Chapter 18: Never as Simple as it Seems

A/N: Are snacks negotiable if they aren't there?

Mòrag waited dutifully on the right hand of the Ardainian throne where Emperor Niall sat. Her hands remained locked in a parade rest behind her back as the Senators filed out for a short recess. The emergency session had been called in a hurry, so though a few Ardainian senators absent from the capital were not yet present, she had no doubt they would be in the coming days.

Aegaeon - stood as constant as the tides - on the left of the throne of the emperor, a calming presence from the flurry of debate that had been the proceeds of the meeting. Outrage at her failed attempt to capture the Aegis, the ramifications of how this would affect their tenuous ceasefire with Uraya, Brionac's recent silence and a multitude of other topics.

Brighid currently was absent, officially to handle a matter that had cropped up near the beginning of the meeting. Mòrag would not be surprised if she used part of the time to begin her own investigation into her journal. She momentarily closed her eyes as the last of the senators finally left. Exhaustion pricked at her mind, but she steeled herself against it.

"Sister," Niall began gently, and she opened her eyes, "you know that you need not stay any longer that you have relayed your report about Torna, the Aegis and her Driver."

"I am aware that my duty in this is done, your majesty," Mòrag responded carefully. The report given to the Ardainian Senate was more or less the same briefing given to Niall before the meeting began.

"Do you have more to add? If you have any additional insights outside of your report, I would be more than happy to hear them."

She hesitated, considering. "Circumstantial evidence seems plain to suggest that the Aegis and her Driver are colluding with Torna, and that Lora was a member of their ranks before resonating."

"You said as much to the senate."

She nodded. "Yes, but the more I think on it, the more it sticks in my mind. The evidence is just that: circumstantial."

Aegaeon's hand drew to his chin. "What are you suggesting? That there may be dissension in their ranks?"

"True unity is rare in any terrorist group," Mòrag mused. "I would be more surprised if there was not any infighting between their members. Assuming it wasn't a lie or misdirection, it appears clear that the Aegis and her Driver are aiming for Elysium."

Aegaeon nodded. "Considering it was their organization that awakened her, it would logically follow that the rest of Torna is united in that goal at least."

"Yes," Mòrag agreed. "For the time being, I believe that to be the case. However…" She paused, deliberating her words carefully. "When I fought against Lora, her strikes weren't aiming to kill, merely buying time to escape. She was…holding back in that way. The same holds true with the others of my unit that she fought in the skirmish on the main floor. Injured, but alive."

Niall let out a thoughtful hum. "So you believe she might be able to be reasoned with?"

Mòrag considered it. "Given the right circumstances, possibly. With the impression I believe I left with her, it may be difficult to approach her and the Aegis without conflict. More so if the other members of Torna present. "

"For the safety of the empire," Aegaeon advised, "it is imperative that we discover why the Aegis and her Driver seek Elysium. For once, the senate is in agreement: we cannot allow Torna to act unhindered on our soil, especially with the Aegis and her Driver present."

A thoughtful expression seemed to sneak onto Niall's face. "Not officially, no."

Mòrag's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying, your majesty? That we allow them to run rampant without action on our part?"

"You are aware of the legends of the Aegis war." It was not a question. Of course she did. "If we are not careful, there's no telling what destruction we might unleash upon our nation. So, perhaps instead of throwing our forces at capturing the Aegis and her Driver, why not negotiate with them?"

"Negotiate?" Aegaeon crossed his arms disapprovingly, skepticism lacing his voice. "With terrorists? That sets a dangerous precedent."

"Not with terrorists, no," Niall clarified with a sly twinkle in his eye. The same kind of look that he got as he was growing up that told her mischief was afoot. "With the Aegis and her Driver. Officially, we would still aim to capture them of course, and if a negotiation fails, we can resume that course of action."

"As I said," Mòrag briskly reminded him, "I do not know how she would react to coming into contact with me again."

"Perhaps if she was approached by someone without your…commanding presence, she would be more amenable to discussion. Whether you go in disguise, or send another, I will leave the particulars to you." He smiled, and Mòrag knew the matter was settled.

She dipped her head. "Very well, your majesty."

"Excellent. Would you have time to join me for lunch before the senatorial session resumes?"

"Ah, looks like he's coming 'round."

