Chapter 1 – Defrost

"Hey, brat! Don't even think about touching that!"

Rex's gloved finger, which was hovering dangerously close to the glowing emerald crystal centered in above the handle of what looked kind of like a Blade weapon in front him, snapped back.

"Oh, uh, sorry." He quickly put that same hand behind his head, backed away, before turning around. Rubbing his short brown hair, a sheepish smile crept onto his face and he let out a short laugh, both to cover his embarrassment and fear. That Malos guy had sounded absolutely furious. "Didn't mean that."

"Just get away before you break something, kid." Malos stormed into the room past him, scowling. His Blade, Sever, lurked close behind and let out a sinister hissing chuckle as he stalked past.

Rex complied and moved away, feeling awkward. His boot schlepped into a bit of cloud sea sludge built up on the metal floor as Malos started circling the capsule in the center of the room. His eyes flicked back to the red sword's emerald crystal. He was sure it had been pulsing when he nearly touched the thing, but it was just glowing dully now.

He hadn't imagined it. Right?

The sound of two sets of boots and a set of paws on the metal floor signaled the entrance of the other members of their boarding party into the open chamber. He turned to see Jin, Dromarch and a wide-eyed Nia slowly entering into the room.

"Wow!" Nia was peering closely at the sword and the red-haired young woman in the capsule behind it. "Never seen anything like it before."

"It is extraordinary," Dromarch agreed. The white, tiger-like beast Blade flicked a white-furred paw over one of his ears.

Rex stepped to the side as Jin went up to Malos, discussing something in voices too low for him to hear. He turned to the gormotti girl, raising one eyebrow, confused. "Wait, so you didn't know what you were coming to get?"

Nia flicked her nose in annoyance and set a hand on her hip. "'Course I knew! But just because I knew what it was supposed to look like doesn't make it any less impressive."

"So it's kinda like when you're salvaging, then. You know, 'Open a chest, it might be great. Until then it's just a crate.'"

"What's that supposed to be?"

Rex grinned. "Rule four of the Salvager's Code. So, even if you know what you're going to pull up out of the cloud sea, it can still surprise you in a good way, right?"

He saw Nia's cat-like ears flatten, and her eyes rolled. Was she annoyed? Unimpressed? He didn't know her well enough to tell. "You know I've only heard about this code of yours twice, but I think I'm already sick of it. Do all salvagers have a one track mind like you?"

"W-well," Rex stammered. "I mean, not all of us, no. But I mean, come on. I do it for a living, lady. What did you expect?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She turned to the two men by the capsule and called out, "Jin, do we need him for anything else?"

The masked man turned to her. "No. He's done everything we needed him for. It's best that he doesn't concern himself with anything that happens after this."

An ear-grating screech of metal vibrated his teeth, and Rex, Nia and Dromarch tensed, hands going to their respective weapons, readying for another monster attack.

But it was just Malos tearing the entire capsule with the red-haired woman inside out of its socket. His eyes widened as the black-haired man swung the whole thing back – which had to be taller than his already impressively tall frame –and balanced it on to his shoulder. Pipes that had been attached to the capsule spat out unknown fluids and steam, spilling onto the floor like blood.

His eyes widened. That was…

…Awesome! Just how strong was this Malos guy? Did all Drivers have strength like that? Would he be able to do stuff like that if he became one?

"Oi!" Nia shouted, snapping him out of his reverie. "At least give us a little warning if you're planning on doing something like that! Nearly gave us a heart attack."

Malos scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Nia, go up ahead and call the Monoceros. We've got what we came for."

Rex saw her ears flatten a little. She looked like she might make a retort, before she let out a huff, turned on the spot and stomped out. Dromarch inclined his head toward them in a small bow before padding out after her.

"So, what exactly is she, anyways? Rex asked. "The girl in the capsule, I mean. And that sword; is it some sort of Blade weapon?"

Malos eyed him coolly. "None of your damn business, brat. Just follow us back to the deck and you and the others will get the rest of your pay."

Rex narrowed his eyes. "If you don't want me to know, you could've just told me. You don't have to be so rude about it."

Malos simply let out a 'hmph,' and started walking. As he passed by it, he kicked the red sword so hard that it flew out of its pedestal and slammed into the wall, shattering. The expression, the smirk on his face was so vindictive. Sever let out another hissing chuckle and followed after Malos.

What was that all about, anyways?

Rex laced his hands behind his head and started following, noting that Jin fell into step behind him. Rex was just a salvager. Just 'hired help.' A door opener. Maybe it wasn't his place to think about it.

Oh well. 'Least he had the prospect of another hundred grand to think about once this job was over.

The first thing she became aware of was the cold.

It wasn't the type of cold that came from the wind chilling bare skin, or the freezing cold of harsh winters. This was a cold so numbing, that if she didn't know better, felt almost warm.

She opened her eyes, and was met with harsh light, and instinctively she shut them. But in that brief moment, she had caught the sight of lush green grass, and of course, the bright sunlight.

It made no sense to her given how cold she was. Shouldn't there at least be snow to be this cold? Even the sun didn't seem to have any effect on the chill.

