A slightly delayed update, sorry!

End of Era

Chapter 15 – Unsorted Feelings

Aile and Vent spent a silent moment at the deck, with Aile leaning against the railing and turning her back against Vent as he stood behind her. Neither of them were said anything yet, letting the evening wind blow their long hair back and forth.

After a long period of silence, Vent was the first one to speak with a warm smile on his face.

"You know that you don't have to put up a tough front anymore. At least, not in front of me."

Aile let out a sigh, "So you knew all along."

"W-Well…" Vent nervously rubbed the back of his head, "Not all the time, but I kinda figure it out that you're starting to return to your old self lately."

"And that's… that's what I'm afraid of…" the commander responded in a whisper, "If I let my emotions in control again, I might-"

"If you don't, you'll be the cold-hearted commander the new Guardian members refer to," the expression on Vent's face turned serious for a moment before it softened, "Even if you're fine with that, have you even considered about how Estelle feels?"

"Estelle…" Aile put a hand over her chest, "She… hates me, right?"

"I'm not her," Vent replied as he joined his wife by the railing, "but I don't think that's the case with her. She's more mature than most adults give her credit for, so she won't just hate someone as close as a family."

"But!" Aile let out a protest, "Estelle is still just a child!"

"She is," Vent nodded, but didn't look at her directly, "but if you watch her grow over these past few years, you can tell that she's a lot more mature than us when we were her age. After all, she had Oriel to take care of when both of us and the rest of the adults are too busy to look after them."

"That doesn't mean she can just charge blindly into the battlefield, you know," her voice was cold as she responded, "The kids should stay out of danger and let the more experienced adults take care of the mavericks for them. That way, they'll be out of harm's way."

"She's not alone, Aile," Vent replied with a stern voice, "Storm is there to help her and he's got military training at an early age, thanks to Atlas. I don't know about Iris, but I'm guessing she can fight well enough from watching Thetis in battle."

"But the mavericks will-"

"They won't!" the vice commander had grabbed Aile's hands in his, much to her surprise, as he looked at her in the eye, "I know that you've never stopped believing her abilities… no, you've never doubted Estelle from the beginning. You're just afraid that… that you'll be blamed because you can't be by her side at all times in battle… that you're afraid of that tragedy…"

Aile had avoided Vent's gaze, but she didn't bother releasing his grip on her hands, "It was my fault that Prairie…"

"Nobody is blaming you for that!" Aile looked up in surprise from both Vent's voice and the strong grip he had on her, "Stop blaming yourself for everything!"

"But it's true!" she had broken free from his grip as she glared at him with her teary eyes, "I had the chance! I had the chance to shoot and save Prairie back then! And I… I didn't take that chance…"

Aile had lowered her head, letting the tears fell on the metal structure of the deck. Vent watched her with a pained look, not knowing what else to say to her when she was being stubborn about blaming herself. The three girls present at that time were all blaming themselves since that day, while he recalled that he deserved to share some of the blame.

He had to look for Estelle, who was wandering around in the chaotic base, because he had to leave her with Aile after he chose his work of patrolling the city over spending time with her. Little did he know that Aile had taken a mission as well, leaving the unusually busy Prairie to look after her. By the time he returned, Aile and Ashe were teaming up to protect the airship from the sudden maverick attack, which in the end led to the tragedy that left a deep scar in their hearts.

"Hey, you should slap and blame me for everything that happened that day," Vent curled his fists as he felt angry with himself back then, "I promised Estelle to hang out in the city with her that day, but I insisted on doing patrols after a mechaniloid went berserk the day before. If I had stayed with her then, she would've been safely playing in Prairie's room and Prairie would be safe…"

The two stayed in silence for a moment before Aile walked over to Vent, burying her face on his chest.

"We're some parents, huh…"

"Sorry…" Vent had wrapped his arms around her as he rested his chin on her head, "I guess… I'm not being a good dad to both Estelle and Oriel in the end… I don't want to end up like my dad, but I ended up doing what he did…"

Aile shook her head, "No, you've raised them fine on your own. If only that I can turn the time back, I want to go back to us being the happy family we're supposed to be. I had never been in most of their lives for many years… chasing after the shadow that's actually my own fears… Just what kind of parent am I to abandon them…?" she looked up sadly at Vent, "My mom would have regretted saving my life back then… She raised and protected me, but I couldn't do the same to my own children…"

"You're wrong about two things, Aile," he let out a sad smile as he brought his hand to wipe her tears away, "I know that you're just trying to protect them, even if Estelle misunderstands you most of the time. And…" Vent let her go from his hug as he held her face in his hands, "While I don't know about your mom, I'm sure that whatever you do, she would never regret saving you. It was thanks to her that I can have you, Estelle, and Oriel in my life. A real family I can call my own."

"Vent…"

The two shared a kiss, which they had both longed for years, even if it only lasted for an instant.

"Now, please don't blame yourself anymore. I just want you to be by my side again, like we promised back then."

