I don't own Xenoblade

Hey everyone so this part is going to be a fusion of chapter 1 and 2 of the game since chapter 1 is very short in game plus there's no real action in it. I will be doing the affinity missions for some of the characters at least but I'll be putting those in a separate story since I feel like it. This one focuses more on the main main plot. The differences are that obviously this is a ElmaxHiro(Cross) fic and I will also make Hiro more relevant to the overall story than the actual game. Also don't expect exact dialogue, there will be some that's exact but most of it is coming straight out of memory since I can't replay cut scenes as far as I can see. Also this is not a completionist type deal so I won't show every single side questline because a lot of them don't feel too relevant. Now then, enjoy the story and remember to read and review and leave if you don't want spoilers!

Chapter 1: BLADE

"So the city was named after the city on Earth?" Hiro asked as he and Elma stepped onto an elevator. The main gate was locked down due to the indigen attack so they had to take the elevator up to the maintenance and supply entrance that went above the main gate and the lockdown. Apparently there was some big indigen problem besides the ones they just dealt with.

"Yes, it was even modeled after it as well, if you don't remember it was quite the city back home or…well…" Elma trailed off and Hiro frowned since she seemed so depressed. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she smiled a bit before she shrugged him off gently. They didn't talk the rest of the way up.

"Come on, let's see if looking at the city will help your memories return," Elma said with a hint of dare Hiro say, anxiousness as she led him down the small passage out to a small balcony. Hiro's eyes widened at how big the city was. He shouldn't have been too surprised considering how big it looked outside but still. It was an impressive sight to behold though one thing that made him confused was the tallest tower near the back of the city had a percentage on it. He wondered what that was but he didn't pay it too much mind.

"Our birth home is gone and now this is all we have left, NLA," Elma said as she placed her hands on her hips as Hiro took in the city. Despite their hopes though, HIro didn't feel any of his memories return just a small headache.

"No good?" Elma asked and he shook his head and sighed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll remember everything in time. Come, I'll show you the living quarters first," Elma reassured. Then she motioned for him to follow her onto another fright elevator. As they made their way down though a broadcast came onto the tower with the percentage and the speakers that were apparently set up around the city. The man on the broadcast was a middle aged man that must've been the leader or something along those lines.

"People of New Los Angeles Good day. This is your director General Maurice Chausson. Today I come to you with news that I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear. Yesterday we repatriated ten more White Whale crew members. These fellow pioneers will rejoin our ranks as citizens of NLA, brining with them the skills and know how that will bolster our ability to survive and indeed flourish here in our new home. This of course is only our latest success in our continuing efforts-" Hiro stopped paying attention when their elevator came to a stop and Elma seemed to have something on her mind.

"Director General? That's new, what happened while I was gone?" Elma asked as they walked down to the streets below. Hiro immediately felt a bit nervous about the man on the broadcast.

"Two days ago, ma'am," a new voice cut in. Hiro turned around to see a pair approaching them. One was a woman a bit shorter than Elma and the other was a man who was taller than both women but shorter than Hiro by a bit. They were both soldiers from the way they were dressed.

"From Political Aide to Director General, at this rate he'll be emperor by next month," the man said.

"Ah, Irina, Gwin," Elma addressed. They both saluted and the blonde woman said.

"Yes, ma'am, good work out there," her firm voice was a bit surprising and Hiro knew not to talk carelessly around her.

"This is Irina Akulov and Gwin Evans. They're both part of the Interceptor division in Blade," Elma introduced.

"Wait, it's just him? What happened to ten?!" Gwin asked.

"Are you really that naïve still? Chausson isn't going to let lies cover up a good speech," Irina said a bit bitterly. Then she dropped it and smiled at Hiro.

"What's your name? I don't remember you from the force. Though that might change soon if the Commander has his way," she asked, kindly enough though the last parts made Hiro nervous.

"My name's Hiro," Hiro said simply.

"Just Hiro? No last name?" Gwin asked. Hiro's eyes went downward as he thought about it and nothing came out still.

"I…I don't know what it is…" Hiro said softly. Irina and Gwin both seemed surprised about that. Though Irina seemed to be the only one who got the hint, or at least enough of it to know what not to do.

