The Aegis Awakens
/Chapter Eleven: Five Hundred Years/
In spite of the fact that Regan had agreed to test Rex's skills along with Mòrag she could not help but feel a little guilty about it. After all, the fifteen-year-old trusted her and he would probably feel betrayed at her actions. Despite her worry, she knew it was necessary to hone his skills as a Driver. She herself had been lucky to have her uncle, who happened to be a Driver, as her mentor.
Kaevan's Core Crystal had been in her hands for little more than two years now, and she was never able to bring herself to give it to Rex. The risks associated with resonating with a Core Crystal were often not mentioned to the general public; however, being part of the royal family allowed her to know this. Being fully aware of potential dangers, Regan had refrained from allowing Rex to attempt to awaken any Blade.
The Elf had even been successful in this endeavor, until Rex unintentionally bonded with Malos' sword. Of course Malos had to revive Rex afterwards, which resulted in the two of them sharing a life force. Regan was all too familiar with that concept, and the memory of a bloody dagger and red stained hands flasher in her mind.
"You alright?" The familiar sound of Mòrag's voice entering her ears caused Regan to look up. She moved away from the wall she had been leaning against and nodded her head. To be honest, Regan had been too lost in her own thoughts to even hear the other woman approach.
"You appear to contemplating something." Brighid commented, but Regan shook her head.
"It's nothing important... Anyway...how long do you think we have, Mòrag?" The Ardainian thought about it for a moment before she sighed.
"I'd be lying if I said Dughall will keep them busy for long. Perhaps, we have about half an hour until they leave the ship." Considering what she had seen of Dughall so far, the Elf could not help but agree.
"You finished?" Mòrag suddenly asked as she gestured towards the envelope held in one of Regan's hands. The Elf looked down at said envelope in her hand and nodded. She rubbed her thumb over the Ardainian seal, almost wondering if she should even send it. After all that happened with Torna, Regan found herself at a loss for just what exactly she could even tell Raymond.
"It'll be alright. Raymond will understand." The reassurance was honestly unnecessary, but it was comforting nonetheless.
"I know."
•••••••
"Halt!" Nia was less than amused to find that the owner of the voice that interrupted their escape was Dughall.
"Great, another person to delay us..." Malos stated, and he honestly did not think that the man in front of them would be too much of a threat. The only thing Dughall had going for him was the large Blade he had following him. Dughall's Blade wielded a spiked hammer, something that Malos knew would not be a good thing to get hit by.
In response to Malos' statement, the Dughall looked at him. "Ah, you must be the Aegis. I will take you before Mòrag can, so-" The Aegis quickly interrupted, his tone one of annoyance.
"Take me? You realize I have to actually agree to go with you, right?"
Dughall looked visibly taken back, and Rex swiftly spoke before the man could even respond. "Where's Regan? She wasn't in a cell."
"The princess is with Mòrag, so don't think you'll be getting to your friend anytime soon." Rex paused at that, and he wondered if the princess part had any truth to it.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that... So you're really trying to capture Malos too, you ratbag?" Despite being sure of the answer that Dughall would likely give, Rex could not help but make sure. He doubted that the Ardainian had any other reason from stopping them, so the question would honestly just serve as a confirmation.
"Language!" Dughall scolded before he nodded his head. "Ah, but of course. The ability to lead Alrest asunder...only a fool would know of such power and not seek to claim it." This statement earned the Ardainian an annoyed groan from Malos.
"Like I just told you, I have to actually agree to this... What makes you think you have a chance?"
"If I defeat your precious Driver in battle of course! Then, you'll be compelled to join me! It's a flawless plan." Malos rolled his eyes at that before Poppi said something that brought a small smile to his face.
"Flaw detected in final step of logic."
Since they were all getting tired of the chat: Rex, Nia, and Tora pulled out their weapons. To be honest, Dughall's Blade was the most intimidating thing about the Ardainian. If Dughall was not a Driver he would have little if any chance at all against them.
Despite Dughall's obvious incompetence, he was at least smart enough to attack them while cowering behind his Blade. There was no doubt now that Dughall was most certainly a coward, since only a horrible person could allow their Blade to get hurt while they themselves sat on the sidelines.
