Another Chronicle

by TheOtherRed

Summary:

A familiar scene - a sealed room on an ancient ship, containing a red sword. But Rex isn't the one to touch it. A sort-of AU where Nia is the Aegis's driver. Some things play out similarly, others not so much, as the world gradually begins to spiral in a slightly different direction.

Chapter 1: CH1: A Small Change

"Excellent work. You're not half bad, you know that?" Nia said as she strode onto the black metal deck of the ancient ship that, just a few minutes ago, had been brought to the surface of the cloud sea. The Gormotti driver's comment was directed at one of the salvagers responsible – the only one she'd cared to talk to, the boy named Rex.

"I do this for a living, remember?" Rex replied, just a small hint of smugness in his voice. Truth be told, Nia had been very unimpressed when the chairman of the Argentum Guild, Bana, had introduced Rex. He was just some dumb kid, how could he possibly be one of Argentum's best salvagers? But apparently, the oversized Nopon knew what he was talking about, because Rex had done his job well.

"All teams, proceed inside when ready!" barked a voice to Nia's left, cutting her off from further conversation, not that she had anything else to say anyway. Other salvagers began to scramble across the deck of the ship, attending to various tasks. What all of them were doing, Nia didn't know, and she didn't really care either. Behind her came the sound of heavy footsteps, and she could already guess who was approaching.

"Right then. Let's get moving." drawled Malos as he strolled past. Yep, that was pretty predictable. Malos was anything but subtle – huge, imposing, dressed all in black, you'd usually know when he was nearby. Trailing behind him were his Blade, Sever, along with Jin. As Jin passed by Rex, however, he stopped.

"You. With us." the white-haired swordsman ordered, his eyes boring holes into the young salvager from behind his mask. But then, his eyes did that all the time. Jin was just... like that.

"Me?" Rex asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Nia understood the feeling.

"You're going to drag the kid along? Seriously?" she demanded irritably. Yeah, her opinion of Rex had improved considerably – between him proving perfectly competent at his job, and their conversation about Elysium the night before... but that didn't mean that Nia wanted to put up with him tagging along with her everywhere. Especially when she had no idea what might be waiting in the depths of the ancient vessel. "Why would Jin want him? He's not even a bloody driver." she thought.

Jin didn't even bother to respond, turning and continuing to walk away. Not that Nia had expected to get anything out of him anyway, Jin wasn't exactly the most talkative man she'd ever met. That honor probably went to Mikhail, who thankfully wasn't here right now. Hearing the exchange, Malos had stopped and turned back to face Nia and Rex, the look on his face just irritating Nia further. She could already tell that, whatever he was about to say, it would make her want to punch him.

"Guess he thinks you need all the help you can get." he said in that casually smug tone of his. Nia's eyes narrowed, her catlike ears flattening against her head, as she grunted in indignation. The sight of it simply caused Malos to belt out a malicious laugh before going to follow after Jin.

"Nia..." Rex started, a note of concern in his voice, but whatever he was planning to say was cut off when the Gormotti's glare turned on him.

"Ugh! Don't just stand there! You've got your orders!" she snapped angrily. Unable to retaliate against Malos, her frustration was directed onto the nearest available target instead – which happened to be Rex. She actually felt a little bit bad as he turned away, the concerned look on his face replaced with a confused, slightly offended one. "Come on, Dromarch..." Nia muttered to the enormous tiger-like Blade at her side. Dromarch had been there the entire time, but remained silent for the whole exchange. Nia was fine with that, though, she really didn't need any of the Blade's commentary, not now. Together, she, Rex, and Dromarch followed after the others, towards the massive doorway that led into the depths of the ship.

---

The inside of the ship wasn't really that different from the outside – all dark metal, constructed in a style that Nia didn't recognize. The sound of rain battering against the hull was omnipresent, leaving the Gormotti wondering whether the storm outside was getting worse, or if it was just the echo. And it was humid. So humid, in fact, that clouds of fog rose from the floor and rolled around their feet as they walked. The dampness in the air permeated everything, and Nia felt like it was weighing down on her, seeping into her clothes and hair, a sensation that she found rather unpleasant. Especially since she was wearing a baggy jumpsuit. "Wonder how bad Dromarch's got it, with his fur 'n all." she mused. But if her Blade was at all bothered, he didn't feel the need to show it.

"My lady, I must admit, this vessel is simply fascinating." Dromarch commented, looking around with a hint of wonder on his otherwise-stoic face. Nia gave a small hum of acknowledgment, but said nothing. Fascinating wasn't exactly the word she'd use to describe a bland metal hallway with flickering ether lights, but then, Dromarch was always more interested in this old stuff than she was. And apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"I'll say!" Rex chimed in, sidling up alongside them. Nia had to suppress a chuckle when she saw the intrigued look on his face. "Never salvaged anything like this before... D'ya know how old it is?"

Dromarch hummed in thought. "Master Rex, I'm afraid I couldn't begin to tell you." he admitted with a small sigh. That answer just seemed to make Rex even more interested, though.

"If only Gramps were here, I bet he would have some idea." he said brightly, and this time Nia did chuckle.

"There you go with your gramps again. You really look up to him, don'tcha?" In the brief time she'd known Rex, he had seemed to like bringing up his so-called gramps. The one who'd taught him to fight with arts, the one who helped raise him after his parents died. Clearly, whoever he was, he'd had a big influence on the salvager.

"Of course I do." Rex confirmed, nodding his head. Then something seemed to occur to him, as he shot a sidelong glance at Nia. "Is that a problem?" he asked, his voice taking on a slightly defensive tone, and Nia had to resist the urge to sigh. She wasn't even trying to be confrontational this time.

"No, not at all." she replied immediately, giving a small smile to show that she was sincere. "It's kind of sweet, actually." Though of course she wasn't ever going to admit to thinking that. Thankfully, Rex seemed satisfied with her response, as the conversation trailed off into comfortable silence... for about five seconds.

"If you brats are done yapping, then hurry it up!" Malos's voice barked from up ahead. Nia, Rex, and Dromarch all shared annoyed glances, but nobody felt the need to say anything. It seemed they were all united in their feelings about Malos as they hurried to catch up to him and Jin. Nia still wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for in the derelict ship, but apparently they'd know it when they saw it. Must've been something pretty important to be worth all the trouble, though.

---

A door. Malos and Jin had insisted on Rex coming along... so they could make him open a door. An unusually fancy door, which almost looked out-of-place compared to the rest of the ship, but a door nonetheless. According to Jin, it would only open to one of Rex's people, but Nia wasn't sure what he meant by that. She knew Rex was Leftherian, but there wasn't really anything special about them that she was aware of... they were just humans like any other, right? She'd known Jin long enough to realize that trying to press him for answers wouldn't work, though. Not that it mattered, since Rex was busy doing that anyway.

Malos let out a growl of irritation. "Hurry up and do it! We're not paying you to ask dumb questions!" he bellowed, and Nia flinched beside him.

"What the hell... You can't treat your hired hands this way..." Rex muttered, and Nia didn't blame him. Malos was always short-tempered and impatient, but he was being especially bad about it today. Either whatever was behind that door was a really big deal, or else he was just feeling cranky. Probably both.

The Gormotti and her Blade both watched with interest as Rex walked over to examine the door, pondering to himself about how to open it. After a few moments of mulling it over, he reached out to touch the symbol emblazoned in the center of the door – which Jin had identified as "Addam's crest". To the surprise of everyone except Jin and Malos, the symbol suddenly pulsed with blue light at the contact, and the door swiftly slid open.

"Most intriguing..." Nia heard Dromarch murmur beside her, and this time she actually agreed with his interest. Even if she would've preferred to call it weird. Nia ran to catch up with Rex as he strode into the hallway beyond the door, noticing that raw ether crackled around their feet as they went. There was something powerful here, she was sure of it now.

"Wait." commanded Jin from behind her. He hadn't even raised his voice, yet somehow it carried through the room even better than Malos's shouting. Nia stopped for a moment, glancing back. "Open that one too." and she realized that he was talking to Rex, no doubt about the other door at the end of the hall, which had the same crest on it. Another touch, another glow, and that one slid open too.

For some reason Nia got the feeling that she should hang back, let Malos and Jin go in first... but she ignored it, rushing ahead until she was standing alongside Rex. Malos snorted as she went, but didn't stop her, so she figured it was fine.

"Whoa... The hell's that...?" she gasped as she and Rex peered into the huge, foggy chamber. Before them sat a small pedestal, with a shiny red object sticking out of it. Behind that was a large glass tube, holding what looked like a humanoid figure. Rex started taking a few steps forward, but Nia stopped him with a hand on his chest – silently saying "let me go first". The salvager didn't look entirely happy about it, but nodded. A small part of Nia noticed that Jin and Malos sure were taking a long time to walk down the hall.

As she walked up to the object, it became obvious that it was a red sword, glowing green ether lines running through it, with a similarly-green gem embedded at the hilt. Nia recognized it as a Blade weapon, though not quite like any she'd seen before. Which meant that the girl in the tube – for it was indeed a girl, with red hair and rather revealing clothing – must have been a Blade. "Okay. This is too bloody strange." For some reason, something about the sword tempted Nia to touch it, and she hesitantly raised her hand.

"My lady?" asked Dromarch from right behind her. She'd almost forgotten that he was following her for a moment there. Still, she didn't feel the need to respond. Maybe it was the raw ether emanating from it, maybe it was her imagination, but the sword seemed almost... entrancing. She reached out, barely even aware that she was doing it.

"Damnit Nia, don't you even think about touching that!" roared Malos's voice, shocking the Gormotti back to reality in a way that Dromarch's smooth tones couldn't... but a moment too late, as her fingers curled around the sword's grip. And then... nothing. She'd been expecting a flash of light, or an alarm, or something, but the sword didn't react at all. Nor did the comatose Blade in the tube. A heavy silence hung over the room for a few seconds, before Nia looked back.

"Is that it? Gettin' all worked up about..." she started to say, but cut herself off when she really caught sight of everyone else. Rex looked as confused as she felt, Dromarch was concerned, those were both to be expected. But Malos had a look of pure fury in his eyes which dwarfed his usual anger, though it almost seemed like he was looking past Nia to the mysterious redhead. Jin, meanwhile, had tensed up, and one of his hands was gripped tightly onto the handle of his katana, as if he'd been about to use it. "Jinnnn?" Nia dragged out nervously. The way he was staring at her was very, very unnerving. Slowly, as he seemed to realize that nothing was happening, he lowered his hand from his sword and crossed his arms, saying nothing. At the same time, Malos seemed to be calming down a bit too, putting on one of his normal glares rather than the face of raw hatred.

"Tch! Seems it won't respond to her... Good, saves us a bit of mess." the black-haired man growled, more to himself than anyone else.

"Respond? What'dya mean by that?" Rex asked, just a moment before Nia would've said the same thing. As usual, however, his questioning went unanswered. At this point, Jin and Malos barely even seemed to be aware of the fact that he was there. Fortunately, he was clearly smart enough to realize that it was a bad time to press the matter.

"Nia, get out of the way." Jin ordered coolly, walking towards her, where she was still holding on to the sword. At that moment, Nia felt a small spark from the blade, almost like a jolt of electricity, which she recognized as an ether current. With the way Jin and Malos were acting, however, she quickly decided not to mention it, simply releasing the sword and stepping away, next to Dromarch.

The beast-type Blade looked at her with obvious worry in his eyes, and Nia realized that he must've read the scene the same way she did – they'd stumbled into a situation that was far more dangerous than they originally thought.

"I'm fine, Dromarch..." she murmured, answering his unspoken question, as they both looked towards Jin, who had stopped in front of the sword. In a flash, he drew his own weapon and delivered a powerful slice onto the object before him, shattering it into tiny shards of metal. Rex let out a surprised gasp. Was he upset about a potentially-priceless bit of salvage being destroyed... or just shocked by Jin's speed?

Malos let out a hmph, sounding vaguely satisfied. "If we're done wasting time, then come on. Let's grab the Aegis." he said, his voice back to its usual level of smugness, as he strolled past everyone else, up to the encapsulated girl. Jin, meanwhile, had exited the room in his usual silence, his footsteps echoing down the hall. With a grunt of effort, Malos wrapped his arms around the glass pod and wrenched it from the wall it was embedded in, hoisting it over one shoulder once it was free.

"Whoa... That thing's gotta weigh a ton!" Rex exclaimed, to which Malos only scoffed in response. He gave a small jerk of his head, signaling Rex and Nia to follow him, as he too left the chamber. At this point, Nia was boiling over with about a million questions, and opened her mouth to demand some answers...

Only to be stopped when one of Dromarch's huge paws rested on her shoulder. "Perhaps we ought to keep our heads down for the moment." he cautioned quietly, shooting a quick look at Rex to tell him that he should do the same. Nia glanced at Malos's back, remembering his expression of unbridled anger, and gave a small nod.

"Yeah... maybe you're right. Come on, Rex, let's not keep them waiting." she agreed. "The sooner we're done with this job, the better."

---

The journey back out of the ship was far more tense than the trip in. Rex, ever the optimist, had tried to make conversation a couple of times, but Nia wasn't in the mood for it. She couldn't shake that nagging feeling that had bothered her ever since she'd grabbed the sword, the sense that there was something really wrong about the whole ordeal. Once they emerged onto the deck, she got her confirmation.

Malos had stopped, the tube still slung over his shoulder like it was nothing, as he glanced around at the various other members of the salvaging team. Nia had all but forgotten about them, she wasn't entirely sure why they still needed to be there.

"Nia..." Malos drawled, and Nia instinctively knew, what he was about to say wouldn't be good. "Put an end to the Leftherian brat and the rest of this rabble."

"What!?" exclaimed Nia and Rex in unison. "You don't mean..." Nia began, though she already knew the answer.

"The price for their lives has already been paid in full." Malos replied casually, not caring that Rex could hear him. "Now that we've got the Aegis... the fewer living souls who know about it, the better."

"Nia... You're not seriously going to..." Rex stammered, looking at the Gormotti with wide eyes. This situation had escalated from uncomfortable to insane in an instant. Nia hesitated for just a moment, not knowing what to do, but then she saw the shock on Rex's face, and her mind was made up.

"No way!" she snapped defiantly, her hands curling into fists. "I dunno what the hell's going on, what all this Aegis nonsense's about... But Rex and these people haven't done anything wrong!" Malos turned towards her as she said that, his gaze cold, and Nia couldn't help it. Her bravado faltered a bit and her knees started shaking. Having Malos and his imposing Blade, Sever, bearing down on her was incredibly intimidating.

"Standing up for some pathetic whelps, Nia? Have you forgotten why you're here?" he asked sharply. Seeing that she was still glaring at him, he let out a growl. "Fine! If you're just going to be a hindrance..." Nia didn't get a chance to respond to that before Malos's free hand smashed into the side of her head with tremendous force, sending her sprawling onto the deck, everything around her spinning.

"Nia!"

"My lady!"

That was the last thing she could comprehend before the world went black.

Chapter 2: CH2: The Aegis's Driver

Nia was no stranger to waking up to find herself in a field of grass. Before she'd met Jin, she might have even described it as "normal". In those days, though, at least she always had Dromarch to lie on, rather than just the hard dirt. No such luck here... wherever here was. Slowly, she stood up, rapidly becoming aware of the fact that her head was ringing. Or maybe that was just the bell that was tolling incessantly in the background.

She glanced around warily, getting a better look at her surroundings now that she was standing. She was in what seemed to be a large clearing, at the base of a hill. The vibrant green grass which seemed to cover every inch of ground reminded her a bit of Gormott, but she was pretty sure it wasn't. The air here was a bit different, a bit cleaner. The grass grew longer, and the trees were all small, none of the massive oaks which dominated Gormott. In fact, for some reason, it occurred to Nia that she wasn't on a titan at all... "Tch, that's dumb. Where else you gonna find land?"

Then her eyes seized on the fact that she wasn't alone – standing at the top of the hill, where a single tree grew, was an immobile figure. A girl with red hair and an outfit which bared most of her back. Nia couldn't help but think that it must get really chilly on windy days. The girl seemed familiar for some reason, but just like everything else, Nia was having trouble remembering why. Seeing nothing else for it, she tromped up the hill until she was a few steps behind the stranger, who hadn't moved at all.

"Oi. You happen to know where we are?" the Gormotti broke the silence. The other girl didn't turn around, but she did look up slightly, and Nia knew that she'd been heard. As she waited for a response, she gazed down at what the redhead had been staring at, seeing in the distance more grassy fields, a large lake, and what looked to be a small town of stone buildings.

"It's such a sad sound, isn't it?" the girl asked abruptly, and Nia raised an eyebrow.

"What, the bell? Yeah, it's giving me a right headache..." she replied, rubbing her temples with one hand. Though, in truth, she didn't really think the ringing was the cause of her discomfort. She had a vague image of being hit by something, but what and why were still evasive. It took a moment to realize that the conversation had stalled, and she crossed her arms with a huff of irritation. "Now, you gonna answer my question today?"

The girl finally turned to look at her, an unreadable look in her red eyes. Nia briefly noticed the green core crystal on the girl's chest, giving her yet another wave of deja vu. "...This is Elysium." the Blade said after a pause, a small smile gracing her face. Nia wasn't sure how her own expression looked after hearing that, but it was probably pretty amusing.

"You're joking... you mean to tell me, it was real all along!?" she exclaimed in disbelief. Elysium was just a nice-sounding story for kids, or so Nia had always thought, but apparently she was actually standing there? What? At that, the girl looked slightly bashful.

"Well, this is actually just a memory of it. What little bit I can remember of the place where Father made us. But I'm certain that it's real." she admitted.

Nia hummed in thought at that. "She seems pretty sure of it... but a memory? So this is, what, a... shared hallucination or something?" The Gormotti didn't really get it, the explanation just raised more questions. She decided to start with a simple one. "So, you got a name?" The redhead smiled a bit brighter at that.

"I'm Pyra. And you're Nia, aren't you?" she answered immediately. Her tone was nothing but kind, but Nia couldn't help but feel suspicious. In her experience, people knowing her before she knew them was almost never a good thing.

"I am... feel like telling me how the hell you know that?" she replied edgily, eyeing Pyra with a wary look on her face. Pyra's smile fell, clearly not expecting a hostile response. Nia almost felt bad about that, but didn't show it.

"When you touched the sword, there was a... connection. I could see what you were seeing. And Malos and Jin called you Nia." the redhead explained after a moment. The answer seemed to be honest, and Nia let her suspicions drop in order to focus more on what had been said.

"Malos and Jin... Sword... That bloody ship!" she exclaimed, to which Pyra nodded, as her memories of the day came rushing back to her. Traversing the ancient vessel, finding the odd sword and the girl she now knew was Pyra. And after that, refusing to murder innocent people and getting punched out for her trouble. "I... have to go back. Killing those people... or letting Malos kill them... doesn't sit right." she muttered sullenly. She wasn't really entirely sure what she was going to do, standing up to Malos had been more of a gut decision. Turning on him would mean turning on Jin, too, basically abandoning everything she had. But could she live with herself if she didn't? She already knew the answer to that.

"Nia..." Pyra started sympathetically. "I can tell this isn't easy for you. But, when you wake up, I promise that I'll help you. You can be my driver. The Aegis's driver." Nia didn't entirely know how to respond to that, which was good, because Pyra wasn't done talking. A guilty look crossed her face as she continued. "But... I have to ask you to promise something too. I want you to take me to Elysium, the real Elysium, atop the World Tree."

Nia groaned. She should've known there'd be a catch to Pyra's assistance. Everyone always had a catch, didn't they? And in this case, it was one that she wasn't sure was even possible. Pyra herself admitted that this place was just a vague memory – it could've all been imaginary, it didn't prove anything about a real Elysium. And why should she trust Pyra's supposed help anyway? Sure, the redhead seemed nice and honest at first glance... but was she really?

But as she pondered that, something Rex had said to her echoed in her mind. "Everyone could have peace and security. I mean, a dream like that, isn't that worth believing in?" Nia sighed, folding her arms. What the hell.

"...I'll try."

Pyra smiled warmly. "Thank you, Nia. Now, place your hand on my chest, and you'll become my driver." The Gormotti couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the way that was phrased. "You gotta know how that sounds, don'tcha?" Even if she obviously meant her core crystal. Still, seeing nothing else to do, Nia slowly reached up and touched the tips of her fingers to the green jewel. She felt a pulse of ether, like when she had awakened Dromarch, though this seemed more powerful, and then everything turned white.

---

Rex strained with effort as he desperately tried to push back the glowing blue sword that was being pressed down on him. He had watched with horror as Malos swatted Nia aside like she was nothing, but before he could take a swing at the hulking man, he'd been attacked by the monstrous Blade Sever. He heard screams behind him along with the sounds of objects falling to the deck, and he knew that Jin must have been slaughtering the rest of the salvage team... but there was nothing he could do about it. He was using all his effort just to stay alive, and he had a hunch that Sever was just toying with him. He'd avoided a few swings and then locked swords with the creature... but he was a human with a sword that was probably made from scrap metal, against a Blade with an ether-powered weapon. The only reason they were even struggling was because Sever wasn't trying.

"This is crazy! You lot are bloody mental!" he grunted, his arms starting to shake from the effort of holding back Sever's sword. The Blade responded by pressing slightly harder with a mocking hiss. One final yelp cut through the air as Jin finished off the last of the others, and he and Malos turned towards the ongoing blade-lock. The black-haired man scoffed with annoyance.

"Sever, you're still wasting time with that brat? Knock it off, the Monoceros'll be here soon!" he barked, shifting the pod that was still resting over his shoulder.

Sever hissed at Rex again, more dangerously this time. "Looks like we'll have to... cut this short." If one of Rex's salvager buddies had made a pun like that, he might've laughed. As it was, though, he was a bit too busy yelping in shock as his sword was effortlessly knocked aside, the force of the push sending him sprawling on his ass. The menacing Blade loomed over him, and he grit his teeth, waiting for the inevitable strike. But it never came. Instead, Malos let out a shout of surprise and both Rex and Sever immediately looked over at him. The tube in his arm had inexplicably burst into flames, and he swiftly threw it onto the deck of the ship.

The burning pod was still for just a moment before exploding into a massive pillar of flames which reached high into the sky before arcing downwards, smashing onto a high perch above the entrance to the ship's depths. The roaring inferno cleared, revealing a girl with vibrant red hair, lines of green ether shining brightly across her body. She stared intently down at Jin and Malos, but said nothing.

"So she's awake... But who...?" Malos growled, doing a poor job of containing his anger at the development. All of a sudden, his eyes widened in realization. "NIA!" he spat hatefully, and everyone's eyes fell on the Gormotti driver.

As if on cue, she slowly pushed herself up from the deck of the ship. Dromarch, who had curled himself around her unconscious form protectively – not doing anything else under threat from Jin – gazed at her with wide, worried eyes as he stood to her side.

"My lady-"

"There'll be time to fuss about me later, Dromarch." she interrupted, her voice shaking slightly from a mix of anger and fear. The bestial blade glanced over at Malos and realized that she was right – this situation was sure to go badly, it was just a matter of when. Nia held up one of her hands, almost instinctively, and in a flash of light, a very familiar red sword – one everyone present had seen Jin smash to pieces - appeared in her grip. Only, this time, it was active: the red edges had slid apart, revealing a golden core, from which projected a brilliant blade of what looked to be burning ether, as long as Nia was tall.

"Whoa..." Rex whispered in awe, and Nia was relieved to notice that he was still alive. Even if, judging by the blood that stained the deck, he might've been the only one...

"So your shitty bleeding heart wasn't enough, huh!? You had to go and be the Aegis's driver!" Malos bellowed, and Nia again saw the look of extreme hatred in his eyes. She was really starting to regret the idea of standing up to him, and the actual fighting hadn't even started yet. Pyra jumped down from her perch and landed next to the Gormotti, her presence helping to bolster Nia's courage just a bit.

Jin stepped forwards, placing one hand on Malos's shoulder, and the black-haired man seemed to calm slightly. But only slightly. In a way, it made for an odd mirror of Pyra and Nia.

"Nia." Jin started, his voice carrying an enormous amount of weight like always. "I'm offering you a choice. Don't take it for granted. Surrender the Aegis, and we'll let you leave alive." It was probably the most Jin had said all day. Malos snorted derisively at the offer, clearly not approving, but he didn't protest.

Nia glanced at the flaming sword in her hands, and then at the metal floor before her, where the rain was steadily washing away the evidence of what had happened to the salvagers. She knew very well that Jin didn't hand out mercy lightly. Despite being much less openly-angry, facing down Jin was way more difficult than Malos. Nia had never liked Malos to begin with, while Jin... She closed her eyes and sighed, placing her free hand on Dromarch's back for a sense of comfort. The tiger-like Blade didn't even need to say anything, she knew that he would support her no matter what.

"I can't do that. I can't walk away while you're... murdering kids and doing Architect-knows-what!" she said defiantly, her eyes flicking over to Rex for a moment. She couldn't stomach the idea of this stupid salvager kid who dreamed of Elysium getting murdered just for signing onto the wrong job with the wrong people. "Besides... I did tell Pyra I'd try to help her. Even if her whole story could be a load of guff, I can't just hand her over right after sayin' that."

"And there you go again with that shit." Malos drawled irritably, starting to stalk towards her with a threatening gait. At some point, Sever had tossed him their sword. "Should've just taken the deal... I'm all out of patience, you little-" But he was stopped by Jin once again placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Malos. I'll handle this myself." the white-haired swordsman stated in that ever-cool tone of his. Malos looked at him with a hint of surprise and... concern?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Malos grunted something vague about not overdoing it and crossed his arms, but didn't object further as Jin strode past him, one hand resting on the grip of his katana. Nia felt Dromarch tensing up beside her, and she could tell they were both thinking the same thing. This was bad. Very bad. She'd been steeling herself for a fight with Malos. Jin may not have been a driver, but that was because he didn't need a Blade backing him up. He was more than capable enough on his own. Nia hadn't seen him in action very often, but when she had... it didn't tend to last long. The way he was slowly marching towards her was purely for intimidation. Any second now, he'd...

The sound of clashing steel suddenly rang out as Nia just barely managed to deflect Jin's lunging stab. He had crossed half the length of the ship in a second to begin his assault. Nia hardly had a moment to think before another strike came, this one a diagonal slash. She swiped her sword as quick as she could in the opposite direction to block the attack. The edge of Jin's katana was just inches from her face when she managed to knock it aside. She didn't get an opening to strike back, though, Jin had recovered his stance immediately. The two's swords clashed together several more times, ether blade vs cold steel, and Nia knew she was outmatched. She could only block and parry every slash at the last possible moment, every time, and it felt more like luck that she was managing that. She knew how to wield a sword, even if she hadn't done it in a long time, but Jin was on a whole other level. He was pushing her back.

As far as Nia's arms were concerned, she'd been fighting off Jin for ages. In reality, it was just a couple seconds. Dromarch, who sensed that his lady would soon be overwhelmed, leapt into action. His enormous form pounced at Jin, slashing towards the swordsman's head with one of his ring blades held in his mouth. Jin easily reacted in time, dodging back to leave Dromarch's attack hitting empty air. But the bestial Blade simply landed on his feet next to Nia, shooting Jin a protective glare. It had managed to give his lady a second to breath, at least.

"Nia! Don't forget, I'm with you!" Pyra called. The Gormotti nodded, wondering briefly why the redhead had been so silent until now. Maybe she was just waiting to see how the situation unfolded? Still, it gave her an idea.

"Pyra, gimme some cover!" she yelled, tossing the Aegis sword towards its owner, who caught it reflexively, a look of determination on her face. Nia vaulted up on Dromarch's back, grabbing the twin rings from him. Trying to best Jin in a one-on-one stationary swordfight was suicide, working with Dromarch she'd be more mobile... and might just have a chance of staying alive.

Dromarch barreled forwards, rushing straight at Jin, who raised his sword to counterattack... only to have to swing it to the side as Pyra sent a wave of fire hurtling towards him. Jin's sweeping motion easily swatted aside the flames, but then Nia and Dromarch were upon him, Nia's ring blade slashing straight towards his face. He jerked his head backwards, but not quite fast enough, and the ring left a thin cut across his cheek as it passed. Jin's sword whirled around to strike back, but Dromarch pounced high into the air, over Jin's head, Nia jumping off his back. Nia brought her rings down for a falling overhead slice, while at the same time Pyra dashed at Jin's back, flames surrounding her outstretched sword as she went.

It should have been a fairly effective combination attack. Key word: should. Jin had been moving fast before, but now, it was like he just... flickered and instantly Pyra's fiery slash was interrupted and she crumpled to the deck as the flat of Jin's sword crashed into the side of her head. She didn't immediately move to get up. Then his sword whipped towards Nia, who had struck the empty spot where Jin had been less than a second ago. The swipe was low, cutting across Nia's left leg diagonally at the knee. It was shallow enough that it probably wouldn't do any permanent damage... but it still hurt like hell, and Nia fell to her other knee with a gasp of pain.

"My lady!" in an instant Dromarch was kneeling at her side. Before he could begin to concentrate his healing ether, however, Jin was looming over them, his expression as cold and intense as ever.

"Just give up. Your death will be quick... an act of mercy." he said. And, strangely enough, it sounded like he actually believed it – that dying here would be a merciful end. Nia simply looked up at him. For some reason her mind flashed back to the last time Jin had stood over her... but this time he wasn't offering his hand.

---

Rex didn't know what to do. At first, he'd watched the ferocious battle that broke out between Nia and Jin in awe – the way they were fighting was insane. He'd never seen a fight quite that intense before. And that guy Jin didn't even seem to be a driver. But then awe turned to apprehension when it became obvious that Nia was out of her league. He felt like he should do something... but if he just rushed in blindly, he'd only get in Nia's way. But he couldn't just stand there gawking either, he wasn't some Architect-damned coward. For a moment it looked like he might not have needed to, that Nia had turned the tables, but then Jin... Rex hadn't even seen him move and Nia and the new Blade (Pyra?) were on the ground.

"Your death will be quick... an act of mercy." he heard, and that was it. He had to do something right now, no way was he letting Nia and Dromarch get taken out by this psychopath.

"Leave her alone... you great bully!" he shouted angrily, running at Jin recklessly with his sword drawn. The white-haired swordsman instantly whirled around and locked their blades together. Rex got a distinct feeling of deja vu, but he could probably guess that Jin wasn't going to be wasting nearly as much time as Sever.

"Rex...?" Nia wondered as Dromarch dutifully took the opportunity to begin healing her. The soothing green ether washed over her body, easing the harsh stinging that had consumed her leg. In a minute or two she'd probably be ready to stand again.

"Tch. Look who finally decided to show up." drawled Malos, who had been spectating the entire time with a mix of boredom and annoyance. His gaze was now cast to the side of the ancient ship, where a sleek black vessel was pulling up. The Monoceros was finally here. "The hell took you three so long?" he mused rhetorically, though a smug smirk tugged at his face.

Jin easily shoved Rex off-balance, sending him stumbling backwards, and raised his sword to finish the salvager off... only to be forced to block a wave of fire that had surged at him from the side. Pyra was back on her feet. She slashed her sword several times through the air, sending several small orbs of fire flying at Jin to keep him busy while she rushed to Nia's side, helping the newly-healed Gormotti to stand up.

"Look out!" shouted Rex's voice suddenly. He had seen what could only be described as missile launchers emerging from the top of the ominous black ship that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The same one he'd noticed at Argentum, and again while he'd been keeping watch. A volley of rockets blasted out at where Nia and her two Blades were standing... but when the smoke cleared, they were unharmed. Dromarch had adopted a defensive posture, and surrounding him and the girls was a glowing yellow ether barrier, which faded away a moment later.

Turning to face Jin, Pyra held out her sword to Nia – signaling her to grab it. Instinctively, due to their bond as driver and Blade, she knew exactly what to do. Together the two of them held onto the weapon and rushed at Jin. When he raised his katana to swipe at them, Dromarch opened his mouth and spat out a blast of pressurized water as a covering shot. Nia and Pyra leapt up into the air, ether shining brightly all around them, and struck down towards Jin.

"Burning... Sword!" they yelled in unison as the amassed ether exploded into an enormous pillar of fire. When the flames cleared, however, Jin was standing there unharmed, his blade locked against theirs, holding it back without much trouble. To make matters worse, the Monoceros's guns had fixed their aim upon them again and were about to fire... Until an explosion rocked the battleship, wrecking one of the launchers.

"What!?" bellowed Malos angrily, as everyone's eyes turned to the sky. Soaring past was a flying titan, looking more or less like a dragon made of stone. A distinctive horn protruded visibly from its forehead, and there seemed to be a small structure on its back. Jin lowered his sword and backed off, keeping his gaze fixed on the titan. Nia, Pyra, and Dromarch were too surprised by the sudden rescue to capitalize on the opportunity.

"Azurda..." Pyra murmured, watching the titan circle around to make another pass. Nia didn't have any idea what that was supposed to mean.

Rex, meanwhile, let out a surprised and slightly joyful yell. "Gramps!" he exclaimed, and Nia's eyes widened at that. "He didn't mention his gramps was a bloody titan!" she thought.

"Jin... still you persist. And is that... Malos?" the titan growled, mostly to himself, as he passed overhead. He opened his mouth and several more fireballs shot out, bombarding the deck of the ancient ship and riddling it with holes. One such blast was directed at Jin, but he simply dispersed it with a slice of his sword just as he had done with Pyra's flames earlier. Seeing that his attacks were ineffective, the titan swooped down low, gliding by the side of the ship.

"Rex, my boy! Get on!" he yelled. The salvager didn't need to be told twice, sprinting for the edge of the ship and jumping off before anyone could stop him – not that they tried – and a moment later he was safe on Gramps's back.

"Nia!" Rex yelled over the wind as he gripped onto the titan. "Come on!" Nia was still a bit stunned by the whole thing, but nodded, hopping up on Dromarch's back, Pyra doing the same right behind her. The tiger-like Blade didn't usually carry two people, but that wasn't enough to stop him. He bolted for Gramps and gave a mighty leap, landing right next to Rex, Nia and Pyra tumbling off his back.

As they soared away, however, the Monoceros's remaining gun opened fire on Gramps, a volley of missiles blasting into his side before he could avoid them. His entire body rocked from the hit... and Nia, to her horror, found herself tumbling off the side, hurtling towards the cloud sea below.

"NIA!" shouted Rex, his eyes going wide, and before anyone else could even react he had dove off after her. The heavy metal parts of his salvaging suit made him fall faster and he quickly caught up with the Gormotti, wrapping one arm around her tightly. With the other, he fired his anchor up at Gramps and, to his immense relief, he felt it catch. The harsh jerk from their fall suddenly being stopped sent a lance of pain up Rex's arm, and he felt lucky that it wasn't torn from its socket. Still, pain or no, he didn't release the anchor, slowly retracting it to pull them back up. "I've gotcha..." he breathed to Nia, who was hyperventilating, too panicked to say anything at the moment.

Pyra and Dromarch watched anxiously as they saw the anchor catch on the wooden platform surrounding what seemed to be a salvaging crane. Neither of them dared breathe until they saw a head of brown hair rising into view. Rex pulled himself up onto Gramps's back with a groan. And clutched tightly in his arm was a silver-haired Gormotti, who he didn't release until they were both on solid footing.

"My lady! Thank goodness! Are you alright?" Dromarch exclaimed, relief palpable in his voice as he rushed to her side. Nia's knees had been too shaky for her to stand up right away, so she and Rex had simply sat down side-by-side on Gramps's back. Fortunately, it seemed they had managed to fly out of range of the Monoceros, because no more missiles came. In fact, the black ship didn't even seem to be following them. Was Jin just letting them go?

"I'm fine, Dromarch." Nia managed to groan. But the events of the day had taken their toll, and she was utterly exhausted. Barely a moment after she spoke, her body finally gave in, and Nia fell unconscious again. Nobody noticed that Gramps's flying was a bit less steady than it had been before the missiles struck.

Chapter 3: CH3: Welcome to Gormott

Rex slowly opened his eyes. He blinked blearily a few times, not really comprehending what he was seeing at first. He was looking upwards, and above him was what seemed to be thick forest canopy. That was definitely strange, but he was feeling a bit too tired to immediately start questioning it. He let out a weary groan, and suddenly there was the sound of something fairly large shifting nearby, seemingly in reaction to the noise.

"Ah, Master Rex. You're awake. Excellent." said a calm, smooth voice. Leaning into view was a large cat-like creature whose thick, fluffy white fur was striped with gray. Glowing on its armored chest plate was a blue fang-shaped crystal. Obviously, this rather distinctive figure could only be Nia's Blade. Or... one of them, anyway.

"Dromarch...?" Rex asked, starting to sit up. But the conversation was interrupted there - as he put weight onto his arms to push himself up, he was suddenly struck by a sharp burst of pain. He let out a gasp and flopped back down onto the ground, the stabbing sensation fading quickly as he did. Large blue eyes peered at him in concern, and Dromarch leaned his head down to get a closer look. The Blade gave a small hum, not seeing any immediately-visible damage on the boy's body, but Rex's reaction had obviously been one of pain.

"Tell me where it hurts." he instructed, his tone professional. He was a Blade who specialized in healing, after all, and he had tended to plenty of his lady's injuries over the years. This was just second nature to him.

"It was all in my left arm, especially at the shoulder." Rex replied, rubbing the offending appendage gingerly. Dromarch gave a small nod and eyed Rex's arm carefully. There didn't seem to be anything broken, likely a subtle dislocation or something of the sort. Nothing a bit of healing ether couldn't fix. It wouldn't be nearly as powerful without his lady's affinity bond, but he figured that he would still be able to manage it. He closed his eyes and concentrated, drawing as much ether as he could, and directed the energy down towards Rex. A green glow enveloped the salvager's body for a few moments, then faded away, and Dromarch exhaled, opening his eyes again.

"There. Try putting weight on it now." Rex did as he was told, cautiously starting to sit up again, and this time nothing stopped him. His arm felt a bit stiff, but fine. Since he was no longer in pain, he stood up off the ground and rolled his shoulders a bit.

"Yeah, that's a lot better! Thanks, Dromarch. Bet that's come in real handy with Nia, huh?" he said, turning to the tiger-like Blade with a smile. At that, Dromarch couldn't help but chuckle.

"Master Rex, you have no idea." he said with a hint of good-natured exasperation. Dromarch saw that Rex was obviously fine now, and felt a small bit of satisfaction towards his work. He had a sneaking suspicion of what could have caused the injury – it hadn't escaped his notice that Rex's left arm was the one which his salvaging anchor was attached to – but he chose not to comment on it. The salvager, meanwhile, had started looking around curiously, really taking in their surroundings for the first time.

As he had noticed when he woke up, they were in a forest. But not just any forest, one comprised of absolutely massive trees that stretched far above. The darkness cast by the thick canopy made it difficult to tell exactly what time it was – light enough to not be the middle of the night, but unclear beyond that. The area they were in was somewhat swampy, with damp soil, mist hanging in the air, and a small spring nearby.

"Where are we? And... how did we get here?" Rex wondered, looking to Dromarch with a confused expression. The salvager wasn't intimately familiar with all the various titans of the world – he'd heard of them, of course, but he wasn't exactly well-traveled. Fortunately, Dromarch was a bit more knowledgeable.

"This is Gormott. Somewhere in the lower regions... Along Ghostwood Road, if I'm recalling correctly." The Blade answered thoughtfully. He paused for a moment. "As for how... I can't say for sure, I had fallen asleep, but I believe the titan we escaped upon may have crash-landed." he continued, his voice turning slightly grim. Rex's eyes widened at that, and he started looking around frantically, as if he'd just realized something. Whatever he was looking for, though, he obviously didn't find it, and he looked back at Dromarch with worried eyes.

"I can't believe it slipped my mind... We have to find Gramps! And Nia!" he exclaimed. Dromarch walked up next to the salvager's side, giving him a determined nod. He had already been planning on searching for his lady, of course, he had just been making sure Rex was alright first. They had gone to some trouble at least partially for his sake, after all, Nia would want him to be okay.

"Indeed. Fortunately, my resonance with my lady should point us in the right direction."

---

Nia stood on the old wooden bridge, gazing up at the massive tree branch that had fallen across it, completely blocking the way forward. That was one of the problems of life in Gormott – giant trees meant having to deal with giant fallen limbs.

"That's just great. How're we gonna get past you?" she muttered to herself, her eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. Sure, she could try to climb over it, she was pretty decent at that, but this branch was pretty large even for her. And even if she got over it, would Pyra be able to do the same? Somehow the Gormotti didn't think that would be happening. Speaking of Pyra, she walked up next to Nia and examined the branch for a moment.

"I think I can take care of this..." she offered, stepping towards the enormous wall of wood and placing one hand on it. "Maybe you should stand back... Just in case." she added. Nia raised an eyebrow, not knowing exactly what the redhead had in mind, but she took a couple steps back anyway. Pyra concentrated for just a moment, and suddenly the entire branch was consumed in a burst of searing orange flames, disintegrating the whole massive thing into ashes in mere seconds – and somehow leaving the wooden boards of the bridge below totally unharmed.

"Whoa... Gotta hand it to you, that's not bad." Nia said, her eyes having widened slightly. She knew Pyra had powers over fire – it was right there in her name, for Architect's sake – but that level of absolute control was still very impressive. Nia doubted that most fire-oriented Blades would have been able to manage it so easily. "But then, she's not an average Blade, yeah?" The Aegis turned back to Nia with a humble smile.

"Thanks. I... do what I can." she said, looking slightly bashful at the praise. Nia nodded her head in approval and together the two of them set off further up the path.

Nia scanned their surroundings carefully as they went, trying to keep an eye out for any signs of anyone else. She didn't want to admit it, but the idea of trying so hard to escape Jin and Malos, only for something to happen in the aftermath... it was kind of upsetting. Her ears had involuntarily flattened to her head at that thought, and she cursed under her breath. "Gotta quit bein' stupid. They're FINE." she told herself. Pyra suddenly stopped, placing a hand on Nia's shoulder to get her attention.

"Nia, look at this..." she said, sounding worried. With her other hand, she was pointing to something a short ways off to the side of the path: a line of splintered and broken trees. Something large had smashed through them, and from the looks of things, quite recently too. Considering the circumstances, both of them had a pretty good idea of what might have caused it. Together they started making their way through the trail of destruction, stepping carefully to avoid sharp branches and jagged stumps. When they arrived in a clearing past the broken trees, Pyra let out a horrified gasp, and Nia didn't blame her.

Lying immobile before them was Gramps, looking decidedly worse for wear. He was on his side, one of his huge wings sticking out at an angle that it probably wasn't supposed to bend. There were scorch marks visible on his underbelly, no doubt from the Monoceros's guns. And perhaps worst of all, trunks and branches from some of the trees he had smashed through had embedded themselves in his rocky hide from the force of the crash. Nia tried not to look at the damage, focusing on the titan's face instead – which was the only part that seemed to be mostly unharmed.

"Oh, Azurda..." Pyra whispered, placing her hands over her mouth, her eyes quivering. Part of Nia remembered that Pyra had called the titan that before, probably his real name, making her wonder how they knew each other. All things considered, though, she really didn't care to ask right now. At the sound of the Blade's voice, Gramps groaned and opened one eye to look at them. His gaze fixed searchingly on Nia, who was suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"Ah... you're the girl Rex brought with him... Nia, was it?" he said slowly, his voice tired and weak.

The Gormotti nodded in response, looking to the side as she didn't want to meet the titan's gaze. "Yeah, that's me..." she muttered.

"Then... When you see Rex... Please, tell him that-"

"Oi! None of that! You're gonna be fine, and you can tell him yourself!" The Gormotti interrupted, her voice sounding angry all of a sudden. It wasn't clear exactly who she was trying to convince – Gramps, or herself. She felt like she had to do something, but... She could only really think of one option, and she doubted it'd work on a titan. Plus Pyra was standing there, and she wasn't at all ready to tell her about that whole mess... Her thought process was interrupted by Gramps letting out a weak chuckle.

"I'm flattered... that you'd care so much... for an old titan you hardly know. But this... is my fate. So, please... Tell Rex, I enjoyed every year... that I spent with him, more than anything..." Gramps wheezed, closing his eyes. A purple glow surrounded his body as particles of ether began to float up into the air. Nia clenched her fists, looking away. Sure, she didn't really know him, but he had saved all their lives – and Rex obviously adored him. "How the hell am I supposed to tell him about this...?" she thought. Pyra sniffled next to her, not saying anything, as the purple light faded to nothing.

"C'mon, Pyra... We shouldn't stay here." Nia muttered sullenly, turning to start making her way back to the path. It took a few seconds, but she heard footsteps as the Aegis slowly followed her. All of a sudden, however...

"Wait a moment!" called someone behind them. The Gormotti's ears twitched. That voice... it was a bit softer, less gravelly, but still. She whirled around, seeing that Pyra had done the same.

"A...Azurda?" the redhead stammered, clearly not believing what she was seeing. Hovering before them, flapping tiny pink wings, was a small fuzzy creature looking like mix between a dragon and a kitten. A tiny stub of a horn poked out of its forehead, and on its chest was a titan's core crystal.

"Of course. Don't you recognize me?" the mini-titan asked, crossing its stubby arms. Pyra's eyebrows shot up in a look of pure bafflement.

"No, not... really?" she replied, gazing closely at the creature to try to see even a hint of resemblance. Nia, who had been staring just as confused as Pyra, narrowed her eyes and folded her arms.

"You bloody arse!" she yelled suddenly, visibly startling Pyra. "You got us all worked up... just to come back two seconds later!?" she demanded, storming up to the thing she now knew was Gramps.

The titan let out a hmph. "I wasn't exactly expecting it. Not many titans can focus their cellular regeneration to revert to larval state, you know!" he retorted defensively. Nia just snorted in response to that. She mentally catalogued it away as the type of thing that Dromarch would probably find fascinating... and that reminded her. They had something more important to be worrying about.

"Ugh, fine, come on then. We still gotta find Dromarch and Rex, yeah?" she said, starting to turn away again, only to be stopped by Pyra's voice.

"Er, Nia, don't you think he might have a bit of trouble... keeping up?" she asked, eyeing Gramps's tiny wings dubiously. The titan raised an eyebrow at her, probably about to chastise her for being disrespectful or something, when Nia let out a resigned sigh. She trudged over and scooped up the mini-titan in one arm, carrying him rather like one would a cat. She jerked her head, signaling Pyra to follow her, as she set off back towards the trail. The redhead walked behind her with a small smile on her face.

"I say, I could get used to this." Gramps commented contently, and Nia let out an exasperated growl.

"Don't push it, I'll drop you in the cloud sea, I swear." she warned, the tone of her voice indicating that she was absolutely serious. Pyra couldn't help but giggle at that.

They had only made it a little ways further up the trail when they heard a shout.

"Dromarch, look, I see 'em! Hey Nia!" it was obviously Rex's voice. And indeed, running down the path ahead of them was a brown-haired boy in a custom salvaging suit, a large bestial Blade at his side. Nia and Pyra stopped as the duo sprinted up to them.

"My lady, you must stop worrying me like this!" Dromarch scolded, a stern expression on his face as he stopped in front of his driver. Nia rolled her eyes in response.

"Oh come off it, Dromarch, you knew I was fine. I mean, you're still here, aren'tcha?"

"That would mean you were alive, yes, but not prove that you were uninjured." the tiger-like Blade retorted. After a moment of the two glaring at each other, however, Dromarch's expression softened. "Still, I'm just relieved that you're safe after everything." Nia looked away at that. "Damn you... always saying the right stuff..." she thought.

"Yeah, it's real good to see you, Nia." Rex agreed with a nod of his head. "But, uh, d'ya know what happened to Gramps? And... what's that thing you're carrying?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. The "thing" in question looked up at Rex disapprovingly.

"Honestly, Rex, my boy. I had hoped you, at least, would recognize me." Gramps huffed, feigning offense.

The salvager's eyes boggled at that. "Gramps!? Is that you?" he sounded about as incredulous as Pyra had earlier. The titan nodded. Rex looked up at the Gormotti. "Nia, what'd you do to Gramps?" he asked, his tone slightly more accusatory than it was probably intended.

"Wha... Me!? The hell makes you think I did something!? He did that to himself!" Nia snapped in response, her ears flattening to her head angrily. Dromarch stepped between the two of them, the face of calmness and reason.

"It seems we have much to discuss." he started, his eyes flicking over to Pyra for just a moment as he said that. "Perhaps we ought to make camp and talk it over then?"

"...Yeah, sounds good to me." Nia grunted after a second. Nobody else offered any objections to the plan, so they started searching for a good spot to settle down and get some rest.

---

Once the group had found a suitable place and gotten a fire going – courtesy of Pyra – they all took the time to get everyone up to speed with what all had happened. Nia and Pyra ended up talking the most, having to explain not only their encounter with Gramps in the forest, but also how Nia had ended up as the Aegis's driver to begin with. Rex seemed particularly interested at the mention of the dream of Elysium, and was a bit disappointed when neither Pyra nor Nia could tell him much about it beyond just the basic scenery.

"So... you're really going there? Elysium, I mean?" Rex asked, sitting on the ground with his knees crossed.

"Yeah, I suppose we're gonna give it a go." Nia replied casually. She had leaned her back up against Dromarch's side, as she always did when camping out in the wilderness. It was practically second nature at this point, an unspoken arrangement between driver and Blade.

"What made you change your mind, anyway? 'Cause you were telling me you didn't believe in Elysium... then the next day you're agreeing take Pyra there?" the salvager's tone was genuinely curious, not accusatory. Nia glanced away with crossed arms.

"I dunno... Seemed like the right thing at the time." she said, her tone noncommittal. Then she let out a sigh, looking at the redheaded Blade sitting next to Dromarch. "Pyra believed it... and I guess a part of me wanted to as well." She wasn't going to admit that Rex's own words had been an influence on that decision.

"And... I'm grateful for that, Nia." Pyra chimed in, looking at the Gormotti with sincerity. Truth be told, the Aegis was a bit guilty about the whole thing, feeling like she had dropped a debt on Nia when she needed help. Especially since she had deliberately withheld why she wanted to go to Elysium.

"Well, I think you made the right choice." Rex agreed. "I mean, if you didn't, those creeps would've got their hands on Pyra. I know if it were me, I wouldn't let that happen!" he declared confidently. Pyra gave Rex a slightly surprised look, while Nia rolled her eyes. "Yeah... you would say that, wouldn't you?" was about what the Gormotti was thinking.

"I do hate to spoil the mood..." interjected Gramps, who did not at all hate to spoil the mood. "But how are you planning to get to Elysium? No-one has done it in a very long time, after all."

"...I'll come up with something." Nia replied after a pause, narrowing her eyes at the titan.

"Indeed, my lady. You are known for your skills at planning ahead." Dromarch commented dryly, earning a snicker from Rex. Pyra placed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing at Nia's indignant expression. It seemed her new driver was very easy to rile up.

"I see. I suppose that will have to do." Gramps said with a small sigh. He and Dromarch caught each other's eyes, apparently thinking on about the same wavelength.

---

Later that night, after conversation had died down and everyone agreed to try to get some rest, Pyra gradually stood up. She was planning to wander around the area a bit, admire the scenery, to see if it would help calm her mind a bit. At the sound of her movement, however...

"Ah, Miss Pyra... Trouble sleeping?" Pyra turned towards the only one of the group who had a voice that deep. The bestial Blade hadn't moved, not wanting to disturb his lady – who was now lying sprawled across his back – but his eyes were peering at Pyra curiously.

"Oh... Yes, Dromarch. I've had a lot to think about." she answered after a moment, glancing down towards the ground. Dromarch hummed thoughtfully in response to that.

"I can only imagine all the things the legendary Aegis might be thinking." he said. Pyra glanced at him curiously at that. "But I will not pry. Instead... I wish to thank you. Without your assistance, my lady would likely not have survived the fight against Jin." The redhead seemed a bit embarrassed at the sincere gratitude she was being shown.

"I was just... doing what felt right." she mumbled. She looked at Dromarch with a guilty expression crossing her face. "About Jin and Malos..." she started uncomfortably.

"You mean to confront them, don't you?" interjected a new voice. This time it came from a small, fuzzy titan. Dromarch's sensitive hearing had alerted him to the fact that Gramps was awake – he had simply chosen not to draw attention to it. The look on Pyra's face confirmed the titan's assertion, and he sighed. "I see. You may have changed a great deal, Pyra, but it seems you are still bound to being an Aegis..."

"Azurda... you know I can't let them continue what they're doing." Gramps simply gave a solemn nod in response to that.

"Miss Pyra." began Dromarch, drawing two pairs of eyes onto him. "I cannot claim to know your history with Jin and Malos, but I do not believe you need to seek them out. I fear... they will be coming for us, sooner or later." he said resignedly. Pyra just looked even more guilty at that, and the beast-type Blade sighed. "Do not blame yourself... My lady was already mixed up in their plans. And as I said, I am grateful for your aid."

"I feel I ought to thank you as well. Rex owes you just as much as Nia." Gramps agreed, glancing over at the sleeping salvager boy.

Pyra managed to give a weak smile in response to that. "...You're both welcome, Dromarch, Azurda." she said after a moment of silence. The titan gave a small nod in response before fluttering back over to Rex's salvaging helmet – where he had taken to resting.

Several more minutes passed in silence, but while Gramps had managed to fall back asleep, neither Pyra nor Dromarch were having as much luck. Instead, they simply stared into the campfire as it slowly died down to embers. After awhile, however, Pyra decided that simply sitting there quietly when neither of them could sleep was a fruitless effort.

"So, Dromarch..." she began. The other Blade glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow. "We're both Nia's Blades now, so... What can you tell me about yourself?" she asked, giving a friendly smile. Dromarch gave a small hum.

"What would you like to know?"

"Well... How about we start with... how you ended up resonating with Nia?" It seemed like an innocuous enough topic. Really, she was just thinking that since they were going to be working together going forward, they ought to get to know each other. She'd already explained the circumstances behind Nia becoming her driver, after all, so it wouldn't hurt to get Dromarch's story, right? To her surprise, however, the tiger-like Blade frowned.

"That involves some rather sensitive matters from my lady's past... I believe it would be better for her to tell you herself, when she is ready. My apologies."

"No, sorry, I wasn't meaning to pry..." Pyra said awkwardly, looking down. She had immediately ruined her attempt at friendly conversation by inadvertently touching on an uncomfortable subject. She wasn't really too upset to learn that Nia had secrets in her past – she, of all people, had no room to criticize there. She just hoped that her new driver would come to trust her enough to share those secrets eventually. And that it wasn't anything too bad... but then, Nia wasn't a bad person, she could tell that from the moment they met.

"However..." Dromarch spoke suddenly, and Pyra glanced back up at him. She had been sure the conversation was dead. "I believe I ought to tell you... when my lady awakened me, she had no one. No friends or family, only me." his voice was heavy, and he seemed to be looking past Pyra into space. "Seeing my new driver, all alone... I made her a promise. I would always stand by her side, to support her whenever she needed me, no matter what. And I always have."

Pyra crossed her hands over her core crystal, looking at the tiger-like Blade. "Dromarch..." she breathed quietly. "That's so sweet. Nia couldn't ask for a better Blade, could she?" In response, Dromarch bowed his head humbly. Before he could say anything else, however...

"...Will you two please go to sleep?" grumbled a certain half-awake Gormotti. She wasn't actually sure what they'd been talking about, her brain was too fuzzy for that at the moment, but it had woken her up, and that was bad enough. Pyra and Dromarch shared a small smile before they both finally settled down for the night.

Chapter 4: CH4: Trials in Torigoth Part 1

The following day, the group decided that it was time they made their way for civilization. Fortunately, with Nia and Dromarch having lived in Gormott before, they knew their way around the titan quite well, so they naturally took the lead. Even more fortunately, the area they had landed in was only a couple hours of hiking away from the province's capital, Torigoth. All they had to do was follow the road out of the forest, and then it was pretty much a straight shot across the plains to the city. Gramps suggested that this stroke of luck was, in fact, a deliberate effort on his part so that after he crashed, they at least wouldn't be lost in the wilderness – nobody believed him, naturally.

Ultimately, the trek ended up being largely uneventful. Conversation was amicable, but most of the really important matters had already been discussed the previous night. The group didn't encounter any meaningful resistance during the journey – the Garanti Plains were generally a fairly peaceful place, the local wildlife mostly content to leave them alone. Nia was somewhat on edge as they got closer to the city, nervous about the possibility of running into something called "Rotbart" - she didn't elaborate further, but whatever it was, she apparently didn't see it, and they proceeded on their way to the capital in peace.

Torigoth may not have been the largest city in Alrest, but it carried a certain sense of charm. The buildings were mostly made of wood, in traditional Gormotti styles, with only the occasional stone wall to be seen. Rooftops were painted in warm orange and red tones, flags and banners of all different colors hanging everywhere. The town square was a fairly bustling marketplace, with a modestly-sized fountain in the center. Overall, the place felt somewhat rustic, but at the same time lively and interesting. And to Nia, whether she wanted to admit it or not, it still felt a bit like home. She tried to shake off that particular thought, with limited success. Pyra noticed that her driver seemed a bit wistful at the sight of the city, but she chose not to push the matter, and the group passed through the town gate in semi-comfortable silence instead.

---

"So, Rex... Do you fancy becoming a driver?" Nia asked casually, giving the salvager a small nudge with her elbow. They had just witnessed some Ardainian soldiers running a driver recruitment pitch in the town square. There had been two applicants – one was lucky enough to be fit for awakening a Blade, and was currently being led off to be officially enrolled in the army. As for the other... everyone was just trying not to look at the glowing, ether-infused blood that had pooled amongst the cobblestones.

"I dunno. Don't really think joining the army is for me, you know?" Rex replied after a moment's thought, placing one hand on his chin as he glanced at the soldiers.

Nia crossed her arms at that. "Nah, I didn't mean with those goons... Just in general, yeah?"

"Hmm. Drivers and Blades are pretty amazing, so I guess I want to know what it'd be like. Seems like a really big risk, though." Rex couldn't get the image of the failed resonance out of his head. The idea of something like that happening to him wasn't a pleasant thought at all.

"It would be awful if you didn't have the aptitude..." Pyra agreed, looking at Rex with a hint of worry in her eyes. She may not have known him all that well, but he seemed like someone with a good heart – she certainly wasn't going to wish any ill fortune on him.

"It's risky, sure, but there's a lot to be said for being a driver too." The Gormotti still sounded fairly casual about the whole thing, as if the potential consequences didn't bother her. In truth, she didn't like the thought of Rex trying to resonate and failing either, but she didn't want to show it. "Besides, he's gotta have some potential. Idiot ran headlong at Jin and didn't die!" she assured herself.

"Without a core crystal, it's somewhat of a moot point in any case." interjected Gramps, who had poked his head out of Rex's helmet to watch the driver recruitment. "Now, shall we be on our way?" Everyone else looked around at each other, seeing that they were all in agreement – they had no reason to stick around in the town square.

"Right then, inn's this way. Come on." Nia said brusquely, setting off down the nearest side road, with Dromarch matching her pace as always and everyone else only a couple steps behind. Indeed, just as she said, the street led them right to the entrance of the Coedwig Inn. Curiously, however, Nia stopped before entering the building, turning to face Rex, looking like she was going to say something. Pyra was slightly concerned, wondering what was going on. "Okay, so, from here you're on your own." the Gormotti addressed the salvager.

"On our own? So, what, you're just ditching me and Gramps now?" Rex asked, sounding somewhat confused. He wasn't sure exactly where this had come from. He glanced over at Pyra, but she frowned and shook her head slightly – she didn't know what Nia was doing either.

Nia sighed and crossed her arms. "Yeah. I got you to the inn, as good a place as any... You didn't think we were going to be sticking together forever?" Rex frowned at that, still not really getting why Nia was suddenly pushing for this.

"Nia..." Pyra started, sounding somewhat unhappy. This was exactly why Nia hadn't told her about this particular plan – she had a feeling that the Aegis would be worried about it. "Don't you think we should at least... talk about this? I saw a cafe back in the town square, we could think about it over a cup of tea?" she suggested.

"Hey, yeah, that's a great idea." Rex agreed, earning a small smile from Pyra. "We can all relax, chat a bit, and then, if we do go our separate ways, it's all on good terms."

"I believe I could go for tea as well." chimed in Gramps with a nod. Nia wasn't entirely thrilled about being so thoroughly outnumbered, so she turned to the only person who had been silent thus far.

Dromarch bowed his head slightly. "My lady, it seems like a reasonable enough request. I have no objections." The Gormotti knew he was right, it really wasn't a terrible idea, and deep down she had known all along that Rex wasn't just going to leave without question, especially not when she sprung the matter so abruptly. She wasn't keen on spending too much time in public, though. "Eh... their wanted posters are bloody awful, though. No chance anyone'd recognize me..." she thought.

Still, to be safe, Nia pulled her white hood up over her head, earning a couple confused looks which she ignored. "Alright, alright, you win. Let's go."

---

"Ah, it has been awhile since I've enjoyed a good cup of tea." Gramps commented contently, setting the cup – which was almost as big as his head – down on the table the group had claimed at the outdoor cafe. Rex chuckled and rested his elbows on the table next to his half-empty lunana smoothie.

"Well, no wonder. You were so bloody big, you would've had to drink it by the bucket!" the salvager joked, getting a light laugh from Pyra and a huff of feigned indignation from Gramps. Even Nia, who had been quiet the entire time, couldn't help but crack a small smile. Rex's cheerful attitude was quite endearing. Unfortunately, the moment of levity couldn't last forever, as he looked across the table at Nia with a more serious expression. "So, anyway, Nia... What's got you trying to leave me and Gramps behind?"

The Gormotti let out a resigned breath. "Look, it's not that I'm just wanting to be rid of you or anything. It's not a good idea to be seen together." Rex furrowed his brow thoughtfully.

"Why? Because you worked with those guys, and you're all on wanted posters?" he asked, thinking back to the posters of Jin, Malos, and Nia they had seen posted at the city's entrance. Rex had thought the depiction of Nia was almost scarily accurate.

"Yeah. I haven't known them that long, but... long enough, you know?" Nia replied. Her voice was calm, but there was a slight hint of something deeper to it, almost like wistfulness.

"But Nia, you aren't with them anymore. When things got tough... you made the right choice." Pyra said, looking at Nia sympathetically. She was trying to encouraging – she had promised to help her driver deal with turning on Jin and Malos, and that didn't just mean fighting. It meant supporting her in the aftermath too.

"Maybe, but... I'm still trying to get used to that myself. You really think anyone else would believe it?" the Gormotti's tone had taken on a bit of sullenness now. Still, she had a point, and Pyra couldn't immediately think up a counterargument. Unless word spread that Nia wasn't working with Jin and Malos anymore, people would still assume she was affiliated with them.

"Look, I don't care about any of that. I know what you're really like, Nia." Rex said, crossing his arms. The sincerity in his voice was hard to ignore. "If you're saying I should go 'cause it'll be tough for you... that's all the more reason to stick around. It's the second rule of the Salvager's Code: Always help others that help you." Nia didn't really have a response ready for that, while Pyra gave Rex an encouraging nod.

"Besides, it's not as if Rex and I have anywhere to go. He used to live on my back, you know. And I suspect he's far too miserly to ever want to pay rent somewhere else." Gramps added.

Rex looked slightly defensive at that. "It'd be a huge expense! My salvaging career might be in trouble, too." Nia raised an eyebrow curiously, not really getting Rex's logic there.

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Well, I mean, I took a big job from the chairman and I'm the only one on the team who walked away. Even Pupunin got killed, and I'm not even sure why he was there. After a disaster like that, what if no one else at Argentum wants to deal with me?" Rex replied, sounding increasingly unhappy as he thought about it. It sent a pang of guilt through Nia's heart – she hadn't really thought much about the fact that she'd been too late to stop Jin from killing most of the salvaging team. From the look on her face, Pyra seemed to be feeling something similar.

"Rex... None of that was your fault. I'm sure people will understand. And, I'm sorry I couldn't protect your friends." the Aegis said solemnly, and Rex – to the surprise of everyone but Gramps – responded with a warm smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It was all Jin and Malos. You did what you could."

"...Thanks, Rex." Nia said, realizing that Rex's reassurance was directed at her just as much as it was at Pyra. "You really are too nice for your own good, aren't you?" The redhead, meanwhile, nodded her thanks as well, though she didn't seem entirely convinced.

"I cannot help but notice that you have stopped trying to argue, my lady. Do you wish for Master Rex to accompany us after all?" said Dromarch, making an effort to steer the conversation back on track. Nia huffed and crossed her arms in response.

"I dunno. I mean, how're you planning on-" she started to say, but her response was cut off by another voice.

"Hmm. It seems my plans to enjoy a little peace and quiet will have to wait." Despite being calm, with an almost serene quality to it, the feminine voice carried an undeniable sense of authority. Striding towards their table was a tall woman in a slim blue dress, her long, equally-blue hair glowing with wisps of fire at the tips. On her chest was a blue crystal resembling a stylized flame, and a pair of swords hung at her hips. Curiously, despite her eyes being shut, her gaze still seemed to bore into the group – particularly Pyra.

"Brighid. The mightiest Blade in Mor Ardain, so they say. But I do not see her driver..." Dromarch commented, his eyes widening slightly at the sight. Nia had tensed up next to him, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice if necessary. Pyra, meanwhile, was looking at Brighid with an odd expression, almost like recognition.

"My driver has other obligations to attend to. Regardless, that emerald core crystal... That Blade can only be the Aegis." the Ardainian Blade said. Nia and Rex still weren't entirely sure what the significance of the Aegis was, just that it was a legendarily powerful Blade, but this Brighid seemed to know a bit more. She looked over the rest of the group, stopping on Nia. "And you..." The Gormotti instinctively went to pull her hood up further, but it was no use, Brighid was looking right at her. "I recognize you. From the wanted posters. You are a member of Torna."

Nia was both furious and a bit flabbergasted at the revelation that somebody had actually managed to recognize her from those horrendous posters. "They look more like Dromarch, for Architect's sake!" Before she could actually say something about it, though...

"Torna? You mean, like, Jin and Malos? Nia's not with those creeps anymore!" Rex said defensively, obviously remembering the conversation they had just had.

"Even if that is true..." began Brighid, sounding decidedly skeptical. "I cannot simply allow the Aegis to wander around unchecked. I must insist that you all come with me."

"What? You're arresting us, just like that? Seriously!?" Rex exclaimed, as everyone stood up from the table. Nia understood the feeling perfectly, scowling at the fiery Blade.

Brighid frowned in response – if her eyes weren't already closed, they might have narrowed. "I would rather you come along peacefully. However, if you resist, then yes, I will take you into custody by force if necessary."

"Oi, I know how you Ardainian lot work, even if we went along, you'd still just throw us in cells anyway! To hell with that!" Nia snapped angrily, drawing Pyra's sword from her back, Dromarch adopting a defensive posture at her side. Brighid's hands flew to her twin swords in response.

Nia made the first move, kicking the table between them towards Brighid, who effortlessly knocked it aside. While she was busy doing that, however, Nia swiped her sword through the air, sending a wave of orange fire towards the Blade... only for it to crash into an opposing wave of brilliant blue flames, the clashing attacks dissipating harmlessly in a flash of purple. Dromarch opened his mouth and spat out a blast of water, but with impressive reflexes, Brighid jerked to the side so that the water simply sailed past her. Then the Blade leapt forwards, swinging both her swords down overhead at Nia. The Gormotti brought her own sword up horizontally to block the strike, the weapons clashing loudly against each other. Instead of getting into a prolonged blade-lock, however, Brighid pulled one of her swords back and thrust it forwards, but Nia deflected the stab without too much trouble.

Nia couldn't help but think about how familiar the whole situation was as she and Brighid's swords struck against each other again and again. While the Ardainian Blade may not have been as fast as Jin, giving Nia more options than simply defending, she was still quite skilled in her own right, and neither of them had managed to land more than grazing blows. It was really impressive for a Blade to be able to fight so well without their driver around. Seeing an opportunity when Nia deflected one of Brighid's swords, Dromarch barreled at the fire-type Blade and swung his head upwards diagonally, slashing with one of his ring blades. Brighid's other sword whipped up to block the strike, but her stance wasn't properly braced and the force of the blow made her stumble slightly.

Nia, immediately capitalizing on the opening, drew a bunch of ether from Pyra to surround her sword in a cloak of flames and swung it down in a heavy overhead slash. The fire surrounding the sword essentially set off a small explosion when it hit, throwing Brighid backwards. Surprisingly, however, she managed to land on her feet, grunting in pain but otherwise uninjured. She was a Blade, after all – she couldn't be killed unless something happened to her core crystal.

Before Nia could follow up with another attack, one of Brighid's hands started glowing with ether and a burst of blue fire exploded from the ground right in front of the Gormotti. Pyra, however, had seen the attack coming and leapt in front of her, arms outstretched. A glowing yellow ether barrier surrounded them and protected them from the flames, though the force of the blast did push them back somewhat. Dromarch, however, wasn't within the shield's radius, nor did he act quick enough to defend himself, causing him to be blasted backwards by the attack.

"Dromarch!" Nia yelled in concern, though she didn't dare take her eyes off her opponent. Rex, who had been – to his chagrin – standing back so he wouldn't get in the way, ran to the bestial Blade's side to help him up, earning a small nod of thanks in return.

At this point, since they were fighting right in the town square, a crowd had naturally gathered. A few people were watching anxiously, wondering if they should do something, but not brave enough to intercede in a clash of driver and Blade. Others were simply excited by the spectacle. But it wasn't just civilians who had noticed – Ardainian soldiers were streaming into the plaza, some trying to make the spectators back off, others readying weaponry to intervene.

Nia and Pyra blocked several more blasts of fire from Brighid, who was back on her feet now. The Aegis grabbed her sword from Nia and sliced it through the air, sending her own flames back, but again two walls of fire simply crashed into each other.

"She's really strong..." Pyra said, mostly to herself. Nia was still wondering how the redhead was being evenly matched by a Blade without a driver. Was Brighid really that overwhelmingly strong, or was something else going on? Now wasn't the time to question it, though. Dromarch's huge form hurtled past as he pounced at Brighid, when suddenly...

"Look out!" shouted Rex, but it was too late. A glowing yellow net flew through the air, entangling Dromarch mid-jump and sending him falling to the ground. Nia, to her shock, suddenly felt the link of ether between her and the tiger-like Blade be cut off. Dromarch struggled to free himself, but he couldn't do anything more than wriggle ineffectually. Striding up next to Brighid was an Ardainian soldier, his tall cone-shaped helmet identifying him as a higher rank than the normal grunts.

"Ha! Even the mightiest Blades can't escape from these ether nets! Your little skirmish is at an end, you Torna ruffian!" the soldier bragged proudly. Brighid glanced over at him, a neutral expression on her face. For some reason Nia got the sense the Blade wasn't entirely happy with her duel being interrupted, but she didn't protest.

"Captain Padraig. Make sure you take them alive." Brighid said in her cool tone of voice, earning a salute from the captain. Nia, meanwhile, had ran over to Dromarch's side, trying to cut him loose, but a five-foot-long burning sword wasn't exactly meant for small, precise cuts. And Dromarch himself currently had the ring blades, so she couldn't use those either.

"My lady, now is not the time to worry over me! I do not believe you can win this fight, you need to run!" Dromarch yelled urgently at her, but the Gormotti furiously shook her head.

"I'm not just gonna leave you, Dromarch!" As she continued trying to find a way to undo the ropes, Rex was busy fighting off several other soldiers who had swarmed into the plaza. Fortunately, with their orders not to kill, they weren't shooting at him or using other lethal measures. His sword clashed into the side of a soldier's helmet with a clang, the junky sword not being enough to cut through the armor, but the impact was sufficient to knock foes unconscious regardless. Which was fine, Rex wasn't looking to kill anyway. Since he had a moment to breathe, he chanced a glance over at Nia... and saw a soldier readying another one of those nets behind her. It was like the fight with Jin, he didn't think, he just moved.

Nia suddenly found herself shoved hard to the side, sending her stumbling onto the ground. She picked herself back almost instantly... and saw that where there had once been one entangled figure, now there were two – Rex had tackled her out of the way and been caught himself. Sure, he wasn't a Blade or driver, so the ether-restricting effects were useless, but it was still a net, and that was enough to keep him on the ground.

"My lady! Please, GO!" roared Dromarch desperately.

"Nia, listen to him! Take Pyra and get out of here!" added Rex. Nia clenched her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them with a look of determination. "Damn you, who said you gits could do something like that? …..I'll be back for you." she thought, turning away. Before she could grab Pyra and make a run for it, however, a wall of blue flames erupted from the ground in front of her. She'd almost forgotten Brighid for a second there. A small part of her wondered why the Ardainian Blade hadn't taken her out when she'd been thoroughly distracted by the nets.

"You thought I would simply let you run?" Brighid asked rhetorically. Before she and the soldiers could move in to capture Nia and Pyra, however, something totally unexpected happened. A small, round metal objected sailed through the air and smashed right into the unsuspecting Brighid, setting off a small explosion and sending her stumbling backwards... right into the fountain in the town square. At this point Nia was seriously considering making an offering to the Architect for the sheer number of lucky breaks she'd been given – as a fire-attuned Blade, Brighid couldn't sustain her powers while drenched, causing the wall of flames to quickly fade away.