Rex groaned, blinking rapidly, blurry vision slowly clearing. He rubbed his eyes, netting him little eyeball crusties, which he flicked away. When he moved his hand away, Azurda came into view, leaning over him, grassy mane framing his face as his piercing yellow eyes shone with worry.

"Azurda," Rex tried to say as he sat up, though it came out more as a cough. His Blade handed him a glass of water, which he drank, eagerly.

"Thank goodness Rex-Rex is alive!"

Swallowing, Rex looked past the foot of the bed he was on - noting briefly that he seemed to be in some sort of medical facility - to see the familiar shining eyes of Tora and Poppi. Tora was holding a half-eaten bun filled with what looked like some sort of lentil paste. His stomach growled at the thought of food, but he ignored it for now.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"Rex-Rex kidding, right?" Tora began hopping up and down, a mixture of excitement and worry covering his face. "After hearing about confrontation from last night, Tora so worried that Tora could barely sleep!"

"Though all-nighters often in line with masterpon's typical sleep schedule, nearly all of time was spent worrying before collapsing of exhaustion." Poppi shook her head in a sort of exaggeratedly exasperated way. "Masterpon even skipped free breakfast to come see Rex first. This clear sign of approval and favoritism. Poppi believes Rex-rex have no family to visit him in Mor Ardain, so masterpon have idea to come visit in their stead."

"So as soon as Tora woke up," the Nopon continued, "Tora and Poppi come to see if Rex-rex was alright. And Tora get here just in time too to see friend wake up!"

Rex grinned sheepishly, "Aw, thank you guys. And sorry. I didn't mean to worry you all that much."

Walking closer, Tora peered expectantly at him, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "So…" the Nopon cleared his throat in a deliberate, awkward sort of way, "what was Rex-rex's fight with Aegis and Driver like? What was power of Bladiest Blade like?

Blinking in confusion, Rex tilted his head. "Bladiest Blade? What do you mean?"

"That what word around street is saying, that Rex-rex and Mòrag fight with Aegis and her friends! People in street saw flames leap up from rooftop near Jakalo Inn! Heard and felt landslide too!"

Rex shifted on the bed uneasily. "That's…not what happened. Or, I guess there were flames, and a landslide, but it was Mòrag who fought them. Pyra and Lora, the Aegis and her Driver, I mean, but I…" he trailed off.

His mind turned back to memories of the last night. The conviction in Lora and Pyra's voices, Mòrag shouting at him to not go after Torna, being batted aside like a toy by Mikhail, the pain in Nia's eyes as she drove him and Azurda back into the hot spring.

"Rex-Rex?"

"She…Nia," Rex started, uncertain for a moment. But no, when he stopped and really thought about it, it was true. "No, they all had…pain. I could see it. In their eyes."

Poppi tilted her head at his statement. "Torna member's eyes were hurting?"

"Er, not physical pain, but pain that comes from here." He tapped his heart. "Different types for each of them, sure, but it was there."

There was a part of him that was…angry about it. Even though in the back of his mind he knew that nothing was simple, there was a small, angry part of himself had hoped that maybe Torna were just simple terrorists.

"Those 'psychopaths' happen to be the closest thing to a real family I have!"

But having talked to each of them - Nia on the ill fated voyage to recover the Ancient Ship, Mikhail over the course of that salvage run, and hearing Lora and Pyra's conviction in the Jakolo Inn - he knew, even though he didn't understand why, that all of them were hurting.

"What would you and your stupid idealistic nonsense know about pain?"

That, in the end, they were people. People whose choices, influenced by the state of Alrest, lead them to where they were. He quashed the anger as best he could.

As if reading his thoughts, Azurda hummed lightly, considering. "Though I suppose I may not be the best source of information, I imagine none of them decided to become terrorists on a whim."

Nia's words echoed in his head and he shook it lightly. "No. People aren't that simple."

"Rex-rex feel sorry for them?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still want to punch their stupid faces." Especially Malos. How could he not, after witnessing his wanton slaughter of the Maelstrom's crew, after seeing Jin and Nia's complacency in the act. "It's just…sad, I guess. I don't understand them, Torna."

As the conversation dwindled into other topics and a nurse brought in a meal for Rex and Azurda - part of which ended up going to Tora - throughout the rest of Tora and Poppi's stay, a question lingered in the back of his mind.