It was…difficult to make her limbs move the way she wanted them to. Or move at all. They were so stiff, like she hadn't moved them for a very long time. She slowly, painstakingly, curled into ball, huddled in on herself in an attempt for warmth that didn't come.

Then, she became aware of the incessant tolling of a bell.

Over and over and over.

She didn't know how long she lay there, shivering uncontrollably, listening to the ringing of the bell. Her mind felt so sluggish, struggling to form coherent thoughts, much less retrieve the memories that could tell her how she'd gotten into this situation. A part of her just wanted to rest.

So…c-cold.

The bell kept on tolling.

Never stopping.

There were footsteps rustling through the grass, slowly getting louder, closer.

Haze would probably be scared silly right now.

She didn't know why that thought went through her mind. Nor could she distinctly remember who 'Haze' was. Instead of being scared at the approaching stranger, she was just cold.

A warm hand cupped her cheek and she instinctively leaned into it, seeking the heat. True warmth, not the numbing kind from the cold she had been feeling.

"Lora."

The memory of her name cinched into place. Her name was Lora. Something prickled on the edges of her memory. Running. Explosions. A man with silvery-white hair. A horrible wrenching where her heart should be.

Lora opened her eyes, slowly this time, squinting at the bright sunlight.

Her view resolved into a young woman kneeling beside her. Short red hair – wasn't her own hair a slightly duller shade of red? – fluttered in a sudden soft breeze. She was smiling. Below her face, affixed to her sternum, a glowing emerald crystal pulsed. A name attached to that image bubbled to the surface of her mind.

"M-Mythra?" Lora's mouth quivered, making her jaw ache as she spoke, teeth chattering. Even as she spoke it, something about that name didn't seem right. Didn't fit.

"No." The smile on young woman who wasn't Mythra turned sad, and she shook her head slowly. Forlornly. "No, she's still sleeping. Please, call me Pyra."

Another involuntary shiver ran up her spine. "Why am I s-so cold?"

She felt Pyra pick her up, and draw her closer, cradling her head over her shoulder, hugging her. "I'm not entirely sure. We aren't directly in contact, but I can tell that your real body is currently frozen. But…it shouldn't have an effect on how you mind perceives itself here."

Her eyes scrunched in confusion. Her skin prickled painfully while it got used to the idea of being warm again. "My real body? I don't…what do you mean?"

She heard Pyra sigh. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but clinically, you're dead. Or at least you should be. But, you're here, which means even if it's been significantly slowed, your mind is somehow still active enough to participate in this dreamscape. Somehow, your soul is still there inside you after all these years."

Lora didn't know what to make of that response, but it felt right somehow, even though she didn't know why. For a long while she was in Pyra's arms, soaking up the heat. So, she was dead? Surprisingly, she didn't feel mad about that.

Though the cold never went away entirely – there was a spot in her chest around her heart that remained freezing, no matter what – it receded enough that she could feel her limbs again. She stopped shivering uncontrollably.

Carefully, she looked around at the landscape, noting that the grass she'd been lying on was part of a large hill. Atop it, a lone tree. Slowly, carefully, she slid out of the embrace. Steadying herself by leaning on Pyra, she stood.

Pyra looked at her worryingly, and placed her hand bracingly on her back. "Are you sure you should be standing yet?"

Lora nodded, giving a small reassuring smile. "Thanks, but I'll manage. It can't be worse than being dead, right?" A small shiver went through her body, and she tucked her hands under her armpits. Not the most dignified thing ever, but she found herself not caring. Despite being warmer now, she was still cold.

The hole in her chest still refused to get warm.

She looked around more, and saw that the field around her seemed to stretch on forever into the horizon. There were buildings, dotting the landscape. None of it looked familiar. "Where are we, anyways, Pyra? The afterlife?"

Pyra shook her head. "No. This is Elysium. Or rather, what I remember it to be like. It's where Mythra and I were born."

"Elysium? What's- ugh!" She clutched her head as a shot of pain lanced through it.

"Are you alright?"

Lora winced, but gave Pyra a bracing smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's just…"

She trailed off. Like so many other things right now, she couldn't place how or why they were familiar. She shook her head. "Sorry. I'm having trouble remembering much. My mind still feels like it's trying to move through ice, you know?"

A complicated set of emotions ran over Pyra's face. Her hand hovered over the emerald crystal on her sternum. It pulsed slightly. "If you want, I can help you. Give you another chance. I can give you half of my life force, half of my core. It can act as your missing heart, even eventually repair it."

"My…missing heart?" The cold in her chest seemed to sharpen. Lora's hand carefully went to her neck and pressed two fingers against the side. She waited. And felt nothing.

No pulse.

The ice in her head cracked.

Fragments of memories rushed through. Spessia, Addam's militia camp, the overwhelming attack by Indoline forces. Being separated from Haze and Mikhail.

Jin.

Oh, Jin.

She had no heart, because she allowed Jin to take it. To become a Flesh Eater Blade so he wouldn't revert back to his core after she'd been fatally wounded.

So he could keep his memories of her.

She took a shuddering breath. The grass scratching against her cheek told her she was on the ground again. Pyra stood worriedly near her.

