XC1 Spoiler Warning

"What about this one?"

"Mythra!" Pyra quickly pushed the swimsuit away, "There's hardly anything there!"

"What?" The Aegis shrugged, "I thought you were trying to woo Rex?"

"Not with that!" Pyra was blushing so profusely her face almost matched her clothes. In order to get out of the funk they had found themselves in, Pyra was looking to get Rex to make a move. Unfortunately, he was notoriously terrible with taking hints, and each failed hint made Pyra increasingly paranoid that he actually liked Mythra or he actually thought of them as one and only loved that, or maybe he thought that Pyra was just too bland. Or that he had moved on.

Mythra thought this was utter nonsense, but it worried Pyra so it mattered to her. Well, vexed her might have been more accurate. Those two were going to end up together, it was only a matter of time. It was just that it was already taking longer than it needed to, and if a skimpy swimsuit would get Pyra to stop freaking out on a weekly basis, Mythra was all for it.

"Can't we find something a little more…tame?"

Mythra groaned, "Fine, I think I saw–"

"Excuse me," A man with longish silver hair approached the two women, "Might I have a word?"

"It's rude to interrupt people you know," Mythra bit back, but the man simply chuckled.

"Apologies. I was never all that great with niceties."

"So, kid," Mythra loosened up, "What do you want?"

"I was hoping to get to know my sisters."

"Your what now?"

"You don't mean…" Pyra's eyes went wide.

"Ah, so you did learn of me," The man chuckled and held out his hand, "I go by Alvis these days."

"So, let me get this straight," Mythra sat her water down, "You were sent to an alternate dimension where you became the blade of three different people?"

"In a sense," Alvis ran his finger over the rim of the glass, "We did not have blades, so there was no terminology for it. Unfortunately, the Klaus of my world went mad," Alvis put the glass back before setting it down, "Fortunately, I found another. One who could best him and save that world. So I…went rogue I guess you could say."

"And how did you end up here in Alrest?" Pyra was very invested in this story.

"Everyone from that dimension found themselves here. Myself included."

"Even your driver?" Pyra inquired.

"Indeed, though, I have made myself scarce since then. As far as he knows, I am dead. A conclusion I am happy to let him continue believing."

"Odd," Mythra looked at her "brother" suspiciously, "I haven't heard of another group of people out here."

"This land is vast compared to what they were both used to. They are far away, and it may be some time yet before they formally meet."

"Oh my," Pyra covered her mouth, "Then how far did you travel?"

"Quite a ways, but we are nothing if not durable. But enough about me, I want to hear about you. I want to see if the rumors I've heard hold up. I must admit, I expected to find two siblings, but this was not what I had in mind when I set out."

"Malos," Pyra hung her head slightly, "He…we had to kill him."

"I see," Alvis' face did not betray any emotions. He did not seem very expressive at all compared to the other Aegises. It was impossible to gauge what he was thinking as the sisters explained their story to him.

"I see. So he was a tormented individual. Well, I suppose you did what was necessary. Better than having him unleash such devastation. Still, I'm…impressed by you two. Somehow, you both seem so much more…human than I thought possible. You two seem to be legitimately…alive. It's something I never had a knack for."

"Well, you have plenty of time to start," Pyra smiled, "You could stay with us if you'd like."

"Thank you," Alvis genuinely smiled, "But I think I'll keep moving. It's a brave new world after all. There's plenty left for me to see."

"Would you like to at least meet our driver?"

"A tempting offer. I am curious as to how he compares to mine, but, no, I would rather leave a minimal mark on history moving forward. I do not think I have much of a place in the human world, and as such, I shall leave it be At least, for the time being."

"So, do you think we should leave them alone too?" Mythra asked feeling called out.

Alvis paused for a moment before responding, "No. You seemed to have carved out a life among them rather well. In fact, I'd say the both of you are almost human. Especially you," Alvis looked pointedly at Pyra.

"M-me?"

"Yes. Don't ask me why, but your actions, your movements, they just seem so much more natural than my own. I'm quite impressed actually." Alvis eyed his empty glass, "Perhaps in time, I too may become even more…natural. Maybe then…I could check in again."

"Don't be a stranger," Pyra smiled.

Alvis gave one last smirk as he stood to leave, "May we meet again. Some time."

"Hey!" Mythra called after him, "Where's your core crystal. It's been bugging me, but we all had ours on our chests. Where's yours?"

"Ah, yes. Mine is inside my chest. As if the core of my being." Alvis started walking away, "Red."

"Huh?"

"My crystal. It's red. In case you were wondering."

With that, the Aegis sisters watched as their eldest brother left.

"What a weirdo," Mythra commented as he faded from view.

"Hey, he's family," Pyra defended.

"If you believe what he was saying…you think we should tell anyone that there are more people here?"

"No," Pyra replied after a moment, "At least, not yet. Maybe as they start branching out more. If we tell them, they'll probably try to find them."

"Fair enough," Mythra put her hands on her hips, "Now, don't think you got out of shopping."

A/N: Huh, so, apparently, depending on which name you pick in Chapter 8, it will affect Pythra's neutral stance. Still probably going to stick with Pyra in my second run. It also seems that the blue outfit for Pyra also changes the...whatever material on her midriff...

It's been some time since I played the original Xenoblade, so please don't be mad if Alvis is a bit off.

It's been a while for this collection. I think this might be my fourth attempt at an entry for it since the last one.

I also found out that the whole "sisters" thing may have been a localization thing (though, I typically go by the localized version anyway), but it still seems like a logical way for them to treat each other going forward (I also rather like it). I also read that the original version was more consistent with regards to treating them as individuals (or at least using plural form). Oh well, that inconsistency may be somewhat annoying, but I'm still sticking with English. Somehow though, even with that ending, some seem to still think they're the same person.