"Oh…why's that?" Gwin asked, intrigued, Irina elbowed him in the gut though, making him grunt.

"I…don't remember it…" Hiro didn't exactly know how to answer more than that. Gwin seemed to get it now and they let the subject drop. Elma spoke up though before anything got too awkward.

"I served in the coalition force back on Earth with these two. I was a Colonel and Irina was a lieutenant and Gwin was kind of new. We were in the Special Operations Heavy Armor Training Unit also called the Skeleton Crew. I'm in a separate division from them now but I usually cross paths with them," Elma said. Then she smiled and added.

"Though I keep telling them that those old ranks don't apply here anymore," Irina and Gwin both chuckled before Irina spoke up.

"You'll always be Colonel to me ma'am and nothing is going to change that. And that isn't about rank or reorganization, it's about respect. You've earned that and more," Irina said faithfully. Hiro looked at Elma in a bit of a new light after that. He knew she was something but he had no idea that she was some big war hero from the sounds of it. He felt a bit…inadequate next to her, he felt that way next to Irina and Gwin too.

"And award to best ass-kiss goes too…" that remark was followed by a yelp of pain since Irina hit Gwin again.

"Alright ma'am we better get to work, will we see you out in the field sometime after you drop him off?" Irina asked. Hiro felt his heart drop a bit at that, he kind of wanted to stick around Elma. Though he supposed it made sense, she was just out there to bring him back after all. He inwardly sighed since he probably wasn't going to see her for awhile.

"Actually, I'm going to see this one through the process. There's some things I want to oversee," Elma said.

"Ma'am?" Irina asked, a bit confused. Hiro was confused as well but happy at the same time.

"I just have a feeling about our new friend here," Elma said with a slight smile, making Hiro blush a bit. Irina looked at him for a bit, probably trying to see whatever Elma mentioned and then she shrugged.

"As you say, ma'am, come on Gwin," she said. The two left right away and Hiro turned to Elma. She looked at him and gave him one of her slight smiles that made him avert his eyes a bit. He chided himself for acting like a little boy with a crush though.

"Come along, let's go, the administrative district is on the other side of the city but it shouldn't take that long if we use the transport. You'll call that home for now," her eyes went downwards as if she felt guilty about something.

"Something wrong?" he asked, he couldn't help himself this time from speaking out.

"No, it's nothing, come along, before the Director starts wondering where you are," she said. He nodded and he followed her through the industrial zone that they were in, or at least that's what he thought it was. Though before they got too far they both heard the sound of some…thrusters? Hiro looked up and saw a…flying mech.

"A skell with the new flight module but wait…" Elma said then on queue the "skell" started smoking and then it started flying out of control. Then after a few moments it came down to crash into one of the streets. The next moment a car drove by quite fast, in the direction of the crash. Elma quickly ran towards it and Hiro followed after her quickly.

They saw the car come to a screeching stop in front of the downed, smoking skell. A small black haired girl jumped out of the car and ran to the skell. Hiro couldn't tell what she did but the next moment the cockpit of the skell opened. A large man in heavy looking armor emerged from the skell rather quickly. He hit something on his helmet and pulled it off, revealing a clean-shaven and military cut man.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he threw the helmet at one of the walls of the street. He jumped down from the skell as Elma and Hiro reached them.

"Doug, you ok?" Elma asked. The man, Doug saw them approach and put on a friendly enough smile.

"Ah, Elma, you saw that did you? Well yeah I'm ok but my skell isn't," he grumbled then the girl from the car spoke up.

"Maybe if you flew better it wouldn't have happened?" she asked. Doug sighed and crossed his arms.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault, there was exhaust spilling into my cockpit, check what's wrong with the ducts," Doug threw back. Hiro chuckled softly and he saw Elma try to hide the fact that she was smiling.

"Oh I'm checking, I just doubt that I-oh look at that, the intake duct was reversed, good thing I caught that," she said thoughtfully as she pulled out her comm or whatever device that everyone had apparently. Doug looked like he was going to blow a casket.

"Caught that? You're the one that cleared me for the flight!" he accused.

