"So... what exactly was that earlier?"

Shulk was sat with Reyn around a camp fire, which they had found along the path to the Bionis leg, and they were cooking some bunnit meat which they'd been lucky enough to find. It wasn't the most exciting dinner, but it tasted good enough.

Shulk listened to the meat begin to sizzle and, after a moment, he just asked." What do you mean?" Though, he already had an idea of what Reyn wanted to discuss. They hadn't talked about it so far, with the two of them being too tired to care, but they finally had some time to rest so it was as good a time as any to chat.

Reyn didn't look sure how to respond to that, so he just said." You know, back at the cave. The Monado turned into a shield, since when could it do that?"

Shulk was genuinely surprised by that answer, and apparently it showed on his face. Reyn responded, almost defensively." Hey, I can be curious when I want. I just think it's cool is all."

He very nearly questioned Reyn on why he wasn't talking about the act of extreme violence he'd committed, but held his tongue and just decided to move past that particular topic.

"That's because it can't, or at least I thought it couldn't... but apparently the Monado is even more complicated than I thought. I'll need to test it out later, see if it can only turn into a shield."

Reyn looked amused at my words, even commenting." Good old Shulk. No matter how badass, you'll always be a nerd at heart won't you?"

Shulk snorted at that." And you'll always have my back, no matter how strong I get. Even in my visions you always put me before yourself." Immediately after he said that, he felt the mood in the air drop.

Reyn frowned, carefully considering my words." Hey... what do you mean by 'even in your visions'? Did you see something? Was it during the battle? Is that why you rushed in like that to save me?"

Shulk cursed his slip up, but was also surprised with Reyn." You picked up on that?"

Reyn nodded." Of course I did. So, what exactly did you see?"

He was surprised by Reyn's perception. At first he seemed like a bit of a meathead, but he was definitely keener than he let on. That didn't bode well for him.

After a moment, Shulk answered once he took a deep breath." I-I saw you die, Reyn, back at Tephra Cave. You pushed me out of the way to save me, and that massive spider got to you. I saw you get impaled through the chest and bleed out... and all I could do was watch."

Reyn surprisingly showed little reaction to his words, staring at the fire with an intense look in his eyes as he muttered." Thanks."

Shulk looked hummed at that, so Reyn repeated himself." Thank you for saving my life, alright. Even if it didn't happen, I would be dead right now if it weren't for you. And I'm sorry that you had to see me die, that couldn'ta' been easy for you."

After those words, a heavy silence weighed down on the two of them. The only sound daring to interrupt being the cooking meat, which looked about done. So, Shulk took it off the fire and handed out a portion for both himself and Reyn, making sure to save some for later when they got hungry by storing it away.

"Hey, Reyn?" He spoke, finally breaking the silence.

Once the auburn haired young man looked up, Shulk just gave him a smile and said." You're a good friend."

Reyn looked away, probably trying to conceal his true feelings with smug words." Yeah, I know I am."

When Rex opened his eyes, he looked upwards to the clouds, briefly wondering why the sky was so cloudy, but just looking downwards was enough to make him shrug off all his drowsiness.

His leg was caught loosely in a bundle of vines, and he was dangling by his right leg with the cloud sea... a very long way below. Then again, the tide on Gormott usually was low during Amalthatober.

Rex felt some surprise, not sure exactly how he knew that, but wasn't given time to ponder on the thought as the vines holding him shifted dangerously, making him let out a yelp of surprise!

Yeah, he should probably have been putting his thoughts where they were needed.

Rex ceased all movement, trying not to make any hasty moves, as he analysed the situation.

He was surrounded by dense vegetation, the air almost suffocatingly humid, and the Cloud sea was spread out into the horizon in front of him. He had a hunch about his location, and if he was right, there would be a swamp right behind him.

Trying to ignore the concerning creaking sounds the vines made whenever he budged the slightest inch, Rex turned his head around and pointed his arm above where he dangled helplessly and focused as he aimed his anchor shot at a sturdy looking branch.

Missing could have meant death, but he had been practicing for... well not him, but it might as well have been.

He pulled the trigger and the metal line of the hook sped forward like a bullet, flying in a beautiful arc as it pierced right through the intended branch and out the other end.