She gave Pyra a determined nod, and together they sprinted from the plaza into the nearest doorway – which turned out to be the side entrance to the inn – then straight through that building and out the other door, putting them back on the street they'd stopped at before going to the cafe. From there, they found they could flee onto the lower boardwalks built around the canyon which divided the city. They heard a storm of heavy footsteps behind them, no doubt the pursuing soldiers. As they passed by a seemingly-nondescript wooden wall, however, it suddenly swung open.

"Friends! In here!" shouted a high-pitched voice. Normally Nia would have been suspicious, but as it was... seeing no better options, she and Pyra quickly ducked into the hidden doorway, which was immediately slammed shut, the sound of boots thundering by a few seconds later. They were apparently safe, for now.

Chapter 5: CH5: Trials in Torigoth Part 2

"...So Tora decide to test out new Boom Biter, and happen to see friends fighting. Boom Biter was big success, sent that Blade falling right into fountain!" bragged the Nopon whose name was obviously Tora, who had led Nia and Pyra into a secret tunnel. The Gormotti was having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly how old he was – from his size, it would be easy to assume he was an adult, but his higher-pitched voice seemed to tell a different story. It could be hard to tell with Nopon in general, really, but Tora was an especially pronounced case.

"So you helped us escape, and now you're letting us hide here? Thank you, Tora, that's very kind of you." Pyra said, smiling sweetly at the Nopon. "My name is Pyra, and this is my driver, Nia. It's lovely to meet you."

"Good to meeting! And, it no problem, really." Tora replied, closing his eyes and stretching his... Pyra wasn't sure what a Nopon's upper appendages were called, actually. Wings? He was trying to sound humble, even though it was blatantly obvious that he was very much enjoying the positive attention he was getting.

Nia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "So you did all this just because you don't like Ardainian soldiers?" she asked skeptically, and Tora opened his eyes to look at her. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm none too fond of them myself, but... gettin' involved just for that seems a bit daft, yeah?" Pyra frowned when she heard that. On one hand, Nia did raise a fair point, Tora's reasoning – that he simply didn't like the soldiers and wanted to bother them - was definitely a bit flimsy. But on the other hand, should they really be questioning his kindness in helping them? It seemed a bit ungrateful to her.

"Mehehe, well..." Tora chuckled awkwardly, earning curious expressions from both of his guests. "Tora have one other reason also. But now not time for that, friends come along to house of Tora!" Without further ado, he turned and started heading deeper into the wooden passageway. Nia and Pyra exchanged glances, and the Gormotti gave a small shrug. Seeing nothing better to do, they both trailed after the retreating Nopon. Nia felt like she should have been more suspicious of Tora, on paper he could easily be seen as a bit shady, plus being cautious around new people was just good sense as far as she was concerned. But for some reason she was having trouble imagining a happy-go-lucky Nopon being up to no good.

Tora's home, as it turned out, was a quaint little hovel built into the city's underside, overlooking the cloud sea. The house's main room was mostly dominated by a kitchen and dining area, with a small loft where the Nopon slept. There was also a hallway that seemed to serve as the front entrance, and a small room which Nia and Pyra couldn't look into due to it being blocked by a curtain – though they could see papers and tools scattered on the floor. Overall, the place was a bit small by human standards, Nia probably wouldn't want to live there full-time, especially not with two Blades. But as far as hiding spots from soldiers went? She'd seen much worse.

"Not half bad, I guess. Eh, Pyra?" Nia commented, glancing over at Pyra, who had a warm smile on her face.

"I think it's lovely." the redhead replied sincerely, and Tora rubbed the back of his head with one of his wings.

"Tora glad friends like. Anyway, other reason Tora help you is... Friends are driver and Blade! Tora think that so amazing!" the Nopon exclaimed, his voice taking on an almost awestruck quality at the thought. Pyra tilted her head to the side curiously, while Nia gave Tora a flat look.

"You bailed us out... because you just like drivers?" the Gormotti asked, her tone quite obviously not amused.

"Mehmeh... is that not good?" Tora replied, his cheerful tone fading away to be replaced by confusion. At this point Pyra was glancing between Nia and the Nopon worriedly.

Nia sighed and crossed her arms disapprovingly. "It's an even bloody worse reason, that's what it is." she said, and Pyra frowned at her. "I mean, I at least kinda get the thing with the soldiers, you know?"

"Nia! I... don't think you should be rude to him after he helped us." Pyra interjected, causing Nia to look over at her with a hint of surprise. Was the Aegis actually... scolding her? It was the first time she'd heard Pyra actually sound indignant about something. "Is this really that big a deal?" the Gormotti wondered.

"Tora expect friends might think it weird. Tora not upset." the Nopon said, though his voice was decidedly less peppy than it was before. "But Tora just think how driver and Blade work together is so cool. Tora always want to be driver, but not have aptitude, so Tora really want driver friends instead..." Now Nia was starting to feel a bit bad, because apparently it was, indeed, that big of a deal for Tora.

"Look, Tora..." she began, glancing away to not meet the Nopon's eyes. "Forget it, okay? You did pull our arses out of the fire, so... I guess you can call us friends." Pyra nodded approvingly at that, while Tora let out a small gasp.

"Really!? Hooray!" the Nopon said excitedly, hopping energetically in place for a moment, his eyes practically sparkling. Nia couldn't help it, she smiled despite herself. "He may be a bit out-there, but... he's not so bad." Judging from Tora's mannerisms, she was starting to suspect that he was younger than she initially assumed, though it was still hard to tell.

"I would love to be friends too, Tora." Pyra said sweetly, earning a beaming grin from the Nopon. After a moment, however, something seemed to occur to the redhead and she frowned slightly. "But, what did you mean... you don't have the aptitude? You couldn't have tried, could you?" she asked curiously. Nia realized that it was a pretty good question, looking at Tora questioningly herself.

"Tora did!" the Nopon confirmed. "Core crystal give Tora awful nosebleed for three days!"

Nia's eyes widened slightly and she placed her hands on her hips. "Huh. Guess you're a lot tougher than I thought." she said, earning a confused look from Tora.

"What friend mean?" he asked, and Nia just stared at him for a moment.

"Tora... You know failing to resonate usually kills people, yeah?" she replied disbelievingly, and this time it was the Nopon's turn to widen his eyes.

"It does!? Mehmehmeh... Tora not know that! Tora's grampypon and dadapon both try it, and only get nosebleeds too."

"Yes, it's true, it does. We... saw it happen earlier, in the marketplace. It seems like your family is very lucky." Pyra commented, her tone of voice slightly somber. Nia wasn't too fussed about it, but she noticed that the Aegis didn't seem to like the morbid direction the conversation had taken.

"Meh, that just make Tora think drivers even cooler! Friend Nia touch crystal even though it such big danger!" the Nopon exclaimed. Nia was kind of impressed by how quickly he was able to brush past the fact that he had unknowingly risked death. As for his compliment, though, she wasn't sure if she deserved it... she was pretty sure people like her had a one-hundred percent success rate for becoming drivers. At the very least, every instance she had seen had succeeded. She couldn't bring any of that up to Pyra and Tora, though, definitely not. The Gormotti suddenly blinked as she realized Tora was speaking again. "...still have crystal, too. It no use to Tora, so maybe Nia could use it?"

Nia shrugged. "Eh, think I've got enough Blades for now. But I guess I'll hang onto it, could come in handy."

"Okay!" Tora agreed, scurrying over into the curtained-off room for a moment before emerging with a glowing blue core crystal, which Nia took – touching it gingerly so as not to awaken it – and placed it in one of her pockets. "So, what Nia mean, have enough Blades? Doesn't friend only have one?" Tora asked curiously, gesturing towards Pyra, who shook her head.

"No, Tora, I'm actually Nia's second Blade. She just awakened me very recently. Her original Blade is Dromarch." the redhead explained.

"You know, big bloody tiger? You had to have seen him, kinda hard to miss." Nia added, crossing her arms.

"Ohhhh... Tora thought that Blade was with different driver. They get captured together." the Nopon replied.

"Nah, Rex isn't a driver, just a salvager from Argentum." Nia said casually. After a moment, however, she frowned. "But... that brings back problems. What're we gonna do about them?"

"What Nia talking about?"

"Nia, you aren't planning to..." Pyra started to say, sounding concerned, and Nia looked at her sharply.

"Oi, of course I am! Dromarch and Rex got caught for us. No way in hell am I leaving them to those goons. Elysium can bloody well wait." she said determinedly, and Pyra looked away. The Aegis was suddenly feeling guilty, she knew how close Nia and Dromarch were, and the Gormotti had made a lot of effort for Rex's sake too. And of course, Azurda had been captured along with Rex, she couldn't forget that. It was only natural for Nia to want to help them.

"I know, I'm sorry... I don't want to abandon them, it just sounds really dangerous." the redhead muttered, and Nia let out a resigned sigh.

"Yeah, you're not wrong, but we still gotta do it." the Gormotti replied, and Pyra gave a hesitant nod. That was good enough for Nia.

"Mehmeh, Tora not much help there. Tora not know where big bullies keep prisoners..." the Nopon admitted, having figured out that Nia and Pyra were planning a jailbreak. Nia gave a small hum of thought in response.

"Well, if I remember right... there's no proper jail in Torigoth... but they did set up some kinda garrison on the edge of town, yeah? If I were a soldier, I guess I'd take 'em there." the Gormotti puzzled out, trying to draw on her memories of the city. She'd never actually been to the Ardainian base, however, so she didn't know much about it.

"Oh, that good theory. Friend Nia very clever!" Tora exclaimed, earning a cocky smirk from the Gormotti driver. Pyra, however, frowned in concern.

"Nia... I'm sorry to keep second-guessing you, but... we can't just charge into a military base." the redhead said, awkwardly enough that it was clear her apology was genuine – she really didn't like arguing with her driver. Nia rolled her eyes in response.

"I know that!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "That's why we sneak in. Even the tightest security's gotta have holes."

"But before we make plans, it time for food! All this running around make Tora hungry!" the Nopon interjected, and both Nia and Pyra looked at him curiously. It seemed like a bit of a random change of subject, and Nia was going to object... but then she realized that he had a point, it had been an eventful day thus far. If Dromarch were there, he definitely would've scolded Nia if she tried to get out of eating.

"Oh, alright then..." she conceded, slightly reluctantly. Pyra glanced at her, but didn't object to the idea. In fact...

"Um, I could cook something? If that's alright?" the redhead suggested, slightly tentatively, as if she was expecting the idea to be rejected. Nia, however, saw no reason not to give Pyra's cooking a shot, so she nodded, earning a small smile from the Aegis.

---

As it turned out, Pyra's hesitance was completely unfounded – her cooking was, for lack of a better word, brilliant. Even with Tora's pantry having only fairly mundane ingredients to work with, the Aegis was able to put together a meal that left Nia and Tora plenty satisfied. In fact, Nia felt like Pyra's culinary skills might be the only ones that could rival Akhos's, and the redhead was infinitely more humble about it. She didn't actually say that, though – Akhos was a member of Torna, a subject that she still wasn't really all that eager to talk about. "Smarmy arse is probably happy I left..."

Still, Nia wasn't going to let moping ruin a perfectly good meal, resolving to just enjoy the food. With that particular issue taken care of, the group turned their attention back to the matter at hand – saving Rex and Dromarch. There was a bit of disagreement about exactly how to proceed, however...

"First, we go around town and find all information we can, maybe learn about base security!" Tora suggested enthusiastically, sounding just a bit too chipper for someone planning a jailbreak.

"Oh yeah? Gormott's two most wanted go askin' about? That's a real great plan." Nia replied immediately, her tone absolutely dripping with sarcasm. Pyra would've been much more polite about it, but she had to admit, her driver had a point. Her own core crystal instantly gave her away as the Aegis, while Nia was a known affiliate of Jin and Malos. And trying to blend into the crowd seemed fruitless, since both of them had very publicly resisted arrest earlier that day.

"Mehehe, Tora already think of that, and Tora has an idea!" the Nopon responded with a hint of pride, turning and waving one wing in a gesture for the other two to follow him. As it turned out, he was simply leading them over to a wardrobe – which, curiously, looked like it was meant for human-sized clothing rather than Nopon. Tora cracked open the wardrobe and reached in, rummaging around for something, though the way he was holding the door, it almost seemed like he was trying to block Pyra and Nia from looking too closely at the contents. Before either of them could ask what he was up to, however, he withdrew his wing, clutching a mass of fabric which he handed over to the redhead.

A moment later, Pyra had donned her new disguise – a brownish-orange hooded tunic that perfectly covered her core crystal. Judging from the cat ear shapes on the hood, it was clearly designed for Gormotti.

"This... could actually work." the Aegis commented, looking down at herself. Nia considered it for a moment – there wasn't anything they could do about Pyra's distinctive red hair and eyes, she definitely couldn't pass as a normal Gormotti, but it was the unique green core crystal that had really given her away, so as long as that was hidden, it ought to be fine. Still, that left one problem yet unsolved...

"Right, so, what about me? That Brighid was able to recognize me even though those awful posters look nowhere close! I doubt a new outfit'd help." Nia grumbled, crossing her arms. Tora paused for a moment, scratching the top of his head – he'd apparently not really considered that particular detail. Pyra, however, placed one hand to her chin, humming in thought.

"I might have an idea... it's not much, but..." she suggested slowly, and Nia raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Here, hold still, let me see how this looks..." the redhead said, approaching Nia. She reached out towards the Gormotti's silver hair, and a look of realization crossed Nia's face. Still, she didn't object as Pyra removed the yellow ribbons from her hair. In fact, for some reason she got a sense of... familiarity.

---

"Hey Nia!"

"Oi, aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Oh come on, sis, not you too! I keep telling Da, I'm not THAT frail."

"...If you say so. Now, you wanted something?"

"Welllll... I was thinking, you've got so much hair, you should let me style it. It'd be fun, promise!"

"...You know what? Okay. Just, keep it simple, yeah?"

---

"Er, Nia?" asked Pyra nervously for the third time, awkwardly waving her hand in front of the Gormotti's eyes, which seemed to have been staring into nothing for a moment. "Are you alright?" Nia suddenly blinked, the disguised Blade in front of her immediately coming into focus. She had to fight the urge to groan from embarrassment – it had been a long time since she'd thought of those memories, she couldn't believe she'd let herself space out over it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a bit distracted." she waved off dismissively, not wanting to get the Aegis worrying about her. Pyra continued to look at her in concern, while Tora stood off to the side seeming curious. In order to prevent anyone from pressing the matter, Nia decided to quickly move things along. "Anyway, if you're all finished, let's see what you've done to me, eh?" she asked in her best casual voice. Tora gave a small nod and scampered into the curtained-off room again, this time returning with a hand mirror, which Nia took.

It was a bit strange to see her hair in a different style after wearing it one way for so long. Her bangs were left more-or-less untouched, still hanging flat across her forehead as always. The rest of her hair, on the other hand, had been pulled back, behind her ears. In the back, it was tied into a single loose ponytail – not strictly necessary due to how short it was, but not too bad-looking. It was a bit of an unusual style – traditionally, Gormotti hairstyles would cover the sides of the head, where a normal human's ears would be. But then, Nia wasn't exactly a traditional Gormotti, so she didn't object.

Pyra gave her an anxious smile. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, sounding a bit nervous. It wasn't that she was eager for approval, exactly, more that she just didn't want to offend her driver.

"Hmm, pretty good. Not really the type to fuss with my hair much, you know?" Nia replied easily, shooting the Aegis a lazy thumbs-up. That was about as good as the redhead could have hoped for, really. "It does make my ears look bloody huge, though." she added, and on second glance, Pyra had to agree – with most of Nia's hair behind her head, it made the way her silver catlike ears stuck out appear more pronounced. Still, it wasn't too big of a deal, and the fact that Nia was being casual about it meant that it didn't bother her too much either.

"But Tora not understand. How new hairstyle supposed to be disguise?" the Nopon asked curiously, and Pyra turned to him with a small smile, though her eyes seemed a bit lacking in confidence.

"Well, the wanted poster that I saw had messed up Nia's face..." she began, earning a grumble of irritation from the Gormotti. "But it still had her hairstyle. So I thought, maybe changing her hair could help throw people off? I know it's not a big help, but..." the redhead trailed off awkwardly.

"Nah, it's fine." Nia interjected, giving Pyra a small nudge with her elbow in a gesture that was meant to be encouraging. "I get what you're saying. Won't be any help with people that know me, but hey, maybe it'll make me harder to spot at a glance. It's not a terrible idea, worth a shot at least." The Aegis smiled thankfully at that.

"Tora suppose that make sense. Now, friends come along, we have asking to do!"

---

Rex stood awkwardly in the office of the Ardainian consulate, though the consul himself was currently not present. Ignoring the soldiers flanking him, he looked up at the woman on the other side of the desk, whose imposing presence made her seem to tower over him – a bit like Jin in that regard, though this Morag Ladair didn't seem quite as cold. Quite. She stared back, her eyes sharp and her facial expression completely inscrutable, her hands crossed behind her back in perfect military poise. In fact, everything about the woman screamed military – the well-kept dark hair, the dignified posture, the impeccable uniform, even her impressive cap – she looked like someone straight out of a recruitment poster or something. Rex didn't know enough about the Ardainian army to know exactly where Special Inquisitor fell in the ranks, but it was clear just from looking at her that she was a big deal.

"So, tell me, boy..." Morag began, her voice firm but not entirely unpleasant. More businesslike than anything. "How did someone like you end up in such a mess?"

"Someone like me?" Rex repeated, slightly puzzled. He wasn't sure exactly what the inquisitor was getting at with that question.

"Indeed. As far as I am aware, you work as a salvager, correct?" Morag didn't wait for the brown-haired boy to answer – he really didn't need to, his clothing was quite obviously a salvaging suit. "Not a mercenary, or even a driver at all. You are not the sort of ruffian I usually deal with. With that said..." The dark-haired woman leaned forwards, placing her hands flat on the desk and looking Rex straight in the eyes. "I believe you are in well over your head, boy, so I'll make this simple. Why don't you tell me what you know about your traveling companions?" The way she said it, it almost sounded like a fairly reasonable request – the unspoken implication being that, since Rex didn't really belong there, as long as he cooperated, he wouldn't be in too much trouble.

"Well, I don't really know that much about them..." Rex admitted, scratching the side of his head. Morag waited for him to continue, but instead the salvager frowned and crossed his arms. "But I'm not gonna help you lock 'em up, if that's what you're asking." he said firmly. Rex may have been a bit naive, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the purpose of an interrogation.

The Ardainian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Even when you admit to knowing little? That seems unwise." she said, her voice still holding its perfectly neutral tone for now.

"I know enough to see that Nia and Pyra aren't dangerous. Not like Malos and Jin at all." Rex retorted, earning a frown from the Special Inquisitor. She mentally filed away the fact that the Aegis was apparently calling herself Pyra, a bit of information that was interesting but not incredibly useful at the moment.

"Not dangerous? You have no idea who you're defending, do you?" Morag replied. Though her voice was still professional, it was hard to ignore the icy undertone it had taken.

"I don't care what you think they've done. They're my friends! They're good people and I'm not gonna sell them out to the likes of you! Even if it means you lock me up instead." Rex declared resolutely. The inquisitor's steely gaze bored right into his soul, but he didn't flinch, staring right back with his own eyes full of determination. After a moment, Morag took her hands off the desk and crossed them behind her back again.

"I see. Very well." was all she said, gesturing for the soldiers to take Rex away. The salvager glanced back at her one last time, seeing an unreadable expression on her face, before being led out of the office.

A moment later, another figure entered the office, a rather familiar fiery Blade. "Lady Morag? I saw the boy being taken back to the ship. That was quicker than I expected." commented Brighid as she walked over towards the inquisitor.

"He had little to offer." Morag replied simply, earning a raised eyebrow from the Blade. Morag let out a tiny, nearly-imperceptible sigh – Brighid was one of only two people who really knew how to read her. "I discovered that the boy is very loyal to his supposed friends, even to his own detriment. I felt that pressing him for every tiny detail would be pointless." she explained. Brighid hummed in thought.

"Do you think that would change if he understood why we need to secure the Aegis?" the Blade asked, and Morag shook her head.

"I do not believe so. The more pertinent question is, do his companions share the same loyalty?" the Special Inquisitor replied rhetorically.

"If your plan works, then we shall see." Brighid agreed.

Chapter 6: CH6: Final Trials in Torigoth

Tora's idea to go around town hunting for rumors was, as it turned out, far more informative than Nia had been expecting. They had quickly learned that a massive Ardainian battleship had arrived at the base, escorting some sort of important passenger. Given how soon it had happened after Rex and Dromarch's capture, they assumed that it wasn't a coincidence. On top of that, the town was abuzz with talk about the fight that had occurred in the plaza, with nearly everyone they asked having at least heard of it. Though, incredibly, Pyra's idea to disguise Nia by changing her hair proved quite effective, with even people who had actually witnessed the scuffle not seeming to recognize her. The Gormotti wasn't sure if people were actually that easy to fool, or just didn't care. Maybe a bit of both.

With that done, the group had returned to Tora's humble abode to discuss what they had found out – Pyra immediately shedding her disguise once they arrived, on the grounds that it was "itchy". In addition to the battleship, they had heard rumors about what the army were planning to do with their new prisoners... rumors that were rather unpleasant, to say the least.

"Rex, Dromarch and Azurda... executed. What an awful thought..." Pyra murmured glumly, her hands crossed over her core crystal in concern.

"Yeah, it's pretty harsh." Nia agreed. After a moment, however, her brow furrowed and she crossed her arms, something seeming to occur to her. "Almost a bit too harsh..." she muttered.

"What friend mean? Big bully soldiers always nasty." Tora wondered, glancing at Nia with a curious expression. Pyra had a similar look on her face, not sure exactly what her driver was thinking.

"Nah, that's just it. The Ardainian army are a right bunch of tools, but just straight-up droppin' the axe, no trial or anything? That's cold even for them." The Gormotti argued. Pyra frowned, thinking it over. It was true that it did seem like a bit of an excessive measure – of the three who were captured, only Dromarch was even a wanted criminal, and even then only due to his status as Nia's Blade. Rex was guilty of knocking out a few soldiers, but nothing more, and Azurda couldn't really be called much of a threat to anyone. But then, people taking drastic actions out of fear of the Aegis's power was, sadly, nothing new to Pyra.

"Even if it's a bit strange, we still need to rescue them, right?" the redhead replied after a moment, looking to Nia, who gave a determined nod.

"Obviously! We were planning that anyway... this just means we gotta do it a bit quicker." Nia confirmed. "Though breaking into that ship's gonna be a real pain in the arse..." she added, and Pyra had to agree. Sneaking into a military base was already bad enough, but a fully-staffed battleship was daunting indeed. But there was no doubt that was where the prisoners had been taken. Tora suddenly seemed to think of something, climbing up to his loft and grabbing a roll of parchment near the bed. Once he was back on the ground floor, he unfurled it and laid it flat on the table, revealing a surprisingly-detailed map of Torigoth, including the Ardainian relay base. "You just happened to have that on hand?" Nia asked incredulously, looking between Tora and the map.

"Meh, Tora used to get lost in city sometimes..." the Nopon admitted, one of his wings rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Anyway, army port is probably best guarded place in whole city..." he said, pointing out the walls around the base. Nia and Pyra both leaned closer to the map to examine it.

The Aegis hummed in thought for a moment. "Here, look at this. It's one of the Grandarbor's roots, isn't it?" she pointed to a drawing of a tree root jutting out next to the base's port. The Grandarbor was the largest tree in Gormott, a truly towering trunk that hung over Torigoth. Some of its roots were so large that they actually stuck out of the sides of the titan, protruding over the cloud sea.

"Well, yeah. What about it?" Nia replied, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the redhead.

"If this is where I think it is, it should extend right under the side of the warship..." Pyra explained, tracing a rough outline of a battleship around the map with her finger.

"...And a ship that bloody big has to have some kind of cargo entrance, or ventilation shaft, or something." Nia caught on, as Pyra nodded. "Not bad, Pyra. You break people out of jail often?" the Gormotti asked cheekily.

"I, er, no... I can't say I do?" The redhead replied, blushing slightly and sounding a bit flustered. She wasn't sure if Nia was trying to compliment her or make fun of her, but either way, she was kind of embarrassed about it. Her driver's snickering wasn't helping either.

"If friends have solid plan..." Tora began, before the conversation could get too off-track. "Then Tora has been wanting to show you something. Something that should be big help, mehehe..." the Nopon said, heading over to the curtained-off room. Nia and Pyra stood from the table and followed after him curiously – they had both been wondering what might have been hidden away in there. Tora pulled the curtain aside, revealing that the room was a small workshop, with tools and wires scattered across the floor. A workbench sat against one wall, covered in papers, bits of machinery, and a few other miscellaneous items. The most notable thing in the room, however...

"Behold, friends! Secret project of Tora!" the Nopon announced proudly, gesturing to an immobile humanoid figure about Nia's height. The figure's body was made of metal, most of it dark gray with lines of orange light running through it, similar to a Blade's ether pathways. The exception was the figure's head, which resembled a feminine human face, complete with metallic light blue "hair". Around her shoulders was a stylishly-tattered red cape, which partially covered an orange crystal on her chest. Perched on her head was a white beret, with a matching white flower pinned to her cape. At the moment, the figure's eyes were closed and she was slightly hunched over, as if she were sleeping while standing up. Several of the wires and cables that ran across the room were plugged into her back.

"I've never seen anything like this before, Tora." Pyra admitted, while Nia nodded in agreement.

"Right... What are we looking at here?" The Gormotti asked, not really knowing what to make of what she was seeing. With the crystal and the glowing lines, it resembled a Blade, but Nia was certain orange core crystals didn't exist, not to mention a normal Blade would hardly count as a secret project. "And Tora can't awaken Blades anyway!" Nia reminded herself.

"This is artificial Blade, Poppi!" Tora exclaimed, clearly excited to have a chance to show off his masterpiece. "She have powers just like real Blade. This way, Tora can be driver even with no aptitude!"

"Artificial Blade...? I dunno if that's brilliant or crazy." Nia commented, crossing her arms. From the look on Pyra's face, she seemed to be thinking something similar, even if she was too polite to say it.

"Mehmeh, project was started by grampypon and dadapon, so probably both." Tora said. After a moment, however, he looked down. "But grampypon die and dadapon go missing while working on prototype, so they never get to see Poppi..." he admitted.

"Oh, Tora..." Pyra murmured sympathetically.

"But it okay! Once Poppi finished, maybe dadapon hear about it and come home to see!" the Nopon exclaimed hopefully. Neither Pyra nor Nia had the heart to point out how unlikely that was. Instead, Nia tried to think of a way to get off the sudden awkward turn the conversation had taken. She wasn't really the best with that sort of thing. Fortunately, when she thought back on Tora's words, something occurred to her.

"Hang on..." she began, drawing the eyes of both Pyra and Tora. "What'dya mean, once Poppi's finished? You said she'd be a big help, how's that supposed to work if she's not even done?" she asked, looking at the Nopon with a raised eyebrow.

"Nia not need to worry. All Tora need is a few missing parts. But..." The Nopon rubbed the back of his head and glanced back at the inactive artificial Blade. "Tora have no money. Could friends perhaps spare... sixty-thousand gold?" Tora didn't even need to look, he could feel Nia's flat gaze piercing the side of his head. "Mehehe..." he laughed nervously.

---

Eventually, after a great deal of arguing, the group managed to obtain the parts needed to finish Poppi. Or rather, just one part – as it turned out, the three Bion Connectors that Tora wanted were purely for the purpose of fixing the artificial Blade's hat in place. He wasn't happy about it, but Nia eventually managed to browbeat him into just tying it on with a bit of string instead. No way was she wasting perfectly good gold on something so trivial. That left only one part still unaccounted for, this one much more useful: a Perfect Range Sensor to enhance Poppi's vision. Unfortunately, such parts were apparently very difficult to find in the cloud sea at this time of year, but one of Torigoth's local merchants was willing to trade one when Pyra offered one of her earrings – apparently made of high-quality natural crystal. Nia felt a bit bad about making her Blade sell off her jewelry like that, but since Pyra offered and she didn't see any better options, she didn't object.

"Oi, think you can hurry it up a bit?" Nia asked impatiently. Pyra shook her head disapprovingly, and Nia huffed but didn't say anything more. It was starting to get fairly late into the night, and Tora had been taking his sweet time installing the sensor – or at least, it seemed like it to Nia. In reality, it had only been about twenty minutes or so since they'd returned with the parts. The Gormotti was anxious to get their rescue operation underway. "It's gotta be tonight, there'll be guards crawling all over during the day." Outside, the cloudy skies had turned into a full-on thunderstorm, rain battering against the city's wooden buildings.

"Just a moment, friend! Tora nearly done." the Nopon called back, not looking away from his work as he fiddled with the internals of the artificial Blade's head. After another minute or two, he slid some metal plates back into place and stepped away. "Okay! It all ready!" he declared, scurrying over to a large lever. "Tora so excited! Tora will finally get to be driver!"

Pyra leaned forwards curiously, eager to see what happened, while Nia simply put her hands on her hips, waiting for Tora to get on with it. Not that she wasn't curious herself, she just didn't like waiting around doing nothing. With a little more dramatic flourishing than was probably necessary, Tora pulled down on the lever and electricity surged through the wires, causing the lights of the house to blink off for a moment. There were a few sparks and a small puff of smoke that probably wasn't supposed to happen, and then...

"~How may I be of service, masterpon?~" Poppi spoke in the most simpering tone possible, striking an exaggerated "cutesy" pose. Tora immediately panicked and slammed the lever back up, deactivating the artificial Blade again.

"Mehehe... Tora need to reconfigure settings, no need to worry!" he yelled nervously. Pyra had an utterly baffled look on her face, while Nia's eyebrows had fallen into a perfectly flat line.

"Right, what the hell was that?" she asked, and then her eyes fell on Tora's wardrobe, which had fallen open... revealing a bunch of different outfits, all in women's sizes, including what looked like maid uniforms. "Ugh! Are you for real? Keep that kinda stuff to yourself, Tora!" she snapped, and the Nopon waved his wings defensively.

"No, no, it not what Nia think! All this because of... grampypon, honest!" he protested. Nia and Pyra were staring him down with identical disbelieving looks, and Tora started to sweat a bit. "Friends scary..." he muttered.

"Nia?" Pyra asked after a moment. "How about we both agree to never talk about this again?"

"...That's fair."

Tora gave a small sigh of relief and turned back to the lever. "Anyway! With settings reset, we try again!" he announced, pulling down yet again. It was more-or-less the exact same sequence of events as the first try, but this time Poppi's orange eyes simply snapped open and she stood up straight.

"Greetings, masterpon." she spoke in a much more normal – if slightly stilted – tone of voice. "Poppi ready to make masterpon and friends proud." the artificial Blade said, looking around at everyone with a small smile.

"And Tora sure you will, Poppi! Isn't this amazing? Tora is driver now!" the Nopon yelled gleefully, having trouble keeping his pure excitement under control. Despite the weirdness of a minute ago, Nia smirked in satisfaction.

"This is incredible! I wasn't sure it would work." Pyra complimented, smiling at Poppi, who raised her hand in a thumbs-up.

"Well, let's not hang about. Dromarch and Rex have been sittin' around long enough, eh?" Nia declared, turning to the exit of Tora's house without further ado. The Nopon nodded and grabbed a large round weapon – resembling a metal shield – from next to Poppi and slung it over his back, then the group filed after the Gormotti.

---

It turned out that Pyra's idea to use the protruding root was a very good one. Not only was the snaking wood more than large enough for them to walk on easily, but it led right near the side of the ship. In an incredible stroke of luck that had Nia once again thanking the Architect, there was a small cargo port positioned directly above the end of the root. The only problem was that said entrance was about thirty feet above their heads, and there was no way to climb the sides of the ship to reach it.

"Well that's great." Nia commented sarcastically. "How're we gonna get up there?" she asked, looking around to Pyra and Tora for ideas. "This is where Rex and his bloody anchor would be real nice..." But of course, Rex not being available was the problem in the first place. Nia wasn't fond of irony like that.

"No need to worry, friends. This no problem for Poppi." the artificial Blade said with a hint of pride. She wrapped one arm tightly around Tora, while Nia and Pyra watched curiously, not sure exactly what was about to happen. Suddenly, the hum of charging ether filled the air, and plumes of fire abruptly burst from Poppi's feet. The rocket boosters were strong enough to lift her and Tora into the air easily, and she quickly flew up and deposited the Nopon at the edge of the cargo entrance. Before the other two even had time to say anything, Poppi had flown back down, hovering in front of Pyra with one hand outstretched. "All aboard!" Poppi said cheerfully, and Pyra grabbed her arm with a nod.

Within a few seconds, Pyra had been set down next to Tora, and it was Nia's turn to be lifted. She looked at the hand Poppi offered her for just a moment. She had no doubt that the artificial Blade could lift her weight, it had looked perfectly safe for Pyra, but still... The image of herself falling from Gramps's back flashed through her mind, that horrifying moment before Rex had caught her. Instead of simply grabbing the outstretched limb, Nia instead stepped forwards and wrapped both arms securely around Poppi. She wasn't going to take any chances. Fortunately, the artificial Blade didn't question it, taking to the air again with barely a moment's hesitation.

It was a very short flight, but Nia was still glad to find herself back on solid footing as she and Poppi landed next to their waiting companions. The Gormotti let out a tiny sigh of relief. This, along with her tight grip on Poppi, did not go unnoticed by Pyra.

"Nia, do you..." the redhead started to say, but Nia cut her off.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's get in there already." she said brusquely, striding past the Aegis and starting to head into the battleship before anyone could say anything else. Pyra frowned a bit, but if Nia didn't want to talk about it, she would respect that. Tora and Poppi, meanwhile, didn't seem to have noticed anything off. In fact, Tora was feeling quite proud of himself since Poppi had already proven useful.

While traversing through the cargo port, the group were able to push through a grate and jump down into a hallway to enter the interior of the ship proper. It looked pretty much exactly how Nia expected it to – she'd had some experience with similar ships before. The walls and ceiling were sheets of gray metal riveted together, lit by stark yellow bulbs, while the floor was made of dark wood paneling which only added to the harsh, serious atmosphere. But then, it was a military vessel, so it was almost certainly designed that way on purpose. Interestingly, there didn't seem to be any soldiers patrolling the corridor at the moment.

"Masterpon, Poppi can feel the presence of an unknown Blade nearby." Poppi said, looking around curiously. She sounded like she wasn't entirely sure about how her own functions worked.

"Yeah, me too. It's real subtle, but I've been around Dromarch long enough to tell. It's gotta be him." Nia agreed, earning a curious look from Pyra. Blades being able to sense their drivers was perfectly normal, but it was much less common for it to work in reverse. But then, Nia and Dromarch were very close, which would help to strengthen their affinity bond. As for Poppi, the Aegis just assumed it was a benefit of being an artificial Blade – an idea that was unprecedented as far as she knew.

"Well... I guess we should look around, then." Pyra suggested, gesturing to the handful of heavy metal doors that lined the hallway. Most of the rooms turned out to be unlocked and, subsequently, empty. Though they were indeed holding cells, suggesting that it was at least the correct part of the ship. After a few minutes of searching, all that was left was the door at the end of the hall. Nia tried to open it, but found that it wouldn't budge – locked tight. She hummed in thought, trying to come up with a way to open it... only for Pyra to walk up next to her and held up one hand. "Right, fire Blade. Obviously." Nia mentally scolded herself for forgetting that detail while the door glowed orange in a circular patch around Pyra's hand.

Nia could feel the heat radiating off the door even a few feet away, and she started to wonder exactly how hot Pyra could make it. Suddenly, the metal gave way, the glowing circle instantly melting into slag... but Pyra's powers didn't stop there, an enormous burst of fire blasting through the newly-made hole now that there was nothing blocking it. The Aegis immediately shut off the flames and lowered her hand, her eyes widened slightly. Nia stared in shock for a moment before looking through the hole, seeing a familiar bestial form pressing himself flat against the floor. At least they'd found the right room.

"Oi! Watch it!" the Gormotti barked at Pyra. "You almost hit Dromarch with that! I mean, yeah, he's a Blade so it'd regenerate, but he'd still feel it!" she scolded, while Pyra's face fell into a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't tell how much power would be too much..." she muttered.

"Please do not concern yourself, we are both fine in here." Dromarch interjected as he slowly got over his shock and stood back up.

Nia raised an eyebrow. "...We?" she asked, while Pyra pulled the door open now that its locking mechanism was partially reduced to a puddle.

"Indeed." spoke another familiar voice as a tiny titan hovered up next to Dromarch's head to look at the rescue party. "Those soldiers didn't seem to know what to do with me, so they simply threw me in with Dromarch." Gramps explained. That wasn't a surprise, really, a miniature talking titan was such an oddity, of course there wouldn't be any standard procedures for dealing with it.

"Forgive me, my lady, but... who are they?" the tiger-like Blade asked as he strode out of the cell, his eyes fixed on Tora and Poppi with a hint of suspicion.

"This is Tora, and his artificial Blade, Poppi. They're our new friends." Pyra answered before Nia had a chance to.

"They're helping out. Gave us shelter when we were running from those goons, among other things." the Gormotti added, and Dromarch gave a thoughtful hum.

"I see. Then I suppose I owe you my thanks for aiding my lady when I could not." Dromarch said, bowing his head towards Tora and Poppi for a moment. The Nopon rubbed the back of his head appreciatively, while Poppi gave a small bow in return.

"It no problem. Poppi very glad to meet you." the artificial Blade replied cheerfully. Gramps hovered over to Poppi and looked her over for a moment, placing one stubby arm on his chin in thought.

"An artificial Blade, hmm? That is quite something..." the titan commented. While Tora and Poppi were busy with Gramps, Nia glanced towards Dromarch as he took up his usual place at her side.

"I notice you don't seem too surprised we came back for you." she said idly, and the bestial Blade let out a small sigh in return.

"Though I would rather you not risk yourself so, I strongly suspected that you would try something like this." he replied evenly, earning a look from his driver. Of course he would've known she would want to rescue him, he could read her like a book sometimes.

"Eh, you know... I wasn't just gonna leave you. You still got a promise to keep, yeah?" the Gormotti said.

Dromarch gave his driver a small smile. "A fair point, my lady." he conceded. Pyra smiled sweetly at both of them.

"I'm really glad to see you two back together." she said sincerely, even if deep down she was feeling slightly out-of-place in the conversation. Even though she was Nia's Blade too, the way her driver interacted with Dromarch just seemed a bit closer. But then, that was to be expected, considering how long they'd known each other. The Aegis wasn't jealous. "But anyway, we should probably go find Rex." she added.

"Indeed." Dromarch agreed. "Though I do not know exactly where he is being held."

"Human and Blade prisoners are kept separate. Many prisons in the world operate the same way." Gramps added, settling down on Dromarch's back since Rex's helmet was currently not available.

"Then we just have to search ship high and low!" Tora declared confidently.

---

The journey through the halls of the ship was, as it turned out, strangely uneventful. The group ran into a few guards on patrol or at varying stations, none of whom really posed much of a threat. Against two drivers, and without anti-Blade measures like ether nets on hand, small handfuls of Ardainian soldiers didn't really stand a chance. Still, as they made their way through one bland metal corridor after another, Nia couldn't help but feel like something was slightly off. It was just a bit too easy - they were storming a massive battleship, there should have been more resistance. She'd been expecting a constant slew of soldiers coming out of the woodwork, not just the occasional wandering grunts. "Did they really understaff that badly in their rush to bring the ship here... or is something else going on?" she wondered. Unfortunately, the only way to find out was to continue onward.

Rex was laying flat on his back, his hands crossed beneath his head as he stared idly up at the dark ceiling. The hard wood floor of the cell wasn't exactly the most comfortable, it bothered him a bit that there wasn't even a cot or anything in his cell. But even with the hard surface, he was still able to relax well enough, he was adaptable like that. Now he was just bored. The salvager had long since given up on trying to escape by himself, there was no way he'd be able to batter open a thick metal door with his bare hands, his sword obviously having been confiscated. Oddly enough, the soldiers hadn't deigned to take his salvaging anchor. Maybe they assumed it wasn't a threat, and admittedly it wasn't enough for him to feel confident about fighting. So now he was just waiting... He was sure that he would be getting out of here sooner or later. He had meant every word that he said to Inquisitor Morag, after all - he didn't doubt Nia and Pyra for a second.

His optimism, as it turned out, would soon be rewarded. Sounds, muffled by the heavy door but still audible, could be heard from right outside. Shouting and the clashing of metal, the telltale noises of a fight. There were a couple of heavy thumps, and then, straining his ears a bit, he could just barely make out a voice.

"of them... a key..." were the words he could discern. A couple seconds later, the door swung open. Nia walked into the room, seeing Rex laying on the floor, and stretched out a hand to help him up. As she did so, her mind flashed back to another time, in a very similar cell...

---

Nia sat on the floor despondently, her arms wrapped around her knees. She'd been separated from Dromarch, of course. No way they'd let a Blade stay with his driver. That bothered her, because right now was when she needed him most. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been sitting there, or how long it would be until the ship arrived in Indol... but it didn't really matter. It was her worst nightmare, the very thing she'd tried so desperately to avoid, and there was no way out. It seemed like her fate was inevitable. Her ears twitched slightly, picking up sounds from outside the door, but she paid them no mind. At this point, why should she care? The door opened, and Nia looked up, resigned... only to be taken by surprise. The person before her wasn't at all what she had been expecting. He was a tall man with somewhat messy shoulder-length white hair, a gray mask covering the upper half of his face. He looked down at Nia, and she stared right back up. The man's expression was stoic, but his eyes held a hint of warmth and understanding. He stood over Nia, and offered her a hand...

---

Nia was suddenly snapped back to reality as Rex cheerfully took her hand, and she swiftly pulled him up to his feet. She was glad that nobody had seemed to notice her zoning out this time, at least. The brown-haired salvager gave her a friendly grin.

"There you are, Nia! I knew you'd be coming for me." he said.

"Huh? You did?" Nia asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we're friends, aren't we? I know that if we were switched, I'd come rescue you." Rex explained earnestly, his absolute sincerity once again on full display.

"...Yeah, you would, wouldn't you?" Nia asked rhetorically, glancing away slightly to not meet the salvager's eyes. The way she said it, though, it wasn't a criticism. Rex nodded in agreement, and they both knew that nothing more needed to be said on the matter.

Rex paused and glanced at Nia. "Oh, by the way... I like what you've done with your hair." he said, just a tiny bit awkwardly. Nia blinked.

"What, this?" she replied, one hand reaching back to her short ponytail idly. "It was all Pyra's idea, make it a bit harder for people to spot me, you know." she explained, also a tiny bit awkwardly.

"Well, it looks... nice." Rex said, and they lapsed into silence. Fortunately, it was immediately broken up by Pyra poking her head around the doorframe, Tora doing the same below her.

"Hey Nia, we think we've found a quick way out." the redhead reported.

"Yes, come on, friends! Time to go!" Tora agreed, bouncing up and down slightly.

"I agree. Now that we've found Master Rex, we should make haste." chimed in yet another voice as Dromarch peered into the room as well. Gramps, looking around Dromarch's neck, nodded.

"Who's the Nopon?" Rex asked, crossing his arms and looking at Tora curiously. He wasn't suspicious, but he did want to know who else Nia had accompanying her.

"I'll fill you in on the way, come on." the Gormotti said briskly, striding out of the cell. Inwardly, she was glad that nobody had commented on the fact that her face had gone slightly red. She didn't really get compliments very often, so hearing Rex say he liked her hair felt a bit... odd. "Ugh, get a grip, Nia. Now's not the time."

---

The exit that the others had found ended up being through the ship's hangar. Nia had half expected to find the place loaded with titan tanks or something of the sort, but instead it was totally empty. In hindsight, the ship had only been brought here to transport prisoners, not to start a war, so it sort of made sense. But still, the fact that there were barely even any soldiers patrolling the hangar, just like the rest of the ship, made the Gormotti feel a bit uneasy. That feeling was only magnified when the massive hangar doors slid open, revealing the Torigoth relay base beyond.

"Hold up..." Nia said cautiously, as everyone else stopped to look at her. "Doesn't this place seem a bit... empty?" she asked, gesturing around. Indeed, the entire base was totally silent, almost as if it was deserted.

"Hey, yeah." Rex agreed, furrowing his brow. "Even if it's the middle of the night, you'd think they'd at least have guards on the walls."

"Poppi agree also. It make little logical sense."

Dromarch hummed in thought. "I don't like this, my lady, but what else can we do other than proceed onwards?" Nia had to admit that he had a point. Their options boiled down to either trying to leave the base, even though something odd was going on, or heading back into the ship, which would get them nowhere.

Slowly, the group starting walking towards the gate leading out of the base. Nia kept one hand on the grip of Pyra's sword, ready for things to go wrong at any moment. As they walked past the uniform metal buildings, everyone was on edge, half expecting something horrible to jump out of the shadows at them. Nothing did, but when they were close enough to the gate to feel comfortable making a break for it, the exit was suddenly engulfed in a huge wall of fire. But not just any fire...

Blue flames. Pyra's eyes widened, knowing exactly what that meant. Strolling through the blazing barrier, totally unaffected by the heat, was none other than Brighid. And at her side, Brighid's swords held ready in her hands, was...

"You! The Inquisitor! You're Brighid's driver?" Rex exclaimed, instinctively going to draw his sword only to remember that he no longer had it. He was suddenly wishing they had taken the time to retrieve it before escaping – piece of junk though it may have been, it was better than nothing.

"We meet again, boy. And I see your companions have decided to join us. Here I was thinking they weren't going to take the bait." Morag replied, her voice as cool and professional as ever, as she and Brighid stood imposingly between the group and the wall of fire.

"The bait...?" Nia repeated questioningly. "It was you, wasn't it? That stupid rumor about Rex being executed... What a waste of time, we would've come anyway!"

Rex shot the inquisitor a slightly smug grin. "I told you, didn't I? They're my friends."

"Very well, perhaps they truly are." Morag conceded. "Fortunately, that sense of loyalty has proven most useful."

"Yeah, yeah. Now that me and Pyra are here, you're planning to grab us so you can pin another medal to your chest." Nia growled irritably, leveling a glare at the Ardainian. Morag frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Is that what you believe this is about? No." she replied coldly, before looking over at Pyra. "The Aegis possesses the power to rend Alrest asunder. I cannot allow that to happen." she declared.

"Oh, what the hell are you talking about? Pyra, destroying Alrest?" Nia replied disbelievingly. At her side, however, the redhead looked down at the ground uncertainly.

"Five-hundred years ago, during the Aegis War, three titan continents were destroyed by the Aegis's power." Morag said. Nia looked at the inquisitor's face, and she didn't see any hint of dishonesty in her features. Just grim determination.

"Pyra?" the Gormotti asked, glancing over at the redhead in concern, and the Aegis looked at her sadly.

"...It's true." Pyra admitted, the look on her face perfectly conveying five-hundred years of guilt. "It's part of why I was sealed away."

"Did you really not know?" Brighid interjected before anyone else really had time to process the revelation. "Why would Torna awaken the Aegis, then, if not to abuse its power?"

Nia scowled at the Ardainian Blade. "Oi! Jin and Malos probably knew, but they didn't bloody tell me! And we already told you, I'm not with Torna anymore anyway! Get it through your skull!" she snapped furiously, the stressful nature of the situation starting to get to her.

"Be that as it may-" Morag began, but she didn't get the chance to finish what she was going to say.

"Oh, shut the hell up already! I get it! You're mad because I'm Pyra's driver, and you don't want anyone other than you to have her power." The Gormotti interrupted caustically. Her glare, however, was met by an equally-cold look from the Special Inquisitor.

"No. I wish only to prevent the Aegis's power from being abused. That is exactly why I must secure it!" Morag replied staunchly.

"It? Her name is Pyra! Blades aren't just weapons, you tool!" Nia said indignantly. Pyra looked at her, a small smile crossing the redhead's face despite it all. Morag, however, was frowning again.

"You misjudge me." the inquisitor said simply. It was true, she was not one of those despicable drivers who looked down on their Blades. Her bond with Brighid was one of total respect, having been tested together many times throughout the years. Really, it seemed like her and the Gormotti girl were actually in agreement on that matter... it was a shame that they were currently enemies. "Regardless, I can see you do not intend to make this easy. Very well. Let's see if your strength backs up your spirit!" Morag declared with a hint of resignation. With a flick of her wrists, the twin swords in her hands cracked open into a pair of long, serrated whips.

"Be careful, my lady... Morag the Flamebringer is said to be the empire's strongest driver." Dromarch cautioned quietly at Nia's side. The Gormotti nodded, a determined look on her face, as she raised Pyra's sword. Tora had drawn the shield from his back, a large drill now protruding from a port on the front of it. And Rex... just awkwardly took a few steps backwards, very unhappy but not stupid enough to try fighting a driver with his bare hands. The standoff lasted just a few more seconds, before someone made the first move.

Morag lashed out at Nia with one of her whips, to which the Gormotti responded by swatting the cable to the side with her sword, but Morag gave a swift twist of her hand, causing the whip to wrap around the blade of the sword. Nia struggled to avoid having her weapon yanked out of her grip, only to realize a second too late that it was a distraction. Morag's second whip cracked towards the currently-defenseless Gormotti... only to bounce harmlessly off a solid metal shield instead. Tora, who had jumped to Nia's defense, weathered the blow easily. Nia wrenched her sword free from the first whip and pointed it towards the inquisitor, drawing on Pyra's ether to shoot a blast of fire from the sword's tip. The flames hurtled towards the inquisitor... only for Brighid to intercept the attack with a blast of her own blue fire, just as she had done in their previous fight.

Tora tossed his shield over to Poppi, who quickly caught it and activated her rocket boosters, sending her hurtling towards Morag at high speed. The Flamebringer managed to avoid the charge by leaping out of the way, however. As Poppi skidded to a halt behind her, she swiftly retracted her whips back into their original sword form, whirling around just in time to block a jab from the artificial Blade's drill. Poppi had the advantage in terms of raw physical strength, pushing the tip of the drill hard against Morag's crossed swords, enough to shove the inquisitor back a few steps. However, when she was certain Poppi was putting every bit of her effort into pushing, Morag suddenly jerked to the side, breaking free of the weapon lock and sending Poppi stumbling forward, off-balance. The pommel of a sword smashed into the artificial Blade's back, knocking her flat onto the ground.

"Poppi!" Tora yelled in concern, trying to run to his Blade's side, only to find himself having to dance out of the way of burning lashes from a whip. With the inquisitor's back to her for the moment, Nia seized on the opportunity and grabbed one of Dromarch's ring blades, the bestial Blade giving her a small nod. Nia pulled back her arm and tossed the ring as hard as she could at Morag, while Dromarch closed his eyes to concentrate. A shroud of glowing, ether-infused water surrounded the ring as it hurtled through the air, though Nia noticed that it seemed like a bit less than she'd been expecting. Brighid, spotting the attack, shot a ball of fire through the air to intercept the projectile... only for the water to overpower the flames, passing right through with a hiss and a small cloud of steam, though it did slow the ring down slightly.

Morag, hearing the attack coming, whipped around just fast enough for the ring blade to smash into her unarmored shoulder, sending her staggering backwards from the hit. Instinctively, one of her hands flew up to the bleeding gash that now marred her shoulder. It hurt, to be sure, but she could feel that it wasn't deep enough to hinder her arm's movement. She was an experienced soldier, she could power through this. She mentally scolded herself for getting careless and allowing her opponent to draw first blood. Behind her, Tora had taken the opportunity to help Poppi to her feet, the two of them quickly retreating to rejoin their allies. Morag and Brighid didn't intercept them, feeling that Nia, Pyra, and Dromarch were the more pressing threats at the moment.

Indeed, Nia and her two Blades were already preparing their next attack. Pyra and Nia stood together, the two of them both holding onto the Aegis sword, and sprinted forwards side-by-side, a cloak of flames engulfing their sword as they went. Dromarch, meanwhile, concentrated his ether through the ring blade he still had with him, holding it in his mouth. Nia and Pyra leapt up into the air and swung their sword downwards, sending a wave of fire hurtling at Morag. At the same time, Dromarch unleash his own attack, a blast of water shooting out of the ring. However, the ether currents of both the burning sword and the ring blade flickered slightly, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Morag. To Nia's surprise, the inquisitor effortlessly blocked the blast of water with one sword, while at the same time pointing her other weapon forwards at the incoming fire. The sword pulsed blue, and the orange flames simply curved around Morag as if they were nothing more than a gust of wind.

Capitalizing on the opening, Brighid sent a wall of fire bursting from the ground below Nia and Pyra before they had any chance to dodge. The two both shouted in surprise as they were blasted backwards, landing several feet away, with wisps of smoke trailing off of Nia's clothing. In the process, the core crystal Tora had given her was knocked out of her pocket and onto the concrete. Dromarch gasped as he tried to run to Nia's side, only to find himself walled in by yet more blue flames. The tiger-like Blade let out a rumbling growl at the interference, fixing a harsh glare on Brighid. He very much did not appreciate her preventing him from tending to his lady. Fortunately, the Gormotti soon stirred, sitting up somewhat dazedly with a groan.

"Trying to split your efforts and channel arts from two Blades at the same time... an amateurish mistake. All you did was weaken both of them. Even a Blade as formidable as the Aegis is only as good as her driver." Morag criticized coolly. Nia scowled, but couldn't really come up with a decent retort. It was true, even though she had been a driver for a long time, fighting with multiple Blades was something she was still new at. As Nia and Pyra staggered to their feet, the inquisitor advanced on them imposingly. "This battle has become quite tedious. Why don't you just give it up?" she demanded. Nia didn't even grace that with a response other than a glare as she picked up the Aegis sword, Tora and Poppi joining her side a moment later.

---

Rex was honestly fed up with being useless. He hated it. The fight with Jin. The fight with Brighid. And now this. Every time, his friends had rushed into danger, and what had he done? Stood back and watched because he didn't want to get in the way. Even without his sword, there had to be something, anything he could do to help, right? And then he saw it. A glowing blue core crystal, just sitting there on the ground a few feet away from where Nia had landed. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it was there. It would be incredibly reckless, some might even call it stupid. And if it didn't work, he'd be done for. But then, when had Rex ever let that stop him? Suddenly, he jolted into action, drawing everyone's eyes as he sprinted into the fray. Morag raised an eyebrow, curious about what he thought he was doing, only for her eyes to widen slightly in realization as they fell on the glowing crystal.

"Don't be a fool, boy!" she barked, but it was too late. Rex had scooped up the core crystal from the ground, clutching it tight in his hand. There was a tense silence as the crystal began to glow blindingly bright and the salvager clenched his eyes shut, awaiting whatever happened next.

"Rex, you idiot... I knew you had potential." Nia said quietly, and the light began to fade away. Materializing next to Rex was a male humanoid figure a bit taller than he was. For the most part, he could pass as a human, except for the blue core crystal inlaid in his chest which roughly resembled a silhouette of a bird spreading its wings. His short hair was an extremely light platinum blond, almost white. His facial features were somewhat boyish, not that different from Rex's. His outfit was rather flashy, a blue, black, and gold shirt with a v-shaped neck exposing his core crystal, along with bright red pants. Around his neck was what appeared to be a scarf made entirely of black feathers, long enough that it flowed all the way down to his feet. Sheathed on his back were a pair of large katanas with different colored grips – one black, one white.

The Blade turned to the slightly stunned Rex. "The name's Corvin!" he said cheerfully, flashing a confident smile. "And you've gotta be my driver. I promise, you're in good hands while I'm around!" he exclaimed, his feathery scarf fluttering in the non-existent wind as if to punctuate the statement. "Not that I mean to brag or anything." he added, his cocky tone implying exactly the opposite. Rex, meanwhile, was still a bit stunned by the whole ordeal.

"Well, uh, nice to meet you. I'm Rex." he said after a moment, smiling at the Blade. His Blade, he reminded himself. He was still having a bit of trouble believing that. Corvin gave him a friendly nod and clapped one hand on his shoulder, the sheer casualness of the gesture almost making it seem like they were old friends.

"I seem to have underestimated you, boy." Morag interjected, quickly reminding Rex of the situation they were in. "Brave enough to take risks, and with the aptitude to become a driver. It would be a pity to see you spend the rest of your life imprisoned." she said. Corvin looked over at her with a small frown.

"Who's this lady? She doesn't look like she's friendly." the Blade commented, and Rex shook his head.

"You got that right. She wants to arrest us all, especially Nia and Pyra." the salvager said, gesturing around at the rest of his friends. "Think you can give us a hand fighting her?"

"Heh! You didn't even need to ask!" Corvin replied confidently, swiftly drawing his black-handled sword from its sheathe and handing it over to Rex. The salvager wondered why Corvin hadn't given him the white sword as well, but decided that could wait. The surprise of Rex becoming a driver may have been enough to halt the fight for a moment, but now that he was armed and ready, all bets were off. This time Brighid was the one to act first, sending a burst of fire hurtling at Rex and Corvin, but the blond Blade immediately threw one of his hands out, blocking the fireball with an ether barrier. As the smoke cleared and the shield vanished, however, Rex saw Morag running at him, swords at the ready.

The inquisitor lunged at him with one sword, but Rex was able to deflect it. His defense was a little clumsy – this new sword was weighted differently from the one he was used to, after all. But still, he managed to keep himself from getting skewered, and that was what mattered. He sliced the sword diagonally at Morag, managing to put a small gash in the front of her uniform but not actually draw blood before she knocked his sword aside. Morag's other sword whipped around, cutting across Rex's right arm before he could block it. It was a relatively small cut, but the inquisitor's weapon was charged with fiery ether so it burned where it touched. Rex flinched from the sharp pain and had to stop himself from dropping his weapon – he wondered briefly if disarming him was Morag's intent.

Before the Ardainian could continue her assault, however, Nia leapt back into the fray. Her quick diagonal strike missed as Morag's honed reflexes allowed her to jerk backwards out of the way, but at least she had been put on the defensive. Nia immediately pulled back and delivered a heavy overhead smash, which Morag managed to block by crossing her swords, and the two found themselves in a blade lock. Brighid immediately tried to intervene with one of her walls of fire, but the moment she raised her hand to channel the ether, she found herself splashed by a burst of water from Dromarch. It wasn't a powerful attack, not nearly enough water to fully suppress her abilities, but it was enough to interrupt what she had been doing. Before she could retaliate, a heavy metal drill slammed into her side as Tora and Poppi tackled her.

Rex rubbed his arm, trying to alleviate the stinging a bit, when he noticed Corvin at his side. The Blade gave a cheeky smirk, and thanks to their new bond, Rex instinctively knew roughly what Corvin wanted him to do. He quickly sprinted around to Morag's side, where she and Nia were still dueling back and forth, and then concentrated as hard as he could on the sword, finding that glowing yellow ether channeled into it. He sliced the weapon through the air, a brilliant crescent-shaped beam blasting out towards the Special Inquisitor. The beam struck her right in the arm and she dropped one of her swords. As Morag reeled from the blow, Nia seized the opportunity and signaled for Pyra to run to her side.

"Burning Sword!" they yelled in unison, slashing their sword downwards and setting off an enormous explosion of fire which threw the inquisitor backwards before she had time to bend the flames around her as she'd done before. At the same time, another explosion rang out, this one blue, as Brighid freed herself from where she'd been pinned. Seeing this, Rex tossed his sword to Corvin, who caught it and drew the white sword from his back. Channeling as much ether as he could, he leaped up high in the air, the feathers of his scarf turning gold.

"Evello Mortem Tyrannis!" the blond Blade shouted, shooting a huge beam of golden light down at Brighid before she could advance on Tora and Poppi. Seeing this, she surrounded herself in a glowing ether barrier, but the blast of light was still powerful enough to push her backwards.

Morag groaned, slowly starting to sit up. She'd actually blacked out for a second there. But then, being blown up wasn't exactly pleasant, even for a strong driver like her. She immediately assessed the state of the battle – Brighid was on the defensive, her weapons had been knocked aside... and the Gormotti girl was dashing towards her, sword raised. She let out a resigned sigh and closed her eyes. The tables had turned against her with remarkable speed... she shouldn't have been holding back. And that mistake would cost her, she thought, as she awaited the inevitable strike. And then...

"Oh, open your bloody eyes." barked an irritated and rather exhausted voice. Morag did as she was told, finding the Gormotti standing over her, pointing the Aegis's ether blade at her head. Rex and Corvin were standing in front of Brighid, each with one sword in their hands, silently warning her not to interfere. Tora, seeing what they were doing, held up his shield in a similar gesture.

"What are you doing, girl? Why stay your sword?" Morag asked. It wasn't often that she found herself genuinely confused. But she really didn't expect her enemy to simply choose not to finish her, despite her carelessness giving them a perfect opportunity to do so.

"I'm not some murderous goon, you know!" Nia said defensively. "Which you'd know if you got your head out of your arse!" she snapped. Pyra walked up next to her a placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. The redhead didn't blame Nia for being stressed-out, all things considered.

"I don't think anyone really wants bloodshed today... do they?" the Aegis asked, looking at Morag with a sincere look on her face. The inquisitor sighed.

"...No. I suppose not." she admitted after a long moment. To her surprise, Pyra responded by offering her a hand to help her up. Brighid looked at her with obvious concern, but slowly Morag took the hand and stood back up, brushing a bit of dirt off of her uniform. Given that it had been slashed and singed, it was a bit of a futile effort, but still, she had an image to maintain. Nia was still glowering, but she'd lowered her sword.

"Right, so, are you gonna cause any more problems... or will you let us walk out of here?" the Gormotti asked cautiously. Morag looked at her, slightly surprised by the blunt request, and then bowed her head slightly as if deep in thought.

"I admit I misjudged you, girl. Go. I doubt this will be the last time we cross paths." she replied calmly. Nia eyed her suspiciously, looking for any hint that it was a trick. However, if Morag was bluffing, then she had a very good poker face. Hesitantly, Nia deactivated the Aegis sword and placed it on her back, and she and Pyra turned away from Morag to go rejoin the others. Brighid strode past them to her own driver's side, her face impassive. She would honor Morag's decision, though they would need to discuss it later.

"Does... this mean friends win?" Tora aked, sounding slightly confused. Poppi just tilted her head to the side, not really having an answer either.

"Huh. I guess so..." Rex answered awkwardly, handing the black-handled sword back to Corvin, who sheathed both of his weapons.

"That was a bit anticlimactic, but ah well. I knew we could do it." the blonde said casually, pretty much the only one who didn't seem at all worn-out by the ordeal.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get out of here before she sends an army of soldiers after us, eh?" Nia replied, earning nods of agreement from everyone. With that said, the group ran through the gates of the base and out into Torigoth's farmland, their only goal at the moment being to get away from the city and put this whole mess behind them. Morag watched them go in silence, surprisingly not feeling too bothered by the fact that she had lost. She was intensely curious about what might happen next.

Chapter 7: CH7: Farewell to Gormott

The irony of the fact that the group had journeyed to Torigoth to get out out of the wilderness, just to end up fleeing back out into the plains, was not lost on Nia as they set up camp. They had ended up deciding to stop near the base of a large tree a good distance away from the city, fittingly known by locals as the traveler's resting tree. Given its reputation as a relatively popular spot for people to stop and camp, it probably wouldn't be too hard for the Ardainian army to find them there, but thankfully they had observed that nobody seemed to be following them. It appeared that Morag Ladair had been honest when she said she would let them go. In fact, they probably would have been safe even staying in the city, but nobody really wanted to push their luck on that front.

"...There, that should help with the burn." Nia commented as she finished applying a poultice she'd made from a few select herbs to the injury on Rex's arm where Morag had struck him. She eyed the shallow cut that accompanied the burns and let out a small hum. "Not big, but we should get a bandage on it anyway. Don't mess around with infection." she said matter-of-factly, unrolling a length of bandage and starting to wrap it around the wound. The salvager let out a yelp as she pulled it tight, instinctively yanking his arm away, which earned him a small scowl in return.

"So, why're you doing this anyway?" Rex asked curiously, rubbing his newly-bandaged arm with his other hand. Nia just looked at him flatly.

"Because I know first-aid and you don't, genius." she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, I mean... why not just get Dromarch to heal me up? He did a pretty good job before." Rex elaborated, and the Gormotti's critical expression softened a bit.

"Right, I guess you wouldn't have much experience with it..." she conceded with a small sigh. "Ether healing's great in a pinch 'cause of how fast it is, but if you've got time for conventional methods, it's usually better to use them." she explained.

Rex looked at her curiously. "Yeah? Why's that?"

"Well, ether scars worse, among other things." Nia replied, gesturing to her left leg. There was a gash cut clean through her high boot, and the jumpsuit beneath, revealing a small bit of her skin where Rex could just barely see a long, dark scar running diagonally across her knee. "From Jin, remember?" she said. Rex did remember when the swordsman slashed Nia's leg in their fight, and indeed, Dromarch had healed that wound. Of course, it had been necessary at the time, but still, the salvager understood what Nia was getting at now. If it hadn't been a life-or-death situation, it would've been better to bandage the injury instead.

"Despite this, my lady normally has me patch up her injuries regardless." Dromarch commented from his place on the ground a few feet away. "Though I suspect that is more out of laziness than anything." Nia let out an indignant huff, glaring at the tiger-like Blade, who naturally didn't seem to notice.

"Well, there's no shame in having faith in your Blade's abilities." Corvin said as he and Pyra stacked up branches to make a fire. Nia wasn't entirely sure if his comment was meant to be reassuring or condescending, but she decided to roll with it.

"Anyway... anyone else get banged up?" the Gormotti asked, glancing around at the others. She was met with a bunch of shaking heads, which wasn't surprising, really. The Blades could simply regenerate any damage, after all, so that just left Tora, who seemed to be fine.

"Poppi have a small dent on back, but Nia not really able to fix that." the artificial Blade said, and Tora immediately moved behind her to inspect the damage. Seeing that it was nothing more than a tiny spot, he just decided not to worry about it. Poppi was sturdy enough to last. Since she was done tending wounds, Nia quickly moved over to adopt her preferred sitting arrangement with Dromarch.

With the wood gathered, Pyra held one hand over the pile, a fireball forming which swiftly engulfed the kindling, becoming a comfortable campfire. Corvin gave Pyra a thumbs-up as if to say "mission accomplished" and the two Blades sat down on the dirt.

"So, Rex?" Pyra asked, looking at the salvager with a small smile. "How are you feeling now that you're a driver?"

Rex shrugged. "I dunno. I'm real glad it worked out, but I kinda thought it'd feel different or something." he said, looking over at Corvin as he spoke.

"Hey now, don't underestimate it. I'm sure things'll be great once you get used to having me around." the blonde said, his tone carrying the same confidence he'd had when he was awakened.

"Indeed, Rex. There are many benefits to being a driver." Gramps interjected, resting one of his tiny pink claws on Rex's shoulder. "You can do things that a normal human could never hope to accomplish – greater feats of strength, utilizing special arts, and so on. And forging a strong bond with Corvin will make it easier to utilize your abilities." the titan explained. Rex hummed in thought, placing one hand on his chin.

"A bond, huh?" he pondered curiously.

"That's right." Pyra agreed, nodding. "Blades and drivers share a link called affinity – if they trust in each other, that link is a lot stronger." the Aegis said, elaborating on Gramps's claims.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem, then. Corvin seems alright to me." Rex replied casually. The blonde in question flashed an easygoing grin at that.

"See, you're getting it already! Put your faith in me, and we'll be great friends. You'll see." Corvin declared, pointing one hand up to the sky for emphasis. Nia, watching the whole show, let out a small snicker.

"Wow, Rex. You got a real winner, didn'tcha?" she thought, amused by the Blade's weirdly-plucky attitude. In a way, it seemed like a good fit for a driver as boundlessly-optimistic as Rex. But then, Blades often reflected their drivers to varying degrees, so perhaps that wasn't really a surprise.

Tora leaned over and started none-too-subtly whispering to Poppi. "Meh, is Tora only one who thinks Corvin act full of himself?"

"Poppi agree, masterpon. He is real weirdo." the artificial Blade replied, not even bothering to regulate her volume. The sheer bluntness of the way she said it made Nia burst into laughter, earning disapproving looks from both Pyra and Dromarch. Tora at least had the good grace to seem embarrassed – Poppi did not. Fortunately, Corvin didn't appear to be bothered, simply smiling and giving a small shrug.

"Anyway, if we're gonna be friends, then what can you tell me about yourself, Corvin?" Rex asked, turning back to his Blade curiously. To his surprise, Corvin frowned slightly at the question.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how much I can answer." the blond Blade replied after a moment. "And trust me, being unsure is pretty rare for me." And there was the cockiness back in full force. "Thing is, I don't really know who I am either. I guess we'll find out!"

Rex tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, what'dya mean by that?" he wondered. Nia had to resist the urge to facepalm when she heard that.

"Seriously, Rex? You don't know anything about Blades, do you?" the Gormotti groaned in exasperation. Fortunately, Gramps was feeling a bit more helpful...

"Normally, when a Blade's driver dies, the Blade reverts to its core crystal and loses all its memories, except for basic personality traits and skills. And its name, of course." the miniature titan explained.

"Huh, really? That sounds like a pretty tough break." Rex commented, putting one hand on his chin as he considered the implications of this new information.

"It's not all bad. Sometimes memories can be... unpleasant." Pyra said quietly, drawing curious eyes onto her. "Forgetting lets the Blades start fresh, without the burdens of their past lives weighing them down." she concluded solemnly. Rex and Tora glanced at each other, both seeming a bit uncomfortable with the depressing turn the conversation had taken. Nia, meanwhile, had an unreadable look on her face, her arms crossed.

"Yeah, that sounds nice and all, but... Look, when it's bad stuff that happened, I get not wanting to remember that. But when your unpleasant memories are of losing loved ones... nobody should forget that. Remembering kinda... lets 'em live on, in a way." Nia muttered, sounding more downcast than even she was expecting.

The Aegis looked at Nia closely, trying to figure out exactly where that had come from... and then she remembered what Dromarch had told her about their shared driver: "When my lady awakened me, she had no one. No friends or family, only me." And then some of the pieces fell into place. Pyra wasn't sure exactly what that had to do with Blades returning to their cores, but whatever Nia's story was, it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Nia..." the redhead started to say sympathetically, but the Gormotti waved one hand in a dismissive motion, shaking her head.

"Forget it. I'm just rambling, it is what it is." Nia replied, trying to force herself to sound casual. In truth, her mind was storming with unease, hoping that nobody was thinking too deeply about why the subject had bothered her. "Get yourself together and learn to keep your mouth shut, damn it." she mentally scolded herself.

"Ahem..." Dromarch cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, and Nia silently thanked him for the save. "I believe we still have an important matter to discuss. Namely: have you formulated a plan for reaching Elysium, my lady?" the bestial Blade asked.

"Uh, well, I've thought about it... Didn't come up with much, though." the Gormotti admitted. In truth, she really hadn't considered it much, too caught up in everything that had happened in Torigoth. "I mean, it can't be as simple as just taking a ship over to the World Tree, can it?" she added, partially to head off any criticisms of her lack of ideas.

"You know, I was actually gonna suggest that... but now that you say it, yeah, if it were that easy everyone would've done it, wouldn't they?" Rex asserted. Pyra blushed slightly in embarrassment, not wanting to admit that she, too, had considered trying to sail straight for the World Tree.

"Indeed. While Master Titan and I were confined, we discussed the issue to some extent. Our conclusion was that, if we wish to reach Elysium, we will need more information. I believe research is in order." Dromarch explained – the reason he'd even brought the topic up was to lead to this point.

"Research, Dromarch? You would suggest that, wouldn't you?" Nia replied, not sounding particularly enthused with the idea. Not that she hated scholarly pursuits, or anything, she just found it to be rather dull, and sitting around reading a bunch of dusty books hardly sounded productive.

"Now, do not scoff at the wisdom of the past. If the stories are true, then Elysium is critical to Alrest's history after all." Gramps said, sounding rather like a disapproving school teacher.

"Does friend Nia think Poppi was built in single day? No. Sometimes things take time." Poppi interjected, her tone surprisingly sage-like. Nia wasn't sure how to feel about getting life lessons from Poppi, of all people, but still, she couldn't exactly say the artificial Blade was wrong...

"Tch, okay, we'll do some bloody research." the Gormotti conceded somewhat grudgingly. "Where're you planning on doing this, eh? Not like we're gonna find anything useful in Torigoth."

Dromarch hummed in response. "I have put some thought into that as well. Although Indol seems the most likely place to find answers, a group of unregistered drivers and Blades such as ours would likely not be welcome." In truth, there was another reason for Dromarch and Nia to want to avoid the Praetorium, but he didn't feel the need to say it. "Instead, I propose we take a trip to the Urayan capital."

