I just wanted to say that I have up to chapter twenty written on this, and I'll try to upload a chapter every couple of days.*

The Aegis Awakens

/Chapter Two; A Familiar Face/

"Anyway, that just about covers it. I have to go now." Rex told the old Titan before he attempted to turn around and walk away. However, he was quickly stopped by Regan standing in his way. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she looked very unamused, to say the least.

"That does not just about cover it in the slightest!" Rex flinched and turned around at the Titan's voice.

"Why would you take a job that you know nothing about? You don't even know who your employer is!" The Titan scolded. He was clearly upset.

"Listen, it'll be okay, Gramps. Besides, this came directly from the chairman himself. What more could you need?" Rex asked before he walked away and pretended not to hear the Titan calling out for him.

"I sincerely apologize, Azurda. Talking him out of this isn't gonna work." Regan stated apologetically, and she bowed her head towards him. The movement unintentionally caused a strand of her hair to fall out of place and slip to rest over her right shoulder. The strand, while of the same length as the rest of her hair, was snow-white in color. The rest of her hair was completely normal in terms of color, yet that one strand was white.

"I know. I just wish that boy would stop being so reckless. He's gonna wind up getting himself seriously hurt or even worse..." Azurda trailed off, and he looked worried. The elf nodded in agreement,

"Yeah... That's why I'm going to go with him. I cannot allow him to take on this alone, so I will come with...and I will keep him safe. Okay?" Regan asked, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Oh, alright, then. I trust you... I just wish it was possible to prevent him from going in the first place."

"Me too, Azurda. Me too..."

•••

"Rex.. why won't you just listen to me..?"

Regan questioned quietly, and she glanced over at the bed next to her. The boy in question was already asleep, and she was currently unable to find it herself. Her armor had been taken off, and she was dressed in her nightclothes. Since she had first met Rex two years ago, Regan had become close to him and started to see him as a little brother. He was honestly kind of rude at times, yet he was one of the nicest people that she knew. He also seemed to care way too much at times.

Regan had gotten used to sleeping in the hut on Azurda's back, so the inn was refreshing to her. Part of her missed the time she had spent in Torna 500 years ago, despite the fact that time was anything but peaceful. Back then, she felt like she had a purpose.

For a long time, she had lost that sense of belonging and purpose. Until she met Rex, then she felt that her purpose was to protect him. It was weird to her at first, considering that she had been accustomed to being the younger one compared to her brother. Rex was not related to her, but she genuinely felt a connection to him.

That's one of the reasons she was so worried about the job. Despite the fact that Jin had once been her ally, Regan could not bring herself to trust him now. He had always been kind of a jerk, on the surface anyway, but had been one of the nicest people she had ever met. The air about him was completely different, and she knew that something had definitely occurred to change him.

Another thing bothered her. How the hell did he remember her? Jin had not actually said anything out loud that made her think it, but the look on his face when he saw her told her all she needed to know. There was one possibility in her mind, but Regan hoped that it was not true.

•••••••

Regan stood stiffly in front of the ship that they were going to take off on, and she was gripping something tightly in her left hand. Her Blade, as usual, was perched on her shoulder with her eyes looking out for Rex. After a moment of silence, Regan suddenly opened her hand to look at the object she was currently holding. A long metal chain hung off the end of what appeared to be a locket.

The locket itself was circular in shape and looked to be silver colored. "Just wear it. It'll be fine." Eva said with her head turned in Regan's direction. The elf stared at it for a moment, before she slipped it over her head and it hung down just below her collarbone. She watched her surroundings for a moment before she flinched as Jin was now in front of her.

She honestly had not even noticed him approach, and it terrified her to think about just how easily he had snuck up on her. "What..?" Regan questioned, and she crossed her arms while looking up at him. With the mask, it was difficult to fully recognize the emotions present in his expression. His eyes were really the only thing she could rely on to figure out what he was thinking.

"You should leave."

The words almost caused her to take a step back in surprise. "E-excuse me..?" Regan had honestly no idea what to make of it, for Jin's behavior was a mystery. Although, it almost seemed like he was warning her of something.

"Leave. I cannot help you unless you do as I say." Jin stated, and Regan felt something strange from him.

