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3...2...1
Just before Levi could commence the warp, everything went still. The area lost all their color and any sort of sound source vanished in an instant.
Complete. And utter silence.
Setsu stared at their reflection, their eyes still closed. Only for them to open up and reveal their red eyes. The will of Gnos. And the desire to claim even more victims.
Another Loop, another role. In this one, Setsu was a Gnosia, among with Raqio and.....Sha-Ming.
To say that they were frustrated, would be an understament. After all, Sha-Ming hit on them countless times, behaved like a creep around them and in most of the loops, barely bothered to join the meetings.
With a sigh, they got up and walked into the hallway. Raqio was waiting for them already, the fellow Gnosia giving them a nasty grin.
“Ah, about time.”, they stated and smiled satisfied. “That was a brilliant showing of you today. You managed to get rid of Yuriko, on the very first day. So much confidence, so little talk. She should have opened that mouth of hers."
Setsu nodded. Indeed, the trio managed to get Yuriko sent into cold sleep. The soldier knew all too well, how tough of an opponent the fallen shrine maiden was. Her words alone controlled the flow of the discussion and Setsu remembered the countless times too well, where they were the Gnosia and won the loop. Taking them out during warp, or after the Gnosia outnumbered them.
But now, the tables have turned. And Setsu was proud of it.
“We did this together.”, they reminded Raqio. “Your offense was very strong and it was so intimidating that the others followed along. You did a good joh.”
“Hmph. Please do not state the obvious in such a reverent matter.”, Raqio answered and shook their head. “I do not like sycophancy...”
“Right...apologies.”
“Hmph.”
Raqio’s frown dropped and they gave a small appreciative smile, before looking around. They scoffed.
“Where is that idiot, Sha-Ming?”, they asked and shook their head. “Of all the people to work with, I am working with one who is intelligent enough and one who is cowardly and stupid like an ape.”
“Oh, just shut up.”
Raqio watched, as the doors opened and Sha-Ming stepped out too. Compared to Raqio’s and Setsu’s eyes however, their red Gnosia eyes shone a lot less.
“What took you so long?”, Setsu asked sharply and Sha-Ming grinned at them.
“Heh...just watching your beauty, Setsu.”, he replied and grinned at them, licking his lips. Setsu tightened their fist.
“What a hedonistic piece of trash, you are.”, Raqio commented, joining Setsu’s glare. “If you were a pathetic human, we would eliminate you the very first night. Right here, right now.”
“Well sorry, but unfortunately I’m Gnosia. So, how about we focus on the humans now, instead of staring at my dick?”
“Hmph.”, Raqio stated with a glare and crossed their arms. “Hearing this from you, is nothing short of an insult, to my Gliese heritage.”
“Raqio, calm down.”, Setsu told their comrade, before turning their attention to Sha-Ming too. “We need to decide, who to eliminate tonight. Raqio claimed to be the engineer and the real engineer is Comet. Meanwhile I claimed Doctor, while we now know that Chippie is the doctor.”
“So what, ya gonna kill one of those two?”, Sha-Ming asked, tilting their head.
“Of course they won’t, you insect.”, Raqio replied and shook their head insulted, while stroking Setsu’s jacket. “If we kill either Comet or Chippie, then we’ll immediately be outed as Gnosia respectively. No, as frustrating as it is, we need to keep them alive for now.”
“Right, right. I get it, geez.”
“Hmph....As Raqio said, we can’t target those two. So I’d say we should go after Jonas.”, Setsu told them, grinning to themselves. Feeling excited “He is the captain of the ship and in spite of his...eccentries, he is influential in discussions. So I’d say we should eliminate him first.”
“Heh. A nice choice Setsu. I was thinking the same thing.”, Raqio agreed, flashing their teeth happily. “Then let us eliminate this old relic and-”
“Hold on.”
Sha-Ming interrupted Raqio and the gliesian gave them a perplexed look.
“What?”
“I...I don’t think we should go after Jonas.”, he said, tugging his jacket.
“And why not?”, Raqio asked annoyed and tilted their head. “Setsu already explained, why it makes logically the most sense. Yet you refuse. Why?”
“Well....because I want to eliminate someone else.”, Sha-Ming answered hesitantly.
“And that would be?”
“Otome.”
Setsu blinked surprised and gave Sha-Ming a weird look.
“You...want to eliminate Otome?”
“That’s what I said, babe.”
“I am not your babe, Sha-Ming.”, Setsu shot back annoyed, Raqio joining them. “Now tell me, why you want us to eliminte Otome.”
“Well.....”
He let out a sigh and turned away. Setsu’s look softened; Something about Sha-Ming seemed...different than in most loops.
“Like....if we screw up...she’ll go back to the lab, right?”, Sha-Ming asked carefully. “I mean..she is an intellectualised animal, isn’t she?”
“Hmph yes. But so what?”, Raqio asked and then shook their head in disbelief. “You want to target her, for some sentimentality? Why?”
“Because...She is an animal in the end, intellectualised or not.”, Sha-Ming explained and gritted his teeth. “Sure Otome claims the scientist is nice to her, but that’s only because she’s useful to him. The moment Otome stops being useful, they will kill her.”