"Uraya, huh? How'd you figure that?" Nia wondered curiously.

"Fonsa Myma is a large city with a considerable deal of history behind it. We should find no shortage of resources there." the bestial Blade replied.

"It is also a place where we would not need to be concerned about Ardainian scrutiny, given the history between the two nations." Gramps added.

"Hmm. I guess that makes sense, yeah. Anyone got any problems?" Nia asked, looking around at the rest of the group. She was mostly met with shrugs and shaking heads. "Right, Uraya it is then. But... how're we gonna get there? No way we'd be able to take a ship from Torigoth, the army's gotta be watching anything that comes or goes..."

"...And though they let us go, they might react badly if we tried to book passage to Uraya, their sworn rivals. A fair point, my lady." Dromarch realized, sounding like he was trying to work through a complicated puzzle.

"Tora has an idea, friends!" the Nopon exclaimed proudly. "We not need ship from Torigoth, there is old friend of Tora's family in Gormott: Umon! Umon is shipbuilder, so we can take boat without bully soldiers ever knowing."

"Huh, that's pretty convenient." Rex commented, nonplussed. Nia agreed with the sentiment, though lucky coincidences hardly surprised her at this point, given how frequently they had been occurring. She didn't really want to think about what might happen if and when that luck ran out.

"Well, I'm glad we have a plan." Pyra said. "But it's very late and we've all been through a lot. I don't want anyone running themselves ragged." she concluded in a concerned, almost motherly sort of tone. Still, nobody could really argue, it had been late at night when their rescue had taken place, and that was several hours ago now. It might very well be early in the morning at this point. Even powerful Blades needed sleep. So, with that said, everyone began to settle down for the night. While most of the group had to make do with sleeping on the ground, Nia clambered up onto Dromarch's back as usual. After a moment, the tiger-like Blade looked over at Pyra and waved one paw, beckoning her over. With a small smile, the Aegis sat down in front of Dromarch and laid back, her head resting against his side. The fact that Dromarch invited her to do that was a small gesture... but Pyra couldn't shake off the warm feeling of being included.

---

When the group finally awakened late into the morning, they set off for Umon's shipyard, which was located on the other side of the Gormott titan's back, past the great ridges that ran along its spine. Fortunately, though Tora hadn't visited Umon in about a year, he still knew the path like the back of his wings, so it only took a couple hours of walking to reach the shipyard. And from there, everything proceeded surprisingly smoothly – Umon was perfectly happy to lend the ship he was working on to Tora without asking too many probing questions, in fact he seemed quite impressed with Tora for having finished the artificial Blade project. All the group had to do was help him gather a few parts to put the finishing touches on the ship – a task which proved to be almost trivial when they had an experienced salvager like Rex available. And so it was that the Aegis's driver and her motley crew set out for the kingdom of Uraya.

---

Submerged in the depths of the cloud sea was a very well-kept secret, a true marvel of ancient engineering: a massive battleship, so large that it was essentially a mobile fortress. This high-tech vessel was known as the Marsanes, and it happened to serve as the headquarters of a particular group. Not too long ago, the black ship called the Monoceros had docked within the Marsanes, and now some of the members of the notorious terrorist group Torna were gathered in the bay, discussing their next move.

"Honestly, I'm still amazed by how it all played out." commented a lean young man with slightly messy black hair, dressed in an outfit not that different from Malos's, but colored blue. On his waist were two glowing blue katanas, and perched on the bridge of his nose were a pair of rectangular glasses with striking red frames. "My script accounted for the Aegis awakening, of course, but choosing Nia of all people? Truly, there is no accounting for taste!" he proclaimed in a slightly over-dramatic voice, as if he was making a show for an audience only he could see.

"You got that right, Akhos!" chimed in a rather childish voice from above. Floating around over the man's head was his Blade, a rather odd-looking figure resembling a young girl, with an outfit made of some sort of light gray chitinous material, the upper half of her face obscured by a large mask with no eye holes. Wrapped around her were six odd wing-like organs, which curiously didn't seem to actually be attached to her body. "Nia's gone all villain-y now. In hindsight, she never really fit in, though, so really it's easy to see she'd screw it up." the Blade said, placing one finger on her chin in mock-thoughtfulness.

"You know, she's not wrong." Malos drawled lazily from where he was leaning back against one of the cold metal walls, arms crossed. He glanced over at Jin, who had been quiet as usual. "Why did you bring that brat along, anyway?" he asked.

The white-haired swordsman let out a small "hmph" and crossed his own arms. "We had no idea how the Aegis might be defended. And Nia was our most experienced medic. It made tactical sense." Jin replied in a tone which brooked absolutely no argument.

"Tch, whatever." Malos grunted, doing an admirable job at making it seem like he didn't care for the conversation.

"And she really earned that trust, didn't she?" Akhos said, his voice thick with sarcasm. Jin's trademark piercing gaze fixed on him, and he raised his hands defensively. "Ah, not that I'm questioning your judgment, but come now, even you must admit that Nia was the weak link in that chain." The masked man simply stared down Akhos for a few more moments, just long enough to intimidate him slightly – not that he would admit it - before finally speaking.

"Do we know their current location?" Jin inquired bluntly.

Akhos pushed his glasses up with one finger, a smirk playing across his face. "Naturally! Of course I'd never be such an amateur as to lose track of them." he replied haughtily. "Obrona, that's your cue."

"Yeah, whatever." the floating Blade replied, pouting slightly. Still, she floated down next to her driver and held up one hand, which glowed a brilliant yellow. In a flash, a cluster of golden holograms appeared hovering in the air – detailed depictions of every major titan, accurately positioned relative to each other and the World Tree as they were in real life. A cluster of glowing dots lit up in empty space not far out from the holographic Gormott, gradually moving away from the deer-like titan.

"It would appear they've taken a ship, heading away from Gormott... And judging from the direction, it would appear they're heading towards Uraya." Akhos explained, pointing out the cluster, then to a large whale-like titan that was indeed directly in their path. "Oh, and this is interesting... You see, this is Dromarch's wavelength, and this is the Aegis's..." he said, pointing out two particular dots. Then he indicated a third glowing spot. "But this one isn't familiar. So either Nia has awakened another Blade, or else their little band has another driver."

"You think it's Nia's pet salvager?" Malos scoffed derisively.

"I honestly couldn't say." Akhos answered with a shrug before turning back to the display. "And there's one more thing. Look here, a certain shipment has set out." he added, pointing out another glowing cluster which appeared on the map – this one moving towards a titan that resembled a massive bird or dragon.

"Core crystals set for Indol to be 'cleansed'. Fills me with reverence." Malos drawled sarcastically. Nobody disagreed with him on that point.

"I'll handle that. Akhos, deal with the Aegis." Jin commanded. Akhos nodded his assent, and Jin paused as if deep in thought. "...Do whatever you have to about Nia." he added after a moment. There was just the slightest hint of resignation in his voice, though if his companions picked up on it, they didn't comment.

"Right, I'm going with him. And we're taking the Monoceros." Malos declared. Jin hummed in thought.

"Very well." was all the white-haired swordsman said before turning his back and walking away. While Malos watched him go, Akhos turned his attention back to the projection, specifically the cluster of dots which represented the Aegis & co.

"I must admit, I'm looking forward to this. Every good script needs a bit of conflict." Akhos commented theatrically. "Such a shame my dear sister wasn't available for this task. I'm sure she'd be quite jealous."

"Well that's what she gets for being out all the time!" Obrona agreed with a somewhat-malicious giggle.

"Hmph. Let's get going. Come on, Sever!" Malos barked, walking across the gangplank to board the Monoceros, his monstrous Blade soon joining him. Obrona's holographic display vanished into nothingness and soon she and Akhos had fallen in line behind Malos. Within a couple minutes, they'd taken their stations within the black vessel, and it quickly submerged beneath the pocket of clouds within the bay. With the press of a button, a pair of massive steel doors slid open on the side of the Marsanes, granting access to the rest of the cloud sea, and soon the Monoceros had departed for the Urayan titan.

Chapter 8: CH8: A Day in Fonsa Myma

The ship borrowed from Umon pulled into Fonsa Myma Port without any issues, the cloud sea transitioning to normal water once they were inside the whale-like titan. There had been a close call where the titan nearly swallowed them, but they managed to see it coming in time to avoid it, and the voyage was otherwise uneventful. With the ship safely docked, everyone disembarked and really got their first good look at Fonsa Myma. It was obvious even at a glance that the Urayan capital was a very different sort of city than Torigoth – while the Gormotti city was all wood and warm colors, Fonsa Myma's buildings were almost all made from gray stone, with rooftops often colored in cool blue tones. The port itself was fairly dark, sitting in the shadow of the rest of the city, with street lamps bathing the quiet docks in an orange glow. While Rex and Corvin headed over to the Urayan authorities manning the port to pay off the fee for docking, Nia and everyone else wandered off to the far side, facing away from the city and out towards the rest of Uraya.

Fonsa Myma was built rather high up within the titan, atop some high cliffs, meaning that from the open port, the group had a fantastic vantage point overlooking the titan's stomach. Compared to the sweeping green plains of Gormott, Uraya seemed very alien indeed, but perhaps even more spectacular. The stomach of the titan was a truly massive, open cavern with high cliffs surrounding multi-tiered pools of water below. Great natural bridges spanned from cliff to cliff, and much of the landscape was covered in an odd blueish grass. The cave was illuminated by sunlight filtering in from huge, semi-transparent membranes on the titan's back. Trees grew throughout the cavern, both along the cliffsides and down in the waters below. They were Saffronia trees, a species unique to Uraya – while not as large as Gormott's great oaks, they were still quite impressive in their own right, especially their leaves. Rather than green, the Saffronia trees had canopies of brilliant orange and pink shades, which appeared to be faintly glowing, giving them an almost mystical vibe.

"It's... beautiful." Pyra breathed, crossing her hands over her core crystal. "I've been to Uraya once before, but... I didn't really appreciate it then." she murmured, seemingly more to herself than anyone else.

"Hmm, yeah, it's not bad." Nia admitted nonchalantly, though Pyra could tell from the Gormotti's face that she was more impressed than she let on.

"Starting to appreciate my suggestion that we travel here, perhaps?" Dromarch queried, eyeing his driver with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Oi! Don't sound so smug, your idea's still boring." Nia huffed, her arms crossed, though everyone knew that her irritation wasn't remotely sincere. Dromarch bowed his head as if to concede the argument, and after a moment Nia reached out to place one hand on his back. Pyra smiled, getting the distinct impression that this sort of interaction was common between the two.

"...Meh. Tora prefers Gormott. Uraya titan seem all damp, no good for Nopon fur." Tora commented, reaching up to smooth out some of the fur on top of his head. Not that it really needed smoothing, a fact which Poppi took notice of, giving her masterpon a skeptical look.

"Well, I've got us all sorted out!" a voice declared cheerfully, and Nia turned to see Rex striding up to join them, Corvin at his side, both with casual smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, Rex." Pyra replied with a sincere smile of her own. Nia simply grunted and nodded her head, seemingly in agreement with the Aegis, and Rex rubbed the back of his head slightly awkwardly.

"Right then, let's get this show on the road. Standing around here is gettin' a bit dull." Nia said, and without further ado the group began to head away from the port so that they could get to the city proper. On their way, they crossed by Fonsa Myma's famed Great Stairway, an absolutely massive staircase leading all the way from the depths of the titan's stomach up to the Olethro Ruins built on the titan's exterior, with the city situated in-between. Pyra gazed at the passage carved through the titan up to the ruins as they passed, an odd look on her face, though nobody else seemed to notice her pensiveness.

Fonsa Myma was a fairly sprawling city, befitting the capital of the Kingdom of Uraya, one of Alrest's major powers. The buildings had a fairly uniform gray stone aesthetic, as if they'd all been designed by the same person, but they came in all shapes and sizes, tightly packed in loosely-organized clusters. The city didn't have a consistent street grid of any sort, it was more like buildings had been built wherever they could be atop the cliffs. The whole place was obviously not built on level ground, with the various districts of the city being built in tiers, with stone stairways leading from one level to the next. The landing of the Great Stairway, the direction the group came from, appeared to be the highest tier, with the city's commercial district and front gates being the lowest. Even though it was all the way across the city, the marketplace was where the group decided to begin their search, at the suggestion of Dromarch and Gramps. Nia noticed that the two seemed to be taking the lead a lot lately, but she wasn't complaining – it saved her the trouble.

The commercial district was about what one would expect – a bustling open-air marketplace, with vendors at wooden stalls hawking all manner of goods from food to perfumes, some shops lining the streets while others were clustered within an open plaza. It was perhaps the one aspect of the city that was really similar to Torigoth, though Fonsa Myma's market was of course larger and more crowded, befitting the scale of the city itself.

"Place seems pretty lively. Reminds me a bit of Argentum on a sale day." Rex commented, looking around at the crowded marketplace. His gaze fell on a group of people lined up near the outer perimeter of the round plaza, waiting their turn to get to a table manned by a pair of Urayan soldiers, identifiable by their impractically-bulky armor. The soldiers were handing some sort of packages out to the people who approached the table, though Rex couldn't immediately tell what they were. "Huh, what's goin' on over there?" he wondered, drawing the rest of the group's attention.

"If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're handing out food rations." Gramps replied thoughtfully, placing one claw on his chin as he examined the scene.

"Rations?" Rex repeated. "You mean, like, people barely have enough to eat?"

"I suspect so. With Uraya funneling all their resources into the military to prep for war with Mor Ardain, it's no surprise that the common citizens might face shortages." the titan explained evenly.

"That's awful..." Pyra murmured sympathetically.

Beside Rex, Corvin frowned as he listened to the discussion. "I don't know what their grudge with Mor Ardain is, but it can't excuse letting their own people struggle." the blond Blade commented with obvious distate.

"You're not wrong, but there's not much we can do about, yeah?" Nia replied cynically. Corvin didn't seem happy with that answer, but he didn't say anything more.

"Mehmehmeh, bully armies are the same no matter what country." Tora muttered, Poppi nodding her head sadly in agreement.

"Well, all the more reason to get to Elysium, then. Then nobody'll have to worry about stuff like that anymore!" Rex exclaimed hopefully. Nia rolled her eyes at his optimism, though she didn't really mean it. "I hope he's right..." she thought.

"Speaking of which, we still have a task to attend to." Dromarch interjected, glancing around at the group. "I suggest seeking out a public library, or failing that, bookstores, if we desire information."

"Hmm, indeed. But I don't think we all need to group together, now do we?" Gramps suggested.

"True..." the tiger-like Blade conceded.

"If it okay with friends, Tora would like to browse marketplace for new parts for Poppi." the Nopon commented. Poppi shook her head.

"Masterpon just wants to be lazy today." Poppi said matter-of-factly. Nia and Pyra couldn't help laughing at the flustered expression that overtook the Nopon's face.

"Mehmeh! Th-that not true! Tora is productive driver!" Tora stammered, while Poppi simply shook her head.

Dromarch hummed. "Very well. And you, Master Rex?" he asked, turning to the salvager. Rex put his hand on his chin in thought.

"I reckon I'd do better asking around for rumors rather than pouring through books. Plus, I might wanna look at new core chips for Corvin." the brown-haired boy said after a moment.

"Plus, it'll give us a chance to hang out. Sounds like a great idea to me!" Corvin agreed cheerily, clapping one hand on Rex's shoulder as he did.

"...And that leaves me, Dromarch, and Pyra with the dullest job. Great." Nia huffed, her arms crossed in a slightly pouty manner.

"Come now, my lady. Don't you think you are overselling it?" Dromarch chided. Beside him, Pyra nodded in agreement.

"Besides, do you really want to split up with Dromarch in a big city... after what happened in Torigoth?" Pyra added pointedly.

"Tch! It's not the same and you bloody know it!" Nia protested, though Pyra simply raised an eyebrow in response and Nia looked away, grumbling.

Dromarch leaned close to Pyra. "I see you're learning to manage my lady's moods." he commented quietly so only the redhead could hear him. Pyra nodded, a small smile on her face.

"I believe I will join your party as well, if you don't mind. I can certainly handle the occasional scholarly pursuit." Gramps declared suddenly, removing himself from Rex's helmet and fluttering over towards Dromarch. The bestial Blade gave a small nod, and the miniature titan settled down on his back.

"Right, so how 'bout we all meet back up at that inn we passed by?" Rex suggested. Nobody voiced any objections to the idea, so the group split up to go about their various business.

---

A couple hours and a lot of wandering around the city later, Nia's group found themselves having very little luck when it came to their research – meaning that the actual researching hadn't even really begun. It was, as it turned out, surprisingly difficult to get any sort of lead on Elysium beyond the old fairy tales that pretty much every little child in Alrest knew. Especially since they didn't seem to be able to locate a public library or anything of the sort, so they had to resort to scouring bookstores instead.

"Welcome to Aldomar Books, my name's Cybine. Anything I can help you with?" greeted a vendor as they approached. Dromarch put on a polite smile and stepped forwards, while Nia simply crossed her arms. "Hope we get somethin' this time." the Gormotti thought, a flicker of boredom crossing her face.

"Perhaps." the bestial Blade answered evenly. "Do you, perchance, have anything relating to the history of Elysium and the World Tree?" he asked. The Urayan shopkeep put a hand on her chin in thought.

"Elysium, huh? I might have some books of fairy tales..." she answered after a moment, and Nia let out a groan of resignation. Dromarch's eyes flicked towards his driver for a moment as he gave a tiny, near-imperceptible sigh.

"Please pardon my lady, but we were hoping for something a bit more... informative." Dromarch explained, his tone of calm politeness not wavering for a second.

Cybine shook her head. "Sorry about that, but it's a pretty fantastical topic. Why're you interested in it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ah, you could consider our interest to be scholarly." Gramps chimed in from Dromarch's back, earning a curious look from the Urayan, both because of what he'd said and because of what he was. "While many scoff at the idea of Elysium, we believe it might be real and wish to ascertain the truth of the matter." the titan elaborated smoothly. The best part was that he wasn't even lying, really, simply omitting the crucial details about Pyra.

The shopkeep eyed the group curiously – they certainly didn't look like what she would expect from traveling scholars. A Gormotti who definitely had the look of a fighter rather than an intellectual, a Blade whose polite attitude contrasted his bestial visage, another Blade with a very abnormal core crystal – green instead of blue, and a tiny titan that talked like an old man. They were easily the strangest gaggle of characters the Urayan had ever seen. However, she decided that their oddities were their business, and seeking Elysium seemed like a benign enough goal, if a little childish.

"I'm sorry I can't help you, but... I know someone who might be able to." the book-seller began slightly uncertainly, causing Nia and Dromarch to raise their eyebrows in perfect sync. "His name's Cole, he runs the theatre troupe over at the Mymoma Playhouse. I don't know him that well, but he's done a bunch of plays about major events in Alrest's history, apparently he's pretty passionate about it. If anyone could point you in the right direction it'd probably be him."

"The theatre, huh?" Nia muttered thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "Well, it's somethin' at least." she admitted with just a small note of satisfaction – there was no guarantee that this Cole would know anything, but it was certainly better than just wandering around the city.

"Thank you for your time." Pyra said sincerely, bowing her head slightly in gratitude towards the Urayan. Nia grunted in agreement with her Blade, then, after a moment's pause, took out her coin purse and tossed a few pieces of gold to the shopkeeper. "Eh, figure she deserves a bit for trying to help, at least." was roughly what Nia was thinking. Dromarch eyed his driver curiously, taking note of the fact that she was being somewhat more generous than usual, but he had an approving smile on his face as the group turned and walked away.

---

Meanwhile, Rex and Corvin weren't having any luck with their search either. After a bunch of wandering which ultimately wasn't that different from what Nia's group had been doing, just without the focus on literature, they found themselves back in the central plaza of the commercial district. As they stopped for a few moments to glance around the market once again, Corvin decided to speak up.

"You know, in hindsight, maybe looking for rumors about something that's supposed to be a myth isn't the best idea." he pointed out, his easygoing tone indicating that he didn't mean any offense to Rex.

The salvager gave a slightly uncharacteristic sigh of resignation. "Yeah, I guess you're right." he admitted. "I was just never much one for book-learning, you know? Fonsett Village hasn't got a school, so Gramps taught me stuff instead."

"Eh, fair enough." Corvin replied with a casual shrug. "So, Fonsett Village? That's where you're from?" he asked curiously, somewhat interested to learn a bit more about his driver.

"Yep! I'm a Leftherian, through and through." Rex declared, smirking with a hint of pride. Sure, Fonsett wasn't the most glamorous place by any means, but he had nothing but fondness for the place. "You know, that's kinda what got me into this whole adventure, if you think about it." he commented, placing one hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Corvin wondered, raising his eyebrows slightly. It was at that moment that Rex realized nobody had really bothered to fully explain to the Blade everything that had happened and why they were doing what they were doing. The salvager instantly felt his respect for his Blade growing, as he'd been willing to cheerfully go along with them without complaint, just out of loyalty to his driver.

"Well, I was at the Argentum Guild, business as usual, when I found out that Chairman Bana wanted to see me, because he had a big salvaging job, but the clients wanted a Leftherian specifically..." Rex began to explain, and before long he was regaling the blonde Blade with the whole story. Corvin, for his part, was a surprisingly attentive listener, much more than you'd expect from such a casual, cocky sort of guy.

---

"Wait, so Brighid decided to just arrest you like that? Seriously?" Corvin wondered disapprovingly. Rex nodded emphatically.

"I know, right? That's what I said." the salvager replied with a hint of annoyance at the memory. His Blade opened his mouth to reply, but before he could...

"Hold it right there, chums!" called out a rather bombastic voice, and Rex and Corvin both immediately whipped around to face the source of the commotion. Striding towards them were a pair of figures wearing hooded cloaks which didn't do a very good job of hiding them – in fact, it only made them seem more conspicuous. One of them was a tall, muscular man in a long gray coat which, for whatever reason, had no shirt underneath. On his back was a ridiculously huge black greatsword. The other was a girl around Corvin's height, dressed in a slightly frilly black and purple ensemble, with large round glasses shining below her hood. The strangers came to a stop and both struck an exaggerated hands-on-hips pose. "Saw you two walking around with the Aegis earlier! How about you be pals and bring us to her, eh?" the man spoke again in his incredibly hammy voice.

Rex blinked a couple times in confusion. "What? Who're you?" he asked, sounding as baffled as he looked. He glanced over at Corvin, who simply shrugged, indicating that he didn't have any idea either.

The man laughed sharply, and as if on cue, he and the girl both dramatically tossed their cloaks aside, revealing their faces. The man had a head of messy gray hair and, quite noticeably, an eyepatch over his left eye. The girl, meanwhile, had distinctly inhuman features, with green hair, pointed ears, and what appeared to be light bulbs for shoulders. The core crystal on her chest, an unusual shape like a rectangle with a triangular wedge taken out of it, confirmed her identity as a Blade. The two crossed their arms in perfect sync as if expecting Rex to recognize them, but he simply continued to stare blankly.

"Ugh!" the man groaned. "You really must be total newbie if you don't recognize the legendary... Zeke! Von! Genbu! But you can call me the Bringer of Chaos... or the Zekenator!" Zeke declared, loudly enough that half of Uraya probably heard him. His introduction was punctuated with some dramatic posing, which his Blade imitated. "And this is my incredible Blade, Pandoria!" he added after a moment. "Now, how about you lead us to the Aegis... unless you'd like a taste of the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher!?" As he said that, he brandished the massive sword from his back, the edges of which lit up into a proper blue ether weapon. While Rex was still gawking in confusion at the rather... exuberant character before him, Corvin stepped forwards confidently.

"So, you two want info on Pyra... and you're willing to fight for it?" he asked cockily, though of course he already knew the answer.

"Yeah-huh!" Zeke confirmed with a nod. The blonde simply smirked in response to that.

"Heh! You're on! We can take you, no trouble!" Corvin boasted, his scarf once again starting to flutter seemingly through pure force of drama. "Right, Rex?" he added, nudging his driver with one elbow. The brown-haired boy finally shook himself out of his stupor and nodded.

"Right, bring it on!" he agreed after a moment, and immediately found Corvin's black sword being passed into his hands. Once again, the white sword was withheld, and Rex still wasn't sure why.

Zeke matched Corvin's smirk with his own. "Don't bite off more than you can chew, blondie!" he warned. Then, without further ado, he dashed at the pair, dragging his sword on the cobblestones apparently just for the sake of looking cool, before arcing the blade up in a massive uppercut towards Rex, who immediately jumped back to avoid it, then lunged forwards with his own strike, though Zeke similarly responded by jumping back. He was a lot more agile than you would expect from someone lugging such a massive weapon, Rex had to give him that. The Dreamsmasher hurtled through the air again, sideways this time, and Rex immediately moved to deflect it, just as he would any normal sword. However, while Corvin's weapons were by no means puny, they couldn't compare to the ludicrous thing Zeke called a sword, and it was only pure luck that Rex managed to keep his grip on his katana against the sheer weight that smashed into it. As his hands stung from reverberations, he immediately decided that dodging was preferable to blocking.

Rex ducked and weaved as Zeke struck at him several more times, finding that the large sword really wasn't that hard to avoid. Compared to how quickly he could run and dodge, Zeke's actual attacks seemed surprisingly cumbersome, like he wasn't really trying. Corvin thrust out his hands to supply Rex with ether, and the salvager swiftly unleashed a burst of light from his sword which blasted Zeke square in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. He grunted in pain, but he didn't have any serious injuries, clearly tough enough to take a hit or two. Zeke stared his opponents down for a moment before disconnecting the long handle from his sword and tossing it to Pandoria, who brandished it like a scepter. With a cheeky grin on her face, the Blade waved her weapon through the air and Rex and Corvin immediately figured out why it was called the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher, as a huge bolt of – what else – purple lightning cast from the staff and cracked towards them. Corvin, fortunately, was quick on his feet, and the moment he'd seen Pandoria leveling the staff, he'd yanked Rex out of the direct line and surrounded them with an ether barrier just to be safe.

Fortunately, the shield ended up being unnecessary, as the lightning tore right past them... and at that point, everyone remembered they were fighting in the middle of a marketplace. The purple bolt smashed into a wooden table where the local fishmonger had placed some of her wares. The table, naturally, exploded in a shower of splinters, sending dead fish flying all around, and the merchant in question promptly scampered away with a yelp. Pandoria looked at the scene with an awkward expression on her face, and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry! We'll pay you for that later!" she called after the fleeing fishmonger, before turning back to Zeke, who had one hand over his face in exasperation. The green-haired Blade swiftly handed her weapon back to her driver, who combined it back into sword form with a little more dramatic flourishing than was strictly necessary. Corvin turned to Rex, who gave him a nod, and then drew the white katana from his back. Together, with glowing light ether blazing in both their weapons, they charged at Zeke and struck at him with several coordinated slashes – Rex would slice from one angle, while Corvin would strike from another, creating an impressive flurry of attacks. Zeke, however, did a remarkably good job at dodging and blocking each attack, managing to weather the storm without getting seriously hurt, all with a smirk on his face. Rex couldn't shake the feeling that the bombastic man was just toying with them. As if to confirm that suspicion, Zeke backed up a few steps and held up his sword, purple lightning starting to crackle along it.

"Not bad, chums! But are you ready for my super-ultra-mega move!?" he bellowed, and Rex and Corvin both held their katanas up defensively.

"Do your worst! We can handle anything." Corvin replied, matching Zeke's boastfulness with his own.

"You asked for it!" Zeke roared, as Pandoria sent a huge amount of lightning ether into his sword, which was engulfed in a shroud of purple electricity now. "Bringer of Chaos!" he shouted, leaping up into the air with his weapon held high. "Ultimate Lightning Fury Sl-" But whatever he was going to do didn't get to happen, as when he landed, one of his feet planted onto one of the fish that had fallen earlier, and the momentum of Zeke's attack simply sent him slipping forwards and smashing into the ground face-first, the lightning fizzling out from his sword as it clattered to the ground. Nobody moved for several seconds, not even Zeke.

"W-what just happened!? Is he out cold?" Rex eventually managed to ask. Indeed, Zeke's pratfall seemed to have knocked him unconscious. Pandoria, seeing nothing better to do, hefted her fallen driver up onto her back in one swift motion, as if she'd done this several times before.

"Ehehe... You two don't mind if we just... go, right?" the green-haired Blade asked, looking to Rex and Corvin. Though her large glasses were so shiny that they appeared nearly opaque, it was obvious that her face was nervous.

"...Sure, go ahead." Corvin replied, sounding distinctly nonplussed. That whole turn of events had clearly come out of left field for pretty much everyone. Pandoria immediately scampered off with her unconscious driver in tow.

"We should, uh, get out of here before Urayan soldiers show up lookin' for whoever trashed the market, eh? Don't fancy getting arrested again." Rex suggested after a couple minutes of silently processing everything that happened. As the two immediately left the scene and headed for the inn, Rex glanced at his Blade. "So, you think we should tell Nia someone else's after Pyra?" he asked. Corvin mulled over the question for a moment.

"Eh, maybe. Personally, I don't really think that guy's much of a threat. He was having far too much fun." the blonde answered with a small shrug. Rex couldn't help but agree – compared to the likes of Jin and Malos, Zeke Von Genbu didn't seem like something they needed to worry about all that much. As they arrived at the inn, Rex was surprised to see everyone else waiting for them, both Nia's group and Tora's.

"Ah, here friends come!" the Nopon exclaimed, drawing the rest of the group's attention.

"Oi, there you are! Been out here forever..." Nia grumbled upon turning to see them.

"So, what's up, you guys? Any luck?" Corvin greeted them with his usual friendliness.

"Eh, kinda?" Nia answered noncommittally, crossing her arms. "We didn't find any bloody books, but we got a tip on some bloke who might know something." she explained in response to Rex's unasked question.

"And since that person runs the local theatre group, I suggested that we all meet up and go see their performance together." Pyra stepped in to finish the story. Rex rubbed his chin, humming in thought.

"You know, that's not a bad idea, could be fun. Never been to the theatre before." he decided, and Pyra gave him a small smile, glad that her ideas were appreciated. With that decided, the group stopped into the inn to go ahead and get their rooms rented for the day, before heading back out for the Mymoma Playhouse.

Chapter 9: CH9: A Night in Fonsa Myma

"And I saw at that time that the powers of darkness had engulfed almost everything! People and titans alike were drawn into the abyssal vortex! The apocalypse was upon us, the end was nigh!" the narrator declared, the scene depicting a great wooden ship sailing atop the cloud sea. "But then, despite the wounds all over his body, the great Addam stood!" Thunder struck in the background as a man in ornate, regal-looking white armor marched proudly to the bow of the ship.

"O Architect, grant me power!" the man pleaded to the heavens, holding a shining golden sword above his head. "Power to banish the dark! Power to illuminate the world!" Once again, there was a crack of thunder, as the cloud sea gave way to dry land. The surroundings were enveloped in a shroud of darkness, and a group of shadowy creatures arose from nowhere. The man jumped down from the ship and held his sword, ready to do battle with the monsters despite how bleak it seemed. Suddenly, a ray of light shone from above, and a figure dressed all in white with long golden hair descended from the heavens. "Lo, loyal servant of the Architect... The Aegis!" the man declared in awe. "O Aegis, bless me with your power! Bring light upon the world!" he entreated the radiant woman. Answering his pleas, the woman waved her hand and golden light enveloped the scene, the shadowy monsters bursting into flames.

"Thus they defeated the darkness!" the narrator announced victoriously, but his face soon turned grim. "But at a terrible price... three great continents sank beneath the sea of clouds forever." The scene changed again, now the man was standing in an empty chamber with a light-filled doorway behind him. Laying immobile on the ground before him was the woman in white, looking decidedly less majestic than before.

"Servant of the Architect, by thy power the world is saved! For the gift you have granted us, we are eternally grateful." the man said sincerely. He pointed one hand upwards with conviction. "I shall spread thy legend far and wide! May your name live on for eternity!" With that said, the man carefully took the fallen figure into his arms and turned away, walking solemnly towards the doorway... his retreating form the last thing that could be seen before the curtain closed.

---

Everyone in the audience politely applauded the performance. Everyone, that is, except for Pyra, who simply gazed ahead with a distant look in her eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by the Gormotti seated beside her, who looked at her Blade with a hint of concern. As the group filed out of the auditorium so that they could head backstage and find the man they were looking for, Nia grabbed everyone else's attention.

"Hey, give us a minute?" she asked quietly, jerking her thumb behind her, where Pyra was slowly trailing along, seemingly still lost in thought. Though a couple of them were curious about what was going on, Rex especially, the group nonetheless nodded and headed around the nearest corner to give Nia a bit of space. With a small sigh, she walked over to Pyra and lightly touched her on the shoulder to get her attention. "So... that was a bit awkward, right?" Nia began, and the redhead looked at her curiously.

"Awkward? I thought it was an incredible performance." Pyra answered, a smile crossing her face, though it didn't quite meet her eyes. Nia could tell that her enthusiasm was forced.

"Come on, that play was about you. It must've been pretty strange... I saw the look on your face." Nia replied, her tone sympathetic, but firm enough to make it clear she wasn't buying Pyra's act.

"N-no, it's fine. Really." the Aegis awkwardly tried to pass it off, but Nia's expression told her that it still wasn't convincing. "It just brought back some old memories... but some of them were good. You don't need to worry about me." she eventually said quietly.

Nia sighed again. "Alright. Just... If you want to talk, lemme know, yeah? I'm not gonna bite." she offered. Pyra gave her a small smile in return, and this one was decidedly more sincere.

"...I know, Nia. Thank you." That seemed to be all the Gormotti could hope for at the moment, so together the two of them went to catch up with the rest of the group. As they approached, Dromarch eyed Nia curiously, but she shook her head slightly – a signal not to talk about it now, she'd tell him later. Thankfully, he seemed to get the message.

"So, friend Pyra..." Tora addressed the Aegis curiously. "Tora was wondering, was any of play actually true?" he asked. Nia scowled at the Nopon, finding the question a bit insensitive, but Pyra didn't seem to be too bothered.

"Well..." she began, holding her arms behind her back thoughtfully as if formulating how best to answer. "Addam was a real person, but... The writer took a lot of creative liberties." she said, trying to phrase it as tactfully as possible. Before Tora could ask her to elaborate, a dry chuckle echoed through the hallway.

"Creative liberties. Heh. That's a good line, I should use it next time I deal with uppity critics." The source of the voice was an elderly man in a brown robe. As he approached, he lowered his hood, revealing tanned skin and light brown hair. There was a very prominent, dark-colored scar over his left eye, as if part of his face had been torn open once, though the eye itself appeared undamaged. It was that scar which Pyra's gaze fell on, her eyes widening slightly with a hint of recognition, though she chose not to speak up right away.

"Right, and who're you?" Nia asked, crossing her arms and eyeing the man with a hint of suspicion. Not that such an old guy seemed like much of a threat, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"Hmph, I'm getting to that. The name's Cole, I run this little show." the man replied, unfazed by Nia's very slightly hostile greeting. Pyra's eyebrows furrowed curiously.

"You're Cole?" the Aegis repeated, locking eyes with the man. But whatever silent conversation they were having, nobody else seemed to notice it. "Well, we actually came here to talk to you..." she said.

Cole hummed in thought. "I see... Let's step into my office and you can tell me what this is all about." he said, gesturing towards a door at the end of the hall. He didn't get far before another interruption came, however.

"Grandpa?" called a voice that was immediately recognizable as a young girl. And, indeed, a little Urayan girl with pale blue hair was approaching them. "Is everything alright?" she wondered, eyeing the unfamiliar group uncertainly. Cole turned to her with a comforting smile.

"Yes, of course, Iona. I'm just going to have a word with these good people, it won't take long." he answered soothingly. "Would you wait here?" he asked, and the girl nodded without too much hesitation. Pyra smiled sweetly at Iona before turning back to Cole.

"She's... your granddaughter?" Pyra asked quietly.

"Not by blood, but I took her in some years back." the old man clarified as the group all filed into the room he'd directed them towards. Cole's office certainly fit with what Nia had been told about his passion for history. There were large shelves stocked with old books, bundles of maps and charts sticking out of boxes, and various relics like shiny trinkets and dusty rugs piled up in corners. It was the perfect picture of an old, accomplished scholar's workplace. Through another door was a small bedroom, a fact which Nia took note of. "Literally lives where he works... credit for dedication, if nothin' else." she thought. "So..." Cole began, closing the door behind them. "What can this old timer help you with?"

"We heard you're kind of an authority on old, obscure stuff. That true?" Nia was the first to answer. Cole turned to her with a searching expression, as if trying to get a read on her.

"I suppose you could say that. But what, uh, subject did you have in mind?"

"You know anythin' about the World Tree? You know, getting to Elysium and all that." Nia replied. Cole's eyes widened slightly at that.

"Elysium?" he repeated, his gaze shifting back over to Pyra. "So it really is you, then. I thought so. The Aegis, back amongst us..." he muttered. "But if you're here, then who is your driver?"

"That'd be me." Nia answered, pointing a thumb at her chest, and once again Cole's gaze shifted back onto her.

"You? But you're so young..." the old man said with audible surprise. He glanced over at Rex and Tora as well. "...You all are." he murmured.

Nia huffed indignantly. "I know what I'm doing, I'm not a child!" she snapped, scowling at the old man.

"Yeah! Just 'cause we're young, doesn't make us helpless." Rex agreed. He wasn't as offended as Nia, but he still didn't really like being looked down on for his age.

"Easy! I wasn't meaning to imply that." Cole said, putting his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender. At this point, Dromarch decided that it was time to step in and play peacemaker.

"Pardon me, good sir, but you haven't yet answered the question: can you help us reach Elysium?" the bestial Blade questioned, his tone polite as usual.

"Please." Pyra added. Cole gave a resigned sigh.

"Hmmm... I'm not sure. How much do you know? Have you already tried going yourselves?"

"No. We came to the conclusion that would be rather too easy." Dromarch replied, glancing at his lady – it had been her who had initially said as much, after all.

"Heh. Then I'd say you made the right choice." Cole commented, earning a round of raised eyebrows. "The first thing you need to know is that nobody can reach the tree because a great monster guards the way, attacking any who get too close."

"M-monster? What sort of monster?" Tora asked nervously.

"Poppi thought masterpon wasn't afraid of monsters?" Poppi addressed her driver. Given Poppi's innocent tone, it was hard to tell if it was meant as a genuine question or a barb.

"Mehmeh! Tora isn't!" the Nopon protested, convincing precisely nobody.

"Apparently, it's a colossal metal serpent." Cole said, his gaze flicking to Pyra's core crystal meaningfully, not that anyone noticed.

"A metal serpent...?" Pyra murmured in disbelief, that same far-off look appearing in her eyes again.

"Indeed. Huge, vicious, and incredibly powerful. You wouldn't stand a chance trying to get past it." The way Cole said that made it very clear that he was absolutely serious – whatever this monster was, it was a big deal.

"So we're outta luck? Is that what you're sayin'?" Nia interjected, looking and sounding distinctly unimpressed. "No way we're giving up that easy." she figured.

Cole shook his head. "Not quite. There was one man who went up the tree, a long time ago. And believe it or not, he's still alive. If you asked him, I'd wager he would know how to do it again."

"Well don't keep us in suspense! Who was it?" Rex asked enthusiastically, excited at the prospect of meeting someone who might have actually been to Elysium, or at least gotten close. Cole exhaled slowly, and everyone looked at him expectantly. But the silence soon started to hang awkwardly – it seemed that the old man was hesitant to answer the question.

"Come on, out with it!" Nia grumbled impatiently, one of her ears flicking in annoyance.

"My lady-" Dromarch tried to soothe his driver, but she cut him off.

"No, Dromarch! We need to hear this! I said I'd try to get to Elysium and I bloody well meant it!" the Gormotti snapped. Pyra looked between her driver and fellow Blade worriedly, feeling guilty at the thought that they would argue over a situation that she felt responsible for.

"...I can tell you." Cole eventually spoke, partially just to defuse the tension. "But, I'd like to have a word with the Aegis first." he added, looking to Pyra to see if she was okay with the idea. She nodded politely without hesitation, and Cole ushered her into his bedroom, closing the door behind them. Nia eyed the shut door with her brow furrowed, unsure if she really liked the man all that much.

---

"I'm sorry if the play I wrote stirred up any... painful memories." Cole began once he and Pyra had a bit of privacy to talk. The Aegis once again tried to force a smile.

"It's like I told Nia, it's fine." she replied, but Cole shook his head with a sigh.

"Nia... Your driver?" he asked, having not actually been told the names of the group. Pyra nodded in confirmation. "I see. And was she any more convinced than I am?" The look on the redhead's face told him all he needed to know. "I'm sorry about that, really, but... I just wanted people to know about how things were back then... even if I had to embellish a little." he explained, with a sense of conviction filling his elderly voice.

"It's alright, I understand. It's... good that people know." Pyra said softly.

"Will you be using it again? Your true power, I mean?" Cole asked seriously, a small frown crossing his mouth. No doubt he was really getting down to business now.

Pyra looked down uncomfortably. "I don't know... I'm not planning on it, but... something could force my hand." she murmured. Cole nodded his head slowly in resignation.

"I'm just worried about such a thing being unleashed a second time." the old man breathed sadly.

"I understand. I won't use it unless there's not another way." Pyra replied sincerely. That seemed to be the best answer Cole could hope for, as a little bit of the grimness faded from his expression. The two simply stood there in silent understanding for a few moments, before the old man spoke again.

"That man I spoke of... You know he's the only one who knows much about where you're going. Are you going to meet with him?" The way he said it made it seem like he was expecting Pyra to already know who he was talking about – and indeed, she had a pretty good idea, as much as she didn't like it.

"Yes, we are." the Aegis affirmed with a nod of her head. "We don't have much other choice, it's my destiny."

"Hrmm. I suppose you would know more about that than me." Cole said with a small sigh. "Now, there's one more thing I wanted to talk about... Your driver..."

"I know Nia can be... rough, but her heart's in the right place. I know it is." Pyra spoke up immediately, feeling compelled to defend her driver. Cole chuckled dryly.

"I believe you, I'm not concerned about that. She just seems a bit... different from what I was expecting with you."

"In some ways." Pyra admitted, knowing what Cole was thinking of. "But she doesn't have to be exactly the same, as long as she comes through when it matters. And I think she can."

"So you're that certain of your choice, then?" Cole wondered. The determined expression that crossed Pyra's face was answer enough. "Fair enough." the old man granted with a nod. "In that case, I guess I don't really have an excuse not to help you." he concluded, smiling at the redhead.

"I really appreciate it... And for what it's worth, it's good to see you again... Minoth."

"Heh. Now there's a name I'd almost forgotten."

---

Once they stepped back out into Cole's office, the old man had briefly informed the others that he was going to help them, but he needed to find a particular object first. To that end, he started rummaging around on his shelves and sifting through the various items on his desk.

"Alright, now where was it...?" he muttered, seemingly to himself.

"If you told us what you were looking for, perhaps we would be able to assist?" Gramps suggested, but Cole shook his head in response.

"No, no, it's a rather unique item, I'll know it when I..." he started to say, but was interrupted by a loud cough forming in his throat. "I'll know..." he tried again, but his attempts to speak only caused even more violent hacking and coughing, until he doubled over from the strain of it. The door of the office immediately swung open and Iona rushed in, running to support Cole with a worried expression on her face. Given the circumstances, nobody wanted to call her out on the fact that she must have been eavesdropping to hear the coughing.

"Grandpa! Are you okay?" the girl cried in very obvious concern.

"I'm..." Yet more coughing. "I'm fine. It will pass... in a second..." Cole managed to choke out.

Iona's eyes narrowed. "You're more stubborn than Mr. Vandham sometimes..." she muttered. Even through his coughing fit, Cole was able to chuckle.

"Don't let... him hear that..." he rasped. "But seriously... Don't worry about it..." Given that he had to struggle to say each phrase, it was safe to say that his attempts to downplay it were convincing absolutely nobody. Having seen enough, Dromarch stepped forwards with a serious frown on his face.

"As a healer, I cannot in good conscience allow you to push yourself in your condition, sir." the tiger-like Blade declared sternly. "I insist that you get some rest." he said, then glanced over at his driver for her opinion.

"Yeah." Nia agreed with a nod. "Whatever else I said, I don't want you killing yourself over this." she said, crossing her arms.

"Alright, alright..." Cough. "You win. Come back... tomorrow." Cole eventually conceded, partially due to the look that Iona was giving him, which was roughly comparable to a sad puppy. With that decided, the group promptly headed out of the office, leaving Iona to tend to her grandfather. With their business effectively on hold for the day, and the fact that it was starting to get fairly late into the evening at that point, there wasn't really anything else to do other than head back to the inn. Nia was lost in thought pretty much the whole way there. "There was somethin' odd about that old guy. His illness too."

Nobody noticed the black-haired man observing them as they left the theatre. He pushed his red-rimmed glasses up on his nose, a malicious smirk playing across his face.

---

When they'd first stopped by the inn, the group had ended up renting out two rooms – one for the girls, one for the guys. Partially for the sake of privacy and partially just because trying to pack that many people into one room would have been a nightmare for all involved. As everyone was filing into their respective rooms, however, Nia was stopped by Dromarch's paw on her shoulder.

"A word, my lady?" the Blade requested quietly. Nia turned to look at him, trying to get a read on what he was thinking. His face was mostly neutral, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes, she noted.

"Eh, go ahead." the Gormotti replied. Pyra, hearing what was going on, nodded to Nia and closed the door of the girl's room, leaving Nia and Dromarch alone in the hallway. "So what'dya need?"

"Well, when we were speaking to Master Cole, I noticed you became rather heated about reaching Elysium. I simply want to make sure everything is alright." Dromarch explained promptly, seeing no reason to beat around the bush.

Nia waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine, Dromarch." But she knew he wouldn't let her just leave it at that. "I just didn't want him holding out on us when he knows somethin', yeah?" she elaborated.

"Understandable, I suppose. But in that case, if you'll pardon me for asking, why are you so invested in the goal of Elysium?" Came Dromarch's response, his cool blue eyes seemingly staring right into Nia's soul. "Bloody uncomfortable when he does that..."

"Come off it, you already know that. I promised Pyra, and I'm not gonna go back on my word without a reason." the Gormotti huffed, indignant at the thought. She wasn't too fond of getting committed with big promises and such, but when she did, she wasn't the type to break them willy-nilly.

"I see. And why choose to put your faith in such a deal, my lady?"

"Ugh, didn't I already answer that? Why're you asking a bunch of stuff you know?" Nia growled, starting to get fed up with this line of questioning. Dromarch wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't be having this conversation without a point, but she really wanted him to hurry up and get to it.

"You did." the bestial Blade confirmed. "But only briefly. You said it felt like the right thing, and part of you wanted to believe it. I would like to understand what you meant by that." he explained, his voice even but with an undercurrent of sympathy – whatever Nia had to say, he was ready to listen, he wanted to hear it.

"...Oh." Nia muttered, her irritation effectively defused. It was true, she hadn't fully explained to anyone what had driven her to make the choice. But the reason why she hadn't... "I wanted to keep it vague 'cause it's bloody embarrassing, okay?" she admitted, crossing her arms and glancing away, her ears flattening to her head.

Dromarch's searching gaze softened, and a small smile formed on his face. "My lady, you know I would not look down on you for such a thing." he reassured, absolutely sincere.

"Yeah, I know..." Nia sighed quietly. "It's... because of Rex." she admitted eventually.

"Master Rex?" Dromarch wondered, surprise evident on his face.

"Not directly, but..." the Gormotti trailed off, one hand running through her silver bangs. Her Blade, to his credit, waited patiently for her to get her thoughts in order. "You remember when we were heading out to the ship, and the salvage team started gettin' all boozed-up?" She waited for Dromarch to nod. "Well, when I stepped out, Rex and I got to talking... Topic ended up on Elysium. He's always dreamed of it, you know. At first I thought he was just spouting childish guff, but then he explained why." Nia felt like she was rambling a bit, but she didn't care. "He ended up saying something. 'Everyone could have peace and security. I mean, a dream like that, isn't that worth believing in?'" She still remembered the conversation perfectly. "And, I dunno, that got to me... I realized, he wasn't that different from me, really. We both... just want better worlds, I guess." Once again, Nia didn't entirely want to meet Dromarch's gaze.

"And so, when Miss Pyra indicated that Elysium was real, you decided to follow that dream as well." The tiger-like Blade was able to make the obvious conclusion.

"Ugh... makes me sound like such a child..." Nia groaned, mostly to herself.

"...No. I don't think so." Dromarch spoke softly, causing his driver to look up at him in surprise. "I'm glad that you found a goal that you think is worth pursuing. And perhaps it goes without saying, but I shall do anything I can to support you in that pursuit." he said, warmth written all over his face. There was a pause as the Gormotti contemplated that.

"You know, if anyone else said that, I'd think they were kissing my arse." she replied with a smirk. After a moment, however, it melted away to a softer smile. "...But I know you really mean it. Thanks, Dromarch."

The Blade bowed his head. "It is my pleasure, my lady." he said humbly. "Now, I believe I have taken enough of your time. Good night, my lady." he added, turning towards the door into the guys' room. Nia paused for just a second, and then stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around Dromarch's neck in a brief hug.

"Night, Dromarch..." And then she let go and quickly headed into her own respective room, glad that nobody else had seen that. Dromarch nodded contently before pushing open the door before him.

---

Pyra found herself standing atop the hill within her vision of Elysium, the same one where she had met Nia. This wasn't unusual, really, she often let her mind wander there when she was sleeping. Some might find it a bit dull, but it suited Pyra just fine. It was certainly a lot nicer than some of the other memories she could recall. She liked it there, it was very peaceful. Tranquil, even. No matter what happened in the real world, she always had this place, a quiet sanctuary inside her mind. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be. A chill ran up Pyra's spine and all of a sudden, her sanctuary was feeling a whole lot less safe. Something was behind her, and she didn't even need to look to know what it was.

"You... you can't come here." she murmured, though the reality of the situation said otherwise.

"Well, hello to you too, partner." That sardonic drawl was entirely too familiar. Pyra slowly turned around, and there was Malos, leaning back against the tree with his arms crossed. "You know, we didn't really get a chance to catch up back on the ship." he commented, with faux-friendliness that almost could have been convincing if one didn't know Malos at all. Pyra said nothing. "Gotta say, I'm not feeling your new look." Malos scrutinized the redhead as he said that.

"You didn't really come here to talk... did you?" Pyra asked, her voice incredibly on-edge. It wasn't really a necessary question, she already knew the answer.

"Heh. Right down to business? Okay." Malos replied with a shrug. In an instant, the casual look vanished from his face, his eyebrows narrowing intently. "Akhos went and grabbed Minoth's little brat." Pyra gasped, horrified. She knew Malos wasn't bluffing. "If you want her left in one piece, come to the place of your awakening. Alone."

And then Malos was gone. Pyra's eyes snapped open and she found herself back in her bed at Fonsa Myma's inn. She glanced at the bed next to hers, where Nia was sprawled out, sleeping soundly, and then over at the dormant form of Poppi. Slowly, making as little noise as she possibly could, the Aegis stood up from her bed and crept to the door. She exhaled a deep breath to steady herself, and then exited the room.

---

Nia suddenly jerked awake, looking around in bleary confusion. Her slumber had been disturbed by a loud, banging knock at the door. The first thing she noticed was that Pyra's bed was empty. Before she could really think on the implications of that, another knock rang out.

"Nia! We've got trouble!" Rex's voice yelled through the door. Poppi was now awake too, and she and Nia promptly scrambled over to open the door. Standing crowded in the hallway were everyone from the guys' room, Rex closest to the door as he had been knocking. But it wasn't just them – next to Rex, looking rather panicked, was...

"Old man Cole?" Nia wondered, confusion written upon her face. "What's going on?"

"It's Iona... she's missing! They must have taken her!" the elderly man rasped, sounding out of breath.

"They?" Nia repeated curiously.

"He says Malos showed up a bit after we left." Rex stepped in to explain. Nia's eyes widened. This wasn't good. She definitely wouldn't put it past Malos to snatch kids if it benefited him.

"He wasn't alone... there was some other guy, with red glasses." Cole added quickly. This was just getting worse and worse.

"Gotta be Akhos... But why would they take her?" Nia wondered.

"My lady... where is Miss Pyra?" Dromarch chimed in, looking past Nia and Poppi to the empty room. And then the realization struck.

"She wasn't in the room when I woke up... Has anyone seen her?" Nia's question was met with shaking heads and concerned looks. Even Poppi, who had been in the same room, didn't know anything. "Damnit! They must've got to her somehow..."

"You think she ran off to save Iona alone?" Corvin asked, frowning. It was telling how serious the situation was when even Corvin dropped his casual cockiness.

"Hmm. A hostage situation. This is not good." Gramps muttered, saying what was on pretty much everyone's mind.

"And we do not even know where it is taking place." Dromarch added.

"I might... have an idea..." Cole wheezed. Given his health, running to the inn in a panic had probably not done him any favors. He had to take several deep breaths before continuing. "Olethro Ruins, at the top of the Great Stairway. It's where Addam woke up the Aegis, five-hundred years ago. If I were Malos, I'd lure her there."

"Then there's no time to waste! Let's go!" Rex declared, and the group were soon rushing off. They just had to hope that Cole would be alright on his own. At least the Great Stairway was such a prominent landmark that there was no danger of them getting lost.

---

Under any other circumstances, the Great Stairway would have looked quite impressive, its white marble steps seeming to stretch on forever, small waterfalls streaming down troughs along its sides. As Nia and co rushed up it, however, it just seemed more ominous than anything. Once they were partway up, Nia started to feel Pyra's ether nearby. At least they were in the right place. Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten there quickly enough to catch up with her before she reached the ruins... which meant that she was either in danger, or would be very soon. And given that Nia was still carrying their sword, the Aegis didn't even have a weapon on hand to fight back. As they climbed, the Gormotti was grumbling to herself about how ill-advised that decision was. Still, they eventually reached the top of the stairs.

The main part of the Olethro Ruins was an enormous amphitheatre built upon the Urayan titan's back, with rows and rows of stone benches arranged in a semicircle around a round platform, the back half of which jutted out over empty air. Such a great old structure, standing below the clear night sky... again, under normal circumstances, it would've been an impressive sight. Standing off to the side of the platform, next to the lowest level of benches, was Akhos, with Obrona hovering beside him. And there on the bench, unconscious but otherwise unharmed, was Iona. There wasn't much time to dwell on them, though – directly through the entrance of the ruins was Pyra... trying desperately to fend off repeated blasts of cutting ether-infused wind being launched at her by Malos and Sever. Without her sword, all the redhead could do to block the assault was project ether barriers, which barely seemed able to withstand the blows.

"Come on! You really think you can survive without using your true power?" Malos sneered, pausing his attacks for a moment as he glared at Pyra. Despite the fact that she was panting with exhaustion, she managed to meet Malos's look with a defiant stare. Malos growled and readied Sever's twisted, glowing blue sword. He slashed it diagonally in front of him, and again a wave of wind sliced through the air towards Pyra, who flinched instinctively... but the attack didn't hit home.

"Nia!?" Pyra gasped in surprise. Standing in front of her, sword held high, was her driver. Nia glanced back for just a moment to make sure Pyra was okay before turning back – she didn't want to take her eyes off Malos for long.

"Pyra... You bloody idiot! What the hell were you thinking, coming here alone!?" Nia snapped, her worry manifesting itself as anger. Pyra looked down. She knew Nia wouldn't be happy with her choice. Behind them, the rest of the group were quickly pouring into the amphitheatre, weapons at the ready.

"Oh good, the extras have arrived." Akhos commented sarcastically, swiftly crossing the distance to take up a position at Malos's side, holding Obrona's twin katanas at the ready.

"Ugh, of course." Malos groaned. "You really are a pain in my ass, Nia. I knew Jin taking you in like a lost puppy was a shitty idea." he growled. Nia's ears flattened to her head in anger, while Obrona abruptly burst into a fit of childish giggling. "What's so funny?" Malos sneered, his gaze flicking up to the floating Blade.

"Heehee... sorry. But if Jin's a kid taking in a lost puppy... Wouldn't that make you his irresponsible parent, Malos?" Obrona teased, apparently quite tickled by the thought. Despite the situation, Nia found herself having to repress a snicker at the look on Malos's face. The man in question exhaled loudly through his nose.

"Akhos, your Blade needs to learn when to shut the hell up." he muttered dangerously, to which Obrona's mischievous giggling only intensified.

Akhos rolled his eyes. "Obrona, behave yourself." he chided his Blade in a tone which sounded somewhat less-than-sincere. "Now, shall we...?" he asked, gesturing towards Nia in a slightly grandiose fashion.

"With pleasure." Malos grinned malevolently, and Nia tightened her grip on her sword. And then it was on. Malos's sword slashed through the air, sending the exact same windy attack he'd been using before towards Nia, who narrowly weaved out of the way, the gust ruffling her hair as it passed. Before Malos could try again, Nia was rushing at him, hoping to close the distance so that he couldn't just sit there barraging them at range. Once she was close enough, she transferred her running momentum into a lunging stab straight at Malos's chest with the Aegis sword. With a small snarl, Malos managed to bat Nia's sword aside, leaving her stumbling for just a moment. It didn't even seem to take him much effort, though given that he was larger and stronger, that wasn't a surprise. Malos sweeped his sword horizontally, aiming for Nia's head, but the Gormotti ducked below the blade, mentally cursing how her ears stuck up as she felt the tip of the left one get nicked. It was nothing major, barely noticeable in fact, but still. With Nia ducking, Pyra took the opportunity to blast a ball of fire from her hands at Malos. Almost lazily, he held his sword up to block it, but that left him unable to deflect when Nia swung her sword in an uppercut. He did manage to jump back away, but the tip of the sword was still able to carve a vertical gash across his stomach. With his armor taking most of the hit, it was a very shallow cut, but Malos growled in pain nonetheless.

At the same time that Nia was dueling with Malos, Rex and Tora had engaged Akhos. The man in question jumped forwards at Rex, twin swords slicing in an x-shape, only for Tora to put himself in front of the attack, deflecting it harmlessly off his shield – though the Nopon did grunt from the impact. Tora activated one of the mechanisms on the shield, and four bladed spikes protruded from its edges. The Nopon whirled the shield around in a circle, aiming for Akhos's knees, but Obrona intervened, swooping down to shield her driver with an ether barrier. As Tora's spinning attack bounced off, the spikes retracting, Rex drew on Corvin's ether and whipped his black sword through the air, blasting a crescent-shaped beam of light which flew right over Tora's head and hit Obrona's shield with enough power to shatter it. Corvin smirked when he noticed Obrona sticking her tongue out at him and Rex petulantly. Akhos and Rex both swung a sword towards each other at exactly the same moment, their weapons clashing together between them. Seeing a gap in Rex's defense, Akhos's other sword quickly darted forwards in a jab, stabbing into Rex's right shoulder before he could block it. Rex gasped in pain, Corvin quickly snatching his sword because otherwise he would've dropped it. The Torna driver didn't get to enjoy his advantage, though, as he soon found a considerable force slamming into his chest, throwing him backwards onto his ass – Tora and Poppi, holding their shield together, had bashed into him with a bit of help from Poppi's boosters.

"Dromarch, help Rex!" Nia commanded, having heard the salvager's gasp, though not daring to actually look away from Malos to see what had happened. Dromarch didn't waste any time, bounding over to Rex's side to tend to him. Fortunately, Nia wasn't channeling any big arts from Pyra at the moment, so there was no need to worry about using a healing art on Rex – they had learned their lesson about using multiple Blade arts at once during the fight with Morag. While Dromarch's soothing ether stitched the hole in Rex's shoulder closed, Akhos picked himself back up.

"I believe we've carried on this farce long enough." he sneered, straightening his glasses which had been knocked askew. "Obrona, if you would...?" With a gleeful grin, Obrona flew up high above the ruins, her six wings spreading wide around her.

"It's been fun, brats." Malos drawled smugly, knowing exactly what was happening.

"Cruel World!" Obrona declared. A wave of ominous red light pulsed outwards from her wings, engulfing the entire amphitheatre. Nia let out a gasp, the air around her suddenly feeling heavy and oppressive. And more than that, she couldn't feel her ether links with Pyra and Dromarch. No, focusing on it, she could still sense the connections, but there was hardly any power flowing through them – if any.

"Nia! This is bad!" Pyra yelled, sounding appropriately panicked. She certainly didn't need to tell Nia that.

"What is this? What's going on?" Rex asked, looking around with a baffled expression on his face. Corvin's brow furrowed – he was worried. He wouldn't admit it, but he was worried. He knew exactly what was happening – and it wasn't something his powers could help with.

"That damn Obrona can manipulate atmospheric ether!" Nia growled. She had known about Obrona's powers, though she hadn't realized they could be used to anywhere near this extent.

Akhos smirked. "Oh, she can do more than manipulate it – she can interrupt its flow entirely. And with no energy to absorb and send to their core crystals... your Blades become nothing but worthless props." As if to demonstrate his point, the glowing ether began to fade from Pyra, Dromarch, and Corvin's weapons since they were no longer receiving power. To make matters worse, it appeared that Obrona's control was fine-tuned enough that she could interrupt the ether flow of her enemies without effecting her allies, since Sever and Malos were still fine. Taking advantage of this, Malos tossed his sword to his Blade, who leapt high into the air, green wind ether shining around him.

"Deadly Divide!" the reptilian Blade hissed, blasting an enormous x-shaped gust of wind at Nia. The attack was far, far too quick for her to reasonably dodge – especially when she was struggling to breathe the ether-choked air. Instinctively, she whipped her sword up to block, but without energy from Pyra, Sever's art blasted her defense aside effortlessly, smashing into Nia and throwing her backwards, where she landed hard on the stone ground in a heap.

"My lady!" Dromarch bellowed in horror, but Nia soon stirred. She wasn't out cold. Her body ached and her head was ringing like it had been struck with a hammer, but she wasn't out cold. As the Gormotti tried to sit up, a huge wave of dizziness overtook her, the world around her spinning into a blur. She vaguely became aware of something wet trickling down from where the back of her head had hit the ground. She gasped, sucking in deep breaths, and the dizziness subsided enough that she could at least see clearly... but there was no way she'd be getting back in the fight in this state.

It was safe to say that things had taken a turn for the worst. Rex and Corvin were trying their hardest to fight off Akhos, but he simply deflected every attack effortlessly – without ether, their katanas might as well have been wooden twigs. Pyra strained to muster ether so that she could protect the vulnerable Nia, with no real success. Seeing this, Malos stalked towards them, having reclaimed Sever's sword, and slashed it through the air, sending another blade of wind towards the concussed Gormotti...

"Not so fast! Tora will protect friends!" Tora declared, as he and Poppi stood strong between Nia and Malos, Tora holding their shield high, having blocked the Torna member's assault. "Nasty bullies not realize something!"

"Poppi is artificial Blade, with internal ether furnace! Not need atmospheric ether at all!" Poppi explained, just a hint of pride in her determined voice. Malos growled, slicing his sword diagonally at the artificial Blade's head, but she threw one arm up in front of herself and caught the sword's wavy edge. Given that her hands were made of solid metal, she didn't have to worry about more than a few scratches. With a grunt, the black-haired man yanked his sword free of Poppi grip and shoved her, hard enough to make her stumble. Tora bashed forwards, trying to jab Malos with his drill, but Malos was faster, bringing his sword down with the flat side facing outwards to block the stab. The two got into a brief back-and-forth, alternating attacks and deflections, but it quickly became clear that Malos was the superior combatant. Tora's moves were fairly formulaic and predictable – bash with the drill, slash with the retractable blades, block with the face of the shield. It didn't take Malos long to get bored.

"You know, there's something you didn't realize either, you brat!" the Torna member snarled irritably. Tora swung at his knees with the bladed spikes of his shield extended – again – but Malos's sword shot down and knocked the shield aside. "The fact that you're an idiot!" he shouted, suddenly bringing his sword up in an uppercut, which Tora had no choice but to jump back away from with a surprised yelp. "You must've spent a lot of time building this tin can..." Malos's contempt-filled eyes flicked over to Poppi for a moment. "Tell me, how much time did you spend actually learning to fight!?" he roared. Tora froze for just a moment, his eyes widening in shock... which was all the opening Malos needed. His foot swung up, smashing Tora in the face with a massive kick which sent his round body rolling backwards like a ball.

"Masterpon!" Poppi yelled in concern. No response. She quickly rushed to Tora's side – Malos apparently not deeming it worth his time to stop her. Tora thankfully didn't appear to be seriously injured, he was a surprisingly sturdy Nopon after all, but he had nonetheless been struck hard enough to knock him unconscious. With Tora incapacitated and Poppi staying by his side, Malos turned his attention to where Nia was still sitting on the ground, struggling to remain conscious herself. Akhos apparently noticed that particular scene as well, as he stopped toying around with Rex and Corvin, one of his swords knocking Rex's katana away easily, then slashing the salvager across the leg, causing him to crumple to the ground in pain. Then he simply disengaged, leaving Corvin to tend his driver. And with no ether, the blonde couldn't stop him.

"Mind if I do the honors, Malos?" Akhos asked, making a sweeping gesture towards the fallen Gormotti.

"Sure. Why the hell not?" Malos replied with a shrug, a malevolent smirk crossing his face. Akhos approached Nia, swords held at the ready, and the Gormotti looked up at him, fear managing to break through her daze. She tried to scramble to her feet, but that just sent a lance of dizziness and pain through her skull, and she immediately stumbled back to the ground. Pyra gasped, throwing up her hands in an attempt to launch a fireball, but it sputtered out almost instantly. Akhos pushed up his glasses with one finger, the lenses glinting ominously in the moonlight.

"NO! I won't allow it!" Dromarch roared furiously, and Akhos suddenly found himself being bowled off his feet as the tiger-like Blade smashed into him. Malos rolled his eyes at yet another interruption, while Nia simply stared as Dromarch jumped off the downed Akhos and ran to her side. Dromarch scrutinized her head wound for a moment and concentrate, and to Nia's incredible shock she felt healing ether flowing into her body and soothing the pain and nausea to a far more manageable level, the laceration on the back of her head closing. Finally, she managed to stand back up, finding herself sore but otherwise steady.

"Dromarch, how...?" she asked quietly, dumbfounded.

"I will aid you, my lady, no matter how much effort it may require!" Dromarch declared in reply.

Malos raised an eyebrow. "So you managed to pull some ether from your core through sheer force of will. Impressive." he commented, and the compliment almost sounded like it could be sincere. "...But we both know it won't last." he added with a dark chuckle. As if on cue, Akhos stood back up, taking a moment to dust himself off, seemingly just for the sake of vanity. Dromarch immediately shifted to put himself between Akhos and his lady, and not a moment too soon, as one of Akhos's swords plunged right into one of his broad shoulders. The bestial Blade grunted in pain, but his resolute stance didn't falter.

Seemingly unhindered by the injury, Dromarch took one of his ring blades in his mouth, focusing as hard as he could. Akhos pulled back his other sword. Dromarch managed to muster a spark of ether, and the ring blade flickered to life for just a moment. At the exact same moment that Akhos plunged his sword forwards in a powerful stab, Dromarch whipped his head upwards, slicing with the ring. Akhos's glasses fell to the ground, the right lens shattered and the frames bent beyond repair. The Torna driver staggered backwards, breathing heavily, one hand clenched over the right side of his face, blood trickling from below his fingers.

"Nice one, Dromar-" Nia started to compliment, but abruptly stopped, her eyes going wide and her blood running cold. "No..." she whispered, as her Blade slowly turned to face her. Impaled right through the center of Dromarch's core crystal was Akhos's katana.

"I apologize, my lady... I cannot keep my promise..." Dromarch grunted, stumbling and falling flat onto the ground. Nia immediately ran forwards and wrapped her arms around him desperately.

"No, no, don't you dare!" she yelled defiantly, pulling the sword from his core crystal. From how far in it went, it must have easily pierced all the way through. She needed to act, now... but she froze. She couldn't, not in front of everyone... not in front of anyone. But if she didn't, Dromarch was going to... It didn't matter. When Nia tried to concentrate, all she felt was an intense pressure in her chest, like someone had placed a large weight on top of her. One hand reached up, clutching over her chest desperately, but it didn't help. With Obrona choking her ether, there was nothing she could do. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. "Damnit! I can't..." she growled, but her frustration soon gave way to a murmur. "I'm sorry, Dromarch..."

"It is not your fault..." the Blade reassured her, forcing himself to hold on for as long as he could. "Farewell, my lady. I hope you find the world you deserve." And then his strength finally failed. Blue light enveloped Dromarch's body, and then he was gone. A black core crystal with a thin hole carved through it fell to the ground, never to be awakened again.

"Dromarch..." Nia whispered, her knees crumpling to the ground in disbelief. Normally, she would have been too proud to show such signs of weakness. Right now, pride was the furthest thing from her mind. Pyra had one hand placed over her mouth, trying futilely to hide her horrified expression. Rex, sitting on the ground holding his wounded leg, looked away guiltily. Corvin placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, his own face grim. Even Poppi glanced down at the ground in dismay.

"Hmph. What a waste of time." Malos spat contemptuously. He glanced over at Akhos, who finally lowered his hand from his face and looked up. Only his left eye was visible – whatever had become of his right, it was too covered in blood to see, which was probably for the best.

"Such a despicable cliché!" Akhos hissed, most of his smug composure gone. "But if it's any consolation, you'll be joining him soon enough." he growled, stalking forward with the one sword he was still holding clenched tightly in his hand. Malos soon joined him, the two of them advancing on Nia menacingly, but the Gormotti didn't react, her eyes still locked on the broken core crystal on the ground. Pyra immediately ran to her side, picking up the Aegis sword despite how useless it was without ether.

"Nia! Come on, we need to run! Now!" she yelled frantically, shaking her driver's shoulder. But Nia was seemingly still despondent. Malos and Akhos suddenly lunged in tandem, their swords arcing towards the Gormotti's head. "NIA!" Pyra screamed in desperation. And then her core crystal flared with brilliant green light, a wave of energy pulsing outwards and knocking Malos and Akhos away.

"What now!?" Malos roared angrily. Nia was suddenly jolted back to reality as a vision of... something floating in a black void filled her mind. Glowing red eyes snapped open, and then it was gone, and Nia was standing in Olethro Ruins again. And beside her, her whole body engulfed in a maelstrom of green ether, was the Aegis. As Nia looked on in awe, the light faded away, revealing... someone. She had the same figure as Pyra, the same facial features, and the same emerald core crystal, but everything else was... off. She wore a short white dress with green and gold accents, which somehow managed to be even more revealing than Pyra's attire. Long golden hair flowed all the way down to her waist, and her equally-gold eyes surveyed the scene with a cold, calculating stare that Pyra would never have. The sword in her hands had changed too, becoming a sleek white-and-gold greatsword. And where Pyra's sword projected a blade of orange fire, this weapon was engulfed in a shroud of pure, searing yellow light.

"And there she is! Good to see the real you again, Mythra!" Malos declared with a vicious laugh.

"Mythra!? What the hell?" Nia wondered, dumbfounded.

"Pyra is an alternate personality. No time to explain now." Mythra answered tersely. Her voice was like Pyra's, but deeper and sterner, with a sharper tone than the redhead would take. Nia realized that she wouldn't be getting any answers out of Mythra right now, so she simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"A sudden twist out of nowhere... I'm getting tired of this banal performance!" Akhos yelled, running at Mythra with his sword ready... only for his attack to bounce off as Mythra projected a barrier around herself and Nia, apparently unhindered by Obrona's ether manipulation. In fact, it was a remarkably powerful barrier, able to withstand repeated strikes from Akhos without shattering. The green gem set in Mythra's tiara glowed brightly, and suddenly a truly massive beam of light tore down from the sky, aiming right for where Akhos was standing. He managed to jump out of the way, only for another beam to blast down towards him, and another. Akhos couldn't stand still for even a second.

"Wait for it..." Mythra muttered to herself, another beam shooting from the skies, which Akhos yet again barely managed to avoid. "And... there!" Yet another beam... but while Akhos was tense, expecting it to be aimed at him, that was nothing but a distraction. This beam instead blasted into Obrona, who was still floating overhead choking out the ether. The ray of light hit her square in the back... and came out the other side, completely obliterating her core crystal.

"Akhos!" Obrona gasped in horror, her wings curling up as she fell from the sky. Akhos's one visible eye widened in horror as he ran to catch his Blade.

"No! Obrona!" he shouted, sounding on the verge of tears. Obrona's prone form vanished into blue light, a few shards of core crystal scattering on the ground. Akhos, in a startling mirror to Nia's earlier behavior, fell to his knees despondently.

Malos seemed to be in much better spirits. In fact, he was laughing. "Yes! You have no idea how much I've wanted to see your true power again!" he shouted gleefully. Mythra didn't deign to grace that with a response. Instead, she simply passed her sword to Nia, who got the message quickly enough. Malos rushed at her, his own sword held at the ready... and then Mythra sent out a pulse of ether, and Nia started seeing something very odd. It was like the whole world was tinted green. Malos was running at her in slow-motion, leaving odd golden afterimages behind him as he moved.

