Chapter 16: Hearts Open

So Nier Automata and Persona 5 Royal for the Switch. Cool. I'll pick those up, even if they probably won't run as well but the portability is worth the tradeoffs.

I've been playing a lot of Fire Emblem Three Hopes recently. Pretty good game. I've also gotten readdicted to Clash Royale so at least I've got some stuff to do while waiting for Xenoblade 3. Also again, for those who somehow don't know, massive spoiler warnings for 3, avoid social media. Review copies of the game are out and the review channels are making videos.

Guest Reviewer: Thanks. Don't mean to sound ungrateful but it would be nice to get some more detail tho. What am I doing well? What am I doing poorly? Are the characters believable? Are they in character? Is the pacing too fast or too slow? It's hard to judge my work since when it's fresh, I don't see how I can improve it but when it's old, I become overly critical and think it's all bad.

…

Nia was still mildly frustrated the next morning. Brandon's apology went pretty far in calming her down, but the anger was still there to a certain degree. She just knew that Brandon probably wouldn't change immediately. It's been too baked into his fighting style. What must he have lived through for him to be so accustomed to fighting at a disadvantage?

Well… she had a vague idea from what little Brandon had actually told her. But it didn't have to be like that anymore. She, as well as Rex, had his tail. Well… they just had to get that drilled into his head.

Dromarch, as always, sensed her feelings and spent the morning with his head on her lap. As always, scratching a purring cat was calming. Even if that cat was a massive tiger.

Breakfast was a greasy salty affair as usual, that apparently being Brandon's specialty. Eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheese all wrapped up in a sandwich. Stupidly unhealthy. Also tasted stupidly good.

It was so unfair. Why was the unhealthiest stuff the tastiest? And she actually liked vegetables… and fish, much to her own dismay at living up to the stereotype.

Ugh, she was definitely not eating any more of Brandon's food. Feels like she just ate a three course meal with just a sandwich. She'd make her own meals. It's what she survived off of for years anyways. She should probably make sure that Rex was eating healthy as well or he was going to get a heart attack at twenty.

Though as to how she could get a lot of healthy foods, she wasn't too sure. They just didn't last very long and if they continued to travel around like they are now, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to bring something that'll go rotten in a few days. They did have fruits at least, which was something. Though fruits weren't exactly meals, more snacks on the road.

Speaking of which, she slipped a plumage peach from her travel pack to her pouch on the side so she could grab it while walking later without issue. Rex noticed her doing it so he did the same.

She rolled up her sleeping bag and clipped it to the top of her bag before slinging it over her shoulders.

"Everyone ready?" Vandham called. He was met with a few mumbled yeahs and nods, everyone either still tired or not too in the mood to socialize yet. "Tired huh? Well, we've got a full day's worth of walking ahead of us so don't blow all your energy. Make sure you eat plenty of food and drink a lot. Just let me know if we need to restock on water."

"Got it."

"Alrighty, let's get moving."

"Hey Nia," Rex moved over to her, Pyra sticking close by, "are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. We're fine. He apologized, so we're good."

"Really? Is that it?" Rex asked, "no festering feelings or anything? Nothing eating at you?"

"Do you expect there to be none?" Nia rolled her eyes, "of course there's still somethin', but it's not anythin' major. Just… we make sure Brandon doesn't go off doin' his own thing, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course." Rex nodded, "obviously I'll do that."

Nia nodded, "good. I'm not goin' to say he needs protection, but he needs a wake up call. If he keeps fightin' the way he's currently fightin', he's goin' to wind up dead because none of us could step in in time."

"Yeah, I've kind of noticed that. But I'm also not so confrontational about it because… well… that happens."

"But if you don't even do that, then he doesn't even acknowledge that he's in the wrong." Nia sighed, "at least now, he's got it in his mind that I don't like it, even if he doesn't change at first."

Rex shrugged, "you can't really enact change like that. If you try to force it in one big go, then they'll resist. You have to be subtle about it."