“Sha-Ming!”, Setsu exclaimed and shook their head, glaring at the slacker. “You cannot know that.”
“Oh yeah?”, he shot back, before turning to Raqio. “Look, was anything I said just now illogical?”
Setsu turned to Raqio too and to their suprirse, they shook their head.
“I heard from Otome straight up, that the head scientist is of gliesian origin.”, they admitted and frowned. “Knowing my culture, then yes. If Otome does not do well, they will be discarded. Animal experiments are very common on my planet and there is not a logical ethics-based system.”
“See?”, Sha-Ming replied with a grin, staring at Setsu. Setsu crossed their arms.
“Even so, it would strategically be better to get rid of Jonas.”
“Y..Yes, but...”
“But?”, Raqio asked with a mocking smirk, crossing their arms. “If you want us to eliminate Otome, then make a logical case. Go on, do it you worm.”
Setsu winced a little at Raqio’s insult, but they knew they had a point. What good would it do, to eliminate Otome?
“Logic huh....Well...I mean, if we kill Jonas, then everyone will know that he wasn’t Gnosia. Right?”
“Obviously.”, Raqio confirmed and shook their head disgusted. “Why state the obvious?”
“Because well..umm...umm...”
Sha-Ming pathetically muttered a little, before continuing.
“I mean...you will confirm tomorow as the fake doctor that Yuriko was Gnosia, right Ba- Setsu?”
Setsu was surprised to see Sha-Ming, not refer to them as "babe" for a brief moment, but they nodded.
“Yes.”
“So tell me...who are we gonna frame then?”, he asked rhetorically and shrugged. “Like...if we target Jonas, then the only strong voices will be from you and Raqio. I don’t care if either of you go down, but the others will eventually suspect you. It’s only a matter of time. But if we kill Otome...”
“....Jonas will be left alive and then we have a potential scapegoat, for later.”, Raqio mused and gave Sha-Ming a very intrigued look. “You impressed me a tiny little. That plan could work.”
“So we’ll do it? We’ll target Otome.”
“Setsu?”, Raqio asked and turned to the soldier. They remained silent for a little, staring at Sha-Ming’s almost pleading expression. It was weird.
Why did Sha-Ming out of all people, show concern for someone? The Sha-Ming they knew, was a self-centered coward. Not....compassionate?
They opened their mouth.
And a few minutes later, Otome’s screams rung through the frozen world, their body shining in delight as Gnos took them in. Raqio smiled in awe and joy, laughing to themselves happily as Otome disappeared. Setsu couldn’t help, but smile too. This feeling...it was mesmerizing....Even if it was just a role they had to play. They glanced at Raqio’s reaction and then at Sha-Mings.
Sha-Ming was not smiling. Or laughing. He simply stared and Setsu noticed that his lip twitched. As if Gnos tried to make him smile, but he resisted it.
It was so bizarre....
When the process was done, they all went towards their own doors. As Setsu held Raqio’s hand, they noticed Sha-Ming leaning against the wall.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”, Setsu told the gliesian and Raqio nodded, before disappearing into their room. Once that was done, Setsu approached Sha-Ming, who smirked.
“Ah, are we gonna go all the way, heh?”
“Sha-Ming.”, Setsu stated and crossed their arms. “Why are you so sure that the scientist would hurt Otome, if she survived?”
“Tch, I told you why-”
“Yes. But how would you know that anyway?”, Setsu asked him and crossed their arms.
“What business is it to ya?”, Sha-Ming asked and then flinched, when he saw the soldier’s glare, their broad shoulders and stern look making them look quite intimidating. “Okay, fine...geez.”
He scratched his neck and then let out a sigh, his red eyes losing even more of their color.
“My parents were scientists, you know. Like the ones who made Otome..Only instead of beluga whales they experimented on intellectualised bonobos.”, he explained and then smiled a little. “They...were a cool bunch. I didn’t have that many friends as a kid, so it was nice to have some company. Until...”
His expression soured and Setsu’s expression softened.
“Until?”
“Until they pissed off some big-shot. Turns out, people will see an animal as an animal, no matter how smart they've become. That big-shot was connected to some political authority, who ordered my parents to euthanise them. Those frickin cowards did and...”
He tapped his own goggles.
“...that’s the only thing that remained of them. I keep them to myself, to never forget them. No matter what.”
“Sha-Ming...”, Setsu muttered amazed and the Gnosia shook his head.
“Tch, whatever. You really had tough luck, having Gnos infect a piece of shit like me. One you had to drag to the meetings, in order to not be put into cold sleep. Even though I’d prefer that, than doing the Gnosia’s dirty work. Urgh...”
He stretched himself and went to his room.
“Really. You should have ejected me from the ship, when you had the chance. Now you’ll have a piece of shit like me around, as the Gnosia.”
So, he left. And Setsu stared after him, puzzled and confused.
What in the....
They revealed their silver key. It had filled up a little. They wondered if Yuri got that info too.
....
Their opinion on Sha-Ming improved a little, Setsu thought as they lied down and waited for time to move on and for the warp to begin again. Sha-Ming was still a jerk, one they could not stand for the life of them. Yet....
Setsu found themselves, beginning to respect his admirable qualities.
If only just a little. But it was respect, nonetheless.