"That coward, he's just hiding behind his Blade." Rex voiced everyone's, except for Dughall's of course, thoughts.
"Hah! Does common sense elude you? A Blade can heal from any injury." This answer caused Nia to make a disgusted sound.
"So it's okay to use them as a living shield? You weasel, even if they can regenerate that doesn't mean Blades don't feel pain!" Nia exclaimed, her cat-like ears pinning back on her head.
"Oh, the mangy fleabag is worried about Blades feeling pain!" Dughall laughed to himself, "I wonder if you can feel pain?"
Eventually, despite Dughall's consistent behavior of staying behind his Blade, they managed to defeat him. The Ardainian had merely been knocked out, much like the rest of the soldiers on the ship. Dughall's Blade had collapsed too, and Malos could not help but feel bad for the large Blade.
"That's what he gets for trying to execute Nia." Rex stated as he put away Malos' sword. The Gormotti's eyes visibly widened at the words, and she hurriedly turned towards Rex.
"What? He was trying to take me back to Mor Ardain." Nia said, but when Rex still looked confused she let out a sigh. "Rex, this is a trap!" The girl informed him, and Rex looked alarmed at that.
"A trap?!! What about Regan? What could they have done to her?!!"
Nia bowed her head at the fifteen-year-old, "I have no idea, but we need to leave...now." The Gormotti stated, but Rex shook his head in response.
"No, no way. I'm not leaving her behind!" Nia sighed at that, and Eva interrupted them.
"Finding her won't be a problem...she's in that direction." The fairy-like Blade pointed in the direction that that would have to exit from, and Rex made a relieved sound at the news. He had not had been about to leave her behind anyway; however, the news that she was likely right outside the ship made him feel a bit better.
"Wait a minute, Rex." Nia stopped the Leftherian in his tracks.
"What is it?"
The Gormotti looked down at the floor, "Dughall said she's with Mòrag... Something definitely is fishy about that, don't ya think? Then, he also referred to her as a princess."
"So what?" Rex's tone became defensive.
"It's probably nothing... But it's just a little too convenient for my liking, that's all." Nia cut the conversation short after that.
•••
Getting outside of the battleship took less time than expected; however, something seemed off. The lack of soldiers was very suspicious, especially considering just how many guards had been on the ship itself. They all stopped in place as blue flames prevented them from going any further. "Blue flames... Gotta be that Blade again." Rex stated before he had even spotted Brighid.
"Ah, yes. I did think we had gotten away a little too easily." Azurda commented.
This time, Brighid was not without her Driver. For just a split second, Malos had a small glimmer of hope that he would see Hugo standing next to Brighid. His hope was short-lived once Malos realized that he was just trying to forget what really happened five centuries ago. The horror of what he had done back then haunted him, and he felt endless guilt over the fact that he had the nerve to hope Hugo would be there.
"And with her Driver too this time." Nia commented as she spotted the Ardainian woman walking alongside Brighid. Unlike their previous encounter with the fire Blade, Brighid was not holding her swords. Mòrag was instead currently wielding the two swords, and it would definitely be more difficult with the two of them together.
"That's Mòrag, 'The Flamebringer'. Special Inquisitor Mòrag of Mor Ardain." Dromarch started, which caused the others to looked towards the Blade. "The most powerful Driver in the empire and wielder of Brighid, the most powerful Blade." Malos looked back towards Mòrag and Brighid before he spotted a third figure following along behind them.
Regan's presence was honestly not surprising to the Aegis, considering just how odd and convenient the whole situation was. She appeared to be unharmed, which caused Malos to feel relieved. Eva's bow was clutched in one of her Driver's hands, and Malos was curious as to just where this was going. When Dromarch spoke again, looking directly at Regan, Malos wondered why he had not even bothered to ask her about it.
"And that's Princess Regan: second in line to Elvuenian throne." Malos of course had been fully aware of Ant's royal status, so Regan having the title of princess should have been obvious to him. Despite the fact that Malos was not very surprised about the truth, he could sense the surprise and confusion the fifteen-year-old was feeling through their affinity link.
