Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rex had just gone to sleep when he awoke somewhere new. Well, it wasn’t new exactly. It was the place where he had met Pyra. It was different though. Instead of the sun held high in the sky, it was dark out with the moon in the midst of rising. Fireflies flew around illuminating the space. The most notable thing was that the eternally ringing bell seemed to have stopped with only its echoes to be heard. 

Rex looked around the lightly lit field and saw a figure leaning against the tree. He approached and eventually was able to see that it was a man. A familiar one at that. It was Klaus, The Architect of the world. He looked different though. More content,  if Rex had to put a name to the look in Klaus’s eyes. It helped that he had his whole body too.

“Klaus,” Rex said as he reached the tree, “What’s going on? How are you here? You died!” 

“I did die, yes,” Klaus said as he brushed his hand through the swaying grass. “I am not Klaus in actuality, think of me less like a ghost of his soul, and more of his power and thoughts personified. I must admit that I did not come before you for a friendly chat though.” 

As he started to explain himself Klaus’s eyes seemed to take a harder, more analytical glint to them. “I came here to offer you a choice, Rex. For some reason, the conduit left me enough power to make one change. 

Klaus looked up to the night sky while drumming a slow tempo on the tree bark with his fingers. 

Rex watched as Klaus gathered himself for a minute and then let out a long and sad breath. “I can change things, Rex. I could bring those who died on your journey back. Those who perished, both friend and foe alike. If your foes return they will no longer seek the end of the world, but instead find themselves in this new world that you helped to make. I could even let Pneuma come to life on her own and be able to walk with her sisters.”

Klaus turned to look at Rex with regretful eyes, “If you accept this choice Rex, no one will remember you. Not your friends, family, or even your own Blades. You will be alone Rex. All alone. No one will remember you as a hero or even as the kind boy who wanted to take a lonely Blade to Elysium. You will have to restart your whole lif-”

“I’ll do it,” Rex says, cutting off Klaus before he could finish his sentence. “If it means that the people who shouldn’t have died because of my journey will live, then I’ll do it.” Rex stared up at Klaus with a burning fire in his eyes. Resolute in his decision, just like he had been when he told Pyra that he would take her to Elysium. “Even if it means that I lose everything, I won’t let this chance slip through my hands.” 

Klaus was once more astounded by the kindness and compassion that such a young man could have for others. He decided that even though he would let the world forget this spectacular boy, he would let there be a chance for those who loved him most to regain their memories of him. Klaus would also give his daughters a way to find their Driver again. Not that he would be telling Rex this. The old man had to have some entertainment in the afterlife after all.

“Rex, I can not open another dream like this again. If I am to do this, then I must do it now.” Klaus said as he looked down at Rex with pride and respect in his gaze.

“I won’t get to say goodbye then?” asked Rex. “I guess it’s better this way then. Alright Klaus, do it!” 

Klaus closed his eyes and lifted his hands towards the sky. A light started to gather around his hands. The light suddenly expanded and it seemed like it lit up the whole night. With one last smile, Klaus pushed the light towards Rex, and with it, the world went dark.

Chapter Text

Rex woke up when the sun shined into his eyes through the window in his bedroom. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he shuffled into the bathroom. Rex looked into the mirror as he bent down to wash his face. After wiping the water off, he saw something that surprised him. Instead of him standing in his pajama pants as he would normally see, there was a glowing tattoo on his chest. It was the same color and shape as the core crystal that Rex had had during his journey to Elysium. It rested in the exact spot where his half of the core had once been.

“That’s a bit odd, innit?” asked Red quietly as he took a closer look at the tattoo. It glowed a faint green and stayed on Rex’s chest even when he rubbed at it. 

“Hey, Mythra! Pyra! Is there anything going on with either of your cores?” Rex tried to listen for either of his Blades, but if they said something then he couldn’t hear it. “Mythra? Pyra?”

Rex padded out of his room and walked towards the kitchen. It was weird. On a usual day, Rex would have heard some talking and the scent of breakfast would be in the air. Instead, all there was was silence. 

“Guys, you alright? Is something the matter?”

Rex finally reached the kitchen. He immediately noticed that something was off. All of Pyra’s pans and cooking utensils were gone. Actually, now that Rex looked through the kitchen and the living room that was right next to it, anything that could show that more than one person lived here had been removed. There were no extra pairs of shoes at the entrance, or any coats hung up on the wall. Mythra’s wine glass that had been left out from the night before had disappeared, and Pyra’s cooking magazines were missing too. 

“Wh-what’s going on here? Mythra! Pyra! If this is some type of joke, then it’s not very funny!” Rex waited for a reply but all he got was the resounding silence of an empty house.

“Where are you hiding? Haha very funny, nice joke, now come out!” Rex shouted as he spun around the living room looking for just one piece of evidence that could prove anyone else lived here with him. Everywhere he looked was the same. There was no proof that the Blades had ever lived there in the first place. 

Rex kept looking until something came to him. ”Wait, I had a dream last night. Klaus was there and we were in the field, right? What did he say though?” Rex brought his hand up to the top of his head and tried to remember what had happened in the dream. All this did was bring a headache. “Something about forgetting? Forgetting what though? I can’t seem to remeb-”.

“If you accept this choice Rex, no one will remember you. Not your friends, family, or even your own Blades. You will be alone Rex. All alone. No one will remember you as a hero or even as the kind boy who wanted to take a lonely Blade to Elysium.” 

“What? What choice did I make?” Rex questioned to himself as he felt his headache getting worse. “I made a choice, I know that and it had something to do with memories, and people I think?” 

Rex grimaced as the headache turned from a dull throbbing to a fierce pain that seemed to almost spike through the front of his head. 

And then it all came together. The pain stopped and Rex remembered. He had made a choice. A choice to save people; people who hadn’t deserved the deaths that they had gotten. He had made a choice and these were the consequences of said decision. The reason why his house looked like it only had one resident was because it did. Mythra and Pyra didn’t live here. They couldn’t have. For that to have happened they would have to remember Rex in the first place.

Rex fell to his knees with tears streaming down his cheeks. Of course, they wouldn’t remember him, no one would . Every relationship he had ever had was now gone. His friends, family. Everyone. He was on his own. Rex pressed his head to the floor and did the only thing he could do. He sobbed. 

“PYRA! MYTHRA! I’M SORRY! I’M SO SOrry… please come back” 

And so Rex wept. He wept for himself, his friends, and every single person he had met. But most of all, he wept for the loss of the two most important people in his life. 

Chapter Text

It felt like no time at all before 2 years had passed. Rex often thought about the choice he had made and tried to regret it. He found every time that he couldn’t. If it meant that some people who had died would live he would always make the choice. No matter how many nightmares he had, or how aching the loneliness got. It didn’t matter if he had no one to turn to or to lean on. 

The last two years hadn’t been too bad though. Rex had finally hit a growth spurt that had put him around 5’6”. Not exactly the tallest person around but he was still a good 7 inches taller than when he was 14. If Nia was still around he could lord over her that he was finally taller. Mythra and Pyra would still be taller than him though. 

Rex had definitely changed his style in the last two years too. What used to be a Scavenger suit with a blue singlet underneath, had instead turned into a fashionable look for the young man. He now wore a white jacket with turquoise lines down the arms and sides. Underneath the jacket, Rex wore a blue shirt. Instead of bulky armor that went over his legs, he now wore black combat pants that lead down to a set of black boots. On his back, he had a good-quality greatsword. He also had on a pair of gloves that were black on the back of his hand and turquoise on the palm side. 

His greatsword had a white handle that led to a black blade. It was nothing grandiose like a Blade would offer, but it did get the job done non the less. What others didn’t know was that if the sword was held in the right light it had two different decals on its two sides. One had a single-edged flaming sword on it, while the other had a double-edged sword on it that seemed to be made partially of light. Rex asked the blacksmith who made the blade for those additions to be made with a metal that was near the same hue as the rest of the blade but still could be made out if someone looked hard enough. 

How this sword differed from the other swords that Rex had used before was that it had a fixed blade instead of being a form-changing blade. Rex never wanted to get a different blade but he knew that he would need one for his lines of work.

That was yet another thing that had changed for Rex. Instead of just being a Scavenger he was also a bounty hunter now. It had actually started as an accident. Rex had been traveling for a little bit and found a group of bandits attacking a caravan of merchants that had been on their way to a nearby village. Rex had immediately joined the fray and had dispatched the bandits in a short form. Afterward, Rex had tied up the bandits and had taken them to the nearby nation of Mor Ardain. What he hadn’t expected was that there had been a reward for the bandits.

///

“Hello, how can I help you today?” A tall tanned brunette woman who was dressed in the non-armored version of the Ardainian army uniform asked Rex as he came up to the counter that he had been directed to. To be fair though, everyone was tall compared to Rex back then.

“ Um, hello there. I was told to come here because of a bounty?” Rex asked as he looked around the room. It was a large metal building that had a dark, red-colored stone floor. The walls were decorated with recruitment posters and notices about new and old bounties. To break up the militaristic feel of the room there had been some artwork and beautiful wall banners put up around the room. It helped the room to feel more welcoming and less like a place meant only for money and soldiers. 

“Yes, this would be the place for that. Have you ever delivered a bounty to this office or any of the other offices in the empire?” She asked Rex in a warm voice. 

