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Chapter Text

"No parting is forever, Rex. If the flow of the ether wills it, we will surely meet again."

"No…" Rex could only watch as horror as Gramps closed his eyes and started dissolving into base ether in front of him. His hand went through the old Titan's slowly dissipating form, leaving a slight smudge of ether on his glove. After a moment, even that faded. "No, Gramps!"

He wasn't crying.

His blurring vision and the wetness on his cheek disagreed.

He wasn't crying!

The involuntary sob that escaped out of him said otherwise.

No, you know what? Screw it! He worked for a living, same as any adult worth their salt. Adults could cry if they wanted to. So he let himself fall to his knees, uncaring of the swamp water mixed with some cloud sea fluff that splashed up onto his face, mixing in with the stupid tears.

He closed his eyes, remembering.

The capsule with the young woman had been loaded up onto the ship, the same one he'd seen in Argentum's port, the same one he'd spotted following them. The ship that Malos had called the Monoceros.

Job done, he'd headed back to the C.S.E.V. Maelstrom, under the direction of their employers.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Malos had attacked. Under the Driver and Blade's barrage, the Maelstrom hadn't stood a chance, especially once something critical exploded.

Though he hadn't really questioned how at the time, Gramps had flown in, blasting the deck of the ancient ship with balls of flame, distracting Malos long enough to allow time for him to get on and escape.

Of course he'd jumped on. Who wouldn't? But when he'd reached for another one of the salvagers Gramps had started flying away.

"Wait what are you doing? We have to go back, have to rescue them! Turn around, Gramps!"

"And risk being killed yourself, my boy? I'm already struggling as it is to escape their turrets, and you want me to face them and fall in the process?"

"But…!"

"Enough!"

Rex had winced as another blast from the turret of the Monoceros hit its mark, holding on for dear life as Gramps had bucked at a sharp angle to one side to avoid another shot.

"What's done is done."

As if to drive it home, the Maelstrom had let off one final explosion, before sinking beneath the clouds.

It wasn't fair.

He wasn't sure how long he knelt there in that ankle deep water. A bit of cloud sea fluff built up around him, tickling exposed bare skin.

Why did they do it? What reason could they possibly have had to justify killing all those innocent people? Even Nia, the most likable of the lot, had looked on from the Monoceros and let it happen. Horrified, maybe, but as far he'd seen she hadn't done anything to try and stop it. She'd just let it happen.

There were people on the Maelstrom, just salvagers like him, trying to live their lives. Spaine, Monell and even Pupunin, who had stowed away onboard. They were people he had known, worked with even. Some had families waiting for them back in Argentum, back on other Titans.

He should have never taken that job.

He shut his eyes, turning away as the last light of dissipating ether that once was the Titan he called 'Gramps' finally faded entirely.

"Gramps…"

It just wasn't fair.

A small sploosh of water sent his heart rate spiking and he stood, spinning about, looking for the source of the sound. He took a moment to try and clear his vision, wiping his face with his wet arm. It was only slightly effective at clearing his vision.

He started backing up towards where…where Gramps had been, hand hovering over the hilt of his broadsword. Was the wildlife here to try and take advantage of his lowered guard? He glanced about and saw nothing. He strained his ears, listening closer.

Oddly, not even the buzz of insects greeted him.

He took another hesitant step back. He let out a cry of surprise as his ankle twisted when his boot slipped onto something uneven in the water. He flailed wildly for a moment in a futile attempt to regain his balance, before he ungracefully flopped backwards into the muck, butt landing hard, digging painfully into something.

He quickly rolled off of it, digging the offending object out of the water intent on chucking the thing. He stopped.

Rocks didn't typically look like that, right? All black and fancily designed and stuff? He peered at it closer, squinting his eyes. Wait, no. He'd seen something like this before. The design and distinct shape clicked into place with a memory.

Was this a…core crystal?

Had Gramps left him this somehow? He'd only seen pictures of them in books Auntie Corrine had lent him, but at the time he was generally more interested in the Blades themselves. He tilted his head. Weren't core crystals supposed to be glowing blue or something?

