"Psst, hey, Tora," Rex rocked the nopon gently, "Tora, wake up!"
"Meh meh, tasty sausage…so big…"
Rex sighed before raising his voice, "Tora!"
"Meh meh? Tora awake!" The nopon recovered from his daze a bit before noticing Rex, "Rex-Rex? Why are you waking Tora so early?"
"I have a favor to ask. You know something about Titan tech, right?"
"Oh yes! Is not too dissimilar from technology used in making Poppi. Why Rex-Rex ask?"
"We want to look into something," Gramps replied from over Rex's shoulder. This had actually been his idea after all.
"Yeah, and bring Poppi."
"Meh meh?"
Rex yawned as he walked back toward his room to see if he could get an hour or two of sleep before he noticed Flan, or rather, Haze apparently. Another that he wanted to save. A tricky proposition as she was bound to Amalthus. Yet another burden he took personally as he continued to prove Addam right.
"Ah, you got a little crush?" Rex nearly jumped out of his skin as Nia approached. He really should have seen that coming.
"Nia, what are you doing up so early?" Rex tried to deflect away from what he had been doing up so early.
"Early riser. Always have been. Now, what would Pyra think about you gawking at other women?"
"It's not like that!" Rex answered still flushed. Though, the idea of Pyra getting the wrong idea was twice as terrifying as it was before. Now that he understood his own feelings better, the last thing he wanted was to give her the wrong idea.
"Oh, hello," Fan greeted the somewhat noisy party members politely, "It's still a while before your audience."
"Oh, yeah, I know. Er, uh, so have you gotten to talk to Pyra or Mythra yet?"
"Hmm? No, I haven't had the pleasure to speak with either of them at length."
"I think Mythra might have something to talk to you about. If you have a moment, feel free to stop by."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Haze nodded, and Rex internally breathed a sigh of relief. No extra teasing from Nia and he still set Fan on the path to speaking to Mythra. He considered that a win.
"Your eminence, the boy has arrived."
"So he has," Amalthus turned around and greeted them with an all too courteous smile. While it may have soothed many, Rex had already seen that face contorted in blind rage and twisted by insanity. He knew the monster lying beneath.
"You wanted to meet with us, Praetor?" Rex tried not to let his distaste show. He usually got along pretty well with most people, but Amalthus was on the short list of people that he really did not like. Despite that, he was not raring to fight the entirety of Indol's military at the moment.
"I understand that you wish to climb the world tree. I, too, once thought that it would hold the key to saving Alrest, but all I brought to the world was destruction. Perhaps you can do better."
Rex had to fight to keep his eyes from narrowing on the Praetor knowing that the Architect had tested him and found him wanting. Still, if nothing else, it was thanks to him that he got to meet Pyra, but one accidental good deed did not make up for his crimes.
"However, before I make my judgement, I would like to converse with the Aegis. I would call you by name, but you are different than I remember."
"…Pyra. My name is Pyra."
"If you'll excuse us," Amalthus nodded signifying that it was time for them to go. Rex did not like leaving them alone together, but nothing happened last time. He trusted that they would be fine.
"How could this happen?" Rex clenched his fists after leaving the audience chamber the next day. Jin had still managed to secure the titan weapon. If things continued like before, then Fan…
"It seems his highness was unable to stop the operation," Brighid replied-matter-of-factly.
"At least now I know why you were so determined to stop the operations there," Morag muttered somberly, "As it stands, I must go and see to this situation."
"I'll go with you," Rex volunteered.
"Normally, I might protest, but I think it would be wise to bring you along."
"I would like to go too," Fan approached the group.
"No!" Rex surprised them with his sudden outburst, "It's dangerous!"
"Yes, but her abilities may be useful against the remaining members of Torna," Morag interjected, "In the end, it is her call, but I would allow her on the expedition so long as she agrees to be careful."
"I'll leave the fighting to you all, don't worry."
"Then it's settled. We should hurry to the port."
"B-but…" Rex clenched his fists as most of the others started moving. Morag was right, but at the same time, Rex knew better. Not that he could convince her to leave behind such an asset without telling the truth. Rex tried to calm himself down though. He knew what Jin would try. If he could keep her off the titan then maybe...