Why did Torna want to go to Elysium?

"This really is a shame."

The sound of the voice stirred Mikhail. He wished it hadn't, as he was immediately greeted with pain so horrible that he couldn't bring himself to move, let alone cry out. It didn't take long for him to remember why he was in so much pain.

A core crystal.

The idea of shoving a core crystal into someone had never occurred to Mikhail before that man did it to him, him and dozens of others. The pain still pulsed out of sync with his heart, sending a fire underneath his skin; a second beat. Ever present.

He wanted to whimper in pain, wanted to cry out for Lora, for Jin or Haze. But Haze was gone, returned to her core like other Blades do. And the only time he knew that happened was when the Driver died.

'Starting today, we'll be your new family,' Lora had told him.

But his family was gone.

How long had it been? Everything had been a haze since that day.

"A shame? How do you mean?"

It was another voice, and he recognized the accent, though he wished he didn't. Both of those voices were Indoline. Or, maybe they were Blades? But that seems unlikely.

There was a sigh from the first voice, and a mechanism whispered as it started running. Light filtered in from beyond his clenched eyelids. The whine is the noise of a hatch opening. He…didn't know how he knew that so instinctively.

The core pulsed and his skin burned.

"They could have been something special. Now, they're nothing but refuse to be dumped out like trash. So it goes, I guess."

The other voice grunted in a noncommittal way, but it was tinged with regret.

Through the haze of pain, Mikhail finally remembered why he was here. They were going to dump him, him and every other Tornan refugees they'd taken in. The thought of it made Mikhail's empty stomach churn.

Only a handful of others had been 'successes,' with implanted core crystals of their own. They clung to each other in any way that they could, but it didn't matter. One by one they died.

Cellular rejection, mutation, loss of motor function. There had been other phrases he heard, but none of them really meant much to Mikhail.

To him, someone already closed in on himself, he shut down a little more with each death. Shut down so much that the guards reported him as brain-dead. A part of him knew he wasn't, but in some ways he might as well be. He just wanted the pain to stop.

Before long, all of the "successes" were gathered and taken to a ship. This ship.

"Are we really doing this?" It was the second voice again, they still sounded conflicted.

"They're dead."

"I know that, but…"

"It's better send off than they would have gotten. Besides, when you can't afford a burial plot, you return them to the sea of clouds from which all life is born."

"Well, yeah. But it's still…"

"So the last three trips were fine? Look, if you can't stomach it any more, get out of the way so we can do our job."

The second voice retreated, muttering under their breath. He felt someone pick him up, and Mikhail let out a groan as the light grew brighter end behind his clenched eyes. Everything had felt too bright since that day.

"Hold up," the second voice calls, "I think that boy is still alive."

"Our orders were to dump them all, same as the last ones. Besides, he's as good as dead as the rest of them."

"But he's still alive. Surely you can't just- wait, no!"

Mikhail heard a struggle, getting closer. The sound of a gun. He felt a shock go through him as he was abruptly dropped back onto the hard, unforgiving metal.

He pried his eyes open in time to see the eyes of the Indoline that had been carrying him unfocus and go still on the floor beside him. Eyes like glass. It's not the first time he's seen a dead body. Lora had found him as the only survivor in a burnt out village after all. But he still didn't like it.

Even though everything hurt, he rolled away from it, unwilling to face that right now. But he kept rolling end over end as gravity overtook him, taking him down a ramp. He caught sight of alternating glimpses of the too-bright light of the moon and three people caught in a struggle.

"No!" It was the voice that had protested.

Suddenly, there wasn't anything left to roll on, and he began to fall. He caught a glimpse of a horrified looking Indoline man standing on the edge of the ramp. A moment later, the image is replaced by the unforgivingly bright sight of the moon as he rolled over in the air.

But the image of the man - the horror, the shame stuck on a gaping face stuck in his mind, and a spark of something ignited within him, burning past the pain of the core crystal in his chest.

Anger. He clung to that.

Without any fanfare, the Cloud Sea swallowed him.

"So. You're terrorists."

Mikhail's hands momentarily froze in the midst of assembling what he could for the Marsanes from the parts he obtained from the capital. He could practically feel Lora boring a hole into his back with her eyes. "Good evening to you too."

"Please don't stall."

