The Aegis Awakens
/Chapter Twenty-three: Bringer of Chaos/
Walking alongside everyone else out of Garfont and on the way to Fonsa Myma, Regan found herself glancing at Malos every once and a while. She was still wondering what had upset Malos the previous night; however, the Elf knew that questioning him further would likely just make him less inclined to ever tell her. The woman was also grateful that Zenobia had left the Aegis alone since she doubted Malos would appreciate the Blade's pestering.
"Hey," Maddie greeted as she moved from walking behind then next to Regan. The Elf looked over at the Flesh Eater, watching as she suddenly moved to offer out her staff to Regan. "You've used it before," The dirty-blonde stated as she took note of the other woman's incredulous expression.
Regan nodded her head before replying, "Yeah but that was well over twenty-five years ago…. It was just a training exercise too." The Blade let out a sigh at that, knowing that Regan had a point. Despite her words, the Elvuenian still took Maddie's staff into her hands.
"It'd be good for you to use a different Blade Weapon besides Eva's bow… especially when your other Blade uses a Great-axe," Maddie commented, and it somewhat surprised her when Regan merely nodded in response without further question.
No longer hearing footsteps behind them, Maddie and Regan turned back to find the rest of the group had stopped. "What is it?" The Flesh Eater questioned, put off by their stares.
"Wait!" Rex exclaimed as he stared at Maddie's staff for a moment. He asked, "You're a Blade?" Maddie nodded her head, knowing full well that giving Regan her staff as well as the words she said gave away the fact that she was not human. "Why's your Core Crystal covered?"
The dirty-blonde haired woman crossed her arms over her chest before answering, "Blades are valuable to many people, so I keep it covered to protect myself." All of what she said was true, even though she neglected to mention that she was more than just a Blade now. Considering how most people regarded Flesh Eaters, revealing the truth would have devastating consequences for her.
"Regan's your Driver then?" The Leftherian inquired as he looked between Regan and Maddie. The dirty-blonde let out a sharp inhale at that as she realized that Rex was getting very curious about her. The woman nodded as she glanced at Regan, who simply offered Maddie a reassuring smile.
"Yeah," Maddie answered, unaware that this would cause another question that might get her in a slight bit of trouble.
"Why were you with Torna then? If you're Regan's Blade, why would you be working with them?" The fifteen-year-old questioned as he took a step closer to Maddie. The Flesh Eater instinctively backed away from him, realizing that she may have backed herself into a corner by exposing herself as a Blade.
"That-" Maddie tried to say; however, she was surprised to be cut off by Nia.
"That's not very nice, Rex. Can't you see that you're freaking her out?" The Gormotti questioned, and Maddie sent Nia a 'thank you' look. Rex rubbed the back of his head when Nia spoke, and he stepped back.
"I'm sorry…. It's just hard to not be curious about it," The fifteen-year-old apologized as he looked at Maddie. The dirty-blonde watched his expression for a moment before she stepped forward until she was standing next to Regan again.
"It's alright," Maddie responded, even if she was still a little shaken up from being questioned. "I'll answer any questions you have some other time. I'd rather just not talk about it right now," The Flesh Eater told Rex as she knew the fifteen-year-old had every right to want to know her reasons for being with Torna.
"Okay. I'd appreciate it," The Leftherian answered before he turned around. And with that behind them, the group resumed the walk to Fonsa Myma.
The journey to Fonsa Myma had taken the group past many places in Uraya. Much of it was unlike anything Rex had ever seen. Living plants, aptly dubbed "Blants" by Gramps, sprung out of shallow waters and chased them off with toothy vice grips for arms.
That was but one of many things the Urayan Titan's interior had in store for them. From steep climbs to dark caves to pristine lakes, the Titan felt like its own different world compared to Gormot. Eventually, the group finally saw light again as they approached a steep cliffside. However, no one was given the opportunity to take in the view before a loud voice rang out at them.
"Hahaha! Looks like all that chat about the Aegis was true!" The group stopped in place as someone unknown spoke. Rex looked around, unable to locate the owner of the voice.
"Who're you?" The Leftherian called out before two figures with hoods over their heads stepped in front of the group. One of them was much taller than the other, and he was carrying a large sword on his back. The other figure did not hold a weapon and had a much smaller frame.
"That's a heavy burden you have there. Sure you're up to it, pipsqueak?" The larger figure asked before looking towards his companion. "See sense, step aside and let the big boys take
charge. C'mon. Yield the merchandise!" The man commanded before pointing a finger at Rex then moving his hand in a way to act like he was taking something.
"Huh? What? Vandham, do you know this guy?" Rex questioned as he looked back at the Urayan.
"Never seen him in my life," Vandham answered before crossing his arms over his chest.
