Thinking back on the last chapter, and the way I ended it, I just remembered how I still have a difficult time in deciding whether I like Jin or not. Mind you, I'm talking about the main game Jin. Pre Xenoblade 2 (as in Torna TGC) Jin is extremely likable to me.

xxx

Klang! The morning sun had shone on this morning's combatants. Due to the Aegis's powers, Rex and Vandham agreed to hold the spar outside of Garfont.

The brunet felt comfortable, perhaps it was because he wasn't in a fight for his life like before. Although like Akhos, Vandham's Blade, the birdlike Roc wielded a pair of scythes.

"I have to give you credit, Rex! You're a fast learner!" The gruff merc complimented the young brunet as Rex evaded the larger figure's swings and strikes.

"Thanks." The Salvager replied in between breaths. Blocking Vandham's strikes, Rex dodged the hits he couldn't block. The two had been going at it for a few hours, but he was starting to feel fatigued.

Noting her Driver's exhaustion, Pyra couldn't help but ask "Rex, do you need a rest?"

"Well, I do want to try one thing while we're sparring!" He replied. Lowering his weapon to catch his breath, Vandham took note and did the same.

"We've got all day, so what do you have in mind?"

Lighting his hands on fire, Rex explained "When we were fighting Akhos, I was still able to tap into Pyra's power, even when Obrona had cut off her ether connection." To demonstrate what he meant, he rested the sword into the ground, took a moment to focus, and orange flames began to swirl around his arms as the Urayan warrior looked at him with awe.

"Okay, that'sh a cool trick. It's thanks to thaa' core crystal you got there, ain't it?"

"You bet!" The blue armored salvager explained.

Picking up her scarlet sword, Pyra remarked "Rex, concentrate on me!" Nodding, he turned his attention to his redheaded soulmate, and pointed his hands at her.

"Uhh, nothing's happening. What am I supposed to be doing?" Rex questioned.

"Focus on something that makes you happy." The red and black armored woman advised him. Nodding, he took a deep breath, and began thinking. He began to visualize a lot of negative memories, meeting Torna, Jin killing him, nearly getting killed by Malos, nearly getting killed by Akhos. He forced those memories out of his head, and began to concentrate deeper.

Pyra; as selfish as it sounded, he felt a sense of happiness whenever he was around her. In fact, when he first met her, he wanted to get to know her. Sure, he had already known her as he began to think of their second night together, and he had learned about her past, and her connection to Mythra, but he still had a hunch the two were hiding more of their past from him. Even so, they were a team, they were practically soulmates by this point. Slowly opening his golden eyes, he concentrated on his affection towards the crimson Aegis, and a trail of blue light had emerged, pouring his power into Pyra.

"Ready when you are, Vandham!" Rex announced, as he drew his broadsword that he somehow still had on hand.

The gruff merc had raised an eyebrow in amusement before shrugging. Raising his scythes, he soon found himself exchanging blows with the Aegis and her Driver, impressed as the two began to adapt on the fly, and began to grin as the two threw him off with their unconventional approach. But if it was working for them, taking turns between attacking and defending, swapping weapons and switching roles, was it truly unconventional?

xxx

It didn't take long for the two Drivers to figure they were evenly matched. Though Vandham argued that Rex would easily outpace him one day due to him possessing the Aegis.

Wrapping a hand around Rex's shoulder after the sparring session, Vandham enthusiastically remarked "You've got a good idea going, you two. If you keep this up, you should be able to throw off those Torna bastards next time we see them!"

Returning to Garfont to have lunch, Pyra took her leave to check on their companions. Directing his attention to his new pupil, the silver haired merc asked as he took a bite of a rib "Can I ask you something, Rex?

Pacing himself, the brunet replied "I'm all ears."

"What do you think is the difference between me and Akhos?" The lumbering wall of muscle asked.

"If I was younger, I'd argue that you were a good person, and Akhos the bad. But I just know it's more than that."