Aile gave him a silent nod as her hand slipped away from him, holding on to the railing as she looked at the darkening sky with a sad expression, "I've… always denied the fact that Estelle can do things on her own because I've always viewed her to be a child. I just want her to be safe because I don't want to lose her the way I lost Prairie… yet I must've caused her so much pain and hate that she refused to call me as her mother sincerely…"

"If you need help in talking to her, I'll be with you," Vent gave her a confident smile, which she returned.

"Thanks, Vent."

The blowing breeze was cold enough to make the brunette commander shudder, which prompted Vent to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

"Come on, let's head back inside. Let's give Estelle some time to rest for the night before the two of you spend some time talking."

The two's footsteps were heard on the deck, heading back into the airship, but none of them noticed that they weren't the only ones present on the deck.

A single tear dropped on the bandages wrapped around the young brunette's arms as the wind slightly blew the green cloth in front of her. She sat on the other side of the deck as she hugged her legs together, with a slightly bandaged Storm standing beside her had his loose green coat being blown by the wind. Iris had joined the two as well, clinging to Estelle as the brunette sat in silence through the entire conversation.

"Commander Aile must've been hurting all this time…" Iris commented sadly, "Iris feels sorry for her…"

"Still, to hold in so much pain in her for these long years…" Storm took a glance at the entrance where the two brunettes had just gone to, "She's not a commander for nothing."

"What… what did she mean…?" Estelle still had her head down as she whispered to herself, "She wouldn't… she has never been… but why…?"

Storm took a glance at the brunette before he let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall behind him, "I guess… this is what mothers… parents… do for their kids."

"W-What do you mean…?"

"I didn't really get it then, when my mother had nightmares after the battle back then," the green-haired teen folded his arms with a pained look on his face, "I didn't really understand what parents' love feels like, because of how distant my parents are since then. Now I think I can kind truly relate between my mother's reaction and Commander's reaction just now. Looks like I'm a fool of a son…"

"Iris agrees too!" the brunette had shown her teary eyes at Iris as she looked at the younger girl, "Mama left Iris and Papa because Mama was trying to protect us! Mama was trying to stop the head of the mavericks because Mama loves Papa and Iris!"

"I… guess…" Estelle's response was filled with uncertainty as she rested her chin between her knees, "But… I still refuse to admit it… I still can't…"

"You don't hate her, so that's a plus," she looked up from hearing her friend's response, having a confused look on her face, "If you keep on thinking that you hate her when you actually don't, then you're a fool yourself."

Estelle closed her eyes as a smile formed on her face, "Yeah… I guess you're right…" she rose to her feet along with Iris, standing between her and Storm, before she turned to her green-haired friend with a smirk, "I guess you're taking after your dad with the way you talk just now."

"Huh," Storm let out a smile, "This foolish statement coming from someone who likes to slack off during training reminds me of Mother telling me about Vice Commander's younger days as a top slacker."

"Whatever!" Estelle shrugged cheerfully as her cheerful personality had returned, "So, what now? We've kinda figured out the culprit behind the maverick attacks, so shouldn't we start with our counterattack?"

"But… isn't Grey our parents' friend?" Iris asked, "Why are we fighting between friends?"

"I've heard stories about him from Mother," Storm started as he put a hand around his chin to think, "Despite how she had plenty of… humiliating losses against him in battle, she never considers him to be a bad person. I'm thinking that he's acting this way because of something else we don't know yet, but I believe Commander Aile can find something within the data by tomorrow."

The cheeriness on Estelle's face slowly faded, "Commander… My mom, huh…" she noticed the worry on her friends' faces, prompting her to force a smile, "Don't worry about me. It… it hasn't sunk yet that she's trying to protect and care for me in her own way, but I'll be fine."

Storm gave her a nod, "Suit yourself. I'm going back to the land base to report to my mother about this and I'll be back tomorrow morning," he turned to the younger girl beside Estelle, "Iris, are you coming with me? I think your father and someone in purple garb are meeting up with my mother."

Iris gave him an enthusiastic nod before she ran to his side, "Yes! Iris will come!"

"Okay," Estelle raised her hand as she waved at them energetically, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Iris returned the gesture, while Storm was trying to in an awkward way, given the formal habits he was used to in his daily life.

Estelle's smile faded as the two disappeared into the elevator. Her mind went back to the events at the city that day and her memories of meeting Prairie's cyber-elf form when she passed out. It all started when she picked up the strange rock from the river, which she assumed to be another Biometal from the power it possessed. Prairie had protected her from being completely taken over by the Biometal, but she couldn't rely on the former commander all the time. She had to train to master it so that she would be able to control the power…

If the Biometal was still in her possession.

The brunette panicked as she searched her pockets, which only contained Model X. The strange Biometal was gone, until she recalled her father's unusual gestures in the control room. The bulge in his pocket was unusual, but the other adults were too busy with the data to notice it. She had originally planned for Fleuve to check the strange Biometal for her while keeping it a secret from the others, but it seemed like she wasn't the only one who knew about it.

Her father knew what she had hidden.

Looks like someone's in trouble...!