Pyra did not like keeping things from Rex. It brought back painful memories from when she and Mythra kept their plan to die from him, but she both did not want to alarm him and did not think she had the time to go back home to get him.

She wanted to save Mythra if possible. Both from whatever was happening to her, and the shame. Pyra knew this had to make things worse. Her own power and losing control of it had been among her greatest fears for so long, losing control again had to only accelerate what was going on.

A dark thought crossed her mind that maybe nothing was wrong with her. Had she been harboring something dark all this time? Could she have missed it despite having been joined at one point? Had she kept her true feelings concealed from her once shadow? Was she more like their brother than she thought?

Pyra quickly shook those thoughts away though. She refused to believe Mythra was so nihilistic. Grumpy was a long way from wanting to cause mass devastation. Still, taking Malos' core crystal and seeking out Aion was a dangerous combination. If in her state she reawakened the dark Aegis and led him there, the results could be disastrous. Even a weakened Aion could do a lot of damage.

The jerking of the transport distracted the Aegis. To speed things along, Morag had arranged for a military transport to take her to Tantal, but Pyra knew Mythra would be avoiding cities. She did not need food, but at the same time, hardly anyone could actually fight her anyway. She may not have been an Aegis anymore, but a lot of her normal abilities had been replicated, and she was a very powerful blade in her own right.

Problem was, the new land was so vast, it would be very difficult to find her without help. Their best bet was to cut her off at port. She would need some way to travel across the water. Unless she opted to swim the whole way. Something she would be capable of, but it would be quite inefficient for her sister to try.

Small ports would probably be most likely. As small as would still have a ship capable of getting her where she needed to go. Fortunately, there were not that many new ports established, and Tantal was still working on opening up meaning they had even fewer than most.

Looking out the window as the landscape started to take on a more frigid appearance, Pyra wished her sister was okay.

After the sun went down, Mythra finally collapsed to her knees barely catching herself from falling completely. The only light on this cloudy night being that which emanated from her own lights and the purple glow of the core crystal that landed in front of her when she fell. The blade reached out for it but clenched her fist halfway to it and punched the cold ground beneath her.

Forcing herself to her feet, she drew her blade and held it over her head as if to stab the crystal then and there. However, her hands started to shake, and she dropped the Aegis sword to the ground shortly followed by her own body crumpling into the fetal position.

"What's wrong with me?" Mythra rocked back and forth. She had attacked Pyra. She had…she had killed someone. She did not mean to, but…how could she turn back now? She clenched her eyes shut, but it did not stop the tears. Was she…was she truly a monster? Was she just like Malos no matter how much she tried not to be?

Was destruction all she was good for?

Pyra huffed as she finished looking through the fishing village. No luck. Zeke was personally searching the capitol, but he would not find her there. Pyra knew it had to be one of these smaller ports. Military ships would show up from time to time, and she might try to steal one. They had even arranged for one to come into port as bait and nothing.

Pyra had no idea what to do other than wait, and she hated waiting at a time like this. Mythra needed her! She needed to help her big sister, and there was nothing she could do. All this power she had inherited, and what good did it do? How much more could she do than a normal blade? How much did it help Mythra?

She supposed she now understood part of Mythra better than when they had been fused. She better understood now the feeling of having power but being helpless all the same. When they shared their full power, they felt they could do anything, but now she had enough to feel like she should be able to do more yet she did not know what she could do. It was truly infuriating.

However, after a few days, Pyra no longer needed to find Mythra. It seemed she was calling out to her. There was a conspicuous pillar of light clearly visible from the small village. It was a call out. She knew it, but she hoped it meant Mythra wanted to talk. Whether she did or not, Pyra did not know, but she held out hope at least.

Without any further delay, Pyra dashed off for the beam of light hoping that she could save Mythra.

"Took you long enough," Mythra mocked with crossed arms. Her demeanor was a stark contrast to the scared and uncertain one Pyra had seen a few days prior. That worried the Aegis.

