Chapter Text
Smoke filled the air and threatened to choke Aiona as she fought against the crowd. She had run ahead to hopefully see Zenith already helping the citizens to evacuate, but nobody had even seen the white haired titan since the night before. She hadn’t either but had hoped he made it home before the Cabal attack started.
Aiona forced the thoughts of the cabal intercepting his ship and destroying it with him inside outside of her head. He had to be there! Somewhere, he had to be!
“Zenith!” She called out through coughs. The smoke filled her lungs even through her helmet. “Zenith!”
She grew more and more frantic as she searched through the rubble to find any sign of who might as well be her little brother. But no matter how much she looked, no sign was found. Finally, she caught up with Gideon and pulled him into a tight hug. “Gideon! Are you okay? What’s going on?!”
The guardian grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the exit. “We need to leave now. The City’s been destroyed!”
Immediately she dug her boots into the ground as she tried to pull back. “But we have to find Zenith! He was supposed to be back by now! We can’t leave him!”
She broke away from the other man and immediately took off down the street.
“Aiona! Wait!” Gideon shouted as he chased after her.
Both of them were knocked off their feet as an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet. As Aiona struggled to get to her feet, Gideon took advantage the situation by grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder.
“Put me down! Put me down now!” She hissed as she pounded his back with her fists. “Zenith is out there! He needs help! I have to find him! Zenith!”
When Gideon was finally able to take her to the evac station, Aiona had given up and went limp in his arms. When he sat her down on the ground as the door closed behind them he saw tears leaking down her cheeks. He had never seen her cry before. Crouching down in front of her, he tried to console her as best as possible.
“He’ll find his way, Aiona. He’s a strong titan. He can take care of himself.”
The human acted as if she couldn’t even hear him as she continued to mumble and cry. “They need me. They’re all alone…They need their mother. They need me.”
“Aiona! You need to calm down! You’re working yourself into a fit!” He said in frustration.
Aiona shook her head. “No! No! I have to find them! They need me!”
Gideon’s hand went across her face before he could realize what he was doing. The smack shocked the spectators but they didn’t dare say anything as Gideon seethed. “Listen to what’s happening outside! If Zenith’s out there, he’s already dead! We barely got out of there alive as it is! You need to get a hold of yourself! I’m worried about him to but your crying and whining won’t bring him back if he’s already DEAD!”
That shocked Aiona into silence. She held her reddening cheek and the tears stopped immediately. “I…I’m sorry…”
Gideon sighed and slumped next to her. All his rage gone. “I’m sorry too. I just…I’m scared too. I want him to be okay, but the reality…”
They didn’t have to say it. Zenith was most likely dead already. Burning away in the rubble of what they used to call home…