Author's Note:
I don't know if I made it clear (probably didn't), but I'm not suggesting that Rex's personality completely changed without Azurda. Having him not exist in this AU was just an extra thing that I added to this story to create a different storyline, sort of…
I will explain Rex's feelings and personality later in the story. While this is just meant to be an edgy story, I want to make it work so I'll show some sort of character development eventually.
As I said before, if you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM or mention it in a review. Thank you!
"There it is," Nia began. "Torigoth."
They had arrived in Gormott several hours before. The other salvagers had dropped them off in a forest around the Titan's belly before Rex had distributed most of his money between them. He was particularly annoyed to have lost so much money at once.
"What a wonderful view," Pyra said quietly as she marveled at the sight before them.
The city of Torigoth appeared to be surrounded by trees and hills. There appeared to be mountains in the distance, but it was actually the Titan's neck.
"I'll accompany you as the city. After that, I'm afraid you're on your own," Nia told them.
"OK. Whatever. Let's just go," Rex said as he began to make his way, scowling.
Pyra looked at him with concern as she gingerly followed him. Nia and Dromarch walked beside them as they eventually entered the city.
"It hasn't changed a bit," Nia murmured.
"Nia?" the Aegis asked.
"It's nothing. OK then. I'll show you to an inn. Then I'm out of here."
"It's about time…" Rex said quietly.
However, Nia heard this. "What was that?!"
The Gormotti marched up so that she was walking next to him.
"Did you say something?!"
Rex sighed, looking straight ahead, "You heard me, obviously…"
"Yeah, w-well… What did you mean by that?!"
"Why don't you ask her?"
Rex pointed to a wanted poster with extreme similarity to her. Nia turned to look at the poster and screamed.
"What the bloody hell is this? Don't tell me this is meant to be ME?!"
"A remarkable likeness to say the least…" Dromarch commented.
"Oi, did you say something?" Nia growled, eyes glowing with anger as she turned to her Blade.
"Ah, er, no. I fear they may have conflated our countenances, my lady. How very awful."
Out of frustration, Nia ripped up the poster into a million pieces. The salvager just continued on walking into the city. It was sometime before they came across a crowd.
"Fie! Who has the courage to heed the Empire's call?" a man in a dark uniform with a single-spiked helmet announced. "Your strong heart today will build a strong Mor Ardain tomorrow!"
Rex stopped to hear what he was saying. The Gormotti and the two Blades managed to catch up to him.
"Of course, you get more than a salary!" the man continued. "Pension and benefits are included! Distinguish yourself and you could even join the nobility! For the glory of the Ardainian Empire and His Majesty Emperor Niall! Come now! Who wants to be the hero of tomorrow?!"
"… The hell is that?" Rex asked.
"Driver recruitment," Nia responded.
"Huh. Alright. Let's keep going."
Again, he took off ahead of the others. The other Driver and her Blade reluctantly began to follow him. However, Pyra stayed behind to watch someone resonate with a Core Crystal and become a Driver.
"Pyra, come on! You want to get to Elysium, don't you?!" Rex called out, noticing that she wasn't following him.
She blinked and shook her head before she ran to catch up with the others.
"Say, Pyra?" Rex started.
"Yes?" Her face brightened to have him address her without being negative.
"Do you even know how to get to Elysium?"
Pyra looked down as she walked and thought for a moment. "Um… I…"
"You don't know."
"N-No! I do! It's just I don't remember if there's anything special that we need to do. We just need to go up the World Tree."
"Go up the World Tree? That's gonna take forever! Not to mention how we're supposed to even get there."
"We could probably rent a ship and-"
"Oh, RENT a ship! Of course! Because that's the cheapest thing ever! Right after I just gave up like all my money! Speaking of, why the hell didn't you suggest that those guys take us straight there?!"
She was silent for a moment, nervous of how Rex would react to her response.
"… I… didn't think of it…"
"Of course you didn't. Because you're only focused on getting there, not how we're getting there. And you didn't think of what I would have to do just to get you there because you're so selfish that you-"
"I-I'm not being selfish! Rex, you d-!"
"Then why did you bring me back?!" Rex yelled at her, stopping and turning around to face her.
Pyra froze. Nia and Dromarch silently began to distance themselves from the other two, not wanting to get involved.
"Why did you bring me back?" he repeated. "I'll tell you why… You just needed someone to get to Elysium so you picked the first guy you saw: me! And here I am, without a want or need to be here!"
The Aegis had her hands on her chest as she took a small step back.
"Now, Rex," Dromarch began. "I'm sure that she was doing-"
"Stay out of this!" the salvager snapped, quieting the Blade.
Nia then spoke up, "H-Hey! He was only trying to help!"
Before he or anyone else could respond, they were suddenly surrounded by a bunch of guys like from earlier, Ardainian soldiers.
"Halt! Nobody move!" one of them called out, the once with the tallest helmet.
"Hey, what's going on?" Rex asked, agitated.
