I do not own Harry Potter or Xenoblade Chronicles 2. All rights go to their respective owners.
In between the Islands of Auskerry and Stronsay, a small boat was floating amongst the sea, it's stone grey hull gleaming in the moonlight. The crane that was affixed to the ship's hull was whirring as it pulled up a small platform with a moderately sized figure in a bulky suit and a small metal crate on it from the depths below. As the crane lowered the platform onto the deck, the figure reached up and removed the helmet from the suit, revealing the face of a middle-aged man capped with messy chocolate brown hair. After a long breath of air, the man hopped off the platform to start unhitching the crate from it, all the while grumbling to himself.
"Man, I really need to buy myself a new depth probe." The man said as he pulled the hook off the crate. "The ping was off by 150 meters to the east. That's not gonna fly!
Once the crate was completely unhitched, the man reached for a crowbar leaning on the crane. With a mighty swing, the man jammed the crowbar into the crate's door, pulling with all his might. Eventually, the door ripped off the crate entirely, causing the man to lose balance. Once he recovered, he glanced into the crate. Inside was a small pile of gold coins and a large rust colored lobster sitting on top.
"Huh, I didn't expect that." said the man as he walked over and picked up the crustation. "You been living in this thing big guy?"
The Lobster wiggled in response.
"Well, at least you'll make a good dinner." and with that, the man took the lobster and put it in a cooler behind the cabin. He then went back to the crate and picked up one of the cold coins, recognizing the coat of arms on its face.
"An Ardanian coin! Haven't seen one of these in a while."
Putting the coin into a container on his suit, the man observed the other ones in the stack, noting that there were a few from each of the main countries of the former Alrest. As he was putting them in his money pouch, he heard a loud splash from the port side of the boat. He paused to look, just in time to see a huge whale leap out of the water in a beautiful ark, before crashing back into the ocean.
After waiting a few moments to see if the whale would pop up again, the man turned to finish stashing the small pile of coins, muttering to himself, "Seems like it's that time again."
Once the pile had been stashed, the man got up and went into the cabin of the ship, a reminiscing look in his eye as he sat in the captain's chair and looked out over the horizon to the island of Auskerry, where his home was.
"I wonder how the world is changing this time"
The man closed his eyes as he remembered the events that had transpired over the course of his life, starting with fishing up that King Crustip all those years ago.
After some time, the man reopened his eyes and got up, sparring one last glance out the window, noting a single yellow-ish comet streaking slowly across the sky.
"Well, it's about time I get back to work."
But before he could turn away from the view, the comet shot towards the island, landing on the side farthest from his location with a brilliant flash. The man jumped at the sudden break in the peace, falling on his rear.
"Was that Mythra?" he questioned, still recovering from the fall. As he got up, he checked the clock on the wall of the cabin, which read just after midnight. "Why are she and Pyra so late? They should have gotten home hours ago! And why didn't they apparate back?"
The man immediately knew that something was wrong, as those two were normally very punctual about when they got home. Abandoning the thought of going back to work, the man got back into the seat, revved up the engine, and started heading back home. As he traveled, one thought came to mind.
'What is going on right now?'
"WHAT ON EARTH COULD BE TAKING THOSE TWO SO LONG?"
Inside the sole house on the island of Auskerry, a young woman with long feline ears, garbed in an elegant red and white robe-leotard dress, and looking no older than twenty, was pacing around a large living room with many very expensive pieces of furniture and a large fireplace, the fire within creating an eerie, yet calming glow across the room. Just outside the woman's pacing circle sat a large white tiger garbed in silvery armor, a neutral look across his face as he watched the lady go around in circles angrily.
"My Lady, please, calm down. I'm sure that Pyra and Mythra have an adequate reason for being so late." Said the tiger, hoping to calm his Mistress.
"Augh, I know that Dromarch. I just can't help but worry about what those two are up to. I mean, the last time this happened, we had to deal with Dumbledore. And you remember how much of a pain in the arse THAT was." replied the lady, her scowl deepening at the memory of working with the young wizard as Perenelle.
"Yes my Lady, I do. But you should not let that incident cloud your judgement. Besides, the most likely scenario is that they went on a stroll to clear their minds, and simply lost track of time."
"That only makes me worry about why they would need to do so!"
Dromarch let out a long sigh as the lady continued her circling. He should have known that trying to calm his mistress down would be a fruitless effort. She was too worked up. Hopefully the duo in question would arrive soon, else they worsen his Lady's wrath.
Not a moment later, ground trembled ever so slightly, and both occupants of the room paused to look at each other before rushing to the entrance hall. Just before the lady could reach the door, it slammed open, revealing a slightly tired looking Mythra.
"Nia, I know what you are going to say, but now is not the time!"
Nia stopped in her tracks, slightly startled by Mythra's outburst. She quickly regained her composure, ready to tear Mythra a new one, but was taken aback when she saw Pyra behind her, covered in blood, and holding a clearly heavily injured child in her arms. Nia looked at the boy, then Pyra, then Mythra. The looks in the two Aegis sisters' eyes told her all that she needed to know.
"Get him inside!" said Nia after a pregnant pause, "But you are going to have to tell me exactly what happened once we get him all healed up!"
The two Aegis sisters nodded, and the three of them rushed into the house, with Dromarch closing the door behind them before following.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. The only excuse I have is my own laziness towards life during these last few months.
Please, if you have any, your criticism is much appreciated.
Thanks for waiting, and I hope to update this story again within 30 days
-Beatdown