Nia
This scene takes place after Pyra had just been taken by Torna, between chapters 6 and 7.
Rex collapses on the ground as the others get up.
"Rex!" I get off the ground and run to him. He's still breathing, but he is badly injured.
"Nia..." he whispers, then he falls unconscious.
"Rex... Please be okay. You can't die here." The others got over to Rex.
"Definitely one of the worse injuries I've seen," started Morag, "But it looks like he'll recover. It'll take time, though."
Just then, Brigid cut in. "The worse injury, I think, is not physical."
"Ah, he'll come back from it, he always does," responded Zeke. "If he's the chum I know, he'll be back on his feet in no time at all."
"My lady, I think it would be best if we carried him back on my back. We can't just stay out here in the open and wait for him to recover here. We would be a good target for some hungry wildlife." As if on cue, a Rooka Ansel flew into the clearing. Zeke and Morag both unsheathed their weapons. The large bird of prey wasn't looking for a fight, though. It went straight for the unconscious Rex. As it dived, I jumped in the way. It's sharp talons missed their target, but instead found the blades of Dromarch's dual rings. I dropped them, the force on them being too strong for my hands, it disarming me. The bird turned towards me. I edged backward, and as it dived, Dromarch dived on top of it, sinking his claws into it. It shakes him off, but just then Morag had come to her senses and stabbed the poor creature through the heart. It fell over, dead.
"I suppose you were right, Dromarch." Morag states the obvious. "We should go." I get to my feet, feeling as if I was on fire. Even with the aches, I helped Morag and Zeke lift him onto Dromarch. And thus began the long, painful journey back up the titan. I could tell that Dromarch was in pain, but he did his best not to show it. I decided to avoid using my weapons to avoid placing extra stress on his already waning strength. There were a few encounters with enemies, and as we couldn't avoid them by running, Zeke, Morag, and Tora had to fight them off. I stayed with Rex and made sure he didn't fall off, which he almost did a couple times. We finally made it back to Theosoir, where we decided to stay at the inn. We could have stayed at the castle at Zeke's request, but decided not to because we thought it would be better for Rex to not be in the place where Pyra was almost destroyed to recover. The hotel fee was high, but we had enough for a while.
"Alright, here's your room key," said the person working there. "It's the second and third rooms on the right. Breakfast is in the morning, whenever you get up." He yawned, as it was getting late. "If you need anything, I'll be in the first room on the left." He then left and entered his room. We opened the first door and found that there were three beds, and they were all neatly made. I walked with Dromarch over to the first one and lifted Rex onto the bed. Everyone crowded around to see how he was doing. His injuries were quite severe.
"Ok, everyone, give him some space, will you?" I said. I wanted some time with him alone, but I knew that that wasn't coming easily. Instead, I decided on another plan. I was also quite hungry. "Am I the only hungry one here? We should get something to eat, even if it is late. We can decide what to do when we're not so hungry." I was going to assist in the healing process, but I don't want anyone to know about that. I'm sure they'll find out eventually, but I'm not ready yet.
"Sure, I was a bit hungry from the long hike there and back. Let's get something to eat." Zeke said.
"Tora hungry too." came the reply. "Let's eat." We then walked out of the hotel and towards the market. Most places were closed at this time because it was nearly 10:00. One place was still open, but as Tora, Zeke, and Morag went to see what they still had for sale, I slunk away.
"Cover for me, will you?" I whispered to Dromarch. He nodded.
I walked back over to the hotel and went into the room. Rex was lying on the bed, and the sheets had already been messed up, lying around him. He was covered in sweat, and he was delirious. He was tossing and turning and moaning. It hurt to see him like that, helpless and injured. I grabbed his sweat-coated hand and he calmed down a bit. I transformed into my blade form and started to heal him, but there was a knock on the door. I quickly turned back and opened the door. Through it was the room steward who went to his room earlier. "Everything alright? I heard moaning."
"Yeah, fine. Thanks. You can go back to bed now." There was a bit of unintentional anger in my words, but it seemed to have worked.
"Sorry, I'm just supposed to check up on the customers. Company policy, I guess."
"Okay, well you did, now you can leave." He left, grumbling to himself.