"Bah!" The unknown man yelled before both he and the other figure pulled their hoods off. With their hoods off, it was now obvious that the second person had a Core Crystal. Considering that the man was the only one holding a weapon, Regan figured that he was likely the Blade's Driver.
"Wait… you are…" Muttered Rex, his brow furrowing as he tried to place a name to the two.
The enigmatic Driver and his luxurious Blade smirked at the young driver. Surely, their names had carried across all of Alrest by now. After all, the boy was faced with the most terrible, powerful, extraordinary Driver in the world!
"Uh…." Rex placed a hand on the back of his neck, not having the slightest clue who these two people were. The two people in unison pretended like they were going to fall over from shock before rising back up to give the boy a piece of their minds.
"You really are a bunch of rinky-dink, bogus, two-bit, no mark Drivers, aren't you?" The man asked insultingly while his Blade silently mimicked his every action.
Jabbing a thumb toward himself, the wild-eyed Driver prepared to unleash the full might of his introduction upon the clueless group of fools. "Behold the mighty… Zeke! Von! Genbu! Bringer of Chaos!"
Regan's eyes widened as something about that sounded familiar to her. Although, the Elf found herself unable to keep her mind on that subject while internally trying to keep her laughter in. With the crazed way the man before her moved with every word, the whole spectacle was fairly amusing to her.
"…Mostly known as Zeke. And often addressed as… THE ZEKENATOR!" Zeke exclaimed as he stomped closer to them with each word, only to step back with the last word he said. "Behold my Blade! Pandoria!" Despite not having said a word that whole time, Pandoria was continuing to mimic most of her Driver's movements.
"And this is my sword, the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher!" Zeke loudly informed them as he took the Blade Weapon off his back. "If you want a taste, come and get it!" Everyone watched him for a moment before Rex was the one that spoke up.
"We're good."
Zeke appeared to be flabbergasted at the Leftherian's comment before Rex and Malos passed him. Aghast, he could only watch as the entire group passed him by, hardly even glancing his way.
"Good?! No?!" The man questioned as he realized these ingrates had just dismissed both him and Pandoria.
The Urayan stopped in place next to Zeke before walking past. "That's a nice eyepatch, though," Vandham commented, which gave the other man pause for a moment. Not waiting for a response, Vandham passed Zeke and Pandoria.
"Finally, a man with style!" Zeke exclaimed before looking and realizing that the others had all passed him now. "W-wait…. Wait! You barbarians!" He exclaimed before he and Pandoria ran in front of them to block their path again.
"This guy… I'm tired of him already," Nia stated before she glanced at Regan and saw the woman's obviously very amused expression. "How the hell do you find this funny?" Regan shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
"I have no idea honestly…. Sorry." Despite the apology, Nia doubted that the Elf actually meant it.
"Gah! You think you lowlifes can lick the three of us?" Zeke asked, and Nia gave him a confused look.
"Three of you? I count two. Lost someone?" The Gormotti questioned as she and the rest of the group looked around.
"Huh? Oh, get a load of this…" With a wry grin, Zeke reached into his coat. "Our beloved mascot…. Turters, reveal yourself!" Zeke exclaimed before appearing to search for something in his coat. His eyes widened after a moment of not finding what he was looking for. "Huh? Turters? Turters?! Turters, where are you, boy?" He continued to look around before yelling. "Turters!"
"I wonder who they mean," Regan commented, startling the dark Aegis next to her as he had not noticed that she had moved to stand next to him. After receiving an apologetic look from the Elf, Malos looked down at the ground. He immediately spotted a very small, green creature moving towards his feet.
Unsure of how to react, the dark Blade was a little surprised when Regan knelt down and held the animal in her hands before she stood back up. Noticing him watching her, Regan moved the
small creature closer to him. "He's so adorable! You think this is their mascot?" The woman asked, not realizing that Zeke had noticed.
After getting off the ground from where he had been searching for their mascot, Zeke focused on what Regan was holding in her hands. "Ah-ah-ah! Turters!" After both he and Pandoria pointed at Turters, Zeke sprinted towards them and stopped in front of Regan. "Handling a man's turtle!" He exclaimed furiously before grabbing the creature from Regan's hands and running back to Pandoria.
Regan could not help it at that point and started laughing at the man's antics. Looking up, she could see a hint of a smile on Malos' face. He still had not said one word since they left Garfont, so she was glad he was at least being cheered up a little by the interaction with Zeke and Pandoria.
"He could've just tried to grab Malos there. Why'd he go for his turtle instead…?" Rex wondered out loud as Zeke and Pandoria looked to be preoccupied with Turters at that present moment.
"Ugh. What an idiot," Nia commented before the Driver and Blade finally looked back at the group, the realization of the opportunity that had slipped through their fingers suddenly dawning on them.
