Disclaimer: I do not own Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or anything in it.
This is a collaborative piece between me and a friend, therefore it is also posted on their ao3 account.
Author's Note: As mentioned this is an AegisSwap AU! Meaning Mythra and Malos have switched places, meaning certain things will obviously be different while other things might not. And also in keeping with the AU spirit, Rex is a girl, named Reyna in this fic.
Also as of this moment this chapter has yet to fully edited, etc. So it's still an extremely raw, unedited chapter, my apologies for thatx3
Warning(s):AegisSwap AU. Good!Malos. Evil!Mythra. F!Rex. Older!Rex. Possible OOCness. Mentions of violence and possible adult themes.(I mean, they are using things like swords and cannons and whatnot, so..it's not all going to be sparkles and fairydust.)
Girl meets Boy Pt.1
Just this once. Just this one time, he will save her. This gesture means nothing and he has no interest whatsoever in her, she means nothing to him. He tells himself this over and over but somewhere deep down there is a tiny, annoyingly familiar voice chiming that he knows better, saying how he is only lying to himself right then and there. He ignores it, he feels he must.
It takes him a moment of deep concentration following the small flicker of consciousness seeping through to him, focusing all he can on the invisible flow of ether that is still coursing through him, into and around his sword which is so far away. He pulls back immediately, sensing a far more dominating aura, mentally recoiling at the thought of seeing her again after so long-
"If Father truly is all knowing, all seeing and loving, then tell me why? Why doom the humans of this word, where the very soil they tread upon can sink down into the abyss without a moment's notice? Don't you see, you and I, we are harbingers of His divine will."
-and how despite the blinding radiance of her known element, it's colder than Jin's ice.
He pushes such thoughts away for now, focusing on the task at hand. Mythra needed to be stopped. And for that, Malos needed to wake up.
There was only one option…
~x~
Everything hurts.
The awakening was a strange one, unlike any Reyna had ever experienced if she were completely honest. She expected to see the small, reinforced walls of the hut on Gramps back. She expected to smell the strangely refreshing, almost salty scent of the Cloud sea coming in from outside, maybe even accompanied by the smell of burning Crustip as well. An endless sea of white.
Instead it was an endless sea of green.
Reyna's bed was gone and she wasn't in the small hut on Gramps' back anymore. Her salvage gear was still present though, so maybe she'd forgotten to take it off? It wouldn't be the first for her to do something of the sort.
The skies overhead was a beautiful, crystal-clear blue and the wide sea of green was dotted with the occasional patch of multicolored flowers. Everything was so incredible! The wide plains of grass seemed to have no end in sight.
With a bit of difficulty Reyna pushed herself up and off the soft grass now underneath her boots. Her golden eyes alight with wonder and awe, looking right then left, doing a slow sweep of her surroundings and struggling to take it all in.
"Where am I? And how in the world...did I get here?" She asks aloud seconds before her eyes come to a sudden halt.
Off in the distance she sees a tall, lone tree atop a 's thick bushels of leaves swaying in the wind but what truly caught her eyes was the small glimpse of the sight peeking out from just beyond the hill itself. Reyna broke into a jog, all the while hearing the ringing of a bell from somewhere close by.
A dull ache had formed in her chest, spurring her forward. Every other part of her felt lifeless and cold the more she thought to focus on it, so she pushed such thoughts away for now. Feeling a swell of surprise when her feet managed to carry her all the way to the top of the hill. There, she was greeted with the sight of what might be a town or village of some kind, complete with more than a handful of scattered houses, a nearby body of water and a large, pristine white church that must have been where the sound of a bell was coming from.
"Wow...you could fit all of Alrest in here…" Reyna said in disbelief. Her golden eyes went impossibly wider.
Reyna allowed a small budding of hope to bloom in her chest, figuring the sound of the bell meant someone must be in the church. At the very least, she wasn't alone! That thought alone filled her with immense relief, about to take her first step down-
"There's no one down there." A gruff voice drifted down to her, as if reading her thoughts. Reyna turned, feeling a slight sense of deja vu as she did. Wondering exactly who was talking.
The trees above shifted once more. Causing her to look up.
Reyna blinked, her large golden eyes meeting unfamiliar silver-grey. Looking up into the branches, seeing a young man sitting on one of the lower branches, looking down on her with an amused smile that just barely touched his lips. His black hair was short, messy and spiked, matching the strange skin-tight armor that covered him head to toe. The dark contrast making the silver of his eyes and olive skin give off a rather ethereal glow.
