Mina quickly patted herself to assure that she was still clothed. She was. She gave a sigh, "At least I received a kiss... But where is Zyne now...?"

She sat up and turned to plant her heels onto the soft carpet and saw the note to her side. As she picked it up and read through it quickly (it was awfully short. That was often Zyne's way of writing. He was never too keen on making a big deal out of things. If he wanted something, he made it perfectly clear.), her eyebrows knit together in a fit of confusion.

She read his letter slowly out loud to make sure she was interpreting it correctly, "'Don't come after me. There are things I need to do alone.'"

She glanced up for a moment, the message starting to sink in, "He's left."

Her lips raised and her cheeks brightened as she gave a smile, "I wonder if that kiss meant anything."

She glanced back at the post it and turned it over to find more of Zyne's neat print, "'By the way, that kiss meant nothing. Get over it.'"

Mina's cheer turned into a scowl, "What a jerk. I wish he wouldn't be so moody all of the time. He seems like a female when she's going through her menstrual cycle every month."

She placed that fact aside for the time being on account that it was not a matter pertaining to hand. She found her way outside of his dorm (somehow... SOMEHOW... she'd found the key within Zyne's yuri doujinshi... *gag*) and then rushed off to Rei's. She had never been to Rei's dorm, so Mina wasn't sure what to expect. From the looks of the section, it was rather quiet and comfortable, quite different from Zyne's surroundings.

She pounded the palm of her hand against the blonde oak door, "Rei! Rei! Let me in!"

A couple moments later, a very sleepy Rei answered the door. She gave a yawn and blinked at Mina, "I don't wanna' buy any of your cookies. Go away."

Mina ignored her obvious rudeness as she threw her arms around Rei's neck and hugged her, "Rei, tell me what day this is that I have been blessed with!"

Rei hesitantly pushed herself away from Mina, a little surprised at the blonde's eagerness, "Mina, why are you still wearing that dress? Did you fall asleep like that?"

"No," Mina shook her head and then she continued, "Tell me what today is!"

Rei didn't think she was going to have much luck getting Mina to 'fess up, "Mina... it's the day after yesterday..."

"......" Mina blinked at her blankly. Then she folded her arms over her chest crossly, "...I know that! I mean, give me the date!"

Rei sighed softly. Maybe Mina was delirious?

"It's the unknown day of the unknown month of the unknown year. There is no proof of the basis for our calendar. Those items were lost so long ago, Mina. Seriously, are we even thriving in reality? Maybe this is just a fantasy that we have all created ourselves..." Rei spoke slowly to make her point.

Mina was silent for a moment as she took in Rei's explanation and theory, "...Time has no meaning. My prosperity reigns, Rei. Unfortunately, not all things are well."

"What do you mean, Mina? Has it to do with Instructor Sarevok?" asked Rei.

Mina's cheeks flushed, "How did you know about that...?"

Rei gave a shrug as her eyes softened, "News travels fast here in the facility. What happened?"

"...I see..." Mina responded, "Zyne protected me the entire night. After Yadin tried to... you know... Zyne and I went back to his dorm. Zyne invited me in and spoke of the night. Zyne... Zyne is... he is no longer our instructor..."

Rei reached out a hand to comfort Mina, but the blonde shook her head as she continued, "He left the facility last night after drugging me. At this moment, I don't care what you think, but I'm going after him. He didn't even clarify why he was leaving."

Rei had never seen Mina so determined to do something. It was quite obvious that Mina was following her heart. She had put the speed of concern on full throttle and here she was, ready to fend off everything and anything. Rei knew better than to stop her. Although Mina wasn't the greatest with sound judgement, perhaps this whole ordeal would result in some adventure, which was much better than being stuck in the facility.

Rei's eyes smiled, "If we're going after him, where are we headed?"

Mina was all set for a lecture, but when it didn't come, she was placed in awe, "W-what?"

"I'm here to back you up, one hundred and ten percent. Where are we going?" Rei asked.

