A/N: just throwing more on this fire~ don't mind me~

Enjoy!


A few months later…

All over Elysium something strange started happening.

Unique Blades seemed to get ill, which was a first anyone had ever heard of Blades showing any signs of fragility. They seemed to get tired, weaker, lapses in Ether processing while their Ether consumption seemed to go through the roof.

Then people realized it was primarily the Female Unique Blades that were showing these odd symptoms. Though there were a few Male Unique Blades affected…

Mythra stood over the sink feeling dizzy, nauseous, with a headache as she was trying to not let the light from the window hurt her eyes. The light type Blade groaned, causing her sister Blade Pyra to rub her back in soft circles. "Vess!" Mythra laid her head down on her arms, just giving up on standing properly, "What the hell is wrong with me?"

The tall electrical Blade stood over the light half of the Aegis, arm propped with her other as she held her chin, "I'm not sure, this is rather strange…" there was a groan from another room in the mid-sized house, causing Vess to look back in that direction, "Perun has it worse than you, perhaps a further progression of… whatever this is?"

"MY LADY!" a cry came from that back room and the three female Blades in the common room rolled their eyes.

"Ugh, Father, someone tell that idiot Godfrey to get the hell out of here!" Mythra groaned again, raising her head, feeling like she was going to throw up and her head wasn't helping.

With a bit of a chiding laugh, Pyra patted her sister Blade's back, trying to sooth her, "He's just worried about Perun, you know that…"

"Freakin' ice type lunatics, justice freaks, ugh!" Mythra crouched by the sink, just hanging off and feeling terrible, "Ought to just get stuck in a glacier, the both of them…"

"There, there, be nice…" Pyra wasn't laughing, she swore she wasn't.

"My sweet warrior of JUSTICE!" was heard from the room, along with elaborate embracing.

The three female Blades in the common room just stared at the door the noises were coming from.

"If they keep this up, I will revive Siren and I will blow them up…" Mythra threatened darkly. At this point Pyra didn't even try to reprimand her sister. Perun and Godfrey could be surprisingly… saccharine at times.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help," Vess just sighed, ignoring the others, "All of us healer type Blades have been trying to figure out what this is, but as far as our healing abilities are concerned, this isn't something we can do anything about…"

Suddenly Mythra shot up and started coughing into the sink, seemingly dry heaving, "Ugh… goddamnit…" once done she went back to crouching, still feeling horribly sick, "I just want to know what this is and why I'm affect, I'm a damn Aegis for Father's sake!"

Vess just shrugged while Pyra kept trying to console her sister Blade.

"Yea, they're in here," a voice called out from outside as the door to the home opened, revealing the tall form of a very grown up Rex. In the years since they survived the fall of the World Tree, the Titans laying to rest, and the population of Alrest migrating to Elysium, Rex, Pyra and Mythra had returned to the land comprised of the remains of the Leftherian archipelago. The large Titan the smaller ones hovered around had died and joined the land of Elysium, but the smaller ones remained, floating around, like many of the smaller Titans leading many to believe that they were simply not large enough to return to the land of Elysium just yet. So Fonsett was still around, and Rex returned to it over the years, while also traveling around with Mythra and Pyra on Gramps, until the three of them decided they'd had enough. Zeke and Tora had come by to help Rex build their home, and the old group had gotten together in what felt like years to celebrate. The once boy was now a man, lean and strong, with a good build for salvaging, though Zeke liked to make fun of him for still being shorter than Morag.

He was a man, teaching the kids of Fonsett how to fight off monsters and what it takes to be a Driver, and telling all sorts of stories between his trips to salvage.

Though right now he looked frantic like he did as a kid, pushing the door open quickly, spotting his girls and Vess in the common room, as he held the door for someone else, "Hey! She's in here, see!" he waved the person in.

It turned out to be Brighid, the Jewel of the Empire of Mor Ardain. The tall blue flame Blade simply walked into their cozy home nonchalant, looking around, taking the place in, seeing what was different. It had probably been a year, or two, since she'd last come by when they built it, seemed the three of them kept it up well. Once her inspection was done, she turned to face the three Blades, Vess nearby while Pyra was trying to comfort a clearly sick Mythra.

Crossing her arms, and leaning to the side cockily, Brighid just smirked at the scene, "So, I see we aren't the only ones…"

"We?" the three female Blades turned to Brighid, mostly looking surprised, though Mythra was clearly glaring.

"MY GALLENT KNIGHT! YOU WILL SURVIVE THIS! I SWEAR IT!" came from the door to the side.

After a quick glance they mostly ignored it.

"Ah, I see, that's where Godfrey disappeared to," Brighid said coolly.

"Eh-heh," Pyra rubbed her head, "Yea, he just… sort of showed up… holding Perun… a while ago, after she started showing symptoms of this weird Blade illness…"

A smirk raised on Brighid's face, "It's not an illness."

"What?!" was the collective response of all of them.