“No actually, this is my first time really dealing with bounties, I guess.”

“Okay then, well since you are an unregistered bounty hunter you will only get 60 percent of the reward. If you want I could help get you set up as an official bounty hunter for Mor Ardain? It will come with a fee, but we will always have an open room and board for you if you keep coming in with bounties. This can be a nice place to rest if you are traveling between nations. You will have to renew your license every year, but it is cheaper to be registered rather than to take a cut to the reward."

Rex seemed to consider the options for a moment but decided not to take her up on it, for now at least.

“Actually, I just wanted to get these bandits put away, y’know, so that they can’t hurt anyone else.” After saying this, Rex pointed to the tied-up group of men that some soldiers were guarding to make sure that they didn’t try to escape.

The woman, who Rex needed to get the name of, because he couldn't just keep referring to her as “the woman” in his head, looked at the group of bandits and recognized them. She ‘tsked at them in a noise of recognition and pulled up the bounty for the group.

“This is the group of bandits that have been attacking any caravans that have tried to come through the route that leads to Uraya. They do have a bit of a bounty on them because of this.”

The woman turned around and went through a door that was behind her. She came out a few moments later and brought out a pouch that made a clinking sound when she sat it down.

“This is 360 gold. The total amount for the bounty on them would have been 600, but with the cut, it’s lowered a bit. Thank you for stopping them and for coming to Mor Ardain to drop them off. Please come again!”

As she said this, the woman nodded to the soldiers that were guarding the bandits. The soldiers then started to take the men down the road, and where Rex assumed to be, to the local jailhouse. 

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name Ms?” Rex asked as he scratched the back of his head and grinned up at her.

“I’m so sorry, it must have slipped my mind completely, how rude of me! My name is Raha!” The woman declared as she leaned her hip against the counter that separated the two of them.

Nice to meet you Raha! My name is Rex.” Rex said as he took the pouch of gold and put it in one of the pouches on the side of his armor.

They grinned at each other and that was the start of a great friendship.

///

Raha was the first new friend that Rex made since he had been forgotten, and it was the turning point for him to finally try and get his life back together. Even if he didn’t have his old friends anymore, he could always make more! Who knows, maybe someday he could see his old friends again without his heart feeling sad at even the thought of them.

Since then, Rex had made some more friends and he had even gotten back into salvaging. After a while, he had gotten his bounty hunting license not only from Mor Ardain but from all of the nearby nations that he could. Sometimes when Raha had the time she would even help with his bounty hunting, although he did have to half the bounties with her.

Even though it wasn’t the life that Rex had imagined he’d have after the world tree fell, it was still something he could settle for. Too bad the world (and a meddlesome old architect) wasn’t exactly content with letting Rex settle.

Chapter Text

The Argentum Trade Guild before the Titans came together to form Elysium would be a far sight compared to the new Argentum that was around now. What had been at one point been a simple place to trade and dive for treasure had now instead become a flourishing port town. While it still mostly dealt with trade and diving, the town now had other types of revenue and other attractions. People would know come to enjoy the sparkling blue sea or to visit the town itself. It had an expansive market and tons of trading and buying happened daily. 

While the tourism was nice it wasn’t what Rex was after. Instead, he had heard rumors that a new type of chest plate armor would be selling soon and he wanted to get his hands on it. Rex didn’t usually wear a lot of armor when he went out, but he wouldn’t mind having some heavier armor the next time he had a big bounty that he had to catch. Plus it could help him fight some of the more heavy-hitting monsters around the higher level Scavigning areas. 

The market was set up in the main square of Argentum and was in a semi grid-like setup. It was arranged in rows and by what type of wares were being sold. There were 4 main sections to the market, with less common stalls were spread wherever there was free space. The 4 main sections are weapons, food, armor/clothing, and general necessities. The stalls were all colorful, and you could hear people haggling for better prices. All around vendors yelled about how they had the best goods around.

Rex glanced around at all of the different stalls before deciding that he should go and buy the armor piece before he starts to wander. With that in mind, Rex started to walk over to the top left corner of the market, The armor/clothing section. The section itself was split into two different areas. On the left was the armor area, and on the right was the clothing area. Rex had bought both his casual and professional outfits from here as well. It was a nice place to shop at, plus you could custom order pieces if you have the money and time. 

Rex heads over to his usual armor seller to see if he had what Rex was here for. Rex looked around the Armor area before catching sight of the person he was looking for. There stood a man, tanned and strong looking, probably from working as a blacksmith his whole life. His hair was cut short on the sides and longer on the top, he also had a nicely trimmed beard too. The man was wearing a white button-up that was tucked into a pair of brown work pants. On top of his clothes, he had a dark leather smithing apron that went down to his waist. To round off the ensemble he had a pair of dark brown work boots on. This was Iann. One of Argentum’s best blacksmiths. He was also one of Rex’s close friends.

Iann’s expression seemed to pick up a bit when he caught sight of Rex. “Well, well, well, If it isn’t the Scavenge Hunter himself! Got any beautiful women flocking to you this time?”

“That was one time and you know it! That nickname still sucks, by the way.” Rex said as he glared at the chucking man.

“Oh come on, you have a reputation through the land, and you still deny the name? How rude.” Iann chuckled a bit more and then ruffled Rex’s hair. “Alright, what can this humble blacksmith do for you kid?”

“Humble my arse, you wouldn’t know what humble is if it beat you with your own hammer!” Rex mumbled to himself as he batted away the tall blacksmith’s hand. 

“I heard that y’know.”

Rex hmmph’d as he finally was able to get Iann’s giant -to Rex at least- hand off of his head. His eyes then turned serious as he looked up at Iann. 

“I heard that there is a new chest piece out. I was hoping that my good buddy Iann, would have it in stock.” Rex grinned shamelessly as he tuned his golden eyes up to the tanned man.

Ian glared at the greedy brat that he called his friend before sighing in defeat. “Yeah, I got it. It’s gonna cost you a pretty penny though Rex!” As he said this he looked over his wares before seemingly finding what he was looking for. Iann walked over to a crate that was near a suit of armor. He reached over for a crowbar before cracking the crate open to reveal a shining chest piece. Iann grabbed it before walking over to Rex. He set it down on a nearby barrel for Rex to examine it.

The chest piece was a metallic black color and had a red sheen if you held it up to the light. It wasn’t the slimmest thing in the world, but Rex was pretty sure that he could fit it underneath his jacket.

Rex’s eyes lit up in excitement as he saw the new piece of armor. It was beautiful and would make a great addition to his armory at home.

“The alloy that was used in this piece is special, y’know. It’s fire and heat resistant, can take a hell of a beating from anything that would try to crush you, and the only thing that could cut through it would have to be a sword from a Blade.” Iann bragged as he showed off the beautiful craftsmanship that went into the armor piece.

Rex made grabby hands for it but was stopped by Iann holding it up over the short Scavenger’s head. 

“Nuh-uh. You have to pay for it before you can get your little gremlin hands on it! I learned from the leg armor incident, did you?”

Rex rubbed the back of his head at the mention of the leg armor incident. It hadn’t been his fault that some woman had crashed into his back and caused him to throw a perfectly good set of leg armor into a visiting dignitary that had been enjoying the market. That was his story and he was sticking to it!

“Alright, alright. What’s it going to cost me oh so humble blacksmith?” Rex asked as he crossed his arms, knowing that this was going to be a bother trying to haggle for a reasonable price.

Ian turned his chin up at the sarcastic remark.”4,000 gold. Easily.”

Rex sputtered as he heard the absurd amount. “4,000 gold! Has the heat of the forge finally made you mad?!” 

“For that comment, I should make it 5.”

“2,500 gold, and I’ll commission something the next time I’m in the area!” Rex challenged with a determined glint in his eyes.

“As if I would ever accept that! 3,500 gold, and three commissions!” Iann shot back with the same determined glint in his own eyes.

“3,000 gold and 2 commissions!” Rex returned with his next offer.

“Deal!” 

“Deal!” 

As they both said this they turned away from each other and let out a huff. Then they both grinned at each other, shook hands, and exchanged the gold.

Rex grabbed his new armor piece and inspected it. It was a high-quality item and would help Rex tons in some of his harder fights. The fire and heat resistances were a nice little bonus too. Last he had heard the armor was only cutting and bludgeoning resistant, so it was nice to find out about the extras that had been added.

“Now then brat, let me see your sword, I’ve gotta make sure that you are taking care of her all nice an- Rex? Your uh, tattoo is starting to glow through your shirt.”

Rex looked down at his chest and noticed that the X on his chest was indeed shining. Not super brightly but it was still enough to be noticeable. Rex started to back up while he was trying to zip up his jacket before anyone else notices.

“I don’t understand. It’s never done this before, at most it’s just-” As Rex was talking he accidentally bumped into someone. 

“Ah, sorry about that. I wasn’t looking where I was going and I accidentally bumped into you.” Rex turned around as he was talking and finally saw who he was talking to.

It was a woman wearing a white sweater over a pair of thick black leggings that had some tears in them. She had golden bangles on her right wrist. Rex looked up -why is everyone so much taller than him! It’s so unfair!- to see that the woman had long blond hair and bright amber eyes. On top of her head, she had a tiara that had a green diamond on it, and wings that seemed to be flapping inwards. 