Nia's eyes snapped back down to Dromarch from looking at Regan, "What...? Have you known about tha' the whole time since we met her?" The Gormotti questioned, and Dromarch shook his head.
"No, my lady. I heard guards discussing it outside my cell." The white-furred Blade explained, and Nia sighed as she realized that he was telling her the truth.
Rex managed to swallow down his surprise and spoke directly to Regan, "Why are you with her? Are you hurt...?" His soft and sad tone caused a guilty expression to cross the Elf's face. Her eyes looked away from the Leftherian and down to ground. Looking back up at the fifteen-year-old after a moment of silence, Regan shook her head.
There were so many things Rex wanted to ask but the most important one was: why did she lie to him... After two years of spending time with her, essentially living with her in the hut on Azurda's back, he was saddened at the realization that she had hid something pretty big from him. Rex was aware she likely had very painful memories, but he could not help but feel hurt that she had neglected to tell him that she was royalty.
Mòrag interrupted before Regan was able to answer Rex's first question. "It seems my doubts about Dughall keeping you distracted for long were not misplaced." The dark-haired Ardainian stated, and Nia's eyes widened.
"It was you! You were the one who spread the rumors that I was going to be executed, just to lure Rex and the others here." Nia accused, which caused Mòrag to move her head up and down.
"Yes, you catch on quickly. You certainly proved useful." At this point, Regan had yet to say anything and it was honestly strange. The Elf's behavior was off, and she still currently wore a guilty expression. Malos knew that this situation could not be what it seemed, and Regan was doing a horrible job at pretending.
"The power to sunder Alrest itself... Since you're truly the Aegis, then there's something I must do." Mòrag looked directly at Malos as she said this, and the Aegis' expression became one of sadness.
Rex quickly spoke before Malos could respond to the woman's words, "Malos destroyed the world? Don't be stupid." The defense, while welcome, honestly did not help quell Malos' guilt nor did it help with the sadness he was feeling.
"You mean you didn't know?" Malos tried to prepare himself for the words that Mòrag was about to say. "Five hundred years ago, during the Aegis War, the Aegis...sank three continents to the Cloud Sea's bed." Now that was certainly news to Malos, considering that Mòrag's words were only partly true.
"What, three Titans killed? There's no-" Rex cut himself off as he noticed Malos' expression. The boy's expression hardened, and he looked back at Mòrag.
"I'm onto you! You want to use Malos as some sort of weapon, right?" Mòrag took a step forward.
"That is exactly kind of scenario we mean to prevent." Mòrag stated, and Rex seemed to be under the impression that she was offering to let the rest of them go in exchange for Malos.
"And what if we refuse?"
Mòrag smiled at that before the twin swords suddenly transformed into blue fiery whips. "Then we will have to restrain you by force." Mòrag stated, and that is when Eva flew to Regan's side. At the ice Blade's movement Rex realized that they were not going to just fight Mòrag, they were going to have to fight Regan too.
"Then, I'll make this nice and clear." Rex started as he pulled out Malos' sword. "You will never take him!" The boy stated, and Malos could not help but pause at that. The fifteen-year-old's care for him had been evident from the start, and Malos wondered why Rex would possibly want to protect him.
•••
Despite Rex's best attempts to strike her, Mòrag just dodged almost every attack that they tried. Regan, unlike Mòrag, stayed farther back. The Elf would routinely fire off bolts of ice from Eva's bow, and she would even occasionally toss the Blade weapon to Eva. Eva would then shoot 3 shards of ice into the air before each one of the frozen ether bolts would fall down and converge with each other in a explosion of ether on top of them. 'Crystal Burst' was what Eva said when she did it.
Eva had done the special about four different times when Rex was caught off guard when Mòrag lunged at him through a blue wall of flames. Malos appeared to be tiring as his ether shield was easily broken by the Ardainian's hit. The force of the blow was enough to knock both Malos and his Driver back, and Malos fell to one knee as he felt his energy continuously depleting. Rex appeared not to notice his Blade's distress at first as he threw a dark slash of ether at Mòrag.
