Nia knew that numb feeling all too well. She smiled at Malos, congratulating him for that victory as her heart groaned with every beat- Why can't I breathe- she never thought she'd feel that pain of the Crucible again. Like a witness to her own life, like a dream spiralling out of control. Rex was strong, stronger than anyone she'd ever known, but she knew better than most how easily he could have fallen. His confidence had always been on a knife's edge, and it had taken Vandham's death to find his balance.
As she found her way back to her room- I just woke up, I know! But I need a little bit of real rest- and she hoped that the dead men walking hadn't seen how much it hurt her. Jin might have, but he wouldn't tell anyone.
He never told anyone anything, not until it was too late.
Rex and Pyra needed each other, that much was true. Nia knew that, she'd always known that. Pyra's ether blade needed two hands to swing, and Rex only had one now- Can I heal that? Can I bring back lost limbs?- and without her there was no knowing what might be happening to them. Tora might save them from the Ardanian Guard, yes, but he might not survive long enough without Dromarch's...
Her heart pumped again, speeding up. Dromarch. Her faithful companion was right there, speaking to her. She couldn't hear a word, but she could guess what he was saying. The same thing he always asked: "Are you alright, my lady?"
Nia took a long, deep breath the moment she was certain they were alone. Her voice came out trembling and frail, "I-I'm- I'm not alright, Dromarch. We need to... need to talk."
Dromarch almost visibly flinched, the concern in his bright eyes cutting straight to the soul. "Of course, my lady. Would you like me to carry you there?"
It took her a moment, gold eyes peering into oceans of blue, for the words to make their way into her mind. "Yes. I think I'd like that," she replied, the words spilling out of her mouth.
[[XC2]]
I'm not the Nia that Rex met at Argentum.
Nia didn't hold back. It took her several minutes to collect herself, but she told Dromarch everything.
The quest for Elysium. Being captured in Gormott. Rescued by Rex. Making for the World Tree, ending up in Uraya. Vandham, Roc, and Garfront. Vandham's sacrifice, Mythra's awakening, and going to Mor Ardain. It all came pouring out, filling the air with a future that never was. About the Crucible, and her confession. She told him, at last, about their escape from the World Tree. How she died, suddenly and without reason. "...and now here I am, back at the start. Like nothing we did meant anything."
Dromarch sat there, nodding kindly. He listened, he offered comfort for the tears, and accepted. The long silence following her last words was warm, and she ran her hands through Dromarch's fur. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and nodded. "I believe you, my lady. With all my heart."
I'm not going to break. Why should I be sad? Rex's arm was cut off, but he's alive. I'm alive. "We can change the future, Dromarch. We can make it better."
He inclined his head. "We can, my lady. And this time, you're stronger for it. You've grown into quite a fine woman, and an even stronger Blade."
She smiled, throwing her arms around her most loyal companion in life. Thoughts bubbled up from her heart, and instead of pushing them down she let them sit. "Have I ever told you, Dromarch? You're like a dad to me."
[[XC2]]
The next day at breakfast, Akhos walked in to the mess hall and blinked. Turning slightly, he addressed his companion and Blade, Obrona. "I am seeing the same actors as you, correct?"
Obrona half-smiled, putting a gauntleted finger to her bottom lip in thought. "Ummm, you mean Nia and Dromarch? Yeah, I see them."
Huffing, Akhos shook his head. "The bare minimum for an answer? I won't take that. I can't be the only one to see Nia-"
Nia coughed politely, putting down her glass. "In her Blade form? I'm right here, y'know."
Looking up from his meal, Dromarch tilted his head, regarding Akhos and Obrona for a moment before turning back to Nia. "I believe they mean the affinity bond, my lady."
"Oh, that?" Nia replied, gesturing to the golden tether, faint as it might be, linking her core to Dromarch's.
Akhos nodded, his half-sneer long replaced by curiosity. "Of course the affinity bond! Obrona, get me a reading on this."
Clapping her gloved hands, Nia smiled. "I have no idea."
"Some things are beyond our understanding." Dromarch added sagely, catching Akhos' expression.
[[XC2]]
It was later that same day that Nia waltzed into a meeting a handful of minutes early. Nobody else was present save for Jin, who she greeted politely. "Hey, Jin. How're ya holding up?"
Jin grunted. "Fine."
"Never took you for a poet," She replied easily, burying her emotions. Jin is a good man, but misguided. I'm no Rex, though, so how could I even start on convincing him?
He glowered back as a response. I didn't realize just how grumpy he was before.
Rather than try and get something longer out of him, she leaned back in her seat and waited. I need to get to Rex. Dromarch had served as an excellent sounding board for ideas, even providing many of his own. She wasn't the best planner- I'm terrible at it- but that didn't mean Dromarch was, and between the two of them they'd managed to get something resembling a plan together.
"The bond vanished," Jin supplied unexpectedly. I'm surprised he noticed in the first place.
"About an hour ago, yeah. Moment we disagreed on something it vanished. Drove Akhos up the wall though." Nia smirked.
"He needed it." Jin grumbled, looking down.
Dromarch's jaw dropped, and Nia put a hand over her mouth.
"You're early, Nia." That voice still sent shivers down her spine. Malos, no matter what Rex had said or thought, was beyond redemption to her.
"Jus' trying to get involved, you know?" Nia shrugged, "Plus, Jin's great company."
Malos looked at Jin, eyebrow raised. "Sure."
It was not long after that Akhos and Obrona arrived. Patroka appeared only a minute or so later, dragging Mikhail with her. To think it'd be Mikhail to turn, completely on his own... But Mikhail was different. A Blade Eater, not bound to the same rules as Flesh Eaters or Blades. Something stirred when she watched Patroka peel Mikhail off of her, something faintly warm. Akhos gave her a strange look, and when she raised an eyebrow back, Akhos smirked. "You're smiling. Jealous of something?"