Mythra , it was Mythra. 

And she was staring right at him.

Chapter Text

Mythra. It was Mythra. She was standing right there. She was right there. 

There stood one of the two people that he had promised to take to Elysium. There stood one of the two most important people in his life. And she didn’t recognize him. Her eyes stared at him like he was a stranger that she had never met. 

It hurt, exactly in the way it felt when he first realized that she and Pyra were gone in the first place. No, it felt worse. It felt worse because he could actually see her. See, that no matter what he did, she would never remember Rex. Never remember their journey and the memories that they had made. 

It hurt and it was never going to stop hurting. Rex had realized this about two days after he had made the deal with Klaus. He could try and shut it behind doors, try and lock it up for years, but the pain was still there, just waiting for his defenses to slip. Then it would rush over him all over again and sometimes it could take weeks for him to get back to normal again if it was especially bad. 

Rex stumbled back a bit after seeing Mythra. He gave up on zipping his jacket and instead put his left hand on top of the tattoo, hoping that Mythra hadn’t seen it for the second or two that it had been uncovered. Rex took a big breath before bringing his eyes to hers again. She was still beautiful, even after two years. 

“Hmmph, see that it doesn’t happen again,” Mythra said as she took a look at the short Savlveger. 

“I-it won’t I swear.” As he said this, Rex dropped his eyes down to the ground. He couldn’t bear to keep looking at the almost unfriendly eyes. “Sorry, I have to go.” Rex’s voice was slowly growing quieter as he spoke. He then turned and grabbed his new piece of armor from Iann, who was staring worriedly at Rex. Rex tried to walk off but found his path blocked by Mythra. 

She stared right at Rex with a confused expression on her face. She looked at Rex but didn’t say anything. Every time he tried to walk past her she would shift herself so that he couldn’t leave. 

“Do I know you from somewhere? You seem familiar, but I can’t seem to place your face. Where are you from?” Mythra questioned as she narrowed her eyes and leaned down a bit to get a better look at Rex.

“I’m nobody, I’m just a random bounty hunter, maybe you saw me bringing in some bounties or something."

“No that’s not it. Nobody isn’t a name you know? Who are you, really?” Mythra said as she crossed her arms and started to glare at Rex.

“Just a bounty hunter? Kid, you’re underselling yourself there. This right here madam is the youngest diamond rank Scavenger in all of Elysium. He is also a renowned bounty hunter too!” Iann interjected as he started to sing the praises of his young friend. “In fact, just a couple of months ago he took out a Graze Ellok all on his own! Of course, it helped that I made his blade myself. If he hadn’t had that beauty of a sword he’d be pretty well up a shit creek eh?” 

After Iann brought up Rex’s greatsword Mythra’s eyes went right to the blade. For some reason she couldn’t explain, seeing the stranger wearing a sword really pissed her off. It felt wrong to see any blade, even if it was a high-quality sword, on his back. It made her want to rip it off and use Siren to destroy it. The longer Mythra stared at the sword the angrier she got. She then turned her glare towards Rex, grabbed him by the back of his jacket, and pulled him up so that their eyes were at the same height. This meant that Rex was dangling off the ground by a good 4 inches. 

“Alright, enough games Mister bounty hunter. Where do I know you from and what’s your name? You're really starting to piss me off by avoiding my questions.” Mythra growled as she shook Rex back and forth. For some reason, her head and heart was hurting, but if she could get some answers out of the annoying Salvager, then maybe the pain would go away.

Rex looked right at Mythra. Being this close to her he could see the confusion and bits of pain flashing through her eyes. The flashes of emotion only lasted a moment before her eyes hardened back to a glare. Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen her in so long, but for some reason, all Rex could feel when he looked at her was awe and pain. Awe because she looked happier than she did during their journey, and hurt because even when she was staring right at him she didn’t have even a hint of recognition in her eyes.

The look in his eyes seemed to surprise Mythra enough that her grip on the back of Rex’s jacket loosened just by a bit. The slight bit of the opening was enough for Rex to struggle out of her grip and fall to the ground. He turned around, made sure that he was still holding on to the newly purchased chest piece, and ran. 

There was no way that he was going to be able to tell Mythra his name without breaking down, or freezing up.

 So Rex ran. He ran out of the market. He ran out of town. He ran until he got to his motorcycle that he had stashed outside of Argentum. For a while, he could hear Mythra running after him and yelling, but eventually the sound of her voice disappeared.

The motorcycle was sleek looking and was built for speed and distance. It was a gunmetal color with the sides of the motorcycle having dragon wings painted on the sides. The wings started as a cobalt blue and gradually turned into a turquoise. Rex quickly got on the motorcycle and put on his helmet. It was the same color as his bike, but instead of wings on the side of it, the helmet seemed to have a dragon-type titan’s head outlined on it. The painting was a dark blue with sea green dashed in it for contrast and to help complete the look.

Rex started his motorcycle and started to speed off when he heard a shout from behind. As he rode away he saw that Mythra had seen him right before he had left. Unknown to Mythra their eyes had locked just for a moment and she swore she had a name at the tip of her tongue before it left her. Right as Rex drove off, Mythra swore that she saw a flash of green come from his chest.

~XC2~

“-and then he drove away. I swear that I saw something glow as he left though.” Mythra said as she finished her retailing. 

She was sitting in between her sisters on the couch of their house. She was staring at the coffee table and had curled her hands into fists about halfway through her story. She looked mad, but at the same time, like she had just missed something important that had almost been found.

“What about the blacksmith he was talking to earlier?” Pneuma asked as she took Mythra’s hands into her own and helped to uncurl them. She made a noise of concern when she saw that Mythra’s nails had left little indents in her palm. 

Pneuma was a tall woman whose face looked like Mythra’s. She had long teal hair that was held in a high ponytail. Her eyes were the color of sea glass and shined just as bright. For clothing, she wore a black crop top with a turquoise jacket on top of it. She had on a pair of grey leggings, a pair of black shorts that reached her thighs, and a set of white converse on her feet. For jewelry, she had on her tiara with a teal horn on it, like a unicorn, and a set of earrings that were shaped like stars and shifted from a dark purple to a bright blue.

Sitting on Mythra’s other side was her other sister, Pyra. Pyra had the same face as Mythra and Pneuma. Instead of blond or teal, her hair was a dark pink that almost bordered on red. Her hair was cut the shortest out of three sisters and was styled in a bob cut that framed her face. Her eyes were a red color with some yellow mixed in if you looked for long enough. She wore a cream sweater, not unlike Mythra, but instead of torn leggings, she had on a plaid skirt that reached to her knees. She was also wearing a pair of knee-high black socks that were tucked into a pair of black flats. The only jewelry that she had on was a simple necklace that was made out of a piece of cord and a green gemstone. The gem was shaped like a diamond and was one of Pyra’s favorite necklaces. She had had it for so long that she had forgotten where she had even gotten it from. 

Pyra had her arm around Mythra’s shoulders and was trying to help calm her down.

“I tried to go back and interrogate him but he wouldn’t tell me anything after the kid ran off. I was getting really angry so I had to leave before I did anything that I might have regretted.” Mythra said as she replied to Pneuma’s question. “I just wish that I could have gotten something more than just an older teenager with ashy brown hair and a greatsword on his back. For some reason whenever I think about that stupid sword I just feel so angry!”

Pyra opened her mouth to reply when she noticed something. She took a closer look before she started to talk.

“Mythra, when did the gray part of your core crystal start to glow again?” 

Mythra looked down at her chest to see that Pyra was right. The very middle of the gray area in her core was now the same green as the rest of the jewel.

“Wait, it’s not just my core crystal either; both of yours are the same too!” Mythra exclaimed as she pointed at the core crystals on her sisters' chests. The same spot that had lit up on her core was now lit up on theirs too.

Pneuma turned to look at her sisters and seemed to come to a decision. “I think that this bounty hunter that you found seems to have something to do with the mystery of our cores. If we find him, we find out what is going on with our crystals.” As she said this Pneuma’s eyes seemed to turn a bit colder. “If we can figure out what’s going on with them then we can fix them.”

Pyra turned to look at both her sisters. “So we need to find him and make him tell us what is going on? What if he resists?”

Mythra gave a savage grin as she sank back a bit into the cushions of the couch. “It’s three Aegis’s verses one base human. I’d like to see him try and resist. Don’t worry, there's no way he could get away from us.” 

After saying this Mythra seemed to finally relax for the first time since she had gotten back from Argentum this afternoon.

“So we are in agreement then? We find this boy and we get our answers.” Pneuma said as she watched her sisters’ banter for a couple of minutes. Both Pyra and Mythra nodded at this with a serious glint in their eyes. They would get their answers, and nothing was going to stop them.

Nothing.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since Rex had seen Myhtra and he was still shaken up by it. He had immediately driven home to the Leftherian Archipelago. After the titans had come together the archipelago had become a set of islands that were in the southeast corner of Elysium. Instead of the bridges being made out of the shells of the titans, like they used to be, there are now retractable drawbridges to help with traveling between the islands. There was one big bridge that led to the main island, but to get to any of the others you would have to take one of the smaller bridges. 

