Whoo! It's good to be back after one year of Hiatus and procrastinating! I really need to practice my writing more - I feel super rusty after not writing for so long... and I have so many projects planned out OTL Well, disclaimer that XBC X doesn't belong to me (Ha! As if.) and all that!
In all seriousness, may I just say just how beautiful this game really is? I just... The music, the massive world, the landscapes... I am so glad to be alive when Xenoblade X came out *cries tears of joy* I'm barely past chapter 6, and this game's one my favorites already! The thing about custom avatars in-game that has a default name is that you can get the default name and your own mixed up pretty easily, and after reading a bit of Awakening fics that explain how (insert avatar's name here) came to be called 'Robin', I wanted to do something similar for X's avatar. I am aware that some things in here differ from the original cutscenes, and I'm still experimenting with how I write the characters, and this thing is hella short, but hey, t'least it was fun to do.
Reads and feedbacks are always appreciated!
CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 5 OF XENOBLADE CHRONICLES X. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
"Hey, Elma?"
Elma glanced up, her code for 'What is it, Lin?'
The room they were in, one of the Mimeosome Center's which their comrade had occupied, went even quieter than it had been before. As if unsure how to word out her thoughts, Lin fidgeted, staring back and forth between Elma, who had been sitting on a chair next to the bed, and the room's glossy floor. Elma noticed the younger BLADE spared a brief glance toward her sleeping comrade, but still, she said nothing.
"It's... about Cross." Lin eventually spoke. "It's been bothering me for a while, but..."
Once again, Elma noted, Lin glanced at the bed Elma had been sitting next to. A worried look crossed her face when she saw the new BLADE, soundly sleeping after enduring what would have been fatal if he still had his human body, and a less-worried one when she saw a sleeping Tatsu at the corner of the room, but Lin took a deep breath and continued:
"Is 'Cross' really Cross' real name?"
Instead of answering right away like Lin had expected her to, Elma cocked her head slightly. "What brought this on?"
"Well, uh..." Lin began. "The thought just came to me when we realized he didn't remember he was a Mims - I mean, yes, it could be just a stasis hangover like you said, - but if he didn't even remember that basic knowledge every White Whale crew member should've known... It just makes me wonder."
Silence once again befell the room. The only sounds audible were Cross' soft snores (and Tatsu's harsher ones, Lin unpleasantly noted) and a shuffle, which piqued Lin's interest, as Elma shifted to look at the new BLADE, reaching out to gently stroke his head as she did.
"You're right... It isn't." She said, breaking the silence. "In fact, he never remembered ever having one. It wasn't on his ID, nor stasis pod, nor anything on his person... His name was a mystery even to himself."
Lin listened carefully when Elma paused, taking a breath before continuing:
"When I first brought him to NLA, I gave him some time to recover from the stasis hangover, in hopes that he'd remember at least his name. But after a few days, he came to me, worried and panicked, as he reported that he still couldn't remember anything. I was about to tell him to take it slowly and give it a few more days... But he then asked, in a shaking voice, 'Who am I supposed to be, then?'"
"The words... they got stuck in my throat once I've heard that." Elma's gaze dropped to the ground as she bit her lower lip. "I hadn't thought about how much of an identity crisis one would have to go through simply by not having a name... I was careless."
Lin's eyes had went wide by the time Elma finished, her look changing into an ever-worried one as she, once again, glanced at Cross. "I... I never knew..."
Elma brushed away the hair from Cross' face, revealing the scar beside the Pathfinder's right eye, one that went across his eyelid all the way to his cheekbone, barely visible thanks to the dark tattoo covering it.
"You see this cross-shaped scar?" She asked. "He's had this ever since I got him out of his stasis, so we named him after that to give him an actual identity. To this day, we still don't know who he really is - but it's relieving to know that he's found a purpose to live on for now."
Now, it was Lin's turn to cock her head. "And that is?"
A smile graced Elma's lips. "To find out how he even got the scar he's named after in the first place."
The Outfitter blinked, chuckling at the somewhat anti-climatic life purpose Cross was revealed to have had, Elma soon joining in. But the two's laughter died out once they heard a groan as Cross began to stir.
"Speak of the devil." Lin said, putting on her best smile.
"You're finally awake, Cross." Elma said. "Welcome back."