The last thing Laura heard before she lost consciousness was a terrible sound, like a roar from a terrifying monster, before her whole world went black.

Then she woke up with a start, rolling on the floor and scrambling to get up while her hands fumbled in search of her sword and her eyes looked for signs of danger. Only when her weapon was in her hand and she was up in a combat stance that she started to calm down.

The swordswoman looked around, through the haze of smoke and fire that now surrounded her, but she was alone, completely alone. Her eyes then went wide when she saw the hole in one of the walls and something inside her screamed that she had to find Rean, that it was the most important thing she had to do at that moment.

Pushing past the pain and exhaustion, Laura carried herself past the improvised exit, resisting the urge to bolt and yell Rean's name from the top of her lungs. Panic was not the answer, she had to assess the situation and act accordingly. Her combat-link with her partner had unsurprisingly been severed once she lost consciousness and he moved far away from its reach so she tried to try to re-establish it. If nothing else, it would alert her once she was closer to him because clearly he wasn't on that floor.

She passed by the second room and saw the hole on the floor and tightened the grip on her sword. Then she felt a pull on her chest, like a line being tugged, and the faint familiarity of a combat-link came to her. Rean was close.

Something crashed against the watchtower and the building shook, signaling that she couldn't dawdle. Laura jumped down to the lower floor just to come across a gaping hole that led outside and molten steel still hot covering the ground.

What in Aidios' name happened here?

Another impact traveled across the tower and Laura now understood that Valimar was assisting Rean from outside, but if he was appealing to that then things were even more dire than she thought. She started to run, there was no point to be cautious anymore when Rean was somewhere in there fighting McBurn, but then she had to step back once a piece of debris almost fell on top of her, making her hesitate for a second before continuing. Once more she felt that tugging in her chest, stronger this time, which meant Rean had to be on the floor below her, had to be.

She continued running across the corridors until a soft whisper, almost inaudible, passed her by.

"-keep everyone safe."

Laura stopped, shocked and confused but seeing nobody around she shook her head before moving on. But after a couple of steps it was there again, louder.

"Nothing… matters."

What was happening? With her desperation growing, Laura moved faster, foregoing all caution. She needed to find Rean, she had to.

"Never stop-"

Mayhem and fire continued to spread throughout the tower and the feeling of their combat-link grew more intense. They weren't linked up, not yet, but Laura was getting closer and what she thought she was hearing was just her anxiety getting the best of her. Another delusion.

"Kill him."

Laura ran faster, jumping over burning rubble and down a flight of stairs.

"Protect everyone."

"Rean, where are you!?"

No response.

"Keep going."

She ignored it and continued to run, calling out his name as her chest tightened.

"All my fault."

She was going crazy. That was the preferable alternative.

"Fix everything."

She kept running, hoping that the thundering of her footsteps would muffle the sounds in her mind.

"Nothing else matters."

She just had to find Rean and everything would be okay. She would get them out of there and-

"It doesn't matter if I die!"

"AH!"

At that moment, by some bizarre malfunction between their ARCUS units, Laura was assaulted by Rean's emotional surge. All his self-loathing, his doubts, his anger, all of it combined had struck her like lightning and the swordswoman fell down on her knees, dropping her weapon to clutch her head as she was hit with the brunt of everything Rean was feeling at that very instant.

It confounded her and broke her heart at the same time and Laura could do nothing but stand there, frozen, alone. She couldn't deny it anymore as a mere delusion, it was real. A small part of her tried to comprehend how it was even possible but that was the least important aspect of the phenomenon.

Why didn't you tell me you felt like this?

The entire watchtower shook once again, with more intensity than ever before, like a large chunk of it had been torn off. That caused Laura to jolt back up and dry the tears on her face, she picked up her sword back and resumed her search.

She had to find Rean.

