Chapter 29: Trial
"The last four days have been quiet, but I have kept myself busy in other ways... like keeping tabs on Andrea and the rest of the round table. If they’re supposed to be responsible for my safety, then the least reasonable thing I could do was make sure they were up for the task".
"Hey, you can like, come in now". The house dog announced while peeping his head through the tent.
Damien stared blankly for a moment, before nodding.
As Damien stepped into the tent, the first thing that caught his eye was the subtle display of authority. A large round table occupied the very centre, and seated around it were the five members who ruled the camp. Just as he had expected, they looked perfectly comfortable while arguing over everyone else’s impending deaths.
He stood to the side and observed, he knew it wasn’t yet his place to interrupt.
"We can’t keep avoiding the obvious, the Eidolons are pissed off by your unauthorised rescue, sure you succeeded, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve endangered every soul in the camp".
Damien’s eyes shifted subtly to the man that just spoke.
"Vincent, well loved by everyone in the camp, gullible Claire even has a crush on this asshole. Huh, you’re not fooling me with your pretentious display. I know how you get when you think nobody is watching, that was why I watched from the shadows, the gruelling frigid nights I spent outside your tent has made me a certified victim, my ears have been defiled as you were defiling half the girls in camp...
Of course Andrea is aware of your antics, but you’re a member of the round table, a position where only the strongest in camp can attain...
Your dormant ability is called Deadlock, I’m still not sure what it does, but if you can sit here confidently, then that means you’re a force to be reckoned with".
"You shouldn’t even be sitting here after what you’ve done, you should take responsibility and abdicate... show the people we’re doing everything we can to assure their safe return back to earth... What do you think, Ryan?
Damien lazily craned his neck, calmly studying the barefooted lady.
"Ahh yes, Naomi... At first glance, one would think you were harmless, perhaps even weak and in the need of protecting. But your dormant ability, Meld can shift matter in a very annoying way, fighting you would definitely be a hassle, best to avoid doing so...
You like being the center of attention, you envy Andrea for how beloved she is and want nothing more than to oust her as an incapable failure of a leader, a word of advice. Doing too much will get you killed, best to stay low key in situations whereby you’re not sure of your ability to defeat your opponent".
Ryan blinked awkwardly, not sure how to respond to Naomi.
"Ammm, we should all take a step back, what do you guys think, surely we can come to a peaceful agreement before the Eidolon forces find our exact location".
Naomi was genuinely caught off guard for a moment, but rather than respond, she looked toward Vincent and the others, dismissing Ryan’s words.
Damien felt pity for the poor guy.
"Ryan, Oh Ryan... Blessed with a powerful ability, but too quiet and weak willed to sit in this den of lions... Blackout allows you to create a spherical field around yourself, within the field, every soul except yours becomes blind, sounds basic, but your body also becomes perfectly silent, you can run, jump, yell at the top of your lungs, and your opponent wouldn’t hear a thing, scary".
Ryan quietly lowered his head, pulling the hood of his white hoodie farther over his face, as though hiding behind the fabric would somehow spare him from the embarrassment.
"Alright, that’s enough... we shouldn’t force our fellow member of the round table to abdicate her position just because she took a risk to save her friends, which one of you wouldn’t do the same, Naomi. Your sister Leslie, you ran into the frozen wasteland in the middle of a blizzard to find her... Vincent, I trust you’re a good person at heart who cares about everyone in camp, you know full well only Andrea has the right and frankly speaking, the power to sit on that chair... If we’re ever gonna find a way home, we are going to need all our combined strength to do so".
Tsk.
Damien clicked his tongue, looking as though he had just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
"Elias, arguably the weakest member here. Even the red haired kid with space distortion powers has more right to be here, makes one wonder how exactly they chose these members, they say it’s through strength and mastery of their dormant abilities, but this guy’s ability literally only turns him into a chunk of iron... Tempered is what it’s called, of course there’s a chance he’s hiding what it can truly do.
Personality wise, I have nothing, I followed the guy for days and nothing came up, he’s too spotless, nobody can be that good, well except for me... Which begs the question, how rotten are you exactly?".
Andrea had remained mostly silent throughout the group’s attempt to put her on trial. By now, she might have been facing the other members of the Round Table, but her eyes had never truly left Damien.
The moment he clicked his tongue in irritation, the corners of her lips twitched upward. She came dangerously close to laughing right then and there, but years of discipline held it back. Somehow, watching Damien become increasingly exasperated was far more entertaining than the argument unfolding around her.
She coughed lightly.
"That’s enough everyone, I have allowed you to say your piece, now hear me out...".
Andrea’s chest dropped sharply as she exhaled.
"What I did was wrong, I should have informed you all and followed proper procedures, but I do not regret what I did. Some of my closest friends were in danger, and I did what I could to save them, and I succeeded... The Eidolon forces are coming at us with everything they have, this will be our chance to beat them and conquer the ruins of humanity... I have reasons to believe, our way out of this tower is by accomplishing what the ancient humans here couldn’t, taking back their home".
"You scheming bitch".