"Gah…! Listen, whatever. He'll be mine soon enough! Got a problem with that? Then come at me! And don't hold back!" Zeke yelled before drawing the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher and giving them all a smile.
"What! Is this guy for real?!" Nia exclaimed. Evidently, he was very much real. With his large sword at his side, Zeke made a mad dash for the group.
With the flat of his sword, Zeke swung up at Nia for her little remark. Throwing her head back, Nia narrowly evaded the blow, passing her chin by inches. Flipping backwards, Nia summoned Dromarch's Twin Rings and hissed at the one-eyed driver.
"Cheeky little-!"
Vandahm chuckled as he stepped up to the plate in front of Nia. "Looks like we got ourselves a party," Spoke the large man as Roc floated down by his side. "You think you've got what it takes to bring us down alone?"
In response, the brilliant Zekenator flashed a bright smirk back at the group. "And then some, old timer. You may have a proper taste for fashion, but…" He brought up his sword, sending streams of lightning across its metal. "…That won't save you from the Bringer of Chaos!"
Once more, he dashed for the group. Stopping just before Vandahm, he thrust his sword forward and shouted, "Overload Thunderbeam!"
A beam of concentrated, violet colored lightning was shot out from his sword. Casually, Vandahm stepped out of harm's way of the amateurish attack, and yet this Driver was still smirking up at him despite missing. Vandahm narrowed his eyes, unsure of what to make of it.
The beam shot toward the rest of the group, and they found themselves scrambling out of harm's way as it passed. Malos grabbed rex by the back of his salvager suit and pulled him away just as the beam flew past. Eventually, it struck a wall at the valley's edge, making a small portion of it collapse.
Zeke couldn't get enough of the looks on the faces of these ingrate Drivers and Blades. Together with his Blade, he shrugged and asked, "What's the matter? Finally realized that none of you lamers can compare to the Ultimate Bringer of Chaos?!"
"What I realize is that you're a bigger idiot than I thought!" Furiously, she pointed back at the hole he had made. "Just a bit lower and you'd have taken the whole cliff down with us!"
Smugly, Zeke scoffed. "To think a cat would be afraid of a fall. You've got another thing coming if you think something as measly as a mere fall could-" He let out an uncharacteristically high pitched cry as a gust of wind from behind knocked him and his Blade flat on their faces.
Vandahm handed off one of his Dual Scythes over to Roc as his Blade gently floated down by his side. "It ain't good to take your eyes off your opponent. That's amateur stuff."
"Well, I suppose a fall can do the trick then, eh?" Mocked Nia.
Stabbing his sword into the ground with a growl, Zeke and his Blade pushed themselves back onto their feet. "Y-you think you've beaten me? The great, unstoppable Zekenator?! As if! I'll thrash the lot of you, and then…" He pointed his large sword toward Malos, a wild look in his eye. "I'll be helping myself to the Aegis!"
Unlike with Akhos, it was evident from the start to Regan that Zeke was testing them rather than actually trying to capture Malos. Even so, she still tried hard to keep him on edge with frequent blows from Maddie's staff. It was also quickly evident that Pandoria was an electric Blade when Zeke tossed her the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher and she did a special.
The electricity was swiftly reflected by Maddie's shield, which made Regan silently question why the Flesh Eater had been unable to create one while protecting her from Akhos. As Malos and Dromarch did their level one specials, Maddie did the same after her staff was tossed back at her. A ball of light rushed towards Zeke before bursting into fragments in combination with the dark and water Ether the two other Blades had used.
Zeke stepped back after the combined attack, panting as he did so. "G-good try. Not bad," The man said as he looked at all of them. He tightened his grip on Pandoria's Blade Weapon. "B-b-but! Wipe yourselves down and get ready for my super-ultra-mega-move!"
"We're waiting with bated breath. For your super-duper-whatever," Nia retorted, which only caused Zeke to smirk.
"You asked for it! Hyaargh!" Zeke yelled before he started channeling electricity through the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher. "Bringer of Chaos! Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash!" He slammed the electrified sword down on the ground in front of them. A symbol appeared on the ground for a moment before disappearing.
The ground then started to crack underneath Pandoria and Zeke's feet. "Whoa-!" The Driver stumbled for a moment before the ground completely gave way underneath him. "Whoaaaaaaa…!" The group then watched as the two fell and let out another yell.
"Wh-what just happened? They…." Rex questioned as he deactivated Malos' Monado.
"What an idiot," Nia commented as she put away Dromarch's weapons.
"Don't see that everyday…." The mercenary leader stated.
"Come on. That's enough nonsense," The Gormotti told them before starting to walk down the path again.