"That fugitive in your company is an enemy of the state! A member of Torna!"
A member of Tor- Oh! Nia…
"It's her alright," the captain continued. "Gormotti Driver, white beast-form Blade. She looks exactly like the wanted poster!"
"What wanted poster…?" the boy cautiously asked.
"See for yourself!"
The captain pulled out a wanted poster that was identical to the one that Nia had ripped up earlier.
"Yeah, it's pretty accur-"
"Oi, watch it!" Nia piped up.
"Ah, uh, I mean," Rex began to stammer. "It's VERY accurate!"
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Forget it! We've got no time for this."
"Now as for you… You look like a Driver too. Registration number?" the captain demanded.
"5-3-9…?"
"Knock it off, you fool. All new Drivers must register with Indol! No number means you must be an illegal, unregistered Driver!"
"I literally became a Driver about ten hours ago!"
"Regardless, you're coming with me! We'll see what the consul has to say about this!"
The Drivers and Blades got ready to fight.
Nia then muttered, "Rex, Dromarch and I are gonna make our move. Get ready to run."
"Sounds like a plan…"
"Rex!" Pyra spoke up. "We're not leaving without them!"
Her Driver then looked up at her with a look that said both 'What the hell?' and 'Why?' making her feel slightly uncomfortable.
"This is our problem, not yours," the Gormotti said.
"He probably wants to arrest all of us so it's kind of our problem too," Pyra said.
"Alright, we go on three. We'll go left, you go right."
Rex groaned, "Ugh! Fine…"
"Let's do this!"
"Y-You're going to resist? Seriously?" the captain nervously yelled as he and the others backed up a bit.
"One… two…"
"A-All right, men! We've got them outnu-"
"THREE!" Rex screamed as he rushed forward.
He slashed the captain and the two next to him with Pyra's sword and sent them flying back. Rex then turned around expecting to see the others fighting as well, but they just looked at him incredulously for attacking before the call. Not to mention how brutal his attack was. The large openings on the soldiers' armor didn't show any sign of him even trying to hold back. Quietly, the captain slowly sat up and raised his weapon at the boy who just attacked him.
"Heh… Heh… Think you can take me…?!" he cackled as he fired.
Rex suddenly lurched forward from the initial force and pain from being shot in the back.
"GAH! FUCK!" he cried out in pain.
He stumbled forward while Nia and Dromarch began to fight the other soldiers. Rex tried to stabilize himself by stabbing the sword into the ground and leaning on it.
Pyra hurried over to him, slightly grimacing. "Rex!"
"That… That's it!"
The salvager then pulled the weapon out of the ground and spun around to face the downed soldier. He then lunged for him. Rex thrusted the red sword into the captain's chest, falling to his knees and breathing heavily.
"AAGH! D-Don't… forget me…" the captain managed to say as his voice faded.
The Aegis froze, her eyes widening at what she just saw.
Did… Did Rex just…? Oh Architect…
The salvager pulled out the sword, now covered in even more red, and fell back onto his bottom. He slowly began to feel where on his back he was shot, wincing and yelping in pain when he found it.
Is he really… Is he really my new Driver? Does he… usually do things like this…?
Meanwhile, Nia and Dromarch were managing to stop the Ardainian soldiers easily.
"Th-They're so strong!" one of them shouted. "Such strength… They're Drivers, all right!"
"C'mon! Now!" Nia called out, signaling their leave.
Rex used the sword again to help himself stand up while Pyra stood for a moment. He then began to follow the Gormotti and her Blade, quickly out of breath, before a massive, blue wall of fire blocked their escape route.
"Wha-?!" Nia jumped back in surprise, Dromarch and Rex stopping just behind her.
"Such a commotion," a voice spoke gently.
They turned around to see a woman in a shining, blue dress with similar blue hair approach them. Her hair flickered about at the ends as though it were an actual flame. She wielded two large swords with a smaller dagger holstered on her belt.
"Just when I thought I could enjoy a little peace and quiet."
When she got much closer, the group was able to see that her eyes were closed. Pyra's pupils shrank as though she knew who this person was.
"L-Lady Brighid!" a soldier stuttered, running over to be near her.
"… What? Is she a Blade? Doesn't… she need a Driver?" Rex managed to say, slightly feeling better after Nia touched him briefly.
"My Driver is otherwise engaged at present. I am here alone," the woman, Brighid, responded.
"No… Driver? But don't you-?"
The soldier then spoke up, "L-Lady Brighid is the 'Jewel of Mor Ardain'! The strongest Blade in the Empire! Even alone, she's more than a match for you!"
Strongest Blade in the Empire? We should get out of here… Rex thought.
"Lady Brighid, these miscreants are terrorists working for Torna," the soldier began to inform her. "A-Also that boy killed three of ours, i-including Captain Padraig!"
Brighid gritted her teeth when she noticed the three dead soldiers on the ground.
"Please lend me your power to bring them to justice!" he asked, bowing slightly.