"Not like you to mess up a flight check, Lin. If Doug wasn't the pilot something might have happened," Elma said. The girl, Lin turned to them and smiled as she approached them both. The first thing that Hiro noticed though was that she was rather…small and young also. She was shorter than Elma by almost a head and she was quite small as well.

"Elma, I didn't know you got back. And…is this…your boyfriend or something?" she asked. Hiro's eyes widened and his face flushed red badly. He averted his eyes away but he noticed Elma had turned a bit red as well.

"I thought you were going to be with Lao or something?" Lin asked. Hiro felt his heart drop from hearing that but he shook it off.

"No Lin, it's nothing like that. He's one of the survivors that I found, the only one this time," Elma said in her usual tone but Hiro detected a bit of embarrassment in it. Lin let out a small laugh and clapped her hands together.

"Sorry, just kidding, I had an idea already. Though I'm surprised that you're still with him. Usually you drop them off with someone else and head back out, I'm Lin Lee Koo by the way, stranger. Mechanic and all top fix it gal for BLADE," she said cheerfully. Hiro had recovered from his embarrassment and managed to reply normally.

"My name's Hiro…don't remember much more than that…but uh…you're a bit young," Hiro commented.

"She's thirteen but don't let that fool you, she's one of our best and in my opinion she's probably our best engineer," Elma praised and Lin laughed.

"Aww shucks, I would blush but its true!" Lin piped and Hiro smiled a little at her attitude.

"Anyway as I said before the pilot there is Doug, one of our best," Elma said. The man, Doug waved at him and Hiro waved back silently. Doug was just as tall as Hiro but he was more built compared to Hiro's athletic build.

"So, since you're here how about I join you guys? We can take the transport and it'll be much easier to show him around," Lin suggested.

"That sounds good, we were actually heading there already," Elma said. Lin nodded and turned to Doug.

"Alright Doug, clean this up and get it back to the hanger, I'll fix the exhaust problem tomorrow," Lin said as the now trio made their way to the transports, much to Dough's annoyance.

"Wait, but this is your mess!" Doug said to death ears. Hiro felt bad but he shrugged it off and followed the two. They made their way through the district up to what looked like a plane. The pilot saluted Elma and she said to take them to the administrative district fast. After a few moments they were in the air on the way to their destination.

"This view never gets old, it's like a new city every time," Lin said thoughtfully. Hiro looked out the window at the sight and admitted that it was indeed something to take wonder in. He was brought out of his thoughts when Elma sat next to him.

"Still no memories?" she asked. He shook his head and she frowned, Hiro thought she looked depressed actually.

"Lin, we're pressed for time here so just give him the basic run down," Elma said as she stood up to go look at something else. Lin came up to his window and pointed back the way they came.

"NLA is divided into four districts, we just left the industrial district. That place has the food production, skell development and industry things," Lin said and Hiro nodded before she pointed towards another part of the city, the place with a lot of traffic from the looks of it.

"That is the commercial district. That place is known for the stores. Clothing, groceries, food, you name it. It's pretty much where you go for some downtown fun. It gets crowded a lot too since it's the only place like it here," Lin said before she pointed towards the quieter looking section of the city.

"There, is the residential district. As the name implies it's where most residents of NLA live. Lots of housing but of course there's a park and a cathedral too. It's a relaxing and quiet place for us to just chill out," Lin said thoughtfully before she pointed straight ahead towards their destination with all the tall buildings.

"Then last but not least, our destination, the Administrative District, the nerve center at the heart of NLA. Home to the main government and BLADE HQ and the barracks that all operatives call home. Along with armory alley it also has the hanger for skell maintenance and repairs. That concludes our tour, we will be landing shortly," Lin said thoughtfully. Hiro laughed a bit at her antics as the ship landed down in the administrative district.

"Nice job Lin, well Hiro here we are. Normally I would have passed you off to someone else by now but I'll hand in the report myself this time," Elma said as they walked off the ship.

"Thanks…" Hiro said softly but then Elma grabbed his arm suddenly and stopped him. She pulled him back slightly and when he looked at her she placed her finger against her lips. He looked back at Lin but she seemed far too taken by something on a console. Hiro didn't resist though as she brought him to a small alley where no one was around.

