his gaze was unpredictable. Slowly, he turned around.

He threw away the rest of his drink, put the glass on the nightstand, and sat down in a nearby chair. "I made you here, do you remember?"

"Yes, although not sure."

"And now you're asking me if I'm okay."

"Yes, you seem annoyed, Mr.”

He leaned back in the chair, looking thoughtful. Suddenly, he shook his head. “You know, now I realize that I'm using you too much. I've put you too much into situations that will become more and more difficult later on. Testing your endurance might be too much. But you and I have a long history, Lucio. And no. I definitely didn't forget.”

I didn't say anything.