Another late update, but here it is!

Ushindeshi: If you haven't played Zero series, he's Craft and he's one of the bosses from Zero 4. Just... probably it's best to keep it at that before I spoil anything from the game...

End of Era

Chapter 7 – Family Troubles

Vent, Ashe, Estelle, and Oriel were walking in silence in the hallways of the Guardian Base. The two adults were taking the lead in silence, but it wasn't clear to the younger ones what kind of silence treatment they were getting. Ashe wasn't being as cheerful and lively as she always, but she didn't look like she was upset. Their father wasn't showing any emotions as well, but he looked tense from the way he was walking.

The four came into a stop in front of the door leading to the control room, but neither adults turned to look at them, "You kids should go back to your rooms," Vent was still looking at the closed door as he spoke, "There are adult matters that we need to handle. Go and wait for us in your rooms."

Vent didn't turn to see if they were listening to him as he had other things he needed to settle. He entered the control room with Ashe, leaving Estelle and Oriel in front of the door as it shut close. Estelle stood still in front of the door, fully aware of her father being tense, even as Oriel was walking away from her.

"Estelle, aren't you coming?" Oriel called out to his sister, "Daddy is going to be angry again if we don't obey."

Estelle shook her head and turned to her brother with a small smile, "It's okay, at least I'm not going anywhere outside this time. I just… need to ask a few questions about training real quick."

Oriel stood quietly for a few seconds as he stared at her in confusion, before he finally nodded in understanding, "Okay… see you later, Estelle…"

"Yeah…" Estelle replied softly as she watched her brother leaving, and was met by more silence as the door in front of her was too thick for her to hear anything clearly.

"We couldn't catch him then, but there weren't any casualties. A few from the land unit were injured, but nothing serious," Vent had finished his report while avoiding his gaze from looking at Aile, "That's… all we can report for now."

"I have nothing to add either," Ashe simply shrugged, "Since we're done here, can we-"

"You broke your promise," Aile flatly spoke up before rising up from her seat, giving a hard slap across Vent's face, "Estelle and Oriel were right there in the city!" Aile had raised her voice in anger, "They can't fight any of them! What kind of parent are you for letting our kids in the middle of danger like that?!"

"Sorry, they just…" Vent slowly brought his eyes to look at Aile as he held his cheek where Aile had landed her slap on, "No, forget it. I shouldn't have let them go anywhere in the city on their own."

"You know that a simple apology like that isn't enough!" Aile was literally glaring straight at him as she walked closer, "What'll you do if-"

"Stop it already!" the door slid open, surprising everyone in the room as Estelle stepped in, "Stop blaming Dad already! I came to the city on my own will and I brought Oriel along just to visit Storm!"

"Estelle…" Ashe looked at the younger brown-haired girl, who walked towards Aile as she wiped her tears angrily.

"Estelle, don't," Vent responded in a whisper, "You shouldn't talk to your mom like-"

"You're not being a good role model to your brother," Aile's attention shifted to Estelle as they came face-to-face with each other, "You skipped Fleuve's tutoring too often and even brought Oriel to skip tutors with you."

"Maybe I'm not, but so what?!" Estelle pointed her finger directly at Aile, who looked at her in surprise, "When have you been a mom to me?! To Oriel?!"

"Estelle, that's enough!" Vent sternly scolded as he removed Estelle's hand from in front of Aile's face, "You've gone way too far, young lady!"

Estelle's gaze never left her mother's as she forced her hand go from his father's strong grip. She wiped away more of the tears coming down her eyes before pointing at Prairie's room, "Prairie's gone that day… and so did my real mom…" with tears streaming down her face, Estelle pointed at her mother once more, "This new mom doesn't even care about me… no, she doesn't even care about her family! All she knows is chasing down these Mavericks like a maniac!"

Estelle broke into a run as she headed out of the control room with Vent chasing her, "Estelle!"

Ashe watched as the door closed, "That was quite the show that you and your daughter put up there. I'm not a mom, but I think you went a bit too far on your kids. I'm just saying," noticing that she wasn't getting any response, the silver-haired hunter turned to see her friend standing still on her place with tears rolling off her face, "Aile…?"

"I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

"Estelle, where are you…?" Vent whispered to himself as he ran through the hallways with all doors around him open, but there were no signs of his daughter.

Vent had tried looking into Estelle's room, Oriel's, and even his own room, though Estelle was nowhere to be found. Every possible rooms and places she could possibly access, leaving only the deck to be checked. Hoping that Estelle would be there and not going back to the city, he went out through the door to the sound of someone sobbing.

Estelle was leaning on the wall right next to the door, still not completely aware of her father's arrival at the deck. When he stepped closer to her, Estelle had backed away in defense, "You're going to scold me again, aren't you…?"