Nia shrugged. "I don't know, actually," she replied easily, well aware of how such answers affected him.
Akhos, predictably, had a sour look on his face.
[[XC2]]
Nia groaned mentally, leaning back in her chair and putting her heeled shoes up on the table. They'd been talking about technical things, boring stuff she'd always ignored before. Even after listening to Tora yammer on for a few months, she was no closer to understanding even half of what came from Mikhail's mouth.
When everyone started turning to look at her, she winced. Well, at least I have their attention. She sat up, resting a hand on Dromarch's head, running her fingers through his fur. Giving a fanged grin, Nia put her plan to the test. "Now, I know what you're talkin' about is important and all, but I think we're forgetting something even more important."
[[XC2: An Hour Before]]
"We need to get to Rex," Nia said, the words spilling out. "He's hurt, Dromarch, and even with my powers I don't know how much can be done." She runs her fingers through the bristly white of Dromarch's mane, savoring the feeling.
Dromarch nods minimally. "Of course, my lady. We'll need to convince Torna, or at least Malos, to send you after Rex."
[[XC2: In the Present]]
Malos raised an eyebrow. "Really."
I hope I look more confident than I feel. "Yes, really. Rex- you know, the kid?- is out there still, with the Aegis. Why aren't we going to try and chase him down while he's injured?"
Akhos leaned forward, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as a faint smirk crawled up his face. Nia bit back the urge to claw it off him. "You have a plan. It's not going to be better than my script, but I'd like to hear this."
Jin shrugged, and Patroka grunted. Mikhail's eyes bored deep into Nia's questioningly. "I'm all for hearing this, actually," he agreed, looking momentarily at Nia's revealed core crystal.
Her heart skipped a beat, smile becoming more genuine. Dromarch shuffled closer to her leg, pushing into it subtly. "No, really. I want to know why we aren't just sending someone to go pick him up. We can find him, so why don't we just go and get them now, while they're injured?"
Malos muttered something about kids.
Rolling his eyes, Akhos shifted backwards. "The closest Titan when they escaped was Gormott, and the stage is set against them there. Chairman Bana has the Consul in his pocket."
So that's why they didn't... Nia frowned. "I guess that makes sense," she started, eyeing Akhos specifically, "But I think it wouldn't be too hard to catch him myself."
[[XC2: An Hour Before]]
"The first time, they captured me with Ether Nets in Torigoth. Mòrag was already at Gormott, so she won't be long now," Nia recalled, rolling over on Dromarch's back.
"You wish to convince them by warning them of the risk?" Dromarch inquired, tilting his head. "My lady, that is most unwise."
This is why I have you, Dromarch. To catch me when I fall. "Hmm?"
Clearing his throat, Dromarch levelly replies, "They do not think of Mòrag as an idle threat. Knowing that she is present, Torna would send Mikhail and Patroka, at the very least."
Huh. "I hadn't thought of that, Dromarch. You're right. So instead, we should…"
[[XC2: In the Present]]
Akhos blinked. "I… I see no harm in it," he gritted out. But that's not in your Script, is it Akhos?
Before anyone else could speak, Nia took hold of the moment. "After all, if I was there, he might not have gotten away."
Jin grunted again. Ever the eloquent one, Jin.
Malos leaned in, suddenly interested. "It's only fair, right? But the Aegis can use her own sword, and she's damn good with it. How would you take her down?"
[[XC2: An Hour Before]]
"If this Pyra is as skilled with her own weapon as my lady recalls, then Malos will most certainly also be aware of this," Dromarch reminded Nia, "How might you convince him you are capable of taking down an Aegis?"
For a moment, she recalled standing by Rex's side on the Cliffs of Morytha.
A beautific, fanged smile spread across her face. "It just so happens I've done that before."
[[XC2: In the Present]]
There was nothing she could do to stop that same smile from crossing her face now. "If the Aegis was at her full strength, we wouldn't be here, right? Malos, you'd know best how much firepower she can pack."
Malos nodded, and Nia momentarily wondered when she found out Malos was the Aegis. It feels like forever ago. "I fought Pyra, but the Aegis that Addam used in the war was Mythra. Pyra won't be sinking any Titans, that's for sure."
"Then I should be able to hold her off for a minute or two at least, right?" Nia asked rhetorically, pausing only briefly. "All I need to do is use my powers on her, send her cell regeneration into overdrive. She'd burn through almost all of her energy just trying to fight it off."
Akhos blinked. "And you could do this to anyone?"
"It'd be a little more permanent if I tried it on a Flesh Eater or human, I think. And Jin could probably dodge it, like he does everything," she replied easily.
A chill ran down her spine as Malos grinned. "Well, kid, I'm sold. Mikhail, get the Monoceros ready. Nia has an Aegis to hunt."
[[XC2]]
Far away, on the great Titan Gormott, a one-armed salvager desperately fought off the vicious wildlife, standing over the collapsed body of the Aegis.
He only hoped she wouldn't be mad about all the mud in her long, blonde hair.
[[XC2]]
Author's Note:
This chapter would have been up earlier, and would have been much longer, had I not been sucked into Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom. I won't bore you with the details here, but I do not recommend it; it fails to flesh out its characters properly or give us sufficient character interaction.
I changed my style slightly for this chapter as well, and I would like to state that this story will not be a detailed coverage of an alternate timeline of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It will tell the important components, more like a string of connected 'slice of life' or oneshot stories. Please let me know what you think, as always!
Regards,
Verdin Grey
P.S. Writing this gave me inspiration for a one-shot story about Zeke travelling in time. Expect that at some point in the next month.
