One Ground into Stage for Battle
After the battle with the spider monster and the Blade known as Wulfric, everyone returns to Garfront for a job well done and the group gathers together for a little relaxing time with some talking amongst each other and others doing things like Tora practicing his punches with Poppi.
"Come on, Masterpon. Poppi knows Masterpon can hit harder than that." Poppi encouraged Tora to try harder.
"Tora is gonna do his best." Tora shouted and continues punching at Poppi's hands.
"Be sure not to strain yourself." Ymir advised.
"So, you were adopted into a family of Nopon. Pretty sure most people would find that bizarre in a way." Risty commented.
"Now Risty, we shouldn't make fun of how people do or what they look like in families' affairs for they have their own special bond." Swan pointed out calmly.
"Sorry, just calling out it as I see it." Risty chuckled.
"I can understand that. I sometimes think how weird it was for me to be in a family of Nopon when I'm not one myself though I don't think I would change that for anything because it's a family was raised in and will love for the rest of my life." Ymir smiled as she looks over to Tora.
"Those were some wise and kind words, Ymir! No doubt your grandfather is proud of you and Tora for accomplishing their task." Agate smiled with her hands together.
"I guess that also goes for Rex and Rana since none of them are related to each other." Risty looked over to Rana and Rex sitting next to each other with their Blades. And becomes curious.
"Yes, those two always seem to have each other's backs no matter what." Nia nodded while brushing on Dromach's fur.
Risty isn't the only one being curious about Rex and Rana, Vandham has been eying the brothers for a while ever since they came back and watching them interact with each other along with their Blades as Cattleya is tending to her Driver and Rex having his treated along with Pyra's own wounds.
"Ow, why do these types of medicine have to sting?" Rana winced.
"They sting because that mean its working to help heal the wounds." Cattleya explained.
"Or sure, torture us for the healing." Rex said sarcastically before wincing again from the lotion Pyra is putting on him.
"Hey, hold still. I thought you were a tough salvager, Rex!" Pyra teased.
"Give me a break! Pain is pain, isn't it?" Rex stated.
"Which brings me back to my question." Rana exclaimed and Cattleya giggles.
"How about you, Pyra? Are you hurt?" Rex asked as it's his turn to rub the lotion on his partner.
"Don't worry, it's just a scratch." Pyra assured that everything is fine, but she winces in agonizing pain.
That caught Vandham's attention of confusion and curious when he saw the fire Aegis Blade getting her wounds treated instead of having the wounds being healed already by now, there is more to this story than what he heard of the boy and seen it for himself.
"That was on purpose! You were hurting me on purpose, weren't you? Well?" Pyra pouted in anger at Rex.
"Shame on you, Rex. Didn't I raised you better to treat a woman nicer such as helping her with the wounds being treated." Cattleya scolded.
Vandham decided to get to the bottom of this by going to ask them right now as he got up from his log and walking up to Rex and Pyra.
"Yeah Rex, were you trying to make her scream your name?" Rana teased with a chuckle.
"What? No, no, it wasn't like that! I was just rubbing the lotion in…" Rex defended from this false claim.
"Rex! You rubbed it too hard! It hurts, see!" Pyra rubbed her lotion on Rex making him feel the pain she felt.
"Wow, it's like they're having those adult lover quarrels." Rana chuckled.
"That's so cute, if only I have one of those new devices that I heard about to take pictures in digital data I heard about." Cattleya giggled.
"Hey, you two." Vandham said getting Rex and Pyra's attention, this also got Rana Cattleya curious.
"Gimme a look at that." Vandham looked at both Rex and Pyra, seeing they do have the exact same wounds.
"Mister Vandham, you better be thinking about doing something incident with Pyra here because people look mistaken that look and the way you were leaning towards her too." Cattleya scolded with the serious mother look in her eyes that got Vandham frightened.
"No, no, no, I promise it's not like that! It's just strange for a Blade like her would be stuck with a bunch of wounds and they're exactly the same as Rex's!" Vandham pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I do see now that you mention it." Rana surprised at himself that he didn't notice this before during their travel.
"Perhaps this is the effect of when Pyra shared half of her Core Crystal with Rex to bring him back from the dead." Cattleya mentioned.
"What's this now?! Brought back from the dead?!" Vandham gasped which got the rest of the group's attention.
"Now I want to hear everything that happened, and don't leave out any other details too!" Vandham demanded to know.
Even though they have only known the man for a day, Vandham has already proven himself to be a trustworthy man as Risty and Swan already know this since they used to live in this village, and so Rex told him everything when he first met Pyra even when he woke up from death after she saved him.
"Incredible! Never heard such a thing." Vandham shocked.
"It's all true." Rex stated.
"I thought it was an accessory." Vandham looked at the half of the Core Crystal on Rex's chest.
"Rex really doesn't do accessory because he thinks they're lame and get in the way of our salvage work, and he's still mad about that time Mama got him this one accessory that made him a laughingstock for a whole week." Rana explained.
"Hey! You promise we would never speak about that!" Rex snapped.
"I'm really sorry about that. The merchant who sold me that accessory told me it was all the raid for kids to have, but it was just a big fat lie!" Cattleya sobbed.
