26
The Outpost, a week later.
Anis ignored another message from Mustang while she glanced over at Rapi, who was journaling across from her in the dormitory lounge. "Yo, Rapi. Is it me, or has the commander been gone for a while? He's always in and out recently."
Rapi kept journaling and said, "I'm sure he is fine. He likely just wants some time for himself."
Anis frowned. "You say that, but even Mari's been complaining about it. Do you think he's on a secret mission?"
Neon walked into the room and said, "Master's training! That's what he told me when I asked him the other day!"
"Training?" Anis blinked. "Alone?"
"Yep!" Neon plopped herself on the couch next to Anis and said, "He said he was exploring alternative conflict resolution strategies!"
"...What?" Anis frowned. "The heck does that mean?"
Neon shrugged. "Dunno! If you ask me..." She adjusted her glasses, making them glare. "I think he's doing secret spy reports."
"...You know. I want to disagree. But all things considered..." Anis's frown deepened. "...Is he okay?"
Rapi glanced up, an amused smile on her face. "Worried about our Commander?"
"Well, of course I'm worried!" Anis crossed her arms and huffed. "He's so secretive recently. Like, he's active in the group chat so he's clearly okay. And he's back in the evenings, so it's probably fine. But..."
"Relax." Rapi shifted her gaze back to her journal and said, "Endless is here. And she can fly. She also has a wide surveillance network. If Commander is in danger, she can reach him in an instant. Moreover, if he truly was in danger, Mari would never have let him head off alone."
Anis paused. "...That's true... Ugh. Just bothers me, I guess." She frowned. "We're his team, right? Why's he ignoring us?"
"I wouldn't say he's ignoring us." Rapi looked up. "Try texting him."
"...You know what? Yeah!"
Anis pulled out her phone and sent Commander Hoopa a message.
---
Anis: Hey, Commander! What's the big deal running off alone like that without us so much?!
HOOPA: I'm experimenting with dominating a horde of Raptures by showing my superior strength and combat tactics. If successful, we might be able to expedite the surface reclamation efforts. Why?
---
Anis froze. She read the message. She read it again. Then she groaned. "...I wish this was a joke. But that guy doesn't joke about ridiculous things like this."
Rapi glanced over. "What did he say?"
Anis tossed her phone. "Here. Just... Haaaaah."
Rapi read it. Then she blinked. "...As expected of our Commander." She sighed and handed the phone back.
"Oh! Let me see!" Neon ran over to look. Then she gasped. "Whoa! Master's really doing that!"
"Please stop." Anis sighed. "I have a headache thinking about the ridiculous things he's doing... Ugh. We're SO lucky we're a special commando unit. If we weren't, we'd SOOOOO be replaced by now."
Rapi chuckled. "Our commander is known for his... alternative dispute resolution methods."
Anis glanced over at Rapi again and said, "What are you journaling about anyway? Aren't you miss 'incredible mental fortitude?'"
Rapi nodded. "I am. But there's been quite a lot of information that I need to sort out regarding the commander."
"Huh?" Anis blinked. "Well, yeah. I guess that's true. But what exactly do you need to sort out?"
"...His origins."
The room went quiet.
Anis sat up, her face serious. "Do you know something, Rapi?"
Rapi was quiet. Then she said, "...Maybe. I have a... friend that I know. She tells me that the commander is familiar. Very familiar. And that he reminds her of two people she knew."
Anis blinked. "A friend? Who? Eunhwa?"
"...She's... sort of a penpal."
"A penpal, huh?" Anis hummed. "You're definitely hiding something... but fine. We all have our own secrets, I guess."
"Sorry." Rapi paused. "...I'll tell you someday."
"Well." Anis smiled. "At least I have a timeframe. Though, we've been working together for decades and you only JUST decide to open up?"
Rapi chuckled. "A lot has happened since we met the Commander."
"Tell me about it..."
Neon looked between Rapi and Anis, a slight frown on her face.