"You're not far off. Torna has something to fight for, and I can tell they won't stop until they get it." Vandham argued, as the two observed Pyra conversing with an unusual Blade; she looked human just like Pyra, but where the Aegis has short red hair and donned red and black armor, this Blade had long flowing blue hair and eyes, as well as a blue and white attire. And Rex noticed her core crystal on her chest; it looked like a water molecule.

Upon realizing that….blue thing Pyra was speaking to wasn't wearing undergarments, Rex was quick to focus on his meal. "Pyra's the only woman I need to see naked." He reminded himself.

Hoping the merc didn't notice where his eyes were glancing, the brunet quickly argued "So I've seen. I don't know what they plan on doing with her; I already had someone try to shoot me back in Gormott."

"So I heard. I also hear he lost his job and received a life sentence for hurting a citizen."

"That's...good, at least. But as childish as it sounds, I'm hoping to find Elysium." Rex explained. "I can sense a war about to break out. So little land remains."

"So you've noticed it too? The Titans dying?" The brunet nodded in response. "War's never about right or wrong. It's a power struggle; it's always about profit. And the real victors are the ones that have the most money."

Rex sighed as he sipped a mug "That's why I've refused to pick a side."

"Careful, Rex. Someday, you'll be forced to choose a side. And when that day comes, be ready to fight your own war." Finishing up his plate, the merc leader advised "I've got an assignment to take care of, but Roc and I will be around if you and your friends want to help out."

"You got it."

xxx

"How are you holding up, Tora?" Rex asked as the two had added further tweaks to Poppi. After lunch with the gruff Vandham, the brunet decided to check on Tora, remembering how the overall donned nopon got field goaled during their fight with Akhos.

Grateful for his friend's concern, Tora replied with a wrench in hand, "Mehmeh, Tora doing wonderfully! We nopon are very resilient!" Unfortunately for him, the robotic Poppi disagreed.

"Masterpon." She sighed. "You only took the hit because Poppi had granted you a defense boost. That's at least what Nia believes happened."

One thing Rex had observed long before he had become Pyra's Driver was that whenever Drivers wielded the weapon of a Blade, those Drivers seemed to be much stronger in battle. Not only that, but they seemed to gain even a boost in the agility, and could take a greater beating in battle. Maybe Nia was onto something.

Closing up a few hatches and panels on her Poppi remarked "Thanks for the help, Rex-Rex!"

"Anytime!"

"Rex!" Turning around, the three of them saw Pyra and Nia approaching them. There was a look in Nia's beige eyes that screamed she wanted to tell him something….

xxx

After Rex and Pyra had headed out to spar with Vandham, a thought was beginning to eat away at Nia. Grateful that it was just her, the Gormotti woman had opened her jumpsuit, and looked at her chest. A glowing blue core crystal with a distinct red tint having seemingly bled into the core. She found herself thinking back to their time in Gormott when Rex was mistaken for a Flesh Eater, and how that elderly Minoth had no problem coming out as a Flesh Eater, shocking the whole group.

And yet, the Gormotti girl began to wonder; if Minoth could be so bold to reveal himself like that, could she do the same?

Hearing a knock on her door, the beige eyed catgirl was quick to close up her jumpsuit, and declared "Come in."

The door opened to the sight of her ivory companion Dromarch. "Is something on your mind, milady?" The tiger asked, having sensed her disarray.

As much as Nia wanted to change the subject, she knew the group was going to question why she seemed so affected by Obrona's powers. Jumping onto the bed, she proceeded to explain to him "Actually, there is…..I need to talk to everyone!"

Knowing what his Driver was talking about, the tiger advised "We should speak to Miss Pyra."

Figuring having another Blade to back her up would be ideal, the two walked out of the inn, where they noticed the redheaded Pyra speaking with some appalling blue haired Blade. Nia didn't know why, but she felt a sudden need to kill that….blue…..thing!

Noticing the discussion the two Blades were having, Nia began to feel sorry for whoever that Blade's Driver was.