Rex jumped in front of the blue flame Blade, "Brighid, what you mean by that?! You mean you guys in Mor Ardain, you figured out what this is!" he grabbed her upper arms, "You know how to fix this?!"

A gentle smile passed Brighid's face, as she easily removed Rex, "In a way," reaching into her pocket she removed something and revealed it to the rest.

It was a core crystal.

"What?" Rex looked at it confused. It looked like a core crystal, though there were a few design differences and the aura was the wrong color.

"May I see that?" Vess walked forward, examining the core crystal.

"I'd rather you not pick it up," Brighid said flatly, watching the electric Blade, "This is a rather… special core crystal."

That caused the others to perk up and look at her questioningly.

Pyra looked her fellow flame Blade in the eye, "Brighid… where did you get that?" unconsciously her hand tightened on her sister Blade's shoulder, "I thought… with the conduit gone… the titans lain to rest…"

"That there would be no more core crystals?" a smirk raised on the blue flame Blade's lips, "That is what was assumed all over Elysium. The 'Price for Paradise' some have been calling It." her look turned serious as she looked to her fellow Blades, "In the years since Elysium was colonized, the World Tree fell, the conduit left, and the cloud sea disappeared, no new core crystals had been found, and many new, younger, common Blades have simply disappeared. Their core crystals fading, the light never returning…"

"My sister…" with a significant amount of effort, Mythra stood, raising her light gaze to the blue flame Blade, "Asked you a question," a smirk rose on her face, "You hothead."

Brighid just smirked wider, "I was getting to that, always so impatient…"

Leaning heavily on the sink, trying to keep the world from spinning, Mythra tried to give the most threatening grin she could, "Yea, well, kind of important to me too, this whole…" she waved her hand, referencing her state, "Thing."

Chuckling, Brighid nodded towards the core crystal, "This is the first new core crystal born in Elysium…"

"Obviously," Vess now had her arms crossed, glaring at the blue flame Blade, "Can we skip the theatrics, and can you explain what this has to do with this strange illness that's been plaguing-!"

Suddenly there was a loud feminine scream from the side room.

"MY LOVE!" then Godfrey was shouting.

Immediately those that could, ran to the room and looked inside.

Perun was laying on the bed, tired, sweating, while Godfrey was leaning over her, eyes wide as in his hands was what looked to be another core crystal. Like the one Brighid was holding this one looked a bit different, its light appearing frostier than any they had ever seen before.

For a good long second they all just stared.

Then Godfrey turned into a stuttering mess, pointing from the core crystal, to Perun, and back several times.

Vess rushed in to examine the ice knight, ignoring the Gormotti Blade as he was a gibbering mess now, just holding the core crystal like it was the most precious thing in the world to him and keeping his eyes on his lover. With as much strength as she could muster, Perun reached for Godfrey's hand, which he gallantly took, just staring at her with watery eyes.

"What the hell?" Mythra managed as Pyra had helped her towards the door. Next to her Rex and Pyra were just staring, trying to understand what was going on.

"Well," Brighid held up the unusual core crystal again, the aura around it taking on a brown and green hue, "That is how this core crystal came about…"

Light eyes stared, as Mythra looked from the core crystal to Brighid, "I still don't get it…"

"Oh my…" with her free hand Pyra raised her hand, staring wide eyed at her fellow flame blade.

"Hey, uh, I still don't get it?" Rex scratched his head, standing behind the three at the door and looking from one Blade to the next, "Can someone please explain?"

Pyra and Brighid shared a look before both sighed.

Thankfully Birghid wasn't above being a bit more blunt, "Rex," she turned to face the Driver, "This core crystal was born from Adenine, with Wulfric as it's, for lack of a better word, father…"

"Wait…" Rex's eyes went wide, "What?!"

"It seems," Pyra adjusted her hold on Mythra, who seemed to have gone momentarily catatonic, "Somehow, us Blades have gained the ability to have kids like mortals… sort of…"

"That is the best way to put it," Brighid smirked, "though that's not the only effect noticed," slowly, dangerously, she turned to Mythra, "While we can now give birth to new core crystals when coupled with other Blades, and the gestation seems to take about a month, it seems that's not the only thing…"

"What?" Mythra blinked, staring at the blue flame Blade, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Well," Brighid fidgeted, looking from the light Blade to Rex, then back, "How do I put this…" another circuit of looks, hoping one of them would get it before she had to say anything, "When a Driver and a Blade now have… relations…"

"Sex," Pyra cut in, looking at her fellow flame Blade flatly, "Just say sex, or they won't get it."

"Hey!" Rex and Mythra gripped at her.

Futilely Brighid tried to hide a snort, "Well, I was trying to be subtle about it," hiding her smirk from behind her hand did nothing, "But it seems that now when Drivers and Blades have sex, there is a chance whoever is the female in the relationship can get…" there was a bit of a wince on Brighid's face, knowing what was about to come when she finally said the word, "Pregnant."

