Chapter 50 - Settling

"Shono, do you still have those old maps on you?" Karabell inquired, looking into the distance.

"Of course. Do you want us to go to that safe spot we used last time?" the man replied, handing him the piece of paper.

"I'd like to say I do, but there're way too many people here. I was thinking more along the lines of finding a bunch of small buildings. We could hide here." The Captain pointed at a small rectangle on the map. "I've said this before, some of us will need to keep watch. But I don't reckon that will be a problem."

"I also think it's a good idea. Sorry, I didn't mean to butt in or anything. We do need to rest. Maybe we aren't tired now, but those guys aren't used to walking such long distances," Een intervened, looking at Squad B's members. Squad A was also exhausted after the battle. "Hey, don't you think Frederick's suspiciously quiet? Lyra seems to be following his example, too," he whispered, moving closer to the Captain. "Annie noticed it as well."

"Let them be for now... I'll talk with Frederick once we get to that spot. Assuming he'll be willing to listen to me."

Gull stared at the ruined structures. They'd finally gotten to the Lower District. The real search... The real struggle was about to begin. Frederick Sel, Karabell Ress, even Een, they were exceptional fighters. Gull needed to be careful when using its powers. Exhausting them was a no-go. Karabell's team, Frederick and Lyra... They were the ones who were going to take on that entity. It wasn't that the Superior didn't trust Fen and his trainees, but they all lacked experience. Fen had been a teacher for too long. His battle senses had grown dull. The apprentices and the Aberrations could merely support them. For a while, there hadn't been any enemy Aberrations around for some reason. That was more than enough to make Gull uneasy. Had they really been found out?

When they arrived at the destination, another problem quickly arose. How were they going to conceal the supply wagon? Gull's Aberrations were going to be on the lookout, meaning that the fighters could all get some rest. Ono and Ergo, however, were both worried about their new wagon. They didn't want that one to be destroyed, too.

"Honestly... Why do we even need to hide that thing?" Kirru groaned. "These guys'll protect it if we get attacked, you know? Besides, if any Aberrations were to find us, it would be because of our smell. I highly doubt they'd have the guts to attack such a large group, anyway. Especially since there're two Superiors here," the creature added, puffing out its chest.

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds. The Superior did have a point. Half-heartedly, they agreed to simply leave the wagon out in the open. The group was probably going to leave early in the morning anyway...

Een climbed the stairs lazily, followed by Annie, Karabell and Alice. Squad Ress was going to sleep on the fourth floor. Shono had gone ahead, carrying Kei on his back. Being able to sleep so soundly, seemingly unaffected by noise or sudden movements... Een couldn't help but feel envious. Frederick and Lyra were still outside, tying the horses to a nearby tree. Out of a sudden, Karabell stopped in his tracks, almost causing Alice to bump into him.

"What's wrong?"

"Sorry for that. I was supposed to give Dante a call once we got to the Lower District, but it slipped my mind completely. Well, he's probably still up. Sorry, I'll be back in a second!" Karabell apologized, dashing straight past her.

*

Oddly enough, the Captain found Frederick talking with Gull. Apparently, he wanted to know how the Superior's power exactly worked. And it seemed like Gull was having a hard time putting it into words. But no matter how much Karabell wanted to talk with the Commander, he couldn't let himself get sidetracked. He'd promised to contact Dante.He reluctantly turned on his watch.

"It's alive! It's finally alive!" the scientist's voice rang, startling the Captain.

"What in... Is everything fine, Dante? You seem a little off."

"Fine? Things're going great! It's incredible, Karabell. I can't believe I'm witnessing something like this. Its arm... It just twitched. It's trying to move its arm!" Dante shouted, way too enthusiastically.

"Take it easy, come on. Dante, tell me what happened, preferably in a way that will make me understand," he replied, dragging his feet. He really felt tired.

"Of course, you're right. Sorry, but this is just too much. Do you remember that furred Superior? I'm The one that attacked Base Yuna. After your friends got rid of the Aberrations, one of the creatures brought me its arm. Apparently, they wanted me to study it. I placed it in a glass container in one of the laboratories, and... I kind of forgot about it for a while, I'm not gonna lie. But after a few days, I went to check on it and the arm hadn't even started to decompose. The blood hadn't even dried, imagine that! Earlier today, I went to that laboratory once again, hoping to see some kind of development. To my surprise, the arm was shivering. It wasn't anything crazy, but it was clearly moving. How's that possible when the rest of the creature's body is missing? Anyway, I'm extremely curious to see what Bario will do next. Oh, I forgot to mention. I've decided to name that Superior Bario Sel."

"So it's officially part of the family now, huh? I doubt Frederick will like that..." Karabell sighed, rubbing his temples. "Well, we did manage to get to the Lower District unharmed. We ran into two Aberrations along the way, but Kirru and Fen made quick work of them. That's... pretty much it. I'll let you know if anything else happens. However, why didn't you say anything sooner? About that Superior, I mean. We came back to Base Yuna to make that poison, you could've told me about it then."

"You have to understand the importance of this experiment. I wasn't sure what would happen to the arm, if anything would happen to it at all. And I just told you, I tend to forget about it. It's not like I go to that room every single day, so..." Dante responded, struggling to hide his embarrassment.

Karabell sighed yet again. He told the scientist to get some rest before hanging up. Dante really was something else, failing to remember such an important detail.