Chapter 41

She woke up alone at the bed, realizing that Axton was missing. She sat up to see her surroundings; the room was empty and Axton was nowhere to be found. She could not tell the time or even remembered what happened yesterday. A few things that she does know; yesterday was intense and tiring. Also, she finally had some proper good night sleep in months.

Being alone, she called his friend. "Ax? You there?"

"Gimme a minute." He answered from the outside. "I'll be there in a moment."

Maya looked at the room's only entrance and the man entered through the door. No beard was present, clean shaven. The man was having a smoke outside and just finished one. The light that entered the room showed that it was already afternoon.

"You slept for a long time, I thought you were sick." Axton folded his arms together.

"No, I just… it's been a long time that I didn't have a good night sleep." Maya yawned. "What time is it?"

"Well if you sleep long enough, you would wake up and eat lunch. By the way, I bought some food in case you hungry." Axton walked past her and went to the kitchen area. "You feel better?"

Maya thought for a moment and combed her hair. Remembering what happened last night and somewhat speechless. But referring to Axton's question, she nodded and answered. "Yeah I feel better."

"Nice to hear that." Axton smiled.

Maya looked at the table and food was there that was left for her. She pulled away the sheets from her body and took a moment to just ponder at the edge of the bed. She glanced at Axton and The Commando was making tea. She realized something new, the heaviness in her head and chest was no longer there. Her once foggy mind was now clear, her doubtful heart was free. Maya's eyes widened, her world changed overnight.

"You okay over there? Looks like you're shocked." Axton asked.

"I feel different but in a good way." She was astonished.

"You do look different, that's for sure." Axton glanced at her. "Take your time, okay?"

Maya quickly stood up from her bed and stretched her body. She took a deep breath and wanted to talk about what happened yesterday. She moved closer to the table and put one hand at the chair.

"Axton. About last night, I think-"

"We shouldn't be talking about it." Axton interrupted.

Maya's mouth was open but there were no words. Axton turned to Maya and leaned at the wall.

"Don't force yourself Maya, we don't need to talk about it as if it was something small." He said. "You don't need to explain yourself and I personally don't mind if you don't tell me. You feeling better right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I think it's more than enough for me to know. Red said that you want to spend time here to take some days off. And hearing from yesterday, I think you should just, you know, act like is a day off in Pandora. So rather than just talking about serious things, why not we talk about some normal stuff. Or maybe shoot some guns, that would be nice." He suggested.

It was brief but she understood what he meant. So many days, she focused so much on trying to squeeze herself to improve as a Siren. Axton was correct; time of rest was also important for growth. She was rushing too fast on everything in her life.

The kettle rings and hot water was ready. Axton changed his focus to the kitchen counter and poured water into his mug. "You want some tea?"

"Sure." A rare sight to see Axton making tea. "You like tea?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "Red told me to drink it from time to time, to help my recovery. Shit works."

Axton poured the hot water to another mug that was meant for Maya. He carried both mugs, then put one beside Maya's meal. The steam could be seen above the mug, it was black tea that Searcher Red often drinks whenever he was reading at The Academia. Axton blew his tea to cool it off then sipped it lightly, clearly he disliked the bitter taste but he drinked it for health reasons.

"Hey Axton, can I ask something?" She put her hands on her back.

"If I can, sure." Axton sipped his tea again.

"Can I have a hug?" She asked shyly.

A light giggle came out of his breath, he put down his drink and welcomed Maya with open arms. She awkwardly moved closer to him. She embraced him with her arms locking him, closed her eyes and leaned on his chest. Maybe she was a pervert or indecent to simply ask for hugs but it calmed her mind like nothing else. It was nice to be with the one she was fond of. Axton rested his arms around her and quietly looked at the wall with nothing to say. People change from time to time and so did Maya

They embraced quietly for a few minutes until Axton spoke.

"So do you plan to hug me for the next few days? Or do you have other things in mind?"

Maya opened her eyes and looked at Axton. "I never really thought about it." She was quite surprised.

"It's alright, take your time, fancy pants." Axton patted her back. "Don't forget to take a shower too."

Maya blushed but continued to hug him still.

The two Searchers were at a location that was designated as a highly dangerous place by Hyperion. The irony of it is that there was no threat to begin with. Not even a skag. AE6 and AE9 were ordered to survey the place and scout the whole area. They stood at the edge of a mining area, under it was an Dahl mine like many others that scattered across Pandora. Also like many others, it was abandoned and infested by ungodly creatures that were interested in such a cold and isolated location.

"Maniac's Mine…" AE6 said. "What a name.."

"Yeah…" AE9 looked down to the hole, where down there was the final resting place for the former Chairwoman of Hyperion. "Another day's work. The mine is so deep, I can't even see the base."