Rean's world was a stark black and white with shadows that danced in the corner of his vision. His fight with McBurn had raged throughout the watchtower and he was barely conscious of the damage they had done to the building, even the flames that surrounded him barely registered in his awareness, all that mattered was the threat of the Enforcer and ending it.

He wandered through the watchtower looking for his opponent like a shambling apparition as his dark aura continued to swirl around him, with only vestiges of the Eight Leaves One Blade in his form as he carried his tachi in one hand, less like a sword and more like a club. Somewhere along the fight, in between the ground collapsing under him and Valimar punching through the tower's walls, Rean had lost sight of McBurn and despite the Enforcer not showing his face again, despite the fact he couldn't hear the madman's cackling anymore, Rean refused to lower his guard.

It was then, amidst the destruction, alone and filled with rage, that he felt a familiar sensation in his chest, like a line being tugged, but instead of the confidence he came to associate with it, he only felt fear and pain.

"!"

A muffled noise that barely registered in his senses called to him, again and again, each instance louder than the last. Whatever it was, it closed in on him.

"-ean!"

It was closer but he couldn't discern what it could be. It wasn't a threat but at the same time he couldn't tell exactly what it was so he became guarded. It was too close, it was right behind him and his instincts took control and Rean raised his blade, turning around to deal a preemptive strike and then… Then he stopped.

Standing in front of him was no threat, it was Laura. It was his classmate, partner in swordsmanship and girlfriend and his blade was only a couple of rege away from her neck and he could see the panic stricken look clear on her face.

Stunned in shock, both stared at each other for a silent moment with a maelstrom of feelings neither could fully understand. Then Rean stepped back, startled, he dropped his sword as if it burned his hand and went down to his knees, clutching his head and grunting as his dark aura started to dissipate and his power started to fade.

It was harder than ever to turn it off but he pulled it off eventually, wrestling back his own self control, and as he did so he was immediately overtaken by the physical pain his power had been protecting him from. As Rean groaned and heaved suddenly comfort came to him as Laura cupped his face with both hands, thumb circling around his cheeks and under his eyes.

"Are you okay, Rean?"

Her voice was like music to his ears. She was alive and well and it calmed him down, but then his heart jumped when he opened his eyes and saw how hurt she was. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

To his surprise, Laura clashed their lips together but it didn't feel as nice as one might have expected, instead it felt desperate and raw.

"I asked if you are okay."

"I-I'm… Yeah, I'm hurting as hell but-"

"We need to get out of here immediately," she popped in an EP capsule on her ARCUS and promptly cast revitalizing Arts on both of them. "This tower is not safe anymore."

They both got up and Rean retrieved his sword and looked around. "Where's McBurn?"

"I haven't seen him since…" Laura scrunched up her face. "I don't know what happened to him but he's nowhere in the vicinity. What matters is that it's too risky for us to stay here. We must leave this place right now, Rean. Please."

It was strange how she seemed to be pleading to him but he agreed, the tower wasn't safe anymore, so they started to make their way down for the exit.

The events after they left the watchtower could only be described as a complete mess. Rean and Laura had met with Fie and Elliot on the second floor of the building and both were beside themselves with worry when they saw their wounded friends. The musician cast healing Arts on both of them, more powerful than either of the swordsmen had in hand, and Fie relayed that she had called up Sara and that their teacher was none too happy about what they had done.

On the bright side, all the monsters that had been plaguing the highlands seemed to have vanished and Rean suspected that it happened at the same time as McBurn destroyed the machine.

They got on Valimar and it was a short and silent trip before they met with their allies halfway back to the nomad camp, who had been gunning for the watchtower as soon as Fie had made the call. Sara was the first out of the armored car and they had never seen the bracer so furious before as she stomped her way to them.

She asked for a report first and Rean didn't shy away from taking the blame, rightfully claiming full responsibility for the idea of going into the watchtower for themselves. He struggled to look Sara in the eyes, he would probably be able to take it if she was just angry but it was worse, she was disappointed as well.