Vent shook his head and he gently put his hands over his daughter's shoulders, "Don't worry, I'm not giving you more harsh lectures for today," Vent joined her as he leaned against the wall next to Estelle, "You know, even if you did say something you shouldn't to your mom back then, I think I can say I agree."

"What… what do you mean?" the brown-haired teenager asked between her sniffles.

"Your mom… hasn't always been like this," Vent replied as he let out a sad smile, "She's a kind and caring person, even if there is someone who has always been making her worry all the time. Both of us grew up together as orphans and were taken in by the Guardians, so I've known her for a long time. She cares for others and I doubt that part of her has ever changed even after what happened that time. It's only her ways of showing it that's changed."

Estelle gave him a frown as she shrugged Vent's hands off her shoulders, "I didn't say any of those stuff, Dad. You didn't answer my question."

"Well, not yet," Vent's smile faded away from his face, "I agree that your mom hasn't been like how moms are supposed to do for the past few years. At least, that's pretty much how I see it when I compare it to my experience with my own mom."

"Yeah, okay," Estelle replied with an annoyed tone, "I think like that and I don't like her. Why are you still listening to her, Dad?"

Vent let out a sigh, "Please, Estelle, don't start talking about your mom like that again. And don't say that she doesn't care, because I know that she truly does. It's been really hard for her for all these years after losing Prairie and she's been blaming-"

"But what about me?" Estelle suddenly turned to face her father, slightly teary-eyed, "I was there too when Prairie died!"

"You were still young-"

"Yes, I know I was still just a kid!" Estelle was starting to burst into tears once more, "But… but if I wasn't… Prairie wouldn't…"

Estelle was covering her face with her hands as she tried drowning down the voice of her crying, before she was met with a warm hug. She didn't want to resist, as some warmth was what she had always wanted all these years. She let herself cry in her father's arms as he gently patted her on the back.

"It's never your fault, your mom's fault, or anyone's fault" Vent told her in a whisper, "The attackers did it and it was their fault. None of you were to blame for what happened to Prairie."

"You saw what happened between you two and you're still being stubborn, Aile," Ashe spoke up in annoyance, "You said it yourself that Estelle takes after her dad a lot, from his curiosity to his tendency to get into trouble. She won't just sit still simply because you tell her so especially when someone is in trouble."

"That's what I'm trying to point out about her," Aile responded, "It's because of her behavior that she needs to be watched over all the time to make sure that none of the Mavericks hurt her!"

Ashe let out an annoyed sigh, "Yeah, I know. But don't you think that you're being way too overprotective to your kids? And especially Estelle?"

"This is the only way of making sure both Estelle and Oriel are safe," Aile replied as she turned her seat around, looking away from Ashe, "I can let anything that happened to Prairie happened to them too. No, not just them. I have to make sure that everyone is safe and away from those Mavericks."

Ashe shrugged, "And here I thought that the old Aile was coming back when I saw you crying. I guess not."

"Everyone's safety is my first priority," Aile responded flatly, "I don't have time for personal affairs."

"Yeah, sure you don't," Ashe wasn't going to believe what she had said just then, but she knew that it was pointless to press the commander even further, "Whatever, I'm just gonna head back to the Hunter's Camp."

"I know you're not," Ashe stopped in her tracks when Aile spoke up, "It's pointless looking for someone who had just left without a word for many years. It's best that you cooperate with the Guardians and help with tracking the Mavericks."

"My answer is still no," Ashe replied without turning her head away from the door, "Unlike the younger Estelle, you don't have the right to tell people what to do. You're the commander of the Guardians, but I'm not officially a member here. You don't have any power to tell me where to go and what to do."

"The Guardians have already made a pact with the hunters," Aile replied, "I still have the control over the hunters, even if not fully in command. Stop your pointless search for Grey and look for Maverick hideout instead. This is the good for many and not just for personal interest."

"I'll be selfish, Aile," Ashe turned away from the door, though Aile refused to turn her seat, "I believe that Grey is an important key to this mess. His disappearance wasn't too long before that day and I'm going to prove you that finding him gets us closer to your goal of complete Maverick destruction."

"Fine," Aile's voice was colder than before, "If that's what you wish, then the Guardians won't help you in any way."

Ashe simply gave her a nod, though she knew that nobody would see it. She left the control room and was heading for the transerver room, until sudden static sound was heard in her communicator, "Ugh… what is this…?"

"Ashe!" Model A floated out of Ashe's pocket, "I'm picking up a signal somewhere on the ground! It's the signal for calling some help!"

"Now that's nice…" the static had slowly quieted down, making it easier for Ashe to actually hear any message transmitted, "Hello? Can you talk? I can help if you can give me the coordinates to your location."

The static died down completely, followed by the sounds of coughing, "C… City… outside…"

The voice wasn't too clear when the transmission was cut off, but it was the voice that Ashe had recognize, 'That voice… Could it be…?'