"Jin is still alive, isn't he?" She could feel it. That deep seated connection between Driver and Blade, thrumming. Alive.

Cold. Colder than it ever was.

"If I accept your offer, I could see him again?"

Pyra nodded, helping her to her feet again. "Yes." She hesitated a moment. "But…in return, I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Take me to Elysium, the real one at the top of the World Tree."

"Why there?"

Pyra hesitated, as if looking for the right words. "I want to see it, at least once. With my own eyes. And to meet with Father. With the Architect."

The bell tolled again. Mournful.

If she could even just see Jin again, it would be worth it. Lora nodded. "Alright. I'll do it."

Mikhail blinked as something splashed onto his cheek. He brought his gloved hand up, dabbed at it and found the liquid clear. Water?

He glanced around, trying to see the source, but didn't immediately spot anything above him that would be leaking water. Plenty of systems that could leak coolants, ether fuel, and plenty of other oils, but not water.

Another drop landed on his face, this time on his forehead.

Crap. Was there a slow leak somewhere in the Marsanes? He checked his mental map of the warship. Above was the docking area for the Monoceros. Maybe the seal on the airlock wasn't as tight as it should be? Nah, he'd just checked that last month.

Of course,even if that was the problem, he wasn't sure if he would have the time fix it anyways. Once he made a couple more minor adjustments to the Marsanes, he was scheduled to head over to Mor Ardain's Factory to inspect and pick up the Blade Bots. And of course, rendezvous with the lovely Patroka after she was done core crystal hunting.

He knew Jin, Malos and Nia just recently docked, hopefully with the Aegis. Had they messed up something while docking? No, that shouldn't be possible. The Monoceros' autopilot took over for that procedure. Even Nia couldn't mess that up. Not that anyone in their right mind would let her drive.

So what was it then?

Another drop of water, larger this time, landed. Mikhail wiped it off his face irritably and called up to the deck above. "Yo, Cressidus!"

The sound of something heavy clunked onto the metal of the bridge of the Marsanes above him, and the hulking figure of his humanoid Blade poked his head over the side of the walkway overhead. "Yeah, what is it, pal?"

"You didn't accidentally break something and not tell me, right, buddy?"

His Blade shook his head vehemently. "No, I wouldn't do that to you! Why are you asking, anyways?"

"You see anything leaking up there?"

His Blade ducked back to check. A long, agonizing moment passed, followed by another drop of water.

The big Blade poked his head over the walkway again. "Uh, you might want to see this for yourself, buddy."

Well, if that wasn't ominous, he didn't know what was. Mikhail quickly shut the panel to the mechanism he had been working on, and rushed over to the lift to the floor above. Cressidus raised his arm, pointing out the...leak.

Mikhail's eyes widened. The hell?

Behind the central console that operated the Marsanes, the tall cone of ice where Lora's body was kept suspended upright was still resting in its usual place, frozen to absolute zero temperatures by Jin. The makeshift coffin had stood there for centuries, but now, it was melting. A small trail of water led from the bottom, dripping over the edge of the upper deck of the bridge, down to where he had been.

He looked back to the ice and his heart nearly burst out of his chest. Lora's eyes were open, staring right at him.

The hell?!

He had just enough time to properly freak out before a massive pillar of flame burst through the ceiling, obscuring the whole thing in a raging inferno. It would probably have melted him too, if Cressidus hadn't body tackled him away from it, raising his ether shield to cover them both.

An alarm sounded, followed by the hissing of fire retardant chemicals hissing out of their compartments. The air on the bridge became thick with hot steam from sublimated ice, making it difficult to make much of anything out.

"You alright, Mik?" Cressidus asked, moving off of him and carefully hauling him to his feet with far more care than his huge stature would indicate.

"Yeah, I'll live, big guy. Any idea what that was?"

"Nope. You think that icicle lady is alright after that?"

The answer to his answer came in the form the sound of shaky footsteps coming closer. Through the steam came an impossibility.

The silhouette resolved into her. The woman who had been dead for nearly five hundred years. The woman who may as well have become his family, even in the short time he'd known her. For a moment, he was kid again, standing alone in the smoldering ruins of a village he couldn't even remember the name of anymore.

There were so many different things he wanted to say. He opened his mouth. Closed it. He thought he might cry one moment, and at the same time he nearly wanted shout at her for leaving him, even if it wasn't her fault. Baggage he'd spent decades sifting through, before laying them to rest was involuntarily hauled to the forefront of his mind.

No matter how much you tried, a dead woman wouldn't talk back.

And yet…

"Lora?" he called hesitantly. Did his voice seriously just crack? If this was a dream, it was a cruel one.

She reached out to him, taking another shaky step forward. She faltered, and he saw her legs buckle out from underneath her. He rushed forward, catching her in his arms before she could collapse onto the hard metal floor. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp.

But she was breathing. By the Architect, she was breathing.

How?

The bridge shook, and his head jerked up to the massive hole now in the ceiling of the bridge. He could hear what sounded like fighting up above. What was going on up there?

A/N: Because Lora deserves better.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, but I dunno. What do you guys think?