"You know, most of the time, people at least say hello before starting a conversation."

"Mikhail."

Mikhail set down the parts and sighed. He'd been dreading this conversation ever since they'd escaped the "brightly burning" inquisitor. He turned his head to see Lora giving him a look with equal parts anger, confusion and disappointment, all tied up with an earnest bow. Internally, some buried part of him cowered, but he shrugged it off and simply turned to fully face her, leaning back against the makeshift table and raising an eyebrow.

Past her and out of earshot in their makeshift shelter of a dusty old mining camp, Pyra was busy cooking up their scanty scavenged ingredients. Nia, Dromarch and Cressidus were out, possibly looking for more. At least this shelter didn't stink of rotting ether lines like the last one.

He met her earnest, worried golden eyes. "You really didn't know?"

She crossed her arms, a frown worming its way on her face. "Pyra and I suspected, but…I guess I just didn't want to believe it."

"I'm surprised Malos being there didn't tip you off more. You didn't seriously think Jin was raiding an Ardainian Battleship for fun, did you?"

Her lips pressed in a thin line at the mention of Jin, and Mikhail regretted bringing it up. "No, but I just don't understand why."

"Oh?"

"I heard what Mòrag said about the innocents that have died because of…Torna. I saw how she came after us to protect that boy, Rex. Saw how far she was willing to go to capture me and Pyra. And I don't think it was because she was just afraid of Pyra's power, but because she was afraid of Torna having her power."

Mikhail remained silent.

"What happened? Why would you resort to terrorism, to taking innocent lives?"

"Look, Lora." He let out a sigh. "You know I've been around a while now," and boy was that the understatement of the year, "but you can't seriously think I haven't tried anything else?" His eyes narrowed. "You think I just woke up one day and thought 'You know, I should really join a terrorist group,' for fun?"

But didn't some small part of him enjoy it? Yes, but he kept that to himself.

"Of course not," she insisted, "nothing is ever that simple."

Almost on a whim, he stretched out his hands, and called from the ether his twin war fans in such a way that the cores of the weapons were clearly visible to her. Cores that were a mirror of the core crystal that pulsed, hidden beneath his armour.

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second, glanced over to Pyra, then back.

Absorbing the war fans back into his being, he coolly met her gaze. "I've lived enough normal lives. I joined Jin's Torna to get back at the one who did that to me. The World Tree? Elysium? The Architect?" The rest of the world? "I couldn't care less what happens to them so long as the Praetor's head rolls before the end of it."

"I…see."

Internally, he cursed. Why did she have to sound so disappointed? And why did he have to care so much about that?

"Will that make you happy?" she ventured carefully.

Who could say at this point? "I think the Alrest would be a lot happier if the Praetor wasn't in it."

"So, you don't care if the world burns around you to make that happen?"

Did he? A few weeks ago, he would have shrugged. Sure, whatever. But not now. Now he wasn't sure, and his silence was telling.

She averted her eyes a moment before firmly staring back. "Is it worth it?"

He clenched his teeth. "The world will have one less monster in it."

"Maybe that's the truth, maybe it isn't, but then what?"

He splayed his hands in a wide shrug. "How should I know? Jin and Malos are the ones with the grand plan. I'm just the mechanic with a grudge to settle."

But wasn't the reason for the grudge now standing alive in front of him?

"Mikhail-"

"Look," he stopped, breathed in a sharp, irritated breath. "Lora, I understand what you're doing here. But this is something I can't let go just like," he snapped his fingers, "that. This is personal."

"And then what?" she pressed. "When you're done, then what? People aren't just going to suddenly forget that you're terrorists if you go through with it."

"They'll hardly forget if we stop now, either. And since when are you one to think about the future?" he bit back. "Wasn't it always, 'one step at a time?'"

She glanced back over to their camp, where Pyra was solemnly roasting skewers over the fire, pointedly not looking at them. "I've had a lot of reason to think about it recently. No matter how it happened, I'm Pyra's Driver now. And however and whenever it happens, while I help her get to Elysium, I want to do good in the world. To prove to them that they don't have to be scared of her."

"So what are you gonna do? Where would you even go? You saw what it was like in Mor Ardain. You're wanted literally everywhere. And now that your face and identity are known…"

"Pyra and I could manage. I need to see the world for myself."

