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Teleporting back after a hard day's work was always a challenge. It wasn't that it drained him of too much energy, but he was just so exhausted that, frankly, he just didn't any more energy to give. Sure, he always had the option of resting in Negaspace, but he tried to make it a point to always make it back to DC every night. Recent changes in schedules made being home from his civilian job hard enough, he didn't want to start considering Negaspace a second home in the process. It'd be too easy to just never go home, if that were the case. And he had a very good reason to be home as often as possible, no matter what.

Two very good reasons, actually.

So there he sat, overextended yet again. He couldn't deny the progress he was making as an agent, but he was starting to feel the physical toll.

Carminite was perhaps a bit vulnerable in his current state, powered up and all, but it was better than the alternative--being found in his state as a civilian. Beaten, bloodied, and bruised as he was, if he passed out and some Good Samaritan called the police, he'd be in a giant pile of s**t he'd really rather not have to deal with. He had enough on his plate, thanks. Not to mention his general would probably never let him hear the end of it.

Thankfully he'd gotten enough practice that he was able to teleport back to the same general area that afforded him a decent amount of privacy to rest just a little bit. He also took that chance to patch his wounds up with a first-aid kit he kept in subspace. After all, people at work would ask if he showed up there in his raw state post-training, and Seren...

No doubt she would worry and want answers. It was bad enough he had to hide this part of his life from her, he didn't want to have to outright lie, too. Not if he could avoid it. He leaned his head back, gently bumping the tree in a subconscious attempt to numb the guilt that prickled at the edges of his mind. And he did his best to rest there, his thoughts settling on his girlfriend and hoping she was safe at home, asleep.

Cheomseongdae was considering heading home, because it was getting late and she was hoping Nate would be home soon... But she definitely did not want to get in after him, he might have difficult to answer questions. This whole mess was not something she wanted her boyfriend to be involved in any more than he already was as an EMT who had to clean up the messes left by this damn war. As such, she always tried to get home earlier than she thought he might.

As such she was moving to turn back towards home, but then she found herself stopping... And she paused, and used her sense to see if she felt anyone nearby and frowned at the realization that a Nega was definitely in the area. She swore under her breath, then turned and headed for the signature she had sensed.

To her surprise, it was, once again, that officer she had encountered twice before now. She stared at the Captain, who was sitting on the ground before her. The state of him was not at all what she expected. He looked like someone had decided he was their personal stress toy and had beat the s**t out of him after a crap day. She froze for a long moment, blue eyes sliding up and down along him as she tried to decide what to do.

Finally, she said "Seems like someone else has taken quite a liking to you. Who did this to you, so I can shake their hand?"

She was battling the urge to help him. She hated seeing people in pain, after all... She thought that's why her magic (Oh and she was so glad she finally had magic!) was a healing spell. Part of her wanted to USE it on him. The rest of her was battling the urge to beat him up further. After all, if he got beat up enough, maybe he would just give up on this lifestyle.

He sensed an Order signature nearby and was tempted to power down. To hide, mostly. At least as a civilian he could pass it off as "someone attacked me" but also because the last thing he needed was someone who was aching for a fight to find him like this. Too exhausted to think fast, though, they were upon him soon enough. He had his eyes closed and mentally prepared for the worst.

The voice he heard was as much a surprise as the lack of aggression behind them. Sarcasm, sure, but did he sense a bit of sympathy in her tone?

Nah, can't be.

He scoffed, then winced. Breathing hurt. Honestly, so did everything else.

"Mind your business," he shot back, and in an attempt to show that he wasn't in as bad a shape as he looked he pulled himself up to his feet. He was shaky, but standing, nothing but steel resolve keeping him up on his feet. "Besides, this isn't so bad. You should see the other guy."

She didn't feel so nervous, this time, because been the last time they'd... Met... And this one, she'd reached Squire and that meant they were, once again, roughly equal in power, and it wasn't like she'd dropped her Aikido classes... Indeed, she had progressed quite well in them, so she figured between that, her much bigger wand, and their equivalent rank, she'd have stood a chance even if he was uninjured.

But he was injured, and badly enough that it made her very uncomfortable.

For a moment, she imagined how she would feel if it had been her to do that much damage and she hated it. She fought because she had to, but the idea of hurting someone that badly seemed... Extreme. If she could stop the agents, send them on their way, that was all she would do if she could get away with it.

"Given I've encountered you, it seems you are my business." She said, a false smirk on her face. "Maybe I should seek them out, if they're actually that injured. I can always give them a hand to show them their hard work is appreciated. But please. Don't bother trying to pretend you're in any shape to fight. I remember the last time we fought against each other. I handed your a** to you and you weren't injured. Do the right thing, and give up now."