He almost reflexively went to ask Gramps if he knew what it meant.

Stopped himself with his mouth partway open.

His hand tightened around the black core crystal, making the leather of his glove creak. His other hand lashed out at a nearby tree. The sudden pain in his wrist made him wish that he hadn't.

Why couldn't he do anything right?

No. He shook his head, dispelling the thought. Enough.

He took a shuddering breath, did his best to wipe away the remains of the tears, wipe away the snot from his stinkin' nose.

He needed to get ahold of himself. Another deep breath.

Malos would pay. He'd punch him in his stupid face if he could. Then have a drink with him when he was old enough. That was what salvagers were supposed to do, right? 'First have a punch-out, then drink to forget. Once you've forgotten, the friendship's all set.'

Right.

First things first. Though he desperately hoped it wasn't true, if he was the only survivor, people needed to know what happened. Otherwise it might just go into the books as another failed expedition into the uncharted regions of the cloud sea. Getting word back to Argentum and Chairman Bana would be as good a place to start as any.

That meant he needed to figure out where on Alrest he was. Slipping the core crystal into his pouch, he fumbled around a bit before bringing out his cloud sea compass. He fiddled with the dials, put in the date and…

He should be on Gormott. That made sense, given the huge root-like structures around him. And the tide was…

Oh no.

He was below the high tide line. And according to this, it would be rising soon.

He glanced up, and saw the tide already rushing towards him, very quickly.

"Oh, titan's foot!"

He took off running, glanced back and caught enough of a glimpse to know he was so screwed if he didn't get to higher ground quick. Rex took the first path that looked like it might go up or just away from the wave.

Of course, as he ran, his mind helpfully supplied that the reason he hadn't seen any wildlife or insects was because they had all gone into hiding or to higher ground from the encroaching tidal shift. He'd just been too busy mourning Gramps to see the signs.

Naturally, he didn't stand a chance.

He took a big gulp of air just before the force of the initial tide knocked him off of his feet, flipping end over end in the current a couple of times. After a moment, years of diving through the stuff – both recreationally and for a living – kicked in.

Find the fluff of the cloud sea. That will always be up. If you get caught in a wave, roll with it, don't fight it. Fighting it will be the quickest way to drown.

Of course, that was easier said than done. He snapped open his eyes, desperately searching for that fluff mixed with what would hopefully be a source of light.

There!

He oriented himself and started swimming in that direction. He was pushed off balance when the current surged forward and rammed his shoulder painfully into a rock. In fact, the force of the current was making it nearly impossible to swim straight at all, knocking him into things. The bruises started to pile up.

His lungs started to burn.

The current surged again. His eyes widened and with only a split second to do so, he contorted his body to slide through a narrow pass in the rocks ahead. He'd nearly made it through, but was yanked back. Looking behind him, he saw his broadsword snagged in-between two close fitting branches in the pass. He reached and desperately tried to untangle it, but couldn't make any headway.

He looked up at the cloud sea fluff getting further away, then back down. Nothing for it. He couldn't do anything much less fight if he drowned. He fumbled a moment, then forced the release latch on the weapon. He shot forward in the current, made a desperate grab for the sword.

Missed.

Well, maybe if he was lucky, someday he or someone else could salvage it. For now, he shot his grapple up. It dug into the rock above the surface and he toggled the reel.

Just when the edges of his vision started going dark, he surfaced, gulping in much needed air coughing and spitting out cloud sea fluff. The rock on either side of him creaked, shifting under the tide. That was a part of the Gormotti Titan moving.

It shifted just enough to loosen the anchor before he could find a better handhold in the rock, and he splashed back under.

He had to find somewhere high enough on the Titan that he wouldn't be left out to drift in the cloud sea. It would be a horrible way to go, unable to do anything but watch as the Titan continued on its orbit around the World Tree without the slightest care that it'd left something behind.

At this rate, if he didn't find some outcropping or at least something stable to latch onto, that's exactly what would happen. His energy surged. Surfacing again, his head whipped around, and in a glorious moment he spotted a nearby ledge above the tide.

