Carrying her from the back as the distant morning horizon began to rise, a new day had dawned for the small band of the pair. The silence around them whispered secrets of the desolate landscape around them, a stark contrast to the comfortable and calm atmosphere they previously shared.
Hansel walked in the lead, his steps purposeful in this silent forest. Neither of them spoke after everything that had happened; he was so occupied with heading back to the hospital to the point of not even noticing his friend having already caught up with him.
Now walking at the head doctor's side, Danny held the radio within his grip, facing down at the ground in deep contemplation of all that had transpired the night before. The weight of their ordeal hung heavy on his shoulders, and his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, memories, and emotions.
He couldn't help but wonder about the mysterious figure who had intervened, saving them from certain death. Who was she? What did she want from them? And most importantly, what lies ahead for their lives?
Thinking deeply, he was eager to ask him again, but having already done so, Danny isn't sure if it would be wise to bring it up once more after having asked him once.
"Hansel."
He said softly, breaking the silence between them, "do you think..." He paused, choosing his words carefully: "That there's a reason why we survived last night?"
Observing the doctor's reaction over his shoulder, hoping to find some answer in the man's expression. "Maybe..." Trailing off, his eyes flicking up to meet Hansel's gaze, he said, "Maybe it's not just a coincidence."
Glancing at his friend, Hansel's expression remained thoughtful, his eyes distant as he considered the question, "Is it our mysterious savior who had saved our very lives from that Renegade?" he replied, tinged with a hint of curiosity.
"Perhaps she had planned for us to survive, to find Unity, or whatever reason she had for doing so," a frown creasing his forehead. "But why?" he wondered aloud. "What does she hope to gain from this?" Finding the reason for it to be suspicious at first glance.
"Do you think it's some kind of mythical creature?"
Hearing a ridiculous claim coming from Danny's mouth, Hansel scoffed at the idea, "A mythical creature?" Chuckling dryly, he shook his head in denial. "Preposterous," he said firmly, "there's no such thing as myths anymore; it's only man and machine in this apocalyptic reality we all live in, and anything considered supernatural are concepts not well understood by science," which is by definition far cry from the truth. "I've seen enough of the world to know that magic doesn't exist."
Raising a brow from this response, "And you don't see Espers as something not of the supernatural?" Danny asked, bringing up a good point: "They're the closest thing we consider magic," stating a known fact, "or at least, the closest we have to it in this era we live in," pointing out his reasons.
"If anyone would understand the existence of mythological beings, it would be an Esper like yourself," a fair observation based on the context of their conversation, "don't you think it's possible that our savior might be something more than just a human?"
Baffled by the last sentence he heard: "She's no more than a random passer and Esper who, through mysterious circumstances, found herself in a position to save us," dismissing the notion of her being anything extraordinary or otherworldly. Shrugging off the possibility of her being anything more as Hansel believed it to be just that, a possibility.
"Moreover, my powers are the result of my upbringing," explaining the reason behind his abilities while being secretly gloating at the fact he is more powerful than anyone else, "while hers could be due to a variety of factors, natural mutation, experimentation, or even a freak accident, we just don't know," he admitted as frustration grows inside of Hansel.
"All we can say for certain is that she's an Esper, and that's enough for now." As much as he wants to believe it to be something else, seeing someone else better at saving others than him does give him an envious feeling.
For a long while of being a medical doctor, Hansel secretly never enjoyed having others the potential to bypass his talents and skills at helping or saving people's lives, especially those who are proven to be more efficient and capable than himself.
"But maybe you're right, Danny," he conceded at the idea, "maybe we should keep an open mind about her," agreeing to his friend's theory all the while admitting the possibility of her being something extraordinary, "how about 50/50 split? I'll keep thinking she's just a random passerby, and you can think she's a mythical creature," offering a compromise in ending this conversation they are having, adding a smile to lighten the mood while his at it.
"Really?" Danny raised an eyebrow. "I guess that could work," he said with a chuckle, finding it also confusing and somewhat humorous in how his friend put it in words. "Though I still think there's more to it," his expression turned serious. "But I trust your judgment, Hansel," he assured, "we'll figure it out together." His tone was filled with camaraderie and a sense of understanding, knowing that they both had each other's backs.
Nodding his head, Hansel didn't disagree with Danny's suggestion. "You're right, Unity needs our care," he agreed before continuing further, "and I suppose we can start by taking her to the hospital, see if there's anything we can do to," a tired sigh escaping from his lips.
"In either case, do you have a good enough reason why this person currently asleep on my back is a woman?" The idea of seeing living females of their species is, to his knowledge, impossible to believe after the earth's near extinction of its populace.
Instead of a proper answer, he shrugged his shoulders in return. "Looks like a girl, even sounds like one," Danny added, having made an observation of the girl's appearance, "but the fact that she has breasts and no male genitalia is a sign that she's a female," speaking as if he desperately wanted to believe in humanity's hope of returning back to the way it was once.
"And if, by some luck, Unity isn't some guy who wanted to be a woman, then it's a sign there are more of them hiding across the globe," suggesting that there are still living women hiding for their safety from the rest of the world.
Hansel's expression turned hopeful. "You may be onto something, Danny," he mused from this. "It's a long shot, but if Unity is indeed a woman as you said she was, and she's not alone..." His eyes sparkled with hope and wonder at the chance of bringing humanity back to the way it was.
"Then that means there could be others out there, too," The head doctor whispered, his voice barely audible, "others who might know what happened, why the world ended, and how to fix it." The thought of seeing men and women once again coexisting gives him growing excitement for what is to come.
"I hope we do, Hansel. I hope we do."
