So he had no choice but to wait until they got to Base Yuna. Een clicked his tongue. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about that anymore. He wasn't sure if creating a stronger poison was enough, but it was better than nothing. A muscle twitched in Een's jaw. His job wasn't done. He was neither the strongest nor the smartest. But even so, he had to be able to do something. If they were to go after the Ringleader, they couldn't do it half-heartedly. It wasn't just about them anymore. If they lost, humanity was doomed. Which meant that they had to win. He knew that all too well, so why couldn't he stop his hands from shaking?
"I have a feeling I'm going to regret asking this, but what are you plotting? You talked about killing something earlier... Am I right in assuming you weren't talking about a regular Aberration?" Annie asked.
"Whatever, we're probably going to die anyway. Sorry, I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like that. Honestly, I don't think you'll believe me anyway. But there's a being somewhere out there, stronger and smarter than any creature we've ever faced... Captain was the one who first came up with this idea. At first, it was nothing more than a hunch, so I didn't really think about it. But now we're sure of its existence. Even Aberrations fear that thing. However, if we kill it..."
"I get it. Those guys, your team, they seemed like good people." Annie stared at him steadily. "I'm not sure what to think of all this, but we were ignorant for far too long, telling ourselves that what we didn't know wouldn't hurt us. We clung onto the idea that killing Aberrations every single day would allow for a brief moment of peace. That kind of behavior will only lead us down the path to humanity's undoing. If you say it's true, then who am I to doubt you? All we can do is support those brave enough to keep fighting."
Een managed a smile. He needed to stop being such a coward. Kei, Captain, Shono, his sister... He wouldn't let any of them die, no matter what. That kind of operation required a plan. And a flawless one, at that. Een didn't know anything about the enemy, but he was blessed with a vivid imagination. If he was able to picture the worst possible scenarios, then he was be able to come up with ways to avoid them. He grabbed the pencil and let its tip rest on the white paper. Slowly but surely, his hand began moving.
"Do your best," she whispered, slowly exiting the chamber.
She walked down the long hallway, heading towards the guests' bedrooms. She wanted to check up on Shono. Her discussion with Een was still fresh in her mind. When had she stopped believing that a day would come when they wouldn't have to live in fear anymore? She didn't know the answer herself. But maybe Squad Ress could actually change something.
Annie found Shono and Frederick chatting casually, like they didn't have a care in the world. She almost felt bad for Een, stressing himself out like that while his teammates were taking it easy.
"It doesn't look half bad. You'll be as good as new in a few more days," the medic finally said after inspecting Shono's wounds. "It healed a lot faster than I was expecting."
Shono thanked her hurriedly before resuming his conversation with the Commander. They were talking about the first time they'd ever assisted in killing an Aberration. Frederick was trying to convince Shono that he'd immobilized one of the feathered beasts with his bare hands, bu the other man wasn't buying it.
"Incapacitating a creature by yourself in your first try? Who would believe such a thing?" Shono laughed, agitated with enthusiasm.
"No, no, I'm telling you. I jumped on its back and tried to strangle it. It felt like I was riding an ox. With no saddle. I was lucky the others managed to kill it pretty fast," Frederick said, grinning.
Shono chuckled, shaking his head. He'd been wrong. Frederick had changed. His desire to exterminate the Aberrations was stronger than ever, but it wasn't the only thing that kept him going. The Commander was just like them. He didn't want to lose anyone else. During the attack on Base Miu, he'd had to watch his subordinates, his comrades die, not being able to do anything to save them. Killing the Ringleader meant that no one else would have to die, that no one else would have to go through the same thing.
"Have you ever wondered what happened to them? To those like Lyra and Karabell, I mean." Frederick asked nonchalantly.
"Sometimes... But I don't think it matters. If not for people like them, who knows if we would've ever been able to get this far. When I first found Captain, asleep in an abandoned building, I thought I was seeing things. No matter what I tried, he didn't wake up. He looked just like a corpse. But he was breathing. So I took him back to the Agency, hoping that one of our scientists might have an idea about what'd happened to him. After I brought him there, however, it didn't take long before he awoke. The same thing happened to Kei. I cannot fathom how it was possible for them to sleep for two entire millennia, but I'm glad they did. I can't help but think that there were many others like them in the past, helping humanity hold out for all this time. Maybe that's just me, but... Sorry, I didn't mean to start blabbering." Shono gave him an embarrassed smile.
Frederick stifled a sigh. Karabell Ress, Lyra, and even that child, Kei... for what purpose had they been dragged into that Aberration-infested world?
"Don't worry about it."