"Well has subtlety been workin'?" Nia asked, "no, especially not when there's a time limit to this kind of thing. All it takes is one misstep with his style and he's done. The point is that he's always on a knife's edge."

"I know that. I'm worried too. But I just… I dunno. I think that there are better ways to go about it."

"And I think that way is goin' to get him killed." She sighed, "I think we're goin' to have to agree to disagree."

"I guess…" Rex seemed disappointed he wasn't able to change her mind.

"Besides. You've got someone else important to protect as well, yeah?" She pointed at Pyra who blushed.

"Yeah. Though Pyra's strong so-"

Nia coughed, Pyra's face completely red at this point. Nia sighed, "Pyra, I'm so sorry you ended up with a Driver as dense as this kid."

"H-huh?" Rex looked back to see Pyra covering her face, "what did I say?"

Nia shook her head, "good luck," she patted Rex's shoulder as she left him behind completely clueless.

"That was mean," Brandon commented as Nia caught up to him.

Nia laughed, "maybe. How much of that did you hear?"

"Just the last bit." Brandon said, "but really? Exposing Rex then leaving him to the dogs?"

"It's funny. Well, maybe not for him." Nia shrugged, "hey, call it practice so he doesn't mess up worse with girls in the future. Probably still Pyra though to be honest."

Brandon gave her a funny look, "maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" Nia demanded, "is there somethin' wrong with her?"

"No no," Brandon said quickly, raising his hands, "it's just… a gut feeling. I don't know how to explain it exactly. But there's a part of my mind that says that something's going to go wrong."

Nia stared at him, wondering if he was serious. She hit his shoulder with her palm, "are you kiddin' me? This entire time I'm sittin' here tellin' you not to be a moron about protectin' yourself, but now you're worryin' over her? The Aegis?"

"Ow," Brandon rubbed his shoulder, giving her a baleful look. "I'm not worried about her per se. It's just a feeling."

"And I have a feelin' you're goin' to get yourself killed before she does." Nia said.

"Alright, I get it. I'll be less aggressive."

"Hm. We'll see if you stick to that." Nia said doubtfully.

"I will!" Brandon put a hand up and traced a cross across his chest, "cross my heart."

"I don't know what that means but sure." Nia put her hands behind her head as they walked, "I trust that you'll at least remember my words in the next fight."

"Mmh, you trust well, milady."

"Oh for cryin' out loud. It's your damn health."

"I wasn't being sarcastic," Brandon said, "seriously. Ow! You don't have to hit me every time you don't like what I say."

Nia pulled her clenched fist back, "I don't?"

"Oh don't pull that. Fucking hell," he rubbed his arm, "you're going to kill me before Torna at this rate."

"I'm not healin' that by the way."

"What? Why the hell not? You're the one who inflicted it," he winced as he touched the spot that Nia had punched, which was starting to turn a nasty shade of purple.

"Um, it's a reminder. Yeah."

"And if it slows me down in a fight?"

"I concur." Dromarch chimed in. "My lady?"

"Ugh," Nia waved a hand and the bruise slowly disappeared, "there, happy?"

"Thanks. That must've been such a massive exertion huh."

"Oi, what're you bitchin' for? I healed you didn't I?"

"And I thanked you, didn't I? But of course I'm going to bitch about it if you're the one who necessitated the healing in the first place. It's like if I broke one of your knives then only make you a new one after you complain about it."

Nia grumbled but didn't counter his point.

"What? Cat got your tongue, milady?" Brandon snarked.

"Yeah. You've finally got one on me," Nia smirked, "only took what? A hundred tries?"

"Hey," he shrugged, "I like to keep the bar low. Since I'll be able to hold this over your head for ages but you can't hold anything over me really."

"I… I hate you."

"Heh. How about that huh? Shoes on the other foot. I can kind of see why you like winning so much."

"Yeah yeah," Nia flicked a hand in the air with an eye roll, "whatever. Laugh it up while you still can. Just you watch I'll have the last laugh."