"Sorry, Hiro but I wanted to warn you and I couldn't do it before since we were surrounded by listeners but here we should be fine," Elma said quickly.

"What's going on?" Hiro asked as he tugged his arm free.

"Listen Hiro, I have to warn you now. I already told you that we're perceived differently than normal humans and I'm sure you've been getting hints about it from everyone we talk to but I'm going to tell you straight. Most people would see us as their guardians but that goes two ways. The government, particularly the new Director sees us as…tools in a way. They believe that our status means that we can do much more than everyone else. That's why I was alone when I found you instead of having a team with me. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Elma asked, quietly. Hiro took in all the information quickly and he nodded.

"Is…Lin one of us too?" Hiro asked but Elma shook her head.

"No she isn't, she is simply very talented and loves what she's good at. But you and I definitely are and people are going to know one way or another, at least the people that matter," Elma explained and Hiro nodded.

"So…when we meet your superiors…am I going to be forced to join BLADE?" HIro asked, softly.

"BLADE is a good organization, don't think it isn't. I didn't lie when I said that we stand to protect humanity. But…yes…you will be asked but if you say no, there may be incentives for you to change your mind, not from BLADE mind you but our government. Not every eternal is forced into it and from what I understand it's almost never happened but I just had to warn you considering your…ability," Elma said softly as she looked around to make sure no one was around again. Hiro sighed and combed his hand through his hair. Just when things seemed to be getting good, there seemed to be more problems.

"How bad will it be?" he asked.

"Not terrible, we're not driven until we drop but I wanted to let you know…I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened because you weren't aware…" Elma said softly as her head went down. Hiro nodded and he placed his hand on her shoulder when her head was down. He nodded to her and she gave him another slight smile with dare he say, a tinge of blush?

"I didn't lie either when I said I wouldn't mind helping defend humanity, besides it's the least I could do since BLADE and you saved me," he said gratefully. Elma gave him a bigger smile but it didn't last before she sighed and shrugged him off gently again.

"Quickly then, they are expecting us," Elma said as she brushed by him gently. He followed her quickly and they found Lin where she was when they left her.

"Lin, enough browsing we need to get moving," Elma said and Lin turned to them in surprise before she shrugged.

"I was checking to see if Doug got the skell back to the hanger but alright," she appeased.

"Let's go, Armory Alley is this way, it's on our way to the barracks," Elma said as she waved them along. They took the main street next to the big tower, with BLADE stamped on it.

"That's BLADE tower, it houses the main government and our superiors as well. We might head there sometimes after missions, you'll see what it looks like soon if Elma does what I think she's going to do," Lin said. Hiro looked up at the big tower and he felt like the people in there were staring at him even though he couldn't tell. He turned it away from his mind as he was brought through the armory alley they mentioned. It was a lane of shops though unlike the commercial district they were all advertising weapons and armor.

"This is armory alley, memorize it, you'll be seeing it a lot. As the name implies this is where everyone gets suited up with the best gear or whatever they can afford. This is also where people buy gear for their skells as well," Lin commented as they walked through the shops.

"Skells, those mechs, does every BLADE get one?" Hiro asked as he turned to Elma.

"Well no, back on Earth we would have said yes but here it's different. Our resources are a bit scarcer and we don't know what can replace what yet, at least effectively. Skells are our best weapons for combat and building our new home. So naturally we have a limited number now and it's even harder to keep them serviced now with all the hostile indigens out there. Only the best are given a skell," Elma said thoughtfully.

"Then why don't you have one, Elma? You seem like the best to me," Hiro commented. Elma was silent for a few moments and Hiro thought he saw her cheeks flush but he was probably seeing things.

"That's…kind of you to say but well I did…but it was destroyed some time ago, all of it, even the frame. I haven't managed to raise enough funds to acquire a new one yet. You can imagine that since we have a limited number, the price is very high to acquire one even if you have the clearance. They don't give you a gun just because you're aloud to have one," Elma said, though she sounded a bit bitter about it.

"No use, being stuck on it now though," Elma continued as they passed by the various shops for weapons and armor. When they passed by two big terminals, though, Lin stopped them.