Dodging the attack, Mòrag managed to strike his left arm with one of the fiery whips. Malos winced at the sudden burning sensation under his armor on his arm. The fifteen-year-old was unable to get out of the way before he was swiftly struck in the chest by the Ardainian. He was stunned for a moment before he looked back at Malos. The Blade was clearly exhausted at this point, and Rex held a hand out to him.
"He's not a weapon. Malos is a living being." The words caused the Aegis to look up, and he looked at his Driver's offered hand for a moment. After considering it for a moment, Malos got up on his own but made sure to give Rex a reassuring nod. The nod seemed to make Rex feel better, and Malos looked back towards Mòrag.
"This is getting tiresome." The Ardainian stating as she blocked the dark slash of ether that Rex threw at her. The fifteen-year-old looked around for a moment before his eyes finally fell onto the water tower. Knowing that Brighid was a fire Blade, an idea popped into Rex's head. While he quietly explained it to the others, Rex did not notice that Regan was watching him. Unbeknownst to Rex, she had already figured out his next step.
"Rex, no!" Regan exclaimed as she attempted to block him from leaving. She already knew what he was heading towards, considering that she saw him look at water tower. While she had meant to test his skills, she did not mean to allow him to take down something so important to the citizens of Gormott. Rex, seemingly reacting on reflex, slashed at her with Malos' sword.
The dark ether cut into the upper part of right arm, and she winced. Rex eyes widened as he realized that he had hurt her and paused in his movements. Everyone else stopped as well as Regan suddenly spoke to Mòrag pleadingly. "Please, Mòrag! I think that's enough." To Rex's surprise, Mòrag turned the whips back into the form of normal looking swords and put them away.
"What is this...?" Nia questioned as Mòrag sheathed her weapons.
Mòrag bowed her head, "My apologies for the deception. We felt it was necessary." The fifteen-year-old hesitantly put away Malos' sword before he glanced towards Regan. She had put away Eva's bow, and she was pressing a hand against the cut Rex had inflicted on her arm.
"I knew this was too convenient. Why'd you do it?" Nia questioned, and she was very reasonably upset. The Elf gave the Gormotti an apologetic look, but it did not appear to get rid of Nia's anger.
"We needed to test your skills... After all, you've just become a Driver." Regan explained while flinching as the wound on her arm stung. It was a simple enough explanation; however, it did not satisfy Rex.
"Really? Why did your so called 'test' involve making us fight you too?" The boy questioned, but he was distracted as a hand was placed on his shoulder. The hand belonged to Malos, and he shook his head.
"She did it to test your willingness to fight, even when forced to face someone you know and trust." That statement gave Rex pause for a moment, and he hated to admit that it actually made sense. He was still upset; however, Rex could not deny that she had meant well even if her method was honestly pretty poor.
"I see." Rex said before he looked down at the ground for a moment. The Blade removed his hand from his Driver's shoulder and looked at Mòrag.
"Just out of curiosity... Do you really believe I killed three Titans?" Malos asked, while he was internally trying to push down the memories.
"Regan told me the truth, so the answer to your question is no... However, most people do believe that. The truth has been severely warped, partially due to the praeter's influence." Mòrag answered, and that is when Malos noticed that Regan was no longer even looking at Rex. Rather, the Elf was staring at Kaevan. Malos might have imagined it, but he could have sworn that her eyes looked a little watery.
He looked back at Mòrag as she spoke again, "She also informed me that Mythra is actually another Aegis and was the one to destroy two Titans during the Aegis War." Malos nodded before Rex's eyes widened. It was then that he remembered that he had never actually informed Rex that Mythra/Pyra was a Blade.
"Mythra's another Aegis? What about Pyra, what is she?" He questioned, and Malos looked down at the fifteen-year-old.
"It's a similar process to how I made a helmet and a extra piece of armor over my core to hide my identity. However, Pyra appeared to be a completely different person from Mythra altogether." He explained, honestly unsure of just how Mythra had done the separate personality thing so well.
"That kind of makes sense, I guess..." Rex still sounded unsure.