Rex lived in a two-story house that had been built on one of the uninhabited islands. It had been built for privacy and was a calm area to relax. It hadn’t been made for just one person though. The house had 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The area downstairs was made up of a huge living room and a kitchen. The door that led to the laundry room was to the left of the stairs that rested on the back wall of the house. The door on the right of the stairs led to the gym that Rex had renovated for Mythra. She may not look like but she was a total gym rat and loved picking up Rex and carrying him around the house in one arm. It was also a way for her to get her emotions out if she was having a bad day. Now it lay unused unless Raha came over. Attached to the house was a garage where Rex keeps his bike and whatever other items he was tinkering with.

For the past two days, all Rex did was lay in bed and work out hard enough that he instantly fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow. If Pyra was around she would have scolded Rex for not eating for so long. Pyra wasn’t here though. She never will be again.

 So Rex kept up his self-destructive pattern until he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door to see both Raha and Iann standing there dressed in regular clothes instead of their work outfits. Not dressed in her usual uniform, Raha was wearing a pair of white slacks and an oversized silver blouse that was on top of a black tank top. She wore a pair of sandals on her feet and to top off the look she had on a pair of aviator sunglasses on her head. Iann was wearing a grey V-neck that had a shield decal on the side, and a pair of black jeans. On his hands were a pair of fingerless gloves that had metal plates sewn into the backs of them. Rex in comparison looked homeless. All he had on was a pair of stained sweats and a ratty old gray t-shirt.

“Raha? Iann? What are you guys doing here? I don’t have any bounties out right now, and I just visited the market the other day.” As Rex said this he leaned against the side of the door frame and crossed his arms.

Raha cleared her throat before she started to talk. “We are here because our friend almost had a breakdown three days ago and hasn’t been seen anywhere since. Rex, we’re worried. You’ve been hurt, and we want to help.”

Iann nodded with a sad look in his eyes. “I get wanting to forget what happened lad, but repressing something doesn’t make it just go away. It festers and can get worse if it’s not dealt with. It’s like an infection, you see. Please, Rex, don’t shut us out, not like every other time we’ve tried to talk to you about this.

“You aren’t going to believe me you know. The story is so unbelievable that if it didn’t happen to me I would have taken myself as a liar. If you’re sure though, then you better come in. It’s a long story.”

 After saying this Rex stepped into his house and invited them inside. He walked over to one of the couches and flopped down on it. Raha and Iann followed him after closing the door. The living room was a large room that had 3 large couches and a couple of armchairs in between them. Raha decided to sit on the couch that was situated across from Rex. Iann sat down on the floor right next to her feet. 

Rex sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair. “Alright, so when I was 15 I got contracted for this job-”

~XC2~

“-and then I woke up. Everything seemed the same at first, but I couldn’t find them. I looked everywhere. I did. They were gone, or more accurately, they were never here in the first place.” Rex said as he looked down at his lap.

“Holy shit,” was all that Iann could say after Rex finished his story.

“Look, I know it doesn’t sound believable. Hell, you could leave right now, I wouldn’t blame you. If I could, I would join you and not believe myself too.”

“Rex, how are you even remotely okay? I’ve known men who have gone to war and gone through less than what you have. How have you coped with this at all?” Raha said as her hands were clutching at her pants. 

“I haven't.”

“What?” Iann asked as he brought his eyes to look at Rex. The young salvenger was trembling, and wouldn’t even meet their eyes. Both Iann’s and Raha’s hearts broke just a little by seeing this.

“Rex,” Raha said as she kneeled next to him “What do you mean by you haven’t?”

“I haven't coped at all. All I do is shove away my emotions and try and focus on anything else. If you guys hadn’t shown up I would probably be out salvaging or trying to find a new monster to kill.” Rex said as he curled up into a ball in his seat.

It looked like he was trying to block the world out. Like Rex had been hurt so badly that he was afraid to even try to mourn his loss. 

Rex’s shoulders started to shake as sobs began to come out out of the protective ball that he had put himself into. 

It hurt. It hurt for Rex to even try to approach the memories that he had desperately pushed to the back of his mind every time he would turn to talk to someone. Or when he would reach for one of his Blades and grab his new greatsword and be hit with a terrible sense of sadness and loss. He had gotten better at repressing the memories, but they never truly went away.

Iann and Raha shared a glance before they both got up from the ground and sat down next to the young salvager. Raha helped to prod Rex out of his ball, while Iann immediately grabbed him in a giant bear hug that Raha joined when Rex didn’t try to escape the grip of his friend.

“It’s alright lad, you deserve to mourn. You need to. Let it all out, Rex.” As Iann said this Rex had shoved his face against the larger man’s chest and wept. 

After two years, after everyone had forgotten the Master Driver, the kid from Fonsett Village who had wanted to make sure that everyone could have what they wanted. After everyone had forgotten him, Rex mourned.

Chapter Text

It had taken a lot of crying, talking, and a nap between the three of them, but Rex eventually felt better. He had taken a shower and had changed clothes so that he didn’t feel so gross anymore. Even though Rex had assured the two busybodies that were his friends that he was okay they had only let him out of their sight just so he could shower.

Rex was now dressed in a blue tank top that revealed his tattoo. He also had on a pair of white jogging pants and a gray beanie on his head.

Now that he was feeling somewhat present and capable, Rex decided to make some food for the two lunatics who invaded his house. He decided that a nice seafood fried rice would do fine. It was a good filling meal and was quick and easy to make. Plus the fire and spices helped him to feel even a bit closer to his previous Blades. Pyra was a master in the kitchen. Mythra…was not. Even though she caused a disaster every time they even let her go near food, those were still considered fond memories for Rex.

Rex is no master chef, but he isn’t bad either. He can make a mean Pan-Fried Tatari if he says so himself.
As Rex sat the plates and drinks down on the table he saw Iann lean over the table to get a better look at him. Iann’s eyes were focused on the glowing tattoo on Rex’s chest that was shining a constant emerald color.

“So that’s the thing that started all of the trouble the other day, eh? It’s kinda weird, you know?”

“Well, there is a reason I try to keep it hidden. People aren’t exactly kind to unknown things.” As Rex said this, he rubbed at the tattoo and seemed to be remembering something that had happened to him.

 “It was weird though. Maybe it glows when I’m near them, y’know, Mythra and Pyra? It’s never grown brighter before.”

Raha took a bite of her fried rice before her eyes lit up when the flavor hit her tongue. She quickly ate a few more bites before she opened her mouth to speak. 

“It could just be Blades in general though. If it reacts to any type of Blade you may need to wear multiple layers of clothing to hide it.” 

Rex seemed to think for a minute before shaking his head. 

“No, it’s not Blades that cause it to get brighter. I've been around plenty of Drivers and Blades in the last couple of years and it never reacted as it did at the market.”

Iann sipped at his water with a thoughtful look on his face, “Well, you did say that the tattoo is in the exact place and shape as your former half of their Core Crystal. Perhaps it has something to do with how well they can access Ether?”

“That can’t be it,” Raha argued, “There have been reports in the last two years of all three Aegises being able to lay waste to powerful enemies on their own. Together all 3 are deadly to even the strongest creatures.”

“Damn, there goes that idea,” Iann said as he pouted at his idea not being helpful.

“Maybe it has something to do with their memories?” Rex suggested before he took another bite of his fried rice. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but Mythra did say that I looked familiar to her.” He tried to hide it but there was a faint shine of hope in his gold eyes. 

Raha seemed to consider the idea before shrugging her shoulders. “You are the one who has the most experience with blades and cosmic bullshit here. I’m just a bounty officer, and he’s a simple blacksmith. If anyone of us would know it would be you.”

“Aye I don’t know much besides weapons and metalworking, but it is an idea worth having,” Iann said as he tipped his chair onto its back legs. Eventually, he put the chair back down and turned to Rex. “Do you have any thoughts on where to start looking?”

“Hmm, well maybe a library could help? It would have to be a pretty big and important library to have anything on memory manipulation though.” 

Raha seemed to think for a minute before her face lit up. “If we need a big library then the Indoline Praetorium is the place to go! It’s renowned for its history keeping and information tracking. So if anything about memory manipulation does exist then the Praetorium would be my best bet to find out about it.” She had a huge grin on her face and a shine to her eyes as she said this

“You just want to go to Indol don’t you?” Iann deadpanned as he side-eyed the beaming soldier.

“That’s a great idea, Raha! I’m sure if  there's a place that has the information we are looking for it would be Indol!” Rex said as he steamrolled past Iann’s question. 

“Yes! I finally get to see Indol! Oh, I’ve heard it’s so pretty, and the food is supposed to be delicious! What should I wear, should I bring my weapons? Oh, I need to plan!” Raha squealed as she stared at the wall with sparkles floating around her.

“Why do you need to pack? I thought I’m the one who’s going to Indol?” Rex asked with a bewildered look on his face.

“You're dumber than you look if you think we are letting you do this on your own, kid,” Iann said as he grabbed all of the plates and started to take them to the sink. 

“What?! You guys don’t have to. I’m perfectly fine going by myself. What about work? You can’t just leave!” Rex exclaimed as he stood up and slammed his hands down onto the table. 

Raha seemed to snap out of her vacation fantasies at the sound of Rex’s outburst.

“Of course, we are coming with you! You’re our friend and it could be dangerous for you to go alone! You may be strong as hell Rex, but that doesn’t mean you can face everything on your own! Plus I have plenty of time off saved up that I can use. So there is no need to worry about me.”