"I swear on my life as a Blade! If I ever see that man again then I personally cut off his manhood and personally sent to Hell!" Cattleya angered with holding her sword in the air and the fire of rage burning within her eyes.
"(Beware of Scary Mom Mode!)" Everyone thought scared except for Rana who just smiles at her but scared on the inside as well.
"A-Anyway, Blades are supposed to heal up right away, no matter what the wound. If the crystal's in one piece and the Driver's alive, nothing can touch 'em." Vandham explained.
"Hmm, I have been wondering about that. Shouldn't Pyra be able to heal from anything even though her Core Crystal was split in half?" Ymir asked.
"I think that just how it is, and Pyra is the Aegis Blade, so maybe the rules are different for her." Rana guessed.
"That's one way to put it." Swan commented.
"But I fear that it can also be a big problem for the both of you." Cattleya worried for Rex and Pyra together.
"My thoughts exactly. If one of you kicks the bucket, you both do." Vandham pointed out.
"What?! You both die! Why didn't you tell me?!" Rana cried in fear as he hugs onto his big brother.
"Sorry, I didn't think it was something you needed to know and didn't want you to worry all that much." Rex apologized while patting on Rana's head.
"Vandham, you told me that a good Driver always protects his Blade. So, what's what I'll do. I[m gonna protect her." Rex promised strongly.
"Easier said than done, kid." Vandham said.
"That won't stop him. We learned that he can be greedy on certain things like wanting everyone to be happy." Risty mentioned.
"Same can be said for the little brother." Swan giggled making Rana blush and Cattleya petted his head.
"Pyra, she saved my life, brought me back from the dead. So, I won't die again! I got to live for her sake! Until we get to Elysium at least." Rex determined.
"That's right, you made a promise to get there no matter what and I'm gonna help you two get here too!" Rana determined as well with his fist held up.
"You boys?" Vandham sighed. Doesn't know how to deal with boys so young and already so determined with the willpower of grown men, but they still have a lot of growing to do.
"Going to Elysium? I can't let that stand." Akhos said as he and Obrana appeared before them.
This caught everyone by surprise that this newcomer has suddenly showed up as Nia and Dromach are the ones shocked the most as they know these two, the rest can already tell this one did not come for a friendly visit or anything nice whatsoever.
"It won't do. A bunch of amateurs stealing the show? The script exists for a reason!" Akhos stated.
"The Hell this guy is talking about?" Risty asked as Swan is confused as well.
"Akhos!" Nia said.
"Oh, so he's a member of the group you were a part of." Cattleya realized.
"Please speak only when you're spoken to, traior." Akhos glared at Nia.
"Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Nia, you're one of the baddies now. You villain!" Obrona mocked laughing.
"I didn't betray anyone." Nia stated her claim.
"Then why are you standing with them? You think that nis where you belong?" Akhos asked
"But I…" Nia tried to come up with an answer but couldn't then Cattleya steps forward.
"It's because she couldn't stand the thought of killing innocent lives such as a child, that is something that Nia could never bring herself to do." Cattleya glared at Akhos and Obrona.
"Oh please, do you honestly think that Nia is innocent?" Akhos laughed a little.
"She is, she and Dromach got more hearts than you two idiotic people from Torna." Cattleya believed.
"Cattleya!" Nia surprised to hear someone standing up for her.
"Thank you, Cattleya." Dromach smiled.
"Hold on now, she just says those guys are with Torna?" Vandham asked shock along with Risty and Swan.
"That's right, they're trying to get their hands on Pyra." Rex nodded.
"It's obvious you're only here for Pyra, the Aegis. Am I correct?" Cattleya pointed out.
"Indeed, I just had to come and see the leading lady with my own eyes." Akhos explained.
"Jin put you up to this?" Nia asked.
"Well deduced. Oh, and by the way… His orders were to deal with you in whatever manner I see it. So, you know what that means." Akhos revealed with a smirk.
"He wouldn't… You're lying!" Nia refused to believe that Jin would just throw her away like that, all because she just wanted to protect the kids from being killed.
"Why the surprise? Did you think he would be still care about you?" Akhos asked.
"ENOUGH?!" Cattleya shouted immediately which spooks Akhos and Obrona, and some of the others.
"There are things I hate and one of them is how shallow empty people like you would care so little for others just because they have second opinions how to do things." Cattleya glared at Akhos again.
"Shallow? Empty? You're really starting to piss me off, lady. And that's more than just hating that you have bigger boobs!" Obrona angered.
"Silence, young lady. You and your partner should be ashamed of yourselves for being part of the group for reasons I do not know, but surely you must be smart enough to know the group you're in won't bring any kind of happiness you're seeking." Cattleya scolded.
"How dare you say such things! You have no idea what I've been through, this world deserves to be rewritten in a new script!" Akhos angered, being treated like a child right now.
"Not before you get a heavy spanking for your bad behavior!" Cattleya pointed her giant sword at Akhos and Obrona.
"(That is one tough mother!)" Nia thought gulped, making a mental note to NEVER make her mad.