"I'm sure you will, milady." Brandon laughed, a sound that was rapidly starting to annoy Nia, "but not quite yet."

"Mmh. Maybe not. What I do know is that I'll be the on laughin' a few hours from now."

"Oh? And why's that, milady?"

"Because your endurance would have given out." She crossed her arms with a smirk.

"Urk. You've got me there. Better get my kicks in now then."

"Oh no you don't. You're not gettin' away with that that easily."

"Oh yes I am."

"No you… oi! Get back here!" Nia ran after Brandon who started to sprint ahead.

It really was Nia who had the last laugh. Brandon had expended all of his energy springing away from Nia and had way overexerted himself. He held up the group for a few minutes while he puked his guts out on the side of the dirt path. Then Nia had forced him to ride on top of Dromarch so he didn't slow the rest of the group down.

They traveled for a few hours before settling down for lunch. Though this time around, Nia insisted that she cooked for them instead of Brandon, claiming that his stuff was unhealthy. Well… it was unhealthy, but that was the point dammit! It tasted good and it was full of calories that you needed for a long walk.

Though he hated to admit it, Nia's cooking smelled really good. Grilled veggies with ruska dumplings. The taste on the other hand… well, it wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. But it also wasn't what he'd call traditionally good.

Definitely an acquired taste. Though Rex seemed to enjoy it enough which was probably the most important thing. Oddly enough, it was Dromarch who seemed to pull a face, well as close to pulling a face as he could while effectively being a tiger, as he ate. He didn't think Blades needed to eat but Dromarch seemed to think it was better to force it down than refuse.

Actually… do Blades get indigestion? He honestly had no idea what the hell a Blade's anatomy was like, or how their bodies worked in general. They were still clearly made up of cells, or at least a cell equivalent since it felt like they were made of organic material, but as far as he was aware, they only needed water and Ether. Though obviously they could eat, and it seemed like eating did boost their energy so most Blades decided to eat with their Drivers, even if they didn't strictly need to.

And it's not like they could dissect one either since their physical bodies faded to nothing once they died. And obviously people weren't going to dissect a living one because that was just wrong. Not that they could even if they wanted to since living Blades would regenerate anything done to them as long as their Core Crystal itself was intact.

Dromarch didn't seem too bothered once he was done though. Vandham also seemed alright, no read on Roc since he had politely refused. Pyra seemed to enjoy herself as well.

The annoying part to him was that Nia looked incredibly smug that people liked her food. It's not like she one upped him since no one seemed to think it was exceptional.

They had moved on afterwards, this time with Brandon actually on his own two feet. He had also been the only person in their group to have completely drained his canteen so he had to rush over to a river to get a refill. Luckily, Alrest had developed ways of cleaning water, especially since he didn't know how to do it himself.

For all his knowledge, there was still so much he didn't know. He kind of wished he could learn more, but Alrest just wasn't as advanced scientifically or technologically. There were a few things that they had down, and while some of it was impressive in its own right, it was just more inefficient compared to anything from Earth.

And to be fair, Titan technology was incredibly complex. He tried looking into some of it, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it. Though that was probably because he didn't really understand Ether.

Maybe he'd become a professor once this was all over. He had always wanted to go into academics, before the war took his life over. Before… well he had just been going through the motions of life. But now? It felt like he was here for a reason. He hadn't done much, true, and he was still afraid of dragging the Drivers and Blades down.

But it still felt like he had to take care of Rex, despite Rex being physically stronger than him now.

Perhaps that's how he should contribute more, with his knowledge over physical capabilities. He just had to figure out a way to be useful. He had people relying on him now.

When they made camp that night, cooking duty fell onto Brandon. Apparently even Nia could get tired… or she was just feeling lazy. Actually the more he thought about it the more the second option made sense.