Against the direction of the current.

He shot out his grapple again, and when it attached, the current yanked him back, wrenching his arm painfully and slamming him bodily against the rock. The grapple loosened, falling out of its anchor again, but this time he had the presence of mind to get a good grip on the rock.

Bracing his body against the Titan's rocky wall, he sidled for what felt like hours – even if it couldn't have been more than a few minutes at most – until at last he hauled himself up onto the ledge.

He flopped out and lay flat on his back on the rock, just breathing heavily. His muscles were sore enough to remind him of that day he'd spent running priority business errands around Argentum.

"Well," he coughed up a little bit of the cloud sea stuck in his lungs and wiped his eyes clear, "at least it can't get any worse from here, right?"

His heart leapt and he stiffened as something nearby growled. He slowly shifted his eyes and spotted a lone volff on the other end of the outcropping, looking just as bedraggled as he was.

Him and his big mouth. Looks like he wasn't the only one caught unaware by the tidal shift.

Titan's foot.

Nia stormed past Jin down the boarding ramp of the Monoceres as soon as it hit the dock, purposefully not looking at him and Malos. She stopped at the end, teeth clenching and feeling her ears flatten against her head. They still felt like they were ringing from all the screaming.

She needed to ask Jin why.

Malos' footsteps, heavy with the Aegis' capsule, came to rest behind her. "Got something to say, Nia?"

Her hands balled into fists, and she stalked away without a word, Dromarch padding after her.

"Slinking off to sulk?" She heard Malos let out a scoff. "How original."

The door to the interior of the Marsanes shut automatically behind her and Dromarch, cutting them off from the other three.

They had already retrieved the Aegis. So why'd Jin let Malos do it? What was the point?

Her quick pace slowed to a crawl, before she stopped entirely, leaning onto and then collapsing in a heap against the wall.

"My lady, are you going to be alright?"

Great, now Dromarch was bloody worrying about her. She turned to face her approaching Blade. "I'll be okay, Dromarch." The smile she gave felt forced, even to her, and likely didn't look the least bit reassuring.

He padded up beside her, sat on his haunches and waited. A solid minute passed. A solid minute of her decidedly trying to avoid looking at those dilating tiger eyes of his.

She sighed. It would be easier to tell him now, rather than have him passive-aggressively pester her until she gave in. She always told him in the end anyways, and he knew that. "It's just, I never figured I'd be doing something like this."

"Are you perhaps thinking of leaving? You know I will follow wherever you go."

She scrunched up her knees, hugging them to her chest. Took a breath. "I-I don't know. I was…happy when Jin brought me into Torna. He rescued me, us, from a life of misery." She shook her head. She didn't really want to think about what Indol was going to do to her before Jin broke her out. "And here, there are people like me, you know? They understand how I feel, what it's like, because they're like me."

She brought her hand up, hovering over but not touching her hidden core. She didn't say the word. Still couldn't bring herself to even think it yet. Wasn't that so pathetic? But the scars emotional and physical were still too fresh in her mind.

That was what she kept telling herself, at least.

'Cannibal!'

Dromarch nuzzled into her. "I think you should do what you think is best."

She let out a snort. "Only you would say something that sounds so profound, but does so little to help me." Sighing again, she leaned into him, scratching his fur. "I don't know. When I came here, for the first time I felt like I might have a place where I could belong. I think that's…still the case. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future, I dunno. But I don't really have anywhere else to go. For now, I'm here, so this is my home for better or worse."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

She jolted and jumped up to her feet at the sound.

Ahkos stepped into sight around the corner and his Blade, Obrona, floated lazily around him. "Well said Nia. I'll have you know that the rest of us feel much the same way." He adjusted those red rimmed prop glasses of his, because of course he did.

She narrowed her eyes. "Haven't you heard that eavesdropping is rude?"

He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I was about to say hello, but well…" He shrugged. "How could I resist a good bit of melodrama?"

"Oi! Do you think my life is some kind of sideshow?"

Obrona floated in front of him. "Ooh, feisty!"