Rex grinned to himself. Now he'd be able to-

His thoughts were cut off as he let out an involuntary yelp, the vines holding him losing their loose hold, causing him to plummet down below until his anchor kicked in and he perfectly swung forward and expertly backflipped into a flawless landing... not.

The branch which his anchor pierced proved to be less sturdy than it looked since it snapped when he was nearing the peak of his arc. This sent him flying forward at an angle that definitely wasn't ideal. He slammed onto the muddy ground full force, feeling something in his wrist shift from the impact, and rolled to an ungraceful halt on the saturated ground of the jungle.

Rex groaned." Okay, not too ba-argh!" He spoke to himself, but cried out in pain when he tried to push himself up, his hand feeling like it was on fire. He pulled his hand away, grimacing when he noticed that his hand was flipped the wrong way round.

To say it was bad for him would be an understatement. He was at the bottom of the Gormotti Titan with nobody to fight off monsters in his place, since he couldn't battle as effectively with his wrist twisted like a rope.

However, his worries proved themselves to be unnecessary since the pain in his hand started to recede.

Rex felt a light tingle on his chest, though that went mostly ignored as he watched on with fascination as his wrist started to shift itself back into place, a soft green glow passing over the limb, and within a moment his hand was completely healed. No trace of his injuries remained.

He was mesmerised as he rose to his feet, only breaking out of it when he felt a tug on other hand. Rex noticed that his anchor was still embedded in the branch which had fallen onto the ground, so he yanked it out with a simple tug, the sharp weapon retracting back into it's shooter.

He stared at his healed arm, checking it over for injuries, only to find none. Rex still couldn't believe that he'd healed himself. What had caused it?

Placing a hand above where his heart was, Rex felt a low hum and beat, not dissimilar from a heart's. Well, he supposed that was a stupid question, the core in his chest was definitely the culprit.

The realisation of what that meant made Rex dizzy. He supposed that meant he had powers, though was it limited to simply healing, or could he do anything more than that?

A series of low hisses made Rex react on instinct, hopping forward as he rotated his body around to stare his enemy in the eye, and he was greeted by the sight of a four dog sized lizards, each one of them staring at him with aggression.

He reached behind him, only to curse internally when he grabbed nothing. He'd left the Aegis sword with Pyra, and his scrap sword was discarded on the ship, so he was completely unarmed.

Well, not completely.

One of the reptiles snarled and lunged at him, causing Rex to grit his teeth as he aimed his anchor shot at the lizard and pull the trigger. Like hell were a few damned lizards gonna be what ends him!

The anchor proved itself to be quite sharp. It pierced cleanly through the animal's head like it was nothing, killing them instantly. Another appeared by his side, biting forward to plunge their razor-sharp teeth into his arm, but he shut them down by uppercutting them and throwing them into another one of the beasts.

Retracting his anchor, he was taken by surprise when one appeared behind him and tried to bite into his leg, but he kicked them away just in time to notice a lizard jumping right for his face. But, they were stopped when he reached out his hand and a comb-like yellow shield appeared in front of him that dazed his opponent.

He faltered for a moment, surprised by the appearance of the shield, but the barrier shattered a moment later, after he took notice. Reacting quickly, he stomped on the lizard's head, ending their life.

Pushing his thoughts away as the final two charged at him. He once again fired his anchor into one of their throats and ended them, before quickly grabbing the final enemy by the face and threw them onto the ground before stomping on their fragile neck.

Rex took a moment to examine his surroundings, noting that he was alone and nobody else was in sight. Which meant he must've dropped off somewhere different from in the game. That... was concerning, but he supposed it only made sense for things not to be exactly 1 to 1.

The forestry was familiar for him. A few Bright Fliers were in the area along with some Brog, that thankfully hadn't noticed him, so he was definitely still in the lower area of Gormott.

He wasn't familiar with this Titan, but he knew that the entire area would be beneath the clouds if he didn't hurry up and find the others soon. He wasn't familiar with the Cloud Tides of Gormott, so he could have anywhere from days to hours to find his way upwards.

