"So... we're going to go after him ourselves?" Drack asked.
Mae gave a single nod. "Yes. Zee can't do it. We have to be the ones."
The two of them stood just outside the coliseum, the sounds of recovery echoing faintly behind them. Mae had already told Drack about her argument with Zee, though she had deliberately left out the more emotional parts of it, speaking only of the decision that had come from it.
Drack was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"Miss Mae..." he began carefully. "Are you... sure this is the right thing to do?"
Mae turned her head toward him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Drack let out a slow sigh, choosing his words with care. "You've seen what he can do when he becomes... that. You've experienced it yourself. You know how strong he is." His brow furrowed. "How are we supposed to capture him? Or bring him back?"
Mae clicked her tongue and looked away.
"I'll figure that out when we find him."
Drack watched her for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"If we find him," he corrected quietly. "How do we even do that? No one knows where he's headed, how he plans on getting there, or anything at all."
Mae immediately turned back toward him, fixing him with a sharp glare.
"Do not question me," she said firmly. "You are here as my attendant. You are here to listen to me. You do what I say, no matter what it is."
Drack closed his mouth. After a brief pause, he lowered his head slightly and let out a quiet sigh, saying nothing more.
Mae continued as if nothing had happened.
"As for finding him, it's simple. We know he walked toward the eastern exit gate of the city, which means he's heading east. Arcadicia is closest to Aeruna in that direction, making it the most likely place he's going."
Drack gave a small nod.
"That does seem like the likeliest destination."
"And we know he stands out," Mae continued. "Even here he was difficult to miss, let alone in Aeruna. We ask people if they've seen a girl with blue hair and blue eyes, and if that isn't enough to narrow it down, we ask if they've seen someone wearing that strange armor he always wears."
It was a sensible plan.
Drack considered it for a moment before speaking again.
"That assumes he'll still be wearing the armor," he pointed out. "It wouldn't surprise me if he simply changed clothes and left it behind. The one who took over seems to care about her appearance. Both times we've seen her, she even styled her hair differently."
Mae looked at him in silence for a moment.
She could not argue with that.
"...You're right," she admitted after a pause. "That is possible." She folded her arms, thinking for only a second before continuing. "But the blue hair and eyes still remain. That combination is rare enough that we can still track him through that." Her voice hardened again. "We'll find him."
It became painfully clear to Drack that no amount of arguing, reasoning, or pointing out the flaws in the plan was going to change Mae's mind. She had already made her decision long before they stepped outside the coliseum. Trying to convince her otherwise now would only waste time.
He let out a tired sigh and rubbed his forehead.
"Alright, Miss Mae. When do we head out?"
Mae turned without hesitation, giving him a brief motion to follow as she started walking away from the coliseum.
"Right now," she answered. "There's no time to waste. The sooner we find him, the better."
After a few more steps, her pace slowed ever so slightly.
"I don't want Zee to be sad for too long," she whispered, so quietly that it almost sounded like she had said it only to herself.
Drack silently fell into step behind her.
*The two of them...* he thought as he watched Mae's back. *Despite all their differences, they're alike where it matters most.*
His gaze drifted behind him toward the towering coliseum they were leaving behind.
*There's no doubt in my mind that if their positions were reversed, they'd make the exact same decision. They'd just go about it in completely different ways.*
He looked back at Mae.
Even from the side he could see the determination on her face. She never looked back, never slowed, never once questioned the choice she had made.
*The two of them care about each other so much... that they forget to take care of themselves whenever the other is hurting.*
Drack drew a slow breath, lifting his eyes toward the sky for a brief moment before following after her once more.
*I suppose that's why I'm here...*
*To take care of her when she forgets to take care of herself...*