Pyra groaned as she regained consciousness. Her body ached all over, but that was the least of her concerns. She felt her body go uncharacteristically cold as she began to realize that it had not been some terrible dream. Rex was gone. Gone because of her.

'What have I done?'

'Don't think like that,' Mythra replied.

'How can I not? I should have used Siren.'

'You don't even know if you could have used it.'

'But I should have tried! Even if I couldn't have, I was the one that threatened Amalthus. If I hadn't have done that, then we wouldn't have needed to hide here.'

'Pyra…' Mythra was not sure how to respond. Sure, there was a certain logic there, but there was no way to know. Eventually Jin would have tracked them down.

'I'm just…I can't seem to do anything right. Maybe you'd all be better off without me.'

'Hey! Don't talk like that,' Mythra tried to talk some sense into her sister, but she was not listening any longer, 'Pyra!'

The party was demoralized to say the least. None of them were quite sure what to do now. Without the Aegis' driver, they were found lacking. With one exception, they did not have any idea where they had taken him. Some were still in shock over what had happened from his fierce but ultimately futile attempts to save Pyra and Mythra to his utter resignation when he realized he had lost.

Azurda had been particularly silent as he thought over the night before everything had gone so wrong.

"Certainly, what do you need?"

"If…if things don't go well tomorrow, I want you to take Pyra and Mythra to the Crucible."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know about that, but may I ask why? What good would seeing that sword do them?"

"It's not the sword," Rex shook his head, "There's…something there. I can't explain it, but when we went there, Addam spoke to me. I was thinking that...maybe if I couldn't help them, then maybe he could."

"Hmm," Azurda folded his arms. Maybe Rex was actually too close to help them. It was worth a shot, "Perhaps. If you think it will help, but let's not plan your own funeral now?"

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying just yet."

Rex had also told Azurda where Pyra and Mythra had been taken in his time. He had thought Rex was just venting at the time, but the titan now realized that he was planning for this. There was a decent chance they were taking Rex to the same place, but first things first, they had to be able to fight once they got there.

"Where are they?" Every head turned to see Mythra standing in the doorway. Her expression was neutral, but her tone was hard. Not the kind of thing most would want to antagonize.

"I know you want to go and rescue him," Azurda floated up toward the Aegis, "But we are in no shape to mount a rescue."

"So what? You wanna just sit around and do nothing?"

"No. Rex left instructions for if something like this happened. I think he was planning a contingency."

"And you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't realize it at the time, but in hindsight, I think he had considered this a possibility."

"So, what did he want us to do?"

"He wanted us to go to the Spirit Crucible Elpys."

"The what?" Mythra raised her brow as Pyra gasped internally.

"It belonged to the Tornan royal family. Rex believed that going there would be beneficial," That was all the clarification Azurda gave on the matter. He did not want to give too much away lest he interfere with the results.

Mythra huffed, but in the end relented, "Fine, let's go."

"Here's dinner," Jin muttered as he slid a plate to Rex in the cell.

"Feeding me?" Rex picked up the plate. It looked…surprisingly good actually. He had not pegged Jin as a chef.

"Can't have you dying before we get there," Jin responded gruffly.

"There's still time, you know. You don't have to do this."

"Are you still trying that?"

"Yes. Ask yourself, is this what Lora would have wanted?"

Jin froze, "Did Mythra tell you about her? Figures. Alright, boy, no, I know this isn't what she would have wanted, but she's not here to make that call, is she? She was taken far too early, and…" JIn clenched his fists and looked away, "I was faced with a horrible choice. As much as I want to blame Amalthus, I was the one that delivered the final blow.

"So tell me, boy," Jin stared him in the eyes, "What sort of world makes someone choose between forgetting those dear to them, or killing them?"

"It must have been hard for you, and I can't really imagine what that was like, but it shows me that there is stuff worth fighting for."

"What?"

"If there was nothing worth remembering, why would you want to protect your memories? Sounds like…you didn't want to die."

"I…didn't want to die?" Before Jin could ponder too long on what Rex had said, he was called back to the bridge, "Eat your food. We'll be there in a few days." Jin spared the boy one last look before walking out. He really was as painfully optimistic as Lora and Addam combined.

Arriving in Leftheria, the group decided to skip visiting Fonsett both to avoid bringing potentially unwanted attention to it, and because no one wanted to explain why Rex was not with them. Mythra eyed the town entrance as they passed knowing that Pyra sunk further into self-loathing just being near the place.

Walking up the steps to the village guardian, they found that they were not alone. Morag drew her weapons while the others remained on edge.

"Fan," Mythra stepped forward, "What are you doing here?"

"You and your party are wanted for crimes against the Praetorium. Officially, I am here to apprehend you."

"And unofficially?"

"I…I don't know. You did not seem like bad people. I wanted answers for myself. This seemed like as good of a place as any to seek them. Of course, the villagers insisted they did not know where you were. Not that I expected them to give you up if they did know.

"Mythra, please, tell me what you know."

"Well, to start, yes, Pyra did threaten Amalthus, but she wasn't…quite herself at the time."

"I see. If it was just a misunderstanding, why not come back with me? You could explain the situation."

"Er, I'd rather not. We're kinda busy for one, and, well, I don't trust Amalthus."

"Why not?"

"Fan…" Mythra made a diamond shape with her fingers.

"What's that?"

"It's the shape that your core crystal is supposed to be. Amalthus took half of it to use your abilities and lengthen his own life."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Power. He sees blades as nothing more than tools for him to use. He was also responsible for the death of your last driver. He hunted down the remnants of Torna after the titan fell. Your driver was among them…the same driver as Jin."

"Jin and I…had the same driver?"

"Yes. That's why he wanted to kill you. To free you from being Amalthus' blade. That man cannot be trusted. He even denied you your name, Haze."

"Haze…my name…"

"He must have done something when he stole part of your core crystal to make you forget it. Surely you've also seen some suspicious behavior."

Haze thought over her long history with the Praetor, and there were things which might could be taken as warning signs. Still, he had done good, but…Mythra was old too. She did not think the Aegis was lying, but to cast aside everything?

"I…I am uncertain."

Mythra sighed, "Look, we do need to get moving. Rex is in danger."

"He is?"

"Yeah…Torna has him."

That made her decision a bit easier, "Rex cared greatly about my wellbeing, allow me to help."

"I feel I should point out the tactical error in bringing so powerful a potential enemy along with us," Morag stated.

"Normally I might agree," Azurda chimed in, "But where we're going, blades will be significantly weaker. It may give us time to work some things out. Fan, you may accompany us if you wish. However, I ask that you give your word that you tell no one about what you are about to see."

It was a potential risk, but Azurda believed Fan to be a blade of her word. If she promised not to reveal what she saw, even if she turned them in, he believed that she would abide by her word. Besides, Amalthus had so many agents, Azurda imagined he already knew about this place.

"I agree, sir titan."

"Right then," Azurda flew over to the statue, "Right this way. Let's hurry along. Rex is counting on us."

A/N: So, Fan/Haze is here. I do have a plan for her fate going forward. At least part of one.

Edit: Reuploaded as it didn't seem to show the update on the story list.