Anis noticed and said, "What's up, Neon?"
"...I'm jealous." Neon sighed and said, "You two have all these years together and you're so close. Then there's me. I feel left out!"
Rapi teased. "You did say you were a spy."
"Even so!" Neon frowned. "...Aren't we friends?"
Anis paused. "Friends, huh?"
She didn't think about it at all. She hadn't for a while.
Friends. People who she trusted. Who she shared life with.
...Three people came to mind. But Anis wasn't going to meet with them. Couldn't. Not while she was still part of the Brave Squad.
But...
"...I guess we are." Anis smiled at Neon. "So don't feel TOO left out. We're all together here, right?"
Rapi tilted her head, like she was listening to someone talk. Then she nodded and said, "That's right. We're friends, Neon." She let out a warm smile. "So if you feel left out, let us know."
Neon blinked. Then she let out a relieved smile and said, "That's great. Then..." She leaned forward, lacing her fingers together. "Let's have some girl talk. What do you think Master's type is?"
Anis snorted. "Clearly black hair, busty, and scantily clothed."
Rapi shook her head. "No. I think he's a romantic."
Anis rolled her eyes. "A romantic. Sure."
Neon gasped. "No, Rapi's right! He's in love with Marian because he saved her, right? The prince falling in love with the damsel in distress... it's just like the movies!"
Anis pursed her lips. "I dunno about that. Did you see the way he reacted to Endless? And how he's letting it slide and not clearing it up? I think he's the type who'll accept any gal who throws herself at him."
Rapi paused. "...Interesting hypothesis. We should test this."
"Right- Wait, what?" Anis's eyes widened.
Rapi immediately pulled out her phone.
"H-Hey!" Anis stared at Rapi. "What are you doing, Rapi?!"
"Testing a hypothesis." Rapi dialed Hoopa's phone and waited.
It picked up on the first ring.
*Is something wrong, Rapi?*
"Yes. I love you."
Anis's eyes widened, her jaw dropping.
But before she could say anything, Hoopa answered.
*Don't say that where Marian can hear you. And thanks. We'll talk about it later. Love you too. Busy now though, so bye.*
The line went dead.
"Hm." Rapi nodded and wrote something in her journal.
Anis blinked. "You... Did you just... Did you just confess to the commander?! And he accepted it?! Without hesitation?!"
Rapi nodded. "That's right. So we can confirm the hypothesis." She smiled. "Commander is a man who can't say know to beautiful women under his care."
Neon gasped. "Ooh! I want to test that!" She immediately pulled out her phone.
"W-Wait, Neon!"
A ring, a beat, and then Hoopa's voice echoed again.
*What's wrong, Neon? Did something-*
"I love you, Master! What do you think of me?"
Anis tensed, feeling her heart pound. Wait, WHY was her heart pounding? There's no way-
*Thanks- WHOA*
The sound of gunfire echoed, along with a man's voice shouting to retreat.
*Busy right now, but you're amazing and I love you too. Talk later!*
The line went silent as he disconnected.
...Just what the heck was their commander even doing right now?
Neon's eyes lit up and she said, "It's true! Master is weak to women who want him!"
"That's bullshit." Anis pulled out her phone. "There's no way he's like that."
It was instinctual. A reflex.
Anis wanted to confirm it.
Was their commander really that kind of guy?
Or did he think 'love' meant something else?
Maybe that was it? Platonic love?
Anis wanted a clear answer, so she called him.
*Anis? You too? What's going on? I don't have much time to talk.*
"H-Hey, Commander. If I said I loved you... like... loved loved you... what would you say?"
Anis swallowed, waiting with bated breath.
But she barely had to wait.
*I would say you have balls of steel considering Marian has teamed up with Endless, but that I respect it and would love you too. But you have to get through her first. Anyway, talk later!*
Anis froze.
Commander Hoopa's words echoed through her mind.