When he was finished, Sara could only sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose. "We're following the original plan of taking Gaius' tribe to Zender Gate, which should be easier now with the cryptids gone. After that we're going to spend the night in Gwyn's cabin. We'll talk then but first…" Sara gesture with her head to the RMP's medical officer that had come with her and by the look on her face, there was no room for debate.

At Zender Gate, they learned that the situation had also been handled at the other two locations as well and, along with Instructor Sara and the rest of the team that had accompanied him, Rean relayed the events of the fight against McBurn again, this time to General Vander and the man was none too happy about the fact the watchtower had been all but destroyed.

"We're going to have to station some personnel along the border to keep an eye on it. The cryptids actually gave Calvard a scare so that might buy us some peace for the time being," the military veteran said to his second-in-command, delineating their next course of action.

Rean had recovered some of his composure by the time they arrived there, mostly just putting the events out of his mind, but he couldn't help but feel like complete shit. He had just been responsible for destroying a strategic military base of the Empire, it was grounds for imprisonment.

"General, I don't even know where to begin to explain-"

"Save it, kid," Zechs cut him off hastily. "I was the one who asked you to check on the place and neither of us could have predicted who or what we would find there. It's a downright miracle that you fought that devil in human form and are still breathing, for that alone you and Arseid should be praised. We'll see what we can do about this situation once this war is over, I'm sure Prince Olivert will be able to sort things out."

The general then patted Rean on the shoulder and sent him off, telling him to not worry about it and that right now it was more important for them to get ready to retake Heimdallr. It wasn't exactly a weight off his shoulders but it calmed him down a little. In the end nobody had died, that's what mattered, or at least, that's what Rean had hoped.

Memories of Laura hurt and half-conscious and McBurn's words made his chest tighten all over again. Now she had a bandage wrapped over her forehead and half of her face was swollen but at least she was alive, and while that was cause for celebration, Rean couldn't get over the distant look in her eyes, the way she seemed completely lost in thought even when they were talking to General Vander and the subtle way her body tensed when she looked at him…

She was angry at him, there was no doubt, no other explanation. He had been careless and put her life at risk and made a complete mess of things and had almost hurt her himself. He fucked up, pure and simple, and he wasn't sure what he could do to fix it, if it was even possible.

While they were on their way to the Nord Highlands, Sara had come up with the idea of them going to Gwyn Reinford's cabin in Lake Lacrima and Alisa was more than happy to call her grandfather for permission (although she said that was unnecessary) while everyone else agreed that it would be a nice diversion after spending so long stuffed inside the Courageous. The official excuse had been to check the place for damages but in truth, they just needed some fresh air, greenery and maybe a nice dip in the water to decompress for at least an afternoon, if not an entire day before going back to the war and the final push to Heimdallr.

Of course, that hinged on the success of the mission, the situation on the highlands, the safety of the Nord tribe, if the cabin was safe for them to spend the day on (if it was even left standing), if their presence would be necessary somewhere else, etc.

And on a first examination, after helping the Nord tribe accommodate themselves at Zender Gate, they were good to go. The mission had been an overall success, Gaius' people were safe and cryptids and magic knights weren't prowling the highlands anymore, making it for a relaxing time at the lake cabin, however the mood was anything but.

Despite what could be considered a victory, there was a bad air around Rean and Laura, both feeling dejected and distant, and it was clear their wounds weren't the main reason.

So nobody was really in a party mood once they got to Lake Lacrima during sundown, which they still went to because Sara figured it would still be beneficial for Class VII to spend some time there, especially now with their two crestfallen members. Better for them to deal with their issues out there where there was some modicum of privacy, away from the busy military base and the Courageous. Captain Claire offered to accompany them, with the unspoken reasoning to make up for their two weakened fighters in case of an emergency.

Once there, they set up a fire in the front of the cabin and put some pheasants to roast over it, courtesy of Gaius' tribe. While Claire patrolled the perimeter, some of Class VII sat around the fire and chatted watching the sun fade away behind the mountains, while others were in the cabin getting it set up with blankets for everyone to sleep on.