Ahkos batted her away. "Riveting commentary from the audience as usual, Obrona. But I have to wonder, Nia, why so introspectively glum in the first place?" He crossed his arms. "Did Malos give you a hard time while you were out collecting the Aegis?"

She averted her eyes. "Go ask him yourself if you're so curious."

"I was about to, before I nearly ran into someone brooding in the middle of the main hallway."

"Yeah, being a sourpuss!"

"Ugh, you know what? Never mind!" She cut off any further discussion and started walking away. "Come on Dromarch, we don't have to take this from-"

She stumbled as a rumble shook the hallway, and an alarm started blaring a moment later. She spun back to Ahkos. "What was that?"

"The fire alarm," he deadpanned. "Mikhail may have broken something. Jin could be playing a prank. The World Tree could be collapsing. Or, perhaps the Architect himself is messing with us."

Nia gave him a sour look. "Are you seriously doing this right now?"

"It's an alarm. We only have one. Having more than one just made things confusing for some of us. Rules say we go to the dock when it sounds and, considering the timing, I'd say it's important enough to not ignore."

"Then stop standing around and let's go already!"

Ahkos made a mock bow gesturing in front of him, and Obrona gave a little applause. "Lead the way."

Those little…

She groaned and started running back the way she came.

Back to Jin.

Jin could only watch. Lora would have gone after Nia, rushed after her even, to at least try to comfort her right here, right now. But then, he wasn't Lora, and she wouldn't have approved of what he allowed to happen at all, would she?

So instead, he simply sent a look at Malos as he watched Nia retreat past the door leading further into the Marsanes.

Malos raised an eyebrow at his stare. "What?"

"Don't antagonize her. She's been through just as much hardship as the rest of us. Give her time."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Nia knew what Torna stood for, but she didn't understand the need for what they were doing. Not fully.

Her anger at covering their tracks by killing the salvaging crew was…understandable. But if any of them actually had the expertise and Leftherian blood, this wouldn't have been necessary.

Well, no, he reminded himself. Most of the salvaging crew had perished. Perhaps it was some trick of fate that had Azurda show up to rescue the Leftherian boy from the sinking, exploding Maelstrom. Even with the damage done to the old Titan by the Monoceres' turrets, there was always a chance the pair could make landfall, and from there spread word of the massacre.

But even if that happened, it would only slow Torna down, not stop them. He would make sure of it.

Malos shrugged the shoulder holding the Aegis' capsule. "So, are we doing this or what, Jin?"

Jin blinked, and moved across the boarding ramp of the Monoceros, and out of the way of Malos, who adjusted his grip on the capsule as he crossed the ramp. "Of course."

"Well," he slammed the capsule down, harder than necessary, onto the metal floor of the Marsanes' docking area, "may as well do it right here and now. The sooner I get my full power back, the sooner we get our revenge on my bastard of a Driver and the Architect."

He popped the lid on the capsule, carelessly tossing it to the side where it cracked, but didn't shatter. The sleeping form of the Aegis lay open to the world after nearly five-hundred years.

Jin's hand twitched, clenched slightly.

Malos glanced towards him. "What is it?"

"It's nothing."

He cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "You know, something tells me it's not."

He was right of course. "Just," he shot a meaningful look at the Aegis, "let me have a moment."

Malos shook his head, a small smirk on his face. "You're so sentimental." He backed away, gesturing to the open capsule. "Well, go ahead. I can wait a little longer. Say your farewells, since after all, there's no guarantee she won't be much more than a husk once I'm finished."

"…Right."

Malos turned away to give Jin privacy as he stepped up to the capsule; the sight reminded him of an open funeral casket. Fitting, he supposed.

Despite the atrocities she'd let happen by letting herself be sealed away, the Aegis had once been his comrade. He may have never particularly liked her, but she hadn't deserved what had happened to her.

He knew the pain of losing someone he loved all too well himself. All five-hundred years of living with it.

Laying his hand near the Aegis' shoulder, he bowed his head a little and closed his eyes in a moment of remembrance.

For what little it's worth, I'm sorry.

He felt his thumb brush over the Aegis' core. Lora's heart thumped in his chest and his eyes shot open, vision blurry.