"Pyra... er, Mythra... What the hell'd you do?"

"Foresight. It predicts what your opponents will do in the immediate future." Mythra answered coolly. "Watch what Malos is going to do, and try to react without screwing up." she commanded.

Nia saw as the prediction of Malos rushed her down, his sword swinging diagonally downwards from the left, while at the same moment a prediction of Sever blasted a gale of wind from his hands... And then she was snapped back into reality, just in time to bring her own weapon up to knock Malos's sword aside when he tried to swing it diagonally from the left, then she immediately ducked and a gale of wind from Sever sailed overhead.

"Damn! Why don't you use that all the time?" Nia wondered, an impressed look on her face. Malos swung at her again, but Nia didn't have too much trouble blocking it. With Mythra supplying power, she felt... faster. Stronger. In response to her question, Mythra rolled her eyes.

"It's energy intensive even for me. Short bursts only." she answered with a touch of impatience.

"I don't know what you're yapping about, but I gotta say, I'm impressed!" Malos yelled. For some reason neither Nia nor Mythra felt gratified by the compliment. Malos sliced his sword at Nia several more times, but she managed to block and parry every single one with minimal effort. She wondered briefly if this was how Jin felt when he fought people. Mythra used another burst of Foresight, this one just long enough to show Nia that Malos would try to kick her legs out from under her, which she promptly avoided. Then she went on the offensive, stabbing forwards with Mythra's sword. Malos jumped back to avoid it, but Nia pursued him, bearing down with a flurry of rapid slashes which Malos only narrowly managed to deflect. He was laughing again. Nia swung her sword downwards and Malos held his weapon horizontal to block it, locking their weapons together... and then Nia drew energy from Mythra through the sword, blasting Malos square in the face with a burst of light. He staggered backwards, red burns showing on his face, and Nia took the opportunity to swing her sword around, knocking Malos's weapon out of his hand. Sever dashed in to catch it, but Mythra's tiara flared green again, and the reptilian Blade found his core crystal pierced by a golden ray from the sky just as Obrona had.

"Damnit!" Malos growled as Sever vanished, his mirth seeming to have faded around the time he got blasted in the face. "Don't think I'm going to give up that easily!" he shouted, and an odd dark purple energy began to build up around him. "What? Sever's gone... and he wasn't a dark-element Blade anyway!" Nia wondered to herself, but she didn't get time to ponder the question before Mythra roughly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her aside – and not a moment too soon, as Malos hurled a ball of darkness from his hand which sailed past them and exploded somewhere in the stands of the amphitheatre. He began charging up another, and Mythra started looking around curiously, her eyes sharp. Whatever she was planning, Nia wasn't privy to.

"Analyzing structural integrity..." the golden-haired Aegis muttered. She suddenly grabbed Nia again, pulling her straight backwards this time. Then her crown glowed, and once again she unleashed a series of golden beams from the heavens... but these weren't aimed at Malos, or even Akhos. Instead, they smashed into a seemingly-arbitrary line of spots along the back half of the amphitheatre floor... the part which was built jutting out over a cliff. The half of the platform in question broke apart, falling down to the titan's back below... and taking Malos and Akhos with it. "That fall won't kill them. But they're dealt with for now." she said matter-of-factly.

With the battle over, Corvin walked over to join them, supporting a limping Rex. Poppi did the same, along with Tora, who had recently regained consciousness. With Nia's adrenaline high wearing off, she deactivated her sword and put it away, and slowly walked a short distance from the rest of the group. Mythra followed after her silently. Nia stopped and looked down at the object at her feet – Dromarch's core crystal. Behind her, a green glow enveloped Mythra, fading away after a moment to reveal a decidedly exhausted-looking Pyra, barely clinging to consciousness. The Aegis forced herself not to collapse, placing one hand on Nia's shoulder softly. The Gormotti quietly picked up the crystal and clutched it tightly against her chest, not caring that tears were starting to run down her cheeks.

Chapter 10: CH10: The Next Day

Nia sat quietly on the edge of her bed at the inn, staring out the window. Or perhaps she was simply staring straight ahead, and that was where the window happened to be. She wasn't crying – as embarrassing as it was for her to admit, she'd cried herself out hours ago. Idly, her fingers ran across the black core crystal she was holding, feeling the edges of the hole that had been stabbed through it. She sighed. She wasn't stupid, she knew that no amount of clutching the crystal would ever make it active again, all she was doing by holding onto it was making herself look childish... so why didn't she want to let it go? Dromarch probably would have known exactly what to say to support her in this situation, it seemed like he always did. Given the circumstances, that thought failed to make her feel any better.

The walk back to the inn from the Olethro Ruins had all been pretty much a daze. Nia had been practically dragged along, a blow to her pride which she knew she would probably never fully recover from. At some point, Pyra's strength had finally failed and she'd collapsed, having to be carried by Poppi the rest of the way. It was only once they'd gotten to the room that Nia really felt how incredibly exhausted she was – both physically and mentally. Pretty much the second she'd touched the bed, she had fallen into a deep and, thankfully, dreamless sleep. When she had woken up in the morning, for just a few moments, everything had felt fine, until her mind had really gotten back in gear and everything had hit her again. Pyra must have woken up some time earlier, since she and Poppi had vacated the room, leaving Nia there alone. They must have wanted to give her space. That was a couple hours ago, as the angle of the sun shining through the window indicated that it was around noon. Behind her, she heard the sound of the door opening, but she didn't turn to look.

"Oh, hey Nia. Wasn't sure if you'd still be asleep." It was Rex's voice, sounding a bit awkward. Understandable, all things considered. The Gormotti closed her eyes and exhaled quietly through her nose, but didn't say anything. Since she hadn't turned Rex away, he slowly approached until he was standing by the bed. "I brought you some tea. Gramps said it might help." he offered, and Nia heard the sound of something – a teacup, no doubt – being set on the bedside table. She still didn't say anything. Rex may not have always been the best at picking up on subtext, but even he had figured out that Gramps had been not-so-subtly hinting that he should take the chance to talk to Nia. But it would be kind of hard to do that when she wasn't even acknowledging his presence. Besides, he didn't really know what to say. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone, if you w-"

"It's fine, you can stay." Nia cut him off, opening her eyes again, though she still didn't look at Rex. "Please." she added quietly. Rex winced slightly at her voice, it was a lot more subdued than he was used to hearing from her. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Nia, glancing at Dromarch's core crystal for a moment. The two of them simply sat there in silence for a couple minutes which seemed to stretch on infinitely, before Nia finally let out a low sigh. "He was my da's Blade, you know."

Rex looked up at Nia in surprise. "Really?" he asked. Nia had never really mentioned... well, much of anything about herself, and certainly not her family life. Nia gave a small nod, though she continued to not meet Rex's gaze.

"Yeah. My da was a noble in Gormott, you know, the wealthy lord type. It was me, and him, and my sister. And Dromarch, of course."

"Wait, you had a sister?" Rex wondered. A melancholy smile crossed the Gormotti's face for a moment.

"I did. She was older, but I was the mature one. Anyway, it's... a long story, but we hit some hard times, and she... wasn't fit for it. She died." Nia explained quietly. Curiously, she held one hand over her chest as she said that. Rex looked at her sympathetically. "Then da went not too long after. Dromarch's core got left behind, and I took it 'cause it was all I had. After that, it was the two of us." Nia paused for a moment, and then groaned. "Architect, I must look bloody pathetic, whinin' about all this..." she muttered.

"Nah, it's not pathetic." Rex denied, shaking his head. "I kinda get it. I lost my family too." Nia finally looked up at him, and he couldn't help but notice how her eyes were red from crying. It was a bit of a startling look for her. "My parents died when I was real little. I was raised by folks in Fonsett, like Aunt Corrine and Gramps. If something happened to them... I reckon I'd feel about how you're feeling." he admitted. Nia blinked and glanced away, she couldn't really argue with that.

"It's just, he was always there, you know? He even made this silly promise that he would be. And now he's not." Nia let out another sigh. "And I have no damn idea what to do."

"I don't think Dromarch'd want you to just give up." the brown-haired boy pointed out. His tone wasn't accusatory, more just concerned.

"Oi, I never said anythin' about that..." Nia grumbled. "It's just..." She trailed off. Just what? She was having a bit of trouble putting it into words.

"Hey, what was the last thing Dromarch said to you?" Rex asked abruptly. He'd had an idea.

The Gormotti frowned. "Rex, don't make me-"

"Nia, please, it's important." Rex insisted. Nia glanced away, knowing that the salvager wouldn't be asking unless he really thought it mattered.

"He said..." she began, pausing to exhale a slow breath. "'I hope you find the world you deserve.'" she repeated, her mind hearing those same words in Dromarch's voice, her hand clenching slightly tighter around the broken core crystal.

"Well there you go, then! That makes it easy." Rex declared, a smile crossing his face. Nia didn't bother to hide her confusion. "What you do is that you keep moving forwards, trying your hardest to find that world, just like Dromarch said." he explained. "And don't forget that you won't have to do it alone." he added, absolutely sincere.

"Of course you'd be able to say it so simply." Nia muttered, but her tone wasn't critical. In fact, she had a small smile. Rex chuckled in response to that.

"Welp, looks like my work here is done, then." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Eh?" Was the Gormotti's incredibly eloquent response.

"Third rule of the Salvager's Code: Make a girl cry, that's not gonna fly. Make a girl smile, you pass the trial." the salvager declared proudly, placing his hands on his hips, as if he had just made some grand proclamation. Nia blinked a couple of times. And then she broke into a fit of snickering laughter.

"Rex, that's so bloody cheesy! Is the 'Salvager's Code' just a bunch of bad pickup lines, or what?" Nia said with a small smirk.

"No, it isn't. Well... not all of it." Rex answered, in what was probably the weakest defense ever. "But hey, it got you sounding a bit more like yourself." he added cheerfully.

"...Yeah, I guess it did." the Gormotti agreed quietly. "Thanks, Rex." Nia paused for just a moment, as if considering what she was about to do, and then leaned sideways against Rex's shoulder. The salvager started slightly at the contact, but after a second, he reached up and wrapped his arm around Nia. The two of them sat there like that in comfortable silence for some time.

---

"So Rex, did you apply that bandage yourself?" Nia asked casually as she and Rex started to head out of the room to meet up with the others. The salvager glanced down at the bandaged wound on his leg, which thankfully wasn't hurting too badly anymore, and nodded in response to the question. Nia smirked. "I can tell, you did a pretty mediocre job." she commented.

"Wha...? How'd I do it wrong?" Rex wondered, sounding absolutely baffled.

"I'm just messin' with ya." Nia chuckled, punching the brown-haired boy lightly on the shoulder. Rex grumbled to himself while the Gormotti just smiled. She wasn't going to pretend that everything was magically fine, but she found that it was a lot easier to avoid dwelling on it with Rex there. Maybe having a good conversation with him was exactly what she had needed. As she opened the door, she saw to her surprise that Pyra was waiting there in the hall, looking like she was lost in thought. Nia glanced at Rex, who shrugged, before looking back to the Aegis.

"Hey Pyra, everything alright?" the Gormotti asked. The redhead looked up at her, trying to hide her vaguely worried expression.

"Oh... yes." Pyra replied, holding her hands behind her back idly. "I was just coming to see how you're holding up..."

"I'm doin' about as well as I can, I guess." Was Nia's response. And it was actually the truth, too – given what had happened, she was probably feeling about as positive as she could hope to at the moment.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Pyra said with a soft smile. "Azurda said you had gone to talk to her... Thank you, Rex." she added, turning to address the salvager, who modestly rubbed the back of his head in response.

"What're friends for?" Rex said casually.

"So what about you, then?" Nia asked, turning to Pyra expectantly.

"M-me?" Pyra repeated, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "What, uh, do you mean?" She wasn't quite meeting Nia's gaze.

Nia put her hands on her hips. "Come on, you know what I'm talking about. We kinda need to hear an explanation for that whole 'Mythra' thing, it was pretty crazy." she pointed out expectantly. Pyra sighed. She knew that she would have to talk about it sooner or later – it wasn't that she wanted to withhold information, per se, just that it was a rather uncomfortable subject.

"It's... complicated. Like Mythra said, I'm an alternate personality. Think of it like..." Pyra paused, trying to come up with a good analogy. "Two sides of the same coin, I guess. The same person, but... also not the same."

"Huh. Not sure I really get it." Rex commented, rubbing his chin as he tried to imagine what Pyra meant. Nia had a bit of a better idea, having felt the difference between Pyra and Mythra's ether, though even she had to admit that it sounded pretty strange.

"And why's that the case, then? Never heard of something like it before." the Gormotti pressed.

"Well..." the redhead trailed off hesitantly, this was the part of the conversation she really wasn't looking forward to. "It's a long story, but..." she paused again, her eyes widening in surprise. "Hold on, Mythra's..." she started to say, holding one hand up over her core crystal. Suddenly, she began to glow with green light – though not nearly as intense as the transformation the previous night. In a flash, Pyra was gone, and in her place was the golden-haired Aegis instead. Before Nia or Rex could react to that sudden turn of events, Mythra's eyes narrowed into a fierce glower, aimed directly at Nia.

"What is wrong with you!?" she snapped, advancing on the Gormotti. Nia instinctively took a step back, some part of her mind noting that when Mythra was angry, her imposing presence was eerily reminiscent of Malos – despite being of smaller stature. "Why did you have to wake me up!? You just had to get in danger, and I had to break my seal to bail you out! What were you even thinking, just standing there while Malos and Akhos were attacking!? Did you even hear Pyra begging you to run!? Pyra put a lot of faith in you as our driver, but then you go and act like an idiot!" Mythra ranted furiously. Nia simply stood there, her eyes wide, not having any idea how to respond.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Rex broke free of his own stupor and stepped forwards to defend Nia. Mythra rounded on him.

"Look, you stay out of-"

"No, you look!" Rex cut her off. His indignant expression was quickly replaced by a more solemn look, however. "You did save all our lives, so thanks for that, really, but... of course Nia froze up. She'd just lost Dromarch. How was she supposed to react?" Mythra's eyes widened at that question, her anger snuffed out in an instant. Seeing that a downtrodden look had appeared on Nia's face, she realized that she might have gone overboard.

"I-I didn't... Damnit..." the Aegis growled, glancing away. "Good job, Mythra, break some more things, why don't you?" she murmured to herself bitterly. She let out a deep, tired-sounding sigh. "Look, it's just that... I wasn't ever supposed to be woken up. I created Pyra so that she could handle things, and we'd never have to worry about our full power ever again." she explained, her voice firm but a lot calmer than it had been before.

"...It's fine, I get it. I was acting pretty daft. I know Dromarch wouldn'tve wanted me getting hurt either." Nia admitted quietly. She looked up, staring Mythra directly in the eyes. "But what'dya want me to do about it now? It happened."

"I want you to be better, Nia. Something like this can't happen again." Mythra replied pointedly. The Gormotti sighed, she couldn't really argue with that. Mythra let out a huff. "I'm switching back to Pyra now. No way I'm dealing with all this right now." the Aegis announced after a short, awkward silence, a distinct note of haughtiness filling her voice. Before anyone could object, Mythra quickly flashed green, transforming back into Pyra, who took just a moment to steady herself.

"That... actually could have gone worse." the redhead murmured to herself. She looked at Nia with a concerned expression. "Listen, I'm... sorry about that. Mythra's frustrated, but... she really did want to protect you. Please don't forget that."

Nia waved her hand dismissively. "Like I said, I get it." she said, doing a fairly decent job of feigning casualness. But not quite good enough.

"Nia..." Pyra said sympathetically.

"Come on, it wasn't just you. Last night was bad for all of us. But we're gonna show Mythra that we can be better, right?" Rex encouraged. Nia smiled more genuinely at that.

"Heh. Guess so." she agreed. "Still optimistic. Never change, Rex." was what she was thinking. After a moment, however, her expression turned more serious. "But first, you've still gotta tell us what the hell's going on, Pyra." she addressed the Aegis, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Let's meet up with the others, everyone should probably hear this."

---

Everyone else, as it turned out, had pretty much just been killing time in various ways, waiting until Nia and Pyra were ready to move forwards. Tora had been working on Poppi, tweaking and tightening various parts of her systems – not that she really needed it, it just gave him something to do. Corvin and Gramps, meanwhile, had stepped out of the inn to get some fresh air, though fortunately they got back soon after Nia, Pyra, and Rex had entered the guys' room – where everyone had spent the morning, confirming the Gormotti's suspicion that they had wanted to give her space to herself.

"Oh, hey, Nia!" Corvin greeted cheerfully as he and Gramps entered the room. "I guess if you're here then Rex managed to cheer you up?" The Blade didn't wait for a response. "I'm glad, 'cause being down really doesn't suit you." he said matter-of-factly.

Gramps, hovering beside Corvin, smacked him on the back of the head. "Honestly, Corvin! Don't be so insensitive." he scolded, while Corvin rubbed his head.

"Hey now, I really meant it! It's good to keep your chin up, no matter what." the blonde defended himself. Gramps just shook his head.

"You're worse than Rex, I swear." the titan muttered. Nia, for her part, didn't really know how to react. She got the impression that Corvin was sincerely trying to be encouraging, but at the same time, he did come off as rather flippant about it.

"Um, now that we're all here..." Pyra spoke up, looking slightly uncomfortable as the group's attention fell on her, though she powered through it. "I think you all deserve to know what's going on." she said, looking around at all of them. Gramps gave her a small nod of encouragement.

"Don't friends already know that? Tora thought we were taking Pyra up World Tree." Tora interjected curiously, Poppi nodding her head in agreement with her masterpon.

Pyra glanced away. "That's true, but... things are a bit more complicated than just that." she answered, with a hint of... resignation? It was difficult to tell exactly what was going through her head. "The first thing you need to know is that... I'm not the only Aegis. There are two of us." For some reason, some small part of Pyra's mind told her that she should have said three, but surely that couldn't be right. "Two Blades of terrible power, created in Elysium. I'm one... and the other is Malos." she revealed. Everyone looked appropriately shocked at that... except for Gramps and, oddly enough, Poppi.

"That make sense, compared to Poppi's readings last night." the artificial Blade agreed with a nod.

"What'dya mean, readings? Are you saying you knew?" Nia asked the question on everybody's mind.

"Poppi can sense nearby Blades, remember? While fighting Malos, Poppi detect abnormal ether waves." Poppi explained. Tora rubbed one wing on his chin while letting out an "ohhhh" sound. Poppi looked at Nia, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "But, did friend Nia not know? Poppi thought Nia used to be on team with Malos?" she wondered, her tone one of innocent curiosity. Nia sighed, she really should have seen that one coming.

"No, I didn't bloody know. He never told me." the Gormotti answered honestly. She knew the true natures of most of the other members of Torna, but Malos had always been an enigma. She barely understood what an Aegis even was before meeting Pyra, after all. "Given that we never got on, I wouldn't be surprised if he kept it secret just outta spite." she grumbled.

Pyra blinked. "That... does sound like him." she agreed after a moment. "Anyway, there was once a man who reached Elysium. But he didn't find the Architect. Instead, he found us – the two Aegis core crystals. Why he chose to awaken Malos, I can't say... But Malos soon went out of control – he had no concept of restraint. He simply found it natural to use his incredible power to spread destruction. To counter Malos's rampage, my core crystal was given to the hero Addam, who awakened me – or rather, Mythra – and together we fought against Malos." the Aegis recounted.

"This became known as the 'Aegis War'." Gramps interjected. "Mythra was able to use her power to defeat Malos, but victory did not come without cost. Three titans fell in the battle, foremost of which was Addam's home – the Kingdom of Torna."

"Wait, Torna? Seriously?" Nia wondered. Gramps nodded.

"Indeed. Obviously, that isn't a coincidence." the titan confirmed.

"Hold on, Gramps, you're saying you knew about all of this stuff?" Rex asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well of course I did. I'm over thirteen-hundred years old, and the Aegis War was only five-hundred years ago. Even we titans could not simply ignore something so significant." Gramps pointed out.

"Why didn't you ever mention it, then?" the salvager pressed.

"You didn't ask. Besides, I felt that it was Pyra's story to tell, not mine." Gramps replied honestly.

"And I appreciate that, Azurda." Pyra spoke up, before going to continue her story. "After the battle, Mythra chose to create my personality as a seal to limit our power. The fires that I wield are nothing but a tiny fraction of Mythra's light."

"Think I noticed that..." Nia muttered.

"Then I went into a long slumber and my body was stowed away on an ancient ship, which Addam then sunk to the bottom of the cloud sea... hoping that it would prevent people from awakening me to abuse my power. And I stayed there, dormant, for five-hundred years until Jin and Malos found the ship..." Pyra gave Nia a small smile. "I... don't think it was a coincidence that we met, Nia. I think you were fated to awaken both me and Mythra."

The Gormotti shrugged. "Eh, I dunno about that sorta thing..." she replied noncommittally, though she was actually considering if the Aegis could really be right. "I did feel weirdly drawn to that bloody sword..." she thought, though she quickly shook her head. "But either way, if taking Malos down a peg is what you're getting at, then I'm with you." she decided confidently.

"I'm glad to hear that, Nia... And Mythra is too, even if she doesn't want to say it." Pyra smiled warmly at her driver, ignoring the protests of her golden-haired counterpart inside her mind.

---

Once Pyra had finished telling her story for the moment – Nia suspected that there were probably more details that the redhead hadn't mentioned, but she decided not to press the issue – the group headed out to go visit Cole at the theatre. Not only had he promised to help them if they came back that day, but Pyra reasoned that it would also be nice to check on him and Iona after the harrying events of the night before. To nobody's surprise, when they reached the theatre the old man was indeed expecting them, as he promptly ushered them all into his office once again. The door to his bedroom was shut – Iona was apparently asleep, or at least she was supposed to be. Nia gave it a fifty-fifty chance that she was awake and eavesdropping. Cole looked over the group with a tired smile on his face.

"I suppose I should start by thanking you, all of you, for going to save Iona." he said sincerely. His gaze focused on Nia for a moment. "...You all put a lot on the line, I know."

The Gormotti glanced away. "Yeah, well, we had to do somethin'... Couldn't let Pyra run off into trouble by herself either."

"Hmm." Cole nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Speaking of which, did you end up using your true power?" he asked, addressing the Aegis. In answer to his question, Pyra glowed green as she once again transformed into her other self.

"You tell me." Mythra replied dryly. Cole closed his eyes for a moment and let out a small sigh.

"When you told me you'd use it if your hand was forced, I wasn't expecting that quite so soon." he commented.

"That makes two of us." the Aegis said with a moody huff. Then, as quick as she'd come, she had swapped back to Pyra again.

"You... didn't need to take over just for that." the redhead mumbled quietly to herself.

"...Anyway, you were lookin' for something last night. You find it?" Nia wondered, getting the conversation back on track.

"As a matter of fact, I did." the old man replied, turning to grab something off the top of his desk. When he turned back, he was holding an odd-looking dagger which split into two prongs. Cole handed the object to Nia, who took it and examined it curiously. Immediately, she noticed that there was a glowing crystal embedded in the hilt, the tell-tale sign of a Blade weapon. But there was something abnormal about it – the crystal, rather than being pure blue, was dotted with splotches of deep red, like blood in a pool of clear water. Nia's eyes went wide and she let out a small gasp.

"That crystal... This is..." she mumbled, looking up at Cole with an unreadable expression. Most of the rest of the group looked at the Gormotti curiously, wondering about her odd reaction. Cole gave a dry chuckle.

"Recognize what that means, do you? I guess there's no point keeping it a secret." he said, reaching up and undoing the top couple buttons on his shirt. There on his chest was a blue and red core crystal matching the one on the dagger. There were a few surprised gasps, though Nia notably remained silent. "I'm a Blade, used to go by the name Minoth. But not just any Blade, a Blade that's been combined with human cells. A Flesh Eater." he explained.

"Is being part human reason why Cole look so old?" Tora wondered curiously. Once again, the old man chuckled.

"Right you are. Flesh Eaters were first created a long time ago, in experiments to enhance what Blades could do. I am one of those experiments. In general, Flesh Eaters lose their ability to regenerate wounds..." he paused for a moment to indicate the scar on his face. "And some also start aging, as I did."

"But why make something like that? That all sound worse than normal Blade." Tora pointed out.

"...Flesh Eaters can survive without drivers." Nia said quietly, a distant look in her eyes for a moment. Most of the group didn't notice it, but Pyra did, looking at her driver with a hint of concern, wondering what was bothering her. Cole nodded his head.

"Indeed. Some also gain incredible abilities far beyond normal Blades, though such cases are very rare. I was one of the many failures, all of the worst drawbacks with no benefits." the old man finished his explanation with a touch of bitterness. After a moment, he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "But anyway, I'm giving you that dagger so that you can return it to my driver. He's the man I mentioned before, the one who may be able to help you reach Elysium."

"Any idea where we might find this guy?" Corvin asked the obvious question.

"You'll almost certainly find him in Indol. I guarantee you'll know him when you meet him." Cole replied. Maybe it was Nia's imagination, but he seemed to be deliberately avoiding saying the man's name outright. Not that the Gormotti was worried about that, she had bigger problems.

"Indol? Damn..." she muttered. Cole raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a problem?" he asked. Nia shifted uncomfortably, realizing that once again everyone's eyes had fallen on her.

"I dunno, it could be." she answered noncommittally. "I... got into some trouble with the Praetorium awhile back."

"What kind of trouble?" Pyra wondered. "...Er, if you don't mind me asking?" she added awkwardly.

"It's a pretty long story." the Gormotti replied evasively, not quite meeting the Aegis's eyes. Pyra looked a bit disappointed, but didn't press further. Nia knew that Pyra, as her Blade, deserved to know the full story at some point, but... not now. She still didn't feel ready. A small part of her wondered if she would ever truly be ready, or if that was just an excuse – she did her best to ignore that particular thought. "But I ended up getting broken out by Jin, so... not likely they're just gonna forgive and forget, yeah?"

"That's a good point, but we don't really have any other leads, do we?" Rex pointed out. "Maybe we've just gotta go there and hope they won't recognize you." he suggested.

"I mean, I guess...?" Nia muttered uncomfortably.

Cole coughed to draw everyone's attention. "Well, before you make a decision, I might be able to suggest another course of action." he said. Seeing the curious looks he was getting, he quickly went to clarify. "Nothing to do with Elysium, consider it a bit of a diversion, but I think it could be worth your time."

"What sort of diversion?" Pyra asked.

"Back in the day, I spent some time working as a mercenary. Had to settle down when age and illness started creeping up on me. Not that I regret it, theatre has always been my real passion. Anyway, I've got an old friend from those days, his name's Vandham. If you met with him, he'd probably help you out." the old man explained.

"You want us to hook up with a mercenary? Really?" Nia replied, raising one eyebrow skeptically.

"Now, I know what you're thinking." Cole said, holding his hands up in a placatory gesture. "Mercenaries have an unsavory reputation, and for good reason a lot of the time. But Vandham and his crew are the exception. He makes a big fuss about helping people, even helps out abandoned kids and such. Just ask Iona, she stayed with him for awhile before I took her in."

"And you really think this guy'd help us?" Nia asked, sounding less suspicious but still not entirely convinced.

"Heh. If I know that old bruiser, he'd jump at the chance. Especially with the Aegis to get his interest. He's an experienced driver, so I reckon it would be real handy to have him on your side." Cole answered. After a moment, however, he frowned. "The only problem is, he doesn't live in Fonsa Myma, and I don't have an easy way to get a message to him. That's where the diversion comes in. You'd have to travel to him yourselves – he runs a little place called Garfont Village up near the titan's head, probably a day's walk."

Nia's brow furrowed in thought. "Well, it'd give me time to think about the Indol business at least..." she muttered. "What'dya think, Dromar-" she froze, her ears flattening to her head. "Damnit!" It just felt so natural to turn to Dromarch for his input. She wasn't even thinking about it. Some of the other members of the group winced in sympathy.

"Nia..." Pyra said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Forget it. I'm done whining for today." the Gormotti tried to brush past it as best she could. There was an awkward silence for several moments. Finally, Nia sighed. "Anyway. What do you lot think about this?" she asked. It took a few seconds, but eventually Corvin spoke up.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. You can never have too many friends!" he declared cheerfully.

"Right, what he said. If this Vandham guy really is like Cole says, it'd be good to meet him." Rex agreed.

"If Vandham is really good driver... maybe teach Tora and Poppi how to fight?" Tora suggested, clearly remembering Malos's diatribe. Poppi looked at her masterpon curiously, but nodded her head in agreement. All eyes turned to Pyra, the only one who hadn't given an opinion yet.

"...I'm not sure. Let me ask Mythra." the redhead said, and closed her eyes to concentrate. To everyone else, it looked like she was just standing there doing nothing, but a conversation was going on in the Aegis's head.

"Well... what do you think?"

"I don't know. We only have Minoth's word about this Vandham guy, and we really need to focus on Elysium, not waste time."

"That's true, but, you know we can trust Minoth. And with how dangerous Malos can be, we need all the help we can get."

"...Alright, you're not wrong. Last night sure proved that."

"Maybe Tora's idea of getting some help training would be worthwhile too. You... did want everyone to be better, right?"

"Tch, twist my arm... fine. Just don't take more than a few days."

Pyra opened her eyes again. "Mythra is alright with it." she announced.

"Huh. Guess we're going to see this Vandham guy, yeah? And after that... I'll figure somethin' out about Indol." Nia decided.

"I think I have a map of Uraya somewhere around here..." Cole gestured around his office. "I can show you how to get to Garfont."

"Thank you, Minoth... for everything." Pyra said, a sincere smile on her face. The events of the previous night had been trying, but at least now things seemed to be looking up again.

Notes:

Alright, got this one done a little quicker than I was expecting. It's all talking and exposition this time around, but after the huge fight scene in the previous chapter, that seems appropriate. We're slowly starting to edge away from canon here, doing the Uraya arc basically in reverse. Also, I decided to make Nia uncomfortable with Indol - it always struck me as weird how she scoffs at Rex when he doesn't really trust the Praetorium and Amalthus. Given her backstory, that scene seems a bit out-of-character.

Chapter 11: CH11: Meeting a Mercenary

Compared to the sweeping, mostly flat plains of Gormott, journeying through Uraya could perhaps be called a little more interesting. The group set out from the city's front gates, soon finding themselves traversing the high cliffs that rose around the sides of the titan's cavernous interior. Along the road out of the city was a repair dock, where they stopped for a moment to look at the considerable number of titan warships that the kingdom seemed to be amassing, just in case war with Mor Ardain broke out again. They didn't linger for long, though, they still had a lot of walking ahead of them, especially if they wanted to reach Garfont Village sometime before the middle of the night. After they trekked across the clifftops some ways, they found themselves crossing natural bridges back and forth between the sides of the titan, gradually descending lower and lower. Standing atop a rocky bridge in the titan's center, with saffronia trees hanging above them and Fonsa Myma looming in the distance behind... if they didn't have a goal in mind, it would've been a fantastic place for sightseeing.

Traveling through Uraya's stomach wasn't entirely peaceful – on a couple occasions they came across wandering groups of the lizard-like creatures called Ignas patrolling the rocky pathways through the cavern. While they were prone to being hostile towards humans and would certainly pose a danger to average travelers, compared to the likes of Malos and Akhos, the Ignas really weren't that much of a threat. Still, as Nia realized, they no longer had Dromarch to heal them, so they made an effort to avoid or escape from fights whenever possible. Ultimately, though, the monsters that inhabited Uraya ended up being more of an inconvenience than anything, and the group gained only a few minor scratches for their trouble.

Eventually they found themselves descending from the cliffsides down into the lower parts of the titan's stomach, where they traversed across small rocky islands and waded through pools of shallow water. Nia didn't particularly enjoy that part, she wasn't strictly averse to water, but she only had the one outfit, if it got too soaked then she would just have to deal with that. After many long hours of walking, the group finally found themselves at the opposite end of the titan's stomach. Rex unfurled the map Cole had lent them and looked at the path the old man had marked out – apparently, from here they needed to ascend the winding path back up the cliffs to access the titan's head, where they would find Garfont Village.

It was mid-evening by the time they arrived. The village was situated in a large cavern mostly separated from the rest of the titan's interior. One of the large transparent patches on the titan's skin was situated on the cavern's ceiling, bathing to whole place in the evening light. There were a pair of large wooden gates built along the path towards the settlement, but fortunately they were wide open, allowing travelers to come and go as they pleased. The buildings of the village were rather odd, looking less like traditional structures and more like large tents that had been reinforced for permanent use. A small but respectable marketplace was set up to one side, and near the center of the town were a pair of tents seemingly converted into an inn and tavern. Looming behind the village proper was a high rocky terrace where a single saffronia tree stood. It was an odd little place, not quite like any town Nia had seen before, but at the same time, it seemed fitting for a home established by mercenaries.

As they walked through the village gates, Nia glanced around, seeing a fair few children running about the place. It seemed that Cole's claim that Vandham took in homeless kids was true after all. The majority of the adults, meanwhile, were drivers, with plenty of Blades to match. "Makes sense for a buncha mercs, I guess..." the Gormotti thought idly. They hadn't been there long, however, before a voice called out to them.

"Hold it there, you lot!" The speaker approaching them was definitely a striking figure. It was kind of a surprise that they hadn't seen him coming. Urayans in general tended to be a bit bigger and bulkier than the other people of Alrest, but this was guy was huge even by that standard. He could be best described as a towering wall of muscle. His grayish-brown skin and large, squared facial features almost gave the impression that he'd been hewn out of stone. His outfit was predominantly green, and seemed to consist mostly of pouches. Lots of pouches. He had silver hair with a couple streaks of blue and orange, styled into a large pompadour. In the center of his face, right atop his nose, was an x-shaped scar. Folded on his belt were a pair of what looked like short scythes, and accompanying him was a tall Blade that looked rather like a humanoid bird, with large wings and brownish-orange feathers. Around its neck was some kind of odd cloth sack. "Never seen your faces around here." the man commented in a gruff voice.

Nia put her hands on her hips. "Is that a problem?" she asked warily. Sure, Cole may have vouched for these mercenaries, but that only went so far. A bit of caution wouldn't hurt.

"I dunno. Really depends, don't it?" the man replied evenly, totally unfazed by the Gormotti's suspicion. His eyes scanned over the group, stopping on Pyra. "Well I'll be... An emerald core crystal. So it's true then!" Nia tensed slightly, and in her peripheral vision, she saw the others doing the same. Pyra crossed her hands in concern. Getting immediately recognized was starting to wear on them. The man, meanwhile, belted out a boisterous laugh. "So what's got the legendary Aegis and a bunch of mushes wandering around here, eh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We're looking for a guy named Vandham. D'ya know him?" Rex asked, stepping forwards. The mercenary let out a scoff.

"...Yeah, I know Vandham. Everyone 'round here does." he replied, crossing his arms. Though his tone was dismissive, it had a slight hint of something odd to it, like he knew some secret that he wasn't sharing. His feathery Blade glanced at him, and the two locked eyes for a moment, having some sort of silent conversation, before the Blade gave a tiny nod in understanding.

"Great! Can you take us to him?" the salvager pressed eagerly, but Nia simply frowned. She could already tell from the way the guy was acting that it wasn't going to be that easy. As if to confirm her suspicions, the man shook his head.

"Nah. He's a real busy fella. Bunch of people like you aren't worth his time." he replied. He stared intently at Nia with a frown. "There's no way you're worthy of a Blade like that, half-pint." He gestured towards Pyra as he said it. Nia's ears flattened in anger.

"Oi! What do you know!? Gettin' real tired of people treating me like a child!" she protested furiously. Pyra laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but the Aegis was looking at the mercenary disapprovingly herself.

"Tch! Not just talking about your age, I mean, this ain't a normal Blade. This is the Aegis! You aren't ready for that." the man drawled, appearing quite obviously unimpressed. "Now... how about you quit fooling around... and hand her over?" It clearly wasn't a simple request... it was a threat.

The Gormotti immediately drew the sword from her back, scowling at the man. "No way you actually think that's gonna happen!" she challenged. "Another arse who wants the Aegis... Dunno why I'm surprised by now." was about what she was thinking at that moment.

"Heh. Hard way it is, kid." the mercenary replied with a cocky smirk, brandishing the twin scythes he carried. "Yew! Zuo! Come deal with the rest of this lot!" he bellowed, and a pair of men quickly emerged from the crowd that was starting to gather around the scene. One appeared to be Ardainian judging from his clothing and dark hair, the other was quite recognizably Urayan, though not as huge as the one who had called him. Both men were drivers, accompanied by fairly uniform white and gray figures – common Blades, ones who weren't as distinct or powerful as more unique Blades. The Ardainian man wielded a long spear, while his companion held a greataxe. The two men flanked the big guy on either side, the spear-user staring down Rex and Corvin while the axeman did the same with Tora and Poppi.

"You got it, boss. We'll keep 'em nice and busy." the Ardainian man – presumably Yew – agreed, directing a cocky smirk towards his chosen opponents. Rex stared back seriously, while Corvin frowned in thought.

"Boss...?" the blonde murmured to himself. Before he could elaborate on his thought process, however, the sound of clashing weapons rang out as Nia and the large mercenary began to duel. Recognizing their cue, the other two mercs both charged into battle against their own respective foes as well. Rex deftly jumped to the side as Yew turned his charge into a lunge with the full length of his spear. As the ether lance narrowly slid past him, the salvager dashed forwards and did a small spin, whipping his sword around in a wide arc. The mercenary hopped back out of the way, then swung his spear sideways – Rex was too close to be caught by the spearhead, but the shaft of the weapon nonetheless struck him hard on the side of the head, leaving his skull ringing for a moment.

"Corvin!" Rex yelled, realizing the danger he was in. Fortunately, the Blade in question responded to the call, leaping into the fray and using his white sword to deflect Yew's attempt at a follow-up attack. Rex soon recovered from his momentary disorientation and used Corvin's power to hurl a crescent-shaped light art at his opponent. It struck the mercenary right across his chest, but his clothing was padded enough to protect him somewhat, so he didn't suffer any injuries beyond getting a bit singed. It did knock some of the wind out of him, though.

At the same time this was going on, Tora hefted his shield just in time as Zuo's axe whirled through the air, deflecting the horizontal chop off the side of the shield. The man swung his axe again and again, back and forth, but Tora resolutely blocked every strike, slowly trying to push forward and close the distance between them – the man with his large axe clearly had a range advantage over the Nopon. Seeing that his current approach wasn't working, Zuo swiftly brought the axe up over his head and brought it down in a vertical smash. Tora's eyes flicked upwards, not bringing his guard overhead quite quick enough... only for the axehead to bounce off of hard metal regardless. Poppi grunted as she stood over her driver, having shielded him from the blow with crossed arms. There was a small dent on her left forearm now.

"No worries, masterpon. Poppi as sturdy as ever." the artificial Blade reassured Tora, as if sensing that he was slightly concerned about her. Zuo had paused his assault for a moment, watching his two opponents closely. A normal Blade probably wouldn't just shrug off a hit to their arm like that, these two clearly weren't quite a usual pair. Taking advantage of the hesitation, the drill head sprung out from Tora's shield as he lunged forwards, ramming right into the man's stomach and knocking him backwards off his feet. Tora stumbled forwards, not quite braced for the attack properly, but Poppi grabbed one of his wings to steady him. Tora glanced at his Blade, and she gave him a thumbs-up in response. With a groan, their opponent stood back up, rubbing his stomach with one hand.

"Ugh, that's gonna leave a bruise... Stronger than you look, Nopon, I'll give ya that..." Zuo groaned, hefting his axe as he prepared to get back into the fight. Tora similarly brandished his shield, feeling confident that he wasn't getting totally overpowered like when he'd tried to fight Malos.

And of course, in the center of the impromptu battlefield that the village entrance had become, Nia and the bulky Urayan mercenary were dueling fiercely. The man swung his twin scythes methodically, one after the other, again and again. Nia was able to parry every attack without too much trouble – at this point she was fairly accustomed to wielding Pyra's sword, and the big guy wasn't really attacking that quickly. However, the sheer relentlessness of his assault made it hard for her to find opportunities to strike back. Perhaps to throw her off, perhaps just because he was getting bored, the man suddenly switched from vertical swings to a wide sideways chop at the Gormotti's head. She responded with a strong hop backwards, landing a few feet away from the man, next to where Pyra was standing. She swung the sword up through the empty air, drawing on ether to send a vertical wave of fire hurtling towards her opponent. However, his avian Blade swooped in front of him, blocking the attack with an ether barrier.

As if to respond to Nia's art, the man channeled his own Blade's ether and blasted a concentrated bullet of wind towards her and Pyra. However, he took a couple seconds longer to launch the attack than he probably needed to, strictly speaking, which gave his targets plenty of time to see it coming and duck out of the way. As she looked at the man, Pyra's brow furrowed thoughtfully.

"From the way he's attacking... Mythra, you noticed it too, right?"

"Yeah. He's definitely holding back. But why?"

Neither of the Aegis's identities had an answer for that question, of course. Idly, Pyra wondered if Nia had noticed the oddities in the man's fighting style or not. Her driver could be perceptive enough when she wanted, but in the middle of a fight, would she be paying that much attention? Either way, it wasn't exactly an appropriate time to discuss something like that. Nia held up her sword and ran headlong at the man. Seeing this, he let out a yell – seemingly more for theatrics than anything – and charged towards her with his scythes held ready. The mercenary seemed like he was ready to meet Nia in another clash, and then...

"Mythra!" the Gormotti yelled suddenly. Pyra instinctively figured out her driver's plan, likely due to their affinity bond, and in a flash she had transformed into her golden-haired counterpart. Bolstered by Mythra's far more powerful ether, Nia surged forwards with newfound speed, a good deal quicker than the man was expecting. He barely had time to register his surprise at the way the Aegis and her weapon had changed before Nia whipped the sword of light around, smashing into one of the man's scythes and knocking it free from his grip. His feathery Blade flew over to catch it mid-air, but neither it nor its driver were able to react fast enough before Nia leveled the sword at the man's throat, glaring up at him. A tense silence fell across the battlefield, even the other two mercs paused their battles and looked towards the big guy as he stood there frozen, a blade of light ether held inches from his neck. And then the man started to laugh, a jolly, hearty laugh of someone who quite thoroughly enjoyed everything that just happened. Nia's serious expression quickly melted away to one of confusion.

"Bahaha... Alright, you got me! That was a pretty good trick." the man complimented, folding up the one scythe that he still had and placing it on his belt. Nia slowly lowered her sword, but her puzzled look didn't change. "You clearly know how to manage a Blade well enough, and that Aegis's somethin' real special." Realizing that the fight was over, the other two mercenaries put away their weapons, with Rex and Tora following suit a moment later.

With a small smirk, Corvin turned and approached the big guy. "So, I'd say you're Vandham, am I right?" he asked casually. The man chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the approaching Blade.

"Sussed me out, eh blondie? What gave it away?" the mercenary replied, offhandedly taking back his other scythe when his birdlike Blade offered it. Corvin shrugged.

"Oh, just how the others listened to you and called you boss. We know Vandham's in charge around here, so it was pretty easy to figure it out." He was trying to sound nonchalant, but Corvin couldn't quite keep a hint of smugness out of his voice. He was clearly feeling proud of himself for apparently being the only one who noticed.

"Wait, if you're Vandham... then you started a fight for no bloody reason!" Nia's face fell into a frustrated glare as the realization dawned on her.

"Calm down, Nia." Mythra commented, standing at the Gormotti's side with her arms crossed. "Yeah, it was a waste of time-" she shot a brief glare of her own at Vandham "-but it's not like we were ever in danger. He was holding back the whole time." the Aegis pointed out coolly. Nia huffed in response, but didn't argue the point further.

"Heh, guilty as charged." Vandham admitted casually, thankfully not seeming to be bothered by Nia's annoyed attitude. "Not everyday the Aegis and her driver come around, figured I'd take a swing at ya while I had the chance." he elaborated.

"Tch, of course that's why..." Mythra muttered, glancing away with a distinctly unimpressed look on her face. Really, in hindsight, she should have figured that was the Urayan's motivation, he seemed like the sort who would enjoy a good scrap.

"But, how's about I make it up to you lot? Food at our little pub's pretty solid..." Vandham paused to jerk a thumb over his shoulder towards the bar set up under a tent adjacent to the inn in the distance. "Come on, my treat." the mercenary offered. Nia glanced towards Mythra, who shrugged uncaringly, then to Rex and Tora, who both nodded, albeit with identical puzzled looks.

"This all happen very fast, Tora confused..." the Nopon complained, scratching his head with one wing.

"You and me both..." Rex agreed, glancing over towards Corvin. He was still kind of surprised that his Blade had figured out Vandham's identity, while he himself hadn't noticed the hints at all.

---

As the group followed Vandham, Yew, and Zuo over towards the tavern, the large mercenary was taking the time to point out various things in the village, such as their marketplace and their training yard. It was all stuff that was fairly self-explanatory, really, but nobody could really fault him for trying to be a good host. The small crowd that had been watching their duel had all long since scattered, going back to their business as if nothing had happened. It was like they saw fights breaking out as a frequent occurrence... which, given that most of the village's population were rough-and-tumble mercenaries, was probably the case. Truth be told, Nia was only really half-paying attention to her surroundings. She'd already taken note of everything that seemed interesting in the village. She ended up trailing a bit behind everyone else, not so much that they got worried about her, but enough that she was mostly left alone. At least, until Mythra sidled up beside her.

"So. I... honestly wasn't expecting you to call on me back there." the golden-haired Blade commented, trying to sound nonchalant but coming across a bit awkward. Nia looked up at her with a hint of surprise, not really expecting Mythra to try and make conversation. "Wonder if Pyra put her up to it..."

"Oh yeah, why's that? You got a problem with it or something?" the Gormotti replied. Her tone wasn't accusatory, but there was a small edge of caution behind it. Given that her most major conversation with Mythra had involved the Aegis blowing up at her, it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

"Hmph. I didn't say that." Mythra huffed, crossing her arms. "It's just, we're hardly friends. It's weird that you'd count on me to help you."

Nia raised an eyebrow. "What, are you saying you wanna keep some kinda gap between us? Sounds pretty daft to me." As far as she was concerned, drivers and Blades at the very least needed to be able to work together. That was just common sense, really. Being a super-powerful Aegis didn't change that fact.

"I, well... No, but..." Mythra stumbled over her words, her shield of cool aloofness having totally failed her this time. At that moment, she seemed less like a powerful, intimidating Blade of legend, and more like an awkward teenager. Nia snorted, rolling her eyes, though it was entirely good-natured.

"I'd say you're overthinkin' it, genius. You woke up to help me out of a real bad spot, makes you trustworthy enough in my book." As she said that, though, the Gormotti's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Was she maybe starting to trust people too easily? ….Nah, she wasn't that dumb, giving people the benefit of the doubt wasn't the same as going soft. Right? Her introspection went more-or-less unnoticed by Mythra, who looked away.

"Yeah, well... fine. But just don't think you can rely on my power too much." the Aegis remarked, almost managing to salvage her haughty appearance. Almost.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Nia responded, waving one hand dismissively. It wasn't like she was intending to go on a rampage or anything, a fact that Mythra was no doubt aware of as well. The golden-haired Aegis, however, wasn't really paying attention at that point, she had something else distracting her.

"Come on, you can admit it. You thought it was a clever plan."

"...Hmph."

"And... you're glad she called on you."

"Seriously?"

"You know you can't hide anything from me."

"Tch, when did you get so pushy, Pyra?"

Mythra scowled as she heard her counterpart giggling inside her head. Having a sister who could share her thoughts was turning out to be a lot more irritating than she had really expected. Fortunately, she knew the perfect way to respond. In a now-familiar flash of green light, her body had transformed back into its redheaded state.

"And now you can say it, if you really want."

"...Smooth, Mythra." Pyra mumbled to herself. Nia looked over at her with confusion written across her face.

"What's that about? She get bothered by something, or what?" she wondered.

"Oh, um... it's nothing, really." Pyra answered, holding her hands behind her back. Nia didn't really buy that, a fact which must've been obvious from her expression, because the redhead started to look a bit sheepish. "For now, let's just... call it progress." she decided.

Nia tilted her head for a moment, then shrugged. "You two are bloody strange, you know that?"

---

At the same time that Nia and Mythra were talking, Rex had started a conversation of his own with Vandham. The salvager glanced around the village yet again, his eyes lingering on a couple of kids swinging wooden swords at each other, while a rather bored-looking Blade supervised.

"We were told there'd be kids here, but it really is a lot of 'em." he remarked. Vandham stopped for a moment to look around himself, giving a brisk nod.

"In our line of work, we go all over, end up runnin' into bunches of 'em." the mercenary replied matter-of-factly.

"And then you just offer to take them in, like that?" Rex wondered curiously.

Vandham's face took on a more serious expression. "Wars leave orphans behind, it ain't pretty... Least we can do is help them out."

"Huh. Makes sense." Rex decided simply, placing one hand on his chin thoughtfully. Really, he saw no reason not to take that claim at face value. It just sounded like the reasonable thing to do, in his mind.

"Hey, jumping at the chance to help people. I'm okay with that." Corvin commented from Rex's side, joining into the conversation. He glanced over at the two kids who were still mock-swordfighting. "What happens next, though? You don't just train them all to be the next generation of mercs, do you?" the Blade asked. Vandham cracked an easygoing grin at that, shaking his head.

"Nah! Not unless they want to be. We help 'em get futures, but what that means, they choose." Vandham explained, his voice taking on a slight hint of pride, roughly comparable to an eager parent.

"Quite admirable. But perhaps you should encourage them not to become reckless salvagers like Rex here." Gramps suddenly interjected, picking that moment to pop out of Rex's helmet. Vandham looked at the titan with one eyebrow raised, though his face held the look of someone who had seen far stranger things.

"Hey! That's reckless salvager and driver to you!" Rex protested, crossing his arms in a show of feigned offense. The miniature titan let out a small chuckle.

"Of course. How silly of me." he remarked in quite possibly the driest voice he could manage. Rex turned to look at him, the two of them staring each other down with identical expressions of exaggerated seriousness, until Rex finally broke character with a smile and looked away. Gramps nodded contently at the odd exchange which really only made sense for the two of them.

"But seriously though, it sounds like you're doing some pretty good stuff." the salvager said after a moment, making an effort to get the conversation back on track. Only for it to be immediately derailed again when his stomach let out a loud growl. While Rex looked sheepish and Gramps seemed exasperated, Vandham barked a short laugh.

"Yeah, but that's enough yakking about that. Let's get to that grub, eh? Come on!" he announced, shepherding the group towards the cluster of wooden tables arranged around the bar.

---

"So, finally time to ask, what's got you lot comin' all the way out here to find this old mercenary, anyway?" Vandham asked as everyone gradually worked on polishing off their respective plates of food. Nia found that it was, indeed, a lot better than one might expect given the setting, clearly the cook knew what he was doing. She had decided to get some roasted fish, naturally, Gormotti stereotypes be damned.

"Old man Cole send us! Say that Vandham was old friend, maybe able to help." Tora answered the question first. Vandham's eyebrows rose high at that, clearly not expecting that answer.

"Really! Yeah, me and him go way back. Been awhile since I've heard from him. How's the old geezer holding up these days?" the huge mercenary asked, leaning forwards slightly with interest.

Nia and Pyra shared a look. "Well, he's still up and about, writing plays and all that..." the Gormotti began, somewhat hesitantly. She glanced away, not quite meeting Vandham's gaze. "But he seemed pretty sick, too." she finished, her brow setting in a grim line. Vandham closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. His condition's been getting steadily worse for years." the mercenary admitted, a note of resignation in his voice. Nia, of course, knew that the condition in question was a nasty consequence of Cole's flesh eater status. But she wasn't sure how much Vandham knew about that, so she kept it to herself. "But if he's still kicking, I'll call that good enough." the mercenary decided. He sat up a bit straighter, which had the effect of making his huge stature seem to loom over the table a bit. "But if Cole sent you, then I'd say you oughta tell me your story. Need to know what he wants me to help ya with, eh?"

"Right. This whole mess started on, well... the day I defected from Torna." Nia began. Truth be told, it felt rather strange to be freely admitting that she'd burned bridges like that. Before, when she had mentioned leaving the group, some small part of her had still felt hesitant. After the events in Fonsa Myma, though... she knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn't ever be going back, and wouldn't ever want to.

"Hold up! Torna!?" Vandham suddenly interrupted loudly, staring straight at Nia with a piercing gaze. It wasn't quite a glare, but it was definitely the look of somebody who was quite thoroughly bothered. "I've heard enough about them. Killed a lot of decent folk. Including some of mine." he said. Or maybe it was more like growled. Compared to his tough-guy act from earlier, this was real anger, and the difference was night and day. The Gormotti cringed, shrinking under his gaze a bit. Rex seemed like he was about to jump in to defend her, but Nia spoke first.

"...Yeah. That Torna. But like I said, I defected. They... weren't the people I thought they were." she muttered, looking down. Alright, so cut ties or not, that still hurt to admit. Jin had rescued her, offered her a place... Could she really be blamed for not realizing what kind of awful stuff they got up to? At least until she was confronted with it head-on. Meanwhile, Vandham's gaze softened considerably. He stayed silent for a few moments, scrutinizing the Gormotti, and then he sighed.

"You wouldn't be the first person to get in over their head and end up with a bad lot. But if you took the chance to get out when you could... I respect that. It's as good a reason to fight as any." Vandham said, reaching across the table to place a hand on Nia's shoulder. She looked up at him in surprise, and the mercenary gave her an encouraging nod before withdrawing his hand. "Now, let's get back to that story." Vandham switched tracks surprisingly quickly. Nia looked at him for a moment, an unreadable expression on her face, before she shook herself out of it and went to continue telling the tale.

And tell it she did. Starting with explaining the events on the ancient ship that had really changed everything, then their crash-landing on Gormott, subsequent run-in with Ardainian law and meeting Tora, and their rescue of Rex, Gramps, and Dromarch. Vandham seemed impressed that they had stood up to the Special Inquisitor and won, though he suggested that, based on her reputation, she might have been holding back. And from there it was traveling to Fonsa Myma, visiting the theatre and meeting Cole – Vandham pressed to know if his latest play was any good. When it came time to describe the fateful battle at Olethro Ruins, though, the Gormotti started to lose steam a bit.

"It was goin' fine at first, we were holding our ground well enough. But then Akhos unveiled his trump card. His damn Blade, Obrona, could just... shut off all our ether." she explained grimly. Vandham gave a low whistle, immediately realizing how devastating such an ability could be. "Then things went bad. We couldn't really fight back... I got injured, Tora tried to stand up for us since Poppi's fine without, but Malos was too strong... and then Dromarch..." she paused for a moment. "Dromarch..." Nia found herself struggling to say it out loud. "Damnit, come on! Just say it, it happened, it's not gonna change." But her mental berating didn't help. Pretty much everyone who knew what happened was looking at her sympathetically. Which almost made it worse, really, she didn't want to be sponging up pity.

"Dromarch put himself between Nia and Akhos." Pyra had stepped in to finish the tale, a fact which the Gormotti suddenly felt incredibly grateful for. "He protected her, but... his core crystal was irreparably damaged in the process." the Aegis said solemnly. Nia's hand instinctively moved to the crystal in question, still carried around in her pocket. She didn't really know what else to do with it.

"So... you lost your first Blade, one you had a real strong bond with. Yeah, I can see how that'd be hard to handle." Vandham spoke up, his tone genuinely sympathetic. "Dunno how I'd react if it happened to Roc here," he paused to jerk a thumb over his shoulder towards his feathery Blade, who'd been pretty much lurking in the background. "Hope I never have to find out." Of course, Vandham was a mercenary, he was used to people dying in the course of his job. It wasn't a pleasant thought whatsoever, but he could probably handle it. Still, Nia appreciated the sentiment.

"When Malos and Akhos moved to finish off Nia shortly afterwards... that's when I hit my limit. That other form I used when we fought... her name is Mythra, she has a mind of her own. And between us, she's the one who can use our full power, while I only have a fraction." Pyra began to explain. Vandham raised an eyebrow curiously at how strange it sounded, but given that he'd seen the Aegis's alternate form personally, he didn't have any reason to doubt it. "Mythra had been dormant, but she awoke then. She was able to use her powers even with the ether restriction... " From there, the redhead began to explain how Mythra had completely turned the battle around, destroying the opposing Blades and driving off Malos and Akhos.

"Heh. Guess I shouldn't be surprised the Aegis can do some crazy stuff." Vandham commented, nodding his head in what looked like a show of approval.

Finally, with the battle out of the way, Nia took over again. She skipped the part about Rex helping her get back on her feet, that was rather personal, not really any of Vandham's business. Instead, she simply explained what Pyra had told them about Malos being another Aegis, and then their subsequent chat with Cole. Vandham surprised her a bit when he interrupted the telling once again.

"So with all this stuff 'bout five hundred years ago... I'm betting the old timer told you his little secret, am I right?" the mercenary asked. Seeing the surprised looks on the group's faces, Nia's especially, he let out a hearty chuckle. "Don't act so shocked! Like I said, me and him go way back! 'Course I know what his deal is."

"And you... don't have a problem with it?" Nia tested cautiously.

"Nah. I know what folk say about 'em, but it's real easy to see Cole's just a bloke like anyone else, Blade or not." Vandham answered casually, shaking his head.

"Yeah..." Nia agreed quietly. "Like anyone else." Those words echoed in the Gormotti's mind, and she stared questioningly at the mercenary. Could it really be that simple to him? If so, then maybe, just maybe, he was someone trustworthy. But in order to keep anyone from getting concerned with her behavior, she quickly went back to explaining what Cole had told them – leaving out the part about wanting to avoid Indol due to her history with it. Once again, she didn't really think that was Vandham's business. Instead, she simply said that the old man had suggested they meet with Vandham before heading out from Uraya, which was technically accurate.

When the long recap was finally over, Vandham leaned back in his chair, exhaling a long breath. "That's one hell of a tale. Two Aegises, a quest for Elysium..." he commented at last. "I'd hardly believe it if the proof weren't sittin' right there." He gestured towards Pyra as he said that, and the Aegis gave a small nod of acknowledgment. "So. Cole told ya I'd jump to help you out, eh?" he asked rhetorically. At this, everyone sat up attentively, even Tora, who had more-or-less zoned out of the conversation, contemplating potential upgrades for Poppi. "Well, the old guy knows me well enough. He probably wanted me to join your merry little band... Gimme some time to think about that. But if there's anythin' else I can give you lot a hand with, go ahead!" the mercenary announced.

"Oh! Oh!" Tora waved his wings to draw attention to himself. "Tora actually have thing in mind! Biggipon can help Tora and Poppi fight better?" the Nopon asked, reiterating the suggestion he'd made back in Fonsa Myma.

"Sure, furrypon. I reckon I can give you a few pointers all right. Anyone else up for a bit of good ol' fashioned sparring?" Vandham agreed, looking around the table. Azurda popped his head out of Rex's helmet and rested a tiny paw on the salvager's shoulder.

"Rex here is still a very new driver, and he could stand to practice. I would teach him myself, like I used to, but it would be... difficult with my current size." the miniature titan explained. "Oho, I remember our first sword lessons! It was a very good thing the edge was blunted, I'd say. His eagerness far outmatched his skill." he began to reminisce.

"Gramps, come on, you're embarrassing me." the salvager complained, rubbing one arm awkwardly.

"Personally," Corvin began, possibly to keep the titan from derailing the conversation too much. "I think me and Rex could probably handle just about anything if we tried hard enough." he boasted, crossing his arms behind his head casually. Nia had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious ego on display. The blonde glanced over at Rex for a moment, then towards Vandham. "But... A little practice here and there never hurts." he added. After a brief second of consideration, the salvager nodded his assent.

"So we've got Tora and Rex. Nia?" Vandham asked, looking over towards the Gormotti. Nia crossed her arms and hummed, considering it, before shaking her head.

"I think I'm set, I'd rather just take it easy for a bit, yeah?" she decided. Pyra smiled supportively, not wanting her driver to go pushing herself harder than needed. Despite Mythra's insistence that Nia needed to "be better", her basic combat skills were decent enough. It was more a matter of handling herself in desperate situations, something which a bit of sparring really wouldn't help with. Admittedly, as Corvin said, more practice wouldn't hurt, but if she wanted to relax for a day or two, Pyra was not going to stop her. And, as her counterpart begrudgingly accepted, Mythra was not going to stop her either.

"Right." Vandham grunted. He stood up from his chair with a small groan, stretching his huge arms. "Of course, we ain't gonna do a thing tonight. It's gettin' late, and I'm betting you lot are pretty beat, eh?" he said. It was true on multiple levels – one, darkness had fallen over the village some time ago. Two, it had been a pretty long journey across the titan, especially adding the scuffle with Vandham on top of it. Nia hadn't really noticed until now, but she was exhausted, and from the looks on everyone else's faces, they were feeling about the same. "How's about I go ahead and cover the cost of your beds at the inn?"

"You don't have to-" Rex started to protest, but the mercenary cut him off with a laugh.

"Nah, but I want to, kid! Come on!" he declared jovially, clapping a hand on Rex's back before heading over to the inn next door. At that point, nobody else really felt like trying to argue, so they simply fell in line behind him.

---

The following morning, thankfully not too early, Rex, Corvin and Tora dragged themselves out of bed, met up with Poppi, and then the four of them joined Vandham and Roc for a quick breakfast. Nia got up a little while later, deciding to check out the village's small market with Pyra, mostly for a lack of anything better to do. Meanwhile, the group who had agreed to train had all headed over to the practice field at the edge of the village.

"Alright!" Vandham announced, putting his hands on his hips. "Yew and Zuo've told me a bit of what you can do, but I wanna see it first hand. So you two are gonna spar with your Blades supporting ya, got it?" Rex and Tora nodded, raising their weapons. Vandham's eyes flicked over to Corvin, who as usual was keeping his white sword on his person while Rex only used the black one. The mercenary raised an eyebrow, but decided not to draw attention to that detail... yet. "Try not to hurt each other, but don't hold back too much. And... begin!" he barked in the commanding tone of someone who had done this sort of thing plenty of times before.

The spar was ultimately not that eventful, but it told Vandham what he needed to know. Rex mostly pressed on the offense, barraging Tora with Corvin's light arts whenever he got the opportunity. Vandham actually had to stop them at one point when the salvager started blasting beams of light in rapid succession, burning through ether faster than Corvin could supply it. Apparently, he hadn't even realized that was a possibility. Still, after a brief lecture from the mercenary, the fight resumed much as at had been before. Tora tried to mount an offensive a few times, but just like with Malos, Rex caught on to his efforts fairly quickly, avoiding the various shield spikes and drill thrusts without too much trouble. Still, the salvager found it difficult to break through Tora's guard, and even when he got past the sturdy shield, Poppi would frequently step in to intercept his attacks. Finally, just as the two of them started to tire out, Vandham called an end to it.

"Not bad, you two! Told me a lot about ya, that's for sure!" Vandham declared. Rex wiped a bit of sweat from his brow while Tora flopped his shield on the ground with a soft thud, turning it into a makeshift seat. "It's not all rosy, though. How's about we go ahead and get the bad news over with, eh?" Rex and Tora looked at each other for a moment, then nodded with a hint of hesitation. The mercenary's face turned more serious, and he glanced over towards Rex first. "Rex, I saw you only ever used one of your Blade's weapons. There a reason for that?"

The brown-haired boy just shrugged. "I dunno. Corvin only ever gives me this one-" he paused to hold up the black-handled katana. "-and I just figured, he knows what he's doing." he answered honestly. All eyes soon shifted over to Corvin instead. To his credit, the blonde didn't so much as flinch under the sudden attention.

"Well, blondie? What's got you withholding a sword from your driver?" Vandham asked sharply, scrutinizing the casual Blade closely. Corvin responded with an easygoing smile.

"Oh, it's nothing personal, if that's what you're thinking." he reassured, clapping a hand on Rex's shoulder. "My white sword, Durandal, is just too powerful for anyone other than a Blade to use. That's all." He said it like it was the simplest thing around. Vandham considered that for a moment, and then frowned.

"I don't buy it." the mercenary replied bluntly. "Never heard of anything like that with a Blade. Even the Aegis lends her sword to Nia, no problem. You really saying you're more powerful than that, kid?" Vandham pressed. His voice wasn't hostile or accusatory, but it was definitely firm, giving the impression of someone who wouldn't accept anything but the truth.

"Well..." Corvin trailed off, his absolute confidence wavering for perhaps the first time.

"Corvin, come on, it's fine. We're supposed to be partners, this is all to help us work together better, remember?" Rex encouraged him. The blonde glanced over at his driver, seeing him give a friendly smile, and then he nodded.

"Alright, alright. I made that up." Corvin admitted with a small frown. "Durandal is a bit more powerful than Halteclere – that's the black one, by the way. But the real reason why I keep it to myself..." he paused for just a moment, one hand reaching back to the sword unconsciously. "...is that I don't want to be useless. I don't want to just provide ether until Rex passes me a sword. Thing is, me and Rex, we're supposed to be a team. So I want to keep a weapon on hand so I can jump in, whenever he needs it!" the Blade explained, his tone taking on a bit of conviction near the end.

"Heh. Now that makes a bit more sense. I can respect that, blondie." Vandham commented, his serious expression turning into one of approval.

"Yeah, that's fine, Corvin! You should've just told me that right away." Rex agreed cheerfully.

"Well, I kind of figured, I should just act with certitude. Not bog you down with my weird worries." Corvin replied, with a bit of uncertainty that was rather unlike him.

"Nah, it's not a problem. You said it yourself, we're a team. Truth be told, I'm fine fighting with one sword anyway, it's how Gramps taught me. Just lend the other one to me now and then if I need it, and we're all good. We work together, and we can handle anything, right?" Rex responded cheerfully. Corvin looked at him for a moment, and then a familiar smirk appeared on his face.

"Right! I knew you'd get the hang of being a driver, Rex! Just put your faith in me!" Corvin declared with enthusiastic confidence. Vandham, watching the whole scene, chuckled to himself.

"Alright you two, you still need some work, but I'll call ya good enough for today." the mercenary decided.

"Mehmeh, not to interrupt... But what about Tora and Poppi?" the Nopon interjected. He and Poppi had been waiting silently for Vandham to address them, but he was a bit nervous to hear the Urayan's evaluation, especially since it was supposed to start with bad news. Vandham turned to scrutinize the two of them, rubbing his chin with one hand thoughtfully.

"Tora, those attacks of yours... They were pretty clumsy. I could see 'em coming from a mile away." he said at last.

Tora's wings drooped a bit. "Tora knows." he murmured. "That why Tora want to learn from biggipon."

"Don't look so down, it's an easy problem to fix. Just don't go in swinging wildly, try to time your attacks, be unpredictable. With a bit of practice, you'll get the hang of it." Vandham instructed encouragingly, putting his hands on his hips. "For now, I'd say you should play to your strengths."

"What strengths Tora have?" the Nopon mumbled to himself bitterly, a bit louder than he was probably intending.

"Masterpon have plenty of strengths! Masterpon build Poppi!" Poppi protested. Though she could get rather exasperated with Tora's antics, she wasn't going to just sit there and let him beat himself up. "Masterpon is very tough, more than most Nopon. And masterpon try hard to be driver and help friends. Not take what Malos say to heart!" Tora looked up at her, seeing an uncharacteristically determined look on the artificial Blade's face.

"Poppi..." he said quietly.

Vandham nodded his head, looking at Poppi with an approving smile. "You oughta listen to her. Beatin' yourself up ain't gonna help anyone."

"That right!" Poppi agreed emphatically.

"As for learning to fight, that shield of yours is pretty tough, no shame in staying defensive and keeping your opponent busy. Just counterattack when you can." Vandham suggested. "And you said Poppi was supposed to be just like a real Blade, right?" he asked rhetorically as another idea occurred to him. "That means she must have some special attacks, don't she?"

"Poppi have programming for at least four special arts." the artificial Blade confirmed.

"Ohhhh... Tora forget about those sometimes." Tora admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a wing.

"Right, well, I betcha if you practiced using 'em, they'd help ya mix up your fighting a bit." Vandham concluded. Tora and Poppi both nodded, the idea making perfect sense to them. "See, you've got plenty of strong points. Me, I'm just good for my muscle!" the Urayan remarked with a hearty laugh, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

"That not true." Tora disagreed. "Biggipon have good heart also." Vandham looked at him, surprised.

"...Heh. You too, furrypon."

The training session continued for a little while longer, with Vandham giving pointers and occasionally having his impromptu students try out various ways of moving or attacking. Eventually, though, he declared that they should call it a day, grabbing a late lunch and sending them off to do whatever they wanted with their afternoons.

---

That night, at dinner, Vandham grabbed everyone's attention. "Alright, listen up! I've decided." he declared. "If you lot want to get to Elysium, then I'm gonna help you do it." he said with absolute certainty, no hesitation at all. Nia crossed her arms, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You were gonna say that all along, weren'tcha? That whole taking time thing was just a bunch of guff." she said, squinting at the mercenary suspiciously, though there was no real hostility in her tone. Vandham rubbed the back of his head, though he didn't seem particularly embarrassed at being caught out like that.

"Nothing gets past you, eh? Yeah, I was gonna agree. Goin' on an adventure with the Aegis, sounds like just my kinda trouble. Old man Cole knows that, probably why he sent ya to me to begin with." the Urayan explained. Nia hummed quietly in acknowledgment, accepting the answer. Pyra glanced at her for a moment, then looked to Vandham with a small smile.

"Well, I think... we'd be glad to have you. You seem like a good person." the Aegis said sincerely, crossing her hands over her core crystal as she spoke.

"Hold up, would that really be okay?" Rex wondered, a look of concern on his face. "I mean, aren't you supposed to be in charge around here?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Vandham waved a hand dismissively. "I'm a mercenary, remember? Sometimes I gotta run off across the world on a job, it happens. They can handle themselves fine for awhile." he reassured.

"Besides," cut in Yew from the table nearest theirs, clearly having overheard the discussion. "boss doesn't really sweat the small day-to-day stuff much. That's our job." he gestured to Zuo, sitting next to him. "We already talked about it earlier, told boss he should go for it." He nodded at Vandham respectfully as he said that.

"Oh. Well... alright then." the salvager said, somewhat nonplussed.

"Hmm. As you say, you are a mercenary. What, exactly, would be your price for this little venture?" Gramps asked shrewdly. At that, Vandham let out a chuckle, smirking at the miniature titan with a good-natured look in his eye.

"Nothin'! Consider it a favor to Cole, he'd never forgive me for charging ya. Not that I would've anyway, if Elysium's real then that's its own reward." the Urayan answered proudly.

"Good enough for me." Nia spoke up with a shrug. Sure, they'd only known Vandham for about a day, but... "Didn't bloody stop us with Tora." the Gormotti reminded herself. And with Pyra being all for him joining them, she figured she might as well go along with it. Though their fight hadn't been that long, the Urayan had definitely proved he was tough enough, and by all appearances he seemed like a good guy. She had heard a little bit from Rex about how he and Tora had gotten encouragement from the mercenary. "Just try not to slow us down, yeah?" she added with a playful smirk.

"Hah. You got it, Nia." Vandham replied, making a mock salute towards her. "So, we might as well get ready to head out tomorrow, eh?" he paused to see some nods of agreement from the rest of the group. "Question is, where're we heading out to? Cole said Indol, right?"

Nia glanced around uncomfortably. "Yeah..." she confirmed quietly, her good mood having vanished pretty much instantly. Vandham immediately noticed the change, sitting up a bit straighter and looking at her with concern.

"Something the matter?" he asked, sounding genuinely sympathetic despite not knowing what the issue was. Rex and Pyra both glanced at each other, already knowing the problem, before Pyra spoke up.

"Nia has... some history with the Praetorium. She's not really... comfortable with going there." the redhead explained as best she could. She still didn't know the extent of said history herself, beyond it apparently being pretty bad, and the thing which had led to Nia meeting Jin. The Gormotti in question looked away, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze at the moment.

"Hmm." Vandham hummed thoughtfully. "But you lot have met Cole, you know how old he is and how much he knows. If he says it's your only way, he means it." the mercenary pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. I know..." Nia muttered bitterly, still sounding highly uncomfortable. Vandham looked at her in silence for a moment, then sighed.

"Look, Nia, I'm not gonna make you tell me anythin' about it. Not my business." he began, in a tone much softer than his usual gruffness. "But you ain't gonna be able to move forward if you're runnin' away."

"I know! I'm not daft!" the Gormotti snapped, her discomfort turning to irritation. Irritation was familiar, it was easy. A lot easier than fear. Vandham saw right through it, of course, laying a placating hand on her shoulder.

"It sounds to me like you've got a real good goal. A war worth fighting, you know? You just gotta go for it." he said, stating it like it was a simple fact. "And yeah, there's some stuff in your past. Fine. But you've got Pyra and Mythra now. You've got Rex now. And Tora and the rest of 'em. You really think they'd let anything happen to ya?" Vandham asked.

