Chapter 24 - Trusting

"I was pretty surprised when you mentioned my father," Karabell said matter-of-factly as he analyzed yet another one of the blueprints. They sure had a big range of weapons...

"I'm eight years younger than Frederick. Both our parents were outstanding soldiers. Or at least that's what I like to believe. But one day, they didn't come back home. Thinking back, it was bound to happen. They'd been killed by Aberrations. We were living at Base Tau, a settlement specialized in training apprentices. I was only seven at the time... Naturally, I started crying, overcome with both anger and sadness. Frederick didn't shed even a single tear. He stared at me like I was the crazy one, simply saying that I shouldn't act so surprised. Then... he smiled. A sadistic, unhinged smile. I thought he was just trying to act tough in front of his little brother. But as the years went by, I began to understand him less and less. Ever since that day, he's done everything in his power to exterminate the Aberrations. Now, he's Base Miu's one and only Commander..." Dante started explaining in a bitter voice. "In a way, we weren't that different. We both wanted revenge. I hadn't been blessed with a strong body or fast reflexes, but the people around me had always told me I was smart. So I studied as hard as I could and eventually became a scientist. Before I knew it, my hatred had been replaced by something else. The desire to understand those odd creatures. What were they? Where had they come from? Neither Base Tau nor Base Yuna's records could give me an answer. But I did manage to find something rather interesting in those documents... There was a small base in the Lower District that still called itself the Agency. I first talked with Marno Ress around three years ago, I think. And I was mesmerized by his vast knowledge. I learnt an incredible amount things from him. The Aberrations had appeared two thousand years before. Once in a while, they'd go out of their way and attack our settlements, making sure humanity wouldn't develop new weapons. Yet, despite all that, they refused to wipe us out. To me, it was incomprehensible. Why would they do such a thing? So, one day, I asked Marno about it. Do you know what he said to me then?" he asked, obviously not expecting an answer.

"Because, for them, there's no other way to live. We're all living beings, both us and the Aberrations. Neither we nor them want to die. They understand and respect that. They don't necessarily wish for our extinction. Whereas we spend every single day of our lives slaughtering them. The normal ones might not be aware of that, perhaps not even the Garglings. But us humans don't get it either. People like Marno and Aberrations like that Superior... They're the only ones who truly acknowledge that fact." Karabell lifted his eyes from the papers and mustered a faint smile. He'd figured it out quite a while before. He hadn't come to Base Yuna to find new means of killing Aberrations, but answers. They were fighting because they wanted to take back their land, to get revenge for all their fallen comrades. But those creatures had appeared out of nowhere, annihilating everything in their path. What was their reason for fighting so fiercely? What did they want?

"Well, something along those lines... At the time, I didn't understand. It almost sounded like he was pitying those creatures. But deep inside, I knew he was right. He did speak a bit about you, though he refrained from saying too much. One day, he stopped answering my calls." Dante paused, looking over the document he was holding. He clicked his tongue and put it back in its place. "I don't know if it was him, but someone managed to contact me. All I heard were screams and Garglings thrashing about. It was already too late. Even though I never got the chance to meet him in person, I feel like he was my closest friend. It's weird, isn't it? Sorry for talking about random stuff like that. I just hope they gave him an easy death..." Dante forced an awkward laugh. Karabell stared at him for a few seconds, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sure they did..." After all, that Superior had seemed to have a great deal of respect for Marno. There was more to his father that met the eye, he was sure of that. But he needed some sort of lead. "Look, Dante. I still can't tell you everything. Partly because I'm not sure what to make of it myself. However, you're nothing like Frederick. You're a good person, the kind I can trust." Karabell grinned.

They finished searching the files quicker than they'd expected. Even so, Karabell hadn't managed to find anything useful. The entire operation had taken just a bit over three hours, meaning that it was almost noon. He found his teammates patiently waiting for him to return. Shono still hadn't woken up. Een seemed to be missing too. Alice told him that her brother had asked one of the scientists to take him to their laboratories. Surprisingly, enough, the man had actually agreed. Meanwhile, Kei seemed to be struggling to convince Lyra to let her borrow her weapon...

"So, everything's normal," Karabell laughed softly.

"Find anything useful?" Lyra asked anxiously, still wrestling the little girl.

Karabell shook his head. He told them about all those useless papers, trying his best not to let how annoyed he was show. Such a waste of time... The worst part was that he had no idea where to go from there. Judging by Dante's story, going to Base Tau was probably not the wisest idea.

"Whatever. Can't we just take today off?" Alice asked, yawning. "It's important to take breaks too, you know? Besides, we didn't get any sleep. Those're some huge bags under your eyes. It's not healthy. We can worry about it all we want tomorrow. Right, Lyra?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself. I suggest we eat lunch, go to sleep, eat dinner, then go back to sleep," Lyra said, dead serious. For those two to agree on something... The fact that they needed to take it easy for a while was, however, true. He was at his limit. They all were. Well, maybe except for Shono. He'd at least managed to get a few hours of sleep.

"I promise not to break it. I don't think I could even if I tried," Kei pleaded.

Half-heartedly, Lyra let go of the bow before handing her the item.

"If you break it, I'm not talking to you again," she said with a pout.