Near the shore, Emma was redressing Laura's wounds, replacing the initial curatives the RMP medic had put on her with her own, but now with a layer of her healing ointment.

"This should also help alleviate your headache," the witch said, trying to sound positive to cheer up her friend, who only muttered a thank you in response. Usually so well composed, Laura was listless and it felt awful.

"What exactly happened up there, Laura?" Emma asked with concern. "I know what you and Rean told Instructor Sara and General Vander, you two fought McBurn and I realize it must have been difficult but… Was there something else?"

In response, the swordswoman curled up onto herself, hugging her legs in a rare demonstration of hesitation from her. At first she didn't say anything, her gaze focused on the fading sun rays ont he horizon and it all served to make Emma more anxious in regards to her state and she was about to tell her friend to forget about it when started speaking, recounting the details of the fight up until when she had struck McBurn.

"But in the end, it didn't matter, McBurn simply shrugged it off. And Rean, he had thrown himself into danger so casually, so naturally," Laura bit her lip. She took a deep breath and felt Emma put a hand on her back, running gentle circles to comfort her as she took her time to collect herself. "After that he struck me and I lost consciousness. Once I woke up-"

"It's just like back when he saved Fiona and I," said Elliot approaching them from the side, suddenly interrupting her and causing her to turn to the musician with an inquisitive look, brow furrowed and eyes finally showing some of her usual focus.

"What do you mean, Elliot?"

Having realized how abrupt his interruption had been, the redhead hesitated. "I- I mean, well, maybe I'm looking too hard into it, I don't want to worry you, Laura. Sorry that I-"

"Elliot!" Laura snapped sharply. "Tell me exactly what happened on that train."

Back in the cabin while they moved furniture around and spread out the blankets on the floor, Alisa had tried to talk to Rean but couldn't find the exact words. Gaius tried as well and got a plastic smile with a "Don't worry about it," while Machias found it best to let things rest for the moment because he as well didn't know what to say to lift up Rean's mood.

And Rean really appreciated everyone caring about him, he really did, but there was nothing to do. He had messed up, he had to fix it, it was that simple. It was a bit disconcerting that Instructor Sara had yet to give him the reprimand of a lifetime but he figured she would come at him sooner or later.

His mind was so busy with that, that he didn't notice Laura zeroing in on him once he descended the steps away from the cabin, then she grabbed him by the wrist. Although surprised, Rean didn't protest as she pulled him away, only stopping when they were behind the garage for some modicum of privacy and she let him go.

Once she was sure they were alone, Laura took a few steps back away from Rean and started pacing around. He had never seen her this anxious, breathing heavily and fidgeting with her hands then running them over her hair before going back to cracking her knuckles, and it scared him.

"Laura, I'm sor-"

She shushed him with a raised hand, her face turned away and holding a pained expression. That shut him up promptly.

It took a moment but eventually Laura collected herself enough to stop her pacing and although she was looking Rean in the eyes, she still hesitated.

"Laura, what's wrong?" Rean risked asking with reluctance.

The swordswoman sighed and rubbed her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Rean," she took a deep breath and swallowed the lump on her throat. "I'm having difficulty knowing how to properly express myself due to the weight of the subject I wish to broach with you."

Rean kept silent and inside his head ran through some of the possibilities of what Laura wanted to talk about might be. None of them were good.

"It's about you, Rean, you and something I've denied to acknowledge. Throughout all we went through during our time at Thors your willingness to protect others no matter the cost did not go unnoticed by anyone. How you saved Machias and Jusis back during your second field exercises, how you killed that arachnid back in the highlands before it could harm Alisa and then protected her again in Roer and how you fought Crow in Heimdallr for the sake of protecting us. And there are so many more instances, Rean, of you stepping in to protect someone else during combat, looking to shield them regardless of what might befall you, more than I can count because you keep doing it still as we face even greater danger during this war. I found it admirable at first, there is nothing more noble than to risk one's life for the sake of others, so much so that I am ashamed to say that I became blind to see it as anything else. As your partner I should've seen it for what it truly was."

