Content Warning: Referenced Suicide, Body Horror
Rex gingerly set the pen down, sighing. He stood up and ventured into the kitchen, setting out a kettle for tea. Tornan, the language, was far more complex and intricate than he ever imagined it would be. But he would keep at and persevere, no matter what it took. It had started with a dare on Patroka's side: he and Nia were competing to see who gained fluency quicker. While he was much better at conversation, Nia picked up the script much faster than he did. She had always been better about precise motions which aided her greatly when writing. One wrong stroke and the meaning of the word could be completely different. On the other hand, he excelled at speaking it. So much so that Jin was teaching him the accompanying sign language. He wasn't as good at signing as he was at speaking (yet) but it was passable.
But he genuinely enjoyed learning it. He always loved learning. It wasn't something that he had been able to do all that often thanks to the lack of funding in the village. However, thanks to the efforts of New Torna, Fonsett had more money than it knew what to do with. Given that they faced no adversaries aside from Amalthus (which New Torna was dealing with anyway), he used his time wisely. He picked some new skills that he knew would be useful going forward. Geography, law, biology, chemistry… Even language acquisition. He had already learned Ardanian and Urayan in addition to learning Tornan. He was even beginning to familiarize himself with the different dialects of Leftherian so that he could create an official translation guide. It was a daunting task, to be certain; Leftheria had always been a home for refugees of all cultures and languages. Over time, certain languages merged so closely with others that they became something complete new and unique. But it was something that he was interested in doing when he wasn't training or helping out around the village.
A knock at the front door jolted him out of his thoughts. Frowning, he walked over and opened it. Malos stood outside, leaning against the railing, sword propped up next to him.
"Let's go," the Aegis said casually, as if he had just inquired about the weather.
"Excuse me?" He asked, blinking comically slowly.
Malos groaned. "I'm not going to repeat myself."
"That… What do you need?"
"I need you to come with me somewhere," Malos said.
"Somewhere being….?" Rex pressed, crossing his arms.
"Indol."
"Why Indol?"
"I'm going on a mission and I need backup," Malos said, almost like he was bored.
"Why? What could you possibly need me for? I don't even have a blade," he replied, catching the sword that was tossed to him.
"But you can fight. And the others are kinda busy. Jin and Nia are negotiating with Urayan officials at the moment, trying to finalize a treaty for actions against Indol. Mikhail, Patroka, and Akhos are acting as decoys for this mission. Which leaves me to do this alone, unless you decide to help," Malos said. "This is either going to be entirely mundane or turn into something very interesting."
"Didn't you explicitly say that you wanted to keep me out of the fight?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
"Says the one who's managed to sneak onto the Marsanes not once but twice to eavesdrop without any of us noticing until some time afterward. We knew that it was only a matter of time before you couldn't handle being left out of the loop," Malos sighed. "You shouldn't want to involve yourself, regardless. You're twelve years old. A kid."
"Hey! I'll be thirteen in a couple of days," Rex challenged. "And besides, that's only the age of my body. And I'm more or less as tall as I was when I faced you."
"Yeah yeah. 'You have the memories of the past life' and all that. You're still too young," Malos said, clearing his throat. "Anyways. This shouldn't be too overly complicated. It's just a simple extraction mission."
"Give me just a sec…" Rex said, disappearing into the house to grab some essentials before returning, locking the door behind him. "Extraction? Extraction for what?"
Malos hummed as they set off towards the Marsanes. "Actually, I think a more apt description would be an intel mission. Depending on what we find, it may turn out to be an extraction."
"And what are you hoping for?" Rex asked.
"I'm hoping Minoth's, Cole's, hunch is wrong. So I'm hoping it's mundane and that we wasted our time," Malos said. "We can call it bonding time if that's the case, since apparently we're all supposed to be bonding with you."
He snorted, grinning. "Hunch about?"
"There are some unusual movements in Indol. Normally, we wouldn't be too concerned about this. We know almost everything there is to know about their internal networks thanks to Mikhail and Akhos' efforts. However, there's some information that even we can't discern what it means," Malos explained. "So that's what we're going after."
"You're speaking in circles. Since you're bringing me along, I think at least deserve to know what I'm walking into,"
Malos sighed. "To much controversy, Addam's official cause of death was ruled as a suicide."
"Addam? Like, Addam Addam?" Rex asked.
