1.

Pyra walked through the halls of the Monoceros, on her way to the rejuvenation chamber, helping Jin as he limped beside her. She was worried about him. He had incredible strength, enough to rival even her at times, but he had been getting sicker and sicker lately. Could it even be described as sickness? Whatever it was, his powers were tearing him apart. Use of them for extended periods, or drawing on them too much, was degrading his core crystal.

Suddenly, Akhos appeared in front of them, brash, cocky, smug, blue eyes flashing behind his glasses in fury. "I can't believe," he snapped, "That after all this, we lost the Aegis. And Nia, after all we did for HER, just stabbing us in the back. I-"

"Akhos," Pyra said, her voice quiet, but the tone immediately making Akhos go completely still. "Did you order the cannons to fire on her? And the salvager?"

Akhos stepped back. "I mean, I ordered them to fire on the salvager. I figured if we could take him out, we could stop...she was just...in the field of fire…Jin, you understand, right?" He made a pleading gesture, then gasped in fear as he looked back up at Pyra's face. Her eyes were dripping flame, her hair floating lazily on a haze of heat.

"Akhos," she whispered, furiously, "She was one of us. We do not just so lightly kill one of our own." She clenched her fist, flames running up it from her hand to her shoulder.

Akhos summoned some spine, and glared at her defiantly. "I mean….why? It doesn't matter in the end, does it? Do you forget what your own mission is?"

"It MATTERS," Pyra roared, and Jin winced as a baking, throbbing heat came off her in waves. "It MATTERS. Every little BIT of it MATTERS, Akhos!" Akhos finally lost his bravado and gasped, almost looking as if he was getting ready to run.

"Enough," Jin snapped, and Pyra looked down at him, flames subsiding, blushing furiously, suddenly ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Jin, I...did I hurt you, I'm so sorry-"

"No. It's fine." Jin's eyes flicked toward's Akhos. Truth be told, there were times when he thought more like the young man. Pyra's empathy...Jin had come to appreciate it. And to appreciate her, more than she could ever know. But there were times when empathy had to take a back seat to practicality. But he would always admire her for her vision. "Pyra, do you mind preparing the rejuvenation chamber? I'll talk to Akhos."

Pyra lingered, her hand trailing down Jin's arm, fingers gently brushing against his. Jin didn't look at her, but he could feel the intensity of her gaze on his face. She was a curious woman, the Aegis. Sometimes looking into those eyes was like staring into the sun. "Alright," said Pyra, quietly, after a moment. She walked away, shooting Akhos a disapproving glance as she did.

Akhos looked after her nervously. "What a lunatic," he muttered. "Are you sure she-"

"ENOUGH," snapped Jin angrily, anger cracking through his icy exterior. Akhos put his hands up defensively. "Can you track Malos?"

Akhos smiled. "I should be able to. I'm sure he has quite the ether signature. Give me and Obrona some time, and we'll find him."

"Good. Get on it. I don't want him to get far."

"And what about Nia?"

Jin stood perfectly still, looking down at Akhos. "Nia's not our concern."

"No. I mean, what if she turns up with Malos and that kid who woke him?" Akhos spread his hands in an apologetic gesture. "You see, I'm certain I could retrieve the Aegis. But if you tell me not to hurt Nia, even if she's with them, well, that makes things a lot harder." His mouth turned up at the corners in a vicious grin. "Jeopardizes the mission, you might say."

Jin had a real distaste for that smile. "Listen carefully," he said finally. "If she's with them, you are to do everything in your power to bring her in peacefully. Everything in your power. But, if that jeopardizes your chances of bringing the Aegis in…."

"I have your blessing to take...terminal measures?" Akhos' nasty smile grew larger.

"Just do what needs to be done."

Jin walked past Akhos, gliding solemnly down the corridor. Akhos watched as he retreated. "Oh, I think this is going to be fun," he said to himself.

2.