"Laura, I don't…" Rean shook his head in clear confusion. "What are you trying to say?"

"That I realize altruism is not the only thing that compels you."

He just stared back at her face and she looked so sad but he could not figure out what Laura meant.

"You can talk to me, Rean. It's okay, I won't judge you," her voice was small and reassuring as she reached for his hands but he recoiled, slightly flustered and confused.

"Laura, I don't have a clue about what you're talking about."

"Please, don't try to hide this from me," she pleaded.

"Seriously, I don't."

"I'm here for you, isn't that what this is all about? We share our problems with each other and-"

"But what problem do you think I have?"

Laura pursed her lips, trying to school her expression. Would he really continue to try to hide from her? Did he not trust her? No, that was the wrong way to go about it.

"Haven't we talked about this already, Rean? You can open up about your fears and insecurities with me, it doesn't make you weak. I'm not going to think less of you because of it."

Meanwhile, for Rean this had not been what he expected and he had absolutely no idea where it was going. "Laura, I know that I messed up today and I'm sorry that I almost hurt you, I really am. I was cocky and didn't think things through and things went south because of that but that had nothing to do with what you think it does."

"This isn't about that," Laura rubbed her forehead, feeling exasperated. She just wanted Rean to open up to her on his own terms, she had already prepared the ground for him, he just had to take the first step. She felt that doing so was an important step for him to truly unburden himself but he kept dodging the subject.

"Rean, please. Please, just be sincere with me."

"I am!"

The back and forth continued and frustration started to mount on both sides until it reached its boiling point.

"I get that you're upset, so just tell me already what you think it's wrong-"

"Why do you want to die!?"

That set of words put a complete halt on their argument. Stunned silent, Rean stared back at Laura, who was heaving with an anguished look on her face, and he couldn't comprehend where that had come from.

"W-what? What are you talking about, I… I don't…?"

Laura didn't need another moment to steel herself, once the floodgates were opened, she couldn't stop even if she tried. It was time to let everything out.

"I heard it, Rean, I heard it like a damn intrusive thought in my mind that day in Trista. When I saw that soldat sword about to crush you, all I could do was try to reach you, useless as it were in my despair I had to do something. But then I heard it… 'Dying doesn't sound so bad,' I heard your voice inside my head and it rocked me to my core. I didn't know what to think, I had no time to even reflect on it because then Valimar appeared and everything else that happened after it. Only after we left Trista and we had a moment of respite that I came back to it but I couldn't wrap my head around it. It didn't make any sense, it sounded ridiculous the more I thought about it, how could I possibly have heard you say anything back then?

"I considered it could be the result of our combat-links but the ARCUS units don't work that way, and even if they did, I asked Emma and Jusis neither of them experienced anything similar. So after a while I put it out of my mind, thinking it had simply been my mind playing tricks on me.

"And it didn't stop there, I was so ecstatic at our encounter at Legram, to see you and fight alongside you again that I completely pushed that thought away. It was absurd, I said to myself, because how could someone with such a fire in him wish for death? Someone who envisions a future with me?"

Laura bit her lips, holding back a sob, and Rean remained speechless. Not only was he having a hard time processing what she was saying, part of him simply felt terrible for making her worry.

"So I pushed that repulsive idea away from my mind, or rather I ran away from it. I told myself that I was worrying too much, that you would feel insulted if I brought it up and thus I chose to believe it had been my imagination, a delusion caused by watching your demise. But today I heard it again when we were fighting McBurn at the watchtower. It was clear as day: 'It doesn't matter if I die,' as if you were right next to me and I felt everything, Rean, every bit of self-loathing and sadness and anger you have within yourself and I-"

Rean watched as Laura's eyes got redder and wet and although she had been quick to catch it, a tear ran down her face, and all he could think of awful he had been to make her cry, to make her worry for him in this way. Why she felt that way was simply in second plan in his thoughts and maybe that should've clued in him on what she was trying to say.