Then Vandham screams in rage Risty and Swan glares at the glare emitting a feeling of anger and hatred towards the enemies.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rana asked.
"We know the name Torna. They've taken the lives of too many Drivers." Vandham said angry.
"That include the lives of some people from the crew and outside like friends and such. They were all good people." Risty explained with a death glare.
"How ironic, the chance to avenge them have finally been delivered to us." Swan pressed her foot on the ground so much that she dug it in a bit causing cracks to appear.
"Rumors says it's because they're collecting Core Crystals and if these two are with Torna…" Vandham feared for the worst of the village with Torna here.
"Yew! Zuo! Get everyone out of the village!" Vandham ordered, the two nodded and head into the village along with their Blades.
"You all ready?" Vandham asked.
"Ready!" Everyone responded as both Driver and Blades entered their battle stance with their weapons and such.
"Thanks for this." Nia thanked.
"Of course, you're one of us. Someone precious we cannot let go until the end." Cattleya stated.
"She's right, we won't let this guy hurt you than he already has." Rex looked back at Nia with a smirk that made her blush a second.
"It'll be tough. His Blade, Obrona, she can manipulate the ether in the air. It lets him counter elemental attacks by generating fields of opposing element!" Nia informed the group about Obrona's ability.
"Then we'll just have to be careful." Ymir said.
"Finally, a decent opponent for a change! Let's go!" Vandham readied Roc's weapons.
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Risty readied with her mace.
"Hey, can we really take on this many?" Obrona asked her partner.
"There's nothing to worry about. We have the upper hand." Akhos assured this victory is theirs for the taking.
"Look out!" Obrona shouted pointing up because Rana has made the first attack against him.
Akhos quickly brought out the twin swords of Obrona blocking the thrust dive attack though Rana smirks before jumping off for a flaming slash attack, he would have been burned if Obrona didn't react on time.
"Time for me to shine!" Obrona giggled and flies around activating her power around the field.
"Be careful, this is how he counters the elemental attacks!" Nia warned.
"Then we'll just have to fight with brute strength. Swan!" Risty called out.
"On it!" Swan sprinted right at Obrona who put up a forcefield to protect herself from the barrage of kicks.
"You're gonna have to do better than that." Obrona smirked.
"Like this?" Poppi appeared right behind Obrona, throwing a punch on the back sending her crashing onto the rock side.
Rex charges at Akhos clashing their swords a few times before the man in blue armor kicks him away though the salvage boy remain strong with his footing on the ground.
"Come on, one elder back in my village kicks harder than that!" Rex proclaimed.
"It's true. We've seen and felt his strength." Cattleya added swinging her massive sword fast s Akhos does his best to avoid them.
"From what Jin told me, this one is very strong to swing that sword like its paper. If I were to get hit by that then I would surely be down for the count.)" Akhos thought noticed.
Cattleya swings her up for an attack, or at least that it looks like when as she really tossed her sword into the for Rana to catch and brings it down to slash it at Akhos.
Akhos was about to retreat only to be blocked by Pyra with her fire, he had no choice but to take the attack that forces him down on one knee though he was able to push it to the side and rolls away.
Pyra unleashes several fireballs though Akhos slashes them like they were nothing as he smirks at the red hair blade.
"Such an honor! Sharing a stage with the Legendary Aegis!" Akhos excited as he charges at Pyra knocking her into the rocky.
Pyra screams in pain which Rex also screams in pain from this, Akhos notice this and confuses.
"Why would the Driver…?" Akhos wondered what just happened.
"It seems that they're taking each other's damage somehow." Obrona said, confuse as well.
"And that's all you're getting to know!" Ymir jumped at Akhos swinging the axe of Agate before being kicked away by Obrona.
"Hey Vandham, you and Roc do something about these red dots." Risty called out.
"Just what I was thinking." Vandham tossed the scythes at Roc who catches them and forms a giant tornado.
"What's happening?!" Obrona asked shock.
"What? The ether flow's disturbed! How am I supposed to deflect now?" Akhos shocked.
"That's what you get for underestimating your opponents, you brainy idiot." Rex shouted.
Akhos try charging at the tornado only for it to disappear and Dromach comes in with a slash attack that pushes him back, and immediately after that Pyra comes in with her sword.
"You wanted me, then here's a taste!" Pyra swinged her sword in intense heat sending Akhos crashing into some boxes and ground.
Obrona becomes shocked of seeing her Driver being pushed back that left her distracted for Nia to slash her down for Tora and Ymir to attack together sending her to where Akhos is.
"Akhos… What do we do now?" Obrona asked in pain.
"It would seems we've been outplayed… For now." Akhos said.
"My intest has waned, Obrona. Perhaps it's time for another tale." Akhos suggested a retreated as they leave.
"Yeah, you guys better run!" Rana shouted.
"Don't get too cocky, they'll be back." Risty pointed out.
"And we'll be ready." Pyra smiled as Rex nods.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Akhos thought he had the stage planned out to take the Aegis only to be stopped by Rex and the others combining their strength, and this time Akhos and Obrona takes more damage than in the game though they'll be back with a vengeance.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!