A/N: No Betas, we die like Malos.
Chapter 1
Fiora smiled as she wiped a dish towel over a few plates before placing them back into the cupboards. Shulk and Dunbun were quietly talking as they worked on dish duty, and Fiora took a moment to admire her engagement ring. Lights danced off the small jewel and a sudden warmth filled her heart.
The Bionis and Mechonis loomed over the horizon, but the people had moved on with a hope for a better future. Nopon, Machina, High Entia, and Homs alike, once they got past their initial shock over the changes of local scenery, were settling down. Reyn had recently started dating Sharla with Juju and Otharon's full blessing. Melia is wandering the lands to check up on her people, but often stopped by to share a cup of tea and the latest gossip. As for Fiora's little family, they were somehow roped into helping Riki build a brand new home next door.
The threat of Mechon was no more and the Telethia remained on the Bionis. Children played on the streets and people didn't fear for tomorrow. There was plenty left still to do, but everyone was alive and accounted for. Everyone but-
"Shulk? Dunban? Whatever happened to Alvis? Have we seen him since we fought Zanza?"
The two stopped their conversation.
"Have you seen him around, Dunban?"
"Not lately. The last time would be about… six months ago?"
Shulk nodded, "At the High Entia Regeneration Chambers? Fiora was just starting her treatments."
Fiora paused. "So no one has seen him since we moved off the Bionis?"
"We all have been so busy and establishing order with the move." Shulk sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "He is the Monado, but ever since I relinquished control, I haven't seen him, outside of that one time at the Regeneration Chambers."
Dunban rubbed his chin with his good arm. "Our topic of conversation was bit odd too, for our mysterious benefactor."
Fiora's attention perked. "What did you guys talk about?"
"Family."
"Family?"
"Yeah, he was wondering what a family was. Asked what siblings were and what we meant to each other. I remember it well. It was rare for him to talk to me and mostly ignore Shulk."
"And you boys didn't think to ask him if he wanted to live in the Colony with us? That's just as bad as Melia's self exile!"
Shulk shook his head. "Dunban offered, but he said he had something to do. Before I could ask what, he did his usual Alvis thing and disappeared off to who knows where. I barely got in a word outside of saying hello and reiterating that I wanted that this new world to thrive with no gods."
A silence settled over the three.
"Shulk, I think that it is the right thing to say that every living being has the right to choose their own path, but what is Alvis exactly?"
"He's the Monado? The … Artificial Lifeform something Intelligence something? I really don't know or understand, but the Monado can bend and alter ether to one's will and create-" his voice faltered and the uncomfortable silence resumed.
Dunban cleared his throat. "Shulk, what do you define as a god?"
Shulk paled. "Did I tell Alvis to go die?"
Panic was setting in the two sibling's faces. Dunban tentatively asked again, "Shulk, what do you define as a god?"
"OH BIONIS, I ORDERED HIM TO GO DIE."
"Shulk, breath-"
"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, HE's the very fabric of the ether. Our world is madeofetherandthemonadoisourworld. Itoldhimtogodie. Whatisgoingtohappen,Ineedtoseetheetherdatachartsatthelaboratory,and-"
Fiora just shook her head and carefully took her fiancée by the arm and forced him to sit down. Dunban thankfully shut his trap and poured out a glass of water for the hyperventilating man.
"Shulk…" Dunban began as Shulk began to rant on another tangent. "Shulk, I think Alvis is smarter than what you give him credit for."
That got the scientist's attention. Fiora forced the mug of water into his hand during his pause. "What do you mean?"
"I think Alvis is smarter that what you give him credit for. He knew that we wanted freedom from Zanza's reign and let you have access to the Monado."
"He's the most literal worded individual we know! It is how we managed to outpower and out Zanza of his control of the Monado and how I lived! Alvis didn't so much give me the Monado so much as that Zanza's ego forgot that he gave me access to it-"
"I think he knew that you wanted to overthrow Zanza. Did you have to say it word for word?"
Shulk stared at his future wife and brother in law. "Yes, pretty much, at the end."
"Well. We're doomed." Dunban shrugged and Shulk buried his face into his hands, mug long forgotten.
"Dunban! You are of ABSOLUTELY no help!"
The older man just sighed and massaged his forehead. "Sorry Fiora, I meant that we're doomed for now, but if we can find Alvis-"
"Does he even have a tangible form anymore? Riki, back me up on this-" Shulk paused to look at the furball now sitting in his lap. He gently patted the Nopon's soft feathers. "Wait, Riki, when did you get in here?"
"Riki come in here when DunDun go talk about Zanza and "we're doomed." Oka hear big shoutshout, so Riki check up on new littlepon. What wrong Shulk? Riki promise to be good dadapon to Shulk, so Riki will listen good."
"I- I am not sure where to start."
Riki gently patted Shulk's hand. "It okay, Shulk take time. Sometime words need time too!"
"I may have told Alvis to die and doomed us all."