"Remember those two terminals, that's where you'll be getting most of your gear. The main one is the orange one, that's where a cumulative of all weapons and armor and any gear available will be set so you don't have to run around the whole alley. The other terminal is for the arms manufactures. Since we're short on resources, BLADE has to help pitch in to the weapon and armor development that we need. There aren't many companies now but that'll change soon, hopefully," Lin said. Hiro nodded and he wanted to go check it out but Elma placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, the barracks is in sight and I can see the Secretary now. We'll let you go check everything out later after we get you registered for the city and BLADE if you want," she said as they moved towards the barracks. It wasn't hard to miss since the building literally had the name on it. Though Hiro noticed that there were several other barracks with different symbols and colors on them but he didn't pay too much attention to them except for the one with a sort of blue horse symbol. After sidestepping a few skells and people they made their way up the steps to it. Hiro saw a man waiting by the entrance. He was a clean-cut middle-aged man with a scar crossing his chin and lip. He stood with an air of authority and nobility.

"Ah, there you are, Elma, the Director was wondering if you were going to deliver our new resident at all. Though I was surprised to see that you actually brought him in yourself," the man said with a firm voice as he approached them. He wore a fancy uniform and Hiro saw the patch, secretary of defense pinned onto the uniform.

"Secretary Nagi," Lin greeted before Elma could speak up.

"Ah, Miss Koo, I see you tagged along as well," the man now known as Nagi replied.

"Yep, I wanted to see the new guy in. Elma personally brining him in was interesting," Lin said energetically.

"So I see," Nagi said as he walked up to Hiro, Lin and Elma stepping aside. The man was shorter than Hiro yet he still walked with an intimidating posture. When he stood in front of Hiro he extended his hand out and Hiro was surprised. Though he took his hand and they shook.

"I am Kentaro Nagi, the Secretary of Defense here in NLA. I am charged with keeping the Peace and all military and policing matters are under my jurisdiction," he said firmly as they parted from their handshake.

"I am Hiro, just Hiro for now. I don't remember anything else before waking up from my pod," Hiro replied honestly. Nagi seemed surprised and he crossed his arms and he regarded Hiro critically like there was something he knew but he only did it for a moment.

"This makes things a bit…different then, I heard about it in the report but I wasn't sure," he said. Elma came up to him after that.

"Let's take this inside the barracks, there will be a lot to cover for him," Elma said. The secretary nodded and then they all entered the barracks. The barracks was clean and bright, which Hiro didn't exactly expect. He saw a hanger for what he guessed to be skells far along the entrance path and then when they turned they came to a sort of living room. There was a kitchen, a dining table, sort of and everything. There were a few other rooms as well but Hiro didn't have a chance to look at them since they went right up to the platform in the living room with some kind of giant table. Lin went off to the kitchen to start preparing some refreshments while Elma and Nagi took Hiro up.

"Now then, I assume Elma informed you about what happened to Earth?" Nagi asked as he tapped the table and the entire thing lit up. Hiro took back what he thought about the table after that. A few images and holograms popped up but they didn't stay long.

"Earth was attacked or caught in the middle of a battle between two advanced alien races right?" Hiro asked. Nagi nodded and motioned for Elma to continue on.

"The Earthlife Colonization Project or Project Exodus was the program that spawned the white whale and the other colony ships. Except, ours was the only one that made it as far as we know… that said it took two long years and even then the hostile xenos still followed after us here to unknown space…" Elma said somberly.

"I see…" Hiro said thoughtfully.

"So what were you saying about my memory loss making things different?" Hiro asked. Nagi seemed to flinch ever so slightly at that but he remained firm overall. Elma was the one that seemed to fully shudder but before he could ask anything else Nagi began speaking.

"Just makes it a little harder to figure out who you are. Most of the records were lost on Earth and well with the destruction of the White Whale…a lot of people are getting a bit of a clean slate so to say. Whoever you were, there's a good chance you're just going to have to remember that on your own for now," Nagi said. Hiro's eyes went downcast at that news. So that was it? Whoever he was, was just gone? That seemed like a fate worse than death but he couldn't let that hold him back.

"So what happens now then?" he asked.

"Well here on Mira and in NLA, every person needs to do their part if we are to survive. From what I've heard you handled yourself very well against the indigens, you and Elma cleared the Grexes that assaulted the West Gate. How about you take up a job here in BLADE?" Nagi asked. Hiro was wondering when he was going to ask that.