"Yeah! It's just like I told you, you don't have to do anything alone. We're all here and we'll stand up for you no matter what." Rex affirmed with that hopeful sincerity that nobody else could pull off quite as well.

"Heh, see what I mean?" Vandham added with a small chuckle at the salvager's enthusiasm.

"You should listen to them, Nia. They mean it... and so do I." Pyra said quietly. Nia looked around, seeing everyone at the table giving her supportive looks. She didn't think she was the type to get overly emotional with something like that, but she had to swallow a lump in her throat before talking.

"I... thanks." the Gormotti said, and she meant it. "If you're all gonna stick with me, then..." she paused to steel herself, hoping she wouldn't regret the decision. "...Yeah. Indol it is." There. It was out, no backing down now.

"Alright then, works for me." Vandham said, sounding content with the decision. "And don't worry, not like we'd be goin' straight to the Praetorium's front door anyway. Most ships can't manage it, we'll have to make a few stops. So I reckon you've got a few days to brace yourself." he added.

---

Ultimately, they decided that planning out all the minutiae of their journey could wait – they had to get back to Fonsa Myma to take their ship from the docks, for one thing. There wasn't a proper port near Garfont. At least Rex had covered a whole week's worth of docking fees for them. And there was no way they'd be making that trek through the night, Vandham rather strongly implied that it really wasn't a good idea, and nobody particularly wanted to try anyway. So, with that matter put on hold, the group soon turned in for the night.

The next day, at breakfast, everyone was more or less making idle conversation, Vandham having packed together a bag carrying what he felt he'd need since he was joining their journey. It wasn't much, apparently the big guy was used to traveling light. Nia was feeling significantly more optimistic that morning, playfully ribbing Rex and Tora about how she wasn't going to let them slack on their training. Though it was incredibly cliché and she knew it, just knowing that she had people supporting her made it a lot easier to motivate herself to do something she otherwise wouldn't. Like going to Indol willingly. Idly, she figured that it would've been convenient if Cole had actually told them who to deliver his dagger to, but he'd been oddly cagey about it. It would've made it easier to get in and out of the Praetorium quickly, or so she figured at least. Pyra had given control over to Mythra when they had woken up, when asked about it the Aegis shortly answered "because I wanted to." Nia took the hint not to bother her, not that she was planning on it anyway. The golden-haired Blade may have warmed to her somewhat, but things might still be a bit touchy. It was hard to tell with Mythra.

Right as Nia was finishing up her meal, she heard yelling. "Hey boss! Boss!" Zuo called, getting Vandham's attention (and everyone else's) as he ran up to them. "There's someone here you should probably meet."

"Right, lead the way." Vandham confirmed immediately, all business. He knew his subordinates well enough to take their word for it if they said it was important.

"The rest of you should come too." Zuo added, looking about at them all. Nia and Mythra shared a glance, the Aegis shrugging lazily, before they got up from their chairs. Soon, Zuo was leading the whole group through the village, Vandham at his side. Nia was rather curious about who could have shown up that would be so urgent, and what it would have to do with her and Mythra. As they neared the village entrance, she caught sight of the surprise guests. There were three of them, two flanking the third like guards. Nia looked at them, the guards in particular, and her eyes narrowed as she immediately recognized them. "If I ever meet the Architect, I'm gonna punch him in the nose." she thought ruefully.

The two guards wore identical uniforms, what looked like a mixture of white robes and golden armor, complete with face-concealing helmets, adorned with gold crests resembling halos. It was unmistakable. These were a pair of Indoline warrior monks. The person they were escorting, meanwhile, looked like a young woman, wearing a ceremonial-looking robe, the upper half of which was white while the lower part was red. She had long brown hair, which mostly hung loose except for two elegant braids wrapping around the sides of her head, adorned with a golden tiara. On her chest was a triangular blue core crystal, identifying her as a Blade, and in her hand was a long staff, the top of which formed an ether blade. Mythra had stopped next to Nia, staring at the Blade like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Noticing their approach, the strange Blade turned towards the group. She quickly noticed Mythra and Nia, and gave them a polite smile.

"Oh, you must be the Aegis and her driver. It's nice to meet you. My name is Fan la Norne, envoy of the Indoline Praetorium."

Notes:

Okay, so, first off, I'm really sorry about how long this chapter took. Between real life stuff coming up and a nasty case of writer's block, combined with me just being lazy and not wanting to write.... It was the perfect storm of nothing getting done. But still, better late than never, right? A lot of this chapter exists for character development, really. I liked giving Corvin and Tora a little bit of focus, they're perhaps the members of the main party I've tended to ignore more than I should. Corvin in particular, being an optional Blade added via update makes him a bit hard to work with. Fun fact, he actually makes that claim about his sword being too powerful for a non-Blade ingame. Just like Vandham, I didn't buy that, so I made it into a character point.

Chapter 12: CH12: A Matter of Envoys

Nia honestly wasn't sure how to react to the figure standing before her. Normally, if someone from Indol had shown up looking for her, she would try to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Even now, the thought was rather tempting. But at the same time, everything about this situation seemed different from her previous experiences with the Praetorium. This so-called envoy didn't seem to be hostile at first glance. She wasn't throwing around accusations or calling Nia "cannibal" or "abomination", in fact she seemed fairly polite. The Gormotti just didn't know what to think of it, so she ended up simply staring in stunned silence for a few seconds. And she wasn't the only one. Beside her, Mythra was looking at the Indoline Blade with her brow furrowed, a small frown on her face.

"Fan...? That's not..." the golden-haired Aegis murmured, seemingly to herself. Her gaze was distant, and she seemed as if she was caught up thinking very intensely about something. Fan la Norne looked at Nia and Mythra curiously, seemingly confused by their reactions, but before she could say anything, Vandham stepped forwards.

"Well, first the Aegis and now the goddess of the Praetorium! Crazy couple'a days." the mercenary declared jovially, putting his hands on his hips. "Welcome to Garfont Village. Name's Vandham, I run the firm 'round here." he introduced, nodding his head respectfully towards the visitor. Nia couldn't help but feel a bit of chagrin from seeing the Indoline get a warm welcome while hers had been rather more violent.

"Oh! Pardon me, master Vandham. I hope I'm not intruding, I simply came here to meet the Aegis and her driver." Fan replied as she looked over at the huge Urayan, mimicking his gesture with a bow of her own head.

"Nah, you're fine." Vandham waved her off. "I'm gonna be heading out with 'em anyway, so we may as well hear ya out." he added, looking over to Nia meaningfully as he said that. No doubt he had noticed her hesitance, and this was his way of helping to defuse the tension. The Gormotti let out a sigh, swallowing her nerves as she spoke up.

"Right. What kinda business you got with us?" she asked, not rudely, but with a hint of caution in her voice. Mythra crossed her arms, surveying the whole scene intently. As Nia asked the question, however, another thought occurred to her. "...And how the hell'd you know to find us here anyway?" The only one who should have known where they were going was Cole, and she doubted he would go around telling people that.

"Praetor Amalthus has requested an audience with you, if it would not be too much trouble." Fan answered formally. Nia frowned just a bit, this was reminding her a bit too much of noble life in Gormott. She'd never been fond of all the pomp and circumstance. More pressing than the formality, though, was the request itself... "What the hell would he want with us?" the Gormotti wondered.

"They made Amalthus the Praetor? And he's actually looking for us? Seriously?" Mythra suddenly interjected, making a noise that sounded rather like a derisive scoff. "Of course he's involved in this..."

"Hold up, Mythra, are you sayin' you know him?" Nia wondered, glancing over at her Blade with her eyebrow raised curiously. It was really the only way she could interpret the Aegis's tone.

Mythra's frown deepened. "Oh, I know him alright..." she muttered darkly, looking away. Nia sighed, getting the distinct feeling that she wasn't going to get any more info out of Mythra right now. And for the sake of not agitating the Aegis's temper, she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Oh dear... I do hope his request isn't an issue for you, lady Aegis." Fan spoke, with both her tone and the look on her face conveying sincere worry. It was Mythra's turn to sigh now, her unhappy expression softening as she looked back over at the brown-haired Blade.

"No, it's not that. I was just remembering some... old business." the Aegis said, with what seemed to be resignation. Nia wasn't really convinced, and from the looks of everyone else, neither were they. Fan la Norne's face held a tiny frown, but she didn't challenge Mythra's statement.

"Alright then." Fan agreed after a moment. "To answer your earlier question..." she began, addressing Nia now. "I was able to find you here by locating the Aegis's unique ether signature." the Blade explained.

"Heh. I've heard rumors that the goddess of the Praetorium had some crazy ether powers." Vandham commented, smirking with what could only be described as casual intrigue.

"Oh, well, I don't know about that..." Fan replied humbly. "But yes, I made use of my abilities to find you. I do apologize if that seems somewhat invasive." she said, bowing her head slightly with the apology. Nia's brow furrowed as she thought about it. Under any other circumstances, the idea of an Indoline being able to track her from pretty much anywhere would be extremely unsettling. But Fan genuinely didn't seem like the sort of person who would enjoy abusing such a power – the Gormotti knew the difference between a fake, perfunctory apology and a sincere one. And as far as she could tell, the Blade was sincere.

"Don't worry about it..." Nia muttered, somewhat awkwardly. She wasn't exactly ready to fully trust the envoy, but her gut was telling her to give Fan the benefit of the doubt for the moment. "But what's the Praetor want with us, anyway?" she wondered. Fan smiled slightly at that.

"You see, the Praetor is quite interested to meet his fellow Aegis driver." she answered. Nia tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"His fellow...?" she repeated, considering the implications. And then her eyes went wide as it hit her. "Oh what the hell! Are you sayin' the Praetor is Malos's driver!?" she demanded incredulously. Beside her, Mythra sighed, glowering at nothing. Nia looked over at the Aegis, her mind running at high speed as she tried to process this new information. It would certainly explain a lot about Mythra's reaction to the name.

"Indeed." Fan confirmed. "I'm sure he would be willing to tell you more about that matter himself. I hope that's acceptable, lady...?" the Blade trailed off as she realized nobody had actually told her the name of the Aegis's driver.

"Nia." the Gormotti said shortly.

"Lady Nia." Fan acknowledged politely. "What do you say? Are you willing to meet with him?" she wondered

Nia hummed in thought. As she did so, Rex stepped forwards. "Nia, I reckon we should go. I mean, if the Praetor really is Malos's driver... he's gotta be the guy Cole said went up the world tree, right?" the salvager suggested. The thought had occurred to Nia as well – according to Pyra, the man who had climbed the world tree and the man who had awakened Malos were one and the same, so it was really the only conclusion. "Since we were gonna head to the Praetorium to find him anyway, may as well go with Fan here." Rex said, smiling over at Fan as he said it.

"Oh my, you were?" Fan asked, her eyebrows raising slightly in surprise.

"Yep! We were just gettin' ready to head out when you showed up. That's some crazy luck." Vandham interjected, gesturing to the small travel bag that his birdlike Blade was carrying.

"The rest of us tagging along wouldn't be a problem, right?" Rex asked casually.

Fan shook her head. "Not at all! I would be glad to accommodate you, I wouldn't dream of separating lady Aegis from her friends." the envoy replied, earning a grin from the salvager.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we should do it. I've got some things to ask Amalthus about." Mythra spoke up, adding her opinion to the pile. "I'd like to know a bit more about you, too... Fan." she added. There was a bit of an odd tone in her voice as she said that, the name especially. But nobody really knew what to make of it. All eyes soon fell on Nia, the final decision resting on her. While the Gormotti couldn't entirely discount the possibility of this being some sort of elaborate trap... she doubted it. The Praetorium usually weren't that subtle, at least in her experience. And given that the Praetor apparently was the person they needed to talk to anyway, there wasn't really any avoiding it. Why try to arrange a meeting with him independently when the chance for one was being handed to them, seemingly with no strings attached?

"What the hell. Let's go." Nia decided.

"Wonderful!" Fan exclaimed happily. "If you all are ready to depart, then please, come with me. Our ship is waiting in Fonsa Myma. I'm afraid there are not any ports closer to this village." she explained.

"Fine by us. We knew we'd have to head back there anyway." Rex reassured the Indoline. With that settled, and after a bit more minor chatter, the group soon found themselves following Fan la Norne and her two escorts as they left Garfont. Vandham stopped for a moment to wave goodbye to a couple of the village's children who were watching them go, a gesture which the kids returned enthusiastically. For Nia, meanwhile, it was setting in just how surreal this whole thing was. She was going to be traveling to Indol, escorted by an envoy like some kind of guest of honor. There was no beating around the bush, it was just... weird. "Crazy things just aren't gonna quit happenin', are they?"

---

The journey back across the Urayan titan ended up being considerably slower than the initial trek to Garfont. Making the journey twice within just a few days was a bit more taxing than most of them had really been expecting. The ones more used to roughing it, like Nia and Vandham, didn't have too much difficulty, but others like Tora started to wear down from the hours of non-stop walking. Ultimately, when they were roughly halfway back to the capital, Fan's warrior monk guards ended up insisting that they stop and make camp, to continue the rest of the journey the next day. Apparently, in order to arrive in the morning, Fan had traveled through the night, and her escorts simply wouldn't allow her to strain herself on that little sleep. Even Blades needed their rest. Vandham actually seemed impressed with her for having the grit to do such a thing, but she modestly brushed him off, saying that she simply didn't want to make the captain of her ship at Fonsa Myma waste too much time waiting on her.

So, with that settled, within an hour they had found a suitable spot for a campsite, not far from one of the rocky bridges that spanned the titan's interior. From there, the rest of the afternoon was spent amicably, with Vandham regaling them all with various tales from his mercenary days. Nia and Rex were rather skeptical of some of his stories, but the mercenary swore up and down that every word he said was true. Overall, it was a fairly relaxing few hours, with even the rather formal Fan la Norne seeming more at-ease. Perhaps the only exceptions were Fan's escorts, who stood guard in stoic silence, and Mythra, who had been oddly quiet ever since they'd left Garfont. Nia could have sworn she saw the Aegis looking strangely at Fan a few times, but she didn't call her on it. Eventually, night fell, and almost everyone in the group drifted off to sleep sooner or later. Even the Indoline warrior monks seemed to slip up on their discipline, sitting in the blueish grass, snoozing soundly.

Some unknown amount of time later, Mythra was awoken by some sort of rustling sound. It was faint, but enough to disturb her. Groggily, the Aegis sat up, looking around for the source of the noise. The cavern was dark, illuminated only by the faint bioluminescence of the Saffronia trees overhead, and the flickering embers of their campfire. No doubt it was still the middle of the night, and everyone else was asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Fan la Norne, who stood silently nearby, staring off into the distance. Hearing the sound of Mythra moving about, Fan quickly turned around to look at her.

"Oh, lady Mythra. I hope I didn't disturb you." the Indoline said politely. Mythra blinked a couple times and then shook her head.

"No, it's alright... Haze." the Aegis replied tiredly, hesitating slightly as she said the name.

Fan tilted her head curiously. "Haze?" she repeated. "I'm sorry... my name is Fan la Norne, remember? Are you feeling alright, lady Mythra?" Her tone was a mixture of confusion and concern. An unreadable look crossed Mythra's face for a moment, before she glanced away to not quite meet Fan's gaze.

"Sorry about that, you just... resemble someone I knew. Guess I'm just tired." the golden-haired Blade tried to brush it off. Fan frowned slightly, for a brief second almost looking like she was... disappointed, somehow.

"Then... I apologize for waking you. Please, try to get some sleep." Fan replied after a moment, still sounding a bit uncertain.

"But what about you?" Mythra asked suddenly, sitting up a bit straighter as she looked at Fan. "Those guards of yours will have a fit if you aren't rested. Why're you up?"

"Oh, well, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with." Fan said, but she could immediately tell from the look on Mythra's face that it wouldn't be that easy to dissuade her.

"Uh huh." the Aegis commented skeptically, her brows falling into a flat line. Fan's polite, formal appearance cracked further as she began to look rather sheepish under Mythra's gaze. After a few seconds, she gave in.

"I admit, I am not quite used to camping out in the wilderness. While my duties as envoy naturally involve traveling, I normally have proper accommodations." the brown-haired Blade explained, but from her tone, it seemed like she had more to say. "And yet..." she said, her voice growing a little softer. "At the same time, all of this feels somehow familiar."

"Familiar, huh?" Mythra asked, sounding like she wanted to say something more, but was keeping it to herself.

"Yes. Traveling with other drivers and Blades. Making camp. Telling stories around a fire. It simply feels... natural." Fan tried to elaborate, but she felt she wasn't doing a good job of putting it into words. "I wonder if this is some remnant of things I did in a past life, or simply... my imagination. With no memories, I have no way of knowing." she said, looking down slightly. "And, for some reason... speaking with you makes that feeling stronger."

"Fan..." Mythra began, but found herself at a bit of a loss for words. There were things that she could say, certainly, she definitely knew why the situation might feel familiar... but where to even begin? It was a five-hundred year old mess, a lot of which Mythra would rather try not to think about. And then there were her own issues, burning questions that she had which Fan may or may not be able to answer... Before she could figure out how to tackle the problem, Fan looked away uncomfortably.

"My apologies, lady Mythra, I think I've overstepped. I should not be burdening you with this." she murmured, falling back into total formality. Mythra frowned.

"No, it's fine, Fan. I'm just... not great with people." the Aegis answered uncomfortably. That was definitely true, pretty much anyone who had spent much time with Mythra would know it. Pyra was intended to be better about that sort of thing... but in this case, even she might not have known quite what to say. After an extremely awkward silence, Mythra sighed. "You should... get some sleep. Might help." she suggested.

"...Yes. You're right." Fan agreed, walking back to the bedroll that had been laid out for her. "Goodnight, lady Mythra."

"Night, Fan." Mythra said, laying back down and rolling over so she was facing away from the Indoline Blade. However, she wasn't planning on going back to sleep right that second. She had a lot going on in her head.

"Well, that confirms it. There's definitely something wrong. Blades aren't supposed to forget their names."

"You're right. And it's not just that. Her core crystal... it's the wrong shape. What kind of resonance could cause that?"

"I don't know. My gut tells me Amalthus is involved, but..."

"Mythra, we should probably talk to Nia about this."

"...What would we tell her? Something's off but we don't know what or why. A warning that vague isn't helpful."

"But... if we're worried, she deserves to know. We need to trust her."

"I know, Pyra... I know. Once we get to the Praetorium, I'll tell her to keep an eye out, okay?"

"That's all we can do. What about Haze, should we say anything to her?"

"...Not until after we've met Amalthus. If he's behind... whatever this is, we should keep it close to the chest."

"You're right, but still, she seemed sad that she couldn't remember anything."

"It's strange, seeing her again. With her, Jin, Malos... it's been five-hundred years and sometimes it feels like nothing's changed."

"But at the same time... everything's changed. It's a lot to take in."

"Yeah. No kidding. I'm going to need time to think about this."

---

When everyone woke up the next morning, they saw that Mythra had apparently swapped control over to Pyra at some point. The red-haired Aegis tried to be her usual warm self, but just like Mythra, she seemed more subdued than usual. Still, other than that minor bit of oddness, everything went fairly smoothly as they continued their journey back to Fonsa Myma. Eventually, they arrived – Nia found it a bit odd to be walking back into the city again, only to go right for the port to leave, but she didn't really want to hang around for too long. Moored at the docks was a respectably-sized titan ship, certainly larger than the one they had arrived in. It was decorated with white and gold, as seemingly all things Indoline were, and overall carried a sense of opulence and sophistication. In fact, Fan seemed just a tiny bit embarrassed about how overly fancy her transportation was.

"Alright. Currently, the Indoline Titan is situated behind a large cloud ridge, and attempting to go all the way around would be a journey far too taxing for this ship to accomplish." Fan began to explain their travel arrangements. "Instead, we shall dock at the Leftherian Archipelago, travel across land to pass through the ridge, and then board another ship. Is this acceptable for all of you?" she asked, looking around to be met mostly with approving nods. At the mention of the Archipelago, Rex's eyes lit up.

"Hey, if we're goin' through Leftheria, is there any chance we can stop by Fonsett Village?" he wondered eagerly. Fan looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered the question.

"Yes, I think that should work out perfectly." she confirmed, smiling endearingly at Rex.

"Great!" the salvager cheered. Seeing his enthusiasm, Nia chuckled to herself.

"You look like a Nopon that's just spotted gold." she commented, nudging the boy with her elbow.

"Tora find that offensive..." Tora muttered, while Poppi simply shook her head.

"Hey, gimme a break, it's been awhile since I've been back there." Rex defended himself, to which Nia simply smirked at him.

"Oh, so you're sayin' you've been neglecting them? Real responsible there, Rex." the Gormotti replied with a faux-scolding tone. The salvager huffed indignantly.

"Indeed! You could certainly stand to visit Corrine more often." Azurda interjected, in much the same tone.

"Wha-! Oh, Gramps, not you too!" Rex protested. Vandham, watching the whole scene, let out a chuckle.

"Right, come on, there's time for ya to harass Rex later. How's about we get a move on, eh?" the mercenary interjected, looking over at Fan, who gave a polite nod.

As she started to move towards the ship, however, Tora suddenly protested. "Wait! What about ship of Umon?" he asked, pointing a wing over to the small vessel floating at the other end of the port. "We borrow that ship. Not just leave it here."

"Right, I forgot about that. Guess someone's gotta take it back." Nia commented, rubbing her chin. She glanced around, not really wanting to split up the group for such a seemingly-trivial errand.

"Oh, I believe I may be able to assist." Fan spoke up, drawing all eyes to her. "Where does it need to be returned to?" she asked.

"Umon's Shipyard, near bum-bum of Gormott Titan." Tora answered immediately. Fan nodded, then turned towards one of her guards.

"Very well. Sir, I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you please deliver that vessel back to its proper owner?" she requested, bowing her head to the warrior monk slightly.

"B-but lady Fan, I was assigned to escort you." the guard protested, sounding surprised by the sudden request.

"Please, do not worry about me. I am in the company of the Aegis, after all, I do not think I am in much danger." Fan reassured him, glancing over towards Pyra as she said it.

"I... Very well, lady Fan. As you request." the guard agreed, seeming to realize that he wasn't going to convince Fan otherwise.

"Thank you." Fan replied, sounding absolutely sincere as she said it. With that matter settled, the warrior monk in question went over to Umon's ship, soon taking his place behind the wheel. As he began to pull the ship out of the port, Fan and the remaining guard boarded the much more extravagant vessel before them, and the rest of the group soon followed suit. And from there, they were leaving the Kingdom of Uraya at last – it had only been a few days, yet it felt like they had been there much longer. But now, Leftheria awaited, and beyond that, Indol.

---

Deep below the cloud sea, within the colossal battleship Marsanes, there was one particular room, a control room of sorts. Lining the dark metal walls were countless canisters, glowing with the blue light of the many core crystals that the organization of Torna had obtained for their schemes. Three particular members of said organization were in the room at that moment, Akhos and two others. They weren't doing much of anything at the moment, simply checking on a few minor things around the ship, waiting for Jin to arrive and give them new orders.

"So..." one of them spoke up out of nowhere, a fairly handsome man whose blond hair was mostly slicked back except for a few curls trailing down the right side of his face. "Can we start calling you the Dread Pirate Akhos now?" he asked in a mischievously casual voice. Akhos turned to look at him, revealing that in place of his former red glasses, he now wore a black eyepatch over the right side of his face, a long scar running vertically behind it. The room's third inhabitant, a stern-looking woman with very long, straight black hair, let out an irritated growl.

"Mikhail, shut the hell up." the woman warned dangerously. Mikhail, however, didn't seem to be at all bothered by her hostile attitude.

"Come on, Patroka, lighten up! You know you were thinking it too." Mikhail replied, the smirk not vanishing from his face for a second.

"Tch, no! Not everyone is an idiot, Mik, just you." Patroka snapped in response.

"Maybe. But I could be your idiot if you want..." Mikhail raised an eyebrow flirtatiously, clearly trying to sound smooth.

"Ugh! I swear, if you don't shut up, you'll be my target practice!" Patroka shouted in response, though looking closely would reveal a faint blush on her face. Akhos, watching them bicker, let out a melodramatic sigh. Hearing that, Patroka glanced over at him with a frown. "...Still, Mik's got a point. I can't believe you actually let that hairball take your eye." she commented critically.

"I admit, I allowed myself to get careless. But you can hardly blame me, dear sister. Their ability to fight back was not part of the script." Akhos replied haughtily, while Patroka simply rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"Whatever." she said dismissively.

"Hey, it's not so bad." Mikhail said nonchalantly. "Think of it like this, now you look more like one of those roguish-hero types from your plays." he pointed out, trying to sound encouraging.

Akhos pondered that for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. "Myself as the swashbuckling leading man? Yes, yes, I can see it! Mikhail, I believe you have given me some fantastic inspiration." he declared, holding one hand upwards for the sake of drama.

"Oh, please don't encourage him... He'll never shut up about this now, Mik." Patroka complained with a groan.

"Happy to be of service." Mikhail replied cheekily, giving Patroka a mock bow. The casual banter was soon stopped, however, by the sound of a metal door sliding open. Jin strode purposefully into the room, Malos not far behind him. The white-haired man simply stopped in front of the wall of core crystals, glancing at it in silence, while Malos took up his favored position of leaning casually against the nearest wall with his arms crossed.

"Welcome back, Jin. We were just waiting on you." Akhos greeted him. Jin acknowledged the now-one-eyed man with a nod.

"Hey Akhos. Is your injury still giving you trouble?" Jin asked, a small note of concern entering his stoic voice.

"Oh, no, I've more or less adjusted." Akhos waved him off. "I do wish that I was still able to regenerate, though. Losing that ability was a poor stroke of luck indeed." he added theatrically. Jin gave a small "hm" in response, which Akhos decided to take as a sign of agreement.

"So." Malos spoke up, glancing lazily around the room. "Do any of us know what Mythra is getting up to right now?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, about that, I've got good news and bad news." Mikhail answered casually. "Good news is, I was able to find her signal with the Marsanes's tracking systems. Not as fancy as what we used to do-" he glanced at Akhos as he said that. "-but it's good enough to tell where she is."

"And the bad news?" Malos drawled expectantly.

"Yeah, last I checked, she was out of Uraya and going for Leftheria. And the closest titan to there right now is Indol, so if I had to guess what her goal is..." Mikhail trailed off, letting everyone come to the obvious conclusion.

"Oh, that's just great." Patroka muttered bitterly. "They're going to be cozying up with that guy..."

"Heh, I wouldn't be too worried about that. I know Mythra well enough, she won't take any crap." Malos replied with a shake of his head, not sounding at all concerned.

"Maybe. But if he puts them on the path to reach the World Tree... Only an Aegis can open it, so that could help us, but it can't happen too soon." Jin pointed out, sounding like he was deep in thought. "Mikhail, how's the work on the Marsanes? Will we be ready to move out soon?"

"No way, Jin. It's all going smooth, don't worry about that, but it'll still take awhile before everything's set." Mikhail answered honestly. Jin simply nodded his head at the information.

"So what I'm hearing is that if we want things to happen at our pace, we need some way to distract the Aegis and her cohorts. Buy some time, if you will." Akhos suggested. "I was scoping out an Ardainian weapons project in Temperantia, but I'm afraid I don't have enough information to say if it would serve our purposes or not."

"Then let's put that idea on hold. Any other suggestions?" Jin said, his eyes scanning the room expectantly.

"Actually, I think I know the perfect thing." Mikhail bragged with a smirk. "Pretty soon, me and dear Patroka-" he paused to shoot a winning smile at the woman in question, whose response was an icy glare. "-will be heading out to pick up another shipment from the factory. How about we give that fatcat Nopon a call?" From there, Mikhail went on to explain his scheme in more detail. Once he was done, Malos raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. That could actually work." he commented, his tone nonchalant but sounding slightly impressed.

"Wow, Mikhail had a good idea. That's new." Patroka said dryly, earning a cheeky grin from Mikhail. "If nothing else, it'll give me a chance to kick Nia's traitorous ass." she added with a growl.

"Hold on." Jin said simply, all attention immediately being drawn to him. "I'll be going with you." he announced, leaving no room for argument.

"Fine by me." Mikhail agreed with a shrug. Patroka, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"What, have you got a thing where you don't want anyone else fighting Nia or something?" she asked.

Jin was silent for a long moment. "It's not that." he replied flatly. "We just can't afford any mistakes with Mythra around." And with that final note, he turned and began slowly walking out of the room.

"I suppose Malos and I are sitting out for this act, then." Akhos noted, glancing over at Malos as he said it.

"Hmph. Looks like." the black-haired Aegis answered lazily. He glanced over towards Jin's retreating figure. "Hey, Jin!" he called out suddenly, making the swordsman pause. "Don't overexert yourself or do anything too stupid. If you do, I'll hear about it." he warned, his normal drawl almost sounding concerned for a moment.

"I won't." Jin answered simply, continuing to walk away. More quietly, so nobody could hear him, he added "Thanks, Malos."

Notes:

Finally, we're at the end of the Uraya arc. I feel like I might have dragged it out a bit, which is why this chapter moves at a slightly faster pace, but overall I'm fairly happy with it. Also, I found while writing this chapter that I really enjoy making scenes about Torna. They're just fun to write, it's kind of hard to explain. In this house we respect Mikhail.

Chapter 13: CH13: Fonsett Bound

The Leftherian Archipelago was a place unlike any other in Alrest. While other nations tended to be based out of one enormous titan or another, Leftheria was mostly scattered across a chain of smaller titan islands. While there was one massive, central titan among them, it was buried beneath the cloud sea, creating an imposing "mountain" of clouds which the smaller titans were clustered around – this was the ridge that Fan la Norne had spoken of. And that wasn't all that stood out, most of the islands themselves were rather odd even by the widely-varied standards of titans. They were roughly circular shapes with uniformly purple outer shells. They had flattened tops, creating the effect of round platforms, which happened to be covered in white sandy ground. Some of the islands were mostly submerged, but others simply... floated above the cloud sea, revealing long tendrils dangling from their undersides, making them look oddly reminiscent of jellyfish. Despite being individual titans, they seemed to have deliberately connected with each other, as large flat tendrils ran from one titan to another, creating a series of bridges crisscrossing from island to island.

The Indoline ship, which had traveled all through the night to arrive early in the morning, pulled in to Rigitte Harbor - a tiny, empty port situated on one of the lower islands. Not only were there no other ships there, but there were hardly any other people either. But then, since it wasn't built near a major settlement, that wasn't much of a surprise. In fact, the rather ostentatious Indoline vessel looked a bit out of place there. The group gradually filed out of the ship, not quite all at once – a few of them needed to be woken up, since they were still sleeping when they arrived. Eventually, however, they were all gathered up on the quiet docks. Rex stretched his arms over his head for a moment with a satisfied groan, then glanced around at the Archipelago before them.

"It's real good to be back." he commented with a cheerful smile. "Been a few years, but I remember like it was yesterday."

"I can't believe you actually grew up here, Rex. Alrest has so many incredible places..." Pyra responded, gazing up at the towering mountain of clouds in the distance, a sense of awe visible on her face. The moment of admiring the scenery was soon broken, however, by a disgruntled groan coming from beside the Aegis.

"How are you two so bloody cheery? It's too early..." Nia grumbled, a haze of sleep still hanging heavily in her eyes. As if to punctuate her statement, she let out a loud a yawn almost immediately after she spoke.

"Come now Nia, don't be like that." Pyra chided her gently, though she sounded more amused than genuinely scolding. In response, she was given nothing but a bit of halfhearted mumbling which nobody could really make out.

"Meh... Tora agrees with Nia..." the Nopon interjected tiredly, rubbing one eye with his wing while the other blinked at the morning light.

"That masterpon's fault though." Poppi pointed out bluntly, shaking her head. "Stay up even after Poppi suggest otherwise." Tora hung his head, and at that moment, he looked less like a driver with his Blade, and more like a kid being scolded by their mom, which Pyra couldn't help but giggle at the sight of.

Vandham's signature barking laugh cut through the air. "You lot wouldn't like bein' mercenaries, I'll tell ya that. Have to be up bright and early for a lotta jobs." he noted jovially as he strode up next to them, seeming just as boisterous as ever despite the early hour.

"No problems here. I bet it's the same for salvaging, right Rex?" Corvin asked, mirroring the cheerfulness that both Rex and Vandham had on display.

"Right!" the salvager agreed enthusiastically. "Gramps used to get real annoyed if I was up and about before dawn. Said he was too old for it." he added, and a muffled "hmph" emanated from his helmet in reply.

"Well aren't you three just rays of sunshine?" Nia muttered, clearly too tired to even bother trying to hide her irritation with her companions' more energetic attitudes. Fan la Norne looked at the scene unfolding before her with eyebrows knit in concern.

"Oh my. I'm sorry for having to wake you, lady Nia. I felt it would be best to start early if we want to reach Fonsett Village by nightfall." the Indoline Blade spoke up after a moment of hesitation. Nia's expression softened considerably upon hearing the apology – Fan's sincere concern made it extremely difficult to be grouchy with her.

"...It's fine. I know it's a long walk and all." the Gormotti sighed, shaking her head to try and clear some of the fuzziness out of it.

"...Very well." Fan agreed, though she still seemed just a tiny bit hesitant. Still, with the matter of the day's early start more-or-less dealt with, the Indoline decided to go ahead and get down to business. "Anyway, master Rex?" she began, turning to address the salvager. "I admit that I don't know my way around the Archipelago especially well. Would you mind leading our way, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Ha! No problem. I could get back to Fonsett in my sleep!" Rex boasted proudly in response. Corvin gave him a cheery thumbs-up, seemingly in appreciation of his confident attitude. "But seriously though, it's not too complicated. We're mostly just gonna follow the paths." he said, pointing upwards towards a couple of the bridges snaking from island to island in the distance. "The only thing you really have to worry about are the monsters, some of the ones around here are a lot tougher than in Gormott or Uraya."

"Tough monsters? Tora not like sound of that..." Tora spoke up, doing an admirable job of hiding the nervousness in his voice, though the twitching of his wings gave it away regardless.

"Eh, I bet we could take 'em. A few monsters aren't going to scare me." Corvin commented assuredly.

"All right, big head." Nia muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'd still rather steer clear, save us the trouble."

"Nia's right. Ain't no use blundering into a buncha monsters, whether we can fight them off or not." Vandham agreed, crossing his arms. Corvin shrugged nonchalantly, not seeming particularly bothered, but he didn't contest the point.

"No worries, I reckon I know what parts to avoid so we won't run into too much. All you have to do is follow me!" Rex mentioned, sounding a little proud again.

Fan broke her dignified image a bit by letting out a small giggle. "Well then, I'm glad to know we're in good hands." she said.

---

Just as Rex had claimed, he undoubtedly knew his way around Leftheria extremely well, enough to give the impression that he must have been rather adventurous as a child. He led them from island to island without hardly having to pause and consider their route. In fact, he even pointed out the names of the various locations they went through – apparently each island had its own title, though Nia knew that there was no way she'd be able to remember them. The isles closest to the harbor were fairly serene, all things considered, their surfaces looking like rather picturesque little oases with their white sand and pools of clear water. The lack of particularly large or aggressive wildlife certainly added to the atmosphere, though Rex warned that more dangerous creatures would become increasingly common as they neared the cloud ridge. And indeed, at one point they ended up taking cover behind some large rocks as one of the winged serpentine monsters known as Lexos flew overhead. Not that they couldn't fight it, necessarily – if nothing else, Mythra would be able to blast it down easily – but it simply wasn't worth expending the effort and drawing attention to themselves.

Other than their brief brush with the Lexos, the most trying part of the journey was probably crossing the bridges between islands. While it wasn't especially difficult or dangerous per se, the pathways were essentially nothing but sandy tendrils, meaning that they were fairly thin and certainly didn't have any guardrails. The end result was that the large party couldn't all walk along them side-by-side, instead they had to file along in groups of one or two. And the process was only made even slower by the fact that the bridges sometimes took odd turns and curved up and down at odd angles. It eventually got tedious enough that even Rex's enthusiasm waned. After a few hours, they came to a point where their path split, though it could be seen in the distance that both would ultimately lead to tunnels in the cloud ridge. Rex suggested that they take the left path since both were roughly the same stretch, and it was generally known to be safer.

The tunnels through the ridge were known as the Cloudways, passages in the side of the massive submerged titan that created the mountain, running all the way through its body from one side to the other in nearly straight lines. They weren't just dark rocky holes though. No, the pair of tunnels were actually formed by the forces of converging titans causing the cloud sea itself to part in an arched shape. Situated right on top of the massive titan below the ridge, the tunnels were basically enormous windows showing the depths of the cloud sea all around. As the group entered the tunnel proper, several of them stopped, gazing around in awe at the sight of the deep blue liquid clouds surrounding them.

Vandham let out a low whistle. "Now ain't that a hell of a thing?" he asked rhetorically, putting his hands on his hips. "Been all over Alrest, but beneath the clouds is a new one for me."

"Is this what salvagers like Rex see every day?" Tora spoke up, a note of child-like wonder in his voice. He looked up with wide eyes as a shark-like Aligo swam over the top of the tunnel.

"Hehe, I guess it is." Rex agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "'Course, when you're salvaging, you can't really stop and look around too much, you know? Too dangerous. You just gotta grab your salvage and get back up as quick as you can." he explained more seriously. Nia was reminded of the fact that, despite his easygoing personality, Rex actually was quite focused and competent when it came to salvaging.

"The only time I went below the cloud sea was... on the ship, so... no chance for sightseeing." Pyra mused.

---

Still, while the tunnel through the clouds was definitely an intriguing novelty, they couldn't exactly stand around gawking all day, so they soon got moving once again. For the most part, traveling through the Cloudway was fairly uneventful. Small creatures skittered about on the sandy ground here and there, and every so often a monster or two would swim past outside, but it was largely peaceful. Until they reached the end of the passageway, that is.

"Well now, isn't this a surprise!?" called out a voice that was probably louder and more bombastic than it reasonably should have been. Standing there near the exit of the tunnel were a tall, muscular gray-haired man with an eyepatch and a Blade girl with green hair and large glasses. "Looks like I'll get my chance with the Aegis after all!" Naturally, most of the group took that as a bad sign and tensed up, several of them even drawing weapons. Nia was grumbling something about getting confronted everywhere they went. Rex, Corvin, and Fan la Norne, however, were simply staring at the two figures with near-identical looks of confusion.

"Oh hey, it's..." Corvin began nonchalantly, only to pause as his eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought. "...uh, that guy." he finished lamely, having forgotten the man's name. The eyepatch-wearing man slapped a hand over his face in exasperation.

"You make me sad, blondie!" he declared melodramatically. "So what about you, eh chum? Surely you must remember me?" he turned to Rex, only have the salvager shake his head with an apologetic smile on his face. "Ugh! It's Zeke! Zeke Von Genbu! How could you forget the mighty Zekenator!?"

"Rex, you know this spanner?" Nia wondered, lowering her sword slightly with a look of confusion.

"Not really, me and Corvin just ran into him in Fonsa Myma. It wasn't a big deal, honestly." the salvager replied. Zeke looked slightly offended at being described as "not a big deal".

"Excuse me, master Zeke, but... what exactly are you doing?" Fan spoke up curiously. Zeke turned towards and did a double-take as if he had only just noticed she was standing there.

"Fancy meeting you here, Fan!" Zeke exclaimed with his usual exuberance. It really wasn't clear if he genuinely hadn't registered her being there until now, or if he was just playing up an act.

"Alright, seriously, who the hell is this guy? Fan?" Nia asked once again, sounding increasingly annoyed with the mysterious man making a spectacle and blocking their way.

"Oh, he's-" Fan tried to begin explaining, only to quickly be cut off.

"Uh-uh! Don't go giving everything away, Fan! Just let me have this!" Zeke protested, sounding slightly pleading for a moment. Fan's mouth turned into a small frown, but she apparently decided to relent since she didn't say anything more. Seemingly satisfied, Zeke turned to address Nia instead. "The only thing you need to know, fuzzy ears, is that I'm the legendary Bringer of Chaos! And I'm here to fight you for the Aegis!" he announced dramatically. Nia scowled and held Pyra's sword up threateningly, the Aegis taking up a fighting stance at her side.

Corvin let out a scoff. "Come on, man, me and Rex could take you by ourselves." he bragged, but Zeke simply barked out a confident laugh in response.

"You may have gotten lucky last time, chum, but that won't happen again. Especially since this time, we've got an extra edge! Pandy, that's your cue!" Zeke declared. His Blade, Pandoria, reached into a small pocket on her frilly outfit and pulled something out, handing it over to Zeke. Nia tensed slightly, and the man held out the object flat on the palm of his hand. "Behold! Our incredible mascot, Turters!" There in his hand was none other than a tiny green turtle. It poked its head out of its shell and looked around, and Pyra made a soft cooing noise.

"He's adorable!" the Aegis said, seemingly forgetting that the turtle's owner was trying to threaten them.

"...Oi, I think this guy's been out in the sun too long." Nia stage-whispered to the others, quite obviously unimpressed with Zeke's many oddities.

"Ha! With the added morale from Turters, there's no way we can lose!" Zeke bragged, handing the turtle back to Pandoria, who once again stowed it away in her pocket. "Now how about we quit wasting time, and get to the point!?" he bellowed, brandishing the huge sword from his back. Nia, Rex, and Tora were about to spring into action, when...

"Hold it!" Vandham yelled, stepping between Zeke and Nia and stretching his arm out in front of the Gormotti protectively. Zeke raised an eyebrow at the huge Urayan who was staring him down seriously. "Look around, ya mush! This tunnel's too small for all of us to be fightin' in." Vandham pointed out. Zeke glanced around, noticing that it indeed was a bit of a narrow battlefield for such a large group. "How's about we settle this one-on-one, eh?" the mercenary suggested, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Zeke put his hand on his chin in thought, making a slightly exaggerated "hmm" sound. "You know what? You're on, old man!" he decided. Vandham drew the twin scythes from his belt as Zeke glanced past him at Nia. "Don't get too comfortable, fuzzy ears!" he warned.

Then, all of a sudden, he leapt towards Vandham, pivoting his enormous sword around in an impressive sideways smash. The mercenary, rather than trying to dodge, braced himself and swung one of his scythes upwards at a diagonal angle. The inner curve of the scythe caught around the incoming blade slightly, pulling it upwards and away, completely throwing off Zeke's swing. Then Vandham swiped his other scythe quickly towards Zeke's chest before he had a chance to recover. In a move which made Vandham raise an eyebrow, however, Zeke simply sucked in a deep breath, pulling in his stomach enough that the edge of the scythe narrowly sailed past. All it did was add another gash onto the man's tattered coat. Zeke swung his sword downwards heavily, yet once again Vandham was ready, crossing his scythes over his head to guard the strike. Back in Fonsa Myma, Rex had found that the weight of the greatsword made it hard to block, but the far larger and more muscular Urayan handled it much better. He let out a grunt from the force of the impact, but his stance held firm. With both hands occupied holding back Zeke's Dreamsmasher, Vandham retaliated by swinging one of his bulky legs up for a strong kick. And yet Zeke was far more agile than one might give him credit for, as he swiftly jumped back to avoid the blow. Despite all the struggling, neither had managed to land a single hit – they seemed evenly matched.

"Mehmehmeh..." Tora muttered nervously as the rest of the party stood back, watching as the two of them continued to duel. "Should we help biggipon?" he asked quietly.

"...I'm not sure. He said he wanted to do it himself, but..." Pyra answered uncertainly, still gazing at the fight, her hands crossed over her core crystal.

"We'll give him a hand if he really gets in trouble, yeah?" Nia suggested, and after a moment's thought Pyra and Tora both nodded in agreement.

"Heh, you guys worry too much. I bet Vandham's got this." Corvin remarked, and unlike the others, he didn't seem even remotely tense about the situation. In fact, he was his normal cocky self.

Zeke stood back for a moment, breathing deeply. "You're not too bad, old chum." he complimented. Vandham nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Could say the same about you." the mercenary agreed with a small smirk. Zeke made a small gesture with his hand and Pandoria ran up to his side, grabbing the handle of the sword along with her driver. Purple electricity coursed along the weapon as they held it upwards.

"Take this! Thunder Doom!" Pandoria shouted, as she and Zeke smashed the sword down into the ground. A huge wave of lightning exploded outwards, nearly filling the whole width of the tunnel and surging towards Vandham. The moment they had held the sword up, however, Vandham's own Blade had swooped over to him, and the mercenary smoothly passed his dual scythes to him as he approached. When the brilliant purple energy faded, Roc was standing there in front of Vandham, scythes held in his crossed arms as an ether barrier faded away. Still, it was a respectably powerful art, and the bird-like Blade was looking a bit winded from the effort of blocking it. In fact, judging from the shiny patches on the ground between the combatants, the lightning had actually turned some of the sandy flooring into glass. Roc was there to do more than just block, though – almost as soon as the attack was over, he swung the two scythes in his hands around, colliding their handles together, the end result being the two scythes combining at the ends. Then he hurtled the weapon with as much force as he could, sending it spinning through the air like a disc, glowing with wind ether which kicked up some of the sand below.

Zeke and Pandoria, seemingly a bit tired out from their attack, didn't manage to get out of the way quite fast enough, and at last the first proper blow was landed. The conjoined scythes whirled right into both Zeke and his Blade, wide enough to hit both of them. Not only that, but the windy force of the art blew them both backwards off their feet, sending them out of the mouth of the tunnel and onto the connecting tendril bridge. The twin scythes, meanwhile, spiraled back through the air like a boomerang, and Vandham stepped forwards to catch them, separating them back into individual weapons. As Zeke and Pandoria were getting back on their feet, the mercenary bolted towards them quicker than one might expect from his huge frame. Pandoria hastily disconnected the greatsword's handle to form her staff and blasted a quick bolt of lightning to deter the Urayan, but Vandham smoothly ducked past it and continued his charge. Once he was near enough, he used his running momentum to leap towards Zeke, bringing his scythes down in a jumping smash. Zeke held his sword horizontally over his head, blocking the heavy smash, though Vandham's huge bulk behind the attack nearly made his knees buckle, and he struggled to stay standing.

From there, the two once again began to duel back and forth, Zeke quickly finding his stride again, and soon they were back to their stalemate. Apparently realizing that it wasn't going anywhere, Zeke took the first chance he could to pull back and put a bit of space between him and Vandham. By this point the eyepatched man was standing right near the edge of the slightly-curvy bridge, leaving him no more room to back up. The Urayan watched him cautiously, wondering what he was about to do.

"Alright, let's finish this! Prepare yourself!" Zeke declared, and Pandoria took the cue to send a huge amount of lightning ether into his sword so that the whole thing was engulfed in a shroud of it. Rex and Corvin leaned forwards slightly in tandem, recognizing the attack. "Bringer of Chaos!" Zeke yelled, jumping up into the air – and slightly backwards. "Ultimate Lightning-" he began to shout... only to realize too late that he'd jumped back a bit, when he had been right at the edge of the bridge. "Why me!?" he wailed as he missed the ground entirely, swiftly dropping out of sight. For a moment, everything went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Vandham's eyebrows had both risen high on his forehead, and Pandoria seemed to be momentarily frozen. Soon, however, the green-haired Blade jolted into action, running to the edge where Zeke had fallen.

"Prince Zeke! Are you okay!?" she yelled, peering down at the cloud sea below where a humanoid figure could be seen floating. After a brief pause, one of the figure's arms rose in what was unmistakably a thumbs-up, and Pandoria breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, he's fine." she said to herself, suddenly sounding amazingly calm.

"That happen to ya often?" Vandham asked, sounding incredibly nonplussed. As he should, really.

"You have no idea." Pandoria answered flatly, turning back to face him. "So..." she began awkwardly as the rest of the group gathered up beside Vandham. "I guess I should go ahead and tell you. We, uh, weren't really planning to take the Aegis, you know?"

"Heh. I figured. That fella wasn't really takin' it seriously." Vandham commented with a nod.

"Of course. I knew that wouldn't be like him." Fan agreed.

"Right. We actually just wanted to see what you guys could do. So... no hard feelings?" Pandoria asked, grinning at them. She was mostly met with shrugs, either uncaring or confused, though Fan la Norne was smiling warmly at her.

"Hold on, does this mean that... you two will want to fight me, some day?" Pyra asked curiously.

"Eh, yeah, probably." Pandoria answered nonchalantly. "But don't worry about it. We're not bad guys or anything." she added. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably... catch up with him." Without waiting for a response, Pandoria turned and dived off the edge of the bridge, landing safely in the cloud sea below and beginning to swim after her driver towards the nearest island. Nia shuddered slightly at the thought of willingly leaping down like that.

---

With the odd diversion that was Zeke Von Genbu out of the way, the party were able to continue their trek. Once they had emerged from the Cloudway properly, Rex pointed out a fairly large island sticking out of the cloud sea in the distance. Unlike the others, this one was made up of gray, rocky terrain with green grass and trees growing on it. It looked more like something out of Gormott than a part of Leftheria. Apparently, the reason that particular island was so different was because it actually wasn't a separate titan, unlike the others. Rather, it was the only part of the massive central titan which wasn't buried under the cloud ridge. It also happened to be the place where Fonsett Village was built, and indeed a few buildings could be seen dotted about. With their goal for the day now in sight, everyone was feeling ready to proceed.

"So Fan..." Nia began, falling in beside the Indoline as they walked. "D'ya mind telling me who that shellhead was?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm? Shellhead?" Fan repeated curiously, then her eyes widened slightly in realization and she smiled slightly at the nickname. "Oh! Yes, of course. He prefers to call himself Zeke Von Genbu, but his real name is Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal." she explained.

"You think that's enough of a mouthful?" Nia commented sarcastically.

"Well, it is to be expected. He is royalty, after all, as a prince of the nation of Tantal." Fan replied matter-of-factly. Now that really got the Gormotti's attention, since she stopped dead for a moment, her eyes wide.

"Are you messin' with me? That guy was a bloody prince!? Seriously!?" Nia's outburst got the attention of the others, and Rex let out a low whistle.

"A real prince, huh?" the salvager wondered. "To be honest, I thought royalty would be a bit... more regal." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Vandham chuckled in amusement. "Let that be a lesson for ya. Havin' a higher status don't mean you always make good decisions."

"Yes, it's true that he is a prince, but... he was exiled years ago, though I am afraid I could not say why. At some point after that, he came into the service of the Praetorium, not too different from my role." Fan spoke up to finish her explanation.

"Did you... know anything about him looking for us?" Pyra asked curiously, but Fan gave a small shake of her head.

"Not at all, lady Pyra. I imagine he must have heard rumors of the Aegis's return." the brown-haired Blade answered honestly. "I suppose I ought to ask him. We will likely meet again once we reach the Praetorium."

---

They finally arrived at Fonsett Village fairly early in the evening, as the sun was just starting to set. The village itself was a humble little place, not much more than wooden houses and small plots of farmland. It was built atop the ruins of what looked to be an old brick fort which appeared to be at least several years old, the mass of brickwork raising the terrain in a sort of artificial plateau which the rest of the village was settled upon. A few of the fort's turrets and towers were still mostly intact, but from how overgrown they were with moss and vines, they obviously hadn't been used in quite some time. A pair of stairways led up to the village proper from the ground level below, and the group passed through a wide brick archway to get to what could be called the town square. Though, given how small the place was, almost all of the buildings were clustered around said central area, with only a few farther out. With the sundown coming, the village was fairly sleepy, only a couple farmers and merchants were out and about.

"Hey, Rex! Good to see you!" a man called out as he passed by carrying a basket of vegetables. The salvager gave a hearty wave in return.

"You too!" Rex answered happily, and the man continued on his way. With that done, Rex led the group a little ways down the road from the village entrance, where a modestly sized house stood to their left. The homey-looking nature of the place, along with its bright blue, white, and yellow paintjob reminded Nia a bit of the buildings in Torigoth. "Alright, here we are. Auntie Corinne's house." he said as he strolled up to the front door. The salvager gave a couple knocks on the door. "Hello, Auntie Corinne? You in?" he called out. Moments later, the sound of hurrying footsteps could be heard, and then the door swung open. Standing there with a warm smile on her face was an older woman with fairly dark skin and pale bluish-gray hair.

"Well now, if it isn't Rex, finally paying a visit." she teased lightly, stepping forwards and offering the boy a quick hug, which he gladly returned. "It really has been awhile, hasn't it? Must be at least five years now." Corinne added as she stepped back. Rex rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I know, I know. Gramps has been telling me I need to come back more often too." he mumbled, sounding slightly abashed, but Corinne simply smiled all the more.

"Oh, Rex, don't worry so much. You've been working hard to support us here, and it really has been a big help." she spoke soothingly, and Rex's embarrassment turned into a look of pride at the praise. Corinne's eyes swept over the rest of the group who were standing a little behind Rex watching the scene unfold, but not wanting to interrupt. "My, this is a lot of company you've got here. And where's old Azurda, did he ferry you all here?"

Taking the cue, Gramps stuck his head up out of the salvager's helmet. "Actually, that would be a bit difficult. Suffice to say that we have had quite a few misadventures in recent days." he commented as Corinne stared at him in surprise. "Though I assure you, this old titan reverting in size is only the tip of it."

"...I suppose you'll have to tell me all about it. Now, Rex, would you mind introducing me to your friends?" Corinne said, doing an impressive job of taking the news that Rex had been on wild adventures in stride. She walked past Rex to face the rest of the group.

"Right!" Rex agreed. "There's Tora and Poppi..." he pointed out the two, and Tora gave a small wave with one of his wings. "Vandham and Roc... Nia and Pyra..." The Gormotti smirked in a friendly way. "That's miss Fan, she's takin' us to Indol..." Fan la Norne bowed politely. "And can you believe it? I'm a driver now! That's my Blade, Corvin!" the salvager concluded excitedly. Corvin took the cue to stroll up beside Rex.

"Well well, a driver..." Corinne echoed, looking Corvin over carefully. "Somehow I'm not surprised you'd find yourself a core crystal some day." she commented. "I do hope Rex hasn't been giving you too much trouble, young man. He's always known how to get in over his head." she addressed Corvin now.

"Auntie Corinne..." Rex protested, embarrassed. Corvin simply shook his head, an amused grin on his lips.

"Nah, he and I get on great! Besides, if he got in trouble, he could count on me to pull him out." the blonde Blade said, clapping one hand on Rex's shoulder as he did so.

"As you can see, I have my claws full dealing with these two." Gramps commented dryly, earning a small chuckle from Corinne.

As Rex and Corvin were continuing to chat with Corinne a bit, Pyra spoke up softly next to Nia. "Rex and his aunt seem... pretty close, don't you think?" she asked.

"Eh, I guess. Makes me wonder why he doesn't visit. I mean, what'd she say, five years?" the Gormotti replied, looking at Rex and Corinne critically.

"Well, like she said, he must've been working hard being a salvager. But now, he looks happy to be back home." the redhead noted, and Nia let out a small sigh.

"Must be nice, havin' a home to go back to." she muttered, and Pyra looked at her with eyes wide in concern. Suddenly, Nia froze. "Damnit! Did I say that out loud?" she growled to herself.

"Nia, I... know you probably don't want to talk about it. But if you ever do..." Pyra murmured sympathetically.

Nia shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and looked up. "Yeah, I don't like whining about this stuff, but... thanks, Pyra." she said after a moment. Then she glanced around. "Nobody else heard that, yeah?"

The Aegis smiled slightly at that. "Don't worry, I won't say anything." Pyra decided to humor her driver.

"Anyway, Auntie Corinne..." Rex began, deciding it was time to get down to business. "Sorry to say I won't be staying long, we're heading to the Praetorium tomorrow. You don't mind if we stay here tonight, do you?"

"Oh Rex, as if you even need to ask. Of course you're always welcome here." Corinne answered immediately, with such sincerity that Rex looked slightly abashed. She glanced over the whole group once again, placing her hand on her chin. "Sleeping arrangements might be a bit tricky, but we'll make it work." she decided. The she stepped aside and gestured towards the open door. "Come on in and make yourselves at home. Any friend of Rex's is a friend of mine." she invited, and soon everyone began to file inside.

"Thank you so much, Auntie." Rex said with a wide grin on his face, which Corinne answered with her own smile.

Just as the outside of the house had seemed to suggest, it was a charmingly cozy sort of place within, mostly made of simple wood décor and furniture that seemed well-used, lit by small orange lanterns. Directly through the front door was the dining room/kitchen, a humble wooden table in the center, with a stove, cabinets, and other basic kitchen features lined up along the back wall. Corinne ushered everyone through a side door which led to an equally-modest sitting room, pretty much just a couch and a few chairs arranged around a coffee table, all sitting atop a slightly-faded blue rug. There unfortunately wasn't enough seating for everyone, so Pyra, Corvin, and Fan ended up on the couch, while Rex and Tora occupied the armchairs. Nia simply plopped down on the rug with her legs crossed. Poppi assured everyone that, as an artificial Blade, her legs wouldn't get tired, Vandham joked that he was too big for the furniture anyway, and Roc remained stoically silent in following his driver's lead, so all three of them stayed standing. Corinne hovered in the doorway for a moment as they all got situated.

"You all must be hungry, I suppose I ought to go get something started." she spoke up, almost sounding slightly regretful about not already having a meal ready, even though there was no way she could've known they were coming.

"Oh!" Pyra stood up from the couch suddenly, earning a raised eyebrow from Nia. "I could fix dinner for us all, if you like." the Aegis suggested.

"No, no, dear. What kind of host would I be if I made you cook for us?" Corinne denied her gently, but apparently Pyra didn't feel like giving up quite so easily.

"But... there's so many of us. I can't impose on you that much." she pointed out.

"It's fine, I often cook for the village's children. This shouldn't be much different. And besides, you ought to have a chance to relax." Corinne countered, and at this point everyone else's eyes were moving back and forth between the two.

"I enjoy fixing meals though, it... is relaxing, for me. And it would give you a chance to catch up with Rex." the redhead answered immediately, seeming to lose a bit of ground but not willing to give up.

"Oi. Are they seriously arguing over who's more polite?" Nia hissed to Rex, who simply shrugged with a look on his face like he was torn between being baffled and amused. Hearing the Gormotti's comment, Pyra flushed in embarrassment, while Corinne simply laughed.

"Oh, go on, dear. I can tell you're eager to prove yourself." Corinne conceded, sounding like she found Pyra's behavior to be endearing. The Aegis started to head back towards the dining room, but stopped and bit her lip as if suddenly thinking of something.

"I may need a bit of help... Corvin, would you mind joining me?" she asked after a moment's hesitation. The blonde raised an eyebrow at being singled out, but stood from the couch anyway.

"Sure. Can't say I know how to cook, though." he replied.

"That's alright, I just need an extra pair of hands." Pyra clarified, and Corvin shrugged nonchalantly. As the two of them left the sitting room, Corinne took one of the now-empty seats on the couch.

"So, Rex, what's got you running off to Indol in such a large group?" she asked curiously.

"Believe it or not, we've got a meeting with the Praetor." Rex replied with a bit of pride. Now that got Corinne's attention, her eyebrows raising in surprise.

"The Praetor himself..." she repeated, sounding almost disbelieving. "You must be wrapped up in something big to get attention from such a high place."

"Hehe, I guess we are. See, Pyra's actually a legendary super-powerful Blade. So the Praetor's real interested in talking to her and Nia." the salvager explained honestly. "And Fan said the rest of us were invited too since we're Pyra's friends."

"And we've got some stuff we need to ask the Praetor anyway." Nia added, and Rex nodded his head at the reminder that they'd set their sights on Indol even before Fan's arrival.

"I see. And how did you get involved in all this, then?" Corinne wondered.

"Well, it's a really long story, but... You know how I sent a lot of gold recently? That was from the advance for a big job Chairman Bana gave me." Rex began to tell the tale.

"Hold it, that's what you did with your hundred thousand?" Nia interrupted.

"Well, most of it." the salvager replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"...Doesn't even surprise me anymore." Nia muttered, her eyebrows forming a flat line.

"Anyway, Nia was one of the clients, working with a couple other guys named Jin and Malos. Turns out the thing we were salvaging was actually Pyra. And Jin and Malos were actually terrorists!" Rex recounted.

"I didn't know they were plannin' on murdering anyone, I wouldn't have gone along with them." the Gormotti defended herself. To her surprise, however, Corinne wasn't looking at her judgmentally. Apparently, just being Rex's friend was enough to earn the benefit of the doubt.

"Things got pretty crazy, Nia woke up Pyra to help me, and Gramps ended up swooping in to bail us out." Rex concluded his cliff-notes version of the events of the Aegis's awakening.

"And things have been quite hectic ever since. Trouble certainly seems to have a way of finding us." Gramps commented, floating up to rest on the back of Rex's chair.

"That's our Rex. Always getting right in the middle of things, ever since he was little." Corinne spoke, sounding fondly reminiscent.

---

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Pyra and Corvin had busied themselves, with Corvin fetching any dishes or ingredients that Pyra asked for so that she could focus on actually preparing her recipe of choice. At the moment, however, Pyra was busily chopping up a bunch of vegetables, leaving Corvin simply hanging around without much to do. Quickly starting to feel a bit bored, Corvin decided it was time to strike up conversation.

"You wanted to talk to me about something, right Pyra?" he asked suddenly, and the Aegis paused in her cutting for a moment.

"What? I, er... That is..." Pyra stammered awkwardly, clearly caught off guard.

"Take your time. I just figured, you know, since you called me specifically and all." Corvin said lightly, trying to make it clear that he wasn't trying to press her too hard.

"Well... Yes, you're right." the redhead admitted. "I wanted to ask you... about your power."

"My power?" Corvin echoed, raising one eyebrow questioningly. "I mean, I think I'm pretty good, but what about it?" he asked.

"Blades that wield the Light element are... fairly rare. I'm not sure if common Blades are even capable of it at all. I'm curious what you think of having power like that." Pyra's explanation seemed to make sense, though Corvin got the impression that there was some additional meaning behind the question.

"Well, there's not a whole lot to it. Ether is ether, and sure, light is pretty strong, but that just means I can do more." the blonde answered casually.

"I see..." Pyra murmured thoughtfully. "But, aren't you ever worried about controlling your powers?" Corvin raised an eyebrow once again. That must've been the issue.

"Me? Nah. I'm confident I know what I'm doing, and besides, my powers aren't as crazy as Mythra's." he answered, then he leaned forward slightly and looked a bit more intent. "And that's what you were really asking, right? You wanted to know if I had anything in common with her." he theorized. Pyra slowly set down the knife in her hand and finally turned to face him, not quite managing to keep the worry out of her eyes.

"...Was it that obvious?" she asked quietly.

"Eh, I'm just pretty good at paying attention." Corvin replied with a shrug. "Anyway, look, I don't know about Aegises and stuff from five-hundred years ago." he admitted with uncharacteristic seriousness. "But if you want to know what I do, then there's one super important thing. Trust your driver."

"Corvin..."

"I mean it. Thing is, your bond with Nia is a bond of friendship, so if you've got problems, talk to her about it. 'Cause friends help." the blonde insisted, sounding absolutely convinced of what he was saying.

"I do trust her, but I... don't know if it's that simple." Pyra murmured quietly, holding her hands over her core crystal nervously.

"Why not? You and Nia look like a pretty good team to me." Corvin encouraged with the same absolute confidence he often showed, though now it seemed distinctly less egotistical. Seeing Pyra still looking uncertain, he just shrugged. "Hey, think about it, at least. Now let's get back to work, huh? I'm starting to get hungry."

At last, Pyra smiled, even if it was small. "...Of course. And, thank you for talking with me." she said. Corvin flashed a friendly grin, and the Aegis turned back to her preparations. "I'm going to need a bowl for these, would you...?" she asked, gesturing towards the pile of diced vegetables. As Corvin went to dig through Corinne's cabinets looking for a suitable bowl, Mythra spoke up in Pyra's mind.

"Huh. So there's more to that guy than just a giant ego."

"Mythra, don't be mean. I think he's... kind of nice, in his own way."

"Tch, yeah, that's one way to put it... But I feel like that friendship stuff was a bit childish."

"...He was trying, at least."

"Okay, fine. I'll admit he's smarter than he looks. Not sure that really helped us, though."

"I'm not sure either, but... let's try not to worry for now, alright?"

---

The others had mostly been waiting around, chatting with Corinne and retelling snippets of their various misadventures – she'd taken the news of Rex being arrested by the Ardainian army surprisingly well, all things considered. In fact, she was doing a rather remarkable job of taking their somewhat outlandish-sounding stories in stride. Apparently she simply trusted Rex that much. After a little while, though, Rex abruptly stood up as if he'd suddenly thought of something.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered. Auntie Corinne, d'ya mind if I go pay a visit? It's been awhile and all..." the salvager asked. Most of the others looked at him in confusion, but Corinne seemed to immediately understand what he meant.

"Of course, dear. You go ahead, I'll send someone to fetch you once it's time to eat." she replied with a solemn nod, and Rex soon left the room. The sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard.

"What was that about? Who's he visiting?" Nia wondered what was on pretty much everyone's minds. Corinne let out a melancholy sigh.

"His parents." she said simply.

Nia's eyes widened slightly. "His parents? Hold on, he said..."

"Ah, so he's told you then. Yes, they passed away years ago." Corinne confirmed. Nia may have known about that, but the others didn't, which was evident from the surprise on their faces.

"Rex... Not have parents?" Tora spoke up sadly.

"Indeed. Rex was only about... two years old, or so. I never did learn exactly what had happened to them, but... he and his mother had lost their home on another titan." Corinne began to tell the tale, a far-off look in her eyes. "They washed up here, and she stumbled into the village, carrying him in her arms. I remember thinking he was in surprisingly good shape... but his poor mother wasn't. She must've done her very best to keep him safe. The very last thing she did was ask me to take good care of him." Corinne's voice grew increasingly heavy as she spoke, and she paused for a moment. "And his father... he turned up a few titanpeds away. He was already gone by the time we found him."

"Oh my..." Fan murmured sympathetically. "To know that things like that can happen... even in such peaceful places."

Corinne sniffed a few times, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, none of you wanted to see an old lady cry." she apologized. Vandham, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed pensively, looked at Corinne and strode over to her.

"Nah, it's fine. Better to get that kinda thing out rather than holdin' it in." the mercenary reassured. As he spoke, he reached into one of the many pouches he was wearing and produced a small cloth, which he handed to Corinne to dry her eyes.

"Thank you..." she said, handing the rag back to Vandham. "Rex is such a strong boy, you know. Even though he suffered so much loss so early, he's never let it drag him down." She sounded sincerely proud of the way Rex had turned out.

Nia looked down at the rug she was sitting on, biting her lip in thought. "Yeah, bloody idiot keeps smiling no matter what happens... Not like me." the Gormotti thought, her ears unconsciously flattening to her head. "Damnit! He's not even here and he's gettin' to me."

"That such a sad story..." Tora said quietly. "It make Tora think of Tora's dadapon. Since he go missing, if dadapon were to die, Tora might never know." he lamented, sounding worried just at the thought.

"Masterpon. Poppi is sure dadapon still alive. If Tatazo anything like masterpon, he not die easily." Poppi pointed out earnestly. Apparently, that small bit of hope was all it took to rekindle the Nopon's spirits a bit, since he looked significantly less downtrodden.

At that moment, the door into the dining room opened once again as Pyra stepped back into the room. Behind her, Corvin could be seen setting out silverware on the table. A wave of hearty aromas entered the room, filling the air with the unmistakable scents of home cooking.

"Oh, I'm not... interrupting something, am I?" Pyra asked, seeming to notice the atmosphere she had walked in on.

"This old lady was just getting caught up in the past, no need to worry." Corinne replied. "So, I assume you're about ready?" she asked.

"Yes, that's right... we saw Rex leaving a few minutes ago, should someone tell him as well?" the Aegis wondered curiously.

"Ah yes. Miss Nia...?" Corinne turned to address the Gormotti. "Would you be a dear and go fetch Rex for us? You should find him up on a little hill near the edge of the island that way." she said, pointing off in a specific direction.

"Right, I'll go tell him to get back here." Nia confirmed as she stood to her feet with a small groan, and Pyra politely stepped out of the doorway as she passed through.

---

The Oratory Knoll Cemetery was, like the rest of Fonsett Village, a very small and humble sort of place. It was little more than a few rows of gravestones lined up near a cliffside overlooking the cloud sea. A single tree stood behind the graves, the last vestiges of evening light filtering through the dark leaves. Nia couldn't help but get a bit of a solemn feeling from the place – as was to expected from a cemetery, really. As she approached, she saw Rex kneeling in front of a particular pair of graves, holding one hand over his chest. Curiously, he seemed to be talking, despite nobody else being around.

"...but anyway, a lot's happened, you know? I always dreamed of Elysium, but I guess I never thought I'd be going on an adventure to get there. Guess I oughta thank Nia for letting me come along some time, huh? Being a driver is real amazing too, sorry I didn't bring Corvin to meet you..." Rex paused for a moment, seeming to take on a more serious attitude. "...I dunno what's going to happen from here, but I know you guys are watching over me, so it'll all turn out okay... I guess I better get back." With that said, he stood up, giving one last nod to the pair of graves. When he turned around, he started slightly at suddenly realizing Nia was standing there. "Oh, hey Nia. Did you hear all that?" the salvager greeted awkwardly.

Nia blinked a couple times, then shook her head. "Nah, just the last bit." she replied. "But I wouldn't mind if you thanked me more, you know." she added, flashing a smirk at the brown-haired boy.

"Wha-! Come on, Nia, don't be like that." Rex protested, but Nia simply raised an eyebrow. Rex let out a sigh, seeming to realize he wasn't going to win this one. "...Anyway, I reckon Auntie Corinne sent you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, let's go." Nia replied briskly, and together they set off out of the graveyard and back towards Corinne's house. After they walked in silence for a moment, however, she spoke up again. "So what was all that anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, that, it's not something big, I just... like to take the chance to talk to them every now and then." Rex replied. "I know it sounds a bit strange, but it makes it feel more real, you know?"

"More real?" Nia repeated, sounding a bit confused as her brow furrowed in thought.

"Yeah, it's like... I don't really remember my parents much at all. My family growing up were the people around here. Talking to my parents like that, I dunno, makes it feel like there's more of a connection there. Just feels like something I should do, you know?" Rex tried to explain, sounding surprisingly unsure of himself for a moment.

"Right... whatever helps you deal with it, I guess..." Nia muttered, glancing away uncomfortable.

Rex paused for a moment, looking at Nia thoughtfully. "You know, maybe you oughta try it sometime. If you're still thinking about your dad or your sister-"

"Rex. I don't want to talk about that." the Gormotti abruptly interrupted forcefully, leaving Rex looking a bit taken aback. Realizing that it had come out more harshly than she had intended, Nia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I appreciate the thought, but... I remember them fine. It's not something to fuss about, yeah?"

"Nia..." Rex trailed off uncertainly. "Well, you know, you've still got friends, and friends listen even if it seems dumb. Just in case you ever change your mind, right?"

"You know, you're not the first person to offer that today. If you and Pyra keep it up, I'm gonna get smothered." Nia commented wryly, and Rex let out an amused chuckle.

"Ha! Gramps and Auntie Corinne were the same way when I looked upset. Guess I learned from the best." the salvager joked, earning a small smile from Nia. "Now let's go ahead, huh? They're all waiting on us." With the promise of a comfortable meal awaiting, he and Nia soon made their way back to the house.

---

Chairman Bana of the Argentum Trade Guild was a very powerful and important Nopon, well-known in the business world to the point that pretty much any notable merchant would have heard of him. What was less well-known were the other dealings he engaged in outside of his guild business. Dealings which most would consider to be highly shady, but which he only considered to be profitable. At the moment, he was overseeing one such matter, gazing down from the large window of a control room at the factory floor below. His birdlike Tirkin workers scurried about attending to their various tasks, while rows of metallic roughly-humanoid figures slid along assembly lines above. Everything seemed to be operating smoothly without delay, which was good, because his time was extremely valuable. But the factory operations weren't his primary concern at the moment, not really. What was more pressing were the clients he was currently meeting with. The large green Nopon turned around, stroking his mustache as he looked back at his guests.

"Bana was surprised to hear that Torna wished to meet." he commented, looking at the three figures before him. Mikhail and Patroka, the two who usually picked up the shipments, were there, but it seemed they had also brought Jin, their rather intimidating boss. "Everything is proceeding on schedule, and next shipment of artificial Blades is ready to go."

"We're not here about that this time." Patroka spoke up coolly. "This is about the Aegis."

"The Aegis? What about it, hmm?" Bana replied, raising an eyebrow.

"You didn't keep your deal. You were supposed to help us get her, and in case you haven't noticed, we don't have her!" the black-haired woman accused, glaring aggressively at him.

"You say Bana broke deal? Bah!" the Nopon denied, sounding quite offended at the notion. "Bana gave exactly what was promised. Torna's own member stealing the Aegis is none of Bana's concern!"

Patroka let out a growl, but before she could snap back, Jin stepped forwards. "It is your concern. We paid you a good deal." he said with a sense of absolute finality, the room seeming to grow a bit colder.