Walking away, Pyra was quick to notice Nia and Dromarch, and approached the two asking "How are you doing?"

"Who was that?" The Gormotti asked, curiously.

Blushing, the redhead explained "Just the Blade of some merchant. It sounds like they don't have the best relationship."

"That brat's driving her Driver into debt! ….can I kill the blue thing…...please?!" Mythra requested with a disturbingly cheerful tone in her voice.

"Mythra, no!" Pyra yelled in her head. "That's not our problem!"

Hoping to change the subject, the redhead quickly questioned "That aside, you look like you want to talk about something."

Frowning, the catgirl remarked "Actually, I do." Gesturing the crimson Aegis to follow her, the three returned back to the inn. Grateful to notice Rex and Tora distracted ...tinkering with Poppi apparently, Nia closed the door and acknowledged "Pyra, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course." The redhead responded quickly.

The yellow clothed Gormotti was now hesitant due to the fast response, but choosing to take a leap of faith, Nia opened her jumpsuit, and showed her core crystal to the redhead.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, the catgirl explained "Cole isn't the only Flesh Eater."

"I see." Pyra remarked remorsefully. Having sensed an already strong bond between Nia and Rex, Pyra had believed that there was a future with the two. But if Nia's a Blade like her, then what was she thinking? No, that was irrelevant now!

"You and the others deserve to know, especially after what Akhos did to you and Rex!" Nia explained. As much as she wanted to keep this side of herself hidden, she had a hunch Rex would've started asking anyway.

"If you want me to back you up, I'm more than happy to!" Pyra reassured her.

Thankful, Nia and Dromarch replied "Thank you."

xxx

"So what's up, Nia?" Rex asked curiously as he, Tora and Poppi were brought into one of the rooms at the inn.

"You noticed during the fight with Akhos that I was affected by his Blade's powers, right?" The Gormotti asked, refreshing their memory.

"Tora still feels that kick I got from him!" Tora chimed in.

Clenching a fist, Rex looked down before redirecting his golden eyes at her again, responding "Yes. I was….wondering about that."

Taking a deep breath, the young woman opened a part of her jumpsuit, enough to show the reddish blue core crystal on her sternum. "Whoa."

"Mehmeh, Nia's a Blady?" The Nopon asked with interest.

Smirking as she covered herself up, Nia replied "Yes."

"That explains a lot." Rex chimed.

"Really?"

"Yes. I know we haven't known each other for long, but since we're friends, I'm more than happy to keep this to myself."

"That makes three of us!" Tora chimed in, gesturing to himself and the robotic like Poppi.

Touched by their words, Nia smiled with tears in her eyes "Thank you, all."

Looking at her, Rex couldn't help but think "I'm curious how you became a Flesh Eater, but I'll leave that up to you."

xxx

Much to the amusement of Nia, Vandham wasn't all that interested in hearing about her being a Flesh Eater. Apparently the merc had already figured out that Nia was a Flesh Eater, but according to him "...I used to be friends with a Flesh Eater. Hell, I was even his Driver prior to finding my lifelong friend, Roc."

"That's cool." Rex chimed in.

Continuing, the white haired wall of rock replied "As far as I'm concerned, now that you're with us, I don't see any problem."

"That makes me feel better, thank you." Nia replied as they left Garfont, and began to explore a disturbance that was causing a bit of a ruckus as of late.

It wasn't all that exciting, a gargantuan spider like beast known as an Arachno was causing trouble after it had resonated with Wulfric, an animalistic blade that had sought to challenge everyone that stood in their way, but the duo were….burnt out like a poorly maintained campfire.

Watching the horned Blade return to his core crystal, the brunet Salvager couldn't help but ask "I guess…..that's a thing?"

Knowing his lack of knowledge with Blades, Nia replied "Yes….."

"I don't even know why Rex, but when a Driver dies, his or her Blade returns to its core crystal, waiting for a new Driver to resonate with it." Vandham monologued. Picking up the now blackened crystal, he explained "Unfortunately, you have to wait for a bit before you can wake this guy up. But I think you can make use of him."