"AE1 tasked us to find her body and thankfully we're Searchers to begin with. Guess she can't complain her grave is not too deep." AE6 shook his head, he could not imagine Alesia's end. "We have to go down there my brother, what do you think?"

"No rope will be long enough." AE9 took out a flare stick and threw it into the hole to see how deep it was. "Let's hope it's not too deep."

The flare fell down to the whole, slowly as the gravity of Pandora was somewhat weaker comparative to Central Planets. The flare hit base and AE9 could see the flare still, though as a smudge of light that was barely visible.

"Welp at least there's a base and not an infinite." AE9 shrugged. "What's the plan?"

"You bring the drone AE9? I'm pretty sure they can carry us out of the mine."

AE9 thought for a moment then nodded. "We can but I'll set it up when we reach down there."

"Time to do some work." AE6 nodded.

They both prepared their weapons and held them firmly. AE6 jumped first and AE9 followed behind. The fall to Maniac's Mine was slow and in turn the fall was not damaging. Once they arrived at the base, the soldiers looked at the surrounding darkness. The whole place looked like a warzone that was left behind. Hyperion Heavy Loaders scattered around the place like a junkyard. Everything was burnt down to a dark charcoal colour. The eerie silence; every step they took echoes around the mine. Even ghosts don't want to wander around such places.

AE6 looked up to the sky and the light was so faint yet strong enough to see what's in front of them. "Do you sense what I sense AE9? It's so faint but ever there. As if she was still alive."

"I get what you're saying but don't suggest that she's on the same level like Nyriad." AE9 scanned the whole place with his eyepiece, the temperature was chilly based on the measurement. "So, should we check the whole place from west to east or just find the body and get out?"

"Find the body then investigate." AE6 looked at AE9. "I also want to know how she died. Thankfully Axton fill us in a lot about how she died but that not enough on the specifics."

"Alright." AE9 nodded. "Contact me if you have found her, I'll go this way."

"Da." AE6 nodded and went to the opposite direction of AE9.

They move on to their separate ways. Scouting the mine to find a certain corpse. Despite the dark and silent atmosphere, the mine had a lot of corpses scattered around the place. From flesh to robotic scraps, it was a bloodbath if time were turned back. The AE duo would lift and move a lot of things, in case it was hidden under. For a mine that was abandoned for a long time, a lot of the things were relatively fresh and a lot of Hyperion products.

It was not long until AE6 found Alesia hidden under a metal plate.

"AE9, I found her." Gravely, the man said.

AE6 lowered to one knee to observe and understand the entirety of the corpse. Her whole body was intact but that was the only good thing that could be said. AE6 carefully moved the metal plate away from the corpse, so no further damage would have occured to the body. Some part of it was burned or scarred, her underwear was burned down so she was naked. It was hideous. By the posture of it, she refused to die till the last breath.

"Is it that bad?" AE9 arrived to the scene but was speechless when he saw it. "Damn."

AE6 shook his head. "It's hard to see another Siren gone in a horrible way. Even though she was controversial."

AE6 looked at AE9; he had nothing to say but only looked at the corpse.

"You alright?" The older man asked.

"Just can't believe that she died so abrupt and really seeing her end this way." AE9 blinked his eyes many times. "You know who she is right? Or am I dreaming?"

"I understand that you very much admire her."

"I read about her, I mean we ourselves met her a few times. Even her presence was different. She was different. "

"Indeed she was." AE6 stared at her corpse and sighed. "If only she had not excommunicated with The Siren Society, maybe we could have helped her along the way."

"I don't think Host Akari would like her." AE9 argued. "I think even you wouldn't be so sure with her."

"She's still a Siren. She deserves to be helped by us Searchers."

"The only Searchers in the universe are only two. There's a lot of space to cover." AE9 rubbed his senior shoulder. "Come on, we got a lot of things to do. Let's move on with our work."

"You move on too quickly my brother." AE6 stood up and faced AE9. "I thought you liked her."

"I never get personal, I know her but I never get attached." AE9 glanced at the corpse. "At least for Alesia I am not attached."

"Well maybe your girlfriend will be the exception." AE6 said then pat his back. "I think you can go on with the necessary things."

"I wish I could bury her beside her daughter." AE9 took out a white cloth then spread it wide. "At least, she will meet her in the afterlife, that's for sure."

AE6 moved away from the corpse and tried to find a secure connection, so he had moved to the center of mine to initiate contact. AE9 covered the corpse with the white cloth, respecting the corpse by not even touching it. He then took out five candles and put them in certain places. Places such as above the head, beside the hands and below the feet. Using a knife and a flint, he lit the candles. AE9 then cleared the surrounding area of the corpse.

"May your next journey be smooth Tundalya." AE9 muttered.

"AE1 this is AE6." Said the man through his earpiece. "She is confirmed dead-we will investigate further in detail but you can start the legal process-yes-I really think you should sue Hyperion now."