Chapter 1:  Renegade

The man paced back and forth, his trenchcoat close to him.  Something was wrong, he could just sense it.  Perhaps it was the fact that the station smelled like fresh rain, despite the six-day drought.  Perhaps it was the fact that the trains that were supposed to be leaving at 12:30 were still waiting now at 3:15 PM.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was the other person in the station with him.  He was wearing the uniform of Gelen-Seroton's own Imperial Riot forces, the small badges reading "EGS" in fancy gothic letters, "Mayhem Brigade" sewn in normal lettering under it.  He was also eyeing the man, albeit with one eye closed.

Eventually, he noticed the soldier walking toward him.  The soldier was definitely going to outpace him; he didn't bother trying to run, instead sitting on a nearby bench.  The soldier sat down on the bench next to him, staring straight ahead.  "Three men walk in the moonlight," he said to the other man.  The eyes were closed.

"But only one is really human," said the man in the trenchcoat.  "I assume you're my contact?" he asked.  The soldier nodded, handing him a file.  "Thank you."  The soldier bowed, stood up, and walked off.  "Hmmm..."  Carefully, the man opened the file.  He grinned as he saw it.  "Ah...  I see."  He smirked.  "Well now...  This should be fun.  Cat-and-mouse..."  He pulled most of the papers out of the folder, stuffing them in the trenchcoat.  The folder itself was tossed into a handy trashbin, and the man got on one of the trains.  As it pulled out of the station, thunder crackled overhead.  Rain began pouring on the station.  The name on the folder was visible for a few brief moments before the rain made the ink run.  "Renegades."

***

Meanwhile, in the heart of Myelin, the nerve center of Gelen-Seroton, three people were arguing in metaphorical broad daylight.  "I still say guns ablazing is the best strategy," said one, a vaguely wolfish boy.  He was wearing the uniform of a soldier, though it was a size too large and obviously the only uniform allowed a new recruit.  The insignia of Gelen-Seroton, the Acorn, was emblazoned on the right breast, and there were two pistols stashed in his belt.

"Not so hasty," said another, wearing a uniform similar to the robes of the Gelen-Serotonin mage corps, but with tiny runic letters around the hem.  "We don't even know if this is the right archive... and we definitely don't know if we'll be able to get the records we need."  The hood hid her face, but she was definitely female, and she definitely knew what she was talking about.

The third looked between them.  "Both of you have valid points, but you're equally wrong," he muttered.  "Kylen, pull yourself together, we're not going to go in guns ablaze, that'd draw all the fire to us and we'd die.  Cam, we can't wait here forever.  That'll draw suspicion, which will bring down Agents faster than you can say 'Party Palace'."  He wasn't particularly tall.  There was a magnum strapped to his side, and an obviously feline manner in his stride.  Black fur covered his body, his ears were feline, and clutched in his right forepaw were a pair of dice.

"We've been over this a thousand times, AP, no use saying we're both wrong unless - "  The catman grinned at the wolfboy, daring him to finish the sentence.  "...OK, what's your plan?" he sighed.  There were some things you learned when you were a renegade, and the first was that people who messed with "Anti Paragon" usually wound up dead or disabled.

"Plan...  Well, our weaponsmith gave me these..."  He held up the dice.  "Cross between 'wait and see' and 'charge on in', each one's different in effect...  But I think these oughta be good to start with.  C'mon, let's get ready to charge."  As soon as the three of them were ready, AP tossed down a six-sided die.  Immediately, thick black smoke began pouring into the area.  "Go!" he shouted.  The three of them dashed into the archive... where, once again, AP tossed down a six-sided die, pulling along the other two, who had managed to inhale some of the non-toxic but definitely slowing smoke.  The three of them ran into the deeper sections of the archives, AP pulling out the occasional smoke-die but otherwise just leading them through the archives.

"This is the one," said Cameo, "I'm sure of it, this room."  When the other two looked at her skeptically, she pointed to a large sign on the wall.  "Government Archives," it read, "Section 3: Criminal Law, Topics Podiatry - Rochambeau".  The two males slapped their foreheads, but Cammy just ran in and began looking through the very neatly organized sections.  Somewhere in here was the information on the Last True Renegade... well, either here or in "Kleptomania - Legroom", but more likely this one.

Sure enough, the information was there.  Carefully, she pulled it out before running to meet with her two companions.  "OK, you've got it?" asked AP, looking at her.  Cameo nodded.  "Excellent.  I knew there was a reason I got you two along with me."  A couple of gunshots came from the doorway.  "...And now Kylen's proved his worth.  C'mon."  He dashed out the door, around the corner, and into a group of six soldiers.  "Hehheh...  Hi, boys..."

Cameo just watched as AP backed up, right forepaw cradling something that looked suspiciously like another die.  Great, she thought, he's gonna smoke-die and then really die.  Sure enough, AP threw the die at the soldiers.  They laughed and aimed at him... and then the die hit the ground.

"Tick tock," said AP, grinning and slipping around the corner.  The soldiers looked curiously at the die.  AP winked at Cameo, then grabbed her arm and ran toward Kylen, who was standing impatiently at the other end of the hall.  As soon as they had cleared the section containing information from Legumes to Murder, an explosion rocked the base, destroying everything behind them.  "Hated asking the 'smith for that one, I know how much she dislikes killing."  AP sighed.  "But it had to be done."  The two of them quickly caught up to Kylen.  "Well, let's move before even more show up, and possibly with cops."

"Yeah, good idea.  I already got one of 'em in both his hands, he's probably got a belt-watch to call 'em, though."  AP sighed and dragged Kylen as well, running past the entrance, into the street, past a few cars, and into a narrow alleyway.

"Congratulations," said AP as they entered the alleyway, a few police cars whizzing past, alarms ringing as they headed toward the government building.  "I was hoping...  There's no time to talk about it here in detail, but you two, if you wish it, are now members of The Legion.  Follow me."

As AP stood up, Kylen and Cameo exchanged glances before following.  "The Legion?" asked Cameo.  "The Legion of what, exactly?  Aren't we already members of the Renegades?"  AP laughed.

"Yes, members of the Renegades.  Only, what happens when the Renegades meet?  Absolutely nothing."  He smiled.  "No, the Renegades are almost totally under the heel of the Empire; they're waiting for assistance from the Outside.  You must have seen it."  Kylen nodded.  "They're being too cautious, too 'wait-and-see', even for the most patient revolutionaries."  Cameo nodded.  "So now, I, once the so-called leader of the Renegades and now reduced to minor membership, have decided to find the true revolutionaries and not just the people with nothing to do on a Sunday night."

Cameo laughed at that.  "So because something is rotten in the state of Denmark, we're running through the back-alleys of Myelin?"

"If you like to think of it that way, then yes."  AP grinned.  "And if you really want to make a change, then join the Legion."  The two looked at each other, then nodded.

"We're in," said Kylen.

"Good," said AP.  "The Legion of Seekers of the Last True Renegade needs your talents..."  He held up a four-sided die.  "And if you'd said no I would've had to have used this, it's too risky to be handed over to the Renegades.  C'mon."  AP grinned as he led the two confused Renegades - or were they Legionnaires now?  Neither of them knew - as he led the two of them through the twisting alleyways.  Above them glowed the moon.