"Indeed," Dromarch agreed with his Driver.
As the others went on, Regan cast one last glance over the edge with worry for the amusing man. Not wanting to be left behind, she decided that he was probably fine and jogged after the group.
After the most bizarre encounter the party had experienced yet, they had eventually come upon an area that was beautiful to behold, yet utterly bizarre. It was a valley filled to the brim with shallow water. The stone ground, if a Titan's interior could be called that, stretched out in interlinked half-rings.
All along the valley walls and cliffsides, colorful Saffronia trees grew. Rex was utterly stunned. He jumped when a large hand clapped him on his shoulder.
"You think this place is pretty now, you oughta see it when it rains at night," Vandahm told him.
"You serious?" Inquired Rex. "This place gets rain?"
Crossing his arms and nodding up at ceiling high above, Vandahm said, "That's the Titan's back. See how so much light's gettin' through?" Rex nodded, so Vandahm continued. "It ain't just light. When the Titan dives, water from the cloud sea comes pouring in. Luckily, it ain't much, or we'd have died a long time ago."
Uraya only continued to impress Rex. "This place is pretty amazing! All this life is growing inside the Titan and it doesn't even hurt it."
Vandahm gave a small chuckle. "More than that, kid. Check out those trees." Rex's attention was directed back to the colorful trees lining the valley walls. "Their roots dig into the Titan's veins. Sounds unpleasant, but the nutrients they collect from the sunlight and sea water that rains down is part of what keeps the Titan healthy."
With his massive arm, the mercenary waved toward a group of Blants buried in the shallow water. "Those trees ain't the only things that benefit. Every living thing down here does. If you look closely, you can see some similar stuff with the other Titans."
Maddie stayed silent as she walked alongside the others, merely listening in on the conversation. It sounded fascinating, but there were too many things weighing on her mind for her to pay much attention to it. As the group made their way toward a stony, grass-covered rise, she decided to speak up.
"Do all of you want to know more about Torna?" Maddie suddenly asked after they had gotten past some Upas without having to fight. The Gormotti paused a little at the question; however, she said nothing. Instead, Rex, glancing between her and Vandahm, was the one to respond.
"Yeah, that would be helpful. How long have you been with them?" The fifteen-year-old inquired as he glanced back at the Flesh Eater.
"Almost 21 years now," Maddie answered, knowing it would be a little under a week until the anniversary of Ant's death. She had left just 4 days after Antea's passing and had joined Torna 5 days after that. Part of her wanted to forget the time she had spent with Torna, considering just how little information she had found about Drew.
Rex's eyes widened a little before he remarked, "That's longer than I've been alive." He smiled, almost appearing to be in awe that she had been with Torna a few years before he had been born.
The Flesh Eater smiled back at the fifteen-year-old before she placed a hand on her covered Core Crystal. "Yeah…. For the most important member of Torna, the leader is Jin. Mythra is his second in command, and you already met her Blade: Sever. There's Akhos and Obrona obviously, who you met back at Garfont. Mikhail is one of the ones you haven't encountered yet, and he awakened a large Blade called-" Maddie explained before she was interrupted by Rex.
"How does Mythra have a Blade though? She's an Aegis, just like Malos. I thought Blades couldn't awaken other Blades," Rex questioned, not appearing to notice the uncomfortable facial expression Nia was currently wearing right next to him.
"Her being an Aegis is probably why she was able to awaken Sever. For the exact reason it's possible, you might have to ask Malos about it," Maddie informed him, so the Leftherian looked towards Malos almost expectantly.
The dark Aegis seemed startled from the question, so Rex wondered if something was wrong. "I'm… not sure actually. All I know for sure is that it is somewhat strange that she would choose to awaken a Blade…. During the Aegis War, she had no problem using her power," Malos explained, even though it was clear that he was still very curious about it himself.
"Well, you Aegises seem to follow different rules than normal Blades. That's probably something to do with it," Nia interjected, and the Aegis nodded in agreement. He knew full well that the Artifices were one example of just how Aegises did not follow the rules of most Blades, so it should not be a surprise that they could become a Driver too.
"You think something is wrong with her?" The fifteen-year-old inquired, and Malos nodded his head.
"It's likely. Otherwise, things probably wouldn't have gone as well as they did on the ancient ship," Malos stated, while refraining from mentioning Mythra's Siren at the moment. If she really was in as bad of a state as he thought she was, Malos doubted she would be even be able to use her Siren successfully.
"I see," Rex responded quietly before looking back towards Maddie and giving her an apologetic look. "Sorry for interrupting you. Anyway, you were talking about Mikhail and his Blade." The Aegis got a nostalgic look on his face at the mention of the name Mikhail; however, he quickly shook his head in disbelief. He knew there was no way it could be the same Mikhail, so he decided to just try to forget about it.