"I will not. If I allowed Rex to do this on his own, I couldn't live with myself..." The elf stated, and she looked down at her feet for a moment. "Y'know, I've figured out what you're after... It's Malos, isn't it?" She asked, despite the fact that she already knew that it was the truth. Why Jin himself would be after Malos was a mystery to her, but she doubted that he would tell her.

Jin stared at her in response, and he simply said nothing else and proceeded to walk towards the ship. "Sorry about him. He can be a bit grumpy at times." This time, it was Pyra speaking. The woman honestly seemed friendlier than she had been before, but Regan still did not trust her. Honestly, if Regan did not have the feeling of familiarity about the redhead: she would have thought that Pyra was sweet and kind if the redhead had not essentially attacked both Rex and her.

"It... it's fine." She said in response, and she found herself staring at Pyra's face. Pyra had pale skin with flushed cheeks and fiery red eyes. Despite the fact that Regan could not recall anyone with those features that looked exactly like Pyra, the red head's voice was strangely similar to one she heard a long time ago. It seemed unlikely, but Regan knew that Pyra was likely someone she used to know but had simply had a different appearance back then.

Regan had no idea how it could be possible, but she started to think that this could be the person that had tried so hard to destroy the world and everyone in it. She had no proof, but it made sense if they were trying to find Malos. But why would they need him..? It made no sense to even bother awakening the one man who could stop her, so something had to be seriously wrong.

The redhead looked like she was about to ask something, but Rex finally appeared and let out a yawn. "Reg, I see you're already up." He commented before his eyes fell onto Pyra. "Oh, uh... Hi, uh.. good morning, Pyra..?" Regan closed her eyes and let out a sigh at his words and the blush on his face. She could not entirely blame him since Pyra's shorts hardly covered anything.

The redhead wore a pair of red shorts, that honestly did not cover much. Pyra had discarded the cloak that she had worn, and an extra piece was added to the red armor that she wore, on top of her chest. It was eerily in the same place that core crystals typically were, and Regan knew that it was not merely a coincidence. Pyra was now holding her cloak under one of her arms, and she gripped something in her hand tightly.

The object was small enough to where Regan could not tell what it was, yet she could still tell that it was likely very important to Pyra. "Hi, Rex. You sleep well?" Pyra asked, and Rex nodded in response.

"Yeah. I normally sleep in the hut on Gramps' back, so the inn was actually quite pleasant." The redhead nodded in response before she went to walk onto the ship with her blade not far behind.

After she left, Rex took a moment to gawk at the ship that they were to get on. "Gawking at a ship...what're you, twelve?" Nia walked to them, and she crossed her arms. "Wait, maybe you really are twelve." She stated, and she honestly looked a little annoyed.

"Hey! I can certainly admire a good feat of engineering when I see one. And...I'm fifteen, I'll have you know." Rex responded, and Nia scoffed in response.

He was silent for a moment before he suddenly looked down at Nia's feet "Hey, you might wanna watch where you step." Rex informed her, "Otherwise.. you might lose a leg when we cast off." The girl jumped back at that and an agitated look fell over her expression as he started laughing. "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Why you-"

"That's enough you two. Now, c'mon." Pyra interrupted them, and Nia sighed before she glared at Rex then headed onto the ship. The Elf and Rex followed them after a moment of standing there. Regan had to admit that the ship was impressive, but she had honestly never been one to admire ship architecture. Even if she was one to admire it, she refused to allow herself to get distracted again.

•••

As she stared over the railing, out at the cloud sea, Regan quickly took note of the ship following them. She could not be sure that it was actually following them, but she decided that was a big possibility. "You alright?" The red head's voice did not startle her, for she had heard the woman approach. Regan was determined to not let them catch her off guard again.

"I'm fine. Just.. thinking."

Pyra came closer and looked over the railing too. She was silent for a moment before she then took a glance at the item Regan was wearing. "That's a pretty locket you got there. Was it a gift?" Part of Regan just wanted to keep her mouth shut, yet she decided that it did not really matter if Pyra knew or not.

"It was.. from my late mother." She answered, and unpleasant memories rushed through her mind but she put them away.

"I'm sorry... I didn't..." Pyra said nothing else and almost looked guilty that she had even asked. It was strange. The woman was definitely similar to someone, yet she seemed so different at the same time. When they had talked with Bana, Pyra had so willingly attacked them. Yet, she now showed remorse for something as little as bringing up bad memories when she had no way of knowing.