He caught a momentary flare of light from the emerald core, so short he could have imagined it. He took one careful yet quick step back.

"Something wrong?"

Jin's hand went to the spot where Lora's heart rest in his chest. "I'm…not sure." A warmth, a thrum he hadn't felt in forever. The connection between a Driver and Blade, a slight tug in the ether, so small. It lasted for only an instant.

But of course, he was just imagining it. Wishing for something that would never happen again.

He had to be.

Malos crossed his arms, giving him a careful stare. "You know, I can delay this for a while if you need me to. It'll make any fights we encounter more difficult, but I don't need my full power until we're ready to ascend the World Tree."

"Patience? From you?"

Malos spread his arms in a gross approximation of a shrug. "What can I say? Nearly dissolving into base ether gives a man a lot of time to reflect on their life choices. It took a lot of patience to put myself together after that. I can wait a little longer."

Jin mulled it over a moment before shaking his head. "No, that's unnecessary. No point in taking any chances."

"Well, if you're sur-"

He cut off as emerald green light shot up from the open capsule.

Instinct kicked in as the world seemed to slow to a crawl around Jin as he sped up, putting a sizable amount of distance between him and the pillar of flame that burst from the Aegis' resting place. His hand came to rest on the hilt of his nodachi, but he didn't draw it just yet.

Sever had dashed in front of Malos, ether shield up and taking most of the blaze. Malos drew his tonfa, a smirk growing on his face.

An alarm started blaring as steam billowed up from a hole the pillar of flame had melted into the docking area. Through the steam, the glowing emerald core of the Aegis became visible.

An x-shaped part of it was now missing, where not thirty seconds ago it had been whole.

He grimaced as Lora's heart pulsed again, painfully hot this time. Another thrum of an affinity link briefly flickering to life before cutting out again.

Malos glanced at him. "Jin?"

He pushed the sensation away with a shake of his head. Just his mind playing cruel tricks. "I'm fine."

"Hey." Jin jerked back when a hand landed on his shoulder. Malos gave him a concerned look. "Take it easy for once. I'll take this."

Jin hesitated, then nodded.

"Malos."

The red Blade weapon Malos had shattered on the Ancient Ship took shape and flared alive with fire ether. A pale imitation of the light it once was. The Aegis stepped through the steam into view, her eyes narrowed. "I should have known you weren't dead."

"And I thought you were blond." Malos stalked casually forward, Sever behind him, establishing an affinity link, igniting the blade of the tonfa. He was putting himself in-between Jin and the Aegis. A nice, if unnecessary gesture. "Cut and dyed your hair recently?"

Her lips pursed into a thin line, and she slashed in a wide horizontal arc with her sword, sending a blaze of fire ether ahead of her, before darting forward with the torrent of flame.

Malos batted the fire away into the wall where the metal sizzled and dripped. He laughed. "Ooh, did I hit a nerve? My bad." The affinity link between him and Sever surged as Malos slashed his tonfa in an uppercut, and a blade of wind ether lashed out from it towards her.

The Aegis easily sidestepped the attack – which cut a small line into the metal wall behind her, making something in the machinery spark – and rushed forward, closing the remaining distance. They traded a quick trio of blows, ending with their blades locked, ether sparking.

"So do you have a Driver this time, or did you wise up like me and forget nonsense like that?"

She didn't answer, but her eyes darted past Malos, over to him, widening momentarily when they met. Jin stared back unflinchingly.

Malos took advantage of the momentary distraction, shifting his tonfa into a shield before thrusting it forward. Backed with a surge of wind ether, it ended the deadlock by sending the Aegis airborne. She quickly twisted midair flipping upright, landing crouched.

"Well, not bad. Not bad at all. I was wondering if you were just going to let me restore my core without some kind of fight. Thanks for making it interesting for me, partner."

When the automatic door blasted open, Mikhail had to stop to take a double take. Saying the Marsanes docking area was in bad shape was an understatement. Beyond the opening, chaos reigned in the form of Malos fighting...was that the Aegis?