"Mehmehmeh..." Bana stuttered, instinctively taking a step backwards. Chairman Bana normally prided himself on not being easily cowed, but something about the masked man's presence radiated danger. "B-but Torna does not need to demand money back, surely we can work something out!" he offered, trying to salvage the situation.

"Heh. Actually, that's what we were thinking too. We've already got something in mind." Mikhail said, leaning back against a nearby console casually. "See, here's the thing. We need to get Mythra working on our schedule, so we've got a plan to distract her."

"And if it gives us a chance to take out Nia and get the Aegis back, even better." Patroka added darkly.

"And what would you need Bana to do?" the chairman asked shrewdly, rubbing his chin with one wing.

"Go on, Mik, this is your bright idea." Patroka commented sarcastically.

"You flatter me, Patroka. Anyway, it's like this..." Mikhail began to explain. Once again he laid out the scheme he had in mind. Patroka and Jin, who had already heard it, naturally didn't have anything to add. Instead, the black-haired woman just stood there looking bored, while Jin crossed his arms, impassive as ever. Once Mikhail was finished, Bana let out a thoughtful hum.

"That sound... doable. Bana would need to be careful not to jeopardize operations, but..." he mulled over.

"But that's your problem, not ours." Patroka pointed out bluntly.

"Very well. Bana agrees." the Nopon conceded, slightly conscious of Jin staring intently at him.

"Now, there's one little sticking point." Mikhail noted. "How to get Nia and Mythra's attention in the first place?"

"Hmm... You say young Nopon with artificial Blade was traveling with them, yes?" Bana asked.

"I haven't seen them myself, but that's what Malos said." Mikhail replied flippantly.

"Then Bana knows the perfect thing..." Bana smirked with more than a bit of malice.

Notes:

And I'm back once again. I know this has been the longest wait thus far, but I promise, this story isn't dead! It may be pretty slow going for awhile, but I don't want to let it die if I can avoid it. Anyway, as for this chapter, we are breezing through Leftheria a bit, but even in the original game that segment of the story served as sort of a cool-down. Zeke being in this chapter wasn't originally planned, it was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so if it seems a bit out of nowhere, that's why. Though really, popping up out of nowhere is entirely consistent with the madness that is the Zekenator.

Chapter 14: CH14: At the Praetorium

"Well, there it is... Spend all that time evadin' it, just to sail right up to their front door... absolutely mental..." were the rueful thoughts running through Nia's head as she gazed out from the bow of the ship towards the enormous titan they were approaching. Indol had a dragon-like body shape, roughly similar to Gramps in his fully-grown state, though rather than legs, it had a few sets of smaller, secondary wings. And of course, it was orders of magnitude larger than Gramps could ever hope to be. Even from the distance, Nia could see the spires of the Praetorium's grandiose architecture jutting up from the titan's surface. One tower, in particular, stood out quite clearly, an enormous obelisk in the center of the titan's back. The Gormotti would've been willing to bet any amount of gold that structure was connected to the Praetor in some capacity.

By all accounts, it should be an awe-inspiring moment, getting such a good view of the draconic titan as it rested amongst the clouds. But Nia just couldn't quite stomach her unease. Of course, she knew it should've been nothing – she was going to the Praetorium as an honored guest, not a prisoner. She was being escorted by a kind envoy, not dragged off to her fate by warrior monks. This wasn't anything like last time. And she understood very well that it was something she needed to do, meeting the Praetor was the only logical step forward. So she scowled, mentally scolding herself for being stupid. The decision was already made, she'd already resolved to deal with it, so... It'd be so much easier if the uncertainty in her gut would listen to logic for once.

"Hey Nia. You have a minute?" a voice suddenly spoke up behind her, making her jump slightly as she was jolted from her musings. She looked back to find Mythra staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face.

"...Sure, not doin' anything else, what'dya need?" Nia replied after a moment, wracking her brain to try and figure out why Mythra would seek her out, to no avail.

"Well..." the Aegis began, glancing around as if to make sure nobody else was listening. "There's something Pyra wanted me to talk to you about before we get to the Praetorium." That definitely got Nia's attention, and she turned around fully to face Mythra, a hint of worry flashing across her face for a second. "Have you noticed anything... strange about Fan?"

"Strange?" Nia repeated curiously. "Not really, no. You think she's up to something?"

"Pfft, her? No way, I can't even imagine that. She's too nice." Mythra denied immediately, shaking her head. "Surprisingly fierce with throwing shade, but nice." the Aegis mentally added, but rather than saying that, she instead continued. "But that's the thing. I know what she's like... because she's a Blade I knew five-hundred years ago, under a different driver."

"Wait, seriously? What the hell are the chances of that?" the Gormotti exclaimed in obvious disbelief. Add another thing to her list of evidence to suggest the Architect was constantly orchestrating unlikely events. It was getting pretty lengthy at this point.

"Tell me about it..." Mythra muttered to herself. "But that's not the problem. The problem is, some of the details about her don't match up with how me and Pyra remember them." she explained. Nia opened her mouth, but Mythra quickly headed off the obvious reply. "Things that can't be explained by being reawakened by a new driver. Things like her name and her core crystal. Something has changed about her and we don't know why." she concluded, her voice turning somewhat grim. Nia frowned, glancing away as she processed that particular information. It was a bit vague, but she had no reason to doubt Mythra if she said there was something wrong.

"Right, that's odd, but what's it got to do with...?" the Gormotti trailed off as her mind filled in the answer to what she'd been about to ask, her eyes narrowing seriously as she focused back on Mythra again. "You reckon the Praetor's behind whatever's going on?" she asked suspiciously. Really, it was the only conclusion she could think of for why Mythra would feel the need to warn her before they got to the Praetorium.

At that, Mythra let out a tired sigh. "I don't know." the Aegis admitted. "We shouldn't make any rash judgments. There's no proof he's involved beyond just being her driver. And even if he is... there's also no proof that it's necessarily anything bad." she said, and Nia had to admit that it was true, though Mythra still sounded a little bit uncertain. "So, I'm not saying he's untrustworthy. We do still need his help, like it or not."

"I know that well enough." And she did. The fact that they needed the Praetor's help was, of course, exactly what Nia had been telling herself before Mythra showed up anyway. "But why tell me all this, then?"

"Look..." Mythra began, crossing her arms and glancing away. "Maybe it's nothing, but I've still got a bad feeling. So I... Pyra was worried, and she wants you to be careful and keep an eye out." Nia raised an eyebrow at how Mythra had corrected herself, claiming it was just Pyra that was worried. "We don't want to cause any trouble with Amalthus, but if anything seems like it might be wrong... it probably is." the Aegis concluded.

"Right..." Nia muttered in acknowledgment as she processed the whole situation. So now, on top of having to meet the Praetor and trying to get info on the world tree, she would need to be watchful for the possibility of anything strange going on. She groaned audibly to herself. "This isn't makin' me any more comfortable to go there, you know." she commented tiredly, glancing back at the approaching Indoline titan. Seriously, when she was already having to grapple with her nerves at the idea of going to Indol, being told about the possibility that the Praetor may have done something shady really didn't help.

"Are you ever going to tell me what that's about?" Mythra asked bluntly, looking over Nia with a scrutinizing gaze. Sure, Pyra wanted to be patient and let Nia open up at her own pace, and Mythra had mostly tried to respect that. But since this one just kept coming up, she was starting to get a bit tired of waiting.

"Oi, I don't think now's the right time for telling stories." The Gormotti was obviously dodging the question, though she wasn't entirely wrong. With the titan so close, it clearly wouldn't be too long before they arrived, so everyone would no doubt be gathering together soon enough. They wouldn't have time to drag out their conversation if they wanted to keep it private. Mythra, however, narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"Uh huh. Sure." the Aegis commented sarcastically. "That's an excuse and you know it. Seriously, all I want to know is what happened and why it's a problem." she pressed.

"It's not that simple... It's a long bloody story, alright?" Nia insisted uncomfortably, for a moment sounding almost like she was pleading for Mythra to drop it. Not only that, but she had unconsciously taken a couple steps backwards, as if ready to bolt at any second. Mythra, however, was too irritated with the continued dodging, and didn't notice these small signs.

"Seriously?" she asked in annoyance. "'It's a long story'? How many times are you going to use that one? This is getting ridiculous at-"

"Mythra! That's enough!" Pyra's shout inside their mind cut off the tirade she was starting to work herself into. Mythra's irritation was immediately overridden by concern – Pyra didn't usually yell like that, so this must be serious. "Can't you see how uncomfortable she is? This is why I think we need to be patient." It was only then that the golden-haired Aegis took a good look at Nia and realized exactly how drastically her demeanor had changed in the last few seconds.

"Damn... sorry. That was too much." Mythra muttered, the apology sounding a bit foreign on her lips. Nia actually visibly paused, seeming to not quite know how to react to the sudden shift. Gradually, as if realizing the moment of crisis was past, some of the tension in her body eased. Honestly, her behavior only raised further questions in Mythra's mind. It was almost like a fight-or-flight sort of response, which seemed... excessive, for what basically amounted to aggressive questions. It was true that the whole issue with Indol was something criminal, but even Mythra, for as cynical as she was, didn't believe Nia would have done anything too bad. This was the girl who'd awoken Pyra because she objected to Jin and Malos, after all.

Nia, unaware of the frenzy of thoughts in Mythra's head, let out a sigh. "No, I get where you're comin' from." she admitted. "I said you were trustworthy but then it looks like I'm not trusting you, right? Must be annoying."

"That's..." Mythra blinked in surprise. "That's exactly it actually, yeah." she agreed awkwardly, surprised that Nia seemed to... understand so well. "I've still got your back, so don't worry about that or whatever, but I want to know when things are going on."

"Right... well, I'll tell you all about it, just... gimme some time, yeah?" Nia asked, sounding just about as awkward herself. She knew that, logically, she shouldn't have put it off. Mythra and Pyra were going to find out eventually. And she couldn't even prove that it would go badly. But this was another one of those "gut won't listen to logic" situations.

"Fine. You were right before, now's not the time. We can worry about that stuff after we deal with Amalthus and whatever he is-or-isn't up to." the Aegis decided. Nia gave a vague hum of agreement. The two of them really were good at putting off their problems, weren't they?

"Besides, we... haven't been entirely forthcoming either." Pyra reminded gently. Mythra didn't respond to that, because really, what response was there? It was absolutely the truth, after all. With that issue... well, not quite resolved but at least smoothed over for now, the two lapsed into silence. Mythra vaguely felt like she should say something else, but really, she was a pretty poor conversationalist and she knew it. Pyra was supposed to be better at that sort of thing. So instead, Nia and Mythra ended up simply watching as the Indoline titan gradually drew ever nearer.

---

The heart of the Indoline Praetorium was pretty much exactly as grand as Nia had expected it to be from the distance. It was a relatively small city compared to, say, Fonsa Myma, but what it lacked in sprawl it more than made up for in elegance. Buildings were largely made of white marble and sleek silver metal, giving the whole place a very bright, clean sort of look. And the architecture was certainly nothing to sneeze at either, with vast archways and intricate buttresses everywhere one looked. Somewhat similar to Fonsa Myma, the city seemed to be tiered to a degree, with wide staircases leading to higher levels. The port was fairly bustling, with people of all races going about their business, embarking and disembarking and moving cargo from place to place, all under the watch of warrior monk guards.

Nia let out a low whistle as she and Mythra stepped off the ship. "Fancy place, innit?" she commented, glancing up at the skyline. No matter her opinions on the Praetorium's policies, there was no denying that it was a very aesthetically-impressive locale.

"Yeah. It's like they're trying as hard as they can to be as gaudy as possible." Mythra replied cynically, obviously much less impressed with the opulence on display than her driver.

"Heh, you ain't entirely wrong about that." Vandham interjected with a chuckle as he joined them, with everyone else not far behind. "The Praetorium certainly don't spare any expense, for better or worse."

"Definitely worse..." Mythra muttered, though loud enough to be heard. Nia just rolled her eyes. Not that she was suddenly eager to defend Indol, but she felt like Mythra was just objecting for the sake of being contrary. And she wasn't the only one either.

"You know, Mythra, I'm surprised you don't like it. With all the white and all, you fit in pretty perfectly." Corvin spoke up cheekily, gesturing towards the Aegis's mostly-white dress. "Though most everyone else are wearing pants." he added. Mythra glowered at him darkly, and Nia subtly took a small step away from her.

"I am not taking comments on my outfit from somebody dressed like you." she retorted, eyeing Corvin's somewhat-extravagant clothing with distaste. Corvin held up his hands in a sort of defensive gesture, though the smirk on his face suggested that he had gotten exactly the reaction he wanted.

"Hey Corvin, don't mess with her. I don't think Fan wants us fightin' in the middle of the port." Rex chided, though he didn't sound especially serious about it.

"Yes, it would probably be best to avoid that." Fan herself agreed, managing to convey an unexpected amount of dryness behind her polite demeanor. Mythra actually blinked at her a couple times in surprise. "Anyway..." the Indoline Blade began once the tension had died down. "Your audience with the Praetor will take place tomorrow morning, so for today, you all are free to do whatever you wish in the city." she explained. Nia thought it was a bit odd to rush out to the Praetorium just to be told "actually your meeting's tomorrow" but whatever, the Praetor was probably a busy guy. "Oh, and don't worry about accommodations for the night. There are guest rooms prepared in the Sanctum." Fan added with a smile, pointing up towards the direction of the large central spire.

"Got everything all taken care of for us, eh? Awful kind of ya." Vandham noted, though his tone of voice wasn't negative.

"Of course. I want to ensure you are all shown as much hospitality as we can offer." Fan replied sincerely, and Vandham gave her an approving grin.

"So question is, if friends have whole day to spend... what to do?" Tora asked, rubbing his chin with one wing in thought. Poppi mimicked the gesture beside him, though it wasn't entirely clear if she was actually considering things or just following Tora's lead.

"Well, before anything else, I would be perfectly happy to show you around." Fan offered. Before anyone really had time to consider the suggestion, however, another unfortunately-familiar voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere.

"Ohoho! Having a little tour, are we!?" Strolling right up to the group with a needlessly exaggerated swagger was none other than Zeke Von Genbu, with Pandoria naturally at his side. Who else would be that ridiculously loud? In perfect sync, Nia and Rex looked at each other with matching flat expressions before turning to face Zeke. Honestly, they had known this was coming sooner or later. (Though Nia had been hoping for later.)

"Oh, hey Zeke. Fan said you'd be here." Rex said, giving the man a nonchalant wave.

"I see you remembered my name this time, chum! I knew you would, the Zekenator always makes an impression!" Zeke declared, pointing to the sky dramatically.

"Yep! We leave an impression! And it's definitely not because we just saw you guys yesterday." Pandoria added... while doing the exact same dramatic pointing gesture, seemingly out of habit. Nia not-so-covertly rolled her eyes while Rex just blinked.

"Actually, I reckon it is just because of that." the salvager pointed out bluntly. Mythra actually audibly snorted at that.

"Bah, you continue to have no taste!" Zeke said, with what could only be described as a pout. "But don't you worry, chums, I'm not here for a rematch today. As unlikely as it may seem, the Aegis can consider herself safe." he quickly changed the subject. Mythra mimicked Nia's earlier act of eyerolling.

"Yeah, sure, pal... you're really intimidating..." she muttered sarcastically. Zeke seemed to not even hear her, because he continued with his typical bombast.

"You see, the truth is, I've been working for Indol for awhile now. I'm actually-"

"Yeah yeah, an envoy, we know, shellhead." Nia cut him off, and Zeke's face fell at having his reveal spoiled. "Fan told us. Said you were some kind of fancy prince, too."

Zeke turned to Fan, with an exaggerated look that was probably meant to convey hurt. "Wha-!? Fan, how could you betray me like this!?" he exclaimed melodramatically.

"Oh, no, I would never do something like that, Your Highness!" Fan gasped. After a moment, however, she smiled, just a bit more sharply than usual. "After all, it isn't betrayal if I was never on your side, is it?" she asked innocently. Several pairs of eyes turned to her in surprise, and Pandoria let out a low "ooooooh". Mythra had gone from irritated to smirking in satisfaction.

"And there's the shade! That's definitely Haze." the Aegis thought. Zeke stood there flabbergasted for several seconds before his eye narrowed.

"You win this round... But don't get cocky!" he sort-of conceded, all while Fan just smiled sweetly at him.

"Of course." the Indoline Blade agreed gracefully. "Now then, master Zeke, I was wondering... exactly how did you know of the Aegis's return?" she asked, switching to a slightly more serious topic.

"Oh, you know, we just heard some crazy rumors and my Prince was feeling bored, so we decided to check it out. No biggie." Pandoria answered for her driver, waving a hand dismissively as she did so.

"I don't suppose you know where these rumors are comin' from, do you?" Nia asked. She'd been curious about that for awhile, after all. People had been recognizing Pyra and Mythra pretty much everywhere they went, so word had obviously spread far and wide.

"Sorry, can't say we do, fuzzy ears." Zeke replied, and behind his hamminess, he actually did sound genuinely apologetic. After a moment, however, he paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Although, one chap did say something about Argentum..."

"But you get loads of folk going through there. Could be anyone." Rex pointed out, and Nia let out a small sigh. He was right, that didn't really narrow it down at all.

"Yeah... Well, thanks anyway, shellhead." the Gormotti said. At least Zeke had given a tiny hint – that was more than they'd had to go on before.

"Mehmeh, not to interrupt, but wasn't Fan going to show us around city?" Tora spoke up, sounding a little bit impatient, though to his credit he was at least trying to hide it.

"Oh, yes. Of course." Fan replied, nodding her head to Tora in acknowledgment before turning to Zeke and Pandoria. "Would you care to join us, Your Highness? Lady Pandoria?" she offered the two of them. They looked at each other for a second, as if to hold some sort of silent conversation, then both shrugged in unison.

"Eh, might as well. Not like old man Amalthus has given us anything better to do." Zeke said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, it can get pretttttty boring around here." Pandoria added, pushing up her glasses for... no apparent reason other than because she could..

---

Much of what Fan ended up showing them was less of the major "iconic" scenery and more of the day-to-day workings of the city. After all, they would have plenty of time to look around the Sanctum, the religious heart of the Praetorium, later. Not to mention, Fan readily admitted to enjoying the "normal" city life more regardless. Mostly, they just wandered through streets lined with shops and merchant stalls. Despite the relatively small size of the city, it was nonetheless quite thriving. No surprise, really, given all the activity around the port. The Praetorium was considered a major cultural center for a reason. Due to the diverse racial and cultural backgrounds of the population, there were quite a few shops selling all manner of exotic goods. It almost made Rex feel a bit nostalgic for Argentum, in a way. After perusing the streets on one side of the city for awhile, they headed up the massive staircase leading to one of the higher levels of the city.

This particular tier held a very familiar sort of fixture – the classic round plaza marketplace, not unlike the ones in both Torigoth and Fonsa Myma. Perhaps more notable than that, though, was the fact that from the higher vantage, they could see a whole other district of the city. One that hadn't been very visible from the port. Unlike everywhere else in the Praetorium, the area they were gazing down at wasn't all shiny white buildings. Instead, it looked more like a large campsite, a veritable field of tents with an old fountain forming something of a centerpiece. Some of the tents had looked like they'd been there for quite awhile, too. They had been reinforced to be more like "proper" buildings, sort of like what Vandham's mercenaries had done in Garfont.

"Masterpon, why there so many people camping there?" Poppi asked the obvious question, tilting her head sideways slightly in thought.

"Meh, Tora not sure... Does Biggipon know?" Tora redirected the question to Vandham, who was standing beside him. The Urayan raised an eyebrow at Tora immediately looking to him, but he answered the question anyway.

"Yeah. That right there is a refugee camp. Praetorium's pretty famous for taking in lots'a folk like that." the mercenary explained.

"Right you are, chum!" Zeke chimed in. "The Praetorium's got pretty strict treaties about staying out of wars, which makes it the perfect place for people fleeing that sort of nasty business."

"So what do they mean by those signs, then? The 'no more war' part's pretty obvious, but..." Nia asked, pointing down towards one tent, which had a large wooden sign staked into the ground next to it. Painted in big, bold white letters were the words "NO MORE BLADES. NO MORE WAR."

"Yeah, what've they got against us? I think we're pretty cool." Corvin added, leaning up against the railing without a care in the world.

"Blades in a war can destroy a lot, makes 'em easy to blame. And the Praetorium are the ones who control most of the core crystals the rest of the world are gettin'." Vandham answered. His blunt tone made it sound like he had more to say on the matter, but he didn't elaborate. Tora frowned thoughtfully, but didn't say anything either.

"So they reckon, the Praetorium are the ones causing the wars they ran from in the first place?" Rex wondered, just to confirm the thought process.

"Maybe not quite so directly, but that's the general idea." Zeke agreed with a nod. "Always seemed a tad ungrateful, if you ask me. Blaming us just because we're right here in front of them."

"At the same time, though, I can understand their frustration." Fan spoke up sympathetically. "Losing your home is an awful thing." Mythra winced slightly at that, though nobody noticed. "And some of the refugees have been stuck in this situation for a long time. There are many Gormotti here who fled the Gormotti War ten years ago... Though the fighting has stopped, the ongoing tensions all this time have left them feeling unsafe to return." Fan explained, looking down sadly. "We do all we can for them, but I wish we could do more."

"Doing what you can is better than doing nothing, though. Mopin' about it isn't going to help anyone, yeah?" Nia pointed out, trying to sound encouraging. Fan gave her a smile, though it was a little weaker than usual.

"Right. What matters is just makin' sure your efforts are pointed in the right direction, ya know?" Vandham agreed. Fan thought about that for a moment, then nodded her head.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. For now, should we move on?" the Indoline Blade still sounded a little unhappy with the situation, but nobody challenged her on it. That sort of issue wasn't one that could be solved in a single short conversation, after all.

---

After a bit more wandering around, Fan decided to go ahead and show them to where they would be staying in the Sanctum. While the whole Praetorium gave off a very opulent vibe, the Sanctum was definitely its crown jewel, situated at the highest level of the city. It seemed more like a palace than anything, which was fitting in a way since Fan explained that it was the Praetorium's administrative seat. The enormous central spire apparently contained the Praetor's private solar, and it was surrounded by four smaller towers that Fan actually didn't know the purpose of. They looked like they had been built more recently, being all metal rather than the white marble of the rest of the Sanctum, but apparently they were just aesthetic. Beyond the very large, looming set of entry gates was a huge walled-in courtyard. Neatly-tended green grass carpeted the ground, with tasteful concrete footpaths weaving through it in circular patterns, and white columns supported the walls all around. On one wall was some sort of enormous mural, though they didn't stop to look at it.

Conveniently enough, the guest rooms they would be staying in were down a short side passage off this courtyard. As Fan had promised, there were enough rooms to accommodate all of them, though each room only had two beds, so they had to split them up. Ultimately, they decided to go with two rooms for the drivers and two for the Blades: Nia and Rex (and Gramps), Tora and Vandham, Mythra and Corvin, Roc and Poppi. At some point, Zeke and Pandoria had wandered off, which according to Fan wasn't uncommon with them. Fan, meanwhile, excused herself to go attend some other business once the room arrangements had been dealt with. She promised to see them all the next morning when it was time for their audience, leaving them free to spend the evening however they wanted.

"Never stayed in a room anywhere near this fancy before." Rex commented as he sat on his chosen bed, looking around the room idly. He wasn't wrong, it was exactly as fancy as one might expect for a room meant for the Praetor's private guests. Elegant, looping golden patterns ran across the marble walls, and the floors were so polished one could almost see their reflection. Even the beds were top notch, with dark wood frames and red silken sheets.

"Yeah, Fan definitely wasn't kidding about the hospitality, was she?" Nia agreed, stretching her arms over her head for a moment before she, too, sat on her bed. It was such a nice place, in fact, that Nia could almost forget that it was Indol.

"...Though, you know, I reckon I prefer staying at Auntie Corinne's. It feels more... home-y." the salvager mused after a moment's thought. Nia hummed in acknowledgment at that.

"I guess..." she replied vaguely. "These beds are definitely a lot nicer than the bunks Torna use, I'll say that much. Those things are bloody awful, I think they might actually be harder than the floor." the Gormotti groused, mostly just because she could.

"Heh, really? No wonder Malos is always so nasty, then." Rex said with a small chuckle, earning an amused snort from Nia. "Though, I'm a bit surprised you say that. Haven't really talked much about your time with Torna, you know?" he added thoughtfully a moment later.

"I didn't think it would really be all that interesting, yeah?" Nia replied offhandedly. Dodging questions about her past came pretty much reflexively at this point.

"Really? That's too bad, I was kinda curious what it was like." Rex said with a slight hint of disappointment, and Nia got the impression that he had seen right through the excuse.

"Rex..." Nia began awkwardly.

"Hey, it's fine, I don't want to push you if it's personal or anything." the salvager added quickly. "I know I've said it before, but I don't care about you workin' with them, I still trust you. I really was just curious, honest." he continued, almost starting to babble a bit. Nia looked over at him in surprise. Was Rex really that conscious about making her uncomfortable? That was... surprisingly thoughtful. Actually, the more she thought about it... why was she uncomfortable at all? Rex wasn't even asking about the stuff that she actually needed to keep secret, like why she'd joined Torna in the first place. Just... what it was like being there. A fairly harmless question. Was she really getting so paranoid that any questions at all were too much? She also remembered nearly panicking at Mythra's questions earlier, which she knew wasn't the right way to respond. They needed trust in order to work together, after all.

"...Actually, it's not a big deal." the Gormotti decided. Rex looked surprised for a moment, then grinned encouragingly at her. "So this is gonna sound bloody crazy, but their hideout is this huge base built below the clouds."

"Wait, seriously? Are you messing with me?" Rex asked in disbelief, sitting forward with visible interest.

"Oi, d'ya think I'd make that up?" Nia replied with a huff of mock-indignation. "Anyway, the place is called the Marsanes, it's some kinda fortress or military base, built a few hundred years ago or something. I dunno, they never told me much about it. Wasn't supposed to wander around much either. But that's where we'd spend our time if we weren't doin' anything else."

"Who all was there? Is it just Jin, Malos, and that Akhos guy?" Rex wondered.

Nia shook her head. "Nah, there's two more besides them. Patroka and Mikhail, and their Blades. Mikhail's like the resident mechanic or something, and Patroka is Akhos's sister." the Gormotti explained. Then, in a mutter, she added "She also hates me. Big bloody surprise." Rex frowned at that.

"What's their problem, anyway? The way Malos and Akhos were treating you didn't seem right." the salvager said, sounding a bit indignant on her behalf. That actually made Nia smile a bit, it was sort of... nice, that he cared that much. Though really, she shouldn't have doubted that – it was Rex, after all.

"I dunno. Jin was always... well, not nice, but he cared. Or at least, I thought he did..." Nia trailed off for a moment in thought. That part still didn't quite make sense to her – Jin seemed cold and ruthless, but if he really didn't care at all, then why had he even bothered with her? Certainly not just because she could be useful, given that he deliberately kept her in the dark about a lot of their activities. "But the others didn't trust me at all, like I was just some stupid kid."

"Nia..." Rex muttered sympathetically.

"...Though, thinkin' about it, Mikhail wasn't that bad." the Gormotti continued, imagining the blonde Torna member smirking at her. "He was an obnoxious pain in the arse, but he's like that with everyone. Didn't single me out, yeah?" At the very least, he had the decency to spare her from his horrible attempts at flirting. Patroka certainly wasn't so lucky on that front.

"So... did you like it? Being there, I mean?" Rex asked after a moment. Nia let out a sigh at that. "Now isn't that the bloody million-gold question?" she thought.

"Honestly? It was pretty boring, all things considered." she answered after thinking it over for a few seconds. "They never told me much and I was only involved in a couple'a small jobs, so me and Dromarch mostly kept to ourselves." the Gormotti elaborated. "But it was... nice, I guess. Being able to sit around bored, not havin' to worry every day." Yes, that was a big part of it, wasn't it? Having a place where she could feel somewhat safe, and even if she didn't quite fit in, she wasn't a total outcast. Or so she had thought at the time, anyway.

"Huh." was all Rex said as he processed the answer. Nia knew it probably wasn't quite what he'd been expecting. "You know, I think I get it." he declared after a moment. "Like how sometimes, I could just lie around on Gramps's back, not a care in the world." A slightly nostalgic smile formed on his face at the thought.

"Yeah, that sounds nice..." the Gormotti agreed idly. After a moment of comfortable silence, however, a thought occurred to her and she raised an eyebrow at Rex. "Oi, you got me talking personal stuff after all, you sneaky git." she accused, though she quite clearly wasn't actually angry.

"Hey, it's not my fault! All I did was ask some questions!" the salvager retorted, throwing up his hands in a mock-defensive gesture.

"...Speakin' of Gramps, though..." Nia began, clearly changing the subject, though Rex didn't object to that. "Is everything alright with him? He's been awful quiet all day." she pointed out.

Rex glanced back into his helmet for a second, then waved a hand dismissively. "Oh yeah, he's fine. Sometimes he'll just sleep a whole day, he's a real old coot after all." he replied casually. "Sometimes, even lighting a fire on his back wouldn't be enough to wake 'im."

"...Wait. How exactly d'ya know that?" Nia asked after a moment, confusion written across her face, and Rex rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Unfortunately, before he could go into the story of exactly how he'd ended up setting Gramps on fire, there was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" the Gormotti called out, turning to face the door. A moment later, it creaked open and Vandham peered into view.

"Hey you two, me an' some of the other lot are going to grab some grub, ya interested?" he asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, where everyone else were presumably waiting. Rex and Nia looked at each other for a moment. Nia shrugged, and Rex broke into a grin.

"Sure, count us in!" the salvager declared, standing from his bed. Nia stood as well, a bit more lazily, and together they filed out of the room.

---

Surprising pretty much nobody, Vandham's idea of going to get food involved tracking down the nearest pub. Fortunately, one of the places they'd passed by during Fan's little city tour was, indeed, an inn and tavern. Overall, it was a very humble place by Indoline standards, fairly small and mostly eschewing the typical white marble in favor of more homey wood paneling. Vandham seemed to consider that a plus, though – he justified his choice of venue by saying that one could learn a lot about a place from seeing how the "smaller" folks lived. Of course the people in charge would tend to be as fancy as possible, it was how the normal citizens did things that really mattered. Also, he wanted a good drink. So, to that effect, the group – which consisted of everyone except Mythra and Corvin, who'd both declined - ended up gathering around a table set up outside the inn, choosing to eat below the stars. Given the size of their party compared to the small establishment, it was better than crowding inside.

As expected, it was a fairly humble meal compared to how excessively fancy most things in Indol seemed to be. But humble didn't necessarily mean bad, and in fact, it was a relaxing, enjoyable evening overall. Vandham boasted tall tales about mercenary life, which Rex countered with odd stories from Argentum. Nia didn't say too much, but she was happy to throw in a sarcastic remark here or there. Roc was stoically quiet, as usual, but he looked reasonably relaxed. In general, almost everyone seemed to be having a good time. Except for Tora and Poppi – the Nopon had been uncharacteristically quiet, as if lost in thought, and Poppi naturally seemed a bit concerned for him. And apparently she wasn't the only one who noticed. As the meal was winding down and the sun had set, Vandham spoke up.

"Something eatin' ya, furrypon? You're looking a bit dour." the mercenary asked suddenly. Tora started slightly, then looked over at Vandham awkwardly.

"Meh, Tora was just thinking..." he answered vaguely, shifting around in his chair a little. Vandham raised an eyebrow and Poppi let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Masterpon, that very obvious." the artificial Blade pointed out bluntly. "Biggipon clearly want to know about what." No doubt she did as well. Tora let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, Tora was thinking about refugees we pass earlier." he began. Vandham raised an eyebrow, and both Nia and Rex started paying attention to the conversation as well. "What they say, 'no more Blades, no more war'? ….Tora think Blades are amazing, but... what if they have valid point?" he wondered uncertainly. "After all, armies always trying to recruit more drivers, and Praetorium control who get core crystals for Blades..."

"Masterpon..." Poppi began, but didn't seem to know quite what to say. Meanwhile, Vandham furrowed his brow as if contemplating how best to respond.

"So that's it, eh? Yeah, I can see why it might seem that way to ya." Vandham commented sympathetically after a moment. He looked at Tora seriously. "But the truth is that it ain't that simple. Like I said earlier, Blades can do a lot of damage and that makes 'em easy to blame. But that doesn't mean it's really about them."

"...What biggipon mean?" Tora asked curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"It's obvious, isn't it? He's sayin' the Blades aren't the cause of the wars." Nia spoke up.

Vandham nodded. "Right. Imagine every Blade just vanished, like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "D'ya think it'd stop armies from fightin' each other? Nah. Sure, a good powerful Blade can bring down buildings nice and easy. But so can a titan tank or a gunship. So say there's none'a those either, then the armies'll fight with guns. Say there's no guns, they'll pull out knives." the mercenary explained.

"Tora suppose that make sense..." the Nopon murmured thoughtfully as he mulled it all over. "Blades not really the root of the fighting, so them being gone not make it stop. Refugees just looking for simple solutions to complicated problems, yes?"

"Yep, that's about the gist of it." Vandham confirmed. "But don't get me wrong, I gotta lot of sympathy for folk like them. They were dealt a real bad hand, ya know? So don't be too harsh on 'em either."

"Hold on." This time it was Rex speaking up. "From the way you're talking, it sounds like... you reckon wars are something that can't be avoided?" he asked, a concerned frown on his face. The mercenary turned to him, scrutinizing him closely for a moment, and then sighed.

"Well, I wouldn't say it quite like that, but it's true, in a way. Rex, you're a salvager... think about how much salvage could be used by armies – and I don't just mean weapons and military supplies." Vandham replied. As Rex looked down thoughtfully, Vandham turned back to the table as a whole. "And you lot've been to Torigoth and Fonsa Myma, ya must've seen how much the armies affect the folks livin' in those places. The whole world's full of war, all ya gotta do is look around to see it. And I ain't saying that it's right, or that it's fair, but it's how it is."

"You think you could make it sound any more hopeless?" Nia muttered sarcastically, though everyone at the table clearly heard her. Vandham frowned and put his hands on his hips, but he didn't look annoyed. If anything, his eyes seemed sympathetic.

"Now, I didn't say that." he pointed out seriously. "If anythin', I reckon it's the opposite: the world can be cruel, sure, so that just makes having hope all the more important." he elaborated.

"What'dya mean by that, then?" the Gormotti pressed. In truth, she thought she had a decent idea of where Vandham was going with this, but she wanted to hear him explain it out loud. Vandham seemed to have a way of explaining things that was... comforting to her, sort of.

"If the world's full of fighting and it can't be avoided, then make sure you've got something to fight for that matters. And it don't have to be big..." Vandham paused for a moment, casting his gaze between Rex and Nia for a moment. "It can be somethin' simple, just so long as it's important to ya and you're willing to protect it."

"I... suppose that makes sense, yeah. Something important." Rex said, though his voice sounded a bit awkward. Nia wasn't sure exactly he was thinking, but he wasn't meeting her gaze. It was a bit odd to see the normally-open boy acting so quiet, she thought. Vandham let loose one of his signature barking laughs.

"Ha! You'll find it sooner or later, kid, if ya haven't already." the mercenary said jovially, the serious atmosphere instantly lightening. "But I reckon that's enough of that, eh? This old merc can get a bit carried away with his speeches." he commented, as if to explain the sudden shift in mood.

"Mehmeh, Tora glad to hear what biggipon have to say. Biggipon really seem to know a lot." Tora commented, smiling at Vandham, who grinned in return.

"That's the advantage of being old, furrypon. You see a lot, so ya might just have a chance to learn somethin' from it." Vandham replied. After a moment, he stood up from his seat. "Now, you lot about ready to head back?" he asked.

"...Yeah. Let's go. Might wanna check in on Mythra and Corvin to make sure they haven't murdered each other, too." Nia agreed. It was on that note that they ended up returning to their rooms in the Sanctum, and before too long, Nia and Rex both decided to turn in for the night. It took Nia awhile to get to sleep, her mind running through all sorts of ways the meeting with the Praetor could go.

Notes:

Alright, here's the next one, took longer than I wanted, but what else is new at this point? Also, turns out I missed a milestone: this story has been going for over a year. Kinda crazy to think that, honestly. (For those of you reading on AO3 who might be confused because the publish date says less than a year ago, I didn't get around to cross-posting here until several months after starting.) Anyway, not a huge amount of plot progression happening in this one per-se, mostly just character stuff. I had originally intended to include the meeting with Amalthus in this chapter, but honestly, writing his dialogue has been kicking my ass. So rather than holding the update hostage until I figure that out, I decided to go ahead and give you it as-is and move the meeting to next time.

Chapter 15: CH15: Encounters in Indol

Early morning in the Indoline Sanctum was... quiet. That was Nia's first thought as she slipped out of her and Rex's shared room. With the palatial vibe she had gotten from the place the previous day, she'd really been expecting a lot more activity. In her experience, nobility-types could be real busybodies when they wanted, rushing about here and there to prepare for the day – or, more often, ordering servants around to do the rushing for them. Technically the Praetor wasn't considered a "noble" per se, but still, she'd expected something similar. The whole vibe of the Praetorium in general, and especially the Sanctum, screamed "wealth". But nope, everything was quiet and still. In fact, Nia hadn't caught sight of even a single soul when she'd briefly glanced out her room's window.

Actually stepping out into the courtyard revealed much of the same. There were a handful of warrior monks scattered about, but with their white robes and stoic silence, they practically blended into the scenery. Between the beautiful architecture and the lack of activity, all under the gentle light of sunrise, most people would probably consider it to be a rather serene setting. Nia wasn't really focused on that, though. She was busy considering what to do to pass the time until the meeting with the Praetor rolled around – it was scheduled for late in the morning, while the Gormotti had risen at the crack of dawn, so she had several hours to kill. Going back to bed unfortunately wasn't much of an option, she could easily tell that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep even if she did. It was just one of those sorts of mornings.

Nia continued to gaze across the courtyard, pondering whether she should go wander the city for awhile until everyone else woke up. It probably wouldn't be too long before Rex and Vandham both showed themselves, if past experience with their early rising was anything to go by. While Nia had been thinking of that, though, something else was stirring. Her eye immediately caught onto the other figure trailing their way across the grass towards the opposite wall. Was that-?

"Fan...?" Nia murmured to herself. The Indoline Blade wasn't carrying her staff this morning, but even without it, she was unmistakable. Nia watched curiously as Fan stopped in front of the massive mural that graced the far wall, seeming to gaze up at it. Although Nia hadn't paid the artwork any mind before, looking at it now she had to admit that it was quite impressive. It was large enough to be seen even from across the way, after all. The image was roughly divided in half by a depiction of a rocky spire. To the left, crowds of people seemed to be fleeing from an enormous ruin consumed in flames. To the right, people stood below a brilliant blue, sunny sky as majestic titans descended from the heavens. She wasn't entirely sure what the significance of the image was – the finer points of Indoline faith weren't her strong suit – but Nia could admire the effort that must have gone into creating it.

But the real question was, why would the mural interest Fan so much? She was still just standing there, visibly lost in thought even from a distance. Shouldn't she be used to seeing it since the Sanctum was basically her home? Nia took a hesitant step forward, wondering if she should go see what was up with Fan...

"Hmm. Probably best to leave her be, there."

The Gormotti nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice suddenly piping up behind her. "Holy Architect, shellhead!" she gasped as she whirled around, the fur on her ears standing on end. "You scared the hell out of me!" Standing right there was none other than Zeke Von Genbu, Pandoria at his side as always. Exactly how those two managed to sneak up on her, Nia had no idea, since she got the impression that Zeke had never heard the word "subtle" in his life.

"Heh, sorry about that, fuzzy ears." Zeke apologized, though there was just a bit too much smugness in his eye for it to have been entirely accidental. Nia let out a huff of irritation, it was way too early to deal with this. But then, she didn't have a good reason to completely blow Zeke off either.

"So what's got you here so early, you need somethin'?" the Gormotti asked lazily, though she was secretly hoping that the answer was no. If someone like Zeke was seeking her out, that could only end in annoyance. It would be far better for everyone if he was just there on Praetorium business or something.

"Can't say I do, chum. I simply felt something calling for me to rise and grace the world with my presence!" Zeke declared bombastically, and Nia didn't even remotely try to hide the rolling of her eyes. Yeah, it was definitely too early for this.

"Translation: Turters woke him up by crawling on his face and he couldn't get back to sleep." Pandoria spoke up, ignoring the pouting look that her driver shot at her for sabotaging his dramatics.

Nia blinked. "Hold it, how'd you get that from what shellhead said?" she asked with a clear sense of bewilderment.

"Years of practice." Pandoria replied flatly. "Trust me, spend enough time with my Prince and you'll get used to how he works, for better or worse."

"Why Pandy, are you trying to pretend you don't enjoy my company? I'm hurt, truly!" Zeke exclaimed, holding one hand over his heart melodramatically.

"Oh quit that. You know I love you, really." Pandoria nudged him in the side with her elbow. Zeke just grinned his most charming grin in response.

"Oi. Do you two need to get a room for... whatever this is, or...?" Nia interjected, raising an eyebrow as she watched the whole exchange. Pandoria's face visibly turned red below her glasses, stammering a couple times. If Zeke noticed her embarrassment, he didn't show it, simply patting his Blade on the head and letting out an amused chortle.

"It's not like that, fuzzy ears." he brushed off the idea. Pandoria glanced away for just a second, but said nothing. "But anyway, I think it's time I turn your question back on you. Why exactly are you in a wandering mood so early, eh chum?" Zeke probed as he shifted the focus of the conversation back to Nia.

"Oh, right..." Honestly, Nia should have expected that. She was the one who'd brought it up, after all. She couldn't remember the entire dream that had led to her waking so abruptly. But what little she could recall was... unpleasant. Fleeing through a dark forest, hateful words ringing out behind her. A lifeless crystal landing on a stone floor. It was more a series of vaguely familiar images and feelings than anything cohesive, but the one thing she knew for sure was that she didn't want to recall the whole thing. And she especially didn't want to spill her guts about it to Zeke Von Genbu of all people. So instead, what she said was "Just felt like it. You know, one of those days, yeah?" A dismissive wave of her hand was thrown in for good measure.

"Hmmm." came Zeke's reply, as he rubbed his chin with his hand. His single visible eye peered at Nia searchingly for a few moments. "I doubt that's the whole answer, but very well. The Zekenator will accept it."

"I'm honored you approve, shellhead. Really." Nia commented dryly, crossing her arms. She wasn't really happy that he seemed to see right through her – because seriously, what the hell? Was she that easy to read? It was one thing when it was somebody like Mythra, who was at least fairly close, being her Blade and all. But she barely knew Zeke! Still, at least he'd had the good sense not to push the issue.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, what's up with you calling him that nickname?" Pandoria spoke up. Between her large glasses and her messy green hair, her eyebrows were basically hidden. Yet from her tone it was easy to imagine that they were being raised questioningly. Nia was silently grateful for the change of subject.

"He likes turtles, yeah? Carries one around and wears a turtle eyepatch, seems pretty obvious." the Gormotti pointed out casually. "That, and his first impression made him look like a right idiot." she didn't say that part out loud, but she definitely thought it. Showing up out of nowhere, picking a fight for dumb reasons, and then jumping off a high walkway wasn't exactly the best way to endear oneself.

"...Huh. That's a bit underwhelming. Not sure what I expected, really." Pandoria said, nonplussed.

"Being given a name in honor of Turters? I believe I can live with that!" Zeke decided with all of his typical bombast. From there the conversation trailed off into silence for a moment, nobody seeming to know quite what to say next. Which was surprising, since Zeke seemed like the kind of guy who would always have something to say. Idly, Nia turned away from Zeke and back towards the huge mural. Interestingly enough, Fan la Norne hadn't moved at all during the span of the conversation. She was still just standing there, obviously completely absorbed in whatever she was contemplating. Which reminded Nia of what she had been thinking about before Zeke had appeared.

"What is Fan doin' over there, really?" the Gormotti wondered to herself. Zeke and Pandoria followed her gaze back towards Fan as well.

"Ah, right. That." Zeke nodded seriously. "If I had to guess, I'd imagine she's caught up in the past again." he said.

"The past?" Nia repeated curiously, not entirely following Zeke's line of thought there.

"Well, yeah. That painting's supposed to be showing some real important stuff from Alrest's history – see how the titans are, like, coming down to save everybody?" Pandoria said, pointing out the detail in question. "So seeing it..."

"...Gets Fan thinking all about ancient times and such, and let's just say that's a bit of a touchy subject for her." Zeke finished Pandoria's sentence – something which Nia mentally noted was really weird. Even she and Dromarch had never been that in-sync. That aside, though, she was starting to get an idea of what they were talking about, but still, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"And how's it touchy, then?"

"I'm not entirely sure I should be gossiping about Fan behind her back, fuzzy ears." Zeke replied putting his hands on his hips and trying to look stern. Then he paused, and a mischievous smirk formed on his face. "But! I'm going to anyway, because I respect your curiosity!" he proclaimed, with all the grandeur of a king bestowing his favor. Nia just pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, muttering a curse or two under her breath. Zeke was no doubt aware of exactly how frustrating he was being, given how smug he looked.

After a moment, however, his face fell into a more solemn expression. "You see, I've caught her zoning out like that myself before. When I asked her about it, she told me this: she believes that she's a Blade who's been around for quite a long time. But she can't remember, not a thing." Zeke explained.

"That's a normal part of bein' a Blade though. Unless you're an Aegis, I guess." Nia pointed out immediately. "Or a Flesh Eater..." she added mentally, but knew better than to say that out loud. Not in the middle of the Praetorium of all places.

"Yeah, but some Blades take it a lot worse than others." Pandoria replied matter-of-factly. "Personally I don't really care about that sort of thing, but you know." she added, almost as an afterthought.

"You... don't care? Really?" Nia wondered, her eyebrows having risen quite high in surprise. It was true that different Blades handled the matter of memories differently, but she'd never heard any bluntly state that they flat-out didn't care. That was a new one. Though, thinking about it, she could imagine Corvin saying something like that. He seemed like an "in-the-now" type.

"Basically." the green-haired Blade confirmed with a nod.

"It helps that we already know the basics of Pandy's history. After all, she's been with Tantal's royal family for ages." Zeke added his two cents.

"And anything more than that just isn't a big deal to me." Pandoria said with a small shrug. "Whatever lives I had in the past, that's not the same as me being here right now. Besides, I don't need to know about other drivers, my Prince is good enough for me."

"Pandy, I'm touched." Zeke placed one hand over his heart dramatically. Pandoria punched him on the arm, but there wasn't any heat to it.

"But don't get me wrong..." she continued, brushing past Zeke's comment with haste. "I'm not judging Fan for wanting to know or anything. She's got a pretty tough break, you know? She feels like something's missing, but the nasty part is, she obviously can't remember why."

"Somethin' missing, huh...?" Nia murmured to herself thoughtfully. Her mind raced, replaying words from her conversation with Mythra the day before.

"Some of the details about her don't match up with how me and Pyra remember them. Something has changed about her and we don't know why."

So Pyra and Mythra were certain something was different. Fan herself was certain something was missing. Could that really just be a coincidence? Nia really, really doubted it. There was definitely something weird, and Fan was at the heart of it. Unfortunately, even with that knowledge, she still had basically nothing to go off of. No real clue about the details of the problem, or the source. If Zeke and Pandoria were telling the truth, then questioning Fan about it wouldn't accomplish anything other than making her feel bad. And if Mythra knew anything else, wouldn't she have said it already? The Gormotti rubbed her temples with a small groan, all the running in circles and getting nowhere was giving her a headache. "I'm not cut out for this detective shite." she thought to herself.

"...You alright there, chum?" Zeke was looking at her with one eyebrow raised. It was then that Nia remembered that he and Pandoria were still there. "You're looking pretty out-of-it all of a sudden."

"Ugh, I'm fine. Just pretty tired, yeah?" she replied, shaking her head a couple times as if to clear it. If there was one conversational skill Nia was good at, it was brushing things off. She wasn't technically lying either, she really was tired.

"If you say so. Just make sure you don't fall asleep during your meeting with Amalthus, eh?" Zeke said, his teasing smirk back on his face. "Anyway, me and Pandy have other things to do. Hope you don't mind if we...?"

"Yeah yeah, go on, shellhead." Nia waved her hand dismissively. She didn't have any objections to ending the conversation there. Even if it had left her with more questions than answers. Zeke gave a mock-salute with two fingers, which Pandoria imitated.

"Until we meet again, fuzzy ears!" the eyepatch-wearing man declared, he and his Blade quickly striding away to do architect-knows-what. Nia reached up and rubbed her temples with one hand. It was still much too early for this. She was a bit surprised she hadn't seen Rex or Vandham yet, since they both claimed to be early risers. Perhaps the were just taking advantage of the comforts offered with the Praetorium's hospitality. She couldn't really blame them if so, despite her restless sleep she had to admit it was quite comfortable. A last glance over towards the mural revealed that at some point Fan had finally left, presumably to go attend to whatever business she may have. With little else to do, the Gormotti decided to return to her room to wait until the time for the meeting rolled around.

---

"Praetor Amalthus?"

"Yes?" the Praetor wondered in acknowledgement from where he sat ever-so-slightly slouched in the throne of his audience chamber. He opened his eyes, seeing the monk who served as his chief retainer – identified by the ornate black and gold mask – approaching him. Amalthus hadn't been dozing off, he had far too much experience leading the nation of Indol to be caught doing something so unseemly. No, he had simply been lost in contemplation for a few moments. After all, the arrival of an Aegis gave him a good deal to consider. In particular, he had been musing on his fateful expedition to the World Tree, and all that was revealed to him then.

"As you requested, I must inform you that your meeting with the Aegis and its driver is supposed to begin in fifteen minutes' time." the monk replied formally, seemingly oblivious to the Praetor's train of thought.

"Ah yes, thank you." The Praetor subtly straightened his posture as he said that. If the monk noticed the slight shift, nothing was said about it. "And what of the other matter I asked of you?" he inquired, eyebrows raising minutely with a sense of mild curiosity.

"I have to apologize, the information we've gathered on them is... sparse. There wasn't enough time for thorough background checks." the retainer said, bowing his head deeply in apology.

"No matter." Amalthus waved one hand dismissively. "I didn't expect much with only a day to work with. Simply tell me what you were able to find."

"The girl was the easiest to uncover. The Ardainian Empire considers her a wanted criminal. Though, for some reason, they seem to have chosen not to pursue her at the moment." the monk listed off first.

"A criminal? Really? On what grounds?" Amalthus wondered with the same tone of subdued interest as before.

"She is, or was, affiliated with Torna." the retainer replied bluntly. The he paused for a moment as if thinking of something. "That is to say, Torna the terrorist group, not the former kingdom." he added.

"A relevant distinction when an Aegis is involved, I suppose." the Praetor mused, sounding remarkably unconcerned about the whole thing. The warrior monk apparently noticed Amalthus's uncaring attitude, shifting uncertainly a few times.

"With all due respect, Your Eminence, couldn't this be a matter of some concern?" the monk asked with a hint of worry. "The rest of Alrest could frown on us harboring a known terrorist."

"If she were merely a terrorist, you'd be correct." Amalthus acknowledged. "However, being the driver of an Aegis changes her position on the board. Trying to apprehend her would alienate the Aegis. Furthermore, the other nations might see it as an attempt to seize control over the Aegis for ourselves, threatening our reputation of neutrality. And finally, doing so would be completely counterproductive to my own plans." he laid out his various reasons with an almost bored expression on his face. He thought it should have been fairly obvious that they weren't going to do something so foolish. Normally he would restrain himself, but since this was a private conversation, he allowed a bit of his distaste to slip out.

"Ah, of course. Forgive me, Your Eminence." To his credit, the monk didn't flinch even with Amalthus's hint of disapproval. At the very least, he knew how to do his job properly.

"It was an understandable concern, I suppose. Regardless, what of her companions? Were you able to gather anything on them?" Amalthus asked, deciding to go ahead on move on. They only had a few minutes before the meeting, after all.

"We discovered that the Urayan is a fairly well-known sellsword: Vandham, the leader of the Garfont mercenaries."

"Interesting." the Praetor commented, and it sounded like he genuinely meant it to some degree. "I actually know of that company, though only by reputation." he noted. "And the others?"

"The boy hails from Leftheria, we assume he's a salvager due to his clothing. And the Nopon is a complete unknown, I'm afraid." the retainer finished going down the list of the Aegis's companions. The monks knew that Fan la Norne would likely be able to provide more information, since she had traveled with the group for the past few days. However, her sense of scruples might lead to her objecting to the idea of snooping around behind their backs. It had been decided that doing that simply wouldn't be worth the trouble.

Amalthus hummed in thought. "So a rather eclectic group, all told. Perhaps that isn't surprising, by all accounts Addam kept an odd assortment of companions as well. It's quite fitting that the Aegis's new driver would do the same." he mused. "Ah well, none of this is truly relevant. As long as the Aegis and her driver are willing to cooperate, we shouldn't have any problems."

"As you say, Praetor."

---

Perhaps it went without saying, given the opulence of Indol as a whole, but the Praetor's audience chamber was certainly a sight to behold. As Fan la Norne escorted the group in, Tora let out a quiet "wow!", glancing about with awe. Nia certainly couldn't blame him, this room made the noble houses of Gormott look downright shabby by comparison. It was a high-ceilinged hall, constructed mostly of spotless white marble in standard Praetorium style. Blue ether lights formed lines across the floor in a way that almost reminded Nia of a Blade's ether pathways, while soft golden lights illuminated the walls. A stretch of fine red carpet ran across the center of the chamber, leading to a raised dais. There stood a tall white and gold throne with a surprisingly comfortable-looking blue velvet seat.

Easily the most notable aspect of the room, however, was the far wall behind the throne. The smooth marble wall was dominated by a massive bas-relief, reaching almost up to the ceiling way above. The sculpture depicted a great tree, a tall trunk stretching upwards. Patterns of countless branches spread out across the wall in an intricate web. Surrounding the tree was what looked to be some sort of halo, rays of light shining from the branches. And atop the tree was a prominent four-pointed star. Even to someone unfamiliar with Indoline symbolism, it would be obvious what it was supposed to depict. The World Tree, the ubiquitous symbol of the Architect. Quite a fitting image for the Praetorium to display in their seat of power.

The room's decor was so fancy, in fact, that Nia's eyes almost overlooked the figure standing patiently in front of the throne. The man's flowing white robes adorned with blue and gold trim certainly made him blend in rather well with his surroundings. He was quite tall, about the same height as Vandham – though unlike the muscular Urayan, this man was rather lean. His pale blue skin and long pointed ears were typical for an Indoline. Most of his hair was covered by a large cylindrical headpiece that matched his robes, but prominent white sideburns framed his face and a matching pointed goatee decorated his chin. His appearance certainly gave the impression that he was somebody very important, and normally Nia would have taken it in stride. But there was something about the way he looked that just struck her as a bit... off. Beside her, Rex's brow had furrowed slightly in confusion, so she clearly wasn't the only one.

"Oi, are you supposed to be the Praetor, or what?" the Gormotti blurted out curiously as they came to a stop before the dais. An embarrassed look ran across Fan la Norne's face at the outburst, and one of the man's eyebrows rose a slight bit.

"Getting off to a good start." Mythra muttered sarcastically beside her. Nia mentally kicked herself, knowing that these sorts of meetings tended to call for more "proper" behavior. But it was too late now, the question was already out there.

"I am indeed Praetor Amalthus, yes." the Indoline answered with an air of distinguished calm. That confirmed it, then, something was strange here. The man was undeniably young and handsome-looking, not so much as a single wrinkle below his eyes. But Nia knew how important it was to avoid getting on his bad side, so she paused that particular line of thought. "And all things considered, it's safe to say you're Nia, correct?" Amalthus continued, apparently unaware of the Gormotti's suspicion.

"Yeah, that's me." Nia confirmed, then paused for a moment. The Praetor didn't seem offended by her rude opening line, but she decided to tap into a bit of her "proper etiquette" lessons just to be safe. "Apologies for my informal address." she said with a bow of her head, her normally-rough Gormott accent sounding noticeably subdued. Rex turned to look at her, surprise written clearly on his face. Even though she'd told him about being a lord's daughter, he apparently hadn't thought she could actually sound like it.

"Oh, no need for that. I am the one who wished to speak with you, after all, I don't expect you to put on any pretension for my sake." Amalthus said with a small shake of his head. Nia exhaled a silent sigh of relief – one less thing to worry about. "Besides, meeting with the average driver is a very different thing than dealing with diplomats and politicians. Though, being the driver of an Aegis makes you far from average, I suppose..." the Praetor pondered, seemingly for his own sake as much as anyone else's.

"Er, right... whatever you say." Nia replied awkwardly, clearly somewhat taken aback by Amalthus's odd attitude. It wasn't that he'd said anything wrong so far, it just... wasn't what she had been expecting. The way he spoke seemed almost too calm and composed.

"About that..." Mythra spoke up, crossing her arms and looking up at Amalthus with her usual neutral-but-unimpressed expression. "Why did you call us here to speak with us, anyway? What's that about?" she asked. Nia glanced at her, instinctively guessing what the Aegis was thinking. Everyone in their group knew that they needed to seek out a meeting with Amalthus anyway, but they didn't need to tell him that right away. It wasn't a terrible idea to try and gauge his motives first before asking him for a favor.

"I was merely curious." the Praetor answered simply, and Nia couldn't tell if he was purposely being so vague and unhelpful or not. Either way, Mythra definitely seemed irritated by it, exhaling a deep breath through her nose.

"Curious about what?" the Aegis pressed, clearly having little patience for time-wasting at the moment. "Seriously, get to the point!"

"To meet your driver for myself, of course." Amalthus said immediately, his neutral tone and expression not changing at all in the face of Mythra's irritation. If his unflappably calm demeanor wasn't off-putting before, it definitely was now. Surely he should have shown at least some sort of reaction to the increased aggressiveness, even if it was subtle, right? But it was like he just didn't care...

"Or like he reckons he doesn't need to care." Nia suddenly realized, but she couldn't even begin to speculate on why he might be thinking like that. Still, she mentally added it to her list of things that were off in the Praetorium. Maybe it was nothing, but it never hurt to be careful, right? As Mythra had said, "if anything seems like it might be wrong... it probably is."

"After all, the opportunity to meet a fellow Aegis driver is a rare thing indeed." Amalthus elaborated on his prior statement. "It goes without saying that an Aegis, a Blade created by the Architect himself, is a force of great change for Alrest. With you having chosen a new driver, I wish to know what sort of changes I ought to expect from such a person." he explained, his gaze shifting to stare directly at Nia as he spoke. The Gormotti shifted uncomfortably under his gaze – despite his far calmer attitude, his stare felt oddly like Malos's typical glaring.

"Hold on there." Vandham suddenly spoke up from behind Nia, and she breathed a tiny sigh of relief at the fact that Amalthus moved his gaze off of her. "How'd ya find out when the Aegis got a new driver? We've been tryin' to suss out where those rumors have been coming from." the Urayan wondered, rubbing his chin with one hand thoughtfully.

"Ah, I'm afraid I don't have any sort of special insight into the situation. My agents simply reported that there were rumors of the Aegis's return, and looking into the matter revealed confirmed sightings in Gormott. I'm given to understand that she caused a bit of a scene in Torigoth." Amalthus took the question in stride. Neither Nia nor Mythra felt like pointing out that it had technically been Brighid who had initiated that particular confrontation.

"Your agents, eh?" Vandham repeated curiously. "I thought the Praetorium didn't usually go around messin' in other nations' business?"

"Oh no, I wasn't referring to espionage or anything of the sort. You're quite correct that the Praetorium goes to great lengths to maintain its neutrality." Amalthus replied. It was subtle, but his eyes had narrowed ever-so-slightly in response to the questioning. "However, we are not isolated from the rest of the world. Matters that affect everyone would naturally affect us as well. Thus, as you might expect, we keep an ear out for such things." he explained. Vandham considered the answer for a moment, then nodded in understanding. It wasn't clear if he actually believed it was the whole truth, or just didn't want to cause an unnecessary scene.

"Getting back to the actual topic..." Mythra began impatiently. "What you're saying is that you called us here to figure out our motives, right?"

"Indeed." Amalthus confirmed idly. He eyed Nia shrewdly as he spoke next. "Someone in your position must desire something. Something which requires my help, I suspect, as I doubt you would agree to come all this way otherwise. Am I correct?"

"Damn, he catches on quick... guess you don't end up runnin' a place like this if you don't..." Nia thought ruefully. She suspected that the Praetor probably already had a reasonable guess for what they were after, but still, they needed to play along. "You're right. See, we ran into someone in Uraya who pointed us towards you. I guess you'd know him as Minoth, yeah?"

"Minoth? Truly?" Amalthus wondered, his composed tone taking on slightly more interest than before. "It's been a long time since I heard from him. We went our separate ways over five centuries ago – but that is a tale for another time."

"Yeah, it was really him. Pretty sure I'd know." Mythra answered before Nia could reply. "If you don't believe us, we've got proof. Nia?" she looked at the Gormotti expectantly.

"Right, yeah. He told us to give you this knife back." Nia reached down to her belt and removed the dagger that Cole had given her back in Fonsa Myma. "I'm assumin' it used to be his Blade weapon." It was a pretty obvious conclusion, of course, since it matched with Cole's core crystal, but it wouldn't hurt to mention anyway.

"Bring it here, if you would." Amalthus instructed, stretching out his hand expectantly. Nia walked slowly to the dais – knowing that rapidly approaching a major figure with a weapon in hand was a terrible idea unless you wanted a fight. She stepped up high enough to offer the dagger to Amalthus, but carefully avoided imposing on the Praetor's space. That sort of decorum could be important. Once he took it, she swiftly retreated to Mythra's side.

Amalthus inspected the dagger, though his expression indicated that he already knew exactly what he would see. "So it is indeed his. Even back then, it wasn't often I held this. Unlike most, I am unfortunately not suited for being a front-line driver." he mused to himself. "Him returning this to me is an... entreaty, of sorts. A request that I aid you. Which brings us back to the core, what is it you seek from me?"

"We're tryin' to get to Elysium." Nia replied immediately. There was no point beating around the bush any longer.

"Elysium? For what reason?" Amalthus wondered, though his voice yet again betrayed a lack of surprise.

"Well, me and Pyra have business with the Architect, for one thing. He was the one who created us, after all." Mythra pointed out.

"And besides that, we think it would help a lot with making the world a better place. I mean, it's no secret that Alrest's not doing great, with titans dying off and all." Rex spoke up. Perhaps it wasn't a surprise that he'd want to chime in on this particular subject. "A lotta problems come from fighting over resources or territory, right? It'd do a lot of good to find a place where there was more than enough for everyone."

"To put it shortly, we want a world where people can live with peace and security. Call it childish or whatever if you want, it's still worth hopin' for." Nia agreed, her voice going a bit quieter towards the end.

"I see." Amalthus said enigmatically. And there it was again, that slight narrowing of his eyes. Was it a hint of disapproval? Annoyance? Or was Nia just reading way too much into things? The Praetor certainly wasn't giving anything away. "If that reason led you here, you no doubt know that I once climbed the World Tree, a very long time ago." Amalthus closed his eyes and lifted his head solemnly to the heavens for a moment, as if reminiscing, though he swiftly refocused on the matter at hand. "But at the top, I did not find any paradise... nor did the Architect reveal himself to me." he said, his tone sounding a bit heavier for just a moment.

"That doesn't prove they don't exist. I'd expect you of all people to know that." Mythra pointed out flatly, shaking her head.

"I am aware. I certainly wouldn't have reached my current position if I doubted the Architect." the Praetor conceded easily. "No, I have had a great deal of time to consider why I was unable to find him... The only conclusion is that I was lacking, somehow. That I hadn't done as the Architect wished, so I wasn't worthy. Are you all certain you would fare any better in his eyes?"

Nia frowned, glancing away for a moment. "No, there's no way of knowin' that for sure, is there?" she admitted. The idea of the Architect just... not allowing them to succeed hadn't even occurred to her before now. But now it seemed like a real possibility. Assuming Amalthus's theory was correct, at least.

"Maybe not. But we still gotta give it a try, you know?" Rex said, putting a hand on Nia's shoulder encouragingly. Nia looked at him, and the salvager gave her a confident nod. "Maybe the Architect likes us, maybe he doesn't, we'll never know if we don't make the climb." he pointed out earnestly.

"Yeah, you're right. Worryin' about worthiness and all that guff isn't going to help anyone." Nia agreed after a moment, nodding her head with a hint of determination.

Amalthus hummed to himself. "Nia, I believe I understand. I too was like that once. I too dreamed of a different world. I'm willing to offer you my knowledge of the World Tree, I believe it should aid you." he declared, spreading his hands out in a gesture of offering. Despite his seemingly-magnanimous decision, however, his eerily composed face remained unchanged. Not a hint of any real warmth was to be seen in his expression. Maybe he just wasn't the type of person to express such things that way? Nia wasn't entirely convinced.

"Alright, so what's the catch, then?" she asked expectantly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched the Praetor for any hint of deception. She didn't think he was outright lying, necessarily, odd behavior aside – what would he gain? But still, better to be safe than sorry.

"Oh no, I didn't intend any catch. Consider it a favor from one Aegis driver to another, nothing more." Amalthus replied smoothly. He paused for a moment, as if considering something. "However, if I may ask a small favor myself..." he looked at Mythra as he said this. "I'd like a chance to speak with the Aegis privately before we proceed."

"What? Why me?" Mythra asked suspiciously, eyeing Amalthus warily. "What do you want to say to me that you can't say in front of them?" she pressed.

"You misunderstand, it's nothing like that. I simply wish to talk. It's been five-hundred years since the Aegis War, after all. I'm certain we have some catching up to do." the Praetor claimed, though Mythra's suspicious expression was barely moved. "Besides which, there's also this alternate personality I've heard about – Pyra, was it?" He waited for Mythra to nod in confirmation. "I'd be quite interested to meet her as well. Just for curiosity's sake, you understand." Mythra and Nia glanced at each other, an unspoken conversation passing between them. After a moment, the Gormotti shrugged and nodded her head towards Amalthus. Mythra simply sighed.

"I guess we can work with-" But the Aegis's decision was abruptly interrupted.

"Praetor Amalthus!" Loud footsteps echoed through the chamber, along with heavy breathing and the rustling of armor. Amalthus's eyes narrowed while the group turned to see a warrior monk sprinting up to the dais.

"What is the meaning of this? This is a private meeting, I specifically requested that it not be disrupted." Amalthus spoke up, his voice taking on a slightly imperious air.

"Forgive me, Your Eminence, but this is urgent. There's situation at the port, we believe it's a terrorist attack!"

….

Utter silence fell for a moment. That sudden pronouncement certainly got everyone's attention, the atmosphere of the room instantly becoming deathly serious. As Nia and co's faces fell into various tense expressions of confusion and concern, Amalthus frowned grimly.

"Explain." was all the Praetor said.

The monk seemed uncertain about discussing it in front of Amalthus's guests, but complied. "It started perhaps ten minutes ago. A group of unknown figures appeared at the docks and began wreaking havoc without a word. They obviously aren't human, we assume Blades, but we haven't seen a driver. The squad of warrior monks assigned to keep order attempted to apprehend them, but they're outmatched – several have already been injured. That's the basic situation, Praetor." the warrior monk reported, keeping up an air of professionalism despite the apparent emergency.

"I see, have any civilians been harmed?" Amalthus replied.

"None as of when I left, they were mostly destroying random cargo and attacking those that tried to stop them." the monk replied, and Amalthus nodded contemplatively. "But regardless, Your Eminence, if this is indeed an act of terrorism, you need to retreat to somewhere safer in case you're targeted."

"Hold on, if the attackers are Blades, I should be able to subdue them before they can cause any more harm." Fan la Norne spoke up, her brows furrowed in worry at the idea of people getting caught in the attack.

"Indeed, see to it at once." Amalthus agreed immediately, nodding to her. "Meanwhile, monk, if you insist we follow protocol, then very well, escort me to my chambers. The rest of you, return to your rooms until further notice." he ordered.

"Hold on! We can help!" Rex protested.

"Yeah, we ain't the type to just hide when there's trouble." Vandham agreed. The rest of the group were all nodding in agreement, varying looks of determination on their faces.

"I couldn't ask you to-" Fan started to protest, but Mythra shook her head.

"I'm an Aegis, anything that would be dangerous to me would be a complete disaster for you guys. No offense, Fan." she pointed out bluntly. Fan frowned, obviously still worried, but didn't seem to have a reasonable counter-argument.

"I'll allow it. Now don't waste any more time, we shall continue our discussion later." Amalthus decided. Without any further hesitation, the group hurried out of the audience chamber with Fan la Norne at the lead, hoping to make their way to the Praetorium's harbor as quickly as possible.

---

The port was in disarray, that much was undeniable. Crates of cargo, normally kept neatly stacked, had been recklessly thrown about and were now strewn across the docks haphazardly. Plumes of black smoke rose into the air from where several crates had been set aflame. Scorch marks dotted the wharves in a few places as if explosives had been set off – and they likely had. Many of the ships that had been docked had hastily departed and now floated some distance away from the Indoline titan. No doubt their crews chose to retreat to avoid the danger. A large group of warrior monks were scurrying around the area, some trying to keep crowds of frightened civilians at safe distances, others trying to get their wounded comrades to safety. Fan la Norne had to quickly step aside as two monks half-carried half-dragged a third away from the scene, dark red stains pooling across his robes.

And there in the midst of it all were the perpetrators, five figures ambling about causing chaos, seemingly with no rhyme or reason. The warrior monk who had delivered the message certainly hadn't been kidding when he said they obviously weren't human, especially for four of them. Those four were all identical, highly unusual if they really were Blades. They were tall, skeletal figures covered in some sort of gold metallic plating. Jagged orange metal plates formed what looked like wings on their backs, which seemed to allow them to levitate off the ground. Their arms were unnaturally long, stretching down from prominent armored shoulders. Disturbingly, their hands ended in vicious talons, each needle-like claw easily a foot long. These... things were unnerving, to say the least. The fifth figure, meanwhile, appeared more humanoid, but they were shrouded in a heavy black cloak, leaving only their gray metallic hands and feet visible.

As Fan and the others tried to figure out exactly what they were seeing, one of the skeletal figures suddenly turned its attention towards a fleeing warrior monk, for no apparent reason since the man obviously wasn't a threat. The metallic monster lunged towards him in a flash – or perhaps more like flew – and grabbed the monk, effortlessly tossing him away where he crashed into a shipping crate. That scene was apparently enough to break through the shock and spur Fan into action. The Indoline Blade stepped forwards, raising her staff over her head.

"I'll stop them in their tracks. Focus on getting people to safety." she instructed the rest of the group quietly. "Now, that's quite enough!" she declared, her voice noticeably colder and more authoritative as it carried across the docks. A blinding blue light shone from the head of Fan's staff, a ripple passing through the air, and Nia could practically feel the way the action distorted the ether around them. Even though it wasn't directed at her, the Gormotti could tell that whatever this ability was, it was something incredibly rare and powerful.

And then... nothing happened. It wasn't powerful enough, apparently. Fan's eyes widened in surprise, and the assailants slowly turned to look at her in unison. "If they were Blades, my power should have paralyzed them... so what are they?" she murmured, seemingly more to herself than anyone else. Now that they were facing the group, red eyes could be seen shining out of the monstrous figures' skull-like white faceplates. And there embedded in their chests were what resembled core crystals – except for the fact that rather than blue, these crystals glowed a fiery orange.

"Mehmehmeh...!" Tora stuttered, taking a small step back in shock. "T-those are..."

"Masterpon, those are artificial Blades!" Poppi confirmed what he was no doubt thinking, her eyes narrowed as she analyzed the opponents carefully. "Ether signature very similar to Poppi's, no doubt from internal ether furnace."

"But with such uniform designs... they not quite like Poppi." Tora mumbled to himself, clearly trying to puzzle out what was going on. "Maybe more like drones...?"

Mythra let out what sounded like a frustrated growl. "Artificial? Damn. That explains why your power wouldn't work, Fan." she sighed, remembering how Poppi was seemingly resistant to ether-manipulating effects. "Looks like we're fighting after all, get your asses ready!" As she said that, the group drew their weapons and stood tense and ready, while Fan still looked rather confused. The artificial Blades were still simply staring at them, but nobody expected the standoff to last much longer.

"Mythra, reckon you can take 'em out with those light beams like you did at Fonsa Myma?" Nia murmured to her Blade, though she didn't dare take her eyes off the enemies. Mythra shook her head.

"Only as a last resort. This is a public place, we want to avoid collateral damage. One badly-placed shot could collapse an entire wharf." she explained seriously. Nia simply nodded, knowing better than to argue – she trusted that Mythra knew what she was talking about – and instead raised her sword warily.