Rex groaned, blinking. He was looking up at the dense green canopy of a forest. Someone's face was filling his vision, looking down at him. It was Malos, his helmet removed, smiling down at him. "Oh...M-Malos…?" Rex groaned.

And then he yelped and jumped up as a sharp pain stabbed into his side. Malos had given him a swift kick with one jagged mail-plated boot. "Hey! What the hell! That hurts!"

"Oh good, you're awake," Malos said, as if nothing had happened. "I was starting to get bored." He tilted his sword back on his shoulder, other hand on his hip.

Rex rubbed his side, glaring at Malos, then glanced around. "Where….are we?"

"Hell if I know. A pretty large Titan, though."

Rex shook his head, and memories flashed through it as his thoughts cleared. Nia, being thrown by explosions...Gramps….

"Oh crap!" he exclaimed, looking around in a panic. He spotted his junk sword and rushed to pick it up. "We gotta find them! Gramps! And Nia! They have to be somewhere close."

"Yeah, sure." Malos pointed one sharp-mailed finger at a path of broken trees, a conspicuous path of destruction in the otherwise thick and immaculate forest. "Probably down that way. That Titan of yours looked like it took some heavy hits though, kid."

"He'll be fine," Rex said, trying to disguise the worry in his voice. "I'm sure of it. Come on, let's go."

3.

Dromarch was the first to wake up from the crash. He glanced around himself, his large, dark eyes quickly adjusting to the dark green of the forest, the little green-stained light that managed to break through the thick canopy. They had landed in a swampy marshland, and he had an immediate distaste for the humidity and buzzing flies. He got up, stretching lazily, then padded around in a circle, sniffing through the tall grass, looking for signs of Nia.

He found her a few dozen feet away, splayed awkwardly against a log, against which it seemed she had come to a rolling stop. He nudged her, gently, with his nose. She was still alive, still breathing. She didn't seem to be too badly injured. Maybe some nicks and bruises, and a nasty bump to the head.

Dromarch padded around, then curled up beside her, beginning to let out a low, rumbling purr. Healing waves from the big cat flowed gently into the young Gormotti girl, and it wasn't long before she was stirring, coming to her senses. Her eyes fluttered open, and she gripped Dromarch's fur, groaning. She sat up, looking around herself, then sighed. "Oh, Dromarch." She smiled ruefully. "Looks like we're on the run again, eh?"

"The things my lady will do for a pair of pretty eyes."

"Oh, shut up." She gave the big cat a smack. "I guess we should go and take a look for Rex, and...and then..." Her voice began hitching, and soon Dromarch felt tears dropping into his fur, and then Nia threw her arms around him as she sobbed. Dromarch remained quiet. He knew Nia better than to question her tears. She hated crying, and she especially hated crying in front of other people. It was only Dromarch that she ever felt comfortable showing weakness around.

"I...I really thought we were done running, you know," Nia gasped through her tears after a few moments. "I thought I had found a place...to be. Oh Architect, I am such a damn fool."

Dromarch nuzzled her. "My lady is no fool. Helping Rex was the right thing to do."

"No, not for that. I don't feel bad about that at all. I'm a damn fool for thinking there's anywhere in this world for me." She shook her head again and buried her face into Dromarch's fur. "Haven't I learned yet?"

"You will find somewhere to feel at home someday," Dromarch rumbled.

Nia looked down at his large, dark eyes. No, you won't, a small voice inside of her said. It was a voice that she hadn't ever told anyone about, not even Dromarch. A voice that began speaking to her when she was very young, after her sister had died, a voice that had gotten louder and louder during her time of running. You don't deserve it, said the voice. It's not the world that's bad. Don't you get it yet? It's you. You're broken. There's a reason nobody wants you, why everyone keeps trying to replace you, or kill you. You are bad, you are broken. Like Jin. He was broken too. He was broken, and he was the only person who cared about you, even a little. Broken, like everyone in TORNA was. That's where you belong, with the other broken people. You better just get back to them as soon as possible and pray they forgive you. You know the only alternative, right? You know the only other thing that will stop the endless running, don't you? The voice retreated as Nia forced it down, back down into the depths of her thoughts, before it began going where it had gone before, to the place that frightened her, frightened her because it was so tempting. She just buried her face in Dromarch's fur again and let the tears flow until her mind was blank.