I closed the door and turned back to Rex. He had calmed down a bit and stopped moving. I took his hand again, now in blade form. I channeled the ether in the room into healing for him. He was then fully unconscious. I turned back into my driver form, my work done. "Rex... I whispered." He can't hear me anyway, so it can't hurt. "I now realize that I'm forever doomed to be unnoticed. I... I don't care." I'm crying now. "Just be ok, please..." It's been too long, I realize. They know that I'm not with them. Reluctantly, I remove my hand from his. I stand up, wipe the tears from my eyes, and walk towards the door. Just then, there is a bit of rustling from behind the door. My eyes well up, but I wipe the tears away again. I open the door and see Morag standing there.
"Are you doing alright?" she asked, concern flooding her voice. "The others were wondering where you had gone, I thought to check here."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. How much of that did you hear?"
"Not much. Nia, are you... crying?"
"No..." I say, wiping my eyes again.
"Nia, If there's something you want to talk about, go ahead and tell me. Holding it inside won't help."
"I'll be fine." I finally stopped crying. "Just... don't tell the others, please."
"Nia..." The concern now laced her voice.
"I told you, I'll be fine," I say, not even believing it myself. Just then, everyone else came over, apparently having gotten the food.
"Hey, Nia, where were you?" Zeke asked, not noticing she had been just crying.
"Leave her be." Morag said, much to my thanks. "She's fine."
"Alright, let's eat." said Zeke. We all went over to the table, and Zeke pulled out the food. It smelled delicious, but my appetite was nonexistent. I ate a little because otherwise everyone else would get suspicious, as it was my idea in the first place. I excused myself not long after, feeling I should sleep, as I was so tired I was barely able to focus, much less pretend to be interested in the conversation that Tora and Zeke were having on the "proper way to block an attack." It seemed like I wasn't the only one, as not long after, Morag and Brigid joined me. Unfortunately for me, that meant that I wasn't getting to sleep anytime soon. Morag fell asleep fast and sound, and she snores. Loudly. Oh well, I'll just have to dwell on my thoughts.
-A day and a half later-
We had been waiting for quite some time for Rex to wake up. Two days have passed, and everyone is getting restless. However, He is almost completely healed. I can feel it. But I don't tell the others, they will just have to wait. I told Dromarch, though. He wondered why I was able to tell how he was healed. To be honest, I didn't even know. Dromarch surmised that it had something to do with my feelings for him. I'm not sure how he could tell, but he's one (Person?) I'm okay with knowing about. He won't tell him. The others, I'm not so sure.
Tora, apparently tired of waiting, spoke up. "Rex Rex still sleeping? It two days now!" Not much longer, I thought. He should be coming out any time now.
"His injuries were quite severe. The worst is over, but his body needs time to heal." It wasn't Dromarch's first severe injury he had helped heal.
I decided to ramble my mind a bit. "He'd better get well soon, or-" Or maybe my intuition was wrong. That's possible too. Just then, he came into the plaza, carrying a sack over his shoulder. His eyes were pointed towards the ground, and his face was downcast. "Rex?!" I've never seen him like that. He'd always been this light of optimism in the group, innocent to the terrors of the world. I wonder why he'd been like that, seeing as he had lost his immediate family at the beginning of his life. Who knows. Maybe Azurda was a really good counselor or something. But why, then, would he change so quickly? "What's that?"
"I'm leaving." What? Why?
"But... where will you go?" I inquired. Crap. No, this isn't supposed to happen! Rex, No! Don't leave me. Please.
"Good question. Can't live on Gramps anymore. Maybe I'll head for Argentum." Rex... please don't leave.
"Rex, you-" Gramps interrupted, but I just started.
"What the hell are you talking about, Argentum?" I think I'll just say some things about Pyra. Maybe he'll do it for her. There's no way he'd listen to me. "What about Pyra? Do you know how desperate the situation is? Or have you finally lost it, you idiot?" Okay, I didn't mean that. It just... slipped out. I wish I could take that back.
"I know, OK? It's just..." No, Rex. No.
"Just what?" I'm getting angry now.
"I'm done."