Surprisingly no one said anything for a good long second, namely as they all just stared at Brighid.

After breaking the silence by coughing into her hand, Brighid rushed out, "NiagotLadyMoragpregnant…"

"WHAT?!" "HOW?!"

Closed eyes rolled as Brighid shrugged, "I am not going to ask details about such a private matter from my Driver…" they all glared at her, "But it was discovered some time ago, and after Adenine essentially gave birth… then Percival… we couldn't hold out on the conclusion with Lady Morag being sick, and after a physical, it was confirmed."

"How?!" Rex was just giving her the most confused look, "I would'a thought if anyone was the woman in that relationship it'd be Nia?!"

"Seriously," Mythra finally responded with something, "But, so, wait… does that mean… I'm…" her hand rose, pointing at herself as red climbed up the light Blade's cheeks. "Oh, sweet, merciful, Father… I am, aren't I?"

Brighid had the decency to look at the light half of the Aegis with sympathy, "You seem to be in a similar state as Pandoria, so we can only assume…"

"What?! Pandoria too?!" the three seemed to shout together.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," Mythra groaned. Thankfully Pyra took that as her cue to move her sister Blade back to the sink, too many reveals for now.

Brighid could only shrug, turning towards Rex, "No one has reported any Driver/Blade births yet, so we don't know what will be born," she sighed, running her hand through her hair, "Either a core crystal or a baby, but so far Lady Morag seems well and truly pregnant with a baby, though Pandoria and Mythra seem to only be having long term Ether drain and sickness…"

"So, no one really knows what's going on?" Rex was clearly talking to Brighid, but he kept looking back at Mythra. The young man was clearly worried about one of the women he loved.

A smile showed sincerely on Brighid's face, as she grabbed the young man's arm, turning him back to the room where Godfrey was elated, holding Perun as, while exhausted, she seemed to be happily snuggling in his arm, while they both held the new core crystal.

"So far there hasn't been shown to be any risks," Brighid crossed her arms, "Aside from a severe Ether drain, nothing fatal has been reported," nervously she scratched the side of her head, holding up the core crystal, "Adenine kept meticulous notes on the process, and after repeating it a few times with Wulfric we have a decent understanding of the effects and process…"

"Repeating…" a nice blush rose on Rex's cheeks, "You mean that core crystal's got siblings?"

"Two actually," Brighid looked away, "Not that any of us truly wanted to know, but the information has been valuable…"

Light eyes blinked on the young man, "And you said Percival also…" absently he pointed at the core crystal in Brighid's hand.

The blue flame Blade simply looked down to where he was pointing before nodding nonchalant, "Apparently he and Aegaeon have had a relationship for quite some time…"

Rex just faced forward, "Huh."

It was quiet for some time.

"By the way," Brighid interrupted, "Have any of you seen Herald?"

"Eh?" shaking his head, Rex turned to the blue haired woman, "No, can't say I have, why?"

Giving a long sigh, Brighid crossed her arms, "We have a theory how this may have happened…"

"Well, go on, share?" Rex nudged her arm, eager to hear what this was.

"KOS-MOS," Brighid said flatly, "She and Herald left some time ago, stating they were interested in finding old tech from the fallen World Tree," the blue flame Blade turned to Rex seriously, her brows low, "Next to Pyra and Mythra's true form, which they haven't been able to achieve since the World Tree fell, KOS-MOS was the only other known that could read the ancient texts or access that technology…"

Scratching his head, Rex just stared at Brighid, "Yea, but what's that got to do with all this?"

Brighid's shoulders sunk, sighing, "If anyone could do this, they'd need to get ahold of the Architect's technology, and somehow managed to alter it," she shook her head, "And the only one any of us could think of that could manage that, is KOS-MOS," then she turned to face Rex seriously, "And I don't want to think about what else that strange Blade is capable of getting up to with access to such power…"

For a moment Rex was quiet, thinking about the situation just as seriously as Brighid. Then a funny thought entered his mind and he couldn't help but snort, "Man, could you imagine if Bana could do somethin' like that?"

"Don't give me nightmares," for once in her life, the blue flame Blade shook as if cold.

"Right, right," Rex waved his hand, chuckling under his breath, "But seriously, why would she do something like… well, like this?!" he waved his hand between the room with Godfrey and Perun to Pyra messaging Mythra's back.

Brighid just looked the young man in the eyes, "I plan to ask her that, once I find her."


A/N: i'm running with the idea that Blades just kind of 'wander off' when not in use, since the game makes it seem like they're ALWAYS out but the idea of 50-plus people just wandering around in a large group is silly, so i figure they just wander off and do their own things until 'summoned' or something~

doing any kind of timeline for this game would be killer thanks to all these weird mechanics and how the plot rushes along in the later chaps -shrugs- oh well...

Till next -salute-waves- Sayounara, Mina!

-Ikasury