What did he even want to make? His repertoire of fast food wasn't exactly massive and he was already working with limited ingredients. Honestly, maybe just steak and rice. Well technically it wasn't steak and rice since those didn't technically exist in Alrest in the form they did on Earth. Neither did the seasonings, other than salt. But if the meat here was close enough for burgers, it was close enough for regular steak.

He wished he had some cheese or eggs, but they didn't bring any of that with them. Maybe he should make some kind of portable refrigerator unit. He had a refrigerator on Gramps but obviously Gramps wasn't with them.

He finished cooking and everyone dug in. This time it was his turn to be smug, as Nia finished it off faster than everyone else. Faster than even Dromarch, who could practically fit the entire thing in his mouth in one go.

She blushed furiously when she realized and refused to acknowledge his gloating, which took some of the fun out of it.

They pretty much repeated that schedule until the capital city slowly hoved into view.

"Hm, looks like they've ramped up military production even more this year," Vandham commented as they looked up at the city from below. Warships were moving in and out of the military installment next to the city.

"Indeed," Dromarch said, "war with Mor Ardain seems more likely by the day."

"Yeah, things aren't looking great right now, I'll admit. But so far, most of this cold war is just posturing. Nothing's actually been done on either side other than building up military supplies since both leaders are afraid of war."

"So it's mutually assured destruction." Brandon commented, recalling a very similar scenario on Earth.

"Never thought about it like that but yeah. We haven't had a massive war in decades so we just don't know how much devastation our latest Titan weapons would cause. Rumors have it that Mor Ardain are excavating old Judicium Titan technology from the ashes on Temperantia." Vandham lowered his voice, "not sure if the rumors are true or not but if they are… well, we don't know how strong Temperantian Titan weapons are but we know that they were built during the Aegis war, meaning that they were meant to try to combat the Aegises."

Brandon bit his lip nervously as he made eye contact with Pyra. Something built to combat the Aegis… if that meant built to combat Artifices, they could be looking at city leveling weapons.

"But," Vandham continued, "we don't need to worry about that for the time being. If anything, we should hurry up with your goal to get to Elysium yeah? More land means no war."

"Yeah," Rex nodded, "so your friend, do you think…?"

"Nah, he's never been to Elyisum. There's only been one person to make it there and back alive. The Praetor himself, and apparently the journey damn near killed him. But that was before the Aegis war and the World Tree's guardian showing up."

"I can do it." Rex said confidently, "I know I can."

"I don't doubt you kid. But first, we have to actually meet him."

Brandon was a little less optimistic. He wondered if all this had been worth it, whether or not Vandham's supposed friend would actually know how to get around Artifice Ophion. It seemed like such a long shot.

But that long shot was the only lead they had at the moment.

"Your Titans look a lot different from the Ardanian ones," Nia said.

"Yeah. We Urayans like to keep things natural. We don't muck about with our Titans much."

"Well," Nia muttered, "it's better than the Ardanians at least."

"What do you mean by that?" Rex asked.

"Well, all that metal's in bad taste." Nia crossed her arms.

Rex shrugged, "actually, Titans don't notice modifications if they're done right. Gramps has a ton of stuff installed on him but he never minded. He actually likes it when we light a fire to cook on his back."

Nia turned to Brandon for confirmation. He nodded. "Yeah. From what I understand, assuming you use the proper tools and techniques, the Titans really don't notice even extensive modification. Plus even the Ardanian ones are built to be as non intrusive as possible so it's not like the Titans are weighed down or have their movement restricted."

"Huh. I guess I just don't like the idea of all that stuff bein' put into a livin' bein'."

Brandon shrugged, "I'm used to it. Peo-" he cut himself off, glancing around, "well… people have been modifying stuff for a long time."

"Yeah. I suppose." Nia gave him a knowing look before turning away. "Well, are we goin' to stand around here gawkin' all day or are we going to get to the capital?"

Vandham laughed, "alright. Let's move out."

Nia was impressed by Fonsa Myma. The area before the main gateway to the city was a massive gromrice field. There were a few farmers going around the fields but it was fairly quiet for the most part.