"Right. Mikhail's Blade calls himself Cressidus. Then there's Patroka and her Blade named Perdido. Akhos is the information analyst, while Mikhail is a mechanic of sorts. Patroka… well let's just say she loves killing Drivers and taking the Core Crystals of their Blades…. Then there's-" Maddie was the one to cut herself off this time, almost hesitant to reveal the names of the last two.
"Maddie…?" Glancing over to Regan after she called out gently, the Flesh Eater let out a sigh.
"The last two members of Torna are Alana and her Blade Kos-Mos," Maddie explained, feeling a little guilty for bringing up the young woman and her Blade at all. "Alana isn't like the other members of Torna. She's been with them since she was eight years old, so she's been with
them for fourteen years. As for Kos-Mos, she's of the rarest element like both Mythra and I: light. Kos-Mos is a true powerhouse, and I'm quite envious of her abilities."
"Really? Why would an eight year old girl join Torna willingly?" Rex questioned before the realization hit him as he noticed the saddened look on Maddie's face.
"She lived in a cabin on Elvuen with her parents, and they were very poor. Her father stole Kos-Mos' Core Crystal either in hopes he could sell it for money or so he could possibly awaken her himself and become a mercenary to make money…. Both him and his wife were killed a few days later, while Alana was saved by Jin and brought back to the Marsanes. She had managed to bring Kos-Mos' core with her," The Flesh Eater explained.
"Both of those names are familiar to me," Regan commented as she recalled an incident on Elvuen around fourteen years ago. "Raymond sent guards to investigate a cabin on Elvuen, that we knew belonged to very poor family. I had visited there a few months prior and gave them fresh food and water. It's very far out of the way, so I couldn't visit very often to help them."
"It was Alana's family?" Rex questioned, and Regan nodded her head.
"Yeah…. As for Kos-Mos, her core was once in the hands of the Elvuen royal family. It hasn't been for a long time though, so I have no idea how Alana's father got ahold of it," Regan explained, even though she did have some idea. She honestly just didn't feel comfortable talking about it.
"That's interesting…. I wonder how he obtained the Core Crystal?" Rex asked quietly, unaware that Regan might actually have the answer. The woman shut her eyes for a moment, barely managing to resist the urge to tear up. She felt arms wrap around her neck, and she immediately recognized who it was. The woman welcomed the comfort.
"Thank you, Eva…."
Regan had eventually managed to calm herself down, with Eva's help. Her Blade still reminded her so much of her mother at times, and she did wish that Eva had the memories of Ant. Unfortunately, Blades always lost their memories upon returning to their core. Kaevan was a reminder of this as well since they did not remember Welsh nor did they know Eva and Regan.
They had to avoid several ignas along with various other hostile creatures in the area. From what Vandham had said only minutes earlier, Regan knew they were nearing Fonsa Myma. At some point, the female Elf had started getting this awful tightness in her chest. It was different from what she experienced from the infection that had started almost twenty one years ago. She knew what the feeling was: they were being watched.
As she stepped forward one more step, Regan stopped in place as a sound caught her attention. Unsure of what it was, the Elf just stood there in silence. Ethan, Vandham, and Nia appeared to hear it as well. The three people stopped Rex, Malos, Maddie, and all the other Blades from moving any further.
"What is-" Rex started to ask before he swiftly interrupted as a group of seven people had swung up from somewhere below the narrow high path they were currently walking on. He felt startled as he noticed that they were easily surrounded by whoever these people were. "Who're you?" The Leftherian called out and received no words in response.
"Regan…?" Rex heard Ethan call out to the other Elf, and the fifteen-year-old turned his head back slightly to look at Regan. His eyes widened as he saw the look of pure terror on the woman's face, which appeared to somewhat mirrored in Maddie's expression as well. Despite the obvious fear the Flesh Eater was feeling, she immediately tugged Regan to where the Elf was less in the line of fire.
Rex went to ask the same question again; however, he was interrupted by Malos, who blocked an arrow from one of the three assassins using bows. "Now's really not the time, kid!" He exclaimed as the Ether barrier he had just created disappeared. Vandham nodded in agreement before he spoke.
"Yeah, now's not a good time for chit-chat!" Vandham yelled. Finally nodding in response, Rex pulled out Malos' Monado and prepared to fight off the people lunging towards them. One of the three people using daggers jumped at Rex, almost striking him before the fifteen-year-old managed to block the attack.
Another dagger-wielding assassin lunged at Regan, almost catching the short woman off guard. Raising Maddie's staff, Regan was barely able to reflect on the attack. Maddie herself was preoccupied with one of the bow wielding men, as she tried her hardest to shield Regan from the arrows. "Regan!" Ethan called out to the other Elf as he noticed her struggle to block the person's attack.