The cloaked figure pointed towards them enigmatically, and with that, the four skeletal artificial Blades broke from their eerie stillness and sprang into action. One hurtled straight towards Nia, vicious claws swiping right for her face – or at least, that's what she saw the prediction of it do as Mythra shared a glimpse of Foresight. As the green-tinted vision faded, Nia swung her sword to the side, just in time for its edge to catch the incoming set of talons and deflect them away. With its attack knocked aside, the artificial Blade's whole body staggered sideways as well. After all, a levitating opponent couldn't ground themselves, and thus would be relatively easy to push around. It had clearly been designed to account for that flaw, however, righting itself near-immediately. Nia took advantage of the moment, though, and lashed out. Her ether greatsword cleaved a deep gash across the artificial Blade from its left shoulder down to its thin stomach. The damage didn't seem to impair it much, however – its critical components must have survived. It swung its other arm arm in to strike at Nia's side, but it was deflected as well. The artificial Blade was fast, but with Mythra's ether flowing through her, Nia's reflexes were faster. The Gormotti had to be careful not to get too carried away, though. She could certainly overpower it, but who knew what tricks these things might have up their sleeves?

While that was going on, Vandham had barreled forwards to engage one of the other artificial Blades, in order to prevent them from ganging up. Twin scythes crashed into the thing's arms again and again, not giving it a chance to strike back. However, identifying a pattern in Vandham's swings, a clawed hand suddenly lashed upwards and grabbed the mercenary's left wrist when he went for a heavy downward swing.

"Why you...!" Vandham grunted, trying to pull his arm free, but it was trapped in a vice grip. It was less like trying to escape from a human's grasp, and more like being pinned by a piece of industrial machinery. Suddenly the artificial Blade's hand twisted unnaturally in its socket, twisting Vandham's wrist as well – with far more force than human wrists were meant to move with. The Urayan involuntarily let out a pained breath and the scythe dropped from his hand and clattered to the ground. With Vandham effectively distracted by the injury, his opponent pulled its other pair of claws straight back, prepared to plunge them directly into his chest... Or at least, that's what it was planning before a birdlike foot crashed into its side. Seeing Vandham in trouble, Roc had flown in as fast as he could, using his momentum to deliver a massive kick to the artificial Blade. The robotic hand released its grip on Vandham as its owner tumbled to the side. Its levitating form scraped the ground and sent it into a roll, skidding to a halt several feet away. Like the one Nia was battling, it quickly righted itself, but it seemed momentarily disoriented.

"That was reckless, even for you, Vandham. Take this seriously." Roc scolded quietly. The fact that he felt the need to speak up at all, much less with such a chastising tone, indicated how serious it was. Vandham sighed and rubbed his injured wrist, which throbbed sharply with pain. That'd need some healing as soon as possible.

"Yeah, I know... thought we'd be dealin' with some low-level grunts, but these guys ain't messin' around." Vandham conceded.

"You still ready to go, even down a hand?" Roc wondered, picking up the fallen scythe. Vandham hefted the other as the artificial Blade seemed to regain its bearings. The mercenary chuckled.

"Like ya have to ask." he replied immediately, he and his Blade standing side-by-side and ready for round two. "Heh, looks like we're takin' a page from the kid's book."

"The kid" in this case referred to Rex, who was similarly standing ready along with Corvin, facing down artificial Blade #3. Unlike the others, this one didn't immediately go in for claw attacks – perhaps it realized it was at a disadvantage with both driver and Blade ready to engage in melee. Instead, it held up one hand, a port sliding open on its hand. A crackling sound accompanied the smell of ozone, and a surge of electric ether burst from the hand, coalesced into a powerful beam. The attack surged towards Rex and Corvin, certainly nothing to be scoffed at, but the time it took to line it up gave Corvin plenty of room to react. Immediately he put himself in front of his driver protectively. He held his sword Durandal in front of himself in a resolute stance, an ether barrier projecting in front of him right as the beam was fired. The surge of energy crashed into the barrier with a high-pitched whine. Stray bolts of lightning cracked outwards, leaving small scorch marks on the ground. Corvin's grip on his sword shook slightly and a few hairline fractures appeared across the shield... and then it was done. Apparently the artificial Blade couldn't sustain fire for long – or just opted not to.

"Rex!" Corvin called, somewhat unnecessarily since Rex was already on the move. The second the ether beam stopped, the salvager darted out from behind Corvin and lunged for the artificial Blade. The thing had almost no chance to react before Rex's black sword plunged into its torso, several inches below the orange crystal. The artificial Blade reeled backwards, and Rex pulled the sword out, a few sparks flying from the newly-made hole.

And then, of course, there was the fourth of the artificial Blades. This one had taken a similar tact to the first, launching itself forward right out of the gate. Rather than aiming for Nia like its comrade, however, it had instead barreled right for Fan la Norne. It was possible it had realized that she was taken aback by her abilities not working, and thus less prepared than the others. Or perhaps it had simply picked at random, it was impossible to say. Fan was too surprised to react right away, instinctively taking a small step back as the artificial Blade flew at her, claws outstretched in front of it. As she clutched her staff, hoping to be able to summon a barrier in time, a blur of brown and gray abruptly appeared in front of her. The very next moment, the mechanical monster's arms crashed right into Tora's shield – the Nopon had leapt to Fan's defense without hesitation. The skeletal Blade apparently realized it wouldn't be able to overpower him that way, and quickly stopped trying to push past. Instead its claws gripped around the edges of the shield, trying to wrest it from Tora's grasp. Tora stumbled a couple steps forward, visibly struggling to keep his hold. He may have been an abnormally tough Nopon, but his opponent was a machine that would never get tired.

Poppi ran in, hoping to grab the shield as well and use her own very formidable strength to keep it out of the other artificial Blade's grasp. Before she even got the chance, however, the problem was resolved: Fan la Norne's staff swung in a wide horizontal arc right over Tora's head. The staff walloped the skeletal Blade right in the face with an audible "clang!", forcing the thing to release its grip. It held one claw up to its faceplate, which had a very noticeable dent on the right side, and the red light in the matching eye had gone out. Tora glanced back at Fan in surprise, seeing that a look of determination had overtaken her face. Her unique powers may not be effective, but that didn't make her useless.

The fights continued like that, each artificial Blade engaged by different parts of the group. The enigmatic cloaked figure, presumably the "leader" of the assailants, simply hung back observing the scene silently. It was as if they were waiting for the battle to end before acting. They'd get their wish soon enough, as while the skeletal monsters weren't to be trifled with, it became clear they couldn't quite match up to their opponents (Vandham's mishap aside).

Nia had scored several more blows on her opponent, including managing to cleave straight through the claws on its right hand, reducing them to far-less-dangerous stubs. Spurred into trying a different approach, the artificial Blade disengaged from the melee and launched itself several feet backwards. It held up both arms, the ports on its palms sliding open – no doubt planning to employ the same ether beam function that Rex's foe had done. Nia watched this happen in Foresight and shared a momentary glance with Mythra, who gave a tiny nod. Even with all her power, too much Foresight use would eventually wear the Aegis down, so they needed to go ahead and end it before that point. The vision ceased and Mythra immediately leaped high into the air. At the same moment, Nia flung the sword upwards out of her hands and hit the deck. She just dropped flat to the ground with an "oof", just in time as the lightning beams flew over her.

Meanwhile, Mythra caught the sword and brandished it in front of her with one swift motion. "Ray of Punishment!" she yelled, ether surging through the sword and bursting outwards in a shining golden ball. The burst of energy shot down like a bullet, crashing right into the artificial Blade's chest before it had a chance to react. It detonated in a relatively small dome-shaped explosion, blasting a huge hole through the skeletal figure's torso. With most its internal components obliterated, including its ether furnace, the thing simply collapsed while Nia stood back up. The Gormotti took a moment to rub her knees, which were rather sore from abruptly hitting the concrete.

The other fighters were faring similarly well. With Vandham no longer messing around as much, he was a force to be reckoned with. Even fighting with only one scythe, he was capable of deflecting strike after strike and carving gashes in his opponent in return. And any attack he wasn't able to stop – if he was occupied blocking a swipe from the other claw, for example – Roc was more than happy to defend him from. The artificial Blade swung its arms around wildly, perhaps trying to strike Vandham before Roc could counter it. The mercenary allowed himself a grin when Roc's talons lashed out and caught the mechanical right arm by its wrist. The artificial Blade paused for a moment, obviously not having accounted for that variable. Vandham knew he didn't have long before it pulled free of Roc's grip. But he didn't need long, raising his scythe and slamming it down onto the metal arm with all his might. Sparks flew as the edge of the scythe cut in, and with a mighty push, sliced all the way through, severing the arm at the elbow. The artificial Blade raised its other arm to swipe at the Urayan, who was left completely exposed... and then it fell backwards out of the air, twitching a few times when it hit the ground before going still. Its head had fallen next to it. Roc had dropped the arm as soon as it was cut, and before the artificial Blade could strike, his own scythe was already swinging.

Rex and Corvin found themselves trading places constantly – one would stand back while the other focused on blocking attacks. Then, when there was an opening, the one in back would dash forwards to strike, and the other would move back. Then the cycle would repeat. It wasn't an incredibly complex strategy, but it was no doubt effective, especially with the help of their affinity bond to instinctively coordinate their movements. Like Vandham and Roc's experience, the artificial Blade clearly wasn't capable of tracking two enemies as easily as one. And that was clearly shown from the numerous holes that had been punched through it, and the segments of melted plating from repeated light-infused strikes. Seeing that it was starting to slow from all the damage, Rex swung one of his heavy salvaging boots up in a strong kick to the torso, knocking the floating figure backwards. Corvin dashed forwards, smoothly claiming his black sword from Rex as he passed. A slash with one sword into the air blasted the artificial Blade with a crescent-shaped wave of light, sending it reeling. Then a slash from the other did the same.

As Corvin came to a stop, the black feathers of his scarf shimmered a golden color for a moment, and he slashed both swords vertically downwards, twin blasts of light lancing out and carving deep gouges down the artificial Blade's body. Apparently that was finally too much, and its systems failed. Corvin looked back to Rex with a cocky grin, giving him a thumbs up. After a moment, the salvager nodded and returned the gesture.

Meanwhile, Tora, Poppi, and Fan were largely playing defensive. Tora remembered Vandham's advice about playing to his strengths and took it slowly. Mostly he just focused on blocking attacks. When necessary, Poppi would help brace him for anything too strong for him to hold off alone – and intercept any attempts to sneak blows past the shield. Fan la Norne clearly wasn't specialized for melee combat, her staff swings rather slow and basic compared to many other Blades. But still, the staff was heavy and had a long reach – perfect for swinging past the Nopon to hit their foe – so whenever it hit, it still visibly damaged the skeletal Blade. The artificial Blade darted rapidly to the side, lining up a clear path and launching headlong at Fan as fast as it could, seemingly desperate to get past the wall of defense. Unfortunately, Tora wasn't going to make it that easy, tossing the shield to Poppi, who dashed into the opponent's path. The artificial Blade slammed right into the shield, visibly reeling from the impact. A moment later, the levitating Blade was thrown backwards by a burst of gale-force wind that tore through the air with a howl. Fan la Norne had her staff outstretched as if pointing with a scepter, the head of it glowing pale green.

"Now, Poppi!" Tora shouted, and Poppi ignited the rocket thrusters in her legs, flying up into the air. The drill head emerged from the shield and revved up as Poppi held it tight in both hands. "Show nasty bullies what good artificial Blade can do!" the Nopon cheered.

"Poppi Drill!" Poppi announced, angling herself downwards and launching herself at the skeletal Blade like a missile, her descent far too fast to reasonably avoid. Her shield crashed into it like a meteor, smashing it flat into the ground. The drill head, spinning at full power, not only punched a huge hole through it, but tore the metal chassis to shreds, and by the time the dust cleared, the opponent was in multiple pieces.

---

Via some serendipitous turn of fate (which Nia mentally added to her "unlikely coincidences" list), all four skirmishes concluded within moments of each other. The sudden lack of ongoing battle sounds seemed to clue them all in that their friends had each handled things. While they'd been distracted by their various fights, the remaining warrior monks had all managed to clear out. The docks were now oddly silent, save for the smoldering sounds of the fires that had yet to be put out. That and the distant murmurs of worried civilians who were being kept away from the scene.

"Is everyone alright? I hope those creatures didn't manage to hurt any of you." Fan spoke in concern as they regrouped.

"My arm needs some patchin' up, got a bit careless and let the blighter grab me." Vandham replied, gesturing to the offending appendage. His wrist was visibly bruised and swollen from the experience. "Looks like everyone else's mostly fine though, eh?" he noted, and he was met with affirming nods from Rex and Nia. Their Blades, naturally, wouldn't have had to worry about injuries unless their cores were damaged – not that they'd gotten hit regardless.

"All right, this should be a simple fix. Hold it out for me?" Fan replied, and Vandham held up the injured arm readily. Fan tapped the base of her staff of the ground, the head of it glowing green again. There was a tiny swirl of wind around the Urayan's outstretched arm, and the damage began to recede immediately in the face of the healing art.

"Thank ya kindly." Vandham grunted, lowering his arm, and Fan nodded with a small smile, just glad to have helped.

"I hate to interrupt, but we're not done here." Mythra's voice cut in sharply, the Aegis glaring away from them. Of course, the unidentified fifth terrorist was still there. It had seemed safe to ignore them momentarily since they hadn't moved from their spot, not with the battle raging or even after the artificial Blades were defeated. But now, they were slowly walking towards the group. There wasn't anything inherently hostile about the way they carried themselves, nor did they have any visible weapons (though in an all-encompassing cloak, that'd be easy to hide). In short, the figure didn't immediately give the impression of somebody spoiling for a fight. But given that they were seemingly responsible for the attack to begin with, nobody was feeling inclined to trust them. Immediately, weapons were raised, pointing at the figure.

"So Blade Bot models defeated, as expected. They no longer necessary." the figure suddenly spoke. The voice was feminine, with an odd stilted inflection. Between that and the obvious Noponic dialect, it oddly evoked the impression of an older, slightly deeper-voiced version of Poppi. The similarity clearly wasn't lost, either, as Tora looked visibly confused by the sound, while Poppi's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Nia asked irritably, pointing the Aegis sword directly at the terrorist.

"Blade Bots serve their purpose, getting attention of the Aegis and allies. They not really intended to win." the figure explained with a dispassionate, near-monotone air.

"Gettin' attention?" Vandham repeated, his tone dark. "Hold up. You caused all this mess-" he gestured around widely at the docks "-and hurt a buncha folk who hadn't done anything to you... just to get us to come find you?" he growled, hands clenched tightly around his twin scythes. His anger abated slightly when Roc placed a hand one of Vandham's shoulders and shook his head. Vandham knew what the feathery Blade was thinking, and he was right right. As much as they disliked innocent people getting dragged into fights, it was best to keep their heads.

"Correct. Those were orders of masterpon..." the terrorist replied, and for some reason her voice seemed to grow quieter for just a moment near the end. However, it wasn't really the right time to try and contemplate what that might mean – if anything.

"Masterpon? Then... mystery girl is artificial Blade as well?" Tora wondered to himself, sounding just as completely puzzled as he looked.

"Poppi included that in initial artificial Blade analysis." Poppi confirmed quietly with a nod of her head. Honestly, it probably wouldn't be a difficult conclusion to reach even without Blade-sensing abilities. The mysterious cloaked girl had visibly metallic hands and legs, after all. Not to mention her voice. But Tora couldn't be blamed for his confusion – none of them could have expected other functional artificial Blades to appear.

"So why waste so much time drawing us here?" Mythra demanded. "If you were trying to take me, then... no, that doesn't make sense. You said yourself you didn't plan to win, so why?"

"Lila's orders are simply to deliver important message." the figure responded flatly.

"Message? What kind of-" But Mythra's follow-up question was abruptly cut off by a shout.

"Lila!?" Tora exclaimed, his eyes widened in utter shock. Several of the others looked at him in surprise, not understanding where the sudden strong reaction came from. Tora had never mentioned that name, so why did he seem to know it? "That joke not funny... Take off hood and show nasty bully's real face!" the Nopon insisted, though it sounded more like denial than actual anger.

"Very well." the girl complied with surprisingly little fuss, and Tora let out a distressed gasp as she tossed the cloak aside, revealing her in full at last. She was unmistakably an artificial Blade, but not one like the so-called "Blade Bots". No, she was clearly built in the same vein as Poppi. She was taller and slimmer than Tora's Blade, designed to be more visibly feminine. But her face was extremely similar, albeit less childlike, with the same orange eyes. Her metallic "hair" was dark brown, in a professional-looking bob style. Her outfit was rather odd, a mid-length black dress with lacy white trim and a matching cap that looked bizarrely like a maid uniform for... no immediately apparent reason. Nobody dared to want to ask why.

"It really Lila...! But that – that not possible!" Tora stuttered, looking to all the world like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Oi, Tora, what's going on? You know who she is?" Nia wondered, looking at the Nopon in concern.

"That Lila, original artificial Blade prototype built by grampypon and dadapon." Tora replied uncomfortably. "But Lila not supposed to be here. Lila... disappear along with dadapon, on same day grampypon die..." he explained quietly.

"That bring Lila to message." Lila interrupted, perhaps getting impatient waiting for them to sort things out. "Lila's masterpon holding Professor Tatazo hostage." she spoke, blunt and right to the point. One might think that Tora couldn't look any more shocked, but they'd be wrong.

"Dadapon, a hostage...?" the Nopon whispered, distraught, and he was visibly trembling, so much that he looked like he was going to faint. Everyone was dead silent for a moment, not knowing quite how to react to a bombshell like that being dropped so suddenly. This was not remotely how anyone had been expecting this day to go, even Nia's most pessimistic predictions didn't account for it.

"If Nopon named Tora wish to see Tatazo alive, convince friends to follow demands of masterpon." Lila continued, sounding distinctly like she was reciting off a script. Which, given that she was delivering a message, she probably was.

"Hostages, demands... Your master's got some nerve!" Surprisingly, the indignant comment came from Corvin of all people. Nia glanced at him, and it was downright bizarre seeing him mad, a glare like that not seeming to belong on his boyish face at all. Still, she couldn't blame him, it was totally fair to be pissed about something like that. And from the looks on everyone's faces, nobody else seemed to disagree either. Vandham and Poppi were both looking borderline murderous.

"What are demands, then? What Tora and friends need to do?" Tora asked worriedly.

"Travel to Empire of Mor Ardain. Check in to Jakolo's Inn in Ardainian capital in three days' time. Further instructions given then." Lila replied. That was apparently the whole message, because without waiting for any sort of response, her legs suddenly ignited rocket thrusters like Poppi's. She immediately launched into the air, turning face and soaring away towards the end of the docks at the titan's edge.

"Mythra, can't you use your powers, stop her from getting away?" Nia spoke up quickly, pointing at Lila's escaping form.

"Yeah, I could." the Aegis admitted. "But if there's really a hostage, that'd be a terrible idea. Whoever sent her wouldn't like us shooting the messenger." she explained, glaring after the retreating figure. Instead, they simply watched as Lila swooped down past the edge of the titan and vanished from sight.

"She's right. Protecting the innocent has to be the most important part." Corvin agreed with a grim nod.

"I agree with ya, but just to be sure... how do we know they ain't bluffin'?" Vandham asked shrewdly, crossing his arms in thought. "Just because they've got the dad's Blade, that don't necessarily prove they've got the Nopon himself."

"Artificial Blades have ether furnaces." Tora mumbled quietly. Everyone looked at him in confusion, save for Poppi.

"What's that, furrypon?"

"Grampypon and dadapon only make one prototype furnace, and Tora eventually use it to make Poppi." Tora spoke up a bit louder, a frown etching his face. "And furnace design top, top secret – even Tora not completely understand it. Dadapon only one who could make artificial Blades work, because dadapon only one able to make new furnace." he explained. Vandham nodded with a resigned sigh – the mercenary knew it was a longshot, he just had to be sure.

"So you're saying those things we fought were made by your dad? That's pretty crazy." Rex mused, looking around at the wreckage of the Blade Bots. With the fighting over and the last criminal having escaped, multiple warrior monks had come onto the scene. They scurried about, extinguishing any fires that were still burning and looking for any bombs or other such nasty surprises that could be left behind. None of them seemed to know quite what to do about the artificial Blades, though, and largely avoided dealing with that for now.

"And they want us to run all the way out to Mor Ardain? That's goin' way out of our way from here." Nia groused. Three days was a fairly generous time limit, but it'd still be quite a bit of crossing the cloud sea no matter what.

"Tora know it horribly inconvenient, but... if dadapon in danger, then please, friends?" the Nopon all-but-begged. Nia looked at him with wide eyes, taken aback by the sheer desperation in the plea.

"Come on, Tora, of course we'll bloody help. You didn't think we'd really say no, did you?" the Gormotti replied immediately, giving him a smile just to try and show some confidence. Yeah, the situation was far from ideal, but there's no way she'd just hang Tora out to dry like that. To her surprise, Tora immediately launched himself forwards, hugging her tightly. "All right, all right, thank me once we've got your da safe, yeah?" Nia muttered, gently pushing him off her after a moment. The Gormotti glanced around, and her eyes narrowed. For just a second, she could've sworn that Mythra was actually smiling slightly at her, but the second she focused on the Aegis, it was gone.

"I'm sorry that all this had to happen, master Tora." Fan spoke up suddenly, bowing her head a bit. She'd been conspicuously silent for much of the encounter with Lila. But then, she'd only known them all for a few days, so perhaps she felt it wasn't her place to interrupt when it became clear that it was personal business. "I suppose I had best start making arrangements. After all, to get to Mor Ardain, we will need transportation."

Notes:

Whew, this was a long one. The longest chapter so far, in fact. I hope that makes up a little for the wait. And, well, we've got a lot going on this time – my goal for this chapter can be summed up as "PLOT, PLOT, PLOT!" I believe I mentioned before that the bits with Amalthus were giving me a lot of trouble. I know his dialogue isn't anything super intricate or groundbreaking, but I struggled a lot trying to get exactly the right tone to convey the polite-but-vaguely-ominous impression he makes in the game. I really hope it came across here. Then there's the whole deal with the artificial Blades, setting up this story's version of the Mor Ardain arc... I know the fight scene might be a bit of a mess, I admit I rushed it a bit trying to get the chapter done. Hopefully it's still coherent.

Chapter 16: CH16: Artificial in Ardain Part 1

Nia was starting to get a bit sick of traveling, she mused as she glanced lazily around the ship's cabin. It was nice enough, she supposed, fancy like everything Indoline seemed to be. "Meaning gaudy." she could just imagine Mythra commenting if she were to ever bring it up. The Gormotti snorted at the mental image of Mythra standing there, nose wrinkled in disapproval. Still, fancy or not, a cabin was a cabin, not a particularly interesting place to be stuck for hours on end. She really couldn't blame her Blade for stepping out to get some fresh air. Honestly, she considered doing the same, but what exactly would she do? She wasn't particularly hungry, so no point dropping by the transport ship's small mess hall. Oh, sure, she could find someone to talk to, but she didn't really have the patience for aimless small talk right now. Especially since, by this point, everyone else had to be just as worn out as she was (except Poppi, probably).

Which just brought her thoughts right back to being sick of traveling. It was a bit of an odd thing to think, since she had a fair bit of experience with moving from place to place by now. Yet, despite that, the feeling was undeniable. The whole hostage situation certainly didn't help make things less hectic. (Nia was pointedly ignoring how "hectic" seemed to be the new normal ever since she'd grabbed that bloody sword.) Just as she'd expected, trekking all the way out to Mor Ardain was not a particularly pleasant thing, even with three days to do it. Quite frankly, if they didn't have Fan la Norne managing their journey, Nia wasn't sure if they'd be able to pull it off. Fan was remarkably efficient when it came to organizing and travel planning. Which was a sensible skill for an envoy to have, in hindsight.

Of course, the fact that Fan was coming along with them was quite remarkable by itself.

---

The first step on the journey to the Empire had been to retrace their steps, returning to Leftheria to cut back across the archipelago. After all, the issue of the cloud ridge was still present, with no ship short of a dreadnought being able to circumvent it in a reasonable amount of time. And they didn't exactly have any dreadnoughts on hand. So, back across Leftheria it was. Fortunately, the very same ship they'd taken from Uraya should still have been in port at Rigitte Harbor, ready for Fan to appropriate it for their needs. They just had to get back to said harbor first – that would be what the first day was dedicated to. Then the second would just be one long slog across the cloud sea, setting them up to arrive at Mor Ardain that evening, so that they'd already be there before the third day rolled around. Then they'd be ready for whenever the kidnapper(s) attempted to contact them.

While their initial journey across Leftheria had been fairly relaxed, this time around it was quite different. Not because they encountered any trouble, in fact it was so uneventful that it almost became dull, but because of the air of tension that surrounded them. Everybody was just a bit on-edge, even the easygoing Corvin looking more serious than usual. Having some enemy plotting against them and dangling the life of Tora's father on the line would do that, really. To that end, they were left with an awkward silence hanging over them like a shroud – nobody seemed to know quite what to say. At least until Poppi, perhaps noticing the atmosphere, decided to strike up a conversation.

"Oh, Fan la Norne, Poppi wanted to say, Poppi impressed you got permission to come with friends." the artificial Blade spoke up as they stopped on a small sandy island to rest for a few minutes. Fan turned to her in surprise.

"Permission?" she repeated curiously, her brow furrowed slightly.

Vandham raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms from where he stood nearby. "Ya can already tell this is gonna be good." he murmured to Roc, who nodded sharply in agreement, watching Poppi and Fan intently.

"Yes, permission from Praetor to come along?" Poppi replied slowly, sounding genuinely confused that Fan hadn't realized what she meant.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Fan agreed a bit too quickly, nodding her head eagerly in what she clearly hoped was a gesture of sincerity. "It was no trouble at all." she added. At this point, everyone had more-or-less stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the discussion. Nia shared a skeptical look with Pyra, who frowned slightly in concern before taking a small step towards Fan.

"Fan, you... did get Amalthus's approval, didn't you?" Pyra asked softly, hoping that the gentle approach would make it clear she meant no offense. Fan tried to smile reassuringly, but a couple of her fingers were twitching nervously where she gripped her staff, and she wasn't quite meeting either Pyra's or Poppi's gazes.

"Fan la Norne have a very poor poker face." Poppi pointed out with her characteristic bluntness. Pyra looked rather apologetic, but couldn't help but nod her head in agreement with the comment.

Fan's cheeks colored faintly pink with embarrassment, something which Nia privately thought made her look rather endearing, not that she'd ever say that out loud. "Alright, the truth is, I... neglected to consult Praetor Amalthus before deciding to accompany you." Fan admitted awkwardly. Nia's eyebrows raised high, and looking around would reveal she wasn't the only one.

"You really did that?" the Gormotti wondered. Then a smirk crossed her face. "Look at you, bein' all rebellious! Didn't think you were the type." she added teasingly, leaving Fan looking even more embarrassed.

"I-it's not that, I simply wished to assist you, and we didn't have time to wait for an official sanction..." Fan tried to explain herself uncomfortably, clearly left quite wrong-footed after being caught out like that.

"That's what I was worried about..." Pyra spoke quietly, seemingly to herself (or maybe Mythra?), her eyebrows knit. "Fan, couldn't this cause some trouble for you?" she asked, speaking up louder.

Fan bit her lip and glanced away. "...Perhaps." she admitted. "I have the right to use Praetorium ships for my own personal travels on occasion, it's one of my privileges as the Praetor's Blade, though I've never invoked it before now. So do not worry about us breaking any laws." she paused and exhaled a low breath. "However, it's true the Praetor may not approve of my departing without informing him. I believe he will understand, he is my driver after all, but if not... I will take full responsibility."

"Fan-" Pyra said, though she didn't seem to know quite what to say.

"Oi, are you sure that's alright?" Nia spoke up, her teasing mood having vanished quite quickly when she realized it actually was potentially serious.

"Yes, I'm sure." Fan agreed immediately. Though her voice was even, there was a hint of steel in her eyes that said she wouldn't be dissuaded. "I apologize if I've made things more complicated." she added after a moment, bowing her head.

"Why Fan apologizing?" Poppi wondered, causing Fan to look up at her in surprise. "Poppi not see why friends would be mad when you only here to help." She said it with that same sort of simple, matter-of-fact tone that she often used when speaking, like it was just the most straightforward thing in the world.

"That right. Tora really appreciate helping save dadapon." Tora agreed quietly. He'd been a bit off ever since the encounter with Lila, far more subdued than usual. The situation being what it was, nobody could really blame him. Still, he tried to give Fan a sincerely grateful look. Clearly, he managed to convey what he wanted to, since Fan gave him a small smile in return.

"...Then, you're welcome, master Tora."

It was subtle, but the atmosphere around them as they continued the trek across the archipelago didn't seem quite as heavy as it had been before.

---

The more Nia thought about it, the more she felt like the whole situation was just a bit... odd. Not the whole hostage situation – well, no, being threatened by Poppi's... evil sister or whatever was really damn weird, but that wasn't what she was thinking about. No, it was the whole thing with Fan joining them, even possibly risking some sort of recrimination from the Praetor just for the sake of accompanying people she'd just met a few days ago. (Mythra's familiarity with her past incarnation notwithstanding, since Fan obviously didn't remember that.)

And it wasn't just Fan, either. Nia wasn't stupid, she could recognize a pattern when it was right in front of her. Rex threw himself into danger for her after knowing her for literally a day, and while that could be explained since Jin and Malos wanted him dead too, then he went and rejected splitting up when they got to Torigoth. Tora allied himself with her and Pyra against the Ardainian authorities before he even knew who they were. Vandham readily joined up with them when they came knocking – for free, no less, despite being a bloody mercenary. And now here was Fan doing much the same thing. Their little traveling group seemed to attract people to help out, no strings attached. It wasn't that Nia was ungrateful, she hated that it sounded that way when the thought ran through her head. She knew she probably wouldn't have made it this far otherwise (though the part of her used to surviving on her own, with only Dromarch for backup, rankled a bit at admitting that).

No, it wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, just that she didn't really understand why things were turning out that way. She certainly wasn't vain enough to think it was because of her, she knew she wasn't really the most magnetic personality. Which suited her fine – she was perfectly capable of acting like a "proper lady" if she wanted, she just... didn't want. But that still left the question of why they'd be drawn together, since it obviously couldn't be her. The obvious answer would be just because of the presence of Pyra and Mythra – half of Alrest seemed to be interested in the Aegis, to the point where it was frankly a bit frustrating. But that wasn't right either, that sort of thinking was much too cynical even for Nia. Anyone could see that their bizarre gathering had become quite close-knit just as quickly as it had formed.

And that was... a whole mess by itself, if Nia were being honest. She laid back on her small but oddly comfortable bunk, staring upwards at the ceiling. Somehow, at some point, she'd let people in close to her, and she'd stopped even trying to push them away. It was one thing with Pyra and Mythra, they had the excuse of a Blade-driver bond. But then there was Tora and Poppi, Corvin, Gramps, Vandham... Roc less so, he was still kind of an enigma. And, of course, Rex. It continued to surprise her just how much of an impression he made, when she'd originally written him off as some dumb kid. She'd even shared a bit about her family with him, and that wasn't something she talked about. It just wasn't.

All of them were... her friends. And frankly, who the hell thought that was even remotely a good idea? Was there really any chance of that lasting? Any chance of it turning out well at all? There were so many ways it could go wrong. Unconsciously, Nia's hand clenched over her chest until it almost hurt. Yes, this could blow up in her face in the most terrible, painful way possible. And yet, she knew she was in far too deep to back out – and she wasn't sure if she would even want to anyway.

….

Nia ran her hand across her face and let out an exasperated groan, not bothering to hide it since there was nobody else in the cabin anyway. When had she developed this habit of massively overthinking things when she was tired? It was incredibly annoying. All that mattered right now was dealing with this mess and getting Tora's dad safe, everything else was just guff. She just wanted to rest until they got to Mor Ardain.

---

Tora idly kicked his legs where they stuck out slightly below the railing of the ship's outer deck, gazing out at the cloud sea as he sat there. The vantage point reminded him of the small opening over the clouds in his house back on Gormott. He'd liked to sit there sometimes too, one of his favorite parts of the place. Not as good as the workshop, though – small though it was, that was where he built Poppi! That wasn't really what he was thinking about right now, though. No, his mind was largely occupied by more recent events. Honestly, Tora didn't know what to make of it. Professor Tatazo, his dadapon, was being held as a hostage in Mor Ardain. He'd been expecting a fairly boring day in Indol – he didn't have anything to say to the Praetor, really, the meeting wasn't for him other than finding out where to go next. And then he'd had that hit him out of nowhere like a flying Gogol. Surely nobody could blame him for being shocked.

But even when the shock subsided, he still felt strange. He wasn't even sure if it was bad strange or good strange. He was scared – of course he was. Tora was a brave Nopon, but this was a very scary situation. Dadapon was trapped somewhere, maybe hurt, definitely under threat of being hurt. It was like one of the worse situations Tora had imagined when Tatazo went missing, except now it was real. Yet, on the other wing, it was also kind of... exciting. Here Tora was, the driver of Poppi, and friends with a whole group of amazing drivers and Blades. And they were all sailing off on a daring mission to rescue his dadapon. If he thought about it, it sounded exactly the sort of incredible adventure he'd always dreamed of going on, if only he were a driver. So it was very, very bad that dadapon was in danger... but also good that Tora and friends had a chance to save him. Very strange.

"Masterpon?" Poppi's voice suddenly spoke behind him. Tora did not nearly jump out of his fur in surprise, thank you very much. He'd prefer to call it... quickly reacting. He'd been so caught up thinking about his dadapon, he hadn't even realized Poppi had followed him here. (In hindsight it should've been obvious, there weren't many places to go on the ship, and she didn't usually stray far anyway.)

"Yes, Poppi? There something wrong?" Tora answered quickly as he turned to her, putting his pondering aside. He and Poppi hadn't spoken much since the incident in Indol, but that didn't mean he was ignoring her. An amazing driver would never ignore their Blade, and that's what Tora wanted to be.

"No, it not wrong exactly, but..." Poppi trailed off, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully, as if she wasn't quite sure how to continue that sentence. Which was unusual by itself – Poppi didn't tend to hesitate much.

"Mehmeh, what Poppi mean?" Tora wondered, unconsciously mimicking the very same head-tilting gesture as he considered Poppi's behavior. "Poppi... want to ask Tora something, maybe?" he suggested. Honestly, he just threw it out there randomly – he didn't really know what Poppi was thinking about – but the way her eyes brightened slightly, he seemed to be onto something.

"Yes, that it! Poppi knew you would listen, masterpon." Poppi agreed with a nod, sounding slightly relieved. Tora beamed at her encouragingly, glad to hear he'd done something right, even if he still wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about. Poppi took a deep breath (not that she really needed to, on account of being an artificial Blade). "Poppi... was curious about Lila." she said slowly, wondering if she might be treading on some sort of sensitive ground.

"Lila?" Tora repeated. "Ohhh. That make sense. Tora never tell Poppi about her before." he realized, tapping one wing on the side of his head thoughtfully. Once again, Poppi confirmed the statement with a nod. Tora hummed to himself as he considered how to begin. "Well, Tora already mention that Lila was the first artificial Blade prototype." he noted, partially to himself.

"Would that mean that... Lila is Poppi's big sister?" Poppi interjected, her expression conflicted like she wasn't sure what to think of that idea. Tora's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about it like that, but... it made sense. Of course Poppi would see things that way, it was probably the best way to describe their connection.

"Tora suppose she would be, yes." he said decisively.

If anything, Poppi just looked even more troubled, and Tora began to wonder if he'd done something wrong by confirming it. "Then why?" she asked quietly. Before Tora could ask what she meant, she continued. "Why would Lila help kidnap Tatazo? Poppi... not even able to imagine turning on masterpon." she said that last part with utter sincerity. "So why would Lila? Why big sister do such thing, when Poppi wouldn't?"

"Poppi..." Tora murmured, a deep frown crossing his face at the question. "Tora not sure. Tora really not sure." he admitted. The question had definitely occurred to him, to be honest. Lila had never been properly activated before the incident that led to her disappearance, so how her exact personality would turn out was a bit of an unknown factor. But it shouldn't be so drastically different from Poppi that it would cause her to betray her masterpon, when Poppi refused to even consider it. Unless... "Lila did say someone else was masterpon." Tora realized suddenly. Poppi's eyes narrowed as she considered the implications of that.

"Then, somehow, evil mastermind influence Lila to listen?" she suggested uncertainly. Tora simply shrugged. It was as good a theory as any other, really, but they clearly didn't have enough information to go off. The two of them lapsed into silence for several moments, neither really seeming to know what else to say.

Tora glanced around aimlessly, starting to feel a bit awkward. "Meh, this topic not very pleasant." he noted. Poppi looked like she agreed. "So! How about we change subject?" There was a bit of forced cheer in the suggestion, but it was quickly glossed over. "There anything else Poppi want to know?" Grateful for the shift in the discussion, Poppi hummed and placed one finger on her chin in thought.

"If Poppi based off prototype design, then why Lila look so different?" she asked after a moment. It was obvious what she was referring to – though Lila definitely had clear similarities in terms of appearance (especially around her face), there were also distinct differences. Most notable was the overall design of their bodies. Poppi had an almost stereotypical "clunky robot" sort of design, almost all sheets of thick metal plating. Lila, by contrast, was still visibly robotic but with much more human proportions, appearing almost like a young lady who just happened to have metal limbs. The difference in aesthetics was just noticeable enough to be a bit odd, since they both theoretically stemmed from the same design.

"Ah! That actually due to process of building Poppi." Tora replied brightly, always a bit eager to discuss the technical aspects of creating Poppi. Even if it was to Poppi herself. "Tora originally intend for Poppi to have alternate configuration that look more like Lila. But Tora have a problem actually implementing design. For some reason, Tora find that ether furnace output not quite match with what grampypon used to say it could do." Poppi was nodding her head slightly as Tora spoke, showing that she was following the explanation. "That mean power consumption of Poppi too high, so much that Tora not even able to activate Poppi at all! So Tora redesign Poppi with more ether-efficient Alpha configuration instead."

"That fascinating, masterpon! Poppi never realize she originally intended to look different." Poppi commented, a wondering look on her face.

"Tora mean to mention it before, but... Tora forget, mehmeh." Tora admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Tora sorry about that. And about not building Poppi quite right."

"Oh no, masterpon! Poppi not upset, no need to apologize." Poppi denied quickly, shaking her head for emphasis. "Building Poppi Alpha already an amazing feat, masterpon should be proud. And Poppi not see how ether furnace output is masterpon's fault." she said, the earnestness in her voice garnering a small smile from Tora. "Though, Poppi is curious... if prototype design take too much ether, then how Lila able to use it?"

Tora's brow furrowed. "That good question, Poppi. Maybe Lila upgraded with stronger ether furnace?" he suggested. Poppi simply shook her head once again, however.

"That not really make sense. Poppi not detect noticeably higher output than her own from Lila." she said with a small shrug. Now that was a bit odd – assuming Lila really was using approximately the same configuration as Tora expected, then how did she have the power for it? It was an interesting engineering puzzle, Tora had to admit that.

"Hmm. It possible Lila saving power by reducing non-critical functions." the Nopon thought out loud, rubbing his chin with one wing. "Tora would likely start with limiting flight booster use. Rocket boosters super amazing, but they take lots of ether to use for long." he mused. Poppi mulled over the thought for a moment...

Then her eyes went wide as a realization struck her. "Wait a moment! Masterpon!" she exclaimed suddenly. Tora, who was just starting to get lost in his thoughts about power-saving methods, jumped slightly at the shout.

"Mehmeh!? What wrong, Poppi?" he asked, looking around worriedly. Yet the deck of the ship was still empty asides from them.

"Rocket boosters take lots of ether." Poppi repeated Tora's statement, much to his confusion. Before he could ask, though, she continued the thought. "Poppi not capable of long-distance travel, so if Lila have similar energy output, then... she not capable either, right? So to get to Indol, she have to take ship..."

"Right..." Tora agreed uncertainly. "But why Poppi mentioning it..." he started to ask. But then he stopped himself as the very same realization hit him, letting out a small gasp. "Tora sees! Poppi is a genius!" Poppi allowed herself just a moment of pride, preening a little under the praise. Tora turned away from her, starting to head towards the exit off the deck that led to the cabins. "Come along, Poppi! We go tell friends, this very important clue."

Poppi dutifully followed after him, still smiling to herself. This development wasn't exactly what she'd expected when she asked to know more about her possible big sister. But she was glad something productive came of it.

---

"-a? ….Nia?"

There was something faintly shaking her shoulder. That was the first thing Nia was aware of, along with a familiar voice gently calling her name, as she returned to consciousness. Eyes still shut, she instinctively reached up to brush the hand off of her, and heard whoever it was stepping back slightly. It was only then that Nia blearily opened her eyes.

"Mmm, Pyra?" she yawned. For it was indeed Pyra who had woken her, the redhead giving a slightly apologetic smile as Nia slowly sat up. She hadn't been planning for her nap to become a deep sleep – she only meant to doze a bit, honestly. But apparently the Architect had other ideas. (Or at least, that's what she was choosing to blame.) "What's goin' on? We get there already?" As she said that, she glanced towards the window. It still looked pretty light out – more afternoon than evening. Were they a couple hours ahead of schedule?

"...Um, no. Not quite yet." Pyra replied, shaking her head. Well, there went that idea. Nia raised an eyebrow, signaling Pyra to continue. "Actually, Tora and Poppi want to talk to us about something."

"Huh. Don't suppose you know what about?" Nia wondered, rubbing her eyes as she stood from the bed.

Pyra just shrugged. "They didn't say, but... I got the idea it might be important. I don't think it's anything really bad though, they didn't look upset."

"As long as it's not somethin' stupid, or else Tora's gonna get it..." Nia grumbled as she pulled her boots back on. Pyra smiled slightly at her driver's attempt to appear grouchy, knowing there was no real heat to it. "Right then, let's go." said driver declared, idly running a hand through her bangs. Without further ado, Pyra led her out of the and little ways down the adjoining hall. Nia's eyebrows rose slightly when she saw who else was gathered there – which is to say, their entire group. So whatever this was about, Tora clearly thought it was relevant for all of them to hear. Presumably something related to the whole Tatazo situation, then. Rex, seeing Nia and Pyra approaching, gave them a small wave, which Nia lazily returned. Corvin looked to them as well, grinning lazily and shooting a nod of acknowledgment to Pyra, which she returned.

"Oi." Nia spoke up. "I'm guessing Tora hasn't told any of you what this is about either, yeah?" she asked the group as a whole. Rex and Corvin glanced at each other, then shook their heads in unison. Vandham merely shrugged his massive shoulders, while Roc hovered silently in the background as he seemed to do so often. At the same time, Fan la Norne frowned slightly, seeming apologetic that she didn't know either. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Nia sighed. Tora fidgeted slightly as everyone turned to him, looking a little embarrassed.

"Meh, Tora and Poppi not want to explain multiple times." he defended himself. Poppi nodded her head firmly in agreement.

"That's understandable, Tora." Pyra acknowledged kindly. "But, we're all here now." she added, hoping to gently prod him into getting on with it before Nia got impatient. Or Mythra did, for that matter. (Pyra pointedly ignored her sister's huff of indignation at that thought.) Either way, they didn't really need an argument right now.

"Right, of course." Tora agreed. "So, Tora and Poppi were talking, at first we discuss-"

"Masterpon, maybe skip to important part?" Poppi interrupted him.

Tora smiled sheepishly. "Yes, you right, Poppi. Anyway, we realize important clue about who send Lila!" Tora announced, earning a round of surprised looks, while Poppi looked a bit proud.

"Really!" Vandham said as he put his hands on his hips, sounding cautiously impressed. "What've ya got, then, furrypon?"

"Ah, Tora explain in a moment, but first, question for friends. How did Lila get to Indol titan?" Tora asked in return. Nia frowned slightly at the seemingly-random question, and she wasn't the only one.

"She... flew, right? I mean, we all saw her leave by taking off over the titan's edge." Rex answered uncertainly, blinking a couple times in confusion. Next to him, Corvin had his brow furrowed in thought.

"That what it look like, but no." It was Poppi who spoke this time. "Lila not any more capable of inter-titan flight than Poppi. And it certainly not possible for Poppi." she explained simply, not bothering to get into the technical details of ether furnace outputs. Not that she didn't like discussing such things, they just had more important business.

"Hold on, so you're sayin' she had to travel some other way?" Nia asked, just to confirm the thought process. Tora and Poppi both nodded in perfect sync.

"Pardon me, but... that isn't possible either." Fan la Norne protested, puzzlement etched across her face. "The only reasonable means of transport would be a ship, and that would not go unnoticed. Even a small ship would be monitored by the Praetorium's authorities, and we would have seen her heading for it as she departed." she pointed out, and Nia frowned. That was a good point. "There's nowhere to really hide a ship... except below the cloud sea, I suppose, but of course that isn't actually possible." Fan mused. That last comment, intended to be innocuous, might as well have been a bomb blast. Pyra stiffened, while Rex's eyes went wide, and Tora allowed himself a slightly smug smile. They'd reached the same idea as he and Poppi did without them even needing to mention it.

"Oh bloody hell...! I should've known." Nia swore under her breath. Fan looked around, confused at all the odd reactions, which now also included a grim look on Vandham's face as he too realized the implications.

"Did I say something wrong?" Fan asked, tilting her head to the side worriedly. Finally, Gramps took pity on her, popping out of Rex's helmet to explain.

"You see, there is in fact a ship that can travel below the clouds. It's called the... Monoceros, I believe." Gramps paused, looking to Nia for confirmation, and she quickly nodded. "It was cutting-edge technology from an ancient kingdom before its fall." he shot Pyra an apologetic glance for mentioning that, and she smiled weakly in return. "But, these days, it's in the possession of a certain infamous group that uses said kingdom's name. That is to say, Torna." he explained. Fan's eyes had widened as she, at last, realized what was being suggested.

"Yeah, I've seen it myself. It'd be pretty impressive, if they weren't trying to kill us. And Nia's actually ridden on the thing, too." Rex jumped in to support the point – not that anyone was arguing at the moment.

"Indeed. It was the guns on that ship that caused my current state as well." Gramps noted.

"Anyway, what they're saying is, this would make Torna the number one suspect for kidnapping Tora's father." Pyra interjected before the conversation got too sidetracked. Fan nodded seriously, unconsciously biting her lower lip as she processed the information.

"Dunno why I'm surprised, seems like everything that goes wrong is their fault these days..." Nia grumbled to herself.

"You know, she's not wrong." Mythra commented in Pyra's mind.

"Ah, but, this all speculation, friends." Tora pointed out quickly. "Dadapon always say, not jump to conclusions without proof. It possible there other things we not consider."

"Not to mention, there still gaps in theory. Professor Tatazo disappear years ago, how Torna know to kidnap him? How they even know he related to masterpon? Why did Lila join?" Poppi wondered, agreeing with Tora's statement.

"Hmm. Ya got a point there. But it does sound like the scummy sorta thing they'd do." Vandham spoke up seriously. He'd been stewing quietly since the idea was first mentioned, and Nia remembered him mentioning that Torna had been responsible for killing some of his mercenaries. "Think about it. Takin' a hostage and announcing it to draw ya out into some trap? Sounds kinda like what you said they pulled with Iona, don't it?"

Pyra's eyes widened in realization. "It... really does. This could basically be the same plan again, just across a larger distance." she said.

"Huh. You really think they'd just reuse a scheme like that?" Rex asked, slightly nonplussed.

"Well, why not?" Corvin argued back. "Threatening innocent people is never acceptable, of course. But they know we feel that way. They'd do it again because it would still work." And Rex really couldn't deny that. After all, they were literally heading off to possibly walk into exactly such a trap right at that moment.

"Nia, assuming it really is them, we don't have to worry about something like Obrona again, do we?" Pyra asked in concern.

"Not that I know of. Besides, we wouldn't fall for that again, not with Mythra helping us out. If she could get around it once, she could do it again, yeah?" Nia replied.

"...You know, she's a bit embarrassed at you complimenting her." Pyra teased after a moment, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Please stop talking, Pyra. Just... stop."

"You could always take it from here, you know."

"...Hmph."

"Regardless, this doesn't really change our plan of action. We simply have a suspect now. And... we'll find out tomorrow for sure." Fan la Norne said decisively. With that, the conversation gradually wound down, the group splitting off again to do their own things since they still had a few hours' sailing to go before they reached Mor Ardain. Still, as Tora and Poppi passed by in the hallway, Nia made a small gesture with her hand to stop them.

"Oi, Tora, Poppi, good job figurin' all this out. I wouldn't have even thought of it myself." she said quietly, giving the two a sincere grin. Tora rubbed the back of his head.

"It really Poppi's brilliance, mostly." he said modestly.

"Nonsense. Poppi and masterpon unstoppable team." Poppi insisted with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, well, either way, nice work." Nia said. "And don't worry, we'll get your da back." she added. Pyra gave a determined nod next to her, before the two turned to head back to their shared cabin. Tora smiled brightly at Poppi, to which she responded with a thumbs-up. Nia and Pyra were their first driver and Blade friends, after all – their praise meant a lot, whether they realized that or not.

---

*Thunk*

Mikhail was bored.

*Thunk*

Really bored. When he'd come up with the idea to waste Nia and Mythra's time by drawing them all the way out here for a confrontation, he hadn't really thought about how that would mean wasting his own time too. Which was why he was sitting here in a nondescript break room in a not-so-abandoned abandoned factory in Mor Ardain. Honestly, he was kind of surprised that Bana had even bothered giving his employees proper breaks, much less a break room to spend them in. Guy didn't seem like the type who cared about ethical labor standards. Or ethics at all, for that matter.

*Thunk*

Either way, it was incredibly dull. Which was why he was entertaining himself by bouncing a rubber ball off the nearest wall. Mikhail wasn't quite sure why said ball was here, but hey, he wasn't complaining. At least the thunks from it hitting the wall broke the silence. You'd really think a factory dedicated to producing artificial Blades would be more interesting, but... he already knew the design process for the Blade Bots, more or less. It was nothing new. At least on the Marsanes, there was always something to do, whether it be tinkering with the computer systems or riling up Patroka. Of course, he could still do the latter – he cast his gaze over towards where she stood, arms crossed and leaning against the far wall. Her eyes were closed, and Mikhail couldn't tell if she was as bored as he was, or if she'd actually fallen asleep standing up. (It wouldn't be the first time, though she'd never admit it.)

*Thunk*

Yeah, he could entertain himself by chatting with Patroka. But that needed to be done sparingly – with the two of them stuck together for several days without the other members of Torna around, aggravating her too much would probably end with him getting stabbed. Or shot, Patroka really liked Perdido's ether cannon. Speaking of Perdido, where was he, anyway? Were he and Cressidus still out beating up monsters in the wastes? Or maybe they were just chilling somewhere else in the factory. Either way, it suited Mikhail fine. Cressidus was a decent enough guy to be around, Mikhail could definitely think of worse Blades, but his huge frame would make this break room really cramped. And Jin was... probably brooding in his cabin on the Monoceros. Speaking of which, if Patroka didn't say anything soon then Mikhail was probably gonna head back to said ship and do some maintenance on the guns or something.

*Thunk*

Right as he caught the ball once again, the electronic door slid open. Mikhail looked up, expecting to see one of the factory's Tirkin workers. To his surprise, however, it definitely wasn't a Tirkin. Nope, it was Bana himself, magenta mustache looking as ridiculous as ever. At his side was that artificial Blade who seemed to shadow him half the time. Mikhail still wasn't sure what was up with that, but hey, she'd made their job easier by delivering the message to Mythra for them, so he wasn't complaining.

*Thunk*

"Hey, boss man. You need something?" he greeted Bana with a lazy wave, smirking slightly. Of course, Bana wasn't actually Mikhail's boss in any sense, but this was his factory, so... may as well pretend, right? Bana scowled slightly, as he so often did when talking to people. Well, people not named Jin, that is.

"Hmph. Not as such. Bana simply want to make sure Torna not causing trouble." Bana grumbled, crossing his wings irritably.

"Us? Cause trouble? Wouldn't dream of it." Mikhail replied, grinning cheekily.

*Thunk*

"Bana heavily doubts that." the chairman replied dryly. He was probably still irritated at having to more-or-less put his operations on hold for their little scheme. Not that Jin had given him much choice in the matter. "In fact, Bana not even remember giving Torna free reign to wander around Bana's factory. Lila, did Bana ever do such a thing?" he glanced over at the artificial Blade. Her eyes were dull as she shook her head, and Mikhail got the strong impression she'd rather be literally anywhere else. But that wasn't any of his business. (Though he really was curious.)

"What? You didn't expect us to stay cooped up on the Monoceros the whole time, did you?" Mikhail replied with a raise of his eyebrow. From the unimpressed look on Bana's face, that was probably exactly what he'd been expecting.

*Thunk*

"Besides, you've got coffee here." Mikhail added, gesturing to an empty cup on the table next to him. "Even if it tastes like dirt and sadness, it's better than nothing. You don't wanna see Patroka if she goes without for too long, trust me. Becomes a bit of a witch, if you get my meaning?"

A deep sigh came from Patroka's corner of the room. "Bite me, Mik." she grumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes to glare at him. So that disproved the "sleep" theory, then. Which Mikhail thought was a shame, because that honestly would've been kind of adorable. In an incredibly dangerous sort of way. But then, the threat of violent murder just made things more exciting.

"Hrrm. Bana see that Mikhail's idea of conversation is as inane as ever." Bana pointed out bluntly, still looking quite thoroughly done.

"He's got you there." Patroka agreed lazily, finally looking at him. Mikhail faked a hurt expression.

"You wound me, Patroka." he pouted dramatically, earning an exasperated eyeroll for his trouble.

*Thunk*

Mikhail noticed the way Bana's mustache bristled every time the ball collided with the wall. This time, though, the Nopon actually let out a small growl, his eye twitching slightly. Clearly, he found Mikhail's timekiller of choice to be extremely irritating. Mik looked down at the ball in his hand, then up at Bana's face. There was a warning look in his eyes. Another glance back towards the ball, thoughtfully. Perhaps it was time to find something else to occupy his hands, then.

…..

*Thunk*

Bana looked like he was about to explode, which wasn't helped by the smug grin that Mikhail shot him. "Lila! Destroy that stupid ball!" the Nopon barked suddenly, right as Mikhail yet again tossed it towards the wall. The artificial Blade surged forwards with impressive speed, catching the ball in her hand and immediately crushing it in her metallic grip, depositing the remains in a small waste bin in the corner. All this happened in the span of a couple seconds, while Mikhail just stared.

"...Wow." That was the only comment that came to mind. Patroka snorted derisively.

"That's what you get for being a pain. I would've told her to kick your ass, personally."

"Really? I would've thought you would much rather 'kick my ass personally'... am I right?" Mikhail shot back, somehow managing to make that comment sound flirtatious. Patroka merely groaned, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh. I've had enough of this. See you on the Monoceros or whatever." she snapped, pushing off the wall and storming out of the room. Realizing that going after her would only earn him some colorful death threats, Mikhail turned his attention back to Bana and Lila.

"So, what's your deal, huh?" he asked the artificial Blade as she returned to Bana's side.

"Deal? There no deal. Lila follow orders of masterpon." Lila replied flatly, looking at Mikhail with that same detached expression she'd sported earlier.

"Yeah, I noticed that. But, come on, there's gotta be more to you than that, right?" Mikhail prodded, looking at her curiously. She really was quite different from the Blade Bots in design, and definitely didn't seem like a mindless drone. So why was she acting like one, then? It was a bit of a random mystery, but now Mikhail was determined to solve it.

"Hmph. Mikhail wasting his time, trying to talk to artificial Blade." Bana scoffed loudly, and Mikhail turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Lila merely a prototype design, who Bana keeps because it useful tool. That all there is to it." he explained gruffly.

Mikhail frowned slightly. "So, she's your perfect little servant, then?" he asked, a slight hint of... something off in his voice, like his laid-back tone was just a bit more forced than usual. The corners of Lila's mouth tightened slightly, as if she really wanted to reply but couldn't. Bana, however, didn't appear to notice the shift in tension at all.

"Indeed! Obtaining it was a great stroke of luck for Bana. Have to thank Muimui for tip sometime." the chairman bragged, stroking his beard in satisfaction. "Then all Bana have to do is install control device, and Lila follow every order to the letter." Lila glanced away ever so slightly when Bana said that.

There was an awkward pause for several seconds before Mikhail spoke again. "...To the letter, huh?" he asked, an odd expression on his face. Almost calculating. "You might wanna be careful with that." he said.

"What Mikhail mean? Be careful of what?" Bana asked, confused by the shift in the conversation.

"Well, you know, following what someone says isn't always the same as following what they actually mean." Mikhail pointed out, crossing his arms behind his head casually. "You gotta be careful with wording. Otherwise she could interpret an order in a way that technically obeys it, without giving you what you actually want." he explained, sounding as if he were genuinely trying to be helpful. Bana, however, shook his head sharply at the mere suggestion.

"Bah! Does Mikhail think Bana is stupid? Bana would never fall for such a dumb trick!" he denied angrily, and Mikhail held up his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Hey, man, take it easy, I didn't mean any offense. Come on." he said, earning a huff from Bana. "It was just a bit of advice." For some reason, Mikhail looked Lila right in the eyes as he said that, and she frowned slightly. "But, anyway!" Mik spoke up again quickly. "If you don't actually need me for anything, then I'll stop wasting your time. See you when Nia gets here." With that, he swiftly stood up and strode out of the room, leaving Bana grumbling something like "good riddance" behind him.

With Bana distracted looking at the departing Mikhail, Lila allowed her brow to furrow in thought.

Notes:

So, thus begins the Mor Ardain arc proper... even though we aren't actually in Mor Ardain yet. I was originally planning to cover the party's arrival in this chapter, but as things went, I figured the pacing would be better if I shift it to next time. Makes the split between chapters a bit less jarring. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Also, some spotlight on Tora and Poppi this time! I often feel like I neglect the two of them a bit when writing. Which is odd, because I like them as characters. I just don't always know what to DO with them. Hopefully this arc should help rectify that.

Chapter 17: CH17: Artificial in Ardain Part 2

Dry.

That was Nia's first impression of Mor Ardain. Quite literally, as she found herself blasted by arid wind almost immediately upon stepping out to the port. Even with the heat of the day having faded in the evening light, Nia found herself missing the nice, comfortable Indoline transport she had just disembarked. The irony of this when she had been grumbling about being tired of sailing about not long ago wasn't lost on her, but there it was. She wondered what the empire must've been like at midday. Not something she was looking forward to, that was for sure.

The docks themselves – Port Anangham, Fan la Norne had informed them – were really quite unremarkable. Little more than a stretch of dull gray sheet metal jutting from the titan's side with a couple small, blocky buildings. Extremely utilitarian, as so many Ardainian constructions seemed to be. The groups of soldiers marching around, along with even a few heavyset titan tanks, made the whole place seem more like a military installation than a civilian port. However, there were a few ships from other nations docked (none of them Urayan, of course), while scattered groups of merchants and other travelers milled around. So clearly they'd come to the right place. Not that Fan would've led them wrong – or that the soldiers would've let them dock at an army base anyway.

They didn't end up lingering there for long, something Nia was quite glad for. Between the gratingly dry winds and the dullness of the surroundings, the only thing the port had going for it was the good view it provided overlooking the cloud sea. And you could find that in plenty of other places. Usually one might expect at least a bit of conversation amongst the group when they reached the titan. Commenting on the new locale and that sort of thing. With a party that size, someone would generally have something to say. But for some reason, perhaps exhaustion from the long voyage or tension due to the circumstances, nobody said a word as they filed off the ship. The silence actually made Nia feel a little odd – she'd grown used to the idle chatter, which only increased as she somehow picked up more and more traveling companions. Its absence was conspicuous. Still, she didn't dwell on that, feeling that she'd moped enough on the ship.

Fan took it upon herself to guide them on the way from Anangham to the city proper – apparently she'd visited a fair few times as an envoy, and knew the route by heart. As they were leaving the port, though, Nia's ears twitched, picking up a quiet question from where Tora and Poppi trailed behind her.

"Masterpon, are those soldiers... looking at Poppi funny?" the artificial Blade wondered, and though Nia wasn't looking at her face, she could imagine the way Poppi's brow must've been furrowed uncertainly. A quick glance revealed that there were indeed a couple of Ardainian soldiers a short distance away that seemed to be facing towards Tora and Poppi, something intent in their stances.

"Tora not sure. They not seem to be coming this way. Just looking?" Tora replied, audibly just as confused. Indeed, the soldiers weren't approaching, and it was impossible to tell what they were thinking with their face-concealing helmets. Nia was tense, preparing for things to go wrong one way or another. But after a moment, the soldiers quickly turned away, seeming to go about their business. Yet, one of them glanced towards Poppi once more over their shoulder before leaving. Tora let out a relieved sigh, seemingly glad to have avoided a confrontation. Nia, however, merely frowned.

"What was all that about?" No answers seemed to be forthcoming. She really hoped it was nothing, just a couple of curious bystanders or something of the sort. The fact that the soldiers weren't pursuing them was a good sign, right? No need to overreact. That was what she told herself, at least. There was no point jumping at every shadow when they had bigger things to worry about anyway. Whoever kidnapped Tora's dad was supposed to contact them tomorrow, after all. With that thought, she did her best to put the incident out of mind.

---

As uncomfortable as the arid winds were when standing around the docks, actually trekking across the titan was far worse. Mor Ardain's landscape looked like little more than a collection of brown rocks and even browner dirt. The only signs of plant life seemed to be scraggly, dried-up shrubs and the occasional leafless skeleton of a tree. And the weather... The weather out in the wastes went beyond just "irritatingly dry" and straight into "soul-suckingly barren", at least in Nia's opinion. She was from Gormott, thank you very much, she knew what a good, comfortable climate was like. And right now, she was really missing the rolling grasslands of the Garanti Plains. It'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable than this, at least. As if to taunt her, a particularly strong gust of wind howled across the stretch of wastes, kicking up a cloud of swirling dirt around them. A small gasp came from Nia's side and she quickly looked over, thinking there must've been something wrong. There were no signs of a threat, but she saw Pyra grimacing and scrubbing at her eyes with her hands.

"You okay there, Pyra?" Nia asked quietly, her scowl at the weather giving way to a concerned look.

"I... yes, I'm okay." Pyra replied, lowering her hands to reveal that her eyes were slightly red. Or, well, Pyra's eyes were always red, Nia corrected herself, but... redder than usual. "It's just, all this dust is bothering me. It keeps getting in my eyes, it's quite awful." she complained, her mouth twisting into a small frown. Nia couldn't help the slight twinge of vindication she felt – it wasn't just her that was irritated, if even Pyra was fed up with it. Normally you'd expect that sort of grousing from Mythra instead.

"Ugh. Tell me about it." Nia grumbled sympathetically, and Pyra nodded her head. The two had apparently formed an instant understanding, commiserating over their mutual experiences. "Though, if you want my advice, don't wipe your eyes so much, yeah?" Nia added in suggestion, gesturing vaguely towards her eyes. "I know it sounds backwards, but you're only rubbin' the sand in deeper."

"Oh! I really should've thought of that." Pyra said, her eyes widening in realization... before she winced, seeming to immediately regret that particular action. Nia snorted, ears flicking with a bit of amusement.

"The legendary Aegis... Turns out her weakness was a bit of dirt all along. A real tragic ending for Cole's next play." she teased, nudging Pyra lightly with her elbow.

Pyra looked away, face flushing slightly in embarrassment. "I haven't really had to deal with this before." she admitted. "It's strange, you'd think it would have happened, from dust kicked up in fights if nothing else. But it's never come up, for me or Mythra." the Aegis mused, her brow furrowing slightly in thought.

"Wait, really? Not at all?" Nia wondered, blinking a few times in surprise as she glanced up at Pyra again.

"Yes. It's a bit strange, don't you think?" Pyra agreed with a nod. "There's a surprising amount of normal little things that are still new to us." she added. Although Pyra was speaking easily, as if just making conversation, that comment actually made Nia stop and think for a moment. It was easy to forget, but Pyra and Mythra – despite technically being over five hundred years old – weren't all that worldly. Most of the aforementioned centuries had been in stasis aboard an old tub sunk below the clouds. As for the rest... pre-stasis was the Aegis War, and post were the parts Nia herself was there for. Blades in general didn't always get the full range of life experiences, but the Aegis's lot was a strange one by any standard. Still, that train of thought was slightly depressing, so Nia opted not to mention it.

"Yeah, well, I bet you'd probably have been happier not having to experience this." she said instead, waving a hand to indicate the barren wastes around them.

"I... could've lived without, yes." Pyra admitted with a small sigh. She brought her hand up to rub her eyes again until she remembered Nia's advice, leaving her awkwardly holding her arm in the air for a few moments before lowering it, blinking furiously instead. "Probably best I'm in control right now. Mythra really wouldn't be happy, she's never been a fan of bad weather."

"Poppi not overly fond of it either." Poppi chimed in suddenly, strolling up beside Pyra. The Aegis glanced around, as if remembering just then that she and Nia weren't alone. Naturally, since they'd been the only ones holding a conversation, everyone else had been listening in to some degree. Once again she was struck with a wave of embarrassment, realizing the whole group had heard her troubles. "Poppi normally sturdy enough to endure harsh conditions, but small particles can be problem. Or at least inconvenience." Poppi continued, seemingly oblivious to Pyra's embarrassment. Nia glanced at her with a hint of curiosity. "Dirt and sand can build up in joints, make them creaky. In extreme cases, even reduce the efficiency of Poppi's movement."

"So you're gonna have to get cleaned out once we're done in Mor Ardain, then?" Nia asked, raising an eyebrow. Poppi nodded her head firmly.

"Not to worry, Poppi. Tora will take care of it. Not going to let nasty Ardainian dryness cause any problems. Tora make sure to be a diligent masterpon." Tora announced, apparently feeling less tense and more willing to talk now that Poppi had started.

"I don't wish to interrupt, but..." All eyes turned towards Fan la Norne at the head of the group when she spoke up. She'd stopped walking for a moment, pointing some distance ahead of them. Though there was a slight haze of dust clouds, it was clear what she was indicating. Built right up against a high rocky cliff was a small Ardainian emplacement, a simple concrete platform with three sides hemmed in by thick steel walls. At the back of the structure, stretching up along the wall of the titan, was what looked to be a large elevator, no doubt meant for hauling freight as well as people. "...That is our destination. That lift will take us right up to the city." Fan explained.

"Ah, brilliant. The sooner we get out of this weather, the better." Nia wasn't going to miss the chance to grouse a little more before they got there. "Seriously, why the hell is it so dry out here, anyway? I feel like I'm about to shrivel and the sun's not even up." She was well aware that she was being a bit melodramatic about it. But after being stuck on a boat all day, she reserved the right to a bit of grouchiness.

"You know, I was wondering about that too. Seems like a pretty rough place to live, doesn't it?" Rex piped up in agreement, once again giving Nia the slightest feeling of being vindicated.

"Oh, that's-"

"You see-"

Fan tried to speak, while at the exact same moment Gramps popped out of Rex's helmet to answer, the two stopping themselves just as quickly. They glanced at each other for a moment, before Fan gave Gramps a small smile and gracefully gestured for him to go ahead. The tiny titan nodded his head in thanks before turning to Nia, who had watched the whole brief exchange with her lips quirked in amusement.

"Ahem, anyway, it's because of the titan's age. The Ardainian titan is, to put it simply, ancient. I may be an old fogy to you, but it was here long before I was born." Gramps began to explain in what Nia mentally referred to as his lecture voice. "Now, as you might imagine, extreme age means declining health, and for a titan – especially one this large – that can mean dramatic changes in climate. Mor Ardain's temperature has been steadily increasing for a long time with no signs of stopping, which is what leads it to be so desolate these days. It's only a matter of time until it becomes completely uninhabitable, I'm afraid."

"Wow... I mean, I knew they were having trouble with land, it's part of why they fight with Uraya so much, but I guess I didn't realize the whole titan was so bad off." Rex murmured, his brow furrowed as the seriousness of the situation hit him.

"Yeah, that's a really rough break. I'm none too fond of the Empire, but that's gotta be a lot of innocent people who'll have it bad, if they don't already." Nia said, glancing up towards the top of the cliff they were approaching. The capital wasn't visible from so far down, but she could imagine it must've held large crowds of people.

"Indeed." Gramps agreed with a grave nod of his head. "Though, I must admit, I'm surprised you didn't know about all this, Nia." he added. Nia looked back at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly, so he continued. "You're from Gormott, after all. It wasn't too long ago that your country was annexed, only about fifty years or so."

"Oi! Do I look anywhere near fifty to you?" Nia grumbled, crossing her arms.

"You do have a head of gray hair." Gramps pointed out dryly. Nia bristled in indignation, letting out a small hiss, but Pyra quickly headed off any retaliation with a calming hand on her shoulder. "Regardless, it isn't hard to figure out why the Empire would claim Gormott. Vast stretches of fertile land are something they desperately needed. Still need, for that matter." As he spoke, the group finally reached the lift, filing in before Fan hit the button to take them up. Fortunately, it was more than spacious enough for the large party to fit comfortably.

"I suppose that makes sense..." Rex said thoughtfully. "I feel like there must've been a better way than just coming in and taking over, though. Doesn't seem fair to the Gormotti."

"Yeah, well, too many politician-types don't give a damn about acting fair unless it benefits them." Nia snorted. Cynical though her pronouncement was, nobody spoke up to disagree with her, and the conversation trailed off into silence as they rode up the rocky cliff face.

---

Just like every other capital city they'd visited on their journey thus far, Alba Cavanich had its own distinct sense of style. It was almost jarring, going there from the Indoline Praetorium, the two cities clearly being built with very different philosophies. Where Indol embraced opulence to an excessive degree, the Ardainian capital carried a sense of blunt pragmatism. Rows of dark steel buildings lined streets of dull concrete tile. Pipes and chimneys belched steam from rooftops, with powerlines crossing back and forth from building to building. With the skies darkening in the late evening, the city was lit by tall stark white ether lamps placed strategically along the roads. The whole place was also very flat, built atop an even plane rather than multiple tiers like the Praetorium or Fonsa Myma. In the distance loomed a massive black palace, no doubt where the emperor resided. It almost seemed out-of-place sitting next to the somewhat squat buildings that made up the rest of the city.

Yet despite the cold, almost fortress-like impression given off by the architecture, Alba Cavanich was still a hub of human life. Even now at the end of the day, people bustled through the streets, going about all manner of activities. Nowhere was this more apparent than immediately upon entering the city gates, which led right into the market district. Though it looked different, it carried an undeniable air of familiarity - exactly the same sort of atmosphere as the marketplaces of the other major cities they'd visited. Stalls hawking their goods were set up along the wide main street, and many shopkeepers kept their shutters open, hoping to entice the surprising amount of late shoppers. Honestly, Nia couldn't help but be a bit impressed by the sheer variety of goods on display. Looking at Mor Ardain from the outside, it was easy to assume their culture would be rather... restrictive, but she was starting to reconsider that impression. If only a little.

The walk through the city was, in a word, uneventful. Nia was honestly glad for that, after her last experience in Ardainian territory. A repeat performance of Rex's arrest would be the last thing they needed right now. Overall, the lack of people confronting them over Pyra's core crystal or Nia's own ex-Torna status was quite refreshing, and definitely better than what her worst expectations had her prepared for. Really, the only thing resembling a problem the group encountered were the occasional dirty looks at Vandham. Which was to be expected, really, given that he was very recognizably Urayan in the middle of Mor Ardain. When the two nations were constantly at each other's throats, it was no surprise some wouldn't be happy to see visitors from said rival. Still, the glares seemed to roll off of Vandham's back without so much as ruffling him, and it usually only took a sharp look from Roc in return to make them turn away. So nothing really came of it. Indeed, they arrived at their destination without incident.

"Well, here we are. Jakolo's Inn." Fan la Norne announced. The multi-story building was nondescript from the outside, looking much like any of the cold metal structures they'd passed. It sat right at the edge of the city, sheer cliffs dropping off not far behind. "I've actually stayed in this establishment on a few occasions doing my duty as an envoy. It's really quite nice."

"Huh, really? I woulda thought you'd be put up in some fancy private quarters or something, if you're there representing the Praetorium and all." Nia wondered, looking at Fan curiously.

It wasn't Fan who replied first, however, but Vandham. "Oh, ya don't know? They say Fan here prefers doin' things more humbly when she can. Travels with light security, stays at regular inns, gets grub at popular eateries, that sorta thing."

"I just... don't see the need for any special treatment." Fan said softly, glancing away. "I think my duty is to help people first and foremost, not to demand they help me."

"And that's exactly what makes you so popular with normal folk. Even though they call you a goddess, ya don't act all high 'n mighty." Vandham complimented.

"I don't know about that... Honestly, I've always found that title a bit embarrassing." Fan admitted, her cheeks burning slightly.

"Ugh, I don't think I'd like people callin' me that either. It's just way too much, yeah?" Nia spoke up with a note of sympathy in her voice. "But anyway, let's not stand around here too long. Might attract too much attention." she added, changing the subject. Vandham nodded in agreement.