"That's cool." Rex replied. But what caught his attention was a small Titan that had succumbed to its injuries. Its deceased body soon dissolved into sparks of ether, leaving behind another core crystal. "Whoa!"

"And that's another phenomenon!" The merc explained. Collecting the illuminating core, he continued "And Titans are the ones that give us many of the core crystals that we take for granted."

Needing a refresher, Rex asked "So when a Driver dies, their Blade returns to its core crystal, waiting to be reawakened?"

"Exactly!" Vandham remarked. "I still don't know why this happens, but another thing I have noticed is that when a Blade is reawakened, their memories are wiped clean. It's like a new Blade, no matter how many Drivers they bond with.

Though as the group began to examine the sapphire gem more closely, a thought began to form in Rex's head. "Wait, if a non flesh eater Blade is able to return to its core crystal, then shouldn't Addam still be alive….unless Pyra and Mythra can live on without a Driver."

Pulling him out of his thoughts, the Salvager soon heard Pyra monologue "500 years is a long time to build up memories….it must be nice to forget."

Rex would've asked her what she meant normally, but a horrific thought began to form in his head. "Pyra and Mythra wanted to go to Elysium to stop Malos, it's kind of a given that they're horrified of the damage they had caused in stopping him, but wanting to forget…...Pyra, Mythra. Please don't do anything stupid…." It wasn't long before he found the word "death" beginning to form in his head. Struggling to hide the tears that were beginning to form, he mentally begged "No….please, no…"

xxx

After an uneventful walk back to the camp, Nia accepted the core containing the beast like Wulfric, while Rex had taken the core that had remained when that Titan had passed. The Salvager was so distracted by the thoughts swirling in his head that he nearly jumped when Nia had put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, I was….lost in thought." Was his reply.

Almost curious as to what was on his mind, Nia took him to a room after wishing the group good night. "I have something on my mind, too…." The yellow suited catgirl expressed.

As soon as the two were in private, Rex asked "Okay, you go first."

"I'm drawn to you…." Either Rex was the luckiest person in Alrest, or the most cursed as soon as he heard those four words. The brunet was already in a relationship with Pyra, and here was Nia developing an interest in him. "But I know that you're already with Pyra."

Suddenly feeling a pain in his chest, Rex acknowledged "We'll have to talk to her."

"What's up, Rex?" The beige haired woman asked, noticing him putting a hand on his chest.

"I can sense something up with Pyra."

Knowing the two shared injuries, Nia was quick to ask "Then why the hell are we standing around?" Running out of the room, the two were quick to search for Pyra.

Thankfully, Garfont was very compact, so it didn't take them long to find the redhead. As soon as they found her, Nia was worried; the redhead was shivering and trembling. They even noticed tears streaming from her eyes.

Clenching a fist, Rex whispered "Damnit!"

"What?"

"Pyra had told me about her past; I think talking about it brought up some bad memories." Dropping the heavier parts of his armor he continued "I think I know what'll do the trick."

Noticing him drop his armor, she whispered "Are you seriously thinking about sex?!"

"No! I was just going to take her hand!" Rex replied.

"Oh."

Assisting the Salvager in removing his gauntlets and boots, the two climbed into bed, and wrapped themselves around Pyra. Sensing their warmth, the crimson Aegis found herself calming down, as she whispered "Thank you."

xxx

I wish to say sorry for how long it took to work on this one. I was hoping to finish this sooner, but I got….distracted. Yes, I got distracted (more like addicted to the point I'm rarely playing anything else at the moment) with Xenoblade DE, but can you blame me? It's XENOBLADE!

Also, I was hoping to publish this before I published Ch. 5 to my Konosuba story; unfortunately, the latter story has been a little more entertaining to work on (maybe I need to do another playthrough of XC2 to reinspire myself; I might do just that after I've beaten Xenoblade DE).

Also, Next Chapter: The…..Zekenator?