The city itself was fairly grandiose in design, with swooping archways and generally round designs. The streets were made of cobblestone. Most of the buildings were also stone as well, very different from Torigoth's wooden buildings.

They met up with Gramps at the commercial docks first, where Rex and Brandon dropped their stuff off. Brandon sheepishly paid the docking fee, with interest, as apparently he hadn't left enough money. They chatted a bit before Vandham took them to an inn. They checked in, getting a few rooms.

Brandon initially complained that it was too expensive but Vandham said he was paying, which shut him up real quick. What a cheapskate. Rex, Brandon, and Dromarch got a room to themselves, one for her and Pyra, and one for Vandham and Roc.

He then led them towards the playhouse.

"Huh," Brandon said, gesturing over to a table with a massive line in front of it. "What's that for?"

"Supplies, especially food, are scarce right now. Those are ration stations for the less fortunate. They're all over the city at this point."

Brandon scoffed, "another casualty of war."

"Not a fan huh? Can't say I am either. The only people who want it are the politicians, and maybe a few battle hungry soldiers."

"Oi, make room!"

Nia's head snapped to attention at the commotion. An Urayan Driver soldier shoved his way through the line, including the child at the very front.

"I'm a soldier. I've been busting my ass for this country for years. I should get priority!"

"Oh shit," Vandham muttered, "is that Iona?"

Without any other prompt, Pyra rushed forth to help the kid. "Are you alright?" She waited until she got a confirmation nod before turning towards the soldier.

"Hey! Being a soldier doesn't give you the right to bully other people."

"Huh? And who're you to say that?"

"Yeah," Rex ran up to join Pyra, "being an adult means looking after those who need help!"

"You brats!" The soldier drew his Blade weapons. Twin rings, which made Nia make a face in disgust. That man was supposed to be a healer, and here he was hurting other people.

"Looks like I've gotta teach you a lesson." He growled.

Nia snarled as she leapt forward, drawing her own twin rings. "You bastard. You don't deserve to be a Driver if you're doin' shite like this."

"H-huh?" He seemed less sure of himself, facing off against two people. "You think you can take me?"

Brandon sighed as he joined them, "yeah. I think we can." He said as he lifted his fists, the sound of his gauntlets unfurling becoming more and more familiar to Nia's ears. While he wasn't a Driver, the sudden crackling and sparks of electricity off the knuckles let off a threatening aura, even more so than what Nia thought she gave off.

Also, his height, which towered over most of their party, and his bulky frame certainly didn't hurt his image. He was also very clearly an adult, compared to Rex, who was fifteen, and herself, which she hated to admit it but she didn't look like an adult to some people.

"W-who are you people?" He glanced around before his eyes settled on Pyra's Core Crystal. "An… e-emerald Core Crystal? Y-you're the Aegis? AHH!" He turned and fled in a panic.

"Shit," Brandon sighed, "rumors are going to spread like wildfire."

"No helpin' it now," Nia said.

"Iona, are you alright," Vandham said, kneeling at the girl's side. She nodded again, "are you here to see grandpa?"

"Yeah. Is he around?"

She nodded and pointed to the playhouse.

"Hm. Looks like they're in the middle of a play right now, want to take a peek?"

Rex nodded. Brandon looked uninterested.

"Well, be quiet and we'll sneak in. They know me so no need to pay for a ticket."

They followed him in and took the empty seats in the back of the theater.

"And lo!" The narrator cried, his passionate voice echoing throughout the theater, "the Architect sent down his servant, the Aegis, to aid mankind against the forces of darkness!"

A person, wrapped in white, dropped down on wires as a beam of light shone down and red fabric was waved around like fire. The actors dressed in shadowy suits trembled and convulsed as they dropped to the ground. The lights cut out as pieces in the background moved in transition.

"And thus, the hero Addam, prevailed with the Aegis' protection, but at a terrible price. Three great Titans fell, sinking below the sea of clouds, forever."