"And the world is only going to try and use you! Think, Lora! Like it or not, you're in resonance with the most powerful Blade on Alrest. People will always try to hunt you down and kill you to take her for themselves. Nations are going to do anything to sway you to their side, use you in their political games, or neutralize you if they can't."

"I wouldn't let anyone use me or Pyra for that. But that's not the point, Mikhail." Her eyes looked directly into his, but her words became softer. "I'm just…worried about you, about Jin. I'm worried that what you're doing isn't going to help you be happy. That's…all I want. For my family to be happy."

"Starting today, we're going to be your new family."

Mikhail's fists clenched and he looked away, saying nothing, though his mind raced angrily.

After a short while, he heard Lora mutter something about getting some air, and he heard the sound of her boots leaving. His hands unclenched and he started messing with the parts scattered on the table again, not to accomplish anything, but just so his hands would have something to do.

"So your core crystal. It's not yours."

He scoffed at Pyra's question. "Gee, how'd you figure that one out?" He didn't look at her, but he could feel her gaze on him even from over at the fire. "I'm not really interested in talking to you right now."

A part of him expected her to bite back, or be affronted as his tone and back off entirely. That's how she would have acted back then.

"Does it still hurt?" Pyra asked. Her tone was somehow tentative and strong at the same time, yet it was the sincerity in her question that caught him off guard.

Mikhail drew in a breath, let it out. "No," he answered curtly.

"That's…good. I'm glad."

He heard her coming closer, and turned, opened his mouth to ask her to just leave him alone, only to stop. She stood there, arm outstretched, holding a skewer of the meat and veggies they'd scavenged along the way. They still sizzled some from cooking on the fire.

He looked at the proffered skewer, back to her, then to the skewer again. She wiggled it a little. "For you."

He took it, if only to stop feeling awkward. Hundreds of cheesy lines passed through his head, only some of which he'd used on other women successfully in the past. Mentally slapping the thought away since this was Pyra he was dealing with, he muttered a "thanks," and took the proffered skewer, taking a bite.

It was surprisingly good, even if the meat was a little stingy and gamey. There was only so much they could do out in the wastes, after all.

"Is it good?"

He swallowed. "...'s fine."

She smiled at his half-hearted compliment. "I'm glad you like it. There's more warming by the fire if you're still hungry, but save some for Nia, Dromarch and Cressidus when they get back."

And with that, she jogged off in the direction Lora had gone. He'd finished the skewer before a thought stopped him in his tracks.

Hold up. When did I start calling her 'Pyra?'

Lora's feet seemed to carry her on their own, and she let the light of the setting sun wash over her as she plodded out aimlessly away. A drifting soul in the midst of the Ardainian wastes.

Thoughts tumbled around in her head in a tizzy, tinged mostly with worry for the future in a way that made her uneasy. That uneasiness extended to Mikhail and Jin too, and anxiety that seemed to crush her a little more every time she thought about being Pyra's Driver.

Lora might have accepted that she was her Driver, overcome the fear that initially clogged their relationship. But it did little for the larger world. Mikhail was right. She knew people would try to use her and Pyra in their little games. And even if she had said she wouldn't let them, how could she be so sure she wouldn't be tricked, or locked up?

She stopped walking and looked around to where she had ended up. The sun had set, the traces of its light disappearing beneath the horizon, and for a time, she simply stood there.

Breathed in.

Out.

It calmed her racing thoughts as she let them drip out of her mind, watching the stars blip into existence, bit by bit as night fell. Watching the World Tree's luminous glow pierce the darkening sky even from this distance, she closed her eyes.

It was nice, if even for a moment, to just be. She just was.

"There you are."

She came back to herself, and a familiar hand brushed over her shoulder. Warmth flared to life in her, the increasingly familiar tickling of flame in her mind, in her being, as Pyra's gentle affinity link briefly burned to life.

"Was I gone long?" Lora asked.

Pyra slightly nodded. "It's been a while. It can be dangerous going out alone."

"Sorry if I made you worry."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're okay." Her hand squeezed and a moment later, her hand fell from Lora's shoulder, the affinity link snuffing out as her hand dropped. "How are you after everything that happened in the capital the other day?"