Nodding to Lucy, he tossed her Knuckle-claws at her. The pink-haired Blade easily caught her Blade weapons before jumping at the assassin targeting Regan. Before the man could react, he was struck by a barrage of pink flames. The fire singed his armor, and he backed off for a moment and cringed at the burning sensation. Regan gave the Blade and Driver a grateful look; however, the look on her face made it clear how distressed she was about the situation.
Rex had managed to parry a couple attacks from the same dagger-wielding assassin that had attacked him earlier, while Malos kept him safe from the arrows from one of the men using a bow. Creating an Ether barrier to protect Vandham, Roc gripped the Twin-scythes and launched bursts of wind at the third dagger-wielding man.
The third bow-wielding assassin was trying to target Regan; however, Nia lunged at the man with Dromarch's Twin-Rings in hand. Almost dropping his bow in response to the attack, Nia struck his left arm. The man winced and backed up since his armor was relatively light, and Nia easily had cut through it.
The seventh assassin, wielding a Katana, had yet to draw attention. While they were wearing the same outfit as the other assassins, the weapon they were using much more closely resembled a Blade weapon than the others' weapons did. Raising their sword, the man stared at Rex's neck as they did so. Before the sword pierced the skin of the Leftherian's neck, a bolt of ice Ether struck the person in the center of their chest.
Hearing a thud next to him, Rex turned and saw the seventh assassin laying on the ground on their back. He looked over, giving Regan a grateful look as he realized what she had done. The Leftherian looked back towards his now unmoving attacker, watching in shock as they groaned then dissipated into blue Ether particles in the air. "What….?" Rex's mouth gaped open; however, he did not notice the other six assailants backing off before leaping over the edge into the lake below.
"Of course," Vandham commented to himself as he put away Roc's Twin-scythes and approached the rags where the last assassin had disappeared. Moving his hand through them, the mercenary eventually pulled out a dark Core Crystal. In the center of the core was a crack, and Vandham traced his finger along it before letting out a sigh. "This one's gone. There will be no reawakening it."
Rex's eyes widened a little at the information before he looked at the Core Crystal. "You're not serious, right? You said before that a core will start glowing again after a little while," The Leftherian questioned; however, Vandham shook his head.
"You see this?" Vandham asked as he motioned towards the crack in the Core Crystal. When the Leftherian nodded his head, the mercenary leader elaborated. "When their core is damaged, the Blade dies and can't be reawakened."
As Vandahm muttered those words, Eva paused before she could take back her bow from Regan. Her eyes fell upon the broken black core in his hand, and she instinctively shuddered.
Yet what truly shook her was Malos's reaction. He was wincing at the sight of the broken core. She had barely ever seen Malos react to much, but how, he looked utterly sickened. It made Eva wonder. What does death mean for a Blade compared to a human, for Malos of all people to react this way?
"Who were those people anyway?" The fifteen-year-old inquired as he took a glance at Regan, noticing that her expression was not as terror filled as it was when the assassins had first shown up. "Did you recognize them or something, Reg? You looked really terrified for a moment there."
Nia shot a glare in the Leftherian's direction before she interjected, "That's so insensitive, Rex! Are you really that dense?" Eyes widening a bit at the Gormotti's hostility, Rex moved back and nearly bumped into Malos in the process. The dark Blade said nothing about the near collision, his eyes instead looking in Regan's direction.
Sensing his gaze, Regan looked up at the Aegis for a moment. She was surprised to see a hint of concern in his expression, so she simply nodded at him before looking away. The Elf then looked towards Nia before taking a deep breath. "It's alright, Nia," She reassured the Gormotti before looking towards Rex.
"Remember what I said about some people not being fond of the royal and noble families?" Regan asked before continuing after the Leftherian nodded. "Those people… were members of a group that's been around since my great grandfather's rule…. It was initially formed to oppose the way he treated people, yet they continued even after his death and even when my grandfather took over."
"What's their goal now then?" Rex asked, watching as Regan's shoulders shook a little.
"To destroy both the royal and noble families of Elvuen," Regan explained simply before elaborating as the fifteen-year-old gave her a confused look. "There used to be six noble families on Elvuen, yet there are only two left. My mother's family is the first, and there are only four members left of it including Raymond and I."
Regan let out a shaky breath before continuing her explanation. "For the second family, there's only one member left. He's pretty old, even by Elven standards, so he will be gone soon," The Elvuenian informed them, a sad look falling over her face as she said the last sentence.
"What about the royal family?" Nia asked, despite her scolding of Rex asking questions. "You are second in line for the throne, and your brother is the king. Is it just you two?" Regan shook her head, debating internally if she should mention her daughters or not. Before the Elvuenian could actually decide, Vandham interrupted.