“But-” Rex started to say before being interrupted.

“And I can close down the forges for a little bit, I was needin’ a bit of change in pace anyways,” Iann said as he sat back down at the table.

“I’m not going to change your minds now, am I?” Rex asked with a displeased expression.

”Nope”

“Nope”

“Aghhh, fine. I don’t have a way to take you guys with me though. All I have is my motorcycle.”  Rex seemed to cheer up a bit thinking that he had found a way for his friends to go back to their normal lives.

“You  think we would leave with an excuse as thin as that?! Don’t worry, we brought our own rides. You didn’t forget that we were the ones who introduced you to motorcycles, now did you?” Iann said as he put his head on top of his hand. 

Rex looked a little sheepish as he shook his head while glancing away from Iann and Raha.

“Mhmm, sure” Raha purred with a teasing smirk on her face. She then pinched Rex’s cheek with a dangerous glint in her orange eyes. “You weren’t trying to find a way so we couldn’t come with you, were you, Rex?”

“What, no! That would be ridiculous.” Rex said, still not making eye contact with the Ardainian woman.

Raha sighed before her face took on a softer expression. “You know we won’t let you do this alone right, Rex? We’re friends, and that means we help each other, no matter what. I mean if something like this came up for me or Iann, wouldn’t you be the first one trying to help? Hell, you literally gave away basically all of your life just so some people would be happier! So please, don’t take this all on your own, Rex.” 

Rex stared at her and then glanced at Iann to see the same determined look in his gray eyes. “It would be really hypocritical of me to refuse now, wouldn’t it?”

Iann snorted and then shook his head in exasperation at Rex while Raha giggled in a way that would make a lesser man scream in terror.

“Alright then, It looks like we are going to the Indoline Praetorium!” As Rex said this he felt, for the first time in a while, a sense of adventure and excitement flowing through him. Rex was going to do whatever it takes if there was even a possibility of this crazy idea working. If it was even remotely possible to reunite with his friends again, he would do it, or die trying.

~XC2~

Pyra shot up from her bed. She panted for breath and was covered in sweat. It had happened again, the weird dreams that she and her sisters had been having ever since Mythra came home from the market a few days ago. The dreams were all different and disjointed, but they all seemed to have two things in them. A boy in a blue salvaging outfit, and one of the three sisters standing next to him.

All that Pyra could remember from her latest dream was the time that she and Tora had saved Nia. It was different though. The boy had been there and there was something about a water tower? It didn’t make sense, but then again none of her recent dreams did.

Pyra reached for the journal that was placed on the edge of her nightstand. It was a red leather book of blank paper that she had started to use as a dream journal. It helped her remember what the dream was about and to see if she could remember anything from the dream that could help with either locating the Salvenger or to see if she could learn more about him through the dreams.

Quickly the fire Blade jotted down some notes of what she remembered of the dream. Pyra was the best at remembering the dreams as wholly as possible. Mythra could remember some pieces of her dreams, while Pneuma could only remember bits and pieces of her own dreams. She was able to remember the boy’s face after every dream though.

After writing down her dream and deciding to think on it later, Pyra checked her clock only to see that it was far too early in the morning to be up and about. So she flicked off the lamp that was on her nightstand before falling back asleep.

Right before the light went out, if you had been able to see the journal you would have seen the words “Mind/Memory Modification???” circled a couple of times in red.

Chapter Text

The Indoline Praetorium, otherwise known as Indol, was a plentiful nation full of life and knowledge. Its capital city was beautiful and was considered one of, if not the best, places to look for information. Everywhere you looked you could see grand buildings made out of white marble with gold accents. The roads were made out of similarly colored white and gray stones to add contrast. There were many large towers and buildings that seemed to go on forever, some were even connected to each other. In the middle of the main courtyard stood a stunning water fountain that had been built after the World Tree had fallen. The fountain had three marble swords, made in the likeness of the three Aegises’ swords stabbing into a platform of obsidian.

The nation and its Titan had almost disappeared 2 years ago. Instead of sinking as it did in Rex’s memories, Indol had survived to become part of Elysium. Fan la Norne had been able to stop Amalthus from destroying the World Tree. She had survived the blow from Jinn, because he had stabbed her in the chest directly underneath her crystal. After surviving and stopping Amalthus, Fan had taken the place of her Driver and had appointed Jinn as her advisor. 

The Libraries of Indol were vast and full of tomes that were from a time long past. It was said that if one had the time and ability, they could build a map that could stretch throughout all of history. It would take one's lifetime to do so though.

After the Titans had come together, Indol ended up in the North-East area of the new continent. Since then, the nation has become a hub of scholars and learning. The libraries were now accessible to all and encouraged all to come and learn. 

In the last two years, universities started to pop up, and you could now see students in all different colors walking around the city. 

There were 3 main libraries located in Indol. They were focused on the past, present, and the future. The past was full of old literary works and ancient tomes that told the history of the world. The present was full of books and writings that covered the last hundred years or so. The future was full of construction plans and theories on what was to come. It held seed rotations and predictions on how to best prepare for different types of problems. If something that had been classified as theoretical, was proven to be true, then it was sent to the present section and recorded as a usable work of knowledge. 

The technology that had been used to make motorcycles a thing, had actually started at the Indolian Libraries. The plans had been discovered in the past section, which then was sent to the future section to be studied to see if the plans were usable within the next five to ten years. After being examined by the scientist and scholars who resided within the future section, the plans had been sent to the present section after a working model had been made. To make use of the uncovered knowledge, and to see it spread out to the world, Indol had contracted Tora, the genius inventor who had helped to save the world. With his technical know-how and his ability to mass-produce the vehicles, thanks to the factory he had built, the vehicles had been displayed to the world in about half a year.

Rex looked around at the bustling city with a curious look in his eyes. He never got much schooling besides the basic maths and languages that all kids got. If he ever wanted to leave behind his sword swinging ways, Rex was pretty sure that he would come here and try to learn more about history and archeology. 

Rex shook his head to get rid of his wandering thoughts and instead turned his focus on the reason why he was here. The Libraries. Rex had initially shown up with Raha and Iann, but the three had split up to cover more ground. Iann was interested in checking out the future branch of the library to see if there were any new theories or possibilities that he could use to further his own work. Raha had decided to go to the present section of the library. It was the area that she could understand the best. Plus, she argued, it could be a good way for her to get caught up on current events while she was looking around. Rex had decided that he would tackle the hardest and biggest section, the past. 

Rex was dressed in a gray button-up shirt that was tucked into a pair of black pants that went over a pair of dress shoes. He had decided that today he was going to be a scholar and not a warrior. All of his weapons and gear had been left in the hotel room that he, Raha, and Iann had rented. The only thing that Rex had on him was a dagger that he had strapped to his ankle underneath his pants. He did have to admit that it felt weird to be so under-armed somewhere that wasn’t his house.

After loitering around the courtyard, and blatantly staring at the water fountain that had been added in the last two years, Rex finally decided to go into the library itself. This past section was easily the largest. It seemed to reach so far that Rex couldn’t even see the end of the chamber from the front doors. The room was made out of dark woods with brown accents. The floor was made out of a soft but durable carpet that looked like it had been put in recently. The room seemed to go on forever, the whole history of the world was probably stored in this one ginormous area of study.

Rex looked around for a while before deciding to start at the section that seemed the most likely candidate to have anything to do with memories. The non-fiction area.

 It was the largest area in the past section of the library and took up a good three-fourths of the massive space. While it was good that there was so much knowledge available for people to study, it didn’t exactly help when someone was looking for something so specific. 

While the library was big, it did seem to have a good organization system. The books were put into time eras and then split into different types of information. After being split by types of information, the books were then put into alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. 

After discovering how the library was sorted and organized, Rex decided to track down some medical and psychology books that could act, hopefully, as a starting point on his search for ways to have his friends remember him. 

~XC2~

Three days. Three days. It had been three long days of slogging through medical texts and recounts of amnesia and yet, Rex was no closer to finding a way to break through the memory block, than he had been when he had started. Both Raha and Iann had similar stories. Certain topics would drag their attention away from the search at hand, anywhere from 30 minutes to a whole day would be wasted by following said topics. Rex wasn’t blaming them for this though. His own thirst for knowledge had eventually led him to the history section where he had lost a half-day of the search to the old pages and ink. 

What Rex didn't expect was someone approaching him while he was at the library.

He had just sat down at a table and had opened a book on ether manipulation when he heard a voice call out to him.

“Excuse me? I’ve noticed that you have been coming here for the last few days and wanted to see if you were finding everything alright. You seem to come in early in the mornings and then leave when the library closes. Is there anything that you need help with?” 

The voice was feminine and had a soft tilt to it. What was more surprising was the fact that the voice was familiar. It was a voice that Rex thought he would never hear again.

It was Fan la Norne’s voice.

Rex looked up from his book to see that there stood Fan. She looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her. At her funeral.

 Her brown hair was in the same style that it had always been, braided by her bangs and the rest falling to the middle of her back. Her golden eyes were staring at Rex and then glanced down to look at the book he was reading. She was dressed in a baggy red long-sleeved shirt and pants combo that was covered by a white robe that went down to her waist and stopped at her wrists. Completing her outfit was her tiara and her blue Core that glowed faintly in the dimmed room. The only difference was that her Core was fully intact now.