Lora laced her hands behind her back "It hurts, not being remembered. And not just Brighid, but the things you did being misinterpreted like that. I suppose I can understand why. After all, after seeing the Tornan Titan sink, people were bound to be afraid." She had been afraid, though she didn't say it out loud. There wasn't any need. "And even if it doesn't feel like it to us, a lot of time has passed."

"Yeah…"

"It's just…sad. Frustrating, too."

Pyra nodded. "No matter the familiar faces, Alrest has changed a lot since we were there. Being accused like that…"

"But most of it wasn't true, you know that."

"It still stings, but…thank you for sticking up for me, even though you didn't have to."

"I'm your Driver; Of course I would!" Confirming that she was the Driver of the Aegis in front of that crowd had taken more courage than she thought it would. "And more than that, you're part of my family, Pyra. I won't just let people walk over my family like that."

Pyra's mouth slipped into a surprised 'o' shape. "Family?"

Lora nodded earnestly. "Of course."

Pyra's hand hovered over her own piece of their shared core. "Thank you. That means a lot, you know."

The wind ruffled past them, sending Lora's hair listing to the side, fluffing it in the breeze. They both simply stood there, just a part of the world. The World Tree looming brightly in the distance as Mor Ardain ambled slowly in its perpetual orbit around it.

"Hey, Pyra."

"Hmm?"

"Why do you want to meet the Architect?"

"Well…who wouldn't want a chance to meet with their Father?"

A pang went through her shared core. After all, before meeting Addam and Mythra, Lora and Jin had tried for years to reunite with her own mother. Even though the resolution of the years-long search had been heartbreaking, at least there had been closure.

"I can understand that, wanting to see your family again."

"...Yeah."

Lora glanced to the side and saw the fingers on Pyra's hands - which were clasped in front of her - fidget. "Well, I already promised to help you do it. Are you nervous?" She grinned, a teasing tone entering her voice. "Afraid that he'll be a mean, stuffy old man?"

A slight laugh escaped, forming into a brief smile. "I don't think that Father is like that, but…I suppose I am nervous."

"I think it'd only be natural, even if we weren't talking about the Architect." She'd never even considered the thought of going to the World Tree, much less meeting the Architect. "But whatever happens, even if he is a stuffy old man, family can be more than just who you came from, if you let it."

"I…" Pyra trailed off. Then she abruptly stiffened, her eyes widening abruptly.

Pyra raised her ether barrier just as the bark of a weapon went off, and the barrier flashed as something pinged off of it. Lora's adrenaline spiked as she looked in the direction the shot had come from - cliffs towards the direction of the World Tree - and Pyra grabbed her wrist, dragging her away towards cover.

Another shot pinged off of her ether barrier from the same direction as they ran, but moments later, they both slid behind a boulder that shielded them from the gunfire.

"Who was that? You don't think the Empire caught up to us already, do you?" Their pace away from the capital had been felt furiously fast.

Pyra shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's too dark to see who shot, but..."

"What is it?"

"Just before that first shot, I thought I felt-"

A scream echoed through the night, coming in the direction of the sniper. It abruptly cut off, and a few moments later, there came a muted thump. Two more followed moments later.

"You can stop cowering behind that rock now."

Lora's blood ran chill at the sound of that arrogant voice. She peeked out from behind the boulder, then quickly stood, glaring through the moonlit night. Sure enough, Malos and the same Blade as last time stalked casually towards them, the glowing blue blade of a tonfa in his hand. The body of what she assumed was the gunman that had shot at them lay still on the ground behind them.

"Malos." She bit out his name like a curse. Even though she didn't know why or how, Malos was using a Blade now. Would that mean he was weaker? Even so, she didn't relish the thought of fighting him, especially not just with her and Pyra. "Why are you here?"

He smirked, meandering closer. "You've got a funny way of saying thank you." She glared harder in response. "But hey, I must be growing on you if you didn't even try to kick something at me at first sight."

Pyra stepped up beside her, summoning her sword, its fire blazing to life nearly the same moment as her affinity link. "So that was you?"

He thankfully stopped advancing and tapped the armour plate disguising where his amethyst core normally shone, before pointing at Pyra's. "We're connected, you and I. It'd be a shame if you died to something as pathetic as that just because you tied yourself to her." He glanced back to the dead sniper behind him, then back to them. "Besides, watching was just getting dull, you know?"