"I filled him in on what BLADE is and what we do for humanity. Plus I showed him around the administrative district where all our associates and merchants are," Elma said and Nagi nodded before clearing his throat.

"Then I will add a few things in to give him a full picture. BLADE stands for Builders of a Legacy After the Destruction of Earth, fitting don't you think? After we landed on Mira, the things we needed just went on and on. The government couldn't handle it all so BLADE was created. Our main charge is to protect and ensure the survival of humanity. That does not always mean combat, we also must gather resources and sort through the problems the residents have," Nagi summarized.

"They definitely stand for good," Hiro commented, looking at Elma. She gave him a slight smile and he blushed slightly before he shook it off.

"So you'd just offer me a job like that?" Hiro asked, skeptically. He knew there was more meaning to it, thanks to Elma's warning but still.

"We are always looking for new recruits especially ones with the potential like you, assuming everything Elma said is true along with the footage from outside the west gate," Nagi said. HIro looked at Elma but she turned away from him a bit shyly, but she tried to play it off like nothing. He wondered when she had the time to write up a report and send it.

"Well…I think I'd be a fool to say no, I'm in," Hiro said proudly. He didn't exactly know why but he just felt…good about the organization. He felt a distinct need to defend people, it felt right to him.

"It's always good to have new recruits. Commander Vandham has actually asked that we send you on a training mission right away. I would usually advise against it so soon but well, we need to send teams out as soon as possible. We've been slowed down by the lockdown so much as it is. Elma, you'll take him in your team," Nagi said.

"Roger that, sir. Alright then, rookie it's time to see how well you do missions," Lin cut in as she brought in a tray of tea. Hiro chuckled a bit but he didn't particularly like the name, rookie.

"Right, then look, here," Nagi commanded as he activated another feature on the table and a large map came up.

"This is a full map of Primordia, NLA included. This world is still new to us so we need to learn everything we can about it if we are to survive here. We place beacons out in the field in order to gather data and resources. We don't have that many right now but we're always looking to expand. Your mission is to go out and place one of these beacons down. It'll give you a feel for field work," Nagi instructed.

"That sounds nice…" Hiro said as enthusiastically as he could. He felt tired but he didn't really show it.

"It'll just be a routine job. Nothing too exhausting I assure you," Elma said, picking up on his exhaustion. Hiro felt a little embarrassed by that, even though he'd been asleep for a while, he still felt exhausted. It was a lot to take in and his mind and his body were both taxed.

"Right, so if you're ready, Elma, he'll join your team for now since you've already been working together," Nagi said. Elma nodded and addressed Hiro and Lin.

"Right, let's get moving while it's still day time. It'll be easier to move now than at night," Elma ordered. The three quickly left the barracks with little time for anything else, before Elma started leading them out into the wilderness through the administrative gate.

"I heard that you guys defended the west gate from the Indigen attack," Lin commented as they walked through the fields. Hiro eyed a lot of the creatures they passed since he was afraid of getting attacked again.

"Yes that was us, Rook here did very well considering he'd been in stasis for so long," Elma said the name almost distastefully. Hiro winced slightly at the nickname but he didn't say anything about it.

"Come to think of it, has anything come up yet? Any memories of how you learned to use that sword or your gun?" Elma asked him directly. Hiro thought for a few moments but his head throbbed when he tried to think of anything in his past.

"Nothing at all, sorry," Hiro said as he shook his head.

"Hm…our records are limited but we'll check to see if we have anything on you when we get back. There's no way you could just know how to use those weapons without any kind of training and a lot of it judging from the form," Elma said. Hiro wondered about that himself actually, when combat started, he just moved like it was natural. All muscle memory and instinct like he'd done it for years.

"Hey Elma, my Comm is saying the dig site is close by," Lin said and Hiro saw her looking at a small handheld device that projected a screen. Elma stopped as well and pulled her own out and Hiro just looked around feeling a bit out of place. He started overlooking the area, noting all the indigens running around, thankfully nothing decided to just attack them on sight.

"Hey Rook," Lin nudged him slightly, making him jump slightly before he composed himself.