All Rex could do was stare at her. Out of all the people he had expected to see anytime soon, Fan was nowhere near the top of the list. She was busy guiding her nation and shouldn’t be near the libraries at all, let alone be there consistent enough to notice Rex’s daily habits. He wasn’t expecting to see her, but Rex still took his time looking at her, just basking in her presence and being able to see her alive again. It felt good to know that his choice had at least helped to make this happen. For Fan to be alive, to be able to talk to him.

“Hello?” Fan asked as she looked concerned at Rex.

“Huh? Oh um, sorry! I don’t even know if what I’m looking for exists if I am being honest. I just wanted to see if anything about it existed at all.” Rex said as he dragged his eyes away from the Goddess of the Praetorium. He looked down at his book and tried to focus on where he had been reading, but the words just seemed to swirl around on the page like the ink was in water instead of printed on paper. 

“Well if you don’t know what you are looking for exactly, I’m sure I can help! I know this part of the library like the back of my hand!” Fan declared, clapping her hands together with a pleasant expression on her face. Her smile seemed sweet, but Rex could tell he didn’t have a choice in the matter anymore. Maybe she just didn’t like him being in the library so often and wanted him to get out? 

Rex looked at Fan hesitantly so she decided to take the matter into her own hands. She grabbed Rex by his wrist and tugged him out of his seat. For someone who was only a half-inch taller than Rex, the Blade was surprisingly strong! 

Rex yelped as he was pulled onto his feet and stumbled a bit before finally catching himself. Fan loosened the grip around his wrist just a bit, but she didn’t let go entirely.

“Alright then, what exactly are you looking for?”

Rex hesitated for a moment before deciding to relent. “I’m looking for anything on amnesia or memories. Specifically blocks or manipulation of the mind.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve seen any books about those specific topics before,” Rex’s face fell as she said this, “but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything about the topics you're looking for. Have you looked into any medical or mental texts yet?”

“It was the first thing I looked into actually,” Rex said as Fan led him over to a section of the library that Rex was already well acquainted with. The medical tomes of the last 500 years took up a section of the available wall and reached over 25 feet in its entirety.

“You went through all of these already?” Fan asked as she dragged a finger across the spines of the books.

“Only the last 20 years of knowledge is what I went into. It didn’t seem like this would be a study of the far past, if I am to be honest.”

“Well, actually, I never got your name, or even introduced myself, did I? Well, whoever you are, my name is Fan and it seems a little lackadaisical to just stay in so recent textbooks. Some of the old books have perfectly good knowledge in them that are still being used today, even if they haven't been used much recently.” Fan said as she grabbed a book that seemed to be about diseases of the mind and remedies. 

“Oh, uh, my name is Rex, and I would prefer not to go into books that seem to think that a lobotomy is a proper medical procedure.”

“Just because one piece of information in a statement is proven to be untrue doesn’t mean that the surrounding logic is flawed.” Fan lightly scolded Rex as she opened the dusty tome. 

Rex huffed and glanced off to the side as he grabbed a more recent book and flipped it open. He then sat down on the carpeted floor and started to read. After a while, Fan looked up from her own book with a curious look in her eyes.

“So why are you looking for this stuff so intently anyways? It seems rather specific and understudied too.”

Rex closed his eyes and leaned his back against the bookshelf while he tried to think of an answer to tell the Blade.

“I have a … friend, I guess. They have amnesia and can't remember me anymore. I wanted to see if there was a way to remind them, I guess. It’s not like I can be near them all that often either, so I don’t think just being in my presence will help.” After saying this Rex opened his eyes and got back to reading. “To be alone is the worst feeling in the world, I would have to say. So if I can help them remember, I will. Even if it means that I have to keep coming back here every day for years, I’ll do it,”

Fan stared at Rex for a minute before her eyes softened and her smile seemed a little more sincere than it had before. Her gold eyes returned to her book, but she too decided to sit on the carpet and then leaned into Rex’s side. 

“You seem like a kind person Rex. I’m glad that I got to meet you.”

Rex’s breath caught in his throat. Tears gathered in his eyes, before eventually being wiped off by a sleeve. It felt good to know that his choice had led to this outcome. For Fan la Norne to be alive, and able to read old dusty books, seemed like a dream. To know that even if he had damned himself to eternal loneliness, at least there was proof that something was worth it in the end. 

“I’m glad that I got to meet you too, Fan.”

Chapter Text

After hours of studying and looking for answers, the two were stumped. Everywhere they looked there seemed to be nothing that could even pertain to what Rex was looking for. Has no one studied memories before? In all of the history that had ever been recorded no one had ever thought “What are memories, and how do we remember what we have forgotten?” Was it that strange of an idea?

“Hmm, the only other place I could think to look in would have to be the fiction section of the library.” Fan said as she tilted her head back to look up at the tall ceiling.

“Is that really the only option left? I don’t think that fiction will have any more info on this than non-fiction did?” Rex asked as he bit at his bottom lip and turned his head to look at the fiction side of the building. While being smaller than the non-fiction side, the fiction section of the library was still massive. It had all types of tales that ranged from the oldest known children's stories and myths, to semi-recent theories that had been proven wrong. To call it small would be a grave mistake. 

“It’s the only area left that we haven’t marked as non-important or gone through yet,” Fan said as she got up from her seat and walked towards the other side of the library. “I can start with more historical fiction to see if it has anything that can help, you can try different sections to see if you can find anything. We will meet here in two and half hours.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” 

With that, the two nodded at each other and split up to look for any information they could find.

Rex started by looking at some old novels that seemed to have been originally printed when the kingdom of Torna had been established. While semi-interesting, the books didn’t have anything to do with memories. More so about a connection between a Blade and their Driver and how it is impossible to sever when both are still alive. The novels mentioned that even when a Blade forgets their past life they may have small echos that can surface if they see something that had been important to their Drivers. Even a painting of the ones who used to wield them can cause the blades to feel these echoes. 

While this may be true, Rex was hesitant to believe the words of a fiction book that contained information he hadn’t seen in his days of studying. It did make Rex think though. Mythra did say he looked familiar. It still seemed like a long shot, but if it was possible… then Rex had to try. Even if nothing came from his search at least he could say he gave it his all. That no matter what, he had tried. 

Rex relaxed the tight grip on the book he was holding, making sure that he didn't harm it. Even if the books didn’t tell him what he was looking for, he still wanted to make sure they could be enjoyed by others. 

Rex was putting the book back when something caught his eye. A book spine that looked different than the others. Instead of looking semi-preserved and repaired, the book looked brand new. It was bound in white leather and had a brown cord tied around to keep the book shut. As far as Rex could tell, it looked like yet another child's storybook. 

Rex put the novel back and reached for the book. As his fingers closed around it something just clicked for Rex. This is what he was looking for, this is what he had come to Indol for. This simple-looking book that was put in the last place he would have ever thought to look. 

Rex pulled the book down from the shelf. He opened it to see that it was indeed, a storybook. It told tales of heroes and villains. Of lonely boys and the monsters they could become. It warned of giving too much away, in fear of losing your own self in the process. Of senseless rage, and how eternal forgiveness could be dangerous. 

What Rex was interested in the most though, was the tale of the forgotten prince. 

Once upon a time, there was a young prince who loved his people so much that he was willing to give anything to see them flourish. One day, while the young prince had been walking in the markets of his home, he met an old traveler who had a kind look to him. The traveler noticed that even though it was a nice day, and people all around him were of good cheer, the little prince looked sad. 

The old man asked him what was wrong, and the prince replied that he wished every day would be like this. For people to be happy and full and not have strife. He lamented how he was scared of war breaking out and his people getting harmed.

The traveler thought for a moment before he kneeled down beside the prince. He then offered a trade to the young prince. He asked what he was willing to give for his people to live like this. To have plentiful and for their worries to be lessened.

The boy was silent for a moment before he said ‘Anything’. The prince would do whatever was necessary to save his people and for them to never worry again. 

The traveler smiled and took the hand of the boy and put it between his own two, and declared that the deal was made. He then explained that the prince’s wish would happen, but there was a price. Everyone would forget the young prince. He couldn't return home to the castle. He would be alone and will have to learn to survive on his own.

The boy started to sob and the traveler was concerned for him. The boy looked up at the man and smiled. He was thankful for what the man had done and wished him well. The boy then got up and went on his way.

Years went by and the boy was now a man. He worked hard and had been able to buy his own land. He had his farm now and a family too. What the old traveler had told the man was true. The kingdom avoided war and famine, even when other lands did not. It was rumored that a great spirit had blessed the land.

One day, while the man was enjoying the night, he saw a figure walking on the path near his farm. The man called out to the figure and invited them to sit for a while, thinking that the person may be tired from a long journey.

As the figure approached, the man was surprised! He knew this person! It was the old traveler with whom he had made a deal. The traveler finally reached the man and greeted him. He was the only one to remember that the man had once been a prince.

The traveler joined the man and sat down. He eventually asked the man if he ever regretted his decision, if he wished he had never made the decision in the first place.

The man just smiled and replied that not even for a minute had he wished to undo his decision. His people were safe and happy, so what more could he wish for. The man had a place to call his own, and a family he loved. He was content with his life.