In the center of his armor, surrounded by an ornate gold patterned design was a shining Core Crystal. It was a stunning shade of amethyst, pulsing with power. But it was also kind of...odd in Reyna's opinion. She was no Driver by any means, though she had read about them on several different occasions and no blade in all that she read had such a vibrantly colored Core Crystal.
'Aren't they usually supposed to be blue or something?' She thought, confused.
Upon being spotted the male tilted his head a bit, staring down at the girl with unblinking eyes. It was enough to make her blush. Squirming in place under the intensity of his gaze.
"Uh, um...H-hello to you too?" Reyna says, trying to sound as friendly as possible, giving a small wave of her hand. "I-it's uh, nice to meet you." She wishes she could sound more confident, she really does. "Uhh, do you maybe know where we are? Or maybe even, like where everyone else might be?" She nervously rubs the back of her head while laughing sheepishly. "You know, since a-according to you, there's no one actually down there…?"
The mystery man doesn't immediately reply. Instead, he crosses his legs and continues merely observing Reyna making a fool of herself with an expression similar to one watching a fascinating tv show or such. "...Oh r-right! I uh, forgot to give my name, didn't I?" She says, figuring that to be the reason behind his silence. "Sorry about that but ummm, well I'm afraid...I can't quite..recall actually."
"You're Reyna." The male finally says, offering the information so casually. Reyna feels she can't really refute it, something about it just felt right after all. It also sounded pretty nice coming from his mouth like that. "And you're dead."
Wait, what!?
The first thing she feels is shock. Her? Dead? That's not possible, not when she's clearly alive. Talking and moving, clearly still breathing. Then came a cold rush of fear. Coupled with the slow realization, because...because...it would make sense, wouldn't it? Her being dead. It would explain why everything felt so heavy and cold, so lifeless. She felt the beginnings of another panic attack building, only now Nia was nowhere close by to help her through it.
Nia, the name strikes a distant chord. With it come a few others; Dromarch, Jin and worst of all Pyra.
Things snapped back into focus and Reyna just about let out a scream of pure, unrestrained horror because Pyra-sweet, kind and warm-literally killed her! Stabbing her straight through the heart, piercing a lung to boot and oh god...oh god how much it hurt!
"Oh Architect...I'm dead...Really and truly dead," Reyna said, horrified. She must have blacked out for a moment or two, not even exactly aware of when she'd started bawling like a baby. "I-I…"
Part of her wondered absently, would anyone even truly miss her now that she was gone?
The mysterious male in the trees didn't move. He made no attempt to calm her, seeming content to simply observe Reyna's panic, watching her literally come undone at the seams and slump to the ground defeated. It's a while before he speaks again, calm and sure.
"We made contact just before it happened. You...awakened me when you touched my sword, just now." He informed Reyna who slowly looked back up, still trying to control her now frantic breaths.
"That is why Mythra chose to kill you. And why I brought you here instead," he turned his head lifting his steel eyes towards the sky, closing them as a light breeze blew across the field. Reyna couldn't feel it. "...You asked where you were, right?"
"Y-Yeah but…" Reyna meekly nodded, though it seemed somewhat trivial at this point. Still, her eyes fell back down to the lush green grass blowing in the wind, the pretty looking flowers and bright blue sky. "It's so…" She wasn't sure there was a word apt enough to describe just how breath-taking everything was.
"This is Elysium. At least that's what the legends call it, the place where long ago people lived alongside their creator; This is my home, a recreation of it anyway and it is also where 'We' were born as well." The mysterious man uncrossed his legs and hopped down from the branch he was on, seeming to float the last few inches to the ground landing with a soft tmpf before her. He carried himself with an air of confidence and a thrum of power around him, looking out towards the houses down below.
He reminded Reyna of that Pyra girl in a way, yet still different somehow. Where she seemed more open, warm and inviting, this man seemed more closed off, cool and detached. His hand rested against the bark of the tree, looking back at her over his shoulder which is when she finally noticed his lips moving, seeming a tad annoyed.
"-still as popular as it was back then?" Reyna blinked, her panic replaced by a strange flurry of emotions. Struggling to catch his words.
"W-what?" She mumbled, confused.
The male turned towards her more fully now, arching a brow and giving her a very unamused, unimpressed look all of a sudden that made Reyna shrink a bit underneath it. There was a slight tick of his jaw as he seemed to debate saying something, probably preparing to reprimand her in some way, she figured. Instead he let out a sigh of frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose while muttering something about 'humans' and their 'short attention span'.
