The group had been on board their ship bound for Uraya for several days now. They were nearing the end of their journey with only a few hours left to go. The party had been a little on edge. So much time had been spent on ships trying to get to Uraya. The day was almost over, although the sun was still out. The party would not arrive until after night fall.
Zeke and Rex had found themselves standing out on the balcony staring out onto the cloud sea. The sun's light shimmered upon the clouds. The sun was slowly falling beneath the clouds. It was truly a beautiful sight. This view was only one you could find while out on the cloud sea as the shinned all around you.
"So chum, you and Nia eh." Zeke gave Rex a cheeky grin.
"Yea, it's pretty crazy, it all happened so fast."
"Are you guys even the same age? We all thought that before but now that we know she's a blade, I'm not so sure."
"Huh, guess I never thought about it. I'll have to ask her next time I see her"
"Well you obviously can't ask, it's rude to ask a lady her age, besides if she is older, you'd have a women most people would on-AH!" Zeke was cut off by Pandoria pulling his ear.
"I think we're gonna need some context here my prince" Pandoria was clearly angry.
"Well most men only dream of dating an older wom-AH!" Zeke was cut off once again by the pain coming from his ear.
"I think the two of us need to have a conversation about human decency!" Pandoria started dragging Zeke off.
"Help me Chum Please!" Zeke was begging Rex who only waved back. "This is why I like Turters better than Yo-" He was cut off by the door slamming shut behind them. Pandoria could be quite the terrifying blade. She didn't seem like it at first but she was quite rough on Zeke, but it was clear that they both cared about each other. Rex turned back to the cloud sea as he leaned on the railing.
A door could be heard opening from behind him. He expected it to be Nia. She had been really worried about him lately. Since they had gotten on board the ship she had to heal him several times to keep the pain from his chest at ease. He turned around but Nia wasn't there. Instead stood Poppi in her alpha mode and clearly distressed.
"Oh hey Poppi, I wasn't expecting you." Rex gestured for Poppi to come over next to him as he turned back to the clouds. Poppi walked up next to him and watched the clouds.
"Poppi worried about Rex…" Poppi just looked out. "Why has Rex been in so much pain, when Rex in pain Poppi in pain to…"
"Poppi…" Rex knelt down and placed his hands on Poppi's metallic shoulders. "I'm gonna be fine Poppi. I'm sure it's just an old wound or something that hasn't healed." Rex wasn't sure what to say so was lying straight through his teeth.
"B-but Nia is best healer of all! She would have healed wound long time ago!" Poppi exclaimed. Rex was taken aback by Poppi's rage. Rex pulled Poppi into a hug.
"You caught my bluff I guess. I haven't a clue what's wrong with me. But we've been through worse." Rex closed his eyes. Poppi's embrace tightened. She really was like a little girl sometimes. Rex cared deeply for her and respected her a great deal.
"Rex promise Poppi he be ok?"
"I promise Poppi, nothing is gonna happen to me." They hugged for a few more moments before releasing the hug. Poppi went back inside leaving Rex alone on the balcony. The sun had set behind the clouds at this point.
The mighty titan ship pulled into Fonsa Myma. The party unboarded and swiftly made their way out of the city. Having the special inquisitor of what most people considered the enemy nation tended to bat a couple eyes.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience everyone" Morag siad once they left the city. The rest of the party assured Morag that there was no problem. The inside of the Urayan titan was beautiful at night. The inside was showered in an orange light. A lot of the plant life shinned orange as well as orange light particles rain down from all angels.
Garfont Village was in a more secluded area. The party had to travel through the stomach before they could reach their destination. Garfont was located between the stomach and the head. There wasn't much reason to go to that area of the titan unless you were going to said village.
The party walked through the entrance to warm welcomes. Rex had to leave the party temporarily to handle some paperwork. Being the leader of the mercenary group came with certain responsibilities. He was lucky to have Roc there to help him out. Lately Roc had taken a back seat to fighting and choose to help run the mercenary group. He even lead a lot of missions to.
The rest of the party spent time catching up with everyone. The mercenary group had been doing really well under Rex's leadership. They had gotten to the point where they were better than when they were back under Vandhams watch. It wasn't easy to break the news of Pyra and Mythra's death. It was decided that a funeral would be held in the middle of the village. It wouldn't be as grand as Fan la Norne's but it meant a lot to Rex that the everyone wanted to have it. It would take a few days to put together but with Yew and the others planning it, Rex knew that it would be special.
