"What was that?" Nia met up with the men in the lobby of the hotel.

"Something go boom-boom," Tora flapped his wings, "Sound like big commotion."

"Should we go take a look?" Pyra looked to Rex, waiting on his input.

"Yeah," Rex nodded, "We should make sure she doesn't hurt anyone."

"'She?'" Poppi tilted her head.

"Er, come on, before whoever it is gets away!"

"Um, chum, aren't you kinda wanted by the Ardainians?" Zeke folded his arms.

"Ah, we'll worry about that later," Rex waved his concerns away fully intending to get caught, but they did not need to know that, "Now, come on!"

By this point, just about everyone in the party had come realized that Rex knew things that by most accounts he should not know but questioning him proved ineffective most of the time. Personal doubts aside, it was hard not to be curious about this strange kid with a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Especially Nia who noted the contrast between when they met and now. He seemed to have a lot more weighing on him behind that smile.

Regardless, the rooftops were in a bit of chaos as the soldiers tried to lock them down, but Rex and the others had little problem steam rolling right past them. It was even easier with Zeke on their side now. Rex might just be able to spar again, but that could wait.

They even managed to make it to where Lila was while she was in the act of taking care of the soldiers that tried to stop her this time. As the artificial blade stopped to look at them, the others were surprised to essentially see another Poppi while Tora recognized her. Rex, as per usual, was not surprised in the least. Instead, he kept to the rear while Tora tried to talk to her.

Not that he was exactly successful. Just like before, they chased Lila across the rooftops until she eventually picked up on Poppi's ether furnace. Once she did, she landed with the full force of her mechanical body and prepared for a fight.

Even without Mythra's help, Lila was no match for them with Zeke on their side making the fight go even quicker. It was almost boring, but Rex focused on holding back. Something he still was not too good at considering he was used to having to give it everything he had just to keep up.

Once Lila retreated, the others managed to press Tora into finally explaining the situation.

"Wait, so you mean to tell me your granddad and pops built that thing?" Zeke was admittedly as impressed as he was confused.

"Why was she dressed like a maid?" Pandoria addressed her driver's concerns.

"Er, grampypon and daddypon had very…eccentric tastes."

"Just them?" Pyra raised a brow.

"N-now not time for that. Lila was supposed to be incomplete. Only daddypon or grampypon could possibly have finished her."

"So, wait, you mean your dad built a murder bot?" Nia crossed her arms once again questioning her role in this debacle of a team.

"He must be being forced to work for bad guys. Daddypon would never willingly make Lila do bad things."

"I believe you, Tora," Rex finally weighed in shutting up any doubts Zeke had. He wanted to see where this went anyway.

"Thank you, Rex-Rex, but we need to hurry," Tora flailed his little arms after where Lila had flown off to.

"Right," Rex nodded leading the way, "Let's go after her."

"There they are!" A muffled voice called before they could move. Right, Morag. Best to tend to this now he supposed.

"There you are, boy," Morag strode to the front of the soldiers with Brighid not far behind, "I must say that I'm disappointed to find you stooping to such lowly crimes."

"'Crimes?' We were chasing the criminal. Poppi didn't do anything wrong!"

"Hmph, so it was another mechanical girl that defeated those soldiers?"

"Er, yes," Rex sighed. Without their little witness, a fight seemed inevitable.

"You'll have to try better than that," Morag drew her blades forcing Rex and his party to do the same. However, before Morag could engage, she noticed someone standing to the back of the party. He was smirking, "You're…the Prince of Tantal?"

"Ah, so you recognized me," Zeke confidently walked to the front of the party with his sword over his shoulder, "Was worried that you might have forgotten."

"Rest assured, I could not forget one so…memorable. No matter how hard I tried. What are you doing with the Aegis' driver?"

"Oh, well, I was on official business for Indol. Plus, I'm curious. Can you blame me? The kid's got skill."

"Can you vouch for their story?"

"Yup. Strange as it sounds, we just finished roughing up a robot maid."

"A…robotic maid?" Morag repeated slowly.

"Apparently they have something of an acquired taste."

"So, it would seem. Still, as eccentric as the prince is, I trust him," Morag put her blades away, "But that still means we have a fugitive on the loose."

"We can help with that," Rex offered.

"We can?" Nia raised a brow.

"Yeah," Rex nodded to her reassuringly before addressing Morag again, "I think I know where she went, but I have a favor to ask first."

"Oh?"

Rex paced back and forth on the old metal of the abandoned factory. Knowing where Bana had been holed up, Rex was able to have Morag flood the area with Ardainian troops. He never had the chance to activate Rosa, and Rex and the gang were able to deal with Lila. While Tora got reacquainted with his father, Rex waited for the second part of his plan to go into effect.

It would be a few more days before that happened leaving Rex with time to think. Jin was still out there, and sooner or later they were going to have to fight him. They could not do it as they were, and he was not going to let them be taken again. So, he was going to try to help Pyra and Mythra overcome their fears. Best to do it while they were not in immediate danger.

"Rex?" The salvager turned around and smiled at his blade.

"Pyra. I'm glad you made it. I need to talk to you. To both of you."

A flash of light heralded Mythra's appearance, "What do you want?" She asked a bit harsher than she intended.

"Well, I told you more about what happened the first time, but there's something thing I need to talk to you about."

"Which is? Come on, don't beat around the bush."

"I…I don't know how to start, but…you're afraid of your power," Mythra shrunk away slightly, "Don't worry, I know, and I understand, but…I need you to know that your power doesn't define you."

"What do you know?"

"I know you want to ask the Architect to let you die."

Mythra's eyes shot open, "I-I…we told you that?"

"You told me everything."

So, her concerns were validated, "And yet you still helped us."

"Well, I'm hoping I can talk you out of it. Your power does not define your place in this world. We'll find you a purpose," Rex looked them in the eyes with intent, somehow seemingly looking at Pyra as well through Mythra, "Both of you. I promise."

"I…why are you bringing this up all of the sudden?"

Rex sighed, "We can't hold back. Malos won last time, and we barely were able to defeat Jin."

"Hah," Mythra scoffed, "Jin's strong, but I don't remember him being that tough."

"No, he's different now. He's a flesh eater. He remembers everything from back then."

"A…Lora…" How could he…what happened to them?

"Right, and if we're going to beat him, we all three have to work together."

"And what if I lose control again? What then?"

"You won't. I've seen it. Together, we can change the future this time. We'll stop Malos and Jin as well as Amalthus!"

"I…don't know…. I suppose those messages are pretty convincing. Maybe I can believe myself at least."

"What about you, Pyra?"

Another flash of light came before his answer, "I…don't know how much I can help. I…want to, but…"

"Don't worry," Rex smiled, "Just do your best. Together, we make a great team. Just believe in yourselves."

"I-I can try," Pyra nodded despite her nagging doubts. She felt like he was trying to make her feel better, but if there was something Mythra could not handle, what good was she? Could she really be more than a chauffeur and disguise for Mythra? Well, if nothing else she could put on a brave face like she usually did.

A/N: Let's…not get carried away on if I'll outright finish it now, but a chapter or two at least.