"It's alright... she's been gone a long time, and I've moved on. Besides, you didn't know."

Despite Regan's reassurance, Pyra still looked apologetic. "Still, it was inconsiderate of me to not even think about a possibility like that."

The elf shook her head, "No one is perfect, Pyra. We all make mistakes, so it's better to just learn from them." The Elf almost seemed to just be on autopilot at this point, and the tone of her voice indicated that the words were almost rehearsed in a way.

Pyra did not respond to this and simply walked away.

•••

After Pyra had walked away from her, Regan found herself heading down the stairs. She glanced around for a moment before she finally spotted the person she was looking for. The man was standing by himself, and it was evident that he was not much for talking. To be honest, Regan had no idea if she should actually approach him. The Elf doubted that she would get any answers from him, but she still felt compelled to at least try.

She simply watched him for a moment, and she did not know what to say. The Elf looked at his sword for a second, and her eyes widened at the red crystal on the hilt of the of it. Despite how long it had been since she had last seen him, Regan knew for sure that the crystal had been blue back then. She did not have a clue why it would be pure red though, so she honestly wondered what had happened to the sweet woman who had been like a big sister to her. When you thought about it logically, there was likely no way Lora could still possibly be alive. Compared to the Elves and the Indoline, most races in Alrest had relatively short lives in comparison.

Regan finally just sighed before finally moving to stand next to him. He almost seemed to ignore her at first, but he suddenly turned to look at her. "Why do you look this way? Does looking like this make you happy?" The questions caused her to pause as she was about to speak.

"It doesn't matter... It's my choice to remain like this." She almost sounded.. defensive.

He did not ask anything more nor did he say anything else. "Jin...what are you doing..? Why are you with her? We fought together to defeat her so long ago yet now...you stand by her side." Regan questioned, but she received no answer in return. She looked down at the floor and contemplated what she should say next. "What happened to Lora, Jin..? I heard about the attack..and you never responded to any of the messages I sent... Why?"

His expression changed at the moment, and his mask could not hide the change. Along with his expression, his eyes widened as she spoke. A soft sound came from him before his expression suddenly hardened and he turned away from her. At this reaction, Regan knew that her attempt had definitely been a futile one. "I shouldn't have left...maybe, I could have stopped it... It's... it's all my fault." She whispered to herself, unaware that Jin had heard as she walked away.

As she went further down, she spotted the young Gormotti girl and her blade talking with Rex. "I am not seasick...I am simply not used to being on a ship with this many salvagers at once." Regan took note of her slightly pale and green face.

The young salvager looked amused at this before he suddenly let out a laugh, "Hah...sure." He walked away before Nia could even say another word.

"Oh, hi Reg. How are you?" He asked as he spotted her, and it seemed that he was still contemplating about the job.

"I'm fine... Listen, Rex, I still think that this is a bad idea. I mean, it's honestly too late to back out now..but I still have a bad feeling." She did not just have a bad feeling. Regan knew that she could not allow them to take Malos, for she knew that it would not end well.

•••

After a little while longer of wandering around the ship, Regan found herself leaning against the wall near the small room that Rex was now sleeping in. She closed her eyes for only a moment and when she opened them, she found herself in a somewhat familiar place. Regan knew that she had never actually been there, but she did have fragments of it within her memory.

"Elysium...you've seen it too, haven't you?"

Regan froze at the voice for only a couple of seconds before she turned her head in the direction that it came from. "Malos..." She said quietly, and she examined him for a moment. Malos honestly looked exactly the same as when she last saw him. His purple, crucifix-shaped core crystal shone brightly in the center of his chest.

"Hmm..." It seemed that he was waiting for something.

At that moment, she realized that he had asked her something. Regan thought for a second before she recalled what he had asked. "Elysium... yes...yes, I have... It's in fragments though, so I don't recall much." She answered, and she looked up at him to see his reaction. The Aegis did not seem to react at first, and he simply stared silently for a moment with his gray eyes staring out the scenery of Elysium.

