Markus only became aware of Zoey and Viridi’s presence on the bridge when he looked to his side and saw the two of them standing by the rail next to him. It startled him, especially since Viridi was between him and Zoey, her feline pupils looking at him as if he was her next meal.

“My apologies…” he said after clearing his throat nervously. “I was not aware of your return.”

Zoey did not respond, staring out the window expressionlessly as she silently asked 704 to pilot them towards Athena’s location. She had not been there when Saigo decided to take Markus with on his mission, if she had been she likely would have protested like the others had, but in the end they were left with the aftermath of the General’s decision.

Saigo must have known before all of this even happened… I wish he would have told me… Zoey thought to herself. Maybe I could have done something to prevent it… Who am I kidding. I couldn’t even figure out a way to keep him safe as it was…

While she was stewing in her own thoughts, Markus standing nearby didn’t really know what to do or say in this situation. His own mind was a storm of emotions and turmoil as he struggled to come to grips with the recent events. The motivations behind what Saigo had done were lost to him, and seeing the pain his loss had caused to his fellow clan members made Markus even more confused and conflicted. Baiken’s words kept ringing in his mind, telling him that he had better earn what he had been given, but he had no idea where to start. He was a noble, a noble from the same family that had taken part in the destruction of the Asurai clan, and now he had decided to give his life in service to that very same clan… He was still their prisoner at the moment, so he was at a loss about what to do.

Not only that, there was his brother and sister to worry about as well. There was no lost love between him and Cornelius, but in his heart he hoped that Volaia could somehow be saved. Her situation was unknown to him, but judging by the ship’s current heading, he would know soon enough.

“For now, you will stay a prisoner.” Zoey’s voice shook Markus out of his thoughts, pulling his attention back to her. “Keep out of trouble,” she finished coldly, sparing him a frigid glance before she walked away.

Markus sensed her distrust, but he was surprised that she had not locked him up again. Also to his relief, there appeared to be no blame in her eyes when she looked at him. Baiken on the other hand, when she had looked at him, Markus could see that she blamed him in part for the General’s death. But what could he do in this situation except work to earn the second chance he had been afforded?

The dark thoughts and sorrows of everyone aboard the Stella Tenebris were suddenly interrupted when the ship suddenly was hit by a shockwave that made the cruiser shudder from bow to stern. On the bridge, Zoey was already looking at her ship’s systems as she called out to her copilot.

“704! What was that hit?!”

“Miss Zoey, there appears to be some form of battle directly ahead, and we are experiencing the results of said combat through shockwaves that the combatants are generating,” 704 replied as several more shockwaves rippled through the Stella Tenebris. “I recommend we hold our position to avoid damage to the ship if at all possible.”

“Alright, bring us to a stop here then,” Zoey replied as she checked her interface. She was almost certain the shockwaves they were getting hit by came from Athena and Volaia. They were still almost a kilometer away, and the entire cruiser was shaking from the shockwaves… Whatever was going on out there was one hell of a fight!

Once Zoey made sure that they were actually at a safe distance, she made her way down to the cargo bay followed by Viridi and Markus. Once there, she reassured everyone that they were in no danger at the moment, and had 704 swing the cruiser around and open the cargo bay door so they could actually look at what was going on.

The scene that was presented before them was oddly beautiful if it were not for the memories of loss they now associated with the flying city. The deep orange and yellow glow from the roiling clouds lit up the metal city below and the volcano in the distance with an eerie glow, while near the volcano they could occasionally see shockwaves slam through the air from the ongoing fight. From where they were, they could see occasional flashes of a blood-red glow or a golden geam where the fight was, and they could actually see with the naked eye as the shockwaves spread out from the impact point until they eventually hit the ship, making the metal craft shudder and their chests tremble as they looked on. What kind of monstrous strength could produce such an effect? Most of them had no idea, but one thing was for sure, they wanted no part in this battle between titans.

Zoey did not have to guess. Her enhanced eyes could easily bridge the kilometer wide gap between her position and the fight, but even then she could barely see more than two blurry figures surrounded by magical auras that moved so fast not even her Dark Star Vision could keep up with their speed. She could however, tell that it was indeed Athena fighting with someone who could only be Volaia Rellen. Zoey had seen that blood-red aura before when Cornelius had accidentally smashed the crystal that had kept his sister imprisoned. Now she was free, and apparently she could keep up with Athena, who happened to be the most powerful person that Zoey knew aside from Sethrii.

So Max has a violet and purple aura, the Rellen sister has a red aura, and Athena’s is golden… I need to look up what that means later, but it seems to be an indicator for a person’s strength? Zoey thought as she keenly observed the battle in the distance. For now it looked like the fight was even, but that could change at any moment. She had to find a way to help Athena before that happened. She did not want to lose another friend!