The actor playing Addam knelt, "oh servant of the Architect. With thy power, we have saved the world. I will make sure that your name is spread and is known throughout history." He knelt to pick up the lady clad in white and walked away as the curtains fell.

The lights in the theater grew brighter as the audience applauded.

"That was… interesting," Nia whispered to Brandon.

"Yeah well, it's probably been simplified." Brandon shrugged, "it's not too uncommon for stuff based on real events."

"Yeah." She said as they waited for the crowd to slowly move their way out before following Vandham down to a side exit. She slowed her pace down to be in line with Rex.

"Hey, shouldn't you talk to her."

"Huh? Pyra? Why?"

"Well that play was about her. It must've been weird for her, eh?"

"I dunno. I guess."

"Well maybe, you should go and make things right." She said as she walked past him.

"What? Make it right? How?"

"Idiot. Figure it out yourself." She sighed.

Brandon coughed as Nia got up to him. "You sure like throwing him to the wolves when it comes to Pyra huh."

She rolled her eyes, "this one is actually important though. I can't do all the talkin' for him."

"I mean, he's literally never talked to girls outside of colleagues and other kids at the orphanage. You're throwing him into the deep end of a pool and expecting him to swim."

"Well I'm also not the best source of knowledge when it comes to comfortin' people. I may be a lady but I'm a warrior lady."

Brandon snorted. "I can't even argue with that."

"What, do you feel the need to argue with me at all times?"

"Sometimes," he chuckled, "it's fun."

"Of course."

"What? Do you not have fun talking to me, milady?"

She huffed with her arms crossed. "... Ugh. I do."

"Was that so hard to admit?" He teased.

"Don't make me regret sayin' it," she rolled her eyes, "you're such a child sometimes."

Brandon just laughed as they walked through the hallway and into the office at the end. Vandham waited until they were all in before speaking.

"Cole! How're you holding up, old man?"

"Loud as always I see," the old man in question rasped, "it's good to see you. What brings you up to Fonsa Myma at this time of year?"

"Well," he gestured to the side, towards Rex and Pyra specifically, "these fellas are looking for a way up to Elysium. Everyone, this is Cole."

"Elysium. I haven't heard of explorers searching for that place since… hold on a second. That Core Crystal." He chuckled, "so the Aegis walks amongst us once again."

"Cole?" Pyra said.

"You don't seem the same Aegis as the stories," Cole responded.

Pyra nodded, "my name is Pyra."

"I see. And who's your Driver here? Is it…" He gestured towards Rex.

"Yeah that's me. My name's Rex."

"You don't see a lot of Drivers your age," Cole said, "fascinating. Do you mind if I have a moment alone to speak with Pyra? It would be nice to confirm a few things for my play."

"Yeah sure," Rex said. "C'mon. We'll wait in the hall."

Cole didn't chat with Pyra for long. He opened his office door to let the crew back into this office.

"Thank you for that. It was very enlightening," he said, "so Elysium. I believe I know someone who can get you past the World Tree's guardian."

"You do?" Rex exclaimed, "that's awesome!"

"Yeah. Let me just-" He suddenly doubled over hacking and coughing.

"Oh shit," Brandon stepped forward hesitantly but Nia stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. She analyzed his vitals, but there was technically nothing injured. He was just old with his cells slowly failing. She could technically repair the failing cells, but it would only be temporary. And that would mean revealing herself now. He would be fine, his life wasn't in jeopardy at the moment.

"Steady old man," Vandham said, "don't push yourself. We can come back tomorrow if you have to take a breather."

"I'm sorry," he wheezed before breaking out into another coughing fit, "I'd appreciate it if you came back. I'll tell you more tomorrow. And I've got something to give you."

"Yeah. Take care of yourself," Rex said, "we'll be back tomorrow. I promise."

Cole nodded. Iona rushed past them, having been clearly eavesdropping from outside, to support Cole.