"Right. Our kidnappers supposedly ain't gonna make a move until tomorrow, but I'd be willing to bet they've already got eyes on this place." the mercenary spoke more seriously now, his expression grim.

With that said, the tension that they'd all been dutifully avoiding returned in full force. Whenever one of their little conversations started up, it was surprisingly easy to forget about the shadow looming overhead, at least temporarily. The possibility that the mysterious threat – likely Torna – could be watching them at that very moment brought it back out into the open. Tora, in particular, couldn't hide the way his eyes darted about, scanning nearby alleys and rooftops as if expecting to catch sight of some dark figure with a knife at his father's throat. Still, seeing nothing of the sort, he and Poppi reluctantly followed the others into the building.

---

The interior of the inn was, true to Fan's words, much nicer than the outside. Lots of rich red carpets and expensive-looking dark wood paneling. Under any other circumstances, it might've made a good impression. As it was, however, nobody bothered taking time to gawk, hurrying up to the desk of the elderly receptionist desk as briskly as possible. Said receptionist looked slightly surprised to see such a large party of drivers and Blades without a preexisting reservation. Still, upon seeing Fan, she was quite eager to offer them a set of rooms with no hassle, and within a couple minutes they were tromping up the metal stairs. Before the guys and girls split off to separate rooms as usual, Vandham called for everyone to gather up in one room for a quick meeting of sorts.

"So, this is a right mess we're in, eh?" the mercenary began gruffly, placing his hands on his hips.

Tora looked down, his wings twitching anxiously. "Tora sorry to make friends go through trouble."

"Oh, don't apologize, it's not your fault. I told you we'd get your da back safe and I meant it." Nia replied, waving one hand as if to dismiss the very notion.

"Right. The only ones givin' us trouble are the scum that took your old man in the first place." Vandham agreed. "I actually wanted ta go over the whole thing. I reckon it goes without saying, but we need to be real careful how we handle this."

Rex hummed in thought. "Actually, I've been wondering something. Why don't we go tell Ardainian security about this? I mean, if someone's kidnapped, wouldn't you usually go to the authorities? We never had to deal with that back at Fonsett, place's too small, but it seems like common sense to me."

"Assuming they won't just try to arrest me on the spot for being a terrorist, you mean?" Nia replied dryly, crossing her arms. Rex rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, they didn't bother us on the way here, right? Maybe that Morag pulled some strings to get them to leave you alone?" he suggested with a tone that could be best described as uncertainly optimistic.

"Just because she let us go once doesn't mean the bounty's off my head. We'd have to be pretty daft to expect things to go away that easy." Nia shot back. Rex frowned slightly, but didn't seem to have another counterpoint ready.

"I think there's a bigger problem." Pyra spoke up, her hands crossed over her core crystal. "Trying to contact the authorities could just agitate the culprits... and that would mean Tora's father getting hurt, or worse."

"Mehmeh! Tora not even want to think that!" Tora squeaked, distressed. Poppi placed a hand on his back somewhat awkwardly, though it seemed to settle him a bit anyway.

"She's got a point. What was it that Lila said, 'convince your friends to follow their demands'? By that, it's pretty safe to figure she meant Nia and Pyra. It ain't really about Tora's dad at all, that's just to keep us followin' their script. If we start trying to muck things up anyway, they won't need him anymore." Vandham explained lowly.

Nia nodded. "Yeah, that too. Especially if it really is Torna. You become a loose end, they'll kill you. Hell, they almost did it to you, Rex."

"I guess you're right..." Rex replied, looking down. "Doesn't really feel right just doing what they want and letting them get away with it, though." he admitted. Suddenly, Corvin clapped a hand on his back.

"Now who said we have to do that?" the blonde asked loudly, drawing a confused look from his driver.

"Huh? Corvin? Weren't you listening to all that?"

"Sure I was." Corvin said with a lazy shrug. "But all that means is, we can't go asking for help. Doesn't mean we can't take those guys down on our own. All we have to do is pretend to play along until we get close enough to save Tora's dad, and then bam!" He punctuated the statement by smacking his fist into his palm.

"Ohhh... Like amazing driver action heroes." Tora whispered, his eyes widening hopefully.

"I like the enthusiasm, blondie, but let's not be too hasty. We don't know what they're gonna tell us to do next. We may not get that kinda chance." Vandham cautioned, though he was looking at Corvin with a hint of approval in his gaze.

"If they tell us to do something stupid like handing over Pyra, though, of course we're not gonna do it." Nia said firmly, glancing over at the Aegis. Pyra gave her a slightly shaky smile in return.

"Thank you, Nia. But Vandham's right, what's most important is making sure everyone's safe... That means Tora's father, but it means all of us too." the Aegis said.

"That's about it. We just gotta be on our toes tomorrow, anything could happen." Vandham agreed with a swift nod in Pyra's direction. It wasn't exactly the most detailed or inspiring plan, to say the least, but nobody else seemed to have anything to add. They really were pretty much flying blind, after all.

"So that's all we've got, huh? Guess we can head off to our room now?" Nia wondered, gesturing vaguely between herself and the other girls.

"Ahem, um..." Fan la Norne coughed demurely as they tromped out into the hall get to their own room next door. "I had something in mind. You see, this inn is actually connected to a hot spring. It's really a nice place to relax, I'd like to visit it this evening." Nia looked at her, a small frown forming on her face.

"Hold it, are you sure that's a good idea with everything going on?" the Gormotti wondered, concerned. Of all the things to prioritize in their current situation, why would Fan think of that one?

"Actually... that's exactly why I wish to do it." Fan replied matter-of-factly, and Nia's frown only deepened, and her confusion must've been quite evident since Fan immediately went to explain. "I know it sounds a little strange, but... No matter what happens tomorrow, it's going to be trying. We'll need to be at our best, don't you think? That means we should take tonight to rest and relax as much as we can."

Nia blinked. That actually made sense. "Huh. I guess I see where you're comin' from. If you think it'll help you be better rested for whatever we've gotta deal with, then why not?"

"Thank you for understanding, lady Nia." Fan bowed her head slightly, but Nia simply waved it off. "Now, would any of you care to join me?" the Indoline Blade offered, glancing between Nia, Pyra, and Poppi.

"Hmm." Pyra hummed. "I'll be fine either way, let me ask Mythra what she'd rather do." A second after saying that, her body flashed with the now-familiar green light that heralded her switching places with her counterpart.

"I'm down." Mythra said bluntly, apparently not feeling the need to elaborate any further.

"Poppi would like to also. Soaking in hot springs sound like a good way to reduce dust particle buildup in Poppi's joints." Poppi acquiesced as well. "Heat may help to recharge energy stores as well."

Fan nodded her head to the two of them before turning to Nia. "And you, my lady?"

Instinctively, there was a part of Nia that was very much tempted to agree. Soaking in hot springs honestly sounded heavenly right about now. As Fan had so aptly pointed out, a chance to relax for a moment before everything goes crazy again would be exactly what the doctor ordered. And not only that, but it'd be perfect for counteracting the dusty hell that was Mor Ardain. Seriously, she'd probably be picking bits of sand out of her ears for weeks after this. The downside of said ears being so prominent. So she really wanted to say yes, but... bathing meant undressing. Meant exposing her secret.

Maybe, if things were a little more normal, she might have been able to suck it up and let them in on it. Mythra in particular already knew she was hiding something, so she couldn't put that off forever. But with Fan there, it was more complicated. That sounded unfair even in her head, given how helpful Fan had been, but... at the end of the day, the envoy still answered to the Praetor, right? Besides which, with the fate of Tora's father hanging overhead, Nia's baggage was the last thing anyone needed.

So before she left Fan waiting for an answer too long, she shook her head. "Nah, I think I'll pass. Might just lie down for now." she spoke as casually as she could. Fan la Norne nodded in acknowledgment, looking slightly disappointed but not enough to protest. Mythra, however, frowned.

"Hold on, didn't you already spend most of our time on the ship napping?" the Aegis asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, if it's about being well-rested, then how's that a problem?" Nia didn't miss a beat with her rebuttal.

"Masterpon say that knowing when to nap is very important for productivity." Poppi agreed matter-of-factly, absolutely confident in Tora's words of wisdom.

"They have a point, lady Mythra." Fan noted with an amused glint in her eye. Mythra opened her mouth as if to continue arguing, but then realized she didn't actually have a good comeback and awkwardly closed it again.

"I didn't realize our driver was a narcoleptic. Maybe we should have picked someone else." the Aegis grumbled in her head. "...Quit giggling, Pyra."

"I'm sorry." Pyra wasn't particularly sorry.

Mythra seemed to be willing to drop it there – however begrudgingly – so Fan turned away to lead her and Poppi up to the hot springs. Nia, meanwhile, was left to enter their room by herself. Yet, as she opened the door, she stopped for a moment. With the flash of relief from the acceptance of her excuse having passed, she found herself feeling just the slightest bit... guilty? Nobody would ever call her a social butterfly, but still, deliberately avoiding her friends wasn't the best feeling. Even when she believed her reasons were justifiable given the circumstances. She tried her best to shake it off as she walked into the room and claimed one of the beds for herself, moonlight just starting to trickle in through the window. Now wasn't the time. Maybe she really would go to bed – that excuse about needing to be rested held some truth to it.

Notes:

Alrighty, a bit of an interim chapter this time, not really too much going on. I'd originally planned for a nice long chapter that ended on a bit of action, but... honestly, it just wasn't feeling right. So, I'm posting it as is rather than hold the chapter hostage forever. Not the first time I've had to make that call, either. My motivation is a very fickle beast, and this fic's been a big learning experience in that regard. To my readers who've been following along with this whole ordeal, I just want to thank you, you guys must have the patience of saints.

Chapter 18: CH18: Artificial in Ardain Part 3

The Smùide Hot Spring, as it was apparently called, wasn't really anything too fancy. Essentially, it was just a single roughly-circular pool set into a rocky outcropping jutting from the cliff's edge, right behind the inn. Even so, there was a certain elegance to its simplicity. The spring was lit by fiery orange ether lanterns placed strategically around. With the onset of night, they shone through the steam rising from the spring, shrouding the place in a warm orange haze. Compared to the harsh white lights of the city, it seemed a lot more... homey. Probably an intentional choice on the part of the inn's owners.

The size of the spring was also quite respectable, large enough to comfortably fit several dozen people and still have elbow room to spare. And on top of that, oddly enough, they had it all to themselves at the moment. Perhaps it was a slow day for the inn, or just not the most popular hour to visit the springs, but either way, the water was quiet and still.

Mythra, gazing over it all before stepping in, nodded sharply to herself. "Alright, this should do." she said approvingly, setting her towel aside and sinking into the spring. As the hot water washed over her, she could almost feel the tension fading from her body right away. "Ohhh yeah, this'll do nicely." she exhaled slowly, stretching her arms out in front of her and flexing her fingers. Fan la Norne, exiting the changing room behind her, let out a small chuckle as she overheard the comment.

"Well, I'm glad it meets your approval, lady Mythra." she said lightly, a small smile on her face as she approached. Poppi, already in the bath, held up one metallic hand in a thumbs-up of agreement.

"What can I say? I have standards." Mythra replied, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the edge of the bath. "I need relaxation to look as good as I do. Too much stress is bad for my complexion." she noted matter-of-factly.

"Mythra sound very full of herself just now..." Poppi spoke up, expression flat. The sheer bluntness of it startled a giggle out of Fan, who immediately brought one hand up to cover her mouth in embarrassment.

Mythra's eyes snapped back open at the comment, shooting Poppi a dirty look. "Hey, I know what I've got!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Poppi seemed unswayed. "But anyway, that's not the point." the Aegis continued. "I didn't realize just how sore I was until now, this is perfect." As she said that, she stretched her legs out beneath the water.

Poppi tilted her head to the side, curiosity written across her face.

"Wait, can Blade like Mythra even get sore? Poppi thought they regenerate?" she wondered.

"Actual injuries, sure. But we still feel pain and get tired either way, so some stiff muscles shouldn't really be any different." Mythra corrected. Fan nodded her head as she finally moved to enter the bath, realizing she'd been standing there distracted by the conversation for a few moments.

"That's correct." the Indoline said, idly watching the ends of her long brown hair splay out in the water. "Blades are all unique, but we generally experience most of the same sensations as humans. Longterm muscular damage may not be an issue, but we still require rest and relaxation to be at our best." she began to elaborate, voice taking on a tone rather like a teacher. "There's a psychosomatic element to it as well: if your mind is tired and tense, even if you don't realize it, your body may very well begin to feel the same way. In other words, you can feel sore partly because you believe you should, at least subconsciously. That's true for both humans and Blades. It's..."

….Fan's impromptu lecture trailed off awkwardly as she looked up and realized Mythra and Poppi were both staring straight at her. She fidgeted uncomfortably, not quite meeting either of their gazes in favor of tugging at a tangled strand of hair.

"I'm sorry, I was rambling, wasn't I...?" she mumbled, sinking down lower into the spring until her chin was just barely above the water, as if hoping that she could submerge her embarrassment.

Mythra immediately shook her head in denial (inadvertently flinging a few drops of water around). "No, no, you're fine. I just wasn't expecting that kind of medical stuff." Her tone was slightly awkward, perhaps, but she attempted to sound sincere nonetheless. Poppi soon chimed in to agree.

"That right, Poppi actually find it quite interesting. Does Fan la Norne study a lot?"

"Ah, well... I suppose I do. The Praetorium has no shortage of literature, you see, so reading is a good way to fill my spare time." As Fan spoke, she slowly rose back up to a normal sitting position, apparently realizing that she wasn't being judged. "And as a healing Blade, health-related subjects seemed like a natural choice. It's both interesting and practical for me... even if it is a little gross, at times." she explained, the last comment added a little sheepishly.

"Huh. Well, that makes sense to me." Was all Mythra said, offering a shrug. Her nonchalant acceptance seemed to be exactly what Fan needed to hear, as it looked like the last of the embarrassment vanished from her expression, a slight hint of relief taking its place. Poppi nodded her head in agreement, a contemplative expression on her face. The three of them fell into a brief silence - but not an uncomfortable one. After a few moments, however, Poppi spoke up again.

"Now Poppi thinking, it good to know about mental effect of tiredness..." the artificial Blade began, circling back around to that prior point. "That way, next time masterpon complain about being too tired to work, Poppi able to remind him it all in his head!" she said brightly, looking rather satisfied with her conclusion.

Mythra snorted, looking over at her with one eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I don't think that was the point there, Poppi." she drawled. Then she tilted her head slightly. "But hey, somebody's gotta keep Tora honest, I guess. Better you than me." she added. She did not, perhaps, expect to really get a response to the flippant remark. Which made it slightly surprising when she got one.

"Mythra, that's not a very nice thing to say. I know Tora can be a bit quirky, but..." Pyra chided gently inside her head. Mythra rolled her eyes, earning a couple strange looks from those not privy to her internal debate.

"I just mean someone needs to keep him grounded, and Father knows I'm not that tactful. Not saying he's a burden or anything, he's doing fine." she clarified, letting out a small huff in reality. Pyra seemed to accept the explanation – Mythra got a slight feeling of something like contentment, or at least acknowledgment from her end. Mythra was being honest, after all, and her counterpart knew that.

Meanwhile, not only was Poppi not remotely offended by the comment, she appeared to be actually considering it as a legitimate suggestion.

"...That actually something Poppi think of before. It why Poppi always make sure to try being honest. Especially to masterpon, even if it not always sound nice." the artificial Blade revealed, tapping one finger against her chin.

"Heh. That's true, you can be as blunt as a hammer when it counts." Mythra said with a small chuckle. Poppi looked back at her, a small frown forming on her face.

"Poppi not sure Mythra really one to talk. You are rudest friend of Poppi." She said it completely matter-of-factly, as if merely pointing out the weather. Which, on some level, might have only served to prove Mythra's point, but the blonde Aegis was too busy shooting her a dirty look to capitalize on it.

Fan, watching the whole exchange, couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Excuse me." she began as the two both turned at the sound, holding a hand daintily over her mouth to cover her small smile. "It's just that I enjoy seeing you interact. All of you, really." Fan admitted. "You've only known each other a short time, but you all mesh together so naturally. I think it's nice. Is that... a strange thing to say?" Once again, however, Mythra was quick to deny Fan's misgivings.

"Nah, I get what you mean, even if I'm not big on that touchy-feely stuff." the Aegis said, as if trying to inject some aloofness back into her attitude. "It's pretty easy to forget that it's only been a couple weeks. Feels like this all started years ago."

"Oh, if Mythra forget, Poppi able to remind her!" Poppi piped up helpfully, sitting up a little straighter in the water. "Poppi remember time since activation to high level of precision with no lost detail, so-"

"-Thanks, Poppi, but it was just an expression. I know how long it's been." Mythra cut her off before she could get going. Poppi deflated a bit, but nodded in acceptance.

"Wait a moment, lady Poppi, are you saying that... you have a perfect memory?" Fan asked. The question was in her usual polite tone, but she was looking straight at the artificial Blade with clear curiosity.

"That right!" Poppi confirmed. "Poppi is able to recall events with perfect clarity, like they happen just seconds ago, no matter how long really pass."

"Makes sense if you think about it. Artificial and all. She wouldn't have the same limits as a human brain." Mythra said thoughtfully, glancing up at the sky as she considered it.

"...Or a Blade." Fan apparently reached the conclusion she was looking for. "We normally have excellent memories while we're alive, but I know mine at least is not always perfect. But no matter what, when we vanish, we lose everything."

"Poppi not really able to imagine what it like. Masterpon forget things all the time, but Poppi always remember." the artificial Blade mused in agreement. "And of course, Poppi not going to disappear."

Fan frowned slightly. "So you won't vanish, and even if you were somehow deactivated, you would keep your memories..." She sounded somewhat distant, almost wistful.

"That maybe not always good thing though. Waking up not knowing anything sound frightening to Poppi, but-" Poppi looked down. "-living forever after masterpon and friends gone... That scary too." she replied.

"Yeah. Sometimes there are things you don't want to remember. Trust me on that." Mythra added darkly, though she regretted the harsh tone immediately when Fan winced. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them for a few moments after that proclamation.

"...I'm sorry, I should not have brought up such a heavy topic. This was intended to be relaxing..." Fan spoke softly, bowing her head and letting her long hair, loose from its braids for once, fall in front of her eyes. Mythra looked at her, frowning in thought. In particular, her eyes flitted to the Indoline's triangular core crystal for a moment.

She sighed sharply. "Don't apologize so much. We can talk about this stuff some other time, got it? Even I can tell it's important to you." Mythra said. Then she looked back and forth between Fan and Poppi expectantly, awaiting their response.

"...A-ah, yes, I suppose." Fan stuttered slightly, clearly surprised by the offer. Poppi simply nodded her head in agreement, shooting Mythra a small smile for reasons the Aegis couldn't discern. Once she was sure the two of them were good, Mythra abruptly stood up.

"Right, well, this was nice and all, but I think I've had enough. Too much water and my skin will peel." she announced, moving to exit the bath. "If you two wanna stay longer, whatever." she added flippantly, glancing back at Fan and Poppi. Poppi's expression was mildly curious at most, but for some reason Fan seemed hesitant to look directly at Mythra, face looking slightly red. Maybe she'd been in the hot water too long herself? If so, oh well, that wasn't Mythra's business. With the mental equivalent of a shrug, the Aegis turned and headed back for the changing room.

---

Nia's evening had been pretty much entirely quiet. With Mythra, Poppi, and Fan all over at the hot spring, she'd initially been left with the girls' room entirely to herself. She took the opportunity to claim the bed that she judged the most comfortable for her own. Not that the beds were all that different, but this one was closest to the window. She always found something a little relaxing about looking up at the sky - probably part of the reason she'd adapted to camping out in the wilderness so well. With such a large, industrialized city, the view was a little brighter and smoggier than she was used to. But the moon and the stars were still clearly visible from the window, and that was enough.

So, with her boots kicked off, she'd settled in facing said window, and that was that. Actual sleep hadn't really come yet, though. She was having to make an active effort to keep her mind clear and relaxed, rather than dwelling on the many issues at hand. There were just too many questions she didn't have answers to. How had Tora's dad gotten kidnapped? What was Lila's deal? Were Jin and the others really behind it? What would happen if they weren't? What would happen if they were? What if- Yeah, like that. Those were exactly the sort of spiraling thoughts Nia was trying to avoid.

Mythra had come back a little while ago – Nia wasn't sure exactly how long, but definitely no more than half an hour at the absolute most. Just Mythra though, it seemed she'd bailed out early for some reason, and the other two planned on staying longer. Nia didn't bother rousing herself enough to ask why, and Mythra – in a show of consideration – opted not to disturb her in turn. Instead, the Aegis simply readied herself for bed without a word. (There was something comfortable about Nia no longer being alone in the room, though. She wrote it off as affinity bond shenanigans.) With the silence of the room only challenged by Mythra occasionally shifting about, Nia continued to gaze towards the stars, her eyes finally starting to grow heavy, until at last she was just beginning to doze.

Mere moments later was when the explosion went off.

The whole building shuddered, the windows rattling in their frames, as the deafening bang tore through the air, as piercing as any Ardainian soldier's gunshot. A decorative vase, perhaps perched a little more precariously than it should've been, fell from the small desk in the room. As it struck the hardwood floor and shattered apart with a sharp crack, all the racket had Nia's eyes snapping open wide, and she all but flew out of the bed. Her startled scrambling pulled one of the blankets with her and she rolled into an undignified heap on the floor.

"What was that!?" she gasped as she disentangled herself from the bedding, looking up at Mythra – who had taken to her feet rather more gracefully.

"Come on!" Mythra barked in lieu of a response, already in motion towards the exit. Nia paused only long enough to grab the Aegis's sword before hurrying after her.

Things weren't any less frantic out in the hall. Mythra almost ran headfirst into Vandham's large frame as he led Roc, Tora, Rex, and Corvin out. All five of them, even the usually-unflappable Roc, had looks running the gamut from tense to outright nervous. Tora in particular was fidgeting his wings as he trailed behind the Urayan. All down the hall, several of the inn's other guests were stepping out of their own rooms, or at least poking their heads out to try and get a clue what the disturbance was. At least a couple irritable civilians were knocking on walls and calling for everyone else to keep it down – they were trying to sleep! - but those went ignored amongst the confusion.

"Nia! Mythra!" Rex's worried exclamation burst out before anyone else could say anything. "What's going on? What was that?" he repeated the exact question Nia had asked before. She shook her head, just as bewildered.

"I don't know, but it sounded like-" Mythra began.

"A bomb." Vandham cut in, eyes narrowed in thought. Nobody questioned why he sounded so certain about it.

"Not in this building, there's no damage or smell of smoke. But I reckon it couldn't have been far either." Roc actually spoke up. A small part of Nia noted that fact, by itself, as proof that he and his driver weren't joking around.

"Masterpon!" The shout echoed from the direction of the stairway up to the next floor, at the far end of the hall. Heads swiveled at the sound – Tora's fastest among them – to see Poppi running about them, just barely avoiding ramming right into a couple of the curious bystanders in the process. Fan la Norne wasn't far behind her, only stopping for a moment to offer quick apologies to the civilians in question. Both Poppi and Fan had clearly only just gotten out of the bath, with Fan's hair still undone and drips of water occasionally falling from Poppi's metal joints. Furthermore, Fan had clearly been in such a rush that she'd skipped putting on her whole elaborate robe, wearing only a sleeveless white inner layer along with her hakama.

"Friends, Poppi and Fan see huge plume of smoke rise into sky just down the street!" Poppi reported as she arrived, Fan nodding frantically behind her.

"Must've been that blast then, some building nearby's got bombed out!" Nia stated the obvious conclusion. This was, apparently, all Mythra needed to hear, as she immediately turned towards the way down to the lobby.

"Then let's move." the Aegis said, already taking a few steps away. "We're not finding out what's going on standing around here." Tension was clear in every part of her brisk stride, and the rest of the group fell in right behind her with no complaint.

---

Stepping out onto the street, it was pretty much impossible to miss the source of the commotion. Just as Poppi had reported, plumes of smoke were curling high into the sky from the end of the street. The air wasn't absolutely filled with the dense black clouds one would expect from a massive spreading fire, thankfully – the city's cold metal-and-concrete construction probably helped to stop such things from getting out of control. But the billowing pillar was still substantial it clear that whatever happened wasn't going to be good.

If that weren't enough to make the scene obvious, the crowd certainly would. Alba Cavanich was a city that never fully slept, even at nightfall there were no shortage of people on the streets, and a significant number of them now gathered in a milling swarm around the scene of the incident. Getting closer to the sight itself, the crowd became so thick that pushing through it while keeping their group together was made an increasingly difficult exercise.

"Excuse us, would you?" Rex muttered, he and Corvin awkwardly dodging around a couple that stood so stock still you'd think they were statues.

"Oi! Watch it!" Nia barked as a man jostled her, all but slamming into her shoulder. Fan, at her other side, frowned but said nothing. Tora and Poppi lagged behind, the artificial Blade trying to convince her masterpon to let her pick him up and carry him so he wouldn't get trampled. Nia would've waited for them, but stopping in the middle of this bustle seemed like a bad idea. The only ones having much luck were Vandham, Roc, and Mythra – the former two because they simply had such imposing profiles, between Vandham's muscles and Roc's wings. Mythra meanwhile was just striding with such purpose and glaring coldly enough that nobody wanted to get in her way.

The building in question wasn't anything particularly special, just an old storehouse – not the sprawling shipping warehouses seen in other parts of the city, but a much more compact three-story-high affair, probably used by some of the local vendors to hold excess stock. It looked pretty much like any other building in Alba Cavanich, just a big gray steel block with a few windows here and there. For a moment Nia couldn't help but be struck by the sheer mundanity of it.

"Why in the world would anyone attack here?"

The explosion looked like it must've gone off on at least the top floor, possibly the roof. The first two floors appeared almost untouched, at least from the outside, asides from a few shattered windows and some debris here and there. The top of the building, however, seemed like it belonged in an active warzone. The left corner facing the street was pretty much gone, the metal walls and roof jaggedly shorn like a titan had grabbed a chunk of the building and ripped it off. It was from this opening that the smoke billowed, a few patches of flame licking up from – presumably – the wood-paneled walls within. Though the haze obscured the contents of the room from outside, the ceiling behind the hole could be seen sagging uncomfortably. Nearing the base of the building, Nia saw a few very harried Ardainian soldiers setting up a cordon to keep the gawkers at bay while another in a conical officer's helm was huddled with a few men in dark coveralls, occasionally pointing at the structure and barking into a radio.

Fan la Norne inhaled sharply as another soldier emerged from the storehouse's doorway, carrying another of the coverall-wearing men, clearly unconscious. Even from the distance, the charred patches of his clothes and the angry red burns on his skin were obvious.

"Let's keep going, we need to get in there!" Fan exclaimed, already hurrying forwards. Nia didn't blame her for the reaction, honestly. Those definitely weren't like the relatively light surface burns she'd taken in the occasional skirmish against a fire Blade or ether-manipulating monster. This was... a lot more serious. Even with that said, though...

"Fan, hold on! Don't go rushin' in, we don't even know if it's safe to get close!" the Gormotti spoke hurriedly, catching Fan's elbow in one gloved hand, though she released it almost immediately – the gesture was just to get Fan to pause, not to restrain her.

"I know, but, I can help that man! We can't just stand here!" Fan protested, voice pitching higher than her normally soft register.

"Yeah, come on, Nia, this isn't time to dawdle." Corvin piped up, Rex frowning but noticeably not disagreeing as he looked between them.

"No, I get that, it's jus-"

"Friends! Wait!" Poppi's sharp shout cut through the budding argument before it could go any further as she and Tora finally caught up. "Poppi has urgent news! There ether signature of artificial Blade nearby! Wavelength is identical to that of Lila!" she announced.

Tora's head whipped to her at lightning speed. "Lila!? Poppi is sure?" he asked quickly.

"Yes, signal coming from somewhere that direction." Poppi confirmed, nodding sharply and pointing over to the other side of the street. Tora immediately turned to face the rest of the group, furry brow set in a line.

"There no way this coincidence! If Lila hiding nearby, she must have something to do with explosion! Now is only chance to go after her." Despite his obvious nerves, there was something steely in his eyes. Nia couldn't help but to agree with him, this explosion going off and Lila being in the area, on the very same night they arrived? Definitely planned. This was an opportunity they couldn't afford to miss, but at the same time... Nia glanced back towards the burning building, more Ardianian troops carefully making their way inside, and noticed Fan fidgeting uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye.

"Nia?" That was Mythra getting her attention. "How do you want to play this?" The Aegis muttered. Nia sighed and squared her shoulders. Time to pretend she knew what she was doing.

"Alright." she announced firmly, silencing any of the others who were about to speak. "Fan, you stay here to rescue folk, yeah?" Without waiting for a response, she barreled on. "Vandham and Roc should stay with her, help her out and watch her back just in case. The rest of us go after Lila." There was a surprised silence at the declaration, and then Vandham slowly nodded.

"It's a good plan. Wind ether's good for clearing smoke, and Roc can fly to get people out easier. Ain't our first time doing rescue work." Despite his agreement, and the fact that helping the injured was what she'd wanted to begin with, Fan looked uncertain.

"But, lady Nia, are you sure you'll be alright?"

Mythra snorted. "We'll be fine, Fan. Your concern's nice, but we're not pushovers here. Even if Lila has backup, we can handle it." she pointed out breezily. Then a more a serious expression overtook her face again. "But if we're doing this, we need to go now, before she leaves. Unless anyone else has problems with Nia's plan?" Nobody spoke up, so Mythra crossed her arms, satisfied.

"Alright, Poppi, we're counting on your lead." Nia said, turning to the artificial Blade, who gave a small thumbs-up, a determined look on her face. And with that, the two groups broke apart.

Nobody noticed the tuft of turquoise fur in the crowd turning to track the party going after Lila as they went.

---

Running through the streets of Mor Ardain barefoot, Nia reflected, was far from the best thing she'd ever done. Dashing out with only her sword, no time taken to grab her boots, had been an instinctive reaction, the hurry to see what the commotion was overpowering all else. Perfectly natural at the time, but as her feet slapped against the vaguely grimy cement of an alleyway, she was really starting to regret it. She didn't need to tap into Mythra's Foresight to know that she'd be attacked by sore feet in the near future. Frankly, it was something of a blessing that there hadn't been any fragments of broken glass or other bits of sharp trash thus far.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lila hadn't stayed put for long. In fact, she'd started moving away almost immediately after they'd split. From the way Poppi described it, Lila's signal had been maintaining a constant distance from them as they weaved through the narrows of the city to get near her. Always just far enough ahead to stay out of sight, but close enough to still be within Poppi's sensor range. The pace was too deliberate, the balancing act too careful, to possibly be an accident. It was at about that point that Nia had realized – and wanted to smack herself over said realization – that Lila, being the prototype Poppi, would have similar Blade-senses. Tora had quickly confirmed. Obviously, Lila had known they were nearby the whole time, probably lying in wait for exactly that purpose. And now she was leading them on a merry chase across the city.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pursuit (though in reality it couldn't have been much more than twenty minutes or so), Poppi perked up, reporting that Lila had come to a halt. Buildings had become gradually more sparse as they went, and longer stretches were spent dashing down open streets rather than snaking through alleys. And now, at last, Lila had led them to the city's edge. Not the main gate they'd entered before, but a smaller one at the edge of the warehouse district, presumably for bringing cargo to and from other parts of Mor Ardain without having to haul it through the crowded main roads.

And there she was, looking exactly as she had at Indol, stepping out from behind one of the gate pylons to meet them in the open. Nia tensed, grip tight as she slowly went to raise her sword, Mythra stepping up to her side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rex and Corvin adopting a very similar formation, each with one katana as usual. Lila stood impassively, arms at her sides, her back to the wastes, clearly waiting for them to make the first move. Nia breathed in and took a step forwards-

And then stopped at the soft touch on her arm. Not unlike the way she'd grabbed Fan's attention before. Tora and Poppi had sidled up to her, one of the Nopon's wings just drawing back his touch. Nia raised her eyebrows in a questioning look, trusting Mythra to alert her if Lila made a move in the meantime.

"Friend, let Tora and Poppi try talking to her?" Tora asked in a murmur, shooting Lila a nervous look.

Nia frowned, giving a slightly shake of her head. "I dunno, Tora, I don't think we're gettin' just a peaceful chat here." she warned lowly.

"Tora know that, but... Actions of Lila not make much sense. Tora need to try."

A hint of movement over Tora's head caught Nia's attention, and she looked up to see Rex nodding encouragingly. The Gormotti sucked in a hiss of breath through her teeth, her frown deepening as she had to make a decision on the spot. There was a faint huff from Mythra.

"Not like we're sending him in alone, we're right here." The Aegis muttered pointedly. And then Nia felt like a bit of a tool for not thinking of that right away. Not that she was going to apologize for being cautious. She looked back to Tora and nodded sharply, and relief filled the Nopon's eyes, Poppi giving a small smile as well.

"Keep your guard up." Nia added, more out of a sense of obligation than anything - "Of course he knows that!" - then spun to face Lila again. The artificial Blade's unmoving patience was almost a bit eerie.

Tora strode forward, one wing hefting Poppi's shield just in case, Poppi herself right behind him. "Lila!" the Nopon's high voice rang out. Lila looked up slightly in acknowledgment but still didn't move. "What is meaning of all this?"

There was no response. Lila simply stared at him, gaze unblinking. Slowly, Tora took a few steps closer, still seeing no apparent hostility, and tried again.

"Now Lila blowing up buildings and luring friends out here? Why? What all this for?" He sounded torn between frustrated and almost pleading. Like he genuinely couldn't quite make sense of what was going on.

"...Lila cannot answer that." At last there was a response, Lila's flat tone almost jarring in how badly it contrasted with Tora. Not expecting such a blunt refusal, Tora floundered for a moment, and Poppi decided to make her own attempt.

"Please, sister, is someone-"

"Lila cannot answer that." Lila cut her off, the denial just a little sharper this time. Finally her expression had shifted, if only slightly, the corners of her mouth turning down. Not giving a chance for anymore appeals, the artificial Blade raised her arms. "Lila follow orders of masterpon. Shifting to combat mode." she announced, metal apparatuses built into her arms unfolding and reconfiguring themselves on cue.

With that declaration, the others wasted no time flanking Tora protectively, weapons raised, Blades ready to transfer ether, and Tora himself hoisted his shield. Lila's machinery had finished its transformation, forming a pair of heavy black-and-gold armguards, the thick rectangular plates of metal stretching up to at least her elbows. Each one ended in circular port that looked distressingly like a cannon barrel.

Lila's right arm lashed out at Tora, throwing the weight of the huge gauntlet behind it like a sledgehammer. There was a solid, teeth-rattling thud when Tora's shield caught the blow, but the Nopon didn't flinch. Wasting no time, Nia darted in, dragging the tip of her sword along the ground for just a moment before bringing it up in a diagonal slash at Lila's side. Lila's reaction was quick, but not quite enough to block the sword completely. The tip of the blade just met Lila's dress, searing a thin gash into it, before her other arm swung up sideways, the edge of the guard slamming against the blade to halt it. Sparks flew as light ether ground against steel for an instant.

Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that Lila, like Poppi, was quite strong. She redoubled her force and shoved Nia's blade away, the Gormotti having to pull out the lock to keep from being knocked off-balance. Nia's vision flashed gold with foresight, and she juked back a step to avoid Lila following up with a haymaker as predicted. She realized only after she'd already moved that forcing her back to get space had probably been Lila's plan all along. Foresight didn't tell the intent behind a motion, after all.

Still, the artificial Blade couldn't be going full-force in two directions at once, and the arm that had been pressing down on Tora's shield slackened. Tora didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity, drill head springing from the shield and knocking the arm aside. At the same moment, Rex leapt in, katana in a two-handed grip swinging down from overhead. Lila was forced to abandon any plan of retaliating against Tora, arm raised horizontally to block the smash. Corvin's own katana quickly followed, stabbing past Rex, but Lila just as swiftly shifted, her metal elbow slamming down on the white sword hard enough to make it ring.

Being outnumbered was clearly working against her, and badly, as she'd now taken her attention off both Tora and Nia. The Nopon dashed forwards, aiming to slam the drill right into Lila's torso, while from the other side Nia hopped back in, sword at her shoulder to bring about in a wide sweep. Tora, slightly closer, struck first, and Lila failed to guard in time. The large drill head crashed right into her metal body with a clang, sending her staggering backwards, though as the drill wasn't spinning, it didn't tear into her quite as devastatingly as it could. It was still a heavy blow, enough to bowl an average human off their feet and probably break some ribs, and Lila only stayed standing due to her sturdy robotic construction.

Nia's sword streaked horizontally through the air, but Lila again showed her respectable reflexes and ducked below the edge of the sword. Rex came in, striking down at her right away, but the artificial Blade saw him coming and kicked out with one of her legs, forcing the salvager back to avoid the heavy steel limb. Lila's brow had furrowed slightly, almost... calculating. Letting herself be surrounded by this many opponents in close quarters simply wasn't good odds – she just couldn't attack them all in melee at once. She'd been forced onto the defensive. She pointed one of her gauntlets diagonally downwards. Nia and Mythra, realizing something was up, immediately channeled another burst of foresight. And when she came out of it, the Gormotti's eyes were wide.

"Blast!" she shouted, not bothering for anything more eloquent. Mythra was at her side in a blink. And then Lila fired, the barrel of her armguard roaring. The ground before her exploded with a bang that would surely deafen any non-driver or Blade, a surge of dirt and concrete dust billowing into the air and mingling with smoke. Mythra had formed an ether barrier around Nia, the Aegis more than powerful enough to shield from the blast without issue. However, between the golden barrier and the brownish-gray cloud of debris, the two of them were effectively blind for the moment.

Rex and Corvin had leaped backwards with ether-enhanced strength, landing safely away from the blast area. Poppi had grabbed Tora by the overalls before making a similar dodge. The warning had come in time to prevent anyone from getting hurt. But none of them were having any more luck seeing their opponent than Nia and Mythra. However, no follow-up attacks seemed to be coming from within the cloud either. Carefully, Mythra dropped her barrier and she and Nia pulled back, regrouping with the others. The tension in Nia's shoulders dropped slightly as she saw her friends unharmed as well, and Mythra released a relieved breath (not that she'd admit it later). None of them said anything, the smokescreen already fading, revealing their opponent.

Lila was still standing, not even significantly harmed in any noticeable way, though her dress was singed and caked with dust. No wonder she was comfortable setting off a rocket so close to herself, then. She knew she could take it. She tilted her head slightly, looking critically over her group of opponents as they did the same to her. The standoff dragged for a couple seconds of tense silence, and then Lila's stance shifted, lowering her arms.

"...That should suffice for stalling protocol. Lila returning to base." she announced. The very moment she finished her sentence, she was already in motion, rocket thrusters springing to life and launching her into the air. Tora gasped, running forward a few steps with Poppi on his heels, but Lila ignored them, lifting up higher into the air and darting off over the wastes at impressive speed.

"Damnit, there she goes..." Nia muttered, lowering her sword slightly.

"Should we really have just let her take off like that?" Rex wondered after a moment of silence watching Lila shrink to a dot in the distance.

"Yeah. Had to." Mythra said bluntly, crossing her arms and scowling at nothing. "They've still got Tatazo, remember?"

Nia nodded next to her. "Right. She said something about orders and protocol, yeah? Stopping her here might've got us some answers, but the bloody kidnappers probably wouldn't like it one bit. Just like lettin' her leave at Indol."

"...I guess you're right, but I dunno. Just doesn't seem to make sense, blowing up a building and just running off, you know?" Rex said. Nobody particularly disagreed with him there. Tora was gazing at the ground as he and Poppi rejoined the group.

"Tora sorry, friends. Tora really hope that he and Poppi could get something from Lila, but it just make her start fight right away." he apologized, Poppi nodding gloomily at his side. Nia sighed and shook her head, stepping towards the two.

"Not your fault, Tora. You either, Poppi, okay? She definitely would've attacked anyway, or at least run off. Bringin' us out here was her plan after all." She said firmly, looking at the two as if daring them to contradict her. Neither of them did. However, before more could be said, Corvin interrupted the moment.

"Hold on, does anyone else hear that?" the blonde asked, glancing back towards the street, leading most of the others to do the same. Nia's ears twitched, and – yeah, she did hear something. Had heard it for the last few seconds, actually, and just not paid attention until now. A rhythmic stamping sound, unmistakable to someone as experienced as her. Numerous boots on pavement, and they sounded like they were getting closer. Quickly.

"Heads up, we've got incoming." she warned tersely, turning to face the open street fully. Indeed, charging a corner and into view were a squad of Ardainian soldiers. At the head was a captain and, oddly enough, an out-of-place figure among them, huffing along behind the leader: a turquoise Nopon in what looked to be a labcoat, large round glasses on his face, lenses so thick as to appear almost opaque.

There was nowhere to go, no way to avoid being seen at this point. Not with them coming right this way, and especially not with the group standing out in the open, weapons still glowing. It was clear the exact moment the soldiers had registered them standing there, the captain giving the men an arm signal to up the pace.

"Let's just act natural, alright?" Corvin suggested quietly, though his casual tone was belied by his frown. Nia nodded tensely, keeping her sword drawn but the tip pointed low at the ground. Cautious but not actively threatening.

As the entourage rapidly approached, Nia stepped forwards, planning to say something, anything, to get attention on her and try and head off whatever this was without a fight. Before she even opened her mouth, however, the officer paused before them, looking down at the Nopon catching up to him.

"There, it them, Muimui sure of it! Those the ones!" the Nopon exclaimed in a high, nasally voice, stubby arm pointing right at them.

"...What?"

That was the only word going through the Gormotti's head then. They didn't give her a chance to try to make sense of it.

"That's the Aegis...!" The captain sounded shocked for a moment as he noticed Mythra's core, but quickly rallied. "Surround them! Nets at the ready!" he barked to his men, the troops loyally fanning out into a wide ring as the driver group instinctively drew closer together, tension and confusion ratcheting up.

"We're what? What's going on?" Rex tried to ask, but he went ignored. The captain strode forward, hands gripping his rifle tightly.

"Stay where you are! By the authority of the Emperor, you lot are all under arrest!"

"Wha-Arrest!? For what!?" Nia demanded, taken aback. This couldn't just be the 'formerly part of Torna' thing, that wouldn't explain the Nopon.

"Don't act dumb!" the captain snapped. "Our witness saw you fleeing the scene of the attack."

"Hold on, you think that bombing was us?" Mythra asked flatly, arms crossed. "We didn't even get that close to the building!"

"Not true! Muimui see bunch of drivers with metal girl running out, clear as day!" the Nopon accused. The captain glanced at him momentarily, unenthused body language making it clear he hadn't wanted the interjection, but he didn't disagree.

"And a couple of my men noticed a metal girl arrive at the port earlier this evening." he noted grimly, nodding slightly to himself.

"But that's just a coincidence, we came here with-" Rex tried.

"Don't even try to deny it!" the captain roared, cutting him off. "We've caught you just after another explosion, red-handed!" The scorched ground from Lila's blast was in plain sight. "Now put down your weapons and surrender." he commanded. For just a moment, Nia thought she saw the Nopon – Muimui, apparently – smirk out of the corner of her eye, but when she focused on him his expression had gone back to vaguely nervous.

"Mehmeh..." Tora fretted quietly, fiddling with his wings. "Nia, if friends arrested here, what happen to dadapon?" he whispered, looking at Nia with wide eyes. The Gormotti froze.

"Damnit." she hissed to herself. She exhaled a long breath. A glance at Mythra earned a terse nod, clearly on the same page. Tora had a very good question. One she didn't want to take the risk to find out. Not that she'd been keen on getting hauled off by a bunch of goons anyway. The captain in front of her visibly growing tenser and more impatient waiting for a response to his demand, and then... "Follow my lead!" Nia shouted, breaking into a charge towards the captain.

"Take them! Now!" As he gave the order, the officer went to bring his rifle up to bear. But the reflexes of a normal human simply didn't match a driver, much less one channeling the power of Mythra. Nia was upon him before he could line up a shot, sword flashing out. A few sparks blinked in the air, a faint hiss of sizzling metal could be heard, and then the barrel of the rifle clattered to the ground. Compared to the special construction of Poppi or Lila's weapons, designed specifically for defending against Blades, the mass-produced gun might as well have been butter. And Nia had a very hot knife indeed.

The rest of the soldiers closed in, forming a much tighter circle. Nia kicked the captain in the stomach, hard enough to send him stumbling backwards off his feet, then her vision flashed into foresight, where she noticed several of the soldiers around them tossing faintly glowing golden webs into the fray.

"Tora, Poppi, keep the nets off us!" The warning didn't need to be said twice. Poppi lunged, catching a net out of the air. It fizzled in her fist, but had no real effect on her, and she dropped it harmlessly to the ground. Tora hefted his shield up, deliberately letting another net wrap around it, then simply released the drill head to tear right through it. Other soldiers raised their rifles, firing off a few shots, but Rex and Corvin moved in and the bullets pinged off the ether barrier forming around the blonde. Nia kept her sword pointed at the captain, stopping him from getting up, and took just a moment to glance around. Fending off individual attacks was easy. But there were a lot of soldiers surrounding them, and staying here did no good. She looked back at the others.

"We've gotta break through, stay behind me and Mythra." she said, just loudly enough to be heard over the gunshots. Then she turned and sprinted right at the wall of soldiers closing in, Mythra matching her pace. The troops ahead of them fumbled with their weapons, clearly taken aback by the sudden advance. They wouldn't get the chance to collect themselves, as Nia and Mythra set their shoulders and slammed right into them. In Nia's case, her strength more than made up for her petite figure, and they barreled past the two soldiers with ease, one of the men even falling on his ass from Mythra's check.

Thankfully, it seemed the others had gotten the idea, as nobody stopped to wait, shoving past the newly-made gap in the formation. The soldiers, to their credit, rallied quickly and went to pursue. Nia passed the Aegis sword to Mythra, who whirled around and unleashed a blast of light ether. It wasn't a very powerful attack, and in fact it was aimed at the ground rather than the any of the troops. They didn't want to kill anyone, after all. But it still created a sudden blinding flash, startling enough to give those at the front of the mob pause. And that was all they needed. Just a moment's distraction as they kept running.

"Nia, where we going?" Tora huffed from the back of the group. Though, even with the clear exertion, he was keeping up rather well.

"Back towards the inn. We'll find Fan and Vandham, and... I dunno." Nia hadn't really planned that far ahead. Just getting away was step one. Not her fault they'd been caught on the spot like that.

---

The group kept running to the end of the street, eyes scanning around for somewhere they could go to hopefully confuse the pursuing soldiers, or at least slow them down a bit. Unfortunately, there was no such thing readily available. Out in the open like this, any turn they made would be plainly obvious. And then the universe apparently decided that it just wasn't done screwing with them yet, as not far from the edge of the warehouse district, Poppi let out a gasp.

"Friends! Poppi detect familiar ether signature!" she warned. Almost right on cue, Nia skidded to a halt, eyes going wide. A veritable wall of blue fire had suddenly burst from the ground, blocking off the whole road.

"Oh, here we go..." Mythra muttered to herself, so quietly that it was only Nia's catlike ears that allowed her to hear it. She didn't have to wonder what the Aegis was thinking, those blue flames could only mean one thing. Indeed, Special Inquisitor Mòrag Ladair emerged from the inferno moments later, coattails billowing behind her, the distinct glowing form of Brighid at her side.

With the party's escape having ground to an abrupt halt, it didn't take long for the soldiers to close in behind them, forming into a rough semicircle to block the way back as they awaited Mòrag's lead. The Inquisitor marched forwards, hands ready on the swords at her waist, but not drawing them quite yet.

"So, you all are involved in all this commotion then." Mòrag observed matter-of-factly, her eyes sweeping over the party – brows raising slightly at Mythra – before settling on Nia. "This isn't quite how I was expecting to meet you again, girl."

Nia felt an exasperated groan from deep in her soul. "Look, this isn't what it looks like, just let us past." she tried. Mòrag tilted the brim of her hat up slightly.

"Oh? And what, exactly, does it look like?" the Inquisitor wondered rhetorically. Nia hadn't really been expecting it to work, but she still scowled. Mòrag turned her gaze towards the soldiers. "Captain Conall, what's going on here? I thought Declan's squad were investigating the bombing." The captain, stepping forward from among the troops, saluted before nodding his head.

"They are, ma'am. But we got a witness report saying they saw the culprits run into our sector. We heard another explosion soon after, and identified these drivers by the gate along with blast residue. They resisted when we tried to take them in!" he reported, holding up the severed half of what had once been his rifle for emphasis. Mòrag's mouth gradually etched into a grim frown as he spoke.

Rex took a small step forwards. "Hold on, I dunno what's going on with that witne-"

"I'm disappointed, driver of the Aegis." Mòrag cut him off. Nia ground her teeth at the interruption, seeing Rex's expression fall. This lady really just pressed all her wrong buttons – they'd been talking for less than a minute and she was already near fed up. "I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, you know. After Torigoth, I actually believed you were sincere in your desire not to cause harm. But it seems, Torna or not, you're still a terrorist at heart."

"Ugh!" Nia's ears flattened in agitation, her hands tightening. "You've got it all wrong!" Mythra nodded sharply beside her, scowling almost as hard.

"Yeah, seriously." the Aegis scoffed. "Why don't you just ask Fan?"

"...Fan? You mean Fan la Norne?" Mòrag's stern countenance faltered for just a moment, a hint of real curiosity bleeding through.

"Hey, that's right, you must know she showed up to heal the victims at the scene! We came here with her." Nia said, grasping onto any chance to actually get the point across. Mòrag's brow furrowed as she took that in. However, it was then that Brighid strode forwards, closed eyes somehow sweeping over the group.

"A likely story." the Blade said skeptically, corners of her mouth tight. "You expect us to believe that you're here on behalf of the goddess of the Praetorium?"

"Yes! We were just going to meet back up with her, if you weren't stoppin' us...!" Nia snapped in return.

"And why did you leave her behind, at a potentially hazardous crime scene, to run all the way out here?" Brighid replied pointedly. "To bomb a random patch of dirt? To assault Ardainian soldiers?" she continued forcefully, turning to face the Special Inquisitor. "Mòrag, they are clearly lying."

"...You haven't changed much, huh Brighid?" Mythra snarked under her breath. Brighid didn't reply to the comment, but the creases around her eyes tightened just a bit.

"Yes, it's obvious now." Mòrag agreed with her Blade, nodding slightly, ignoring Nia's growl of frustration. "I haven't heard any news of Indol allying themselves with the Aegis either."

"Friends not here on official business!" Tora protested, not realizing until a second too late that, without the details – which might be too risky to explain without earning the kidnappers' ire – such a statement only made them sound more suspicious. Mòrag's eyes narrowed further, if that were even possible.

"Oh come on, we really can just ask Fan, like Mythra said." Rex suggested, earning an approving look from the Aegis. One look at Mòrag made it clear that it wasn't going to fly, though.

The Inquisitor drew her twin swords in a smooth, practiced flourish. "Enough! We're not giving you a chance to slip away. You're coming with us." she spoke coldly.

"Look, if you'd just listen-"

"-there's an explanation for all of this!"

Rex and Nia spoke at the same time, sentences stumbling over each other but somehow still ending up in a coherent message.

"You'll have plenty of time to explain in a cell!" Mòrag snapped back, weapons raised. That was the last straw for Nia's temper. She brandished the Aegis sword, golden edge bright against the dark night.

"Argh, we don't have time for this! ….I don't want anyone dead, but we can still kick your arse hard enough to make you get out of our way!" Even as the words left her mouth, she was already charging at Mòrag, sword gripped tight in both hands.

"...You can try." Mòrag matched both the taunt and the charge. Swords met in the middle, Nia's greatsword crashing hard against Mòrag's twin blades. A sharp snap-hiss filled the air as an edge of burning gold ground against the brilliant blue filling the Inquisitor's swords. Nia pulled back her sword and swung again down from the shoulder, but one of Mòrag's swords swiped up to intercept, catching on the edge and turning it aside just enough to send the tip carving into the ground rather than hitting Mòrag. The Ardainian's other sword lanced in with a quick jab in return. Nia jerked to the side, letting the sword slide neatly past her and used the opportunity to put Mòrag further on the defensive, Aegis sword raised up and brought down like a hammer.

The Special Inquisitor's reaction time was impressive, managing to reorient her weapons into a crossed formation to catch the slam in a mere second, forcing the two into a blade lock. As they dueled, Rex and Corvin saw a chance to enter the fray, Rex channeling ether and swiping his sword down at the ground, a vertical slash of light ether surging out. However, perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising that Brighid was on-the-ball, the beam of light fizzling out as a surge of blue flames emerged from the ground to engulf it.

Corvin tagged in, leaping past Rex and cleaving through the wall of fire with his white sword, causing it to rapidly dissipate into nothing... only to be forced to hit the deck as Brighid immediately followed up by hurling a ball of fire from her hands. With Mòrag engaged entirely in melee, she was drawing strength from Brighid only passively, leaving the fiery Blade free to use her own arts quite liberally. She seemed dedicated to using this to control the battlefield with constant walls of flame. Rex and Corvin valiantly carved and blasted through every single one as it formed, but Brighid's sheer persistence was remarkable.

Most of the Ardainian soldiers were simply holding formation, not foolish enough to charge into the middle of a driver melee without Blade support of their own – and certainly not foolish enough to open fire into the scuffle, not when every stray shot risked striking the Special Inquisitor. Nobody wanted to go down in history as the one who shot His Majesty's right hand. The captain did, at one point, signal for a pair of troops to untangle one of their remaining ether nets, but the second the web was tossed into the fray, Poppi leapt in the way. With its ether-blocking properties of little use against her, and her own impressive strength, she quickly tore free of the snare, looking at the soldiers and waving a scolding finger. No more nets were thrown after that. With that done, Tora and Poppi turned back to the main focus of the battle.

Nia growled to herself, holding her sword up and letting Mòrag's swords strike against the flat of the blade. She and the Inquisitor had been dueling back and forth, pressing every moment that looked like an opportunity. Yet it was going nowhere – neither one had landed even a single a proper hit upon the other. In fact, they'd barely even nicked each others' clothes! Nia was, admittedly, a little proud of her own performance. Part of it was due to her empowering bond with Mythra, to be sure, but she also felt like she'd shaken the rust off her sword skills since the last encounter with Mòrag. The rest of her, however, was baffled and frustrated – how, even with Nia's advantages, was Mòrag still matching her pace so easily, then? The Ardainian seemed just as untouchable as she'd been in Torigoth, maybe more so! Had she just been massively sandbagging back then? It was the only theory that seemed to make sense.

Mòrag seemed to realize that the close-quarters approach wasn't accomplishing much, as she deflected another strike and then leaped backwards, landing a short distance away. Nia seized the chance to take a few deep breaths.

"You've grown stronger, girl, but there's got to be more to the Aegis's change than that! You won't defeat me by holding anything back!" the Special Inquisitor called out, though the effect of the goading was lessened a bit by the fact she was panting just as much as Nia. Mòrag flared her arms out dramatically, segmented whip swords sparking against the concrete as they unfurled. Unsurprisingly, her next move was to flick her right arm, sending one of the whips cracking out towards Nia. At the exact same moment, the Gormotti noticed movement from the corner of her eye, and then the whip was knocked aside as the edge of Poppi's shield slammed into it, the artificial Blade having flown in to defend her. Mòrag's second whip struck hard against the face of the shield, letting out an almost bell-like ring, but Poppi held firm. She glanced back to Nia, shooting her a small smile, before focusing back on Mòrag.

Nia shared a look with Mythra. So the Ardainian wanted to see more of the Aegis's power? They could do that. Nia surged forwards and jabbed the greatsword in Mòrag's direction. A burst of light ether lanced out like a brilliant arrow. Mòrag swiftly retracted one of her whips and, as she had done in Torigoth, leveled the tip of the blade towards the oncoming blast, expecting to use Brighid's flame control to curve it away. Except this wasn't an attack from Pyra, a fact the Inquisitor realized a moment too late, her eyes widening slightly. It was only the fact that Brighid realized sooner that stopped the blast from hitting her dead on. The Ardainian Blade dropped her efforts to frustrate Rex and Corvin and lunged towards Mòrag, an ether barrier forming just in time. The shield cracked heavily from the impact before Brighid dispelled it, picking herself up and taking a moment to brush dust off her dress.

Mòrag recovered from her shock quickly. "That wasn't fire ether at all... So even her nature has changed." she mused curiously. Without another word, she passed her weapons into Brighid's hands, the Blade stepping forward threateningly. Seeing this, Nia tossed the Aegis sword to Mythra, who deftly caught and hopped in front of her. Brighid leaped towards the Aegis and broke into a flurry of motion.

"Swirling Dragon!" It almost reminded one of a dance, slashing and spinning again and again in a vicious assault. The barrage of strikes was almost too fast too keep track of, too, the whips sometimes only visible by the blue streaks they cut into the air as they arced wildly. Against most opponents, it would've been a devastating assault.

Mythra, however, had Foresight on her side. She weaved past one swing, ducked below another, allowed a third to clip her shoulder while she brought her sword up to deflect a fourth. When at last Brighid finished the flurry (though it had really only been a couple seconds), Mythra was several steps closer with only superficial cuts to show for it. She took only a second to prepare her retaliation, pulling in a breath and taking a moment to focus before letting her ether surge.

Brighid received very little warning, as the Aegis seemed to almost vanish, little more than a blur of light before she suddenly reappeared at Brighid's side, sword burning brighter gold than usual as it cleaved downwards. Brighid swung a sword up in time to deflect the blow, but Mythra had already blurred again, appearing at the other side with another slash of light. Brighid's reaction time was good. But not quite that good. This time a gash tore right into her side, and Mythra didn't stop there, blurring around her again. And again.

"Photon... Edge!" Five slashes, all told, before Mythra finally stopped moving, reappearing in front of Brighid, tip of her sword resting the ground as she leaned on the hilt, panting. Brighid had stumbled back, hand covering a slice across her shoulder. The wall of fire that had been blocking the street finally vanished, her concentration too shaken to maintain it. She was steadied by a shocked Mòrag, who shot Mythra a withering glare. The angriest, in fact, any of them had ever seen her. Brighid's cuts, however, were shallow, more surprising in their suddenness than actually debilitating. Already they were glowing blue as they began to repair themselves. Before Mòrag could say anything, the Blade was already back on her own feet, her brows lowered enough to make it clear even with her closed eyes that she was scowling.

"You're... much more like the Aegis described in my journal. A boor using raw speed to cover her brutish slashes." she said, her tone neutral but undercut with scorn.

Mythra bristled, a scoff tearing from her throat. "That's pretty big talk from someone who got hit by almost all of them." she fired back coolly, eyeing the slowly shrinking lines on Brighid's skin. Brighid's scowl deepened, and she stomped forwards, whips cracking open again. Mythra let out one more huffing breath and then flipped her sword back up into her hand. She and Brighid glared at each other for a moment, and then charged, much as Nia and Mòrag had done before. And then...

"Stop this at once!" Nia's eyes widened at the voice echoing across the street, letting out a small gasp as the air seemed to... ripple, something heavy growing in the air. Like the feeling that settled on her when she gazed down from somewhere too high up. Mythra and Brighid seemed the worst affected by it, actually halting in place outright mid-sprint, the air twisting and distorting around them like heat rising from the road on a hot summer day.

Approaching from down the street behind Mòrag, staff held aloft and glowing bright, was Fan la Norne, Vandham and Roc on her heels. A stunned silence washed over the road for a moment, all eyes turning to watch her. Fan's mouth was tight, her brow furrowed in concentration. She still didn't have her full robe, and her undershirt had gained several stains, Nia noticed, the black smudges of soot stark against the white fabric. Her hair was something of a mess, tangled and sweaty. Despite all of that, she had an undeniable air of dignity around her, the brilliant shine of her staff like a lantern in the night.

As she stopped a few steps away from Mòrag, she lowered her staff, and the pressure in the air vanished. Brighid and Mythra stumbled, suddenly free to move unimpeded again. The two of them stared at one another for just a moment before huffing and moving to rejoin their drivers.

"My apologies, but I couldn't let this continue." Fan inclined her head slightly. Mythra crossed her arms, murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like 'deja vu', but didn't speak up.

"I'd heard rumors of that power, but seeing it for myself..." Brighid mused, her curiosity apparently overriding any offense she might've taken from being paralyzed. While that was happening, Nia took the moment to glance over Vandham as well, who nodded slightly at her and crossed his arms. He too looked rougher than when they'd parted, pouches askew and pompadour starting to come undone. Pale patches on his arms suggested recently-healed burns – though thankfully, in Nia's medical opinion, likely not too severe. Roc was, as always, harder to scrutinize, but even he showed signs of ruffled and bent feathers. Running rescue at a bomb site was not glamorous work, so none of this was surprising.

Mòrag raised her chin, clearly about to address Fan, but the Indoline beat her to it. "My lady, might I ask, what was the meaning of this fight?" Fan's tone was utterly polite, but Nia would swear her eyes narrowed with the question, just a bit. Though perhaps that was just her imagination.

"Your grace. We... had reason to believe the driver of the Aegis and her companions were responsible for tonight's events." Mòrag replied, her tone respectful. Nia couldn't help but feel a little satisfied watching her have to pick her words politely. Someone of her rank would have to be aware of the delicacy of parlaying with international diplomats. Especially a public darling like Fan. Vandham let out a surprised chuckle, causing Mòrag's eyes to flick over to him.

"Well that's a heck of a misunderstanding." he commented, brows raised slightly. Fan nodded solemnly.

"Indeed, I'm afraid there must be some mistake. I know for a fact that nobody here had any involvement." she said. Mòrag didn't take long to pick up on the implication.

"...So it was true. You actually did arrive with them, then?"

"Tch, we told you." Mythra huffed pointedly, arms crossed. Frankly, Nia didn't blame her – she'd been half-tempted to say exactly the same thing. Fan glanced at the Aegis before looking back to Mòrag and nodding.

"That's right." she confirmed.

Mòrag hummed. "I hadn't heard anything of the Praetorium having business with the Aegis." she noted. Fan's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! That was an oversight on my part, I must apologize. It was never intended to be a secret. The Praetor wished to meet them, that is all." she explained, clasping her hands and bowing her head, sounding genuinely apologetic. "However, that is not why we are here in Mor Ardain. There was..." Here, Fan paused noticeably. Nia could almost see her running through the dilemma of whether to risk informing the Ardainians of the hostage situation. "...a personal matter that suddenly became urgent. With the Praetor's approval, I invited lady Nia and her friends to travel with me after the meeting. We... stopped in the Empire to rest and refuel for our return journey."

Nia had to admit, it wasn't necessarily the worst cover story she'd ever heard. Extremely vague on the details, but that could be a strength as much as a weakness, and any questions could be deflected as personal business. Prying into Fan's private life would not be a wise move for diplomacy, and again, someone like Mòrag would have to be aware of that.

The only problem was that Fan's poker face was, to put it delicately... Bad. The very moment she made the decision to keep it secret, her eyes tightened, mouth stuck in a small frown. Between the unhappy expression and the lengthy pauses, to anyone who knew how Fan normally spoke, it came across as overly hesitant. Maybe even a bit guilty. They just had to hope that the Special Inquisitor hadn't noticed. Tora, nearby, fretting with his wings at the need to lie about it probably wouldn't help either, if anyone looked at him seriously.

"I see. That would explain your presence here, then." Mòrag said neutrally.

"Oh, what does that mean?" Nia thought furiously. Did she buy it? Was she just playing along? If so, why not make a point of it?

"Hold on. That still doesn't explain why they separated from you and ran all the way out here. Or the witness report of the metal girl." Brighid interjected. Mòrag looked at her and nodded. Nia was about to step in – to keep Fan from having to lie any further – but to her surprise, someone beat her to it.

"Well that's obvious, isn't it?" Rex wondered rhetorically. "We were chasing the one who actually did it." That seemed to actually take Mòrag by surprise, and she turned to him with interest.

"You actually know who the bomber was? You're certain?"

"I mean, yeah. We noticed - well, Poppi noticed another artificial Blade just like her hidin' nearby." he pointed to Poppi, just in case the Inquisitor wasn't clear on who he meant. "Her older sister, I guess. Name's Lila. She ran off, eventually got away after blowing up the ground. That's when you guys showed up."

"And you're familiar with this Lila? Do you know who her driver is, who she works for? What reason would she have for terrorism?" Mòrag pressed seriously.

"Mehmeh, nobody know for sure. Friends are trying to figure it out." Tora piped up. "Lila go missing years ago, Tora not expecting to see her again until recently." He looked down as he said that.

Nia was stunned. Rex and Tora had just dodged explaining the whole hostage situation, yet nothing they said was a lie. Oh, they suspected Torna were involved, but like Tora said, they really didn't know for sure.

"Hey. Where is your witness anyway?" That was Corvin, who'd been content to watch the proceedings until now. He glanced around with faux-laziness. Everyone stopped, following his gaze. He was right, where had that Nopon gone? Something heavy settled on Mòrag's shoulders as she beckoned for the captain to approach.

The soldier hung his head. "He slipped away, ma'am. It must've been during the pursuit. I take responsibility, I should've ordered someone to keep eyes on him." he apologized. Mòrag sighed.

"We'll discuss this later, captain." she replied, resigned. "Gather your men and return to base for now." The captain saluted and then left to do exactly that.

"I can't think of many good reasons for him to flee in this scenario. Perhaps our 'witness' was not what he seemed." Brighid noted grimly.

"That little weasel!" Nia swore. "He set us up! Does anyone even know who the hell he was?" From the reactions she got, nobody did. Tora seemed to take longer to think on it, but still eventually shook his head.

"Ahem..." Fan cleared her throat politely, looking to Mòrag. "Is it alright for us to return to the inn for now, my lady? I believe we've done all we can for now."

Mòrag paused a moment in thought and then nodded crisply. "...Very well. It would be helpful to meet with you all to take a more official statement. But not tonight, I won't keep you any longer." Nia was perfectly happy to hear that, almost sagging with relief. Finally, finally this was over with. And this was just the warm-up! The kidnappers were still almost certainly planning something for tomorrow. Ugh. This wasn't going to be good.

"Wait, hold on!" Rex exclaimed, striding forwards. Heads swiveled to look at him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he addressed Mòrag, who raised an eyebrow. "You at least owe Nia an apology, you know."

"Rex, it's fine." Nia sighed.

"No, it's not fine!" He paused, then shook his head. "It's just, I understand why you wanted to be harsh, it's a bad situation and a lot's going on, but... this isn't the first time, you know? You keep doing this, you and Brighid!" his eyes narrowed seriously as he looked at the two. "Back in Torigoth, Brighid just showed up and tried to arrest us outta nowhere. She actually did get me and gramps, and Dromarch! Then you just used us as bait to draw Nia out. And I don't even mind all that, not really. I mean, you thought Nia was dangerous, it was just a misunderstanding, if you'd realized you were wrong about her and left it there, then I'd say: water under the bridge."

He put his hands on his hips firmly. "But then you went and did the same thing again! You wouldn't listen to our side, barely let us even get a word! You just assumed the worst. Nia might've started the fight, but she did that 'cause you were barreling right over us!" he paused, exhaling a breath. "...If you make a mistake, then make it right, and don't make it again. That's the eleventh rule of the salvager's code. Just means you should try to learn and do better, right? But you act like you're trying too hard to be the big stern Special Inquisitor, who doesn't listen to anyone, and then you've got it all wrong."

A stunned silence had fallen over the street as Rex's rant wound down. Nia stared at him with wide eyes, and she was aware she wasn't the only one. Fan was frowning, looking between Rex and Mòrag in concern. Mythra fixed the salvager with a scrutinizing eye, as if reevaluating what she knew about him. Corvin actually looked impressed, and curiously, so did Vandham. Even Mòrag and Brighid's unflappable facades had faltered, leaving them looking genuinely taken aback. Rex glanced around, seeing all the eyes on him, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Er, sorry, I..." he began. But Mòrag recovered from her surprise and shook her head.

"...No, you're correct. We should have heard you out." she turned to Nia. "I apologize, Nia. And to you as well, Rex. To all of you." she bowed her head. After a moment, Brighid followed suit. Normally, Nia would've had something to say to that – a sarcastic comment if nothing else – but she was so surprised that she simply nodded her head slowly instead.

With that, Mòrag and Brighid soon departed, following in the same direction the soldiers had marched off to a few minutes before. Nia watched them go for a moment in silence. Then she whirled around.

"Rex! Where the hell did that come from!?"

"What?" Rex stumbled slightly at the outburst. Before he could make a proper response, another voice cut in.

"Oh, are you surprised?" Azurda finally saw fit to emerge from Rex's helmet, chuckling to himself at Nia's expression. "It's been awhile since the last time, but he's always been like that, you know."

"What do you mean?" Nia wondered.

"He's willing to roll with punches at himself, but when he's defending someone... Well, you know how impulsive he can be, so a bit of fire shouldn't be that shocking." the titan pointed out sagely.

"Hey, Gramps! I just thought Mòrag was a bit outta line, that's all. Come on." Rex huffed, clearly embarrassed.

"Rex not need to try to downplay it, he sound very cool." Tora tried to cheer him up.

"Yep! Nothing wrong with speaking your mind like that." Corvin agreed easily.

Vandham strode up to them, clapping a hand on Rex's back. "That's right. Not a lotta folk who can say they mouthed off to the Special Inquisitor and were right to do it." he complimented. Mythra nodded approvingly. Even Fan la Norne smiled slightly at him.

Nia rolled her eyes at the touchy-feely moment. But the truth was, seeing him browbeat Mòrag into apologizing to her... well, it was more than she was expecting. She would've been fine if the Inquisitor had just stopped bothering them, but Rex took it on himself to go the extra mile. That was... nice.

---

The trek back to the inn was quiet. Not an uncomfortable silence, so much as just a tired one. A lot had happened in a very short span of time tonight, and it didn't take long for it to settle on everyone's heads. The funny thing was that it still wasn't even that late at night, definitely not midnight yet. Nia almost felt like laughing – the bitter kind – when she remembered that they'd actually planned to try to relax as much as possible before the kidnappers did... whatever they were going to do to make their lives miserable. That didn't quite work out, did it?

It was when they passed by the bombed-out building – fires now extinguished, with a taped-off perimeter and tarps draped across the opening in the roof, a few very exhausted soldiers still standing guard outside – that Nia remembered to ask.

"Oh damn... Fan, I completely forgot to ask, what happened with the people in there?" she gestured at the building tiredly. Her voice dropped a little bit. "Did anyone...?"

Fan sighed. "Nobody died, thank goodness." Nia nodded, relieved, weight lifting slightly. "There were four victims caught in the blast... I healed them all to the best of my ability. Two will likely have permanent burn scarring. The third had severe lacerations from shrapnel, and the fourth broke his collarbone and several ribs when he was pinned by fallen ceiling debris. But they will all live, likely without significant impairments." she reported clinically, though there was undeniable relief as she delivered the prognosis.

"There weren't even supposed to be any workers on that floor after dark, ya know? Not even anything important up there either." Vandham interjected, crossing his arms thoughtfully as he stared up at the covered hole. "The only one scheduled to be there was the guard at the door, or so he said. But those four guys supposedly stayed late, used the empty space to host their gambling night." he explained.

"Wait a moment... then Lila attack building... that supposed to be empty?" Tora said, eyes widening slightly at the implications. Poppi was apparently on the same page as her driver.

"Then, it possible Lila not aiming to hurt anyone?" the artificial Blade wondered. Nia frowned.

"Possible, yeah, but then..."

"What would be the point?" Mythra finished.

Vandham hummed. "Maybe all this was the point." he said bluntly, spreading his arms wide. At the confused looks he received, the mercenary went to elaborate. "Ya ever heard of psychological warfare? Tricks and tactics to get inside your opponent's head? Maybe she, or rather whoever's pullin' her strings, wanted ta send us a message. Or maybe just keep us on our toes. Makin' a big ruckus would be a good way to draw attention, don'tcha think?"

Though it was just a theory, it was one Nia couldn't really find much fault in. And this was just the prelude. The real trouble was coming tomorrow. That ominous note hung over them all as they made their way back into the inn for the night.

Notes:

Hey, so, crazy couple of months, ri- *checks last update* *checks calendar* Ahem. Crazy. Couple. Of. Months. Right. Yes, definitely. In all seriousness, though, I'm alive. I noticed recently that I was still getting a few hits on this fic, even with it so long inactive. And seeing that, well... it motivated me to get off my butt and finish this chapter. To hopefully make up for that however slightly, you get a monster update this time. Parts of it were written a year ago, so if anything seems a tad disjointed, that's why. Now, we are following canon rails somewhat here – Lila causes chaos, Lila flies off, confrontation with Mòrag – but, well, I did it because that structure works for what I need. Shows a bit more of Lila and gets Mòrag back into the plot quite neatly. I tried to add enough of my own spin that it's not too boring, but I'll leave that for you to judge.