"As interesting as this conversation is, it's probably best if we get to Fonsa Myma soon. That should lessen the chances of those assassins ambushing us again," The mercenary leader informed them, and Regan quickly nodded her head in agreement.
"I'll tell you about them another time…. For now, Vandahm's right," Regan told them, knowing that the assassins would not be stupid enough to attack them in the middle of the Urayan capital. Even so, it did not help the sense of dread she was feeling. She knew full well that they were not going to give up that easily.
While Eva would normally be perched on one of her Driver's shoulders, she found herself simply wanting to explore somewhat ahead of the group. Eva had never been to the Urayan Titan, at least from what she could remember. She was well aware that Regan's mother had been her previous Driver, so it was a possibility that she might have seen Uraya and just did not have the memory of it.
"Eva?" Poppi asked, startling the Blade slightly as she was looking over the cliff at the water below. Flying closer to the Artificial Blade, Eva tilted her head in question.
When she was sure Eva was listening, Poppi spoke, "What happens when a Blade returns to its core?" The fairy-like Blade's eyes widened slightly, wondering where this line of questioning was coming from. "Vandham said that Blades who return to their core lose all their memories. Is that really true?"
Eva smiled a little at this, realizing that Poppi was just curious. "Yes, it's true…. Regan wasn't my first Driver," The ice Blade admitted before taking a look at her Driver. The Elf's face indicated that she had definitely heard; however, she quickly gave Eva a small nod. Understanding that Regan was okay with it, Eva decided to continue.
"Her mother was my Driver before Regan was…. I don't remember her, so you would have to ask Regan if you want to know more," Eva explained, knowing that there was a lot that Regan had not told her about Antea. She knew the memories Regan held of Ant were hard to talk about as she could see the struggle on the woman's face every time the subject was brought up.
Poppi glanced back to Regan, who was now conversing with Ethan quietly. After the encounter with the Elvuenian assassins, the two Elves along with Maddie had been in a dampened mood. Regan in particular seemed even more affected than the other two, so she had been fairly quiet ever since the ambush.
"There is one thing I've been curious about," Eva stated as she recalled the Blade that had been disguised as a human. She looked toward Vandham, remembering when he had mentioned that the Blade was gone for good. "Vandham, is that Blade really gone forever?" The mercenary leader looked at her, and she took note that Malos had frozen at her question.
"Yes. As long as their core stays intact, the Blade will live as long as their Driver does. When their Core Crystal is damaged, a Blade returns to it in the same manner as they would've if their Driver dies. Unlike when their Driver dies, the Blade is essentially dead after that," Vandham explained, and the ice Blade's eyes widened a little at that.
"They really can't be reawakened?" Poppi asked before Eva had a chance to. "Poppi not…" She paused, mulling over the right word choice as she glanced over at Tora. "Poppi not…real Blade, so not know much about these things."
Eva looked at the robotic Blade with shock, not expecting to hear her of all people say something like that. Vandahm stared down at her, his expression unchanging.
"Yes," Vandham responded solemnly. The giant of a man knelt down to look Poppi in her eyes. "Whatcha talkin' about not being a real Blade, though?"
Looking into Vandahm's eyes made Poppi feel a twinge of unease. He was certainly an intimidating man. Just his finger, as he poked her metal belly, was almost as large as her waistline.
He asked, "Why'd you glance away? You afraid or something? Don't that mean you're feeling something?"
Poppi looked confused. "Huh?"
"Are your feelings fake?" He asked. "That little bit of fear? Your instinct to protect your driver? You telling me those are fake too?"
He patted the robot on her shoulder before standing back up to his towering height. "So what if you're made of metal instead of skin? You think, talk, and feel the same as the rest of us, don't you?"
"That true," Admitted Poppi. Yet as she stared down at her hand, visibly patched together with steel and bolts, she felt herself doubting his words. "What is Vandahm's point?"
"My point?" Vandahm barked out a short laugh. "My point's that I got scales on my skin where the sun don't shine, girlie! That make me any less human than Rex or Regan?" He jabbed a thumb back at the rest of the group. "If pointy ears and a resemblance to cats don't make some of us not human, then a few nuts and bolts don't make you any less of a Blade."
Poppi glanced down at her orange Ether Furnace. As she placed her hands over it, she meekly replied, "If Poppi get broken, Poppi won't return to core."
She let out a gasp as Vandahm slapped her in the back to shove her forward. "Neither will I. Welcome to the club." With that, he continued the march toward Fonsa Myma to leave Poppi alone with her thoughts.
Poppi's brow was furrowed in thought over what Vandahm had told her. She got his meaning, but still, as she looked over at Eva, something as small as her blue Core Crystal, compared to her own orange Ether furnace, made Poppi feel alienated.