"I talked to Elliot. When you saved him and his sister, you could've stopped that soldier in any number of ways that didn't involve you placing yourself on his line of fire. Just like those other times when you protected us, you threw yourself into danger as your first and only option."

"That's not what-"

"And when you fought Vulcan you refused to kill him until he threatened Angelica and her father but when you faced Scarlet, when she tried to only kill you, that wasn't enough motivation for you to fight back, was it?"

That stopped Rean from saying anything else and for the first time and to look back on those events, made him really consider his actions. It made him grimace.

"Please, Rean, please just help me understand so I can help you."

Silence fell upon the duo again, with Rean simply being incapable of looking his partner in the face. Laura had heard his inner thoughts? His very feelings? How was that even possible, not even Valimar could infiltrate his mind that way. Part of him wanted to deny it, to tell Laura she was hearing things, but he couldn't, not after her impassioned, desperate words. Not after he watched her cry.

"I… I don't want to die, Laura."

"Rean…"

Her doubt stung.

"I don't want to die, I really don't! It's not like I keep thinking about it, I'm not… suicidal. I don't operate on those terms and that's the truth, I promise. But…" He tensed, measuring his words. Was he really going to say it? To put it out there in the open for Laura something he had problems admitting even to himself? He owed her that much at least. "But if it happens, it happens, that's how I've faced most things, I guess. I can't tell you if I was thinking those exact words those times but looking back, maybe something like that might have crossed my mind at those moments because, well…"

"Because it really doesn't matter if I die," was left for Laura to complete in her mind and it horrified her. It didn't make any sense, how could he feel that way? Despite everything he had told her about how status as a noble and his ogre power affected his life, it couldn't possibly run that deeply.

"You can't mean that."

"Why not?" He shrugged noncommittally with a bitter smile, still avoiding her gaze.

"How can you say that? You have a family that has done nothing but accept and love you, you were trained by one of the greatest swordmasters in the world, you have dozens of friends you enjoy spending time with. And what about us? You can't possibly say our time together so far hasn't meant anything to you."

"You're right, I'm pretty lucky to have such a good life."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Laura quickly put a hand to her mouth, realizing she sounded like she was making light of Rean's issues. "I didn't mean to imply you have it easy. I know how you feel about yourself, but-"

"My life is pretty great and I'm lucky to have so many people care for me despite how much of a burden I am to them."

"Rean, you are not a burden."

"So if I die protecting someone at least there's value in that."

That sent a shiver down her spine and made a pit on the bottom of her stomach. It rapidly filled Laura with such anger and heartache, so strong and overpowering, that they took over her actions and her hand flew up, a slap cutting across his cheek, echoing loudly in the dead silence of the night.

It was a mere fraction of Laura's true strength but it stung all the same, and under her incensed gaze, Rean could only keep his head down.

"Don't you dare say such a thing ever again!" She shouted, louder than she ever had, heedless of anything else around them. "After everything your parents said to you, after everything we've been through together, what makes you think your life doesn't have value? How can you still not understand how much you matter to all of us… How much… How much I love you!?"

Those words, words that were meant to fill someone with joy and warmth were received as anything but. Instead, they were like a spear embedded straight into Rean's chest, at that moment filling him with dread and confusion, and he took a step back.

Laura recognized what was about to happen because she had seen it before, on that day at his home when Rean was talking to his parents, and she decided that no, that was not going to happen again. He was not running away, not from this, they were going to face it and deal with it right at that moment. Quickly she took a hold of his wrist before he could take another step.

More ashamed than ever, Rean could not muster the strength to fight against her hold. He clamed up, squeezing his eyes shut and hands balling into fists as he struggled with the surge of emotions bubbling inside of him.