Riki stared upwards towards Shulk. Confusion was evident in his tone. "Alvis no dead. Alponpon just have yumyums with Riki and littlepon. Sometimes Riki say things Riki no mean. Maybe Shulk can say sorry? Shulk shouldn't fight with friendpon."
"Pardon?"
"Say Sorry is important part of growing up. Dadapon Riki had to learn too."
"No, Riki, I was just confused. Alvis is alive?"
"Yes? Alponpon with brotherpon and friend come visit Riki at supper. Shulk not know?"
"Shulk not know." Fiora helpfully replied. "I'll start baking some sweets and maybe we can have a chat together? Dessert is always better with more people."
"Yippie! Riki go tell Alvis now." Riki slid off of Shulk's lap and dashed towards the door. "Fiora's dessert best next to Oka's! Will fill Riki's belly with happy happy."
The three waved the Heropon off and Fiora turned around to face Shulk and Dunban. "Alright, there is no point fretting over it now. We can ask for details later. I definitely need help with the cakes and sweets if Riki's entire family is coming over."
"Feeding Riki's entire family? That may be a bigger ordeal than the world ending."
"DUNBAN!"
Six months ago
According to Malos' calculations, there was no afterlife. Once dead or core crystal shattered, that was it for both humans and blades, respectively.
He took a deep breath.
Blades don't necessarily need to breath, but dead blades definitely do NOT.
This really, really sucked. Even after letting Pneuma personally shatter his damned core crystal, depleting his own energy reserves, and writing a code to make Aion to let him disappear after exiting the core wasn't enough to kill him.
Malos blearily opened his eyes. Everything, as to be expected, hurt. He was floating in a brightly lit pool, next to a glass staircase. The hexagonal light above was broken, sparking from the giant hole from where he fell in. His senses slowly filtered back in. Dust had begun to settle down and there was… screaming?
Jin.
Jin is screaming.
Before Malos could really comprehend what was happening, he was hauling himself out of the water and stumbling over the barricade to the water towards the source of the noise.
Jin is alive.
How was it possible- Malos felt him die on the space station. His thoughts halted as soon as he saw the familiar blade convulsing on the balcony. Malos frowned knelt beside Jin, carefully placing an arm under the silver haired man's head to prevent further damage. Ether was flowing out of the sickly man in waves. Jin wouldn't survive if his ether composition continued to decompose at this rate. Shaky hands reached up towards his own breastplate, quickly dislodging it so Malos' core crystal was exposed.
Malos hesitated. Jin wanted to die.
Was this even fair? For Jin? Malos gently brushed the hair out the sobbing man's face. "I'm sorry… I promise…to make your dream come true this time… I'm… just going… make it hurt less..."
Pneuma did half of the work for him. The Dark Aegis swore as he tore his core crystal apart. Trembling hands nearly dropped the core crystal half. Black spots filled his vision as he placed the protesting half of his core against an all too familiar scar. Jin's wretched sobs slowed into labored breathing as Malos sat patiently beside him. A familiar silver coat reappeared around the blade as the red core went back into energy conservation mode. The foreign core crystal pulsed, sending out information as it tried to repair the dying blade's core. Malos let out a sigh of relief. Jin's data was stabilizing.
It will do for now.
But the screaming hadn't stopped. Malos blinked. Jin was stabilizing, so who was still screaming their bloody head off. It wasn't exactly screaming. It was more like mad giggling.
Said screeching was, unfortunately, equally familiar.
Dread filled Malos' stomach. To ask why that man was there along with them would be pointless. Malos didn't have enough information to begin with. Why was he here? Why was Jin here? Why was Amalthus here? Where the hell are they in the first place?
The Aegis looked down. Jin was in no condition to deal with the disgraced praetor and Malos had just lost half of his core. It would be wiser to run.
He'd be running again.
Broken laughter barely made it past his lips. Things really didn't change, did they? Malos tucked an arm under Jin's knees and another wrapped around the slimmer man's shoulders, heaving the unconscious man into a fireman's carry. There was an ether elevator; they could leave the area with that.
The deranged laughter slowed down and Malos looked up and swore internally. He was, as usual, too late and the decision was taken out of his hands. If one had to take a blind peacock ant and replaced its legs with tentacles and plastered sections of Mikhail's glitter art from one of their "group bonding" meetings, Akhos would say that it didn't look exactly like Amalthus, but was eerily similar in spirit. Patroka would just say that the man looked like the glitter covered mop used after said meeting.
Neither description was particularly appealing to Malos.
Amalthus peered down from the top of the stairs and gave a vicious smile. He swung his arms upwards, the tentacles filled with cores followed suit. "My dear Aegis, how grand of you to finally join me. I am a king! I am given a throne! This is the will of the Architect! He has heard my cries. None shall surpass my perfection, my will for perfection! Come be my blade of divine judgment, Aegis of the Architect."
Malos gave Amalthus a blank stare.
"Obey my will, Aegis. Hand over Jin and I will become unstoppable. I am your driver!"
Malos took a step up the stairs. One foot followed another. Amalthus' crazed grin widened as Malos inched closer before him. A tentacle reached over and caressed the soldier's face. Another two artificial limbs reached over towards Jin.