"Yes?" he asked politely as he looked his rifle over, embarrassed. Lin giggled softly before she held out something to him. He took it from her hand and turning it over in his hand and then he pressed the one button on it and a screen projected itself out.

"That's a comm device, every BLADE or every citizen has one. We were supposed to give it to you in the barracks but well…we forgot…" Lin said sheepishly. Hiro looked towards Elma and saw her still scanning her own device.

"The device let's you do basically everything from talking to people to managing your equipment," Lin said passionately like she designed it, and Hiro oddly thought she did.

"Try looking into your map, you should have the data from our mission. I took the liberty of already updating everything for you," Lin said happily. Hiro nodded his thanks and hit the map button, which was the picture of the continent. Primorida appeared on his device and then he zoomed it in naturally on the blinking light. The map also had the nice feature of highlighting himself and his friends on the map. Indeed he saw that they were close to their objective.

"If you're finished, we should move with haste before something not friendly decides to come after us," Elma said in her ever-stoic voice of a girl on the job.

"Of course," Hiro said without a second thought. Lin sighed and then the three made their way towards their objective, staying on a relatively straight path. There was little talk since Elma seemed adamant on being focused and Hiro had no idea what to talk about, being too caught up on his absence of memories. Though the silence would soon be broken.

"Hey look!" Lin shouted, alarmed. Elma and Hiro immediately became alert and tensed. In front of them was quite an alarming sight, to him anyway.

They had a visual on what looked to be the aftermath of a battle. There were four large four-armed indigens on the ground unmoving, dead. Standing over them was a giant six-legged insectoid or whatever an insect was on that planet it sure looked like one. It roared rather viciously as if the battle just ended or it was just very cocky.

"Down!" Elma ordered alarmed and they all quickly took cover behind some large rocks so they were out of sight. They all took careful peeks over their cover though to look at the giant indigen. Hiro looked at his rifle and wondered how it would hurt that thing but he shrugged it off. He had a sword that had to work right?

"What's going on?" Lin asked with a small quiver in her voice. Elma remained calm though from what Hiro saw.

"How odd…a simus should be higher up the food chain compared to a cinicula. Yet here the roles are completely reversed…team...we have a tyrant on our hands…" Elma said grimly.

"A what?" Hiro asked, quietly. There was no doubt that it was trouble but he still wanted to know what it meant.

"A tyrant is a special monster that could either be different from the rest of their respective species or just be plain unique by itself. Regardless they're major threats against all BLADES even the pros have trouble with them…still why is it so close to the city," Lin said thoughtfully. Hiro let all the info sink into his head, he thought that they should just avoid it or call it in.

However two things hit his head. First he checked his comm to make sure and his suspicions were correct, the nav site they were after was practically right under the tyrant if he was any judge. The other thought was that he didn't like the idea of just leaving the thing for someone else who might not be up to the task, chances were that it would run into a less prepared team. He sighed at the thought, seems they would have to fight it. He looked over his teammates, if Elma was as good as everyone made her seem then there shouldn't be any problems and he could just assume Lin was good as well if she was on her team.

"It's a good thing we're more than just pros then. Come on Elma, we can't leave this thing so close to the city. I just read the report, this thing is moving way too close to the city for my liking," Lin said, speaking Hiro's mind. Elma looked a bit…apprehensive at the thought so Hiro added his own two cents.

"If we leave it here, a less experienced team could risk running into it. Besides it's right on top of the nav point," he said calmly.

"True…but are you up to this rook? You're not so experienced either?" Elma asked softly with some worry in her voice. Hiro took a breath and steeled himself, mustering up more of his courage.

"You yourself said that I was no ordinary fighter," Hiro replied with a calm voice. He thought he saw the traces of a smile from her lips but it was gone in an instant.

"Very well then, let's get ready, our objective is now to take out that tyrant before it endangers more BLADES," Elma said as she drew her dual guns. Hiro and Lin both readied their weapons and Hiro eyed Lin's minigun, wondering how a small girl could use something like that but he shrugged it off, his life had been going through a flux since he woke up.

"Ready?" Elma asked. Lin nodded and Hiro just pulled the slot of his rifle back. Then together they all charged from their cover towards the beast.

