[b]Mei Song[/b]

"You're not going."

Again, Mei would hear the same words leave her father's mouth as she headed for the door, the expressions on her parents' face both defiant and grim. After being comforted by Duncan and Eika, Mei had made the decision to leave the abandoned facility and return to her home, to deliver news of her brother's condition.

It was received as well as she expected.

"After telling us what happened to Tyler, how it could take [i]weeks[/i] for him t-to...you honestly think we'll let you go now?" Her mother was the next to speak, her eyes brimming with tears. "We told the both of you not to join that god-forsaken faction! And now look what happened!"

"Mum...please." Mei's words were raw and strained, daring not to look into her mother's eyes as her hand rested on the doorknob. "We both knew how dangerous it could be. And he's recovering! Tyler's strong, you'll see."

"No means no." Mr Song was a man of few words, but when he did speak, everyone paid attention. "I don't care what you say those mercenaries can do, Tyler's only a boy. And I most certainly won't risk losing you too over the same foolish notion. Know your place and keep your nose out."

Her father's harsh words were followed by her mother's hoarse sobs, spelling the end of any further argument. Her father had been a part of one of Timber's many resistance factions, and one particular uprising had caused him to see the violent deaths of some of his closest friends. The man barely smiled these days, haunted by his failures, and Mei knew that discovering Tyler's condition would wound him deeper than he would dare to show. 

"...Fine." Mei turned away from the door, a weak smile on her lips as her mother's expression warped to that of relief. "I'll stay here."

It wasn't until the morning that they woke with a piece of paper to find that she wasn't.

[hr]

By the time Mei had consulted with her contacts and returned to the abandoned facility, she was quick to discover that she had missed the next mission's briefing, to her ire. They probably moved on without her, considering her too traumatized from the condition of her brother. But Mei knew one thing, and that was that Tyler would not want her to give up on the Faction's objective. There was a job to be done, and she would gladly do it in his stead. 

Upon hearing of the group's intentions for boarding the train, Mei decided on making a mad dash there, in the slim hopes of catching them before they left for Deling City. Before doing so however, she heard an audible crash where the infirmary had been allocated followed by a male shriek. Without a moment of hesitation, she and a few other SeeDs headed for the room, apprehension consuming them as they bust the door open. 

"What on earth-?"

"[i]Syrus?[/i] Mei stumbled over his name in disbelief as the male that Duncan had claimed to be unconscious for at least [i]weeks,[/i] was there, next to Kein and looking around completely wild like a caged animal. It wasn't possible, was it...?

"How-" Mei's mouth hung open uselessly, looking from Kein back to the red haired enigma with a look that either portrayed her wanting to hug him or slap him. "You're [i]okay![/i]"