Mina brought her left hand to her chin thoughtfully. She closed her eyes, trying to recall everything Zyne had said. As her eyelashes lifted, her hand dropped to her side, "Zyne said he was going to a town called Karsh. I suppose we'll go there first. Maybe we'll find some leads as to why Zyne went there."

"I know the way to Karsh," Rei replied, "When I first arrived here. I stopped by the town before coming."

"Good. How far away is it?" asked Mina.

Rei glanced at the ceiling and began to make some calculations, "If we travel quick enough, we should make it by this evening's sunset."

Mina gave her consent and managed to leave the facility without being noticed (or so they thought). Evem if they had been noticed, they were going to go anyway. The journey to Karsh was paved with hot, dry sand and the climate was so hot that even Rei's straight hair started to gain a slight curve. Mina wondered if dragging Rei along was such a good idea. She'd always felt that she was too dependent on the ebony-haired female. Rei was always there, whether she was lecturing or listening. She had so many opportunities to make something big of herself. Rei Kasumi was surely a messenger from the goddesses above!

Anyway, had it not been for Rei's optimism and encouragement, Mina might not have survived the sand-stormed desert path. When they finally arrived in Karsh, Rei's calculations paid off. The sun had just begun to fall into the horizon in the far off distance.

It had been a while since the citizens of Karsh had seen females actually make it into the town of ruins. Dunes and mountains of sand surrounded Karsh, so outsiders had often wondered how the people lived there.

Mina panted as she pulled her hair back and put it into a bun. Her hair, damp as it was, remained in the position with no added effort.

An elderly woman approached her, "What brings a pair of young girls through the flames of Hell to come here...?"

Neither girl could speak too well due to the harsh effects of the dry air. The elderly woman's bony fingers shook as they held out a ladle of cool water. She first quenched Mina's tongue and then Rei's (just to be fair, you know).

Mina smiled gratefully, her bottom lip split by a single grain of sand, "We came from the Mecian Apparition on a search for a young man."

The woman nodded politely. Her greying hair was stringy and so oily that the two girls felt that she smelled of a dead animal carcass. As you grew older, however, little things like that weren't so important. Obviously, the woman was not fortunate, but she did not seem dissatisfied with her way of living.

"Please pardon me for asking, but what happened here?" asked Rei.

As the old woman parted her lips to smile, the two girls noticed her rancid teeth of green, a sight that was most unbecoming, "This town... has been cursed with eternal sorrow and pain."

Mina and Rei must have looked completely clueless because the old woman started again, "Before a young man by the name of Boinne came here, Karsh was a lively town, not like it is now. He cursed this place with his black magic of death and misery. In the end, the families were forced to dig for ground water in order to take rare showers and quench themselves. It's all we can do to stay alive. Yet we have lived this life for so long, we no longer envy others. We have learned how to cooperate and love one another. If you are in need of guidance, you should go visit that village's shrine furthest back in this town. If you need help, come back to me and I'll aid you two as well as I can."

Mina and Rei gave her their thanks and the two headed through the lifeless town until they came to the ruins of the temple. It must have been built to honour the goddesses, but then again... maybe the goddesses were just a fantasy as well...

When the two entered, there were two stairwells, one on each side, and then a path that led straight forward. The two girls parted, Rei accepting the stairwell, and Mina the path.

Mina's soft footsteps created so little sound that only something close to the ground would have heard them. She stepped over the rubble and debris of statues and pillars along the way and when she entered the room that held the altar she froze. He was right there in front of her and she couldn't even move. When she finally started to react again, she took a couple more steps to him.

Zyne's back was turned to her; his head was tilted; his hair was plastered to his neck and his forehead due to the sweat he was drenched in. Even this temple, a part of his family heritage, had been destroyed. Once again, he had been too late to save this moment. Not even he could predict how many lives had been lost.

Mina's heart went out to him as her voice softened, "...Zyne-"

His voice bellowed into her ears, "Stay back!"