"Done?" No, Rex, please don't. You're the only thing that keeps me going. You can't do this to us! You can't do this to me! Rex, please...
"When I became the driver of the Aegis, her Driver..." Oh yeah, Pyra. It's all about her. "I felt like I could do anything. But I was just kidding myself. All I've managed to do is hurt her, again and again. So, I'm done." No, please, Rex. Don't leave. I... I don't think I can, anymore. Not if you leave.
"Oh for crying out loud, Rex! She got herself caught to save you!" There, I wasn't wrong. We all owe her a debt of gratitude.
"I know! So what?"
"SO WHAT?!" I don't think I can keep doing this for much longer. I... I can't be mad at him. He... I don't know.
"Those guys are way out of my league. I can't beat them. It's hopeless. I understand that now. She'll be safe with them. They're not going to hurt her like I do. So I'm leaving. I've just been kidding myself all along. Me, a Driver? In the end, salvaging is all-"
"You... bloody... IDIOT!" Rex, how dumb can you be? What do you mean, they're not going to hurt her? They're going to use her to destroy humanity! We have to do something! And then I did something I really regretted. As he turned to face me, I slapped him. Hard. As soon as I did, I regretted it. I want to say "I'm sorry, Rex. I didn't mean that." But, I can't. I'm not sure why. Instead, I said something even dumber. "Hurts, yeah? But that pain's nothing compared to what Pyra must be feeling right now! She went with those bastards knowing full well how much it would hurt. For our sake, not hers!" Now I'm just blabbing about Pyra. It's senseless babble, that. He won't listen to me.
"I get it, I know! But what do you want me to do? I couldn't even slow him down. Even the Artifice's attack couldn't touch him! What chance do I have against a guy like that?" He started to walk away. It's lost. I can't do this anymore. "The more I fight, the more Pyra gets hurt. She'll be..." Just then, Brigid started walking over towards him. "Better off without me by her side."
Brigid walked faster. She got up to him, and as he turned around, she slapped him again. "Do you actually mean that? Do you not have the slightest idea how it felt for her to leave you?" I... I think I'll let Brigid handle it. I... I just can't anymore. She kept going. "Pyra thought you'd be better off if she was dead, did you know that? She is planning to sacrifice herself to defeat them!" That seemed to have gotten through to him. "You drove her to this, but here you are, giving up! You said you'd get Pyra to Elysium, didn't you? You'll eat your words, just like that?" Apparently, something from that was getting to him.
"Forget it. We'll rescue her on our own." I decided that I wasn't quite done yet. "This loser... he's not the Rex we joined up with." I wasn't wrong. Rex's blind optimism and steadfast courage was the reason I fell for him. It seems to have... just disappeared. "Let him go wherever the hell he wants.
"Come now, let's not start fighting amongst..." Dromarch was going to try and stop this, but before he could, Morag stopped him.
"Let's give them a chance to work this out..." She was right. We were fighting like siblings. "Shall we?" Zeke didn't like that idea, but he went along.
"Y'know... I..." Rex started but was interrupted by Poppi.
"Nia quite right!" It seemed as if he was about to change his mind, but Poppi clearly didn't see that. "Rex definitely not behave like himself! Giving up after one loss? That not Rex I know at all!
"But-"
"Now is not time for excuses!" Poppi reached back her arm as if to punch her.
"Poppi!" Tora yelled, clearly not expecting this violent behavior, but instead of hitting Rex, she patted him on the head.
"P-Poppi?" He sounded as if he was afraid he might still get hit.
"Poppi is hurt to see Rex like this. Poppi and Masterpon are not real Blade and Driver. So Poppi and Masterpon looked up to Rex lots." Not in the same way, but I think I did too. "Rex worked very, very hard to get this far. When Rex tries hard, Poppi and Masterpon try hard. Rex like bullseye we aim for. Without Rex, we not know which way to go." I'm with you there, too, Poppi. "So please... Rex cannot give up and stop here."
"Poppi..." Rex looked even more downcast. He closed his hand ino a fist, but just then Pandoria ran up and whispered something into Zeke's ear.
"Chum!" He said.
"Huh?"
"My old man wants to see you. Time to go."