"How many other Addam's do you know?" Malos asked, sarcasm lacing his words. "Yes, Addam Origo. Mythra's original driver. One of the biggest pains in my arse. Anyways, his body was never actually recovered. No one even knows who signed the death certificate."
"What does he have to do with anything? That was five hundred years ago," Rex said.
"I was getting to that," Malos said, irritation seeping into his voice. "Jin and I don't believe that he committed suicide. He remembers hearing about Addam several decades after the events of the war. Killing yourself, especially like that, is something that was rather frowned upon in Torna. His last known location according to reliable eyewitnesses in historical record was a titan ship traveling between Uraya and Mor Ardain. It never made it to its destination and is believed to have crashed and fallen below the Cloud Sea."
A sinking feeling pounded in his gut. He didn't like what this was turning into. "What do you think happened to him? Do you think that he died with the ship or…?"
"I think the ship was targeted deliberately. You see, Addam started looking into Indol after everything happened. Jin said that he always had his suspicions about Indol's involvement in Torna's downfall."
"Oh no…"
"Yeah. And guess which titan just so happened to be in the area when this happened?"
"... You think Addam's still alive, somehow, don't you? And that Indol has him." Rex asked quietly. "You wouldn't be bringing it up otherwise."
"Yeah. Minoth does, at least, and the information we've gathered only seems to strengthen his hypothesis," Malos said. "There are only a few ways that Addam can still be alive given what year it is. And none of them are pleasant to think about."
"Yeah," Rex whispered, clenching his fists together. They boarded the ship, walking towards the sleeping area. "What about Haze? Is there anything we can do for her right now?"
"No. Trust me: that's something we've looked into. But until we can get the other half of her core crystal away from Amalthus, we can't risk removing her from his grasp. It's a bit of a hard pill to swallow but there's nothing we can do," Malos sighed.
"Damn," he murmured, frowning.
"Well, now that you know, I suggest that you head to bed. It's going to be a long morning and you need your rest," Malos said. "There are several bedrooms that you can choose from. Take your pick."
"I will. Thanks, Malos," he said, pausing. "Even if you don't sleep, try and get some rest."
"I will, kid. Don't worry," Malos said, ruffling his hair before disappearing into the next hallway. Rex took a deep breath, choosing the nearest room to crash in. He set his weapon and bag to the side, falling back onto the bed. Humming, he drummed his fingers on the frame, soothed slightly by the repetitive motions. In all his wildest dreams, he had never imagined that he would ever have the opportunity to meet Addam in the flesh. Sure, he had technically met Addam in the Spirit Crucible Elpys (or at least a spirit version of him), but it was entirely different than meeting Addam face to face. He had grown up hearing stories of Addam's efforts in the Aegis War and how he had defeated the evil Aegis Malos, so much so that he grew to idolize him. View him as the ideal person to be. While he loved the thought of meeting his hero face to face, he almost hoped that Malos and Minoth were wrong.
If Addam truly had been captured by Indol, then he couldn't imagine what horrors he had undergone.
"Here's the plan: We're going to enter from some of the secret entrances in the back and follow the map into the area marked with red pen. The others have already orchestrated a suitable distraction that will take the majority of the monks' attention. If there are any stragglers, and there probably will be, I'll forge ahead and knock them out. Try to stay hidden and for the love of everything, don't pull out your weapon unless they somehow manage to subdue me and force your hand. Got it? Good."
All in all, it was going rather smoothly. After setting foot on the titan, they found no monks on the path that lead them towards the marked area. Overall, the inner workings of the Praetorium were rather linear and straightforward. However, its linearity was complicated by the sheer size of the Praetorium: it had ten floors total with a basement. The architects made sure no square meter was left unused, winding hallways upon hallways on top of each other. The area that was marked on the map was sequestered away on the seventh floor, buried in the back behind a false wall. Getting to the area wasn't the issue; getting in was.
"Of course they couldn't make it easy and just allow access when you press a stone into the wall. What I wouldn't give to have Brighid and her lockpicking skills right about now. I think I know what I'm learning next," Rex murmured, fiddling with the hidden lock. "I don't suppose that you could blast the damn thing away?"
Malos snorted. "Without attracting the attention of every guard in the area? No."
"Damn…" he murmured, looking around. His eyes zeroed in on an air vent near the top of the room. "I wonder…"
"Hmm? Something catch your eye?"
