Containment

__________ POV Ashton__________

"And where exactly does this 'epidemic' start. And where does it end?" Asked Kanzai, he's not really been kept up to date on this entire quarantine and everything.

I understand that he's been busy elsewhere. But that's really none of my business.

"Well, Kanzai, I believe we've gone over that already. If you have any questions you can ask more after the meeting. But I believe we have some greater concerns right now." Cheadle spoke calmly.

She no longer looks like a wreck, I'm glad to see she's taking care of herself.

All of the Zodiacs, as well as the princes, are gathered in this room to hear a report on the quarantine situation.

We are basically talking about the progress we've achieved in the past two months.

The colonies are all up and bothered by these 'concentration camps' as they call them, but it can't really be helped. We need to prevent the spread of Shakti if we want to avoid Nen Users becoming extinct.

Thankfully, the protests are all peaceful, but I'm afraid they'd only serve to worsen the situation.

But I can at least rest easy. The chances of anyone still being infected in the cities are infinitesimal. Everyone responded to the first medical check-up. And the people that didn't were visited personally.

Even those that decided to build their houses in the woods. They were all checked upon and the infected were sent to the quarantine.

The quarantine itself is a heavily guarded zone. Since I already know from Kurapika and the princes that a being can take over an infected and command the rest, I need to be extra cautious.

Of course, I wouldn't ever have been able to do all of this on my own. Cheadle has proved to be a decent leader in the end. Her decisiveness is what prevented the spread at an early stage.

"Currently, I believe the situation has stabilized. Our Exorcist is working hard to find a way to rid the infected of this accursed 'Shakti'." Cheadle spoke mainly to the princes. Most of the members of the Zodiacs should've known this already...

Well, I guess Kanzai didn't, at least by the look on his face. But it seems that he's not always paying attention to things.

"I think it would be good for us to try and get into a call with the V5 right now. I've tried once or twice, but they weren't responded..." Cheadle's tone became tired again.

The V5 not responding to calls isn't really anything new. Especially after that last chat, I had with one of their representatives.

Cheadle clapped her hands, and a projector started showing us an image on the wall.

"I don't really know if our communications with them are being hampered. Maybe it has something to do with the Black Whale SINKING?" Geez, she just won't let that one go, will she?

I mean, I guess I created quite the mess. Most of the important stuff had been transported off the ship, but there was still some equipment on it. Equipment that the colonies could've used at some points.

But hey, you can't win them all.

"The Black Whale sinking won't have much to do with our communications... We have plenty of radio towers on this land already..." Momoze is actually speaking up for me in this matter.

That's unusual, she's usually right besides Cheadle in roasting me for this small mistake of mine...

"Even so, isn't it a bit unusual for them not to ask for a report two months in a row?" Asked one of the Zodiac members. I think her name's Cluck? She can control birds or something.

"Depends really. The V5 sometimes act like petty children. I'm saying this out of experience, by the way." I was the one to clear that up for them.

Still, even if it's somewhat characteristic of them... I'm still getting some bad vibes from this entire deal...

"That's a bit much to say... It's unusual for them not to inquire about this expedition at all... Maybe something is happening back at home?" Botobai is the one expressing his concerns now.

It makes sense for him not to buy this radio silence from them. He's basically their agent, well, him and Mizaistom(The Ox).

"I think I'll have to agree with old man Botobai here..." Said Kanzai while looking around the table.

"How's about this. We spam them with calls until they finally respond to one. If nothing happened, they are bound to respond to the third call in a row..." My answer seemed to satisfy the members at the table.

"That's also what I was going to propose, we'll start calling them now..." Cheadle quickly got to work on that laptop in front of her.

They are using some military application to connect using a camera. The transmission is obviously made through satellite.

She called them once, twice, three times.

By the fifth, it was pretty much confirmed.

"Something's not right..." Cheadle said as she stared at her laptop.

"M-Maybe we don't have a good enough signal for the satellite to pick up?" Halkenburg asked hopefully.

"No... This line is what we've been communicating on the entire expedition. I even called the one used for emergencies twice..." The concern in Cheadle's voice is quite evident.

"What should we do...?" Asked Kacho, the princess seemed to be quite scared.

"Well, there's no reason to panic now. It's been happening for about two months at least. So there's little we can do now..." I don't think my words actually calmed down anyone, but it should at least give them some perspective.

"But what exactly has happened?" Asked Cheadle.

"It's quite obvious! They were infected with Shakti." The people at the table were all shocked to hear my words.

"B-But we have it properly contained! It couldn't have leaked from this continent." Said Cheadle with a bit of a stutter.

"Who's to say it only started spreading from this Continent? Who's to say an infected person wasn't just mind-controlled into jumping into the sea and infecting a school of fish?... Or, maybe it was the soldiers on the Black Whale?"

My words seem to be quite drastic for Cheadle. I can basically see the stress weighing down on her shoulders(and ears).

"S-So Lake Mobius is already gone?" Asked Mizaistom while looking at a map on the table.

"It may be... It might not be... I think it's time I tell you all about my findings on the Dark Continent..."

I wasn't going to keep this a secret forever anyways. Telling them now seems fitting.

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