"Whatever, it's not really important anyway. We've wasted too much time already," he said, taking a small step towards her, making the distance between them shrink more and more while causing Reyna herself to take a small, involuntary step back. Those piercing steel-grey eyes found her large golden ones again. "My name is Malos. I brought you here because I have a request."
"M-Malos?" Reyna repeated the name, letting it roll off her tongue. Her mind and mouth both catching up to what he was saying at the same time. "A-a request? S-so you mean, l-like a favor?"
Malos nodded slowly, seeming mindful of her self-induced panic attack moments ago. He turned slightly, gazing back out towards the empty settlement below once more speaking in a softer tone. "I want you...to take me to Elysium. Back to my home, back to my Father." He dropped his gaze momentarily to the lush green of the grass they were standing on, clenching his fists for a brief moment.
"There's no one else I can ask." He added when Reyna looked about ready to protest, feeling unsure of things. "Please."
"I-I...But-But I-I'm dead remember!?" Reyna said, getting a bit hysteric now. "H-How can I help you if I can't even help myself? P-plus, e-even if I were still alive, P-Pyra would-..." The words get stuck in her throat. She had no way of being absolutely sure but somehow, Reyna felt the redhead would not be pleased to find her still alive. Pyra clearly wanted her dead and gone.
It was Malos who stopped her from descending into another panic attack, laying a strong hand on her shoulder just as her body started to shake. Feeling the sting of tears welling up in her eyes, slowly spilling down onto her cheeks. Pyra scared her, she didn't want to face her alone-she couldn't! Looking up, her wet golden eyes met Malos' intense silver ones.
"Pyra won't be able to touch you, I will make sure of it. From now on, I'll protect you."
Reyna's cheeks flushed with a small amount of heat. The tears spilling over onto her cheeks slowly stopping. Malos wasn't smiling but his words helped to comfort her, they sounded so familiar yet she couldn't fathom why.
"I'll keep you safe, always…" Malos assured, lips quirked up into the smallest semblance of a soft smirk. Then in an instant it was gone, his gaze seeming to be directed at something far-off into the distance before looking back at Reyna. "There's no time, I need to bring you back right now, understand? I'll be there with you." He added, seeing the fear in her eyes again.
"Bring me...back?" Reyna muttered softly, still sounding a little dazed.
"Yes, just place your hand on my Core Crystal and I will give half of my life force to revive you."
"Half of your…? W-wait, won't that, I-I don't know...hurt you?" Reyna stammered, pulling back a bit.
Malos however, was unfazed by this. "It's necessary, besides I'll be fine..." He said with a shake of his head. "Like I said, we need to hurry." Reyna can't quite understand the urgency that fills his words.
What she does know however is that she can't do anything once dead. Elysium had always been her goal, believing if there was a way to end the fighting, the killing over resources, then surely it was worth it to take the risk right? And here, with Malos, she was given that golden opportunity. For once, she let herself take the leap of faith that had presented itself before her.
"Alright. I-I'll do it! I'll take you to Elysium, you have my word." Malos seemed to go still at what she said, expression giving way to an undefinable gleam in his eyes. His one hand gestured to the pulsing crystal embedded in his chest. "Y-you want me to um, t-touch that? Like, seriously?"
Malos nodded. His other hand slipped from her shoulder, dropping to wrap around her own more clammy palm and guiding it up towards the Amethyst Core Crystal. Reyna's face resembled a tomato suddenly, barely registering the smooth, cool surface of the crystal beneath her fingers in comparison to the warm, surprisingly soft flesh of Malos' hand. Refusing to meet his intense gaze any longer.
A soft purple light filled the air around them, sending a pulse of power that made the nearby branches of the tree he'd been on sway. The grass all blowing outward and away from the two in one direction. A tingling spread up along her arm letting her know it was working, the light converging on where the ache of her pierced heart was, easing the pain there. Malos' energy flowing into it. Reyna didn't notice the way said male suddenly winced, hiding it before she looked back up one last time.
Elysium disappeared around them. Only Reyna's whispered words were left behind.
"Thank you, Malos."
~x~
Nia feels empty inside. The deaths of people after joining the ranks of Torna wasn't exactly anything new to deal with, but up until this point they had all seemed to deserve it for one reason or another, blade or human. Even if some small part of her may have opposed, Nia never truly felt she had a say in the matter. That and from her own experience, she just knew none of them would most likely want to defend her. It just seemed so foolish to defend ones who would leave her when Jin and Pyra had willingly taken her in, welcomed her.