"Alright," she whispered, after some time. "That's enough feeling sorry for myself." She rubbed her eyes furiously, and ruffled Dromarch's damp fur, doing her best to remove any sign that she had been crying. "Let's go. We should find Rex. Knowing that fool's luck, he probably needs me to heal his broken bones again."

As she got up, there came a deep, loud, threatening croak from behind her. Dromarch's fur bristled, and he immediately leapt to his feet. In horror, Nia slowly turned around.

There, at the edge of the marsh, perhaps thirty feet away, was an absolutely massive Brog. The thing must have been ten feet tall. It wrenched itself up from the muck with a loud, disgusting squelch, its lobed, green eyes fixed intently on her. Nia watched in disgust as its throat distended and it let out another massive croak, and then shrieked and scrambled out of the way as it leapt, closing the distance between them with one leap, landing where she had been standing only moments before with a massive thud.

"I don't think we can fight this thing on our own, Dromarch," she shouted. Dromarch nodded, and they both turned to run. But they were unfamiliar with the terrain, and the Brog was more clever than they had given it credit for. The soon found themselves driven up against a cliff wall. Every time they tried to run in a different direction, the Brog would quickly leap, blocking their path.

Nia stared up at the sheer cliff face in despair. She would try climbing it, but it was slick with mold and slime from a weak waterfall trickling down it. She turned around to face the Brog, who was now advancing on them slowly, and she could have sworn it was grinning at her.

Then, before she knew it, Dromarch was roaring, leaping at the gigantic beast. It raised a stubby arm awkwardly, trying to ward off the big cat's crushing fangs and raking claws, then with an awkward half-hop, threw Dromarch to the ground, and slammed one gigantic arm on top of him, leaning it's bulk into it to keep him pinned. Nia drew her twin rings, preparing to attack-

When a dark flash slammed into the side of the Brog, sending it reeling. Nia gaped, open-mouthed, as the knight from the ship swung his dark sword, biting deep into the Brog's flesh, and green, brackish blood flowed from the wound. And then, with a shout, Rex came running across the marsh as well, his junk sword held above his head, and slammed his sword into the Brog as well. "We got your back, Nia!" he shouted.

Nia smiled, then leapt into the fray as well, and between the three of them they made short work of the beast.

Afterwards, Nia helped Dromarch up from the muck. He was pissed, she could tell, at the mud clinging to his fur. "Thanks," she said to Rex, as he wiped the Brog's green blood from his sword with a cloth. "Uh...I suppose this is..."

"Malos." The dark knight cleaned his blade with a swift flick, sending the gore stuck to it spattering across the marsh. "And you're the girl who saved my Driver. I suppose I should thank you for that, myself."

"I'm...Nia," she said, intimidated by the man's intense stare. "It….it was nothing, really."

"We can talk later," Rex interrupted the two. "We still have to find Gramps!" He pointed to a hole in the treeline of crushed and battered trees. "Come on, he's this way, I'm sure of it!"

4.

They didn't have far to clamber through the forest before they came upon the body of the Titan.

"Oh no," Nia whispered when she spotted him. The poor beast was sprawled, broken, across the forst floor, various ballistae bolts stuck in his hide, breathing raggedly. She rushed over to him alongside Rex, as Malos stood back, arms crossed, face stone.

"Gramps!" cried Rex, horror in his voice. "Oh no, no no no, Gramps…."

"Rex, my boy," the Titan rumbled, weakly. He gave them both a toothy grin. "I'm….glad to see...you're okay. And you, Nia…."