The smirk made his brow twitch, and the rest of what she said had him knitting his brows together in irritation. Injured as he was, that was fuel enough to strengthen him to at least stand his full stature.

"I was just sitting here when you happened along," he started, eyes narrowing as he looked over the knight. Her signature was about equal to his in power, not to mention the slight changes in her outfit since last they met. Depending on her magic, even if he wasn't injured it was hard to say how that fight would turn out. He was confident in his training, though. "Not sure how that makes me your business. Y'know, if you lot would just learn how to mind your own business there wouldn't be all this fighting."

For a split-second he found himself thinking how boring that would actually be. A surprising thought, and one he tucked away to unpack at a later time.

"And what do you mean, 'give up'?" he went on. "I wasn't doing anything. Even if I was, what're you gonna do? Arrest me?"

"Negas out and about like yourself are a danger to civilians, why the hell else do you think I am willing to fight you ********?" She said, sounding disgusted. Even under the disgust was pity at his state, but it was clear that she wasn't going to let that get in her way. "And that's our business. Protecting the people you all assault. Look at the state of you. You go out there, assault innocent civilians, steal their ******** lifeforce... And you gave the gall to talk about minding my own business? Anyone who hurts people who can't fight back are my damned business."

A momentary flash of old pain, which she didn't care if he saw. He didn't know her. Hell, he didn't even know her name as a Knight, let alone anything else. What did it matter if he saw that she was personally invested in fighting those who took advantage of the weak?

"Give up on the idea that you belong out here in the streets. Go to whatever dark hellpit you murderers crawled out of and lick your wounds. That's what I mean."

He bristled at her tone, muscles tensing as a result, which caused him to wince and stagger where he stood. "Civilians endanger themselves, or do you maybe not watch the news?" he insisted on staying standing, but he felt the strength in his legs fading. "At least the work we're doing is for a noble cause. Tell me the same about those self-serving ******** had more to say but his breath caught, and he choked. Just for a second, but that was all it took to wipe out the last of his strength. The force of his coughing brought him to his knees first, then all fours. Each cough, each convulsion, was paired with sounds of anguish, and it wasn't long before globs of red stained the grass below him.

"NOBLE?" She scoffed so hard, get expression a pure sneer. "What is noble about murdering people who can't fight you? What is noble about stealing, to feed to a b***h Queen who just seems to want to devour the world? What is noble about anything on your side? How can you call any of that noble?"

She might have continued but the coughing, the convulsions... The red on the grass... She froze, then swore softly. "Go. Get the ******** out of here, for the sake of any poor civilians that love you. And maybe think about the choices that led you here. You wouldn't want to die and leave them grieving, I'm sure."

The last thing he wanted, the very last thing he needed, was a knight's pity. He hated the very thought of it, never mind being on the receiving end of it. And when he was eventually able to get himself under control he groaned as he just rolled onto his back.

"I'll go when I choose to go," he said, weakly but with as much defiance as he could manage in that moment. He wasn't going to go just because she told him to. Not to mention, he also couldn't. Not just yet. He needed more rest.

"If you think you're tryna do me a favor, why don't you go. I was just resting here before you showed up and decided to pick a fight. None of your precious civilians are on my radar, anyway, so you can sleep easy." Not tonight, anyway.

She just stared down at him, eyes showing nothing but rage and pity. She hated feeling pity for one of these no good fools, but she couldn't help thinking of her own partner, and how shattered he would be if she did not make it home.

Or how freaked out if she came home in a state like this man was in.

The fact that he didn't even seem to bother to consider that his people at home made her even more disgusted.

Laying flat didn't seem to be doing him any favors. His breathing was ragged and labored, and he looked perfectly...uncomfortable. He expected her to leave but she didn't. He looked up at her, half-curious what was keeping her around. Her disdain for him was no secret, he thought she'd either jump at the chance to beat on him some more--in which case he'd probably take a few hits while trying to focus on teleporting to safety elsewhere--or actually leave.

She didn't seem to have plans to do either.

He quirked a brow, clearly annoyed with her inaction. "What?"

She made a tccch noise. "That you don't even seem to be worried about those who wait at home for you. Pfeh. All the more reason to see your people with disdain. I hope if you have people waiting, and worrying, you learn to appreciate them properly."

She glowered some more, then sighed. "I'm leaving. Best we not meet again, next time I won't hold back."

She glared one last time, then turned, and ran to a roof, leaping up to it and out of sight. It wasn't too long before her signature would have been out of range for him... Or she'd powered down but he'd never know.