"Ugh, you've been watching us?" Just thinking about that made her skin crawl.

"Just a little favour."

"Favour? What do you mean?"

"You're a smart girl - you figure it out." He cocked one hand on his hip and with his other, twirled the tonfa. "Gotta say, you've been putting on quite a show, but I'm done playing hands off." His grip on his tonfa tightened to stop the spinning, wind ether gathering along the edge of its blade.

Lora's eyes widened at the action and she shifted her stance to ready to dodge at a moment's notice.

He smirked, and slashed the air three times in quick succession, sending blades of wind ether in her direction. Pyra raised her ether barrier and Lora tensed, getting ready to close the gap between them after the shield was down.

But the blades of wind ether whipped right past her, sailing into the air before crashing into the cliffside. A distant crack followed, and she could just make out the shadow of dislodged rocks falling. She heard the screams that followed, and turned back to glare at Malos.

"What? Why did you-?" she sputtered indignantly.

"You're too passive for your own good. Reactionary, I'd say." He shrugged, as if he hadn't just casually murdered them. "I'm just saving you the trouble of dealing with them. It's their own fault for trying to ambush you under an old blasting zone."

"That's not what I meant. You don't even know who they were!"

He shrugged. "And I don't really care, but I think you've met their boss. Now there's a piece of work. And I know Jin."

The Blade behind him let out a hiss of a chuckle.

"What-"

"And what do you know," he laughed, pointing above them, "there he is now."

On the cliff near where the first sharpshooter had fallen stood a familiar figure, outlined by the glow of the World Tree, a red, black and white cape trimmed with gold fluttering in the breeze. The figure seemed to wait for her to look at them before leaping off the cliff towards them. She backed up as he landed in a crouch, before gracefully rising.

The mottled red and blue crown-shaped core crystal shone in the night.

Lora gasped at the familiar sight. "It's you! You're…erm…" She trailed off, realizing she hadn't ever asked Mikhail what the Blade's name was, only knowing him just as the 'royal vendetta,' or 'that scary Blade they ran away as fast as they could from.'

Irritation flashed in his visible sharp blue eye, though only for a moment. "I should not be surprised that Crow never told you my name."

"Crow? You mean Mikhail?" Pyra ventured.

"Is that the name that scoundrel gave you?" The flesh eater scoffed. "No matter. My name is Dagas. Sear that into your memory, for it is no falsehood." He glanced over to Malos and his face scrunched up with distaste, like he'd just eaten an unripe sour avocado. "Your bodyguard is quite the irritant, Driver of the Aegis. I would ask that you call him off before I escalate this."

Lora blinked in surprise, mouth hanging open. He thought Malos was their…bodyguard?

"Oh, I'm her bodyguard, now am I? Then don't mind me," Malos advanced, an eager grin on his face, "I'm just spectating." He punctuated that by dashing in with a flurry of strikes towards Dagas. Even without his own weapon, Malos moved with a grace that made it seem like he'd worked with his Blade for years, yet Dagas kept up, not even bothering to draw his greataxe as he dodged and blocked the attacks.

The exchange barely lasted five seconds before Malos jumped back as Dagas threw down a condensed ball of flame from his hand. It shone like a miniature sun piercing the darkness of the night one moment before it exploded as it hit the ground. Lora reflexively threw up her arm to shield her eyes from the dust and debris that followed, seeing spots like she'd just looked into the sun. Thankfully Pyra's raised ether barrier took care of shielding them from the worst of it.

"Enough," Dagas called calmly as the dust settled, another condensed ball of flame shining brilliantly in his palm. "Call off your dog or I will reduce him to slag."

Malos laughed, amusement curling on his face as he glanced back toward her and Pyra. "Look at this trash, trying to order us around. You realize we're the ones who can sink Titans, right? One little insignificant Blade like you could be atomized in seconds."

"Malos, that's enough!" Lora called.

Malos turned to regard her with a raised eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"

She ignored him - an admittedly very difficult thing to do - and faced Dagas. "Why are you here?"

"To talk," Dagas responded simply.

"Then why did your men shoot at us?" Pyra asked defiantly.

Dagas regarded her coolly. "I only had my men shoot at you and not your Driver."

She shared a quick glance with Pyra. So he didn't know about her and Pyra's shared core and what they meant. That could've been bad. "That really doesn't make it better," Lora bit out through gritted teeth.

