Chapter 40 - Interrogating

Naturally, Karabell was having trouble falling asleep. Everything had changed in such a short period of time. They'd left Base Yuna at midnight. They weren't afraid to travel during the night anymore. They didn't fear the Aberrations. Gull, Frederick and him... Somehow, he felt like they were all moving towards the same thing, but with different goals in mind. Karabell knew just how ridiculous that idea was, but he couldn't shake off that feeling. Alice and Een were both doing their best not to let their concern show. He'd already talked to Kei about it, and Shono didn't really seem especially bothered by it. As for Lyra and Frederick, they were fighters from the Upper District. They had way more experience than them, had probably seen crazier things. But that didn't change the fact that he was their Captain.

Karabell opened his eyes, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest. A beam of light peeked through the skylight. It was morning. He couldn't remember when he'd fallen asleep, but he was pretty sure he'd just woken up from a nightmare. Still panting, he managed to get out of bed. Een was still sleeping, but Shono and Frederick were nowhere to be seen. Well, he could probably guess where they were.

"I should probably eat something... Ah, but I'm not hungry. Maybe going for a walk would be a good idea. I could go to the factory, see if those guys're alright. Come to think of it, it's already been a few days since Gull left. Maybe it'll come back soon," Karabell muttered as he opened the door.

Obviously, Alice and Kei were already outside, beating the living daylights out of the training dummy. It looked like Alice was teaching the girl about hand-to-hand combat, having confiscated her two knives. Karabell couldn't really understand why she'd wanted to do that, considering they wouldn't ever go against Aberrations unarmed. But training was training. Karabell smiled, walking towards them.

"You're already up?" Alice asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I think I had a nightmare. Een's still in bed. He did work hard yesterday, so I guess I shouldn't scold him," Karabell responded casually.

Suddenly, he noticed something twitch out of the corner of his eye. He immediately recognized those fluffy ears. And their presence there could only mean one thing... Gull and the others had returned. Karabell broke into a sprint in Arago's direction, shoutingthat he'd be back in a flash.

The Aberration took him to the abandoned factory. There seemed to be even more creatures there than during their first strategy meeting. Gull had found new allies. Karabell closed the large door, yawning. He instantly began coughing. It smelled like wed dog in there.

"How did things go on your end, Karabell?" Gull asked, resting on the same pile of debris.

"Great. We got new weapons and a new kind of poison. We still have no idea if it'll work against whatever that thing you mentioned is, but it's still better than what we had before. What about you?" Karabell said. Talking so casually with an Aberration still felt strange.

"It could've been better, I won't lie. We did manage to find ourselves a few more companions. This is Kirru, another Superior." Gull announced, pointing towards a scaled Aberration. Just like Gull, the creature wasn't particularly large. In fact, it looked plainer than some of the regular Aberrations. "Kirru, meet Karabell, the leader of the humans."

Hearing Gull call him the leader of the humans was... odd. He was just a captain whose team had apparently gotten bigger... in a way. Karabell closed his eyes, scrunching his face in concentration. He felt like he was forgetting something.

"That's right!" he shouted, snapping his fingers. "First of all, nice to meet you, Kirru. But I'll deal with you in a second. Hey, Gull. About those two feathered Aberrations you sent to rescue Gun. What're their names? It felt kind of weird not knowing how to call them."

"Those're Pik and Mero, though it could be a little hard to tell them apart." Gull was struggling not to laugh.

"You know, I think I like this one," Kirru snorted. "I mean, he's not scared of us at all. What's up with that? I can't help but think he's got a few screws loose, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy."

Gull had found the other Superior in the northern part of the Upper District, almost outside the city. Kirru didn't have as many subordinates as Gull, but they seemed capable enough.

"We're all a bit younger than those guys, but we can handle ourselves in a fight. Trust me," Kirru said with a proud smirk.

They weren't old... Those words sparked something in his brain. The old man. Marno Ress. He finally had the chance to ask Gull about it.

"First of all, I want to make sure. You do know where this Ringleader is, right?" Karabell's voice shook.

"Not exactly, but I know how to find its hiding place. Don't worry, I wouldn't have dragged you all into this otherwise. Who do you take me for?" Gull responded. "Of course, I'll need your help, but we will surely find it."

Karabell gave a half-smile. He'd been waiting for that moment for a long time. Ever since he'd first met Gull, on that rooftop in the Lower District.

"This time, for sure..." the Captain whispered. "Gull, when we first met, you mentioned my father, Marno. You dodged my question that time, so I'll ask again. What do you know about him?" Karabell's lips pressed tightly together as he stared daggers at the creature.