"Torna?" the lone Blade muttered while she thought over the party in question.
A Gormotti Driver and a beast-form Blade, and a… Hm? A boy? And his Blade…
She gasped slightly when she saw Pyra, who looked rather worried and slightly in pain.
"That emerald Core Crystal… Could it really be true?" the 'Jewel of Mor Ardain' whispered to herself at first before ordering. "Well, well. Sergeant, you are not to kill them. Take these ones in alive."
Brighid got into a fighting stance while the soldier informed the others, "Roger! Men, bring the you-know-what!"
The other two soldiers nodded and ran off, leaving a soldier and a Driverless Blade to fight two Drivers and two other Blades. The lone Blade launched a wave of fire at the group with a swing of a sword. Rex grimaced as he raised the red, blood-stained sword and launched his own wave of fire, blocking the other one. Fortunately, in terms of appearances, the blood on the sword quickly evaporated. Both sides braced themselves as the two attacks exploded on impact. When the smoke cleared, Brighid stood tall and unfazed, unlike her current ally.
Rex raised an eyebrow to this. "Damn… She's good…"
"She's so… strong," Pyra commented.
"Stop yammering!" Nia called out. "Just get her!"
The Gormotti and her Blade jumped up high and lunged for Brighid. However, before they were able to land a hit on their target, a large net was launched from behind her and captured the white beast-form Blade.
Nia looked back at her Blade. "Dromarch!"
Suddenly, another net was launched and was used to capture her. The two fell to the ground with a thud. They initially began to struggle in the large, yellow nets to no avail. The soldiers, who had left earlier, returned after shutting down the device they used to launch the nets.
The soldier laughed, "This is an ether net! Let's see you use your precious Arts when you can't draw ether from the atmosphere!"
"Even Blades have weaknesses. This is one such weakness," Brighid added. "Without the flow of ether, Blades are quite useless."
Nia turned her head to face the salvager. "Get outta here, Rex! Save yourself!"
"… If you say so," Rex stated, Pyra slightly groaning in frustration.
"Rex… We're not leaving without you guys!" the Aegis muttered before calling out to their most recent allies.
"You've got your own mission!" the Gormotti said. "Just move it!"
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts! GO!"
"C'mon," Rex took Pyra's hand and tugged slightly. "Let's go while we have the chance."
"You won't escape," Brighid said before she sent out a wall of flame.
The wall eventually surrounded Rex and Pyra and caused them to collapse from the intense heat of the blue flames, the former being affected much more.
"Ugh… Damn…" he muttered.
Suddenly, a blue object that resembled a fish came soaring through the fire. It continued on until it hit a water pipe, where it detonated and water began to pour out. Unfortunately, Brighid was standing underneath said pipe and was now getting soaked.
"Ugh, water?!" she yelled in frustration.
As she and the area continued to get drenched, the flames seemed to die down including the flames of the wall surrounding the Aegis and her Driver. Seeing an opportunity to attack, Rex raised the sword again while Pyra reluctantly held onto the sword as well.
"Now!" Rex called out.
The sword ignited before the two yelled in unison, "BURNING SWORD!"
They swung the weapon and sent a massive fireball towards the Driverless Blade and the soldier. While the two were recovering from the attack, Rex decided to capitalize on this moment. Both Rex and Pyra began to run away.
"Don't let them escape! Get after them!" the soldier called out to the others.
Nia smiled and muttered, "That's right, Rex… Run, and never look back."
"To pull that off despite all this water…" Brighid whispered to herself in admiration of what had just transpired as soldiers ran past her. "So the legends of the Aegis were real."
Rex and Pyra were running along a wooden path. They were both breathing pretty heavily before they slowed down slightly.
"Hey hey!" a voice called out to them, causing them to stop and turn around.
Suddenly, part of a wall opens up and a Nopon poked his head out.
"This way, friends, come this way!" it gestured for them to follow. "Tora help you escape!"
"Who the hell are you?" Rex asked.
"Quick, no time for explain!"
"Uh, no. I-"
"Come on, Rex," Pyra said while pulling him as she followed the Nopon.
It then closed the door entirely and later left the Ardainian soldiers with no real evidence to find them.
"Thanks. You saved us," she said smiling.
"Yeah… Why though?" Rex asked.
"No reason…" the Nopon stated.
"… No reason?"
"Sorry, that not true. Truth is, Tora not like those big bully soldiers. Was thinking to test out shiny new Boom Biter on big bullies… That's when Tora see friends running from them. Boom Biter missed and hit water pipe, but results not so bad, hey?"
"So, that was you?" the salvager asked.
"That right."
"And you're Tora?" Pyra began. "I'm Pyra, and this is Rex."
"Good to meeting! Mehehe…"
"Uh… What was that for?" Rex asked nervously.
"Ah… Actually, Tora have other reason for save you."
"Which is…?"
"Don't worry. Explain everything when get to house of Tora! This way!"
Then the Nopon led the Driver and the Aegis to his house.