Dagas remained unfazed. "The pain would have been temporary while my men captured you both, and we could talk after. Considering our first interaction, I did not believe you would come willingly. I would not have harmed you," he glanced at Malos, "though the same courtesy does not extend to your associate."

"You almost melted an entire factory on top of us the first time we met," Lora reminded him. "This really isn't doing anything to improve our view of you."

He nodded slightly at her and Pyra, almost like he meant it like a bow. "Forgive the indiscretion of our first meeting. I had no idea of your status at the time, and I was…blinded by my anger at Crow. Rest assured that if you stand down, and come with me, no harm shall come to you both now."

"And if we don't?"

"I have three of your other traveling companions in my custody already. The gormotti and her beast form Blade as well as the large, loud Blade."

"What?" her mind raced. He had already captured Mikhail, Nia, Dromarch and Cressidus? Did that mean Mikhail was still free? "When?"

"My men have been keeping an eye on you since you encountered them in the capital. It was simple to have you tailed and wait for the perfect opportunity to capture them. Ambushing them with ether nets was sufficient as they weren't as astute as your hidden attack dog," she heard Malos let out a bark of a laugh at that, "and were caught mostly unawares in the roaming the wastes."

Her mind flitted back to the man who faked his death in Smaia's apartment. "Then you're leading the Bloody Lobsters?"

He lifted an almost offended looking brow. "Lead them? No, I am above their petty organization. I command their services for the time being, nothing more. Though I would have liked nothing more than to kill the Blade you call Mikhail, he slipped through our ambush. No doubt he will try to interfere. As for your other friends, I haven't yet decided what to do with them yet."

Lora glared at him. "How magnanimous of you."

"Quite." He almost sounded like he took it as a compliment. The Blade eyed Malos. "Choose to come with me willingly or not. I will grant you one minute of my time to deliberate so long as your guard dog remains leashed for the duration. " The miniature sun in his palm collapsed, significantly darkening the area. "Beginning now."

Pyra leaned in close to her ear. "Do you think he's telling the truth about the others?" she whispered urgently.

"I'm not sure," she whispered back. "But can we really take that chance? Besides, I don't like the look of that fire he had in his hand." She eyed the chunk missing out of the rock in the ground, still smoldering. "We saw something of what he's capable of back in that abandoned industrial district as well"

"I know, it's dangerous." Pyra eyed that same chunk of ground. "With how close we are here, I don't know if we could avoid it and I'm not sure how many I could block. We just don't know the full extent of what he can do." She glanced at Malos, who was tapping his foot impatiently. "Do you think he saw anything?"

"Do you really think he'd give us a straight answer?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I think I'd rather hurl than trust him, even if he did save us. I say we follow Dagas to this 'talk' for now, but if he tries anything, we take the fight to him. And if he was telling the truth, we rescue the others."

She hoped Mikhail followed them too. Regardless of how she felt about his actions, he was a capable fighter and he'd be more welcome backup than Malos any day.

Pyra nodded. "Alright."

Lora looked back to Dagas calling out, "We'll agree to have this talk of yours. But if you hurt my friends," assuming he wasn't bluffing, "there will be consequences."

Dagas didn't smile, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his stance. A look in his visible eye that seemed to say that he never expected them to refuse in the first place "Excellent. Come with me. We have much to discuss."

And with that he whirled around, his cape trailing with him as he began walking into the wastes with the clear expectation that they would follow.

She heard Malos let out a sigh as he sheathed his Blade's tonfa at his belt. "Well that was disappointing, if not predictable. But I'm almost impressed. No bastard prince to speak for you and you handled it well."

Lora gave Malos another glare, hiding her discomfort of the other Aegis behind it. "I suppose you're coming along as well."

"Of course." He shrugged. "Don't look at me. You were the ones who wandered off on your own, not me. I'm just here to make sure you don't die."

Lora huffed, not believing him for a moment, and followed after Dagas, Pyra trailing along beside her.

A/N: Malos really just steals the show wherever he goes, even if he is just 'spectating.' Even so, he makes his glorious re-entry and Lora appreciates it about as much as he expected.

Also, I swear I didn't intentionally line the chapter up with Torna the Golden Country's fourth anniversary.