Then, suddenly, he let out a chuckle and looked down at her. "That's not surprising... I'm curious, though...you mind telling me something?" Regan raised an eyebrow at that. He had honestly never been one to ask permission to do something as simple as asking a question. So, it was strange that he was doing so now...then again, it had been 500 years. So it was not surprising for him to change at least a little since then.

"Sure. What is it?"

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes examining her figure. "What's up that appearance, Regan..? It's...odd," Malos questioned, and he looked...almost concerned. The Elf was quiet in response, and he let out a sigh. "It doesn't look bad of course but...I prefer your hair white." Her eyes widened in response, and her face flushed bright red.

"Wh-what..?"

Malos chuckled at her response, "You're still as cute as ever, Snow...seems that 500 years made no difference to that." He stated before he then looked at the sky. Regan was silent and with her cheeks still flaming red: she suddenly cried out in pain. This immediately drew his eyes away from the sky and back to her. She was holding her right hand up and after a moment of examining her: he spotted the large cut across the palm of her right hand.

"How..?" He asked before he took her hand in his own and stared at the cut for a moment. Malos looked bewildered as he was unable to find a cause for the injury...but he also looked bothered about something else.

"I'm...fine... I just-" The Elf abruptly cut herself off and pulled her hand out of his grasp. It was clear that she had been about to say something, but she had just stopped.

"Regan?"

She shook her head rapidly, "I can't, I...I'm so sorry Malos... I just...I can't..." Her eyes started to water, and she all of a sudden turned her back on him. It did not take him long to realize that she had started crying, and he honestly was unsure of just what she was upset about. After a moment of this, a strange glow started coming from her.

"I...I have to go... Goodbye, Malos...for now." He did not even get a chance to respond before she just vanished. As she disappeared, his expression was one of confusion. After a moment of simply staring at where she had been, he finally looked away from that spot and went back to gazing at the scenery of Elysium.

"What the hell happened to you, Snow..?"

•••••••

Bonus Scene*

A young Elven woman, with reddish-brown hair and forest green eyes, stared at the crucifix-shaped core crystal in front of her. It was light blue in color and almost appeared to be made out of ice. She suddenly glanced towards two men standing near her; however, one of the men had a purple core crystal that was the exact same shape as the one that was right in front of her.

"Ant, just go ahead and do it. The longer you wait...the longer we'll have to wait to stop Mythra's rampage."

Ant let out a sigh at this, "I know... I'm just a bit...worried." The man that was wearing a cloak shook his head at her. "Believe me, I know how you feel. Just do it...just go ahead and get it over with." He told her, and she finally turned her attention back to the light blue core crystal in front of her. After a moment of hesitation, the woman finally reached her hand out.

As her hand touched the core crystal, there was a flash of light. Ant felt strange as she felt something change and then there was another flash of light. Now, there was a short female Blade standing in front of her. The Blade had snow-white hair with the top half of it braided while the lower section of her hair was left down. Her ocean-blue eyes were framed with eyelashes the same color as her hair, and her skin was pale with her cheeks slightly flushed with heat.

The Blade wore light blue armor, that almost reassembled ice in some places, and a light blue, crucifix-shaped core crystal shined brightly in the center of her chest. A tiara, looking like ice, poked out from underneath her hair and a light blue crystal shone in the middle of it. In her hands, she held two daggers with each of them possessing a light blue, crucifix-shaped core crystal on their hilts.

Ant honestly was speechless by this point because: outside of the different colors, this Blade reassembled herself so strongly. The Blade stared at the Elf for a moment before suddenly bowing her head. "You must be my Driver...my name is Regan. What about you?" The Blade asked, and the Elf was silent for a moment. "The name is Antea...but everyone just calls Ant." Somehow, leaving off only two letters made her much more comfortable with her name.

"I see... well...I look forward to working with you, Ant."

•••••••

I decided against hiding Regan's true identity from everyone reading this story. When I mentioned changing stuff about the story, this is one of the things I wanted to add. The bonus scenes will definitely start to spoil things from Torna: The Golden Country. However, I will tell you if the bonus scene of a chapter spoils something from the DLC.*

I would like to say something about what I have planned. The story will be very similar sometimes; however, the story will be very different at other times. At a certain point, the story will become very different. I know that it was vague, but I don't wish to reveal too much. I hope you enjoy.*

Sincerely, Talleybear.*