'Reyna wouldn't have left, would she?' The thought is enough to make her fists clench, gritting her teeth and folding her ears flat against the head. She doesn't dare look back behind her as she follows Pyra back out onto the deck. Nia would never voice it of course, but out of all the other members, Pyra was the most welcoming, the most comforting to be around. On more than one occasion it was Pyra who assured Nia when the Gormotti would falter, dissipating her fears of abandonment and such, only now...Now Nia began to wonder. To question. To doubt.
Nia knew Pyra was strong but that the redhead's strength paled in comparison to that of her other half. And when the two of them were in agreement on something, it always seemed to spell bad news for anyone standing in their way.
Nia glanced at their apparent prize, the very thing they enlisted Reyna's help for in the first place. She was surprised by the sight of the coffin at first, thinking perhaps whoever it was inside to already be dead. If he was alive then he was unresponsive to everything going on around him it appeared, what was apparent was how...possessive...Pyra suddenly became over it.
Refusing to let anyone else carry the glass case, the way the redhead's eyes flared a molten gold didn't bode well with Nia either. Did Pyra somehow...know the person inside? And if that was the case, then did her other half as well? It sure seemed that way.
So lost in her train of thought, Nia doesn't even realize she's being addressed until Dromarch nudges her hand ever so slightly. "My lady, you're being spoken to," the tiger informs and when Nia looks up, she sees the patient, deceptively warm eyes of Pyra. Nia withholds the urge to shudder, mustering all her courage to meet the taller woman's stare.
"Nia," Pyra says, her voice so utterly calming and understanding, it makes Nia's skin crawl. Pyra's hands are folded neatly atop one another, having passed the coffin to her trusted blade, Sever, for the moment. "Is the Monoceros on its way?"
Nia swallows down the bile that suddenly rises in her throat, wanting to throw some kind of scathing remark or two but it's the memories of her running that pushes the words back down, of her constant fear at being all alone. Of being back in that cell, awaiting death-
"Yeah, yeah. It's on the way," she manages to say, bitterness in every word. She really was a coward it seemed.
"Are you still troubled by it, Nia? What happened to the girl was lamentable, yes but-"
"Lamentable?" Nia repeats, taken aback by the sudden lack of care coating Pyra's words. "Are you serious? There was no reason to kill her! Reyna was just-"
"Sorry, maybe that was a stupid thing to say. You and I can hash it out later if that's what you really want but what's done is done. Instead of whining over someone you barely even knew, why don't you just do as you're told, understand?" Pyra's voice changes midway through her sentence, gaining a rougher edge to it. Nia recognizes it as a sign she is pushing Pyra's other self's patience.
The two girls are locked in some kind of stalemate for a moment and Nia grapples with the crippling fear that Pyra might just be seconds away from letting her other self take the reins. Any confidence Nia had managed to dredge up withers away like dust in the wind, she wasn't suicidal. So she bows her head, ears still folded down and relents a nod.
"Good. Now, take care of the other salvagers please." Nia wonders if this was how Reyna felt during her panic attack, because of how quickly her breath rushes out of her lungs at the redhead's words and the way her heart sinks.
"T-take care…? Y-you mean-"
Architect, her powers were for healing, not killing innocents! "But-but these people haven't done anything wrong!" Nia tries desperately to appeal to whatever dwindling humanity Pyra might have in her, only to realize it was a lost cause.
"I don't understand you Nia." Pyra says, pausing in her steps and looking down at the Gormotti in more ways than one. "You of all people? Defending a bunch of strangers, humans at that. My oh my," Pyra smiles and it's about the most frightening thing Nia has ever seen in her life. Mostly because Nia knows what's coming even before the wash of light surrounds Pyra, she's seen it only once before but it was enough.
"Nia…" Jin steps in, no doubt sensing what was coming as well and wanting to avoid such needless destruction. Only that's all he can say when the capsule Sever is holding bursts to life. Pyra is the first to react and there's a sudden look of loss reflected in her eyes seeing the columns of growing pitch-black that are encroaching across the glass, eating away at everything it touches.
"Sever, drop it!" Pyra orders. The blade nods and sends the capsule clattering a good several feet away. Jin moves, as though preparing to intercept whatever intangible force it was eating away at the coffin, Pyra stops him with a sharp look and he relents.