Nia spread her hands across the Titan's stony hide, attempting to use her healing. But it was no use. "I'm...Rex, they're just so different from us, my healing isn't doing anything, I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay," Rex said, and Nia could tell he was trying to hide the panic in his voice. "It's okay, I've patched Gramps up before. I just need to find some herbs, I need to find-"

"I am….far beyond any healing, blade or human," the Titan rumbled. "It's...quite alright..."

Nia put her hands to her mouth, and tears sprang to Rex's eyes. "Gramps. Don't talk like that. We'll fix you..."

"My boy. We will meet again, in some other life, when the ether wills it." The Titan laid his head down, and closed his eyes. "I'm happy….that I met you. My time...with you...they were the best years...of my life…"

Tears were falling freely down Rex's face now. He sank to his knees and embraced the Titan's hide, spreading his arms wide. "No, please," he whispered. "Please don't go."

The Titan made no response, and exhaled one last time. The only sound now was Rex's sobbing. Nia approached him, tentatively, and put one comforting hand on his shoulder. "Oh Rex, I'm so sorry," she said, fighting back tears herself.

And then suddenly the Titan raised its massive stone head and said, "Actually, you know what, I think I'll be okay."

"….what," Rex said.

Behind them, Malos burst into laughter. "Oh, oh man," he cried, wheezing. "Oh, that was too damn good. I can't believe it." He cut off as he continued laughing, struggling to breathe.

Rex leapt to his feet angrily. "WHAT," he yelled.

"The look-on your face-" Malos broke into laughter yet again, pointing at the Titan. "Oh Architect – old man, you are too good – you're killing me here."

"This isn't funny!" Rex snapped, scrubbing his eyes. "I can't believe you'd play a trick like this on me! You..." he glanced over at Nia, and blushed. "You made me cry in front of a girl."

"Oh, get over it," Nia snapped at him. Then she glared up at the Titan. "That was a pretty dirty trick though. And you, stop laughing!" she hissed at Malos. In response, Malos laughed even harder.

"Oh...I didn't intend any trick," said the Titan. "I did think I was gone for a bit there. But you know, I am feeling better. Look, I am still rather injured." He nodded toward the spears embedded in his hide. "Do you mind…?"

Malos, once he was done laughing, and Rex, working together, removed the ballistae bolts from the Titan. Rex and Nia foraged around for some healing herbs to stuff in the wounds, although honestly, Nia doubted the efficacy of them.

"Ah, that feels much better," Gramps said, once they had finished. "Although, you know, I do feel too weak to move, still. What would be best for me, I believe, is to spend some time in the Cloud Ocean."

Malos scratched his chin, then walked to a patch of trees, peering through them. He raised his right hand, and a blast of dark fire blew away shrubbery and trees with an awful roar, revealing a small inlet beyond them, a hill only twenty feet long leading directly into the Cloud Ocean. "Well, there it is," he shrugged. "Although, if you can't move, I don't know how you're going to get there. There's no way I can haul your fat ass over there alone."

"Ah." The Titan grimaced. "So close, and yet so far…."

Rex wiped the sweat from his brow, then looked up at the sky. It was illuminated with a deepening orange and rose hue. "It looks like night's falling," he said. "I guess this is as good a place to set up camp as any. Get our bearings, figure out what to do about Gramps."

"Just start your fire away from me, please!" Gramps rumbled. "I don't want to have to deal with smoke in my eyes."

5.

Nia, Rex and Malos sat around a campfire they started some good distance from Gramps, who was snoring lightly in the distance. Darkness had fallen completely, obscuring the forest surrounding them. Rex was poking idly at the fire, while Malos leaned back languidly against a log. Nia sat back, leaning against Dromarch as he curled around her, running her hands through his fur.

"Where do you guys think we are?" Rex asked, once he got the fire going good and hot.

"Oh. I could have told you that. We're in Gormott," Nia replied.

He glanced up at her in surprise. "Oh! That's right, you're Gormotti, aren't you?"