The traveler smiled a secret smile and thanked the man. He removed his robe and revealed that the traveler the man had met as a boy, was instead a great spirit that was sent to test the kingdom. He had gone to the man when he was young, as a test. A test, that the man who was no longer a boy, had passed.

The spirit then revealed he would bless the kingdom to have peace and prosperity for one hundred years after the next king was crowned. The man asked why the next king must be crowned for this to take place. The spirit smiled and said that it was only fair for the prince who gave up everything he could to protect his people to become the next king. The spirit took away the cost of the wish. The people now remembered the man and wished for his return.

Rex closed the book with hope in his eyes and a question in his heart. The prince had been rewarded for being selfless, but being selfless is what had gotten Rex into this position in the first place. 

Rex immediately pulled out a journal and a pen he had brought with him and wrote down the story so he could go over it again later and try to understand it better with his friends.

After the better part of two hours passed, Rex copied the story down and was finally ready to see if there was anything that he could do to see his friends again.

Rex stood up and made his way over to the beginning of the fiction section and saw that Fan was already there. 

“Rex, I was able to find something about memories, but they were about a Blade remembering their dead Drivers. I don’t think that would help you much though. Sorry.” Fan said as she looked down at the ground with a frown on her face.

Rex panicked for a minute before getting any words out. “No, it’s alright, I swear! Thank you for helping me in the first place! I found something though! I think it's what I was looking for! Here, I’ll show you!” Rex grabbed Fan by her hand and led her to where the storybook had been. 

When they got there, something was different. The book was gone. Rex looked all around to see if he could find it, but in its place was just a brown leather tome that told a campy romance tale about a guard captain and a lowly blacksmith. 

“I don’t understand, it was here. I saw it just a little bit ago!” Rex said as he looked at Fan. She glanced at him with a sad look.

“Maybe you should take a day off from the library, Rex. I think that you are just a bit stressed, that is all.”

Rex looked down before sighing. “I think today’s my last day here. I’ve gone through a lot of the library and I have friends who were going through the other library branches. They need to get back to their own lives too. It was nice meeting you Fan, I hope that I get to meet you again.” Rex then walked towards the entrance of the library. Even though he had succeeded in finding some type of information, it still felt like he had lost something in exchange. He left the library and was walking down the steps when he heard the doors behind him slam open.

“Rex!” Fan called after him, “We will meet again, I’m sure of it!” She smiled at him, opened the doors again, and disappeared into the library.

Rex looked back at the doors that just closed with a lighter heart and a promise made. He smiled and started to head back to find his friends. He may have just found a piece of the puzzle, but that doesn’t mean that his journey was done yet. 

~XC2~

Fan la Norne punched the address into the videophone and waited for the other side to pick up. 

“Fan, do you have anything new to the investigation or is this a personal call?” 

“I do have something to report. I met the Salvager that you are looking for. His name is Rex … and he was researching memories and how to manipulate them. He told me that he has a friend who has amnesia, so what we assumed was right. He is trying to affect the memories of the Aegis’s, and others too. I myself felt the feeling that Mythra described. It was like I was seeing an old friend and I felt comfortable around him too.” Fan said as she looked off to the side as she couldn't meet the eyes of the person on the screen.

“Hmm, so it’s affecting big players then. Alright then, I will be continuing my investigation. When I find him, I will apprehend him, and bring him in for questioning. Thank you Fan, we will get through this. Have a good night.”

“You too, Morag” After their pleasantries had been exchanged the call ended and Fan was left in a dark office.

‘I’m sorry Rex. I wish I could have lied, but I have to stop you before you do something that could hurt a lot of people. I hope by the end of this you will forgive me.’ Fan thought as tears started to drip down her chin. The Praetor of the Indoline Praetorium broke down into sobs and wordless pleads for forgiveness.

Chapter Text

Pneuma shot up from her bed soaked in sweat. She tried to breathe but all she could do was sob with terror as her dream kept repeating in her head. This nightmare couldn’t be true. It had to be fake, otherwise, she had, she had-. If it was true, then she had abandoned her driver and left him to drown in sorrow. Her driver. The one she had waited for 500 years to meet. How could she? How could she!

He had given up everything for her. He had gone on a mad journey with her just for her own selfish wish, and then she had left him. She had turned away from him. She couldn’t look at him, not with the betrayal that shone in his eyes. Not betrayal born from hate or cruelty, but of love. She had left him because of love. Even with that knowledge, it had crushed her to leave him like that.

All Pneuma could do was shake and plead. Plead for her friends to be right. That these memories were fake. That someone was planting fake memories in their heads so that they could use them for some convoluted plan to hurt others. That the teenager that Mythra had seen was evil and full of greed and hate. Not a boy who was consumed by grief and sadness. 

If the memories were true then-, then Pneuma had willingly walked to her death while the one she loved was breaking. If it was true and the selfless boy had given up everything, even his own life at one point, then where was he? Why wasn’t he here? Why wasn’t Pneuma apologizing with her every waking breath for the tears that had fallen from golden eyes?

What seemed like hours passed before her door opened to show her sisters peering in with worry shining in their eyes. They both looked shaken, but nowhere near as bad as their teal-haired counterpart. All Pneuma could do was shove her face into her knees and cry. Cry for what may have been and a past almost forgotten.

“He’sgonehe’sgonehe’sgonehe’sgonewhathaveIdonenonononoplease-” was mumbled by Pneuma as she tried to shut out the world around her. Before long two pairs of arms surrounded her and two voices started to whisper soothing nothings to try and relax their sister. 

“Hey, it’s alright. It’s just a dream. It’s not true, c’mon Pneu, it’s alright. We’re here. It’s alright-”

“Pneuma, we love you. Please, talk to us. Don’t shut us out. We promised, remember? We’re here for each other, please let us help. Please, your gonna hurt yourself-”

As the babble of her two sisters surrounded her, all Pneuma could do was mourn for something she hadn't lost. To know that even if there never had been, there should be another here. Someone else here to help. And knowing that someone was never here in the first place, made the hurt all the worse.

~XC2~

Rex woke up slowly, his head pillowed by his arms. After returning from the library he and his friends had stayed up all night theorizing about the story that Rex had found. He lifted his head, tears dripping down his face. 

He had that dream again. That nightmare. Pneuma sacrificing herself. A bridge gone, and a chasm that separated him from her that seemed to stretch forever. After that, the dream played on like how the events had actually happened. Rex and his friends had escaped. The core crystal clutched in between his hands. Then the crystal turned gray and cracks appeared inside of it, before, finally, it shattered into two pieces. And any hope left in Rex’s heart shattered along with it. She was gone. They were gone. Pyra, Mythra, Pneuma. Each important and unique in their own ways. 

Rex let the tears drop onto the desk as he refamiliarized himself with the pain. It had been months since the last time he dreamt it. It hurt. It hurt more than any injury ever could. The pain, while intense, only fueled Rex. He couldn’t fail. He couldn’t lose them. Not again.

Rex pushed himself up with shaky arms and then used the back of his arm to wipe the tears away. It was a dream. It would stay a dream. Locked in his mind and never being able to play out in reality. He wouldn’t let it. 

Rex finally got out of his chair and made for the bathroom. Looking in the mirror he could see dark shadows under his eyes, and that his hair looked like a bird had made a home in it. The shirt he was wearing was too big for him (he’s pretty sure it was Raha’s, from the flowers and vines that were going up the side of the shirt) and slipped down his shoulder. His sweats were only just holding onto his waist, and only a barely tied knot was keeping it together. Rex may be fit and strong, but he was still short and compact even after two years of growth.

From his spot in the bathroom, Rex could see his friends passed out on each other, with Iann laid on the ground and Raha using his broad chest as a pillow. Iann was going to freak out when he sees that one of his favorite tops had drool on it. As Rex looked at the two of them he noticed a pair of violet eyes peeking out at him. Raha smirked at him before squeezing closer to Iann and closing her eyes again. Rex merely blinked and then shook his head. He should have seen that coming, now that he looked back at how his two friends acted around each other.

Rex quietly padded over to his desk and started going through his notes again. He could give the two a couple more hours of sleep before they started the day.

~XC2~

“I still can’t believe that you got drool on one of my favorite shirts,” Iann muttered as he sat behind Raha, trying to tame her hair.

“Shut up and fix my hair. I’m thinking a high ponytail would be nice,” Raha said as she leaned against Iann with her eyes closed. 

“Yeah, yeah,” the blacksmith grumbled even as he did as he was told.

While the two bickered like usual, Rex was at the desk trying to understand the story again. It made sense on a surface level, but maybe there was something he was missing? It couldn’t be as simple as accepting the situation. He had already done that and made his peace with it, if not long ago, then at least after his breakdown a week ago.

Nothing that Rex could think of could possibly be the answer to his problem. It would be a futile effort to try and talk to Klaus, and even if he could talk to a dead man, it wouldn’t be the same as the story. The spirit had found the prince, not the other way around.

Rex groaned as he slammed his head down against his notes. Even though he knew this would be a long shot, he hadn’t expected to be stopped so soon, and by a book of all things!

“If you hurt yourself, I won’t be buying any potions to help you, Rex,” Raha said as Iann finally got done with her hair. It looked good and would stay up all day as long as Raha didn’t bring her hair down. It seemed like having three younger sisters had actually been a good thing for Iann, for once at least.