The ship lurches underneath them, rocking dangerously against the turbulent waters under the gathering force of the eerie black column. Nia watched the purplish-black ether-like substance grow and grow like a filled glass until finally it imploded from the gathering pressure, from the explosion of black and purple ether particles came a single a figure, leaping out of the destroyed case and landing rather gracefully on a higher-up antennae.
"Malos…" Nia wasn't sure if she was meant to hear the name that fell from Pyra's lips really, or if the redhead was even aware of the intense look in her eyes when she gazed up at the black-haired individual who moments ago Nia had thought to be dead. Nia suddenly felt like she was intruding on an oddly personal moment.
"Mythra, still got quite the temper I see," the blade called Malos drawled folding his arms, looking down on Pyra the same way she was doing to Nia moments before and the Gormotti swallows a sudden lump. The fact that he knows Pyra's other name speaks volumes to her. "And here I thought you'd be kind enough to let me sleep for maybe a few more hundred years. Too bad I'm still not interested in helping you."
"Malos, please!" Pyra pleads softly, lowering her sword in a meager attempt to not come off as threatening. "We don't have to do this! We don't have to fight, we can-"
Pyra's words go unheard over the sudden disintegrating of metal in the space between her and Malos. The hull of the ship caving in almost immediately as something-rather someone-comes shooting out and up into the air. Nia swears her heart skips a beat.
"R-Reyna!?" The Gormotti cries out, unsure whether to feel relief or fear because Pyra looks anything but pleased right now.
~x~
Reyna's breath shuddered. Fear claws its way into her chest immediately at the sight of Pyra. If looks could kill, then that would've been twice Pyra killed her. Reyna's eyes lingering on that awful, burning sword of hers, faltering.
"Reyna, keep your guard up." Malos' voice is her anchor at the moment. The only thing keeping her from trying to book it, wanting to dive down into the cloud sea and never resurface again rather than face Pyra's wrath just for wanting to live.
"R-right!" She responds, maybe a little too loudly. She can't help feeling jumpy, uncertain and above all, at a severe disadvantage.
Malos was the epitome of confidence it seemed, rolling his shoulder like he was preparing for a leisurely stroll and not a death match. The rush of power flooding into her from holding the newly reconstructed sword-Malos' sword-is beyond her imagination. It feels heavier than the heat that radiates off of Pyra's own fearsome weapon.
"Pyra won't be able to touch you, I will make sure of it. From now on, I'll protect you." The echoing of Malos' words worked like a balm, chasing away Reyna's immense anxiety with ease. Her grip on the sword's handle tightening.
'Yes.' Reyna thought, feeling a newfound sense of determination coursing through her veins. 'With Malos I can do it. I can do this!' Reyna wouldn't run, she couldn't. If she ran, who would protect all the other salvagers aboard the ship?
"It's awfully low…to stab a person in the back, you know!?" Reyna said, raising her voice towards the end, making sure Pyra heard her loud and clear across the ship. "You psychopath!" She almost let out a small yelp of terror when Pyra's glare intensifies.
The redhead gave no verbal rebuttal, falling into a battle ready stance as Sever started up the ether tether between them.
"Reyna!" Malos called down below, eyes focusing on Pyra and her blade, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when his own newly revived Driver flinched at the mere sound of his voice, again. They were really going to have to work on that. "Get ready. And try not to give them an opening!"
"Uh, r-right!" Reyna responded.
She was barely given any time to blink before Pyra was in her face, Sever breaking off to deal with Malos. Pyra brought her burning sword down on Reyna's-Malos's really-with a fierce yell, causing the other girl to stagger. It's not long before Reyna looks ready to fold under Pyra's ruthless strikes, the sounds of metal scraping against metal causing an almost nauseous look to flit across Reyna's face.
It's then that Pyra starts to speak. "You should have stayed dead, Reyna, I was doing you a favor." Pyra says it in such a sickly sweet manner Reyna seriously considers vomiting on the other girl's face just to spite her. "You could never handle his power. Just give up and let me kill you again!" She says, that fire igniting in her eyes again. The sweetness gone and replaced with something far more cutthroat and cruel.
Reyna begins to wheeze, eyes darting around looking for that reassuring spot of black hair and olive skin. Her muscles straining while still trying to hold off the murderous redhead, seeing Malos locked in some kind of scuffle with Pyra's blade, Sever, who is doing a remarkable job of keeping his attention.
