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.