"Fan!" Rex called out as she ran through the rain of destruction from the titan weapon. He knew she would be fine from it, but it was a reflex all the same. He was noticeably on edge ever since they had departed. Mythra had questioned him about it, but all he said was to be on her toes. Mythra was pretty easily able to figure it out. Something happened to Haze on this mission. He had not told them every little detail of what happened the first time, but it was clear Haze did not come out of this well if at all.
"Stay here," Rex warned Fan as the rest of them jumped to the weapon below, "I mean it! Stay put!" Fan nodded taken off guard by the serious tone, but she complied nonetheless as the others dropped down on the platform to deal with the automated defenses. With the others running as distractions, Rex was easily able to cut the cable, but he did not drop his guard for a moment.
"Aegis," Jin walked out to greet them, "Look at you. Once again a hope for the world, are you? Acting as if this is not your fault."
"Jin," Mythra grimaced while Pyra internally started to panic remembering what Rex had told them. She was not ready. She knew she could not do it if she had to. They had come nowhere close in their practice, and she now knew it must have been her fault. Mythra had come so far; had accepted herself more than Pyra could ever remember. Her bravado now carried actual confidence. Pyra lacked such confidence.
"You know him?" Zeke asked.
"Yes. He was the strongest blade in Torna, before it fell."
"Says the girl who sank it."
"You can't blame Mythra for what happened to–"
"Silence, boy. What do you know? Do you think being the driver of the Aegis grants you some special insight?"
"I know more than you might think. I know Malos showed you a way when you had lost practically everything, but it's not the only way. This world is worth fighting for."
"Pretty words," Jin marched closer, "But you're human, and little more than a child at that. What do you know?" Jin suddenly launched forward with Rex bracing, but Jin never made it. He suddenly stumbled as another jumped down to the weapon.
"Fan!"
"Sorry, but I couldn't stand by. I speak for Praetor Amalthus. For your crimes, I am placing you under arrest."
"J-just stay back," Rex told her as Jin reoriented himself, "Let us handle this."
"Seeing you speak his name like that while wearing that face…" Jin murmured as Rex's heart raced, "Life truly can be cruel, but I can free you from your chains."
"Fan!" Rex pushed the blade out of the way as Jin dashed up to her with incredible speed. Slightly further away, Pyra watched in horror from inside Mythra as the world seemed to come to a halt. All she could think about was protecting Rex when she found herself in control and moving forward as her core crystal shimmered brightly.
As time seemed to move normally again, Rex opened his eyes to find that he was, in fact, not impaled by Jin yet again. The flesh eater himself also looked rather shocked, and it was not hard to see why.
Gripping Jin's blade as if it were nothing was…Pyra? She had the red hair, but the outfit was certainly different. It may have made both of their usual outfits look modest as the white and red attire had sheer down the front and did not shy away from the cleavage. Perhaps more importantly to Rex, he had never seen it before. Looking to the sword, even it was different. It did not look exactly like the third sword, and it glowed an almost blood red.
With no visible show of effort Pyra Jin's sword in two. Clutching the blade, she stabbed him in the shoulder with it before knocking him away with blast of intense heat. Before he could even register what was going on, she was on top of him building up more power while glaring at him with a ferocity that seemed almost foreign.
However, Jin was saved by a well-timed shot from Akhos forcing her to jump away, "Can't say I was expecting this." The flesh eater still had not fully recovered from Mythra's stab wound, but he had not let that put a damper on his act, "As much as I'd love to stay and play, it seems you still have something to take care of."
As Akhos helped Jin get away, the defense system whirred back to life. Deeming it the more immediate threat, Pyra turned on it. Under her directed attack, it did not last more than a few seconds, but the members of Torna were still gone by then. Still, she smiled.
"Rex! I–" Her words died in her throat though as she saw Rex helping Fan up causing her eyes to narrow as the air around her grew wavy with heat. She strutted over to where her driver was, and quickly regained his attention.
"You were right, Rex! Thank you so much for believing in me," She surprised everyone by scooping him into a hug making him blush profusely.
"Oh, um, no problem," Rex was not sure how to broach the fact that he had no idea what had happened or why they looked so…different, but at least they had achieved a victory. Fan was alive. That was a win for now.
As they all made to leave, Brighid looked back over to where Pyra had been standing when she saw Rex helping Fan. There were a set of prints melted into the metal of the titan weapon.
A/N: If I didn't get it across well, it's pretty much Pyra's beta design with their normal core crystal and anything directly related as well as maybe the standard Pyra hair.