For now, Reyna is on her own. Against the one who killed her. 'Well, shit.' Reyna can't help but think. She really didn't want to die again...
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't suffer." Pyra says and there's the slightest hint of mockery in her words this time.
It stirs something inside of Reyna, a long buried sense of rage she can't quite comprehend. A flurry of images going through her mind-
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't suffer."
Golden eyes regard her coldly for a moment, giving an almost pitying glance before the headpiece above them starts to glow.
-then Reyna is pushing Pyra back. Much to the redhead's confusion and disbelief. Reyna wasn't very good with a sword, she knew it better than anyone but there were other ways she could turn the tables. Using all of her strength she twisted the blade interlocking it with the other's fiery-red one very twisting her own arm at a more awkward angle...then proceeded to slam her head as hard as she could against Pyra's.
The redhead let out a string of curses, her graceful footwork faltering from the unexpected blow. If Malos himself staggered a bit, then Reyna didn't notice. Too busy raising her sword for a good enough strike.
"Take this!" Reyna cried out, subconsciously avoiding anything that was hopefully too vital by going for the feet.
'If I can stop her movements, then that should work just as well!' Reyna thought with newfound determination.
Unfortunately Pyra wasn't about to give her that much of a chance. The redhead grit her teeth in a minor show of annoyance before leaping back and out of Reyna's reach with ease. "Sever!" Pyra called out, tossing the tonfa weapon up into the air.
Reyna fumbled a bit, unintentionally tripping over her own two feet when going for her Battle Braid clipped onto her belt. Still a bit dizzy from her headbutt. Watching in mounting horror as Sever leapt up and grabbed the tossed tonfa weapon with a feral grin. "You're done!"
Sever sent an X-shaped concentration of greenish-glowing ether right at Reyna. It was coming in too fast for her to dodge!
"Aaah!" Reyna cried, bracing for that same unbearable pain as when Pyra stabbed her, tears in her eyes. Only...it never came, instead when she finally risked a glance back up she saw Malos standing between her and Pyra, a glowing golden shield of ether in front of him. "M-Malos…? Th-thank yo-"
"You can thank me when this is done." Malos snapped without taking his eyes off of Pyra. "You're no good with a sword right now, give it to me." As much as Reyna wants to deny it, she knows he has a point. He glances over his shoulder for barely a second, steel-grey orbs landing on the Battle Braid still clipped onto Reyna's belt. "What about that other thing you have?"
"I-I can use it!" Reyna says, wanting to be useful somehow. It wasn't fair for Malos to have to do everything.
"Good. then here's what we'll do…"
A few moments pass before Reyna stands, taking the hand Malos offered her. Her body shifts closer, much preferring his presence at the moment in comparison to Pyra and her glare that promises nothing but more pain. She passes the blade into Malos's waiting palm, letting him shield her from the sight burning red eyes. She really hated having to fight like this…
"M-maybe uh…" Reyna trailed off, her fingers wrapping around Malos's wrist at the last moment before initiating their plan of attack. "Maybe we can uh, t-talk it out?" Reyna offered, the words sounding like such a stupid idea even as they left her mouth.
Malos had the decency to at least look like he considered her words before flat out refusing. "She killed you, remember? And that was after you two talked and got to know each other." Malos looks a little annoyed now, exhaling through his nose and even seeming to give a small, disbelieving shake of the head. Reyna flinched a little, wondering if perhaps she should just flee with the others, it was better than her staying and slowing Malos down in their fight.
"Look," Malos fixed his intense stare back onto Pyra who seemed to already be looking for some kind of opening, "I get that you're scared or whatever but right now we need to do this. You're a driver now-my driver- so it's kind of my job now to protect you." Reyna got the feeling Malos wasn't really used to having to reassure someone, let alone someone with such fragile confidence like herself. Still, she appreciated his effort.
"They're coming." Malos said, voice low and sword at the ready.
Reyna braced herself. In the back of her mind she hears Jin's voice, his words from the Maelstrom taunting her.
"Violence, as you call it, doesn't discriminate- it comes at you full force whether you're prepared for it or not. And if you're not prepared, it will cost you."
Reyna had already died once; She wasn't much of a fighter and she wasn't entirely sure whether or not her life was worth the struggle but Malos technically did save her, surely he thought she was worth something then, right? And if that was the case, then for Malos and all the other Salvager's lives, she would fight.
Because in Reyna's opinion, they are worth it.
So, she charged.
Review.
