Hmmm… So soft… Wait, where am I?!

Zoey awoke with a start, and very nearly fell off Viridi’s soft, fur-covered back where she had been sleeping while she was being carried through the air! After a moment of vertigo and disorientation, Zoey sat securely in place, so she wouldn’t fall, then gathered her wits with some encouraging thoughts from Viridi to help.

So after I came out of the chamber, I passed out and Viridi picked me up and started heading back to where the others are… I wasn’t out for too long, but I need to check on the others.

A quick check of her interface showed Zoey that Custodian 704 had successfully rescued the Asurai clan from where they had been besieged by the machines and was now headed to pick up Baiken, Azai, and Markus with everyone else on board. Viridi was already heading towards the pick-up point, so the only one left to worry about was Athena and the Rellen sister, Volaia.

I hope Athena is ok… She is still not responding to my calls. Zoey thought to herself as she turned her gaze towards the prominent volcano in the center of the city. I’ll head that way as soon as everyone is back on the ship to check on her. She should be fine, but I can’t help worrying with so much unknown information… She turned her eyes ahead and sighed heavily. Her last conversation with Saigo replayed itself in her mind, bringing with it a fresh wave of sadness and melancholy. She barely had time to acknowledge the fact that he was gone, and for the first time since stepping foot into the deadly chamber she could start to process the feelings that had been waiting dormant inside her mind for a quiet moment.

She was no stranger to death and loss. After all, her entire universe was a graveyard where trillions of dead souls lay buried among ruined empires that has spanned galaxies before the enemy had arrived to mercilessly consume them. The sorrow of loss had become such a constant companion in the quarter millennia she had been alone on Gaia that she could scarcely remember what it felt like without its constant presence. Only recently after she had come to this new universe and made new friends had those old wounds started to close, her painful past receding slightly into the background. But now, losing not only Saigo, but the other members of her crew that had been lost here on this city had brought the dull ache of loss back to her heart once more.

She could deal with it, she always did, but no doubt the rest of the Asurai clan would take the new hard, knowing how respected and loved General Saigo had been. By now Zoey was used to it, but she was tired of losing people. This city has been a pain in the ass. One day, I’ll come back here and dismantle the damn thing, piece by piece if I have to, She thought angrily as she recovered her wandering thoughts. They were approaching the Stella Tenebris now, and the sight of her ship made her spirits lift a little.

Communicating with 704 through her interface, Zoey had the cargo bay door opened so Viridi could simply swoop down and gracefully land inside the ship as she dispersed her large draconic transformation into shadowy vapor, changing into her panther form as she gently deposited Zoey onto the deck.

As the loading ramp closed behind them, Zoey was greeted with a somber scene inside the cargo bay of her ship. Baiken, Azai, and Markus had already made it on board before Zoey had arrived, and the news of General Saigo’s death had already been revealed, much to the shock of the Asurai clan. With one glance, Zoey could see that Ssaul and Taigen had taken the news the hardest, but the rest of the clan’s sorrow was not less than theirs.

Ssaul looked defeated, an old warrior that had fought his greatest battle only to realize he had lost what he had been fighting for in the end. Taigen handled it very much like his sister, the two of them concealing their raw emotions behind a stony facade that fooled no one. The clan had gathered together in the bay, and a cloud of sorrow seemed to hover overhead as they mourned the ones that had been lost.

Zoey had no words of comfort for them as she walked over to where the others were. She understood their sorrow, possibly better than anyone, but she did not know what to say to them to ease the pain. All she could do is comfort them in this time of sadness, and help them through it the best she could.

But she could not linger for too long. After she made sure they were good and seeing that Max was with them, unconscious but okay, she left the Asurai clan in the bay so they could mourn for now and headed to the bridge with Viridi. They still had to break free of the city, so the mourning could wait until then for Zoey. However, when she got to the bridge, she found that someone was already there…

Markus Rellen? Why is he here by himself? She wondered cautiously when she saw him standing by the front windows, hunched over and gripping the rail there as if he was troubled. Saigo was convinced that he was crucial to the Asurai clan surviving, but what could he have possibly seen? Zoey wondered as she checked the Stella Tenebris’s systems while keeping an eye on the noble. Whatever Saigo may have seen, I’m not convinced.

Viridi sent Zoey an echoing thought, as the big feline also did not trust the noble just yet. Whatever happened in the future, Zoey felt that with both her and Viridi watching him like hawks and with his magic sealed, if he tried anything they would be able to stop him before he caused any damage.

It would be interesting to see what happened next however, because Markus still did not know of his brother’s death and his sister’s fate was still unknown as well. What he decided to do may very well depend on how he reacted to those two pieces of the puzzle. For now, Zoey was anxious to go see how Athena was doing. If she needed help, Zoey wanted to be there for her like she had been for Zoey in the past.