"Lin covering fire try hitting it in the eyes. Hiro go right, I'll go left, we'll focus on the legs!" Elma ordered quickly.

They all kept running together for a short time before Lin stopped and reved up her minigun, letting bullets pelt the beast's face. The tyrant let out a roar at the attack as Hiro and Elma both split up their respective ways as planned, opening fire on it from their angles. Hiro tried aiming for something that looked soft since most of his shots just bounced off the outer shell. He stopped shooting when he had to dodge one of it's barbeded legs. He fired on the little chink in between it's foot and leg but when he pulled the trigger he heard a dreaded click of an empty gun. He quickly dove to the side when the beast took another swipe at him with another of its legs. He summersaulted over it and unsheathed his longsword and slashed the leg, surprised that the blade cut through the shell but pleasantly so.

"That's why nothing beats a blade," he thought as he started slashing at the leg but the beast pulled back, being wary of him now apparently. Though in doing so it apparently left it open for Elma and Lin.

"Eat this!" Lin shouted and then a few mini missiles hit the thing's face but it seemed to just anger it. Then Hiro heard the fierce cry of Elma.

"Shadowstrike!" the next moment the beast seemed to get knocked off it's bearing and Hiro jumped at the opening. He stabbed his blade into it's leg and used it as leverage and pulled. He made a deep gash in the beast, green blood spilling out profusely. The beast roared in pain as it was beat on by the three but it was far from over.

"Hiro look out!" Lin screamed. Hiro barely saw it coming and brought his sword up to block the blow from one of the powerful legs. He blocked the strike but the sheer size and strength of the appendage sent him flying away from it. He grunted from the strike but reflexively he flipped in the air and landed on his feet and sank his sword into the ground to make him stop skidding. He glared up at the tyrant and it roared at him but his teammates were still there.

"Drum Roll!" Lin shouted as she sprayed the tyrant with another round of mini missiles but this time they had an effect. The beast lost balance and then Hiro saw Elma slash at the leg he injured, making the gash even deeper. The creature roared out in pain as it lost balance completely and fell onto the ground.

"Come on Hiro!" Elma ordered as she started hacking at the beast. Hiro immediately got up and ran towards the downed creature. He dove his sword through it's soft underbelly and twisted his blade around before he started trying to drag it around, making more of it's green blood spill out onto the ground and his boots. The beast was roaring a lot so it was hard to make out the other sounds so he turned to see that Elma had the same idea as he did. She nodded to him and started dragging her blades towards him and he got the plan and started doing the same.

"This is going to be a messy," Hiro said and Elma actually laughed softly.

"Won't be the first time," she said amused. Hiro smiled back and then finally when they were close enough Elma pulled her blades free, blood spurting out and then HIro grunted as he pulled his blade through to connect the two cuts they made.

Two things happened, one disgusting and the other amusing to Hiro and Elma anyway. The first thing that happened was that the cut seemed to burst open and like a waterfall, the tyrant's blood and guts drenched Elma and Hiro. They were not carried away by it or anything since they were both firmly planted in the ground. The tyrant seemed to cease it's movements and it's sounds died down, probably having died during the waterfall of gore from it's gut. Hiro and Elma looked themselves over and each other, they both started laughing. Despite the fact that they were literally covered in gore and guts, they both thought that the fact that it was green just made them look ridiculous!

"Hey guys nice work-whoa!" Lin exclaimed when she saw the gore covered duo. Hiro and Elma were still laughing and Lin couldn't help but join in. They were all tired from the ordeal so they couldn't help themselves really.

"So did I make the cut?" Hiro asked when he got himself back under control. Elma chuckled softly and punched his arm, making a sort of weird squishy sound due to the gore covering them.

"Come on let's get the probe installed so we can go home, I'm sure the Commander will welcome you with open arms and set you up with a division and full benefits," Elma said as they moved out of the gore they were still standing in.

"I got this guys," Lin said as she pulled a large device out of her backpack and set it up on the ground. Hiro watched enough to just know how to do it himself before he turned back to Elma.

"So…does this mean you guys can stop calling me rookie now?" he asked, which was followed by Elma and Lin's laughter.