Malos swung his fist forward, using his momentum to send Amalthus half way across the ornate room.
"No."
"What? You dare disobey me again? I, with Haze's core crystal, who can control all titans and blades-"
"You are not taking him," enunciated Malos as he carefully set Jin against a wall. He stood back and turned, placing himself in between his friend and the praetor. Amalthus scrambled backwards, one hand clutching his bleeding nose, as Malos slowly closed the distance between them. A smirk grew on Malos' face as he took another step forward.
"I-I-I am your driver! You are not to harm me!"
"Yeah, yeah, you can repeat that all you want." A familiar glow of purple encased his hand, quickly swiping across Amalthus' forehead, barely touching the gen encased on the helmet. The strength of his abilities couldn't even hold a flame to his power. Besides his weakening, it was true. Under the orders of the one who had awakened him, Malos couldn't harm Amalthus even if he wanted to. "It's the same as it was seven hundred years ago, hypocrite."
"W-What are you doing?" Amalthus let out a vicious screech as tiny, but controlled, purple ether orbs bloomed, devouring the Malos' primary target, Haze. A voice that he long forgotten whispered thanks, but it was muted as he focus back on the battle. A tentacle lashed out, but it was untamed and stuck air. Amalthus' power isn't his own. It was and has been always stolen from another.
How utterly and pathetically human.
A long suffering sigh escaped Malos' throat. Artificial intelligent programs had always learnt best from pre-existing models and algorithms.
"Converting core material and data to ether." Malos didn't recognize his own robotic voice. He focused on the power surging back through his veins. Malos lunged forward, throwing a feint and hopped over a flailing tentacle. Purple mist whipped around the praetor's pauldron, splashing against a few more exposed core crystals. Malos lifted up an arm, blocking a sharp rabbit punch from the right. Darkness flared up, melting through the gauntlet and revealing the spindly arm underneath. The mist reared backwards, repelling itself away from the Indolian's flesh. Amalthus grappled forward with his remaining arm; but it was too sluggish and far too easily parried and devoured. Something was wrong-
Malos stumbled as a three tentacle drill drove itself into his chainmail, digging through flesh and lodging itself into the spine. Sharp pain blinded the Blade and his legs dangled uselessly as Amalthus swung him around like a ragdoll.
"You cannot harm me, Aegis. All blades exist for my will. I have awakened from death to a grand audience room. See my beautiful throne! See how it fits the Agent of the Architect! All blades were created for my perfect will. I will absorb your crystal along with-"
"Direct contact to ether lines has been created. Deactivating pain sensors. Tethering ether supply and removing excess ether sources from driver. Stabilizing driver's ether cycles to healthy rates." Amalthus' tentacles abruptly faded and the empty core crystals decorating the praetor's armour shattered. Malos' body fell to the ground uselessly, limp.
"You're fucking late, Malos!" Patroka's voice could be heard. She pushed forward, wrapping herself in a protective barrier around the remains of Malos' core crystal. Cries of other core cried out in unison, following the lead of the remains of the young woman's ether.
"And the curtains have yet to fall for us," chimed in her brother. Malos' breath hitched. Ahkos- "Don't fall- Jin's counting on you."
"I do not want my last thoughts to be of this ugly man's face. His heart is far too ugly." Mikhail. "Malos. You have to fight. You're best at fighting out of us lot, fight for us. Fight for Ji-"
The praetor wrapped his hands around the bulk of Malos' neck, shaking vigorously. "No! NO! Give it back to me! Give me all of my core crystals back-"
Pale gray eyes stared off into the distance. "Negative. Driver's human heart is unable to sustain ether flow. Heart failure will be imminent if the driver continues. Diagnostic analyses have shown that permanent damage has already occurred five hundred years ago through core crystal Haze-"
"I AM YOUR DRIVER, OBEY MY WILL-" Amalthus' voice cracked midway. Malos blandly stared at the blade protruding from the blue skinned man's chest. Blood splattered against his face as Amalthus' lungs tried to fight against the pooling blood. Malos fell down, face planting against the ground for the nth time.
A shaky arm pushed himself up and Malos tiredly looked up.
Jin.
"You … are not his driver anymore. Overdrive protocol engaged... Overdrive protocol… completed." The blade was replaced with a sharp flower of ice. A final gargle escaped Amalthus' throat before silver cut into it. The body slumped down with the head hanging on by the tiniest amount of muscle. Jin reached over shoving the cooling body over to the side, before slumping against a throne's pedestal. His nodachi fell noisily beside him.
Malos pulled himself against the ground, dragging himself towards the prone body of his new driver. Malos' breath hitched. He didn't want to be alone again. A sigh of relief escaped as he felt the weak ether flow continue to pulse through Jin. Malos quietly sent over eighty-five percent of the drained ether to his other half of his core. The kids will take good care of Jin. "I thought… you didn't… want your own damned blade."
A familiar hand threaded its way through Malos' short hair, pulling him closer to Jin's chest. "I changed my mind."