"You just noticing the ears now?" Nia picked up a pebble and flicked it at him. "Yeah, I'd say we're probably around the belly. What do you two plan on doing now, by the way?"

Rex glanced at Malos, who merely smirked and nodded at him. "We're going to Elysium," he said.

"Elysium?" Nia shook her head. "Rex, I told you that's not real-"

Malos interrupted her. "Oh, it's real," he said. "I should know. It's where I was born."

Nia gaped at him. "You...can't be serious. Who ARE you, anyway? Why were you locked up on that boat?"

Malos' smirk grew deeper, and he looked up at Nia and Rex, eyes sparkling. "I," he said dramatically, "Am the Aegis."

Nia and Rex looked at each other. Rex shrugged.

"That supposed to mean something to us?" Nia asked.

"Wh-jeez, don't they teach kids history anymore?!"

"I...uh, I don't think either of us had a conventional childhood," Nia replied. "What's an Aegis?"

Malos rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Come on! Five hundred years ago? The Aegis war? THREE whole titan-countries destroyed? Others wounded?"

Rex's eyes widened. "What, you did all that?"

"No! You know that woman on the ship? Redhead, dresses like a tramp? That's Mythra – well, I guess she calls herself Pyra now. She's the other Aegis. SHE did all that. I was the one who stopped her."

Nia stared at him in shock. Pyra? Doing all that? It didn't seem real, didn't seem possible. The Pyra Nia knew was...well, she could be condescending, but she was also gentle, kind. She hardly seemed to want to hurt anyone at all. She couldn't picture her as a destroyer. Was Malos lying?

Rex whistled. "Well, that sure is something. Who was that guy with her?"

"That..." and suddenly, Malos looked sad. It was an odd expression to see on his arrogant face. "That was Jin. He...fought against her, too, long ago."

"So why is he with her now?"

Malos' gaze flickered over to Rex. "You really have no idea how blades work, huh kid? When a blade's driver dies, they return to their core crystal. They can come back, to a new driver, but they have all their memories wiped. Mythra...Pyra….must have gotten a hold of Jin's core crystal, and had someone knew awaken him, then brainwashed him or something...it's sick, really, seeing him at her side. Although…." And now, Malos looked away, looking sad once more. "I...I dunno. I got the feeling that he remembered me, somehow."

There was silence for a moment, as they all stared into the flickering flames. "So what were you doing locked up in that ship?" Nia asked.

Malos was silent, not looking at her at all. "My former driver locked me up there," he said finally. "Not sure why."

"Well." Nia leaned back against Dromarch and yawned. "I mean, good luck reaching Elysium, fellas. Sounds like you've got one hell of a trip ahead of you."

"Why don't you come with us, Nia?"

Nia sat up and stared at Rex in shock, her eyes wide. "What, really?"

"Well yeah, sure. I'd be glad to have you around."

Nia stared at him, still in a bit of shock. It was still surprising to her, it had happened so seldom, when people said that they wanted her around. And...the idea seemed…stupid as it sounded, it seemed appealing. Even if the quest was stupid and ended up being a bunch of nonsense, it would beat running from place to place with no clear destination in mind, and, a small part of her had to admit, Rex was fun to be around, as silly and stupid as he could be. Maybe it was just some weird lingering effect of having dove deep into the ether to heal him, but...he was…

More than you deserve, the tiny voice inside her said. Rex is good people. What makes you think you deserve to travel with someone like that? You know where you belong, you stupid broken thing.

"You don't want me around," she said quietly. "I'll only bring trouble down on your heads."

"What? Of course I want you around." Nia's heart twisted to see the confusion on Rex's face. She had to get away from him, before she caused him any more trouble and hurt. She had already gotten him killed nearly three times over, the poor boy. No, things were better if she was alone, and he was better off without her.

"No," she said quietly. "I'll...help you get to Torigoth, yeah? That's the nearest town. But after that you're on your own."

