Karabell needed to speak with Frederick. They couldn't stay there much longer. He was planning to go to one of those bases the Commander'd mentioned as being primarily used by scientists, hoping that they'd be able to gather some more information there. From what Lyra had told him, the only documents they kept in that location were maps and... cooking recipes, for some reason. First and foremost, he needed to know how long it'd take them to reach one of those places. And, whether he liked it or not, Frederick was the one in charge. His talk with Alice had helped Karabell recharge his mind, too. After making sure she wouldn't say a word about it to their teammates, he'd urged her to get some rest. He was planning to talk with the other two the next day, after a good night's rest.
"We're done. You can go back to the other room, Een, Shono..." Karabell said as he opened the door. Suddenly, his throat constricted, making it impossible for words to form. The girl had opened her eyes. And Shono was intently staring at her. Karabell found both of those things terribly disturbing. For a moment, he was tempted to turn on his heels and run back to the other chamber.
"Mister Een! Who's that?" the child asked, casting a wary glance in his direction.
"That's our Captain, Karabell Ress. Though it's probably fine if you just call him Captain. We all do. Well, except for Alice, but that's another story..." Een hastily answered her question.
"When did she wake up?" Karabell's face went blank. He didn't even want to imagine what she might've said after her abrupt awakening. When he'd first met Marno, he himself had blurted out everything he remembered, after all. However, that didn't seem to be the case, judging by Een's laid-back attitude. Even so, he still felt like he needed to proceed with caution. "What's your name?" the Captain asked the girl.
"Kei. Pleased to meet you."
"She doesn't remember anything besides her name and age," Shono stepped in to explain. "She woke up as soon as we entered the room. In all honesty, it startled me. She is clearly suffering from amnesia. So far, we've told her about this place, after confirming that she had no idea what Aberrations or fighters were. But Kei's taking this surprisingly well. Rather than being scared, she seems curious about... pretty much everything. You have no idea how hard it was to convince her that my mace wasn't a toy. Oh, before I forget, she's only ten years old. A little young to start training, if you ask me," he added, clicking his tongue.
No one had said anything about training. But Karabell didn't take the time to clear up that misunderstanding. He was more concerned about the girl's memories. She was just like him and Lyra. A person from the past. However, Karabell was starting to notice a pattern he wasn't sure he liked. Lyra had woken up a few years before him, retaining a large portion of her memories, whereas he could only recall small, insignificant pieces of information regarding his old life. If Kei couldn't remember her past at all, it probably meant that the later one woke up, the fewer memories their mind held on to.
"No, it could very well be just a coincidence..." Karabell muttered. "Well, we can't really do anything about it. I'm pretty sure Alice is already fast asleep next door, too. On another note... Shono, would you mind coming with me? I want to have a chat with that guy, Frederick."
"It would be my pleasure," a voice that didn't belong to Shono laughed softly. Turning around, Karabell was greeted by Frederick's spiteful grin. For once, though, he was actually happy so see him. Though he was also troubled by his ability to appear out of nowhere like that. That was already the second time he'd done it, and it wasn't good for Karabell's health.
"Een, would you be so kind as to show Kei around a little? Of course, if that's alright with you, Commander Frederick." He made himself smile, emphasizing the word 'commander'.
"Of course. I'll have Lyra give you a tour of our humble settlement."
They soon found themselves alone in the large room. Karabell eagerly inquired about the location of the scientists' headquarters. He wanted to spend as little time as he possibly could with Frederick. The Commander shrugged as he paced around the room. Apparently, they were in luck. The wagon that weekly brought food to Base Yuna was due to arrive in two days, which meant that the Frederick could ask them to take Karabell and his squad there. He also offered to provide them with maps.
Shono was awfully quiet, staring blankly at the floor.. Karabell had also noticed that before, but he appeared to be frightened by Frederick. The Captain sighed, letting himself fall onto the nearest bed. Could that situation get any more awkward?
"Right. Thanks for your cooperation and all that. But what's with you and Shono? You said earlier that you were old friends. That's clearly not the case."
"The first time I came to the Upper District, Frederick murdered my entire team. Five people, including our captain. All dead. I was the only survivor," Shono snapped, unable to bear it any longer. "He killed them slowly, not showing the poor men any mercy. But he spared me. Want to know why, Captain? Why don't you tell him, Frederick?" Shono asked, but Karabell had more or less figured out the answer.
"My, my... Don't make it sound like that. You were the only one who deserved to live. After all, you managed to dodge my attacks. The others were weak, Shono. They wouldn't have stood a chance against Aberrations. Not against the Upper District's ones, anyway. I was honestly amazed that they'd survived for so long. The first one died rather quickly, mind you. The Lower District's soldiers are no match for us. I knew that back then, too. But I wanted to put it to the test. Weaklings don't belong in this world. They shouldn't be allowed to exist. And your teammates were simply unlucky. Had they been a little stronger..."
"Wait... So you killed them just because you felt like it? We have to do everything we can to defeat the Aberrations, you said so yourself." Karabell clenched his jaw. Was that man actually insane? All of a sudden, they heard a strange sound coming from outside. Were those footsteps? The soldiers were probably coming back. Just their luck.
"No use dwelling on the past. I didn't think you'd still be mad at me for what I did back then, Shono. So I deeply apologize. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to give my hard-working fighters a well-deserved, warm welcome," Frederick said, hinting that their conversation was over.
Karabell hoped that the anger hadn't showed on his face during their meeting. Not only was that man annoying, he was a murderer too. Commander Frederick Sel... Something was clearly wrong with him. Karabell finally understood why Shono had been so anxious about coming to the Upper District, despite being the one who'd suggested it. It definitely wasn't the kind of place he'd expected.