234 Futile Running

Just as Zoey settled in and looked through her sight to try and find where Athena and Volaia were fighting, her comm-link beeped again, signalling another incoming call. Zoey was a little frustrated by now with the repeated interruptions, but to her surprise, she saw that the caller this time was Athena!

"Athena? What's going on over there?" she quickly answered as she kept looking through her FAMR's sights, searching for her target.

"Hey hun, I know that's you looking my way, I can feel your eyes from here…" Athena said through the comm-link, her musical voice humming with power.

Zoey was a little startled by her words. How the hell could she feel her looking at them from a kilometer away?!

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"Look hun, I know you want to help, but sit tight and stay out of this. I have it under control, and if you intervene you'll cause more harm than good," Athena told her.

"Alright, just… be careful," Zoey said with a concerned sigh before closing the connection.

{Whatever she is doing, I hope it pays off… She is smart enough to know her limits, but I can't help worrying. Then there's that idiot, Taigen! Where the hell did he run off too?!}

Since she couldn't do anything for Athena, Zoey figured she ought to make sure that Taigen would come back safe. No doubt the others in the cargo bay were just as worried as she was about him. The main question that Zoey had, was why he had done it in the first place!

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Taigen's mind was in a strange place. Ever since his sister had returned from her mission without General Saigo, and he had seen the tormented look of loss in her eyes, he had been in a state of cold apathy. The loss of his mentor and friend, a man that he had considered a second father, had not quite sunk in yet, and though on the surface he had maintained his normal appearance, on the inside his mind had frozen.

He had thought himself immune to the pain of loss. Considering how many Asurai clan members they had lost in the years after the attack, he thought he had built up a tolerance against losing more of their clan. But the truth was that recently, since Zoey had rescued them from that damned canyon, all of them had dared to hope for the future again. They had lowered their defenses and allowed themselves to look towards a future that was once again within their grasp.

That was what made losing Saigo such a heavy blow, heavy enough to leave them all in shock. They barely even reacted when Zoey had returned, instead each of them stayed within their own thoughts as they struggled to come to grips with the devastating news.

Taigen barely remembered the scenery he had been staring at as they flew to their next destination, and even when the cruiser had been hit by shockwaves, he showed no reaction. It was only when the ship had landed and his unfocused vision had caught some movement off to the side had his mind somewhat returned to the moment.

Leaving behind only a quick order for no one to follow, he took off into the distance in pursuit of what he had seen. It was a stupid decision, but he didn't care, he just wanted to move, to let loose, to find something to distract him from the cold empty lump he felt in his chest.

So without thinking it through he had dashed out after the person he had seen. As a Rank 4 warrior, his speed was not inconsiderable, and he spotted the figure again when he reached the place he had last seen them. There were still androids in the area, but Taigen easily avoided them as he followed his target. The noise of the city was in a descending arc now, signifying that the factories were shutting down, but many were still active, and the area of the city the figure he was following was heading towards seemed to be a central factory hub of some kind.

{What are you doing Taigen? Are you an idiot?! Chasing after someone you met only once and leaving behind the clan that needs you? You goddamn idiot!}

Taigen ignored the tiny voice of rationality roaring in indignation in the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about anything right now, he only wanted to focus on the person he was chasing. Of course, he had recognized her when he had seen her from the ship. Those dead, emotionless eyes had crossed his once before deep inside the city when she had slaughtered the Barron and his men before disappearing. Taigen also knew that she was the one who had killed Cornelius Rellen from what Zoey had told them about what had happened, but all that did not matter to him.

Earlier when he had been standing inside the Stella Tenebris, his vacant stare had somehow met her eyes, and something about what he had seen made Taigen act on impulse, running out and following her into the city. What had drawn him, Taigen was not sure of, but then again, his mind was in a strange place right now, so he didn't really care. In the back of his mind he realized that he was only seeking an escape, to distance himself from things that reminded him of Saigo's sudden absence.

But even he was wondering where this wild chase would lead him. Where was this strange woman going? Why was she here after killing Cornelius? What was she seeking this deep in the flying city?

Taigen had no answer to these questions yet, but thinking about them gave his mind some respite from the thoughts that he was currently trying to avoid.