The fact that it was an immediate response. And a sincere one too.
That he didn't brush it off but accepted it. That he drew boundaries and what it would take to have him...
"Ugh!" Anis covered her face. "Why does he have to be a conscientious womanizer...?!"
Rapi nodded. "Right?"
Neon giggled. "Master is just that type of man, I guess... Do you think Enikk knew? And that's why she gave him Endless?"
"Likely."
Anis sat up, face hot. "Is that it then?! Is Commander just trying to build up a... a harem of beautiful women!?"
Rapi blinked. "Of course not, Anis. Think about it."
Anis paused, Rapi's words dousing over her like cold ice. "...Right. He's not like that."
Now that she thought about it, the way that Hoopa had responded...
It was just like him.
He was a man of certainty. He said it himself.
Faced with those direct love confessions, he didn't ignore them, push them off, or be evasive. He confronted them head on, gave a clear answer, and a next action step.
That-
"My."
Marian's voice echoed through the lounge.
Anis froze and glanced over.
Marian and Endless both walked in.
"M-Mari." Anis let out a nervous laugh. "Um... Did you... hear all that?"
"No. But Endless did."
Endless nodded. "Confirmed. Three love confessions to the commander. Subordinates confessing to their superior."
Marian let out a cold smile. "Yes. So... Shall we talk about it?"
===
"It seems like you're quite the popular man, Friend!" Raptilian chuckled as he drove the Raptocamo, racing across the plains.
I held on tight at the top of it and said, "Seems like I'm popular in more than one way!" I glanced back to see the horde of Raptures racing after us. "You deal with this on a daily basis?!"
"Of course! Every uncharted path carries tremendous risk! All par for the course, Friend!"
I ducked out of a whizzing bullet and said, "I think your acceptable risk and my acceptable risk GREATLY differ!"
"Live a little, Friend! What's the worst that can happen?"
I sighed.
It had been day seven now of communication attempts with various Raptures in the vicinity.
Surprisingly, they went well.
Raptilion was an amazing communicator and read the Rapture's body language well enough to blend in with them and befriend them.
I even managed to get up close to a few of them... which let me confirm my theory.
Raptures were definitely evolving. I didn't know how or why, but they were becoming more biological. The skeletal structures, musculature... all of it was imitating animals.
Which was proven when they didn't act aggressive to me.
According to Raptilion, that was because, although I was human, since I was wearing full armor and didn't carry a gun, they didn't perceive me as a threat. Just an oddity.
I guess it was like how lions didn't pounce on jeeps in savannas? They considered it as a weird metallic creature instead of prey, so they didn't bother with it.
The problems came when Raptilion accidentally miscommunicated something to the Raptures and we had to book it.
But overall, no issues. And a promising development.
Especially with this.
I held on tight as Raptilion kept running with the Raptocamo. But as I did, I glanced back and saw the source of the conflict.
The Raptures had split in two. One group, quadripedal Raptures that looked a bit like wolves, had blocked the path of crablike Raptures who were racing towards us.
As for how this all came about...
"Still!" Raptilion chuckled. "To think your hypothesis was correct! The Raptures do appear to be replicating animal instincts as well!"
...Right. It was that.
I saw the wolf-life Raptures. And I was feeling gutsy.
So I found the one that looked like the leader, tackled it, wrestled it, and won.
And now those guys were following me around and protecting me from other Raptures.
"...This is going to be hard to explain." I watched the wolflike Raptures rush to stall us time to escape.
"No worries, Friend! I understand how busy you are! I'll communicate to Wolfy and his friends that you'll be gone for a while! And to stay away from the Outpost!"
"Please do. I'll tell my subordinates to be aware of them, but I wouldn't want them hurt because they thought all humans were like us."
"Of course!"
I waved at the Raptures... who reminded me a lot of beast decepticons.
They wagged their tails back at me and then headed off to tackle the other Raptures.
...What a weird wacky world I was in now.