“That’s a lie and you know it!” came the muffled reply from Rex as his head was still laying on the desk.

“Shh, kid, she can’t let anyone know that she’s secretly a softie or they’ll take away her position in the military,” Iann teased as he removed his hands from Raha’s hair and surveyed his work. To many, it would look perfect, but to Iann all it showed was that he was rusty with braiding and molding hair. Why couldn’t he have been making a sword instead, he lamented, it would be so much easier to deal with. 

“Ah, Raha you can get off of me now,” Iann said as his ears started to turn a light red.

“Nope,” replied the brunette soldier, “I am perfectly comfortable where I am now.”

Rex snorted from the desk and in return got a middle finger that he couldn’t see from Iann.

Rex finally picked his head up from the desk and spun his chair around to look at his two friends. “So, how long do you have before you have to go back to work?”

Iann, who was trying to get Raha off, trying everything besides actually throwing her off of him, glanced at the teenager to see that he had a red mark on his forehead from where he had slammed his head onto the desk. “Pfft, I don’t have to get back anytime soon, seeing as I own the business. Now, Ms.Soldier here may be a different story though.

Raha pouted at Iann’s response. “I have at least another month of time off that I can use if needed. I don’t usually call in, and I use my days off to get stuff done, so I won’t be leaving anytime soon either.” After saying this Raha resettled into Iann’s lap, undoing all of his work to shove her off.

“Well since we have time maybe we could visit some places where your journey took you?” Iann said as he gave up and just leaned back against the headboard of the bed he was sitting on.

“Wait, that’s it!” exclaimed Rex as he shot up, and almost fell out of his chair. “Maybe if we visit the places I had to go on my journey, it can help me come to terms with the situation, and I can break the memory block. The first place that I went to was Gormott, so that’s where we will have to go first!”

“A mad quest traveling all around the continent with no info besides a fairytale-” Raha started.

“No supplies, no connections to help us out besides the weapons on our back-” Iann continued

“And our own wit to get us through any troubles that will inevitably find us?” finished Raha.

Iann and Raha shared a glance before turning to the excited bounty hunter, “I’m in!” they both said with grins and determined eyes.

Rex laughed at the couple's shenanigans and looked out the window to see the sun starting to rise over the horizon. Even though their statements had been made in jest, the two were right. It was just the three of them, no surprise party members or super-powered sentient blades to help them here. If Rex was to think about it, this may be an even worse planned journey than his first adventure! This time there was no grandpa dragon to guide him, no blades, (and if Rex felt the broken bonds that used to tie him to his Blades at the reminder, well that was for him alone to know) they didn’t even have a final destination like before. In all ways possible there shouldn’t be a chance for this crazy plan to work. And yet, that's what he was told last time too. If he can defy the world once, why couldn't he do it again?

With golden eyes shining bright with determination, Rex started to pack for their next destination. Gormott.

Chapter Text

Of all the ways that Rex had traveled in his lifetime, riding a motorcycle had to be his second favorite. The adrenaline that rushed through his body was addictive and to be in control of your own speed was freeing in the best way. Second favorite, only because nothing could top riding on the back of Azurda. The way it felt to fly over everything and to feel the wind go around your body was unmatched.
As Rex traveled to Gormott with his two best friends, his custom motorcycle purring beneath him, it was the best he had felt in a long time. He has a plan, and people by his side to help guide him. It wasn’t the same as it was but it was familiar enough. Rex didn’t even try to fight the grin that stretched underneath his helmet.
In front of him, the two idiots he called his friends were on their own bikes. Raha with a red motorcycle with black and gold flames on the sides, and Iann with a white motorcycle with blue and silver spikes of ice decorating the sides. Said idiots were trying to outspeed each other and pull off the best tricks that they could do while going so fast. While the two were pointing middle fingers at each other, Rex drove in between them and then accelerated past the duo. As he heard screams of rage and indignation behind him, Rex’s grin grew as his bike roared down the road with two others furiously trying to catch up as Gormott appeared in the distance. The race was on.

~XC2~

Rex cheered as his bike came to a standstill only seconds before two blurs turned the corner and came to a stop next to him.
“-therfucker! You stayed in the back the whole way over and then you decided to speed up? You lured us into a sense of calm, just to beat us!” Iann exclaimed as he took off his helmet to show that for all the offensive words that came out of his mouth, a grin and mischievous eyes told what he was really feeling.
Raha laughed as her own helmet was removed and just shook her head, “I don’t think he would be a renowned bounty hunter if he didn't know how to be patient, love,” she said as she winked at the blacksmith causing him to start blushing and spluttering.
Rex merely clutched his stomach as he started to laugh at Iann’s antics and lack of chill when it came to anything even remotely romantic. After a few minutes of shenanigans between the three, they finally stopped squabbling and looked at the area they had arrived at.
“Gormott, huh? I’ve never been here myself, but I do remember hearing horror stories about the piece of slime that used to be the presiding officer here,” Raha said as she glanced around the capital of the nation.
While the Stag Titan that used to walk around the cloud sea was no longer around, its influence was still present. The flag of the country had a great gray deer in the middle of a green background with a tree curling around it. The city lay on the very edge of the right side of Elysium. It was broken up into multiple levels with one or two hanging underneath the cliffside and almost reaching the water. If you looked on a sunny day you would see children diving off of the lower levels into the sea.
“From what I was told he wasn’t the greatest person you could meet, yeah. If anything he reminded me of Bana, the old chairman of the Argentum Trade Guild before the continent came together,” Rex explained to Iann and Raha as he led them and their bikes to the nearest inn. He looked to the side as he opened his mouth to say something when his eyes caught a mural. It showed a silver-haired gormotti standing back to back with a taller silver-haired woman who looked like a Blade. Prowling around their feet was a great white tiger. “...That’s new,” Rex eventually said as he stared at the mural. “It’s better than her wanted poster at least,” he joked, even if the warble in his voice made it fall a bit flat.
“That’s Nia and Dromarch, right? They’re the heroes of the world who came from and live in Gormott?” Iann asked, staring at the painting. He eventually lowered his gaze to Rex to see him still staring at it, “Rex?” he questioned gently.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, that’s them,” Rex said as he finally tore his eyes away from the mural to look back at his friends. “Come on, let's get to the inn before it’s too late to check in,” after saying this Rex started to walk again. As he led his two friends away he looked back one more time at the mural.

~XC2~

After getting checked in and stowing away their bikes, the group started to wander around the town.
“-and that water tower over there was taken down when my friends and I escaped; I wonder how long it took them to get it redone?” Rex said as he lead his friends around Gormott. The water tower that he had pulled down had been replaced by a bigger and newer model that looked like it had a lot more support on it than the last one. Rex grinned at the reminder of the beginning of his adventure. Even if it had only been a few days since he had started to truly mourn for what he had lost, it made it easier to accept what had happened, and what he was fighting to get back.
Iann gazed at the water tower and scoffed at some of the cheap metal that had been implicated into the base, “It may look more sturdy, but I bet it could still be pulled down all the same,” he grumbled as he looked away. Raha huffed in amusement and intertwined her and his hands together. As he looked at her in surprise, she merely grinned at him as he averted his eyes with a blush on his face.
Rex merely rolled his eyes as he saw the two continue to figure out their new relationship. He turned his eyes away from the tower, and his friends, looking around for anything interesting. Unfortunately, nothing was going on and the city was peaceful. It was strange for Rex to be here without being hunted or running for his life. He sighed and turned to see that Iann and Raha were looking at him with concerned expressions on their faces.
“Rex?” Raha asked as she shot a glance at the tired-looking bounty hunter, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Rex said as he ran a hand through his hair, “I just don’t think that there’s anything here to really help me though. The story said acceptance was the answer to my problems, but I don’t think I can do much of that here. I was thinking maybe we could turn in for the night and head to our next destination in the morning.”
Iann looked around and sighed, “I guess that’s fair. It’s not like you spent a lot of time here in the first place. Let’s get something to eat, maybe a drink, and then we can head out at first light tomorrow.”
Raha nodded and started to lead the group back to the inn when something caught Rex’s eye. In a store window was a silver jacket with a metallic light blue inside, and a black and white tiger striped headband and hair tie set. The jacket was shorter in the front and longer in the back, with the front stopping at the waist, and the back flaring out around the thighs. It may be foolish for Rex to want something that reminded him of his friends, but it didn’t stop him from wanting the items all the more.
“Actually, before we head to the inn, let’s do a bit of shopping if that’s alright with you two?” Rex asked as he looked at his friends. Raha and Iann shared a glance before agreeing. As Rex started walking towards the store he missed the glance his companions exchanged before their faces turned relieved and they smiled at their short friend.

~XC2~

As Rex looked back at Gormott he huffed a laugh at the place that had truly started his journey in the first place. Hopefully, it would help him again and send him on an entirely new journey, one more important to Rex, with fair winds at his back and a promising future to look towards. And hey, at least this time he wasn’t fleeing for his life. Rex climbed onto his bike and started it up. As he looked into his mirror he grinned as he saw the headband hanging around his neck and his new jacket fitted onto his back. His hair was tied back into a low ponytail and his eyes flashed with mirth. Even if Gormont hadn’t had all the answers he was looking for it still had given him something new, and hopefully, would lead him onto something better. Rex started his bike with a roar and took off, his friends at his back and a new day at his front.