Brandon shot Nia a glare as they left, the pair of them trailing behind the others on the way to the inn for the night. "Why did you stop me? Why didn't you do anything to help for that matter?"

"Right," Nia snarked, "because we know you're a fantastic healer."

"That's not the point. It's instinct to try to help someone."

"And you could've made it worse if you don't have the proper knowledge to help," Nia stressed.

"Yeah. And you actually do have the proper knowledge to help. Why didn't you do anything?"

Nia sighed, "he's old. There are no injuries. Anything I do would immediately be reversed because his cells just can't handle it. And my analysis says that his life wasn't in any immediate danger. He was more likely to die of the roof collapsing over us than his health."

Brandon grumbled, not able to dispute any kind of medical diagnosis that Nia gave. "Alright. If you're sure." He said reluctantly.

Nia put a hand on his shoulder, "it's a good thing to worry. Means you're a good person. But you have to know your limits."

"Yeah."

"Anyways. We should get some rest. Even I'm exhausted after today."

Brandon nodded, "I think I'll be able to sleep like a rock tonight. Can't wait to rest in an actual bed."

Nia laughed, "I feel that. Well," she poked his side as they reached the inn, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

Brandon didn't actually sleep that well. For the first time in a long time, he was struck by nightmares. He was suddenly back in combat, in his full battle armor ducking under enemy fire.

It was the raid on a Coalition military base. They had received a tip from one of their informants that the Coalition government was transporting several Artifice Colossi to be used in a defensive position. Their spies confirmed the movement which spurred the rebels into action.

As it turns out, it was a trap. The Coalition was fully prepared for their assault and had their defensive units surround them, trapping them into an unfavorable battle. The only thing that was in their favor was that the Artifices weren't currently active, whatever AI controlling them didn't currently determine the small group of rebels to be a threat.

"Siege tanks, closing in on the right!" Someone yelled into the comms. The whirring of siege tanks shifting into their sieged artillery mode piercing the air. The massive blasts from their cannons filled the air as their massive projectiles whistled through the air.

The explosions ripped the ground to shreds, as well as all the rebel soldiers in the general vicinity of the blasts. Sounds of human screaming were added to the deafening cacophony of bullets, lasers, and explosions.

"All troops!" The voice of the commander crackled through the comms, "scatter! Teams Beta and Gamma, get as close to those siege tanks as possible. See if you can hijack them. Team Alpha, with me! Fall back to the high ground. Attack in aggressively to drive out their flanking troops. Then dig in and force them to attack into us."

"Sir yes sir!" The discipline of the rebel soldiers somehow holding.

Brandon wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't technically on any of the teams that had been given orders, instead he was part of a smaller special force. With their commanding officer currently unresponsive, probably caught in the siege tank barrage, he was technically next in command.

"Uh, special unit, with me." He ordered, "we're going to charge the Artifice transports to the left."

"Are you crazy?" One of his team yelled, "we'll be killed."

"Think about it!" He yelled back, "they're undefended. And I have the codes to reprogram them with me. It's our best shot to turn the battle."

"Those codes are experimental! We were supposed to transport them back to base then see if we could crack their firewalls."

"Then what else do you want to do? Stand here and die? This will at least give us a fighting chance."

The man cursed, "fine. Let's do this."

"Charge!" Brandon yelled and their team broke out of cover, blind firing forwards to clear the path as guns and tanks were trained on their armor.

He was startled awake by frantic knocking. He sat up violently, panting hard. He wiped at his forehead and looked at his hand to see it covered in sweat. He felt bile threatening to rise up and he swallowed hard to force it back down.

It was just a dream, he told himself as he put a hand over his heart. He took deep breaths to calm himself, feeling his heart rate slowly calm down. He winced as phantom pains hit his arm and he idly rubbed at the spot. He remembered being shot in that charge. The unlucky shot had hit a joint and had pierced through his armor, disabling his shooting arm for the rest of the fight.