"Mythra, come home. End this," Pyra pleaded with her sister.

"No!" Mythra yelled, "I won't go back. I won't watch your perfect life while I waste away! I won't spend another day wiping those pathetic humans' noses!"

Pyra saw it. The flickering of her core crystal, and it suddenly all made more sense, "Mythra, you're not well," She reached out, "Let me help you. I should be able to–"

"No!" Mythra swung her sword, but Pyra evaded it this time, "Don't touch me!"

"I don't want to fight you," Pyra spoke sadly as she activated her sword.

"Good. Then this should be easy."

Mythra started with a dash forward at blinding speeds. Pyra barely put up her guard in time to block it, and she was still knocked back slightly. It did not stop from there. She kept coming never from the same angle twice in a row. Most of the time she blocked, but sometimes Mythra got in some light cuts. Pyra closed her eyes and concentrated under the barrage. She did not want to fight her.

"Come on," Mythra taunted moving faster than her words, "Why don't you use some of that power? Show me what an Aegis can do, sister. Imagine what your boyfriend would think seeing you like this."

"Enough!" Mythra was knocked away by a surge of power as Pyra looked at her with emerald eyes, "You can't win this fight. I outmatch you now."

"True," Another voice called making Pyra's blood run cold, "But how about adding another Aegis to the fray?"

Pyra was too in shock from hearing his voice to turn in time as he leapt at her. However, as he landed, Aegis sword met Aegis sword, but it was not hers that connected.

"Rex?" Pyra asked in shock as her driver locked blades with Malos having summoned the third Aegis sword on his own.

Rex took the time to grin at her, "Knew you were in trouble when my hand got cut. Sorry I took so long. What's going on by the way?"

"Rex…how did you get here?"

"I ran mostly," Rex pushed Malos off with a huff before pointing at his chunk of the core crystal, "Blade eater, remember?"

"Ugh, I think I might puke," Mythra groaned.

"Mythra?" Rex raised a brow.

"I'll explain later," Pyra responded, "I need to help her."

"Right," Rex assumed his battle stance as they stood back-to-back, "I'll take care of Malos then."

"Oh, you will?" The dark Aegis raised a brow, "Sure, I owe you. Let's go a few rounds!"

As they began their battle in earnest, none of them realized that they were being watched. In the distance, a silver-haired figure watched the battle unfold with a seemingly disinterested expression as they fought.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

"I am…more of an observer," The figure turned around at the voice to address the flesh eater.

"Why have you been following Pyra?"

"You know about that? I must say I'm impressed. Though, I have been at less than peak performance for the past year or so."

Jin drew his sword and pointed it at him, "Why are you–" Jin stopped, and his eyes went wide, "That shape…. You're one of them. You're an Aegis."

"I gathered that is what we are called here. I suppose you could call me that."

"So you'll just stand by while your siblings tear themselves apart?"

"'Siblings?' Do you know what we are?"

"I know that they're troubled individuals that could use some help. I don't know what's happening, but I won't watch them kill each other."

The figure watched as Jin ran off followed by a blonde man who groaned as he had just caught up. He looked down at the crystal.

"Siblings…"

"Since when could you even make a sword?" Malos snarled as Rex evaded a few of his swings making the Aegis narrow his eyes. He was faster too.

"I learned how to tap into the power of the Aegis myself," Rex retorted as he barely blocked a sword swing from the Aegis.

"What's the matter, boy?" Malos pushed down further as their blades locked, "All tuckered out?" Malos broke the interaction by kicking Rex in the gut sending him flying back, "Maybe next time don't run here like a lovesick mut."

"Now," Malos walked forward with his sword resting on his shoulder, "For that revenge."

However, Malos did not get very far before a wall of ice blocked his approach. Malos glared in the direction of the source, "You. Are you really siding with these people? Have you forgotten all your pain?"