Rex had never personally been on Gormott, the only references he has being a few Gormotti salvagers back at Argentum, so he had no idea what the terrain was like, and which way he needed to head. They'd always talk about the Continental Titan being full of fields and lakes, so maybe he-

Rex felt his head pulse slightly, making him grunt as he tried his best to let the memories flow through him, and within a moment he composed himself and began to walk through the forest.

Suddenly, a Brog jump out in front of him, aggressively sneering with hunger in it's gaze.

"You've got to be joking!" He groaned, getting into a running stance as he prepared to give the oversized toad the slip, only for a sudden jab in his ankle to make him falter, creating a barrier out of instinct; which blocked a blast of gunk which the creature had ejected from it's mouth. He cursed internally.

He didn't have the time for this!

Pyra dematerialised her sword, taking a moment to appreciate the trail of monsters she'd left in her wake. It was nice to know she was able to dispatch such monsters so easily, especially considering why she was created.

Frowning at the thought, Pyra noticed that her sister wasn't awake, and had zero intention of waking up. Content to let her take the front seat whilst she slept soundly.

She shook her head. She shouldn't have such thoughts, besides, she needed to find Rex.

Placing a hand on her Core Crystal, she reached into their affinity and noticed that their bond was getting a bit stronger than last she checked. That was good, it meant that he was getting closer to her, or she was getting closer to him. She just needed to follow their affinity link.

Pyra frowned as she noticed something. Data was missing from her Core. That wasn't surprising, her sister had taken away a lot of her powers as an Aegis when she was born, such as her power to control Siren. However, her non-combative abilities were unaffected, she should still have her information on Blades and Titans.

Yet, it was missing. It's not that it was erased, or blocked by her sister, but it was simply... gone.

Pyra felt her Core pulse and she realised what it was. She had to give Rex part of her Core Crystal to revive him, but she hadn't thought through the ramifications of that arrangement. She'd lost the inner part of her core, the outer remaining, so she'd lost whatever data that was held inside that half. The half that belonged to Rex.

Deep inside her, a flicker of light stirred with unease at Pyra's thoughts, but went back to sleep just a second later.

Pyra felt some annoyance, but let it go a second later. She could find out the consequences of losing half her Core later, at the moment, she just needed to find her Driver.

Following her affinity link, Pyra winced slightly when pain flared up in her ankle. Looking down, she could feel that her ankle was still bruised from when it was hit in her earlier battle.

Blades aren't meant to feel minor injuries like that, which only meant she wasn't healing as fast as she should have.

Drawing into her ether reserves, she focused to will her injury to heal itself, which it did, but the results were insultingly slow.

She frowned. Her ether reserves might not have been massive, unlike her sister who didn't even seem to run on ether at times, but a bruise was an infinitesimal thing to heal. Was her missing Core slowing down her regeneration somehow?

Great. She was already leagues below her sister, but now she'd been made even weaker!

Pyra sighed but continued on her goal of locating her Driver regardless. Looking around, she tried to look into her Core Crystal on instinct to find out which Titan she was on, but remembered she didn't have that ability anymore, so she could only deduce that she was on... Gormott? It certainly was green enough, and the Titan was still young when she was last here five hundred years ago. When her sister was anyway.

Mor Ardain might have been gone, the Titan was thousands of years old last she was there, and it was simply impossible for it to ever house this much forestry. Uraya was too rocky. Torna might have, but, well... it didn't exist anymore.

The thought made her Core swell with guilt and despair. Feelings which weren't her's, yet she was met with an onslaught of painful memories. Those of Malos wiping out Auresco with nothing with a swing of his sword, the roar of Ophion as it sunk beneath the clouds, and faint flickers of a golden eyed boy as she destroyed Malos' Siren, him still inside as he let out a soul-shattering scream with her sister's name on his tongue.

Malos... he wasn't meant to be alive. Her sister destroyed him, sent him flying to the Cloud Sea's depths, it just wasn't possible for him to be alive.

Pyra couldn't bitterly wonder if it even meant anything that day. Malos might have been weakened, but he was still alive. All that destruction, all that death... only for him to still live on.

"Dromarch, Wild Roar!"

