Gio had a lot of explaining to do, but what could he say? He didn’t know Raymond had such plans either.
He didn’t hint at it at all when they were training, so how was Gio supposed to answer those questioning gazes?
’Well, I guess he did hint at it.’
He didn’t say anything, but it was odd how easily he gave Gio permission. In the two days after that, when they trained, he ntioned a few tis that "losing his excuse was annoying," but how was Gio ant to interpret that without any context?
He knew what it ant now, but that was beside the point. He had no choice but to stumble over his words to give them so kind of explanation.
And, well, since Raymond helped him out, he figured this was a good way to repay the favor.
Gio’s words beca smoother. The ssage at the end turned out sothing like:
"He’s been working this whole ti to get used to his new body. I think he just wants to go out to prove to himself that he can still do it. We just have to support him through it so he can keep being the Captain we know."
Once he’d said that much, there wasn’t really a way for anyone to rebuke the decision.
The team mbers cared about Raymond a lot. If this was how they could help him heal from the ntal pain of losing his legs, they couldn’t stop him.
Whether it could be considered emotional manipulation or not, Gio got them to leave him alone and prepare themselves. He wasn’t lying, either.
He wasn’t sure of the level of training, but he’d seen Raymond in the training room even when they weren’t having lessons. He was always tired in the evenings and went to bed far earlier than anyone else. It was obvious that he was overexerting himself.
The second half of his words was his own assumption, but he believed it to be true.
"Haa..."
Gio looked at their backs as they left.
’Is this the last one?’
Nobody said anything about it, but it had been a year since Gio joined the team. His internship period was ant to end at so point in the recent future.
’I want to stay...’
There was too much going on. He didn’t want to leave in the middle of it all and be forced to see how the situation was progressing through text alone.
’But I have no choice.’
He had to go. It seed like there was a calamitous plot brewing in the Wasteland, but it wasn’t just in the Wasteland alone. The entire world was struggling. He had to move on from this situation if he wanted to execute his plan to save the human race.
"Haa..."
Gio sighed again as he made his way to his room to grab the weapons and armor he had taken from the armory last ti.
Would there be any big missions before he left or was this the last one? Would he have other opportunities, or would he be back in Gastle once this mission ended?
He didn’t know. There was no way to tell, as the subject hadn’t been brought up even once.
’If it really is the last one...’
Gio put on his gear with a hardened expression.
’...I have to use this chance to make it clear.’
There was a specific association he was chasing, an association that was never truly revealed or defeated in the shattered tiline. The description that Jax gave was perfect. It described them better than it could describe anyone else, and Gio knew the rest of the team understood the sa thing.
For that reason, this mission had been postponed until now. Now that the entire team was back together, they could take it on.
Once he was dressed, Gio went back to the cargo bay to wait. The zephyr had been on path for the final camp since the teams left for the other three facilities.
It was already known how far away the desert areas of the Wasteland were from its jungles and plains. The teams coming back to the zephyr t them halfway, and when Jax and Natalia finally got back, they had essentially arrived already.
A day and a half had passed since then and they’d completed the journey. They’d be in the camp’s airspace within a few minutes.
The other mbers of the team arrived in the cargo bay one by one. Jason gave Gio a slight nod, while Amaya and Jax took the initiative to approach him.
"Gio, you ready for this?" Jax asked with a grin.
"He’s not ready for anything," Amaya said, elbowing his side.
As Jax keeled over, she looked at Gio sternly.
"Rember, your job is to wait at a distance for any orders. Don’t try to do anything crazy. The enemies this ti might be stronger than last ti, and we won’t be able to look after you again."
She was speaking out of concern.
"Naturally, all of this only applies if you don’t have information like last ti. If there’s sothing you know, tell us imdiately."
She wouldn’t deny Gio’s help and just like Jax, she did trust him to go on missions with them.
However, she wouldn’t look past his ambition just because of trust. She knew from traveling with him for a ti that he was a person who would spring at any opportunity or chance of good fortune he could find.
Even if he found sothing like that in the camp, she just wanted him to stay safe and tell them so they could do the dangerous things for him.
That was a simple ask, right?
Gio glanced at the rest of the team mbers. They were all listening to the conversation. With their hearing, unless they consciously tuned it out, they didn’t have a choice.
Jason gave him a light shrug while Natalia nodded. Even Alice, who didn’t speak much even when they were doing missions together, did the sa, expressing her opinion.
’They’ve all seen in the field. They know I’m not stupid. For them to all agree ans the powers in the camp are stronger than I originally imagined.’
Gio humd to himself before opening his mouth to answer Amaya.
However, before he could make any promises, he was cut off by another voice.
"Looks like I’m the last one," Raymond said as he wheeled himself into the cargo bay.
"We’re dropping this ti since landing is too conspicuous. Go ahead and equip hoverpacks. We’ll be above the drop zone in a minute or two."
Once again, he gave them no chance to question his participation. He probably ca so late to avoid the situation.
He received the gazes of those under him with strong eyes. Despite his state, he gave off an aura of vitality.
"I will be strong," he said.
His will was present in every word.
"So don’t worry about and focus on your own jobs. Rember, this one is more important than any of the others. We have to discover why the Apocalypse Church partnered with Mother Baba."
This wasn’t the ti for them to be spending too much energy on being concerned or worried. Right now, as they equipped the technology-loaded backpacks known as hoverpacks, their focus had to be entirely on the mission ahead.
"Rember the motto," Raymond said.
The motto of all military rcenaries, the code they lived by and the very first words they heard when they joined the branch.
Live by war; live by death...
"Glory by any ans."
As the words fell, the cargo bay ramp lowered, exposing the team to the rushing winds around them.
All that was left to do was jump.
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