He pointed to the opening. "That vent right there… You think it leads into the room?"
"Who knows?" Malos said, shrugging. "But it's worth a try. Want a lift?"
"Sure," Rex said, all the breath leaving him as Malos hoists him up towards the metal cover. He slid it off, climbing inside. He tentatively felt around in front of him, mourning the loss of the light. Crawling forward, he did his best to make as little noise as possible, intimately aware that he could be over an area with guards at any point. He turned right, following what he assumed the length of the room was before moving left. Up ahead a couple of paces, he saw light filter in through slats. Unlike the vent cover before, it was locked. He lightly pushed on the vent cover, testing its durability. When it wouldn't budge, he pushed with all his strength. The metal creaked slightly under the pressure but it did not open.
"Well… Here goes nothing," he murmured, ramming against the cover with all his might. It flew off, the sound of metal hitting the ground echoing across the room. He landed with a grunt, pain erupting in his backside. He gingerly stood up, taking in his surroundings.
It was a big room, almost comparable to the Vault of Heroes in the Crucible. Cracked, gray stone made up the interior, offset by the bright gold tapestries of the Indoline Seal. Stray boxes, full of building materials were scattered about, littered the room. On the wall to his right hung various staves, most likely for war monks. The air smelt old, like the room hadn't been disturbed in quite some time which was confirmed by the thick layer of dust covering his clothes. He resisted the urge to sneeze, eyes traveling to the far center of the room. All the breath left his lungs.
A tall, muscular man with silver hair and golden armor hung from the wall, arms raised above his head. A Tornan style braid obscured his view of the left side of the man's face. He wore Tornan style armor with two different styles of vambraces. The most striking thing, however, was the pulsing core crystal embedded in his chest. Rex swallowed the bile at the back of his throat, feeling sick.
"Kid, you going to let me in?" Malos called. He blinked, rushing towards the door and unlocking it. "Hey. Why do you look so- Oh."
"Yeah," Rex said, shutting the door behind them.
"Holy hell…" Malos said, eyes wide. "That's…"
"Addam," Rex finished. The man's name seemed to awaken him from his slumber. He started thrashing in his restraints, pulling with all his might.
"I'm going to step out. He's going to hurt himself if I don't," Malos said. "Look at me, Rex. Retreat if he tries to attack you. I don't want to give up half of my core crystal because you acted stupid."
"Don't leave," he replied. "Addam saw you. He knows you're here. Leaving out of sight will only make him panic more."
"I-"
"Trust me," he said, approaching Addam slowly. He opened his mouth to speak again before he realized something. Addam probably wouldn't understand him if he spoke Common. The language they spoke now was so different from the common language of the past.
He was going to have to speak Tornan if he wanted to get his point across.
"Addam! Calm down! He won't hurt you! I won't hurt you!" Rex called, tripping up over the syllables slightly. The words only seemed to worsen Addam's agitation. "Can you understand me? Nod if you can."
Addam glared at him, fury painting his face. He eventually nodded, sneering.
"Okay. Is there some reason that you aren't speaking?" The man seemed to contemplate his actions for a moment before opening his mouth. He was puzzled at first until he saw the inside of Addam's mouth. They had… They had cut out his tongue. His face fell in horror.
"Holy shit…" Malos said. He could see the plethora of emotions filtering through the blade's face from the corner of his eye.
"I…" Rex said, swallowing heavily. "Do you… Do you know sign language?"
Another nod, noticeably less reluctant. Rex took a shaky breath. "I… I have a knife. If I cut you loose so that you can communicate with me, will you promise not to attack me?"
Addam leered at him appraisingly, muscles flexing against the restraints. Still, he didn't move until the man gave his consent. Tentatively, he approached, keeping an eye on Addam's body language. When he didn't move, Rex carefully unsheathed his knife and began to cut the bindings around his arms. Ether sparking against the blade in protest, almost causing him to drop the weapon. He frowned. If his eyes weren't deceiving him, then what he was seeing was light ether.
"This isn't going to work…" He murmured. "Sorry Addam. But I will need Malos' help with this. Malos! Form an ether connection with me. I'm going to need some of your strength. It's resistant to the type Addam wields. Which means it's probably infused with light ether."
"Please be careful," Malos murmured, a blue tendril of light connecting them.