"Poppi wonder," She said to Eva, "What Blade thought before dying. Were they still thinking of Driver?"
"That's sad…. I feel sorry that poor Blade back there," Eva told them, while still internally wondering why Malos reacted the way he did. She mentally dwelled on how it had been her bow that had done the killing blow to the Blade, even though it had been to protect Rex.
"Me too…." Malos said quietly enough where no one heard him. Unbeknownst to him, Kaevan had heard. The Volff-like Blade tilted their head a little; however, they refrained from commenting on it. They did make sure to make a note in their head about it before they all continued on to Fonsa Myma.
Elvuen, 25 years ago
Staring down at a map of Elvuen, Drew waited while tapping his fingers against the wooden table he was sitting at. "Come on, Ashlyn. How long are you going to keep me waiting?" The Elf asked himself with a look of annoyance on his face. He abruptly grabbed his hunting knife from its sheath and anxiously started carving random marks into the wood of the table.
"So impatient, huh?" Drew quickly looked up and spotted the familiar black-haired woman in the doorway. Standing up, he approached her and stared at the scar on her face for a moment. "Stop that," Ashlyn said as she narrowed her eyes a little at him before speaking some more. "We successfully captured Prince Raymond."
"How much resistance did you encounter?" Drew questioned as he knew Raymond had likely been under heavy guard ever since they killed the king.
The woman surprisingly just let out a small sigh before she answered, "Much less than anticipated. The guard wasn't the usual, so they put up much less of a fight." Drew nodded his head, gritting his teeth a little as he realized that meant they had failed to eliminate Raymond's personal guard: Derek.
"Any idea where Derek is?" The man questioned and felt a little irritated as Ashlyn shook her head.
"Send some scouts out to investigate this. Meanwhile, I'd like to have a 'chat' with our prisoner," Drew commanded before leaving after Ashlyn went to do as he had ordered.
Heading out of the building he was in, Drew made his way to the small, dusty building that contained the entrance to the dungeon. Opening up the hatch, he proceeded to walk down the stairs until he reached the holding cells. While they could technically hold up to sixteen prisoners at a time, Raymond was now one of only three at the moment.
There were eight cells on each side of the hallway, and Drew approached the second to last cell on the left. Before he reached it, the two other prisoners cowered in his presence. He could also
hear the sighs of relief as he passed them. He greeted the two guards outside of Raymond's cell before he unlocked it with his keys.
Knowing full well that the prince was deaf, Drew was somewhat surprised as Raymond noticed him immediately. Not dwelling on it for long, Drew gripped his hunting knife in his hand tightly as he slowly approached the other Elf. Raymond was shackled to the wall by chains that were attached to cuffs on both his wrists and ankles. Having also been stripped of most of his clothing except for his underwear, the prince was shaking.
"I'm sure you probably know why you're still alive. So, let's get straight to the point," Drew informed the prince, while making sure that the Elf could read his lips by speaking somewhat slower than he normally did. "Where is it?" Raymond said nothing in response, despite the fact that Drew could tell that he understood.
"Can't say I'm surprised," Drew stated before he ran the blade of his knife down the prince's chest. He cut just deep enough to draw blood and watched with some glee as Raymond winced with gritted teeth. "How about now? I'm willing to do a lot more unless you tell me."
To Drew's surprise, Raymond still said nothing. He knew that the prince was not mute, even if the man chose to be silent a majority of the time. The wheels started turning in Drew's head as he tried to figure out something to get his newest prisoner to speak. A wicked grin spread across the Elf's face as what he should do clicked in his mind.
"You know, I'm sure your mother is very worried about you…. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I went to the castle and 'comforted' her, would you?" Raymond's eyes narrowed at the question, and he struggled against the chains for a moment. Chuckling at the prince's reaction, Drew proceeded to torment him some more.
"How about your sister? We're about the same age, so I'm sure she would have no objections to my presence," Drew stated to the other elf, watching as Raymond glared daggers at him. "She's quite the beautiful woman, wouldn't you say? I'm sure it wouldn't take long for her to be smitten with me." He let out another laugh as the prince attempted to lunge at him.
"Leave her alone," Raymond ordered with his eyes narrowed as he still attempted to escape from the chains. Simply smiling at the prince in response, Drew surprisingly just sheathed his hunting knife.
"That's all I wanted… for now, anyway. Sleep today, because tomorrow will be the start of your actual interrogation," Drew informed the other Elf before he swiftly left the cell and locked it behind him.
"You want us to knock him out?" A guard asked as they listened to Raymond's struggle against his chains.
"Let him continue. He'll tire himself out before long," Drew responded before he left the dungeon.