Pyra was torn away from her despairing memories when she heard the cry of a familiar Gormotti girl, Nia if she wasn't wrong, and her tiger-like Blade who were fighting off a group of Gogol.

They appeared to be holding their own since they had no visible injuries, though that was likely because of the healing Blade since Nia's jumpsuit was torn in multiple places, but she doubted that they could actually slay them all on their lonesome efficiently.

Nia threw her Twin-Rings over her head and towards her Blade, who shone with built up Water ether as his weapons lined up and floated in front of his face.

When he roared Pyra had to cover her ears as several Gogol were sent flying from the attack, though they weren't quite finished yet.

Pyra joined the fight letting a few balls of fire loose that scorched the hide of a Gogol that was coming at an unarmed Nia from the side, before jumping forward and summoning her sword, slashing upwards to finish the beast off.

"Fancy seeing you ere'!" Nia commented as Dromarch passed back her Twin Rings and targeted one of the apes as she drew upon her Blade's ether." Butterfly Blade!"

The Art did it's job, with the girl cutting three consecutive times and sliced into the flesh of the monster as though it were butter. Blood spattered onto the ground before the beast fell.

"Greetings, I am Dromarch, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance!" The Tiger yelled, maintaining his manners even as he pounced on top of a Gogol and bit into their neck.

Pyra responded with a slight smile, appreciating his manners." Nice to meet you too. My name is Pyra. Prominence Revolt!" She jumped up, feeling her ether reserves ebb as she slammed her sword into the ground and unleashed a pillar of fire that burned two of the Gogol alive, leaving just two left.

"Well, so long as we're doin' introductions, I'm Nia. Gemini Loop!" The Gormotti girl surprised Nia when she used another Art, one that appeared to be two upwards slashes coated in water ether, and she had enough strength to cleanly slash the beast in half. Her strength surprised Pyra, even if boosted by the power of affinity, a human girl shouldn't have that sort of strength.

Pyra ignored that, choosing to finish off the last of their enemies as the Gogol tried to rise. She held her sword forwards, orange flames building up as she did a full 360 degree slash.

"Flame Nova!"

After a howl of pain, the last of the monsters were gone and they were given a moment to breathe.

Pyra banished her sword as she turned to face Nia, who's jumpsuit was torn in multiple places including the area just below... her neck.

The redheaded woman was shocked when she noticed the Core Crystal in Nia's chest. It was blue and red with blotches of pink, and it shone like a dimmed light. Pyra could remember Minoth's Core Crystal looked much the same, the Core of a Flesh Eater.

Nia tilted her head, as though she were confused, but when she followed her eyes to her chest she looked horrified, covering her chest with both hands as she began to inch away from Pyra.

After a moment, she stopped staring, averting her eyes out of respect. Nia was quite obviously self-conscious about her identity, so it would have been best if she gave her some-

Nia, much to her surprise, glared at Pyra with a hostile look in her eyes, as though she were daring her to say something, though before either of them could say anything the forest began to shake and a familiar Titan flew down in front of them, toppling trees over in his wake.

"Azurda, you're alright?!" Pyra asked the old Titan, feeling immense surprise at the sight of him remaining uninjured despite the amount of artillery fire he took from Malos' ship. But, when she saw her Driver crawl off his back, her mind was elsewhere.

He hummed, sounding quite pleased as he spoke." Of course I am, a few little bombs won't be enough to put me down. It's been quite a while hasn't it, Pyra."

She nodded, not noticing the way Nia seemed to be panicking as she covered her Core and tried to stretch her jumpsuit over the hole in her outfit.

Rex jumped down from Azurda's back, mud smearing his outfit but otherwise he looked fine, and he didn't linger too long on Nia who was trying to cover herself as he turned to her, relief clear in his eyes.

She had to admit, it was a surprise that he was... older all of a sudden. When she first met him he seemed... odd to her. He didn't seem to react much to his death, as though he didn't care. He also seemed amazed, and a little bit awkward. She had to remind herself he was still technically a boy, but he certainly didn't look like one. He must've gained a whole foot, since before he was shorter than her.

He had a serious expression on his face, pointing to his chest as he said. "Pyra, it's great to see you again. I kinda need to talk to you about something."