"Always," Rex said, letting the ether flow into his weapon. He started to hack away slowly at the bindings, letting out a sigh of relief when they finally started to give. "Do you know I have a bit of preference for dark blades? It's not an element I get to wield often. But when I do, I tend to hit just a little bit harder."
"Really now? I find that hard to believe considering how badly you've fucked me up in the past," Malos remarked, eyes flicking between the two humans.
"I didn't say that I was bad at using the other types," Rex said. "I just have a preference. Anyways, I'm almost done with this one, Addam. Try not to move around too much."
He made the final slice along that section of rope, narrowly missing Addam's wrist. The man flexed the wrist as it fell away, rubbing the irritated skin on his side. Rex felt a pang of sympathy. Who knew how long he had been suspended here, muscles, joints, and tendons locked in the same position with little room to alleviate the pressure? He turned and focused on the other wrist, making quicker work of the bindings since he now knew what he was doing.
All of the air was knocked out of him as Addam fell over on top of him. He groaned. The knife was taken from him as Malos hacked away at the remaining restraints around Addam's legs. He gently pushed the taller man off, coughing.
"You okay, kid?" Malos asked, helping him up.
"Yeah," he said, throat tightening. "It's just the dust."
"I feel you. It seems like nobody's been in here for years,"
"Yeah," he said absentmindedly. The body mutilation, the lack of guards surrounding Addam's location, the rope being susceptible to dark ether, the laughably easy-to-find entrance... Amalthus was all but stating outright that he wanted them to find Addam. Wanted Addam to freak out when he saw Malos or Minoth or whatever poor stranger happened to come to his rescue.
Because Addam was a warning. A warning to those who dared oppose the Praetorium and their vision for the world. And what a somber warning it was. It wasn't fair, least of all to the person who had sacrificed everything to save the world. Rex clenched his fists. He was going to make Amalthus pay, one way or another.
"Are you okay?" Rex asked tentatively.
"As I ever will be. I'm sorry for panicking," Addam replied, hands shaking. "I was expecting one of Amalthus' men, not you. You're Rex, right?"
Rex sighed. "How do you even know my…? Nevermind that. You don't need to apologize. I don't want to even imagine exactly what you've been through,"
"You're quite the talk of the land here. You've been a massive pain in the arse for Indol over the years. Speaking of which… What year is it?" Addam asked. "The last date I remember is 4005."
"That's almost fifty years ago…" Rex murmured. "It's October of 4055 now."
"4055… Has it been that long?" Addam said, piercing gaze settling on him. "You look young."
"I am," he confirmed. "But it's a long story that is best saved for when we're safe."
"I agree," Addam replied, turning his gaze to the side. "So…"
"Look. We need to get back to the ship before more of Amalthus' goons track us down. The more attention that we draw to us, the more likely it is we'll have to use lethal force," Malos said. "Rex, can you check to see if we're clear?"
"Got it," he replied, walking with soft footsteps towards the way they came in. After checking the hallways, he made a motion for Malos to follow. He ventured ahead and scoped out the area, unsurprised to find that there wasn't a soul there. They boarded the ship quickly, Mikhail and the others already waiting to take off. Malos led them to the sleeping area, showing Addam where he could rest, before storming off. Rex gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile before chasing after Malos. He found the Aegis standing on one of the lower decks, positively seething.
"They let us get away. They want us to find him. Goddamn you Amalthus!" Malos yelled, punching the wall. He flinched at the clang of the blade's armor against the metal.
"Malos… It's not your fault-"
"That was my driver, Rex. My driver did that to him," Malos said, eyes lit up with forlorn anger. Rex didn't fault him for that. Amalthus would anger most people if they were aware of the true extent of his actions as both Questor and Praetor. He stepped forward and placed a hand over Malos' unflinchingly.
"First of all, he's not your driver. He doesn't deserve that title. Secondly, Amalthus did this to him, not you. There was no way any of us could have expected this to happen," Rex said. "I… understand that you're carrying around a lot of baggage and that you are at fault for a lot of things. But unless you were the one to hand-deliver Addam to Amalthus, the blame solely lies on him, not you."
"I… why are you so damn smart kid?" Malos asked, voice growing quiet.
"You pick up a thing or two from being around people that are smarter than you," Rex encouraged, smiling. "Now come on. We owe him an explanation. A proper one."
From the top deck, Addam gazed at the pair as they entered the innermost part of the ship, eyes filled with a soft curiosity.