(POV – Protagonist)
When you imagine something being transported through the air, and that something turns out to be a nuclear bomb or something similar, you'd probably think of a military plane, right? Well, I thought the same thing. That's why I'm still surprised they're taking me somewhere in a private jet.
The jet even had a space specially prepared to fit my glass aquarium. The first time I noticed that, I thought the jet had definitely been customized for me. Initially, I considered that this customization must've been quite expensive, but when I remembered we were dealing with the government, I quickly put that thought aside.
A few days ago, I tried to understand the true extent of the operations involving anomalies. However, once I realized this was happening on a global scale, I realized the situation was much more complex than it seemed. At the very least, countries all over the world were involved. What's most surprising is that humanity apparently has no idea beings like me exist, or even that shadow I defeated at the base.
Although I've drifted a bit off-topic, what I'm trying to say is that this organization has money—and not just a little. They really seem to have A LOT of money. Once I realized that, I decided to stop investigating. It would only give me a headache. In the end, this really had nothing to do with me.
By the way, I have no idea where we're going. A few hours ago, when Laura came to visit me in the room, she seemed pouty and upset. Every time she tried to say something, she ended up nearly crying, saying how she'd always think of me and take care of me, among other things. That made me start wondering if we were heading to some dangerous place or something like that.
Besides Emily and Laura, who were with me as my researchers, we also had some security guards with us. Although they looked tough and were armed—even though the weapons were a little odd—whenever I looked at them, their bodies seemed to freeze for some reason.
Of course, leading everyone was Victor. It had been a while since I last saw him, probably since the incident with the shadow at the facility. I wasn't sure if his presence was a good sign or not. Normally, when Victor was around, strange things tended to happen—though, of course, I didn't have concrete proof to support my theories.
"... Why the hell is she looking at me like that?"
Victor seemed to notice I was watching him, but I didn't try to hide it. I tilted my head to the side, as usual, and blinked my golden eyes. Laura noticed our exchange and quickly averted her gaze to me before turning back to Victor.
"Maybe you bothered her somehow?"
"... Even though I haven't said a word since I got on the jet?"
I listened carefully to the exchange between Victor and Laura. How can I put it? Despite their distinct personalities—Laura being more lively and Victor being more reserved—they both seemed completely in sync, as if they were on the same page, somehow.
Well, those kinds of exchanges continued for hours, but honestly, at some point, I started suspecting it was just a way to relieve the tension. I could sense the anxiety of everyone around me, and it only fueled my curiosity about where we were heading.
What kind of scary place were these people taking me to? Of course, I wasn't worried about myself—I'd probably be fine no matter what—but I couldn't say the same for Victor, Laura, and Emily.
"You two, stop with the nonsense! Listening to you is giving me a headache, and we haven't even gotten to the complicated part yet. Also, it seems like we're almost there. Everyone, get ready to disembark"
Some time later, it seemed we had finally reached our destination. Of course, I had no idea where we were, but I knew because Emily scolded Laura and Victor, who had been arguing since the start of the flight. To be honest, it took longer than I expected, and I was completely bored. Where the hell was this base located? I'm not sure if it was just my impression, but it felt like we'd been in that jet all day.
Anyway, as Emily pointed out, we had actually arrived. As always, Laura started moving me out of the jet, where we'd finally get some fresh air. Of course, I don't mean me, since I was inside a giant aquarium, or rather, I couldn't even breathe.
Did that sentence even make sense to me? Anyway, the place we had arrived at, no matter how you looked at it, looked like a forest... And why was it giving me such a strong feeling of déjà vu?.
Ah, yes, it was because I had woken up in a similar forest. In the end, I still had no idea why we were there. Although I tried to ask while we were on the jet, it wasn't like I could talk. Even gesturing, all I managed to do was make Laura think I was adorable.
Well, about the place, we were on a landing strip in the middle of the forest. On one side, there were just trees as far as the eye could see, and on the other, the scenery was the same, with the difference of a facility visible in the distance. Maybe it was Base 17… but honestly, I wasn't sure.
Also, it was snowing… Yes, technically, we should've been in summer. Putting aside my exaggeration inside the jet, it wasn't like we'd crossed the world, and the flight didn't even take 30 minutes. So, where exactly were we for it to be snowing? Not to mention, something even stranger was happening with the snow.
Although it was just a coincidence, when I activated my eyes, several faint colored lines appeared in my field of vision. Even after rubbing my eyes and deactivating and reactivating my power, the lines didn't disappear. I didn't exactly know what that meant, but it seemed like both the snow and the trees around us were anomalies—or maybe they were part of some anomaly.