"Like you said, my life is great but it comes at the cost of everyone else's. Just look at it, Laura," he finally looked at her, eyes red with anguish. "My parents got ostracized by others for taking me in, insults, gossip and rumors thrown at them. My mother's family scorned her after they heard of my adoption, tried to convince her and my father to give me up and when that didn't work, they tried to convince her to divorce him! Just by being there I almost ruined that family.

"But that is not enough, I have some curse or sickness or Aidios knows what that I can barely contain that turns me into a monster and no matter how much I train I know one day my control will slip away and I'll do something I can't take back. I almost did today when I attacked you. And you want to talk about that day in Trista? It was my fault we were in that situation to begin with because I was the one who ran away from his responsibilities!"

Laura recoiled and clear confusion displayed on her face. "What?"

"When Emma told me about the Divine Knights she said we should go get Valimar as fast as possible but I refused it, I said I didn't want to be involved in any of that and even threatened to expose her to everyone else in case she kept pushing me. I knew she was right because I could hear Valimar calling me, I even had visions of Emperor Dreichels, Lianne Sandlot and the War of the Lions, and I knew it was important and I still ran away because… Because I felt happy."

"Oh Rean…"

That broke Laura and it weakened her grip on Rean's wrist enough for him to pull his arm free. But he wasn't going to run away, not anymore.

"I felt happy with my life for the first time in years and I didn't want to do something that would ruin that. I didn't want to risk going away from my friends and you. Remember what you said during the final trial of the schoolhouse? 'We are here, right now, with the ability to do something about it and as such we cannot sit idly by.' Well, I had the ability to do something about it, I was the only one who could, but I didn't and all of you were dragged into that trial and you and everyone else almost got killed.

"I backed down because I cared more about our concert and the dance and being with you and feeling good about myself. My selfishness put us in those situations, if Scarlet had killed me it would've been my just deserts."

"You can't mean that, Rean," she tried to tell him, but her words were unheeded.

"And if I had stepped up to my duty earlier, maybe I could've stopped Crow from killing the Chancellor and avoided this whole war, then none of you would have been caught up in this mess. My dad wouldn't have been shot and Elise wouldn't have been kidnapped and Celdic wouldn't have been attacked and nobody would've died and… I ruin everything. I don't know why I thought it would have been different with Thors, that I could change and become a better person or that I could become a bracer and stay with you, eventually I would've ruined that too. I guess I forgot that's what I do.

"I've been selfish, a coward and a terrible friend. Look at all this evidence, Laura, look at everything that happened because of me and tell me I'm worth anything. So at least if I die saving someone I can make up for a fraction of what I did."

"Stop it, stop saying things like that, Rean!" Her hands held him by the shoulders, desperately shaking him as if that would somehow make her words stick. "What do you think the rest of us would be doing right now if you weren't here?"

"You should've been Valimar's Awakener. You're smarter, stronger. You would have treated him well right from the beginning."

"You don't have to make up for your existence or your feelings. You've made mistakes, sure, but everyone does, nobody is perfect, and it doesn't mean you deserve to-"

"And you want the truth? You want me to be sincere!?" Angrily, Rean batted her hands away, stepping away from Laura's reach. "Well, here's the whole damn truth, Rean Schwarzer is nothing but a stupid, insecure kid who has been pretending to be someone he is not! Who acted confident and cool when he was anything but, just so people would like him! All this time he's been running away from who he used to be but as it became abundantly clear, he never could. The truth is that…" His voice cracked. "The truth is that you fell for a lie."

It was then that it finally clicked for Laura, the day of their duel at the old schoolhouse before the festival, what his words had truly meant.

"I don't think I've been honest about anything from the moment I set foot in Thors."

She finally had it, the final piece of the puzzle of Rean Schwarzer that she didn't even know she was missing. It forced her to recontextualize everything she knew about him, from his sometimes erratic behavior back in Thors and the doubt in his sword during those early days, to everything he repressed about himself, the jokes and masks that had been hiding more than she originally thought and even why Crow's betrayal angered him the way it did.