"I have not," Jin approached slowly, "But I have decided to see if Rex can keep his word. He clearly can't do that if you kill him."

"If he's weak, then how can he change the world?" Malos picked up speed as he lunged for his former ally, "Answer me that!"

"Can't you see that something is wrong here?" Jin dodged to the side, "Why would they fight?"

"Why should I care?" This time Malos' attack met resistance as Jin blocked, "If the mundaneness of life made Mythra see things my way, who am I to complain?"

"If you're too blind to see it, then I guess I made the right decision a year ago," Jin grunted as he hopped back, "But I am not quite so blind anymore."

Malos lifted his sword up to use his powers, but he was stopped from bringing it down again when a sturdy cable wrapped around his sword, "What?"

He tried to pull it free, but Rex held firm with his core crystal shimmering. The driver held a particular button on his forearm which caused metal clamps to extend from his boots and fasten him to the stony ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Jin rushed Malos forcing him to dodge out of the way, but the moment he left the ground, Rex had free reign. Using the tether and his augmented strength, Rex slammed him into the ground, but the Aegis refused to let go of his weapon. Snarling as he looked up from the cracked rocks, he summoned just enough dark energy to force Rex to move, recalling the anchor in the process.

"Well," Malos rolled his head as he stood up with one opponent on each side, "This should be fun."

"Mythra! Stop this!" Pyra pleaded with her sister as she blocked her lightning-fast blows.

"Stop? Why would I stop?" Mythra asked with her core crystal flashing inconsistently.

"Your core crystal is malfunctioning, let me help you!"

"No! I'll do everything I can to ruin your perfect little life. So that you can know what I feel like!" Mythra brought her sword down with no small amount of force, but Pyra caught it with her own.

"This isn't you."

"What do you know? A mere shadow."

"Mythra…" Pyra trailed off sadly before her expression firmed. In a burst of speed, the younger Aegis reached forward and grabbed Mythra's core crystal as she shoved her with enough force to make her drop her weapon.

"Agh, let me…go!"

Pyra did not answer as she analyzed Mythra's core crystal. She gasped when the conclusion was reached. It gave Malos enough of an opening to break off from his opponents to force Pyra away from Mythra.

"I think it's time we bowed out of this party, partner. We have destruction to bring after all."

"Fine," Mythra huffed trying to hide her unstable footing, "But this isn't over."

"Mythra!" Pyra called out, but Malos attacked to cover before the two fled at high speeds.

"We need to go after her!" Pyra declared in a borderline panic.

"Going after her would be a waste of time," Pyra, Rex, Jin, and the latecomer Mikhail turned their heads at the newcomer.

"What do you mean a waste of time?" Pyra flared up, literally.

"Their goal is, Aion, correct?" The silver haired person asked, "If so, it would be more prudent to secure it first."

"But Mythra's core crystal is suffering from a cascade failure. If I don't fix it soon, then Mythra may be lost!"

"A worthy price to pay for the world. Aion may be weakened, but it could easily wipe out these relatively small civilizations."

"How…dare you," Pyra spoke quietly, but the rock beneath her turned molten as her anger boiled at the mere idea of sacrificing her sister.

"Woah now," Rex intervened stepping between the two. Once Pyra stopped in her tracks, he turned to the young looking man, "We're not abandoning Mythra." He then turned to Pyra, "But we need to secure Aion. They're probably headed that way. Might as well cut them off and ambush them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Pyra cooled off a bit.

"How about you two? Care to help us out?"

"Sure, I could use some action," Mikhail smirked, "Jin?"

"Fine," Was his curt reply.

"What about you?" Rex turned to the stranger, "I don't know who you are, but you seem to know a lot about what's going on."

"I suppose a little…up close observation could not hurt. Very well, I will accompany you."

"So…what do we call you, stiff?" Mikhail smirked.

"Oh, right. I suppose you may call me Alvis."

A/N: Apologies for the delay, but so ends part one.