It was just one blast from the past after another today, wasn't it?

A blade of sharp wind ether rippled by him, cutting the wall nearby and slicing open the paneling. He danced to the side before an arc of lightning sparked from the busted machinery, nearly hitting him. Startled out of his thoughts, he stepped forward.

"Are you all insane?!" Neither of the Aegises stopped fighting to listen. He turned to the others gathered near the entrance. "Ahkos, Nia, why aren't you trying to stop them?"

Nia put a hand on her hip. "Do you really expect us to try and get involved in that?"

They all split, moving out of the way of a redirected fireball.

"That's not the issue!" Mikhail retorted. "If you hadn't noticed, we're submerged under the cloud sea right now. If they punch a hole in the hull, we all become salvager food!"

"A prudent point. Ah well. It was a nice show while it lasted." Ahkos adjusted his glasses as he turned to his Blade. "Obrona, if you would?"

"Yeah, yeah." His Blade floated higher into the air, her wing-like appendages spreading as a massive wave of red ether exploded outward.

The combatants lurched, stopping in the middle of their attacks when the wave hit them, choking the ether out of their weapons.

Malos jumped back from a strike from the Aegis, even though it was far less deadly without the ether in her weapon amplifying the strike. He turned toward the group gathered at the entrance scowling. "Ahkos, what are you doing?"

"Do you want to punch a hole that sends us to the bottom of the cloud sea?" Mikhail gestured around the damage that he'd and the Aegis had done. This would take forever to fix and even more to diagnose what was still fully operable.

The Aegis' eyes widened and she stepped back, her hand hovering over her core crystal as she looked around. Was she really just now noticing the destruction she was causing? Was the alarm blaring really not clue enough?

Malos looked like he was going to retort before Jin flickered forward in front of him, cutting off the response. "Malos, enough. Mikhail is right."

Malos shrugged, stepping back, keeping a close eye on the Aegis. She did so in turn, but Mikhail could tell she was also keeping a close eye on everyone else in the room.

The alarm still blared, filling in an awkward pause.

Jin turned to him. "What's the situation?"

"It's her, Jin. She's awake. Lora's awake."

Her heart thumped in his chest. Not possible.

But Jin's mouth still asked, "Where?"

Mikhail pointed down, through the hole in the dock. "She's down with Cressidus on the bridge – whoa!"

The world slowed as he sped up again, feet moving with a mind of their own. He jumped through the still smoldering hole to save time.

Mikhail's Blade startled when he landed, returning to normal speed. He was shielding something away from him. "Jin! Man, you scared me dropping in through the ceiling like that. Did you come to check on the icicle lady?"

Jin's eyes flicked to where Lora should be. The hole to the dock was directly above where she should be and the ice was completely gone. "Where is she?"

Mikhail's Blade flinched at his dangerous tone, but shifted around, and in his arms was holding…

…her. Her chest rose, fell. Breathing.

Not possible.

She was right in front of him.

No. He took a half step back. This wasn't real.

But she was right in front of him.

The next moment he'd pushed Cressidus away, cradling her in his arms. On instinct, he sent out an desperate affinity link. Like it had never left, it connected to her instantly, the air in-between them shimmering as it thrummed to life. Hot, almost burning.

He felt her shiver as her eyes fluttered open, darting around a moment before they locked on to his.

"…Lora."

She blinked again, her arm reached up to cup his cheek with one hand. She opened her mouth. Spoke.

"It's really you, Jin."

He covered her hand with his. Felt the warmth of her skin when it came in contact with his. This…this was real. He felt her thumb brush against his mask, the one she had made for him so many years ago.

"You kept it?" she asked.

"Of course."

She smiled, then averted her eyes. "I'm sorry."

He pressed her closer into a hug. "It's not your fault." After a moment, her arms wrapped around him.

Lora was here, alive.

But…her death was the impetus for his campaign against Alrest with Malos. He knew she wouldn't approve, would try to talk him out of it. Maybe even hate him for it.

…What did he do now?

No. He hugged her tighter. She pressed her head against his chest.

For now, this moment with her was enough.