And she didn't know what to say.

And neither did Rean. Now with everything out in the open like that, both were emotionally exhausted and unsure about what to do. Things would have ended in silence but then came the reminder that they weren't alone.

"I said I've had enough of this!"

Their attention was drawn by Jusis' voice, who came in stopping his feet angrily at Rean's direction, and before either of them could properly react, the young Albarea threw a punch that sent Rean to the ground. Under any other circumstances he might have been able to dodge it or even if he hadn't, it shouldn't have knocked him down the way he did but he couldn't muster fighting back.

"Jusis!"

"You dared look me in the eye and tell me straight to my face that I shouldn't blame myself for my family's actions, all the while you've been carrying all of this?" The blond angrily yelled with an accusatory finger pointed at Rean.

Laura was quick to come in-between them, pushing Jusis away before coming to Rean's aid or at least she tried to, because as soon as she reached to help him get up she stopped herself, as both felt a chasm stood between them now. Instead, they turned their gazes back to Jusis, now being held back by Gaius and Machias.

"You're the most self-centered person I've met in my life! You honestly believe you could've stopped this war by yourself!? What nonsense!"

"Jusis, come on, that's enough," Machias tried to calm him down.

"Do you really think you're so special that every problem in the world rests on your shoulders? That everything stops if you aren't there to make it work? Who do you think you are, Rean Schwarzer!?"

Each word spoken by his friend struck Rean like a much heavier punch than the one he had thrown and as his eyes picked on the movement next to him and Laura, his mind finally caught up to the fact that, oh right, everyone else was there. Looking at him. Looking down at him.

"So I was right. You risked yourself for us and you didn't even need to," said a forlorn Elliot. Next to him were Fie, Millium, Alisa and Emma, looking just as miserable.

"How… How long have you guys been here?" He asked.

Surprisingly, Millium stepped up to answer. "I thought you guys were going to fight so I was ready to jump in and diffuse it Millium-style but then Laura yelled that thing about you wanting to…" She grimaced, the girl a far cry from her usual self.

"We all picked up on you guys yelling soon after that," Alisa said regretfully. "We didn't want to sneak on you two but we got worried."

Behind them, Rean saw Sara with a hand covering her face.

Everyone was there and they had heard everything he had said, had bore witness as he exposed the weakest side of his.

Now what?

Author's notes: So, I've been gearing up for this for a while now. We've finally reached the point where Rean's mask falls and it couldn't be any other way but as a complete and utter mess.

This has been sitting on my drafts since the days of Part 1, with Laura initially hearing Rean's thoughts way back when they fought C in the Heimdallr catacombs but that felt way too soon for something that would only be brought back now. So this has been the plan for quite some time but still took a while to get out because having most of it written didn't make putting all the pieces together easy.

I haven't been subtle with the fact Laura had heard Rean's thoughts back in Trista and honestly, I could've brought it up more gracefully. That's one thing I'm not super content with because foreshadowing is much harder than you think at first, but it had to happen because I couldn't just spring that out of nowhere. It had to build upon small portions throughout the story so it could blow up all at once.

Their talk isn't supposed to be nice and well thoughout. It's a mess because neither of them is ready to face it and it's scary and confusing. Laura doesn't get it because why would she? She never heard of depression, they don't have psychiatrists in Erebonia, and she learned all of this through a bizarre ARCUS malfunction that slammed Rean's entire self-loathing onto her mind. She experienced some of the darkest thoughts of a person she loves and it rattled her. But still, she tries her best to get Rean to open up at first but Rean himself doesn't fully understand his own feelings either and it feels like he's dodging the subject and everything boils over.

As for the ARCUS malfunction and how that happened, I'm going to be honest, it's going to be explained but it's not super important. It only exists so we can have this moment.