Rex looked crestfallen. "But what about you? What will you do?" Nia looked in terror as he shifted closer to her. "Look, Nia, I don't know what trouble you think you'll bring. And I don't know why you were with Pyra and Jin. And I won't ask, if you don't want to tell. But I can tell you're a good person. You saved my life. I'd love to have you along."

Oh, you stupid sweet idiot, Nia thought. He didn't even realize that it was her fault he had been killed in the first place. She had to cut this boy off, distance herself before she hurt him even further. It was better that way. She didn't belong here. "No, sorry," she smiled. "You can go off and find your way to some magical fairy land all on your own." She looked away to avoid seeing the disappointment on his face. "Anyway, I think I should get some rest. Good night."

"Night, Nia," she heard him call sadly as she walked away from the fire, Dromarch trailing after her.

She found a dry place to curl up on, and sank into Dromarch's fur. "I know what you're going to say," she said.

"I wasn't going to say it, because I knew you'd know it."

"Just say it."

"I think traveling with Rex would be a splendid idea."

"I can't."

Dromarch growled in frustration. "I don't know why you do this to yourself, my Lady. I can tell you want to. I wish you wouldn't push away everyone that makes you happy."

"I don't do that to everyone," Nia replied simply. "I've stuck with you, haven't I?"

Dromarch remained silent. But the truth was, he wondered if she would have, had she the choice.

6.

In the dark of the night, while Rex and Nia lay snoring, and the embers of the fire died down to nothing, Malos got up, silent as a shadow. He wandered over to where the Titan lay slumbering.

"Hey, Azurda," he called, quietly, shaking the beast's boulder-like knee. The Titan opened up an eye and looked down at him.

"Hello, Malos."

"Long time no see, old man."

"Yes, I suppose it has been, hasn't it?" Azurda shifted so that his head, craned down to look at the black knight. "I wish I could say I was happier to see you."

Malos ignored him. "You know, I was surprised that kid of yours knows nothing about the Aegis war. What with you having lived through it and all."

"Ah. Well." Azurda looked away, massive stone head swiveling to stare pensively at the Cloud Sea. "It wasn't exactly a happy story now, was it? And...definitely not one with a happy end. I'm sorry, Malos. But I was sort of hoping that it would stay buried in the past, dead and gone, where it belonged. I was sort of hoping I'd never see you again. That I'd never see the ghost and echoes of that dark time come back to haunt us." He shook his head sadly. "I suppose it was a fool's hope."

Malos was silent for a moment. "I...know that the last battle did a lot of damage," he said quietly. "But I was...sort of out of commission after it. And the next thing I know, I'm stuck in that ship. What...happened?"

The Titan was quiet for a long moment. "No," he said after a while. "I don't think you should know just right now. I don't think it's going to to be something you want to hear."

Malos threw his hands up in frustration. "Fine. Some help you are."

"Malos," the Titan called, as he began to walk away. "Wait a moment. You're bonded with my Rex now, yes?"

Malos stopped, without turning around. "Yep."

"And you're off to Elysium? What for?"

"Get some answers, I suppose. And I suppose I'm going to have to stop Mythra again, while I'm at it." Malos spread his hands and shrugged. "A man's work is never done."

"Do you mind honoring a request from an old friend?"

"Yeah, sure."

Azurda fixed him with a penetrating stare, one that made Malos almost lose his footing in shock, so intense it was, the Titan's eyes sharp yellow lamps set into stone, almost as if the beast was staring right through him, seeing right inside him.

"Please," and Malos was shocked again, to hear the honest plea in Azurda's voice. "Malos, please. Please be better this time around. Please. Be a better person."

Malos was quiet for a long moment. The request wasn't just a request. It was an accusation. "Was I...that bad…?" He said, mostly to himself. Without answering the Titan, he began walking away once again.

"Oh, and Malos," Azurda called after him. "I, well, I suppose this goes without saying. But you get my Rex hurt, and I'll kill you myself."