They had barely managed to make it to the transports, blood and guts from his team dripping off of his armor since some had been blown up by siege tank fire. Once in, the codes that he had helped to develop proved to be as effective as he thought they would be. The halos that normally hovered over the Coalition Artifices disappeared and he was granted remote control access, allowing him to unleash the full power of the orbital weapons onto the Coalition troops.

That was one of the worst massacres he had been a part of. They had taken massive casualties in that fight, with over half the fighting force sent either killed or permanently crippled even with replacement body parts. The Coalition had it worse, with the Artifices slicing through their lines, they were evaporated in mere minutes, not even leaving behind corpses. They had fought down to the last man, and the military base was reduced completely to rubble.

The Coalition hadn't taken kindly to that and kept their Artifices jealousy guarded from that point onwards. They had struggled getting more, taking even more devastating losses to try to steal more for their final assault on the Beanstalk.

"We've got a problem!" Someone gave a muffled yell through the door as neither Rex nor Brandon were fully awake yet to move around. Dromarch, being a massive cat, couldn't do much without opposable thumbs.

"We're coming," Brandon said groggily. He quickly went into the bathroom and changed. When he emerged, he found that Rex and Dromarch had already gone out. He quickly slung his backpack over his shoulders and rushed out to meet them.

"Alright," Vandham said, "are we all here? Cole," he looked to the man who was panting, hunched over with his hands on his knees, "tell them what you told me."

"Iona's gone. She went missing at about the same time Malos and the other fellow in his company paid me a visit."

"Shit Torna was here?"

"Did the other guy wear red glasses?"

"Yeah."

"Dammit," Nia cursed, "so Akhos is here now. What were they doin' with you?"

"They were threatening me to tell them where you were. I didn't say anything but they must have taken poor Iona as a bargaining chip."

"Wait, where's Pyra?" Rex looked around.

"Don't tell me she's gone alone. What a stubborn idiot," Nia looked murderous. "Do you know where they might be?"

"I suspect that they'd be where the Aegis first awakened. At the Olethro playhouse at the top of Fonsa Myma."

"Ok, we've got no time to waste. Let's hurry!"

…

Um, Monolith are showing off a lot of stuff… I'm scared. 3 is going to leave me an emotional wreck at this rate. Also the DLC. Who tf is that character silhouette? It's probably a brand new character like 2's base DLC characters were, with returning characters being locked behind challenge mode. But still, holy shit.

Also, idk why I bother reading some people's opinions on Xenoblade 2 at this point. I actually saw someone unironically claiming that Torna wasn't dark because of a few "anime" moments. Am I the crazy one? The game where multiple countries are completely annihilated with their populations of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, completely massacred. Political backstabbing left and right as people vie for power. Bandits taking advantage of the unrest to loot, kill, and burn down villages. Slavery in general.

Multiple main characters are killed in battle against the antagonist with the antagonist himself basically being partially disintegrated at the end. Amalthus orders the assination of every high ranking Indoline official to take power for himself. Once he has said power, he orders the slaughter of the remnants of a recently fallen nation because he's afraid of them rebelling against his own power. During which, Lora is killed, Jin turns himself into a Flesh Eater because he couldn't bear the thought of Lora being forgotten, and Haze and Mikail are abducted. Of whom, part of Haze's Core Crystal is stolen by Amalthus so he could obtain her Blade restriction power as well as binding her to a man she forgot she detested, and Mikhail is used as a human test subject in the Blade Eater experiment which usually either kills its subjects, or drives them insane.

Meanwhile, Mythra is driven near her breaking point because of the sheer mental strain of losing both Milton and so many people in the capital. Then her berserk state causes the fall of Torna. Which traumatizes her so badly that she creates a double to take her place because she ends up hating herself and wants to suicide. Meanwhile Addam considers himself a failure and basically exiles himself to Leftheria after losing his entire country, his family, and one of his closest friends.

But apparently none of that matters because there's 2 minutes of haha Mythra can't cook and Mythra sleepwalking is funny scene.