Rex had spent a good chunk of the night going through paperwork. Being away a lot meant that it added up. Yew and Zuo did their best to do what they could but there were some things that the leader had to do. The two had been instrumental in allowing the Garfont Mercenaries to succeed. They got new members all the time due to their expanding reach throughout Alrest. Once Rex had finished all the paperwork Yew and Zuo had asked him to come down to the training grounds. They wanted to see the recruits in training to see their leader in action.
Rex quickly tracked down Nia who had been sipping on some tea with the others. He explained the situation to her. At first she was against the idea. Since Rex was in the condition he was in and they didn't know why, she felt fighting was a bad idea. Rex even had to take a break during his work for a round of healing.
"Nia please. This is something that I have to do. It's my responsibility." Rex pleaded.
"I don't think it's a good idea, we still don't know what's going on with you."
"Nia" Rex made a pouty face.
"Fine but if I think it's too much I'm calling the fight. Deal?"
"Deal!" Rex's face was pure joy. Rex and Nia made their way down to the training grounds where Yew and Zuo now stood. Yew held his megalance and Zuo held his greataxe. Both stood there with confidence as the new recruits watched in awe. They had only heard of Rex's strength but never seen it.
"We'll be nice Rex, we'll let you pick your opponent." Yew explained. A grin crept across Rex's face.
"It be a shame for the recruits to only see one of you in action." Rex swung out his blade as blue energy shot through it. "I'll take you both on!" Rex got into a battle stance.
"Rex don't you think you should pace yourself?" Nia grew worried. Both Yew and Zuo got into battle stances.
"Very well. That's are leader for you! Pay close attention recruits! Prepare to see the power in Numbers!" Zuo yelled.
"More like be prepared to see how strong I really am!" Rex yelled.
Yew charged in first. He attacked Rex with a barrage of attacks. The flurry of attacks was hard to block. Rex could see why he was one of Vandhams right hand men. Rex made a heavy slash at Yew knocking him back. Before he could rush him though Zuo rained down from above with a heavy blow. They weight of his greataxe pushed Rex back when he countered it.
"It's easy to see why you guys were Vandhams right hand men!" Rex said.
"Call me impressed. That double attack tends to knock out most of our foes." Yew complimented.
"There's a reason why you were chosen, even with your age." Zuo said.
"Well let me prove it to you even more!" Rex charged at his opponents. He first rushed in to Zuo who had a long activation time with his attacks thanks to his heavy weapon. Rex made a hard slash at him that was blocked by Zuo's blade. Zuo was visually knocked back, by a good few feet even. The viewers merely awed.
The rest of the party had made their way to the sidelines at this point. It wasn't everyday to see Rex having so much fun in a fight. One had to keep in mind Rex wasn't always a fighter. He used to be your average salvager, only fighting when he had too.
Yew rushed in on Rex and swung his megalance down. Rex dropped down with it to give himself more time to block it. Rex was now on his back holding his sword up keeping the megalance at bay.
"Give up Rex?" Yew questioned.
"You kidding? I'm just getting started!" Rex swung his legs at Yews and knocked him over freeing himself. It was at this moment that Rex noticed a greataxe flying at him. Rex lept back as the weapon landed where he once was. It was at this point that all three drivers had a golden aura to indicate that max affinity had been gained with their blades.
"Already here comes the big one!" Rex swung up his sword and began charging his attack. Yew and Zuo got into a defensive stance. They both knew this attack was gonna pack a punch. "Take this!" Rex began to charge and swing his blade.
Then he stopped. Rex stood dead in his track. The affinity aura had disappeared and everyone stared. Rex didn't move. Then he gripped his chest and fell to his knees. He was in so much pain. He began to scream in anguish. Then all color in his eyes faded and he dropped to the ground.
"REX!" Nia ran as fast as she could to him. Everyone else wasn't far behind. Everyone stopped in their tracks. The color on his core crystal. There was only a little bit of green glowing in the center. The rest of it had turned black. This wasn't something that Nia could heal. That's why her healings on had limited effect. They had simply been numbing the pain. Rex's or one should say Pyra and Mythra's life force was running out.
If they didn't think of something, Rex would die...
This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far. Like it felt like the words were just flowing out. Anyway make sure to leave a review if you enjoyed it. I really hope you guys are still interested because stuff is starting to go down.
