A/N: The following fanfiction will be a retelling XBC2 from Torna's perspective. What was the dynamic like among the members of Torna while Rex and his friends carried out their quest? That very question is what I will attempt to convey in the fanfic - with a twist.
An OC will be added: Luna, the Anima of Tantal. Once a Blade to a nobleman, Luna was the spirit that kept the Tantalese nation prideful and willing to see the days to come. Tantal's view of Luna had changed drastically after the Aegis War, and Luna's outlook on life did as well.
A spoiler to the entire fanfic: I will be doing my very best to give the antagonists a pleasant ending.
Hope you enjoy. I'd love to discuss the story with you, as well as XBC2 as we know it!
Between the tall buildings that spanned for kilometers sat two people across from each other. They allowed the angry rain to soak their cloaks without any thought. For a while, they say there, with their unthinking yet constantly wavering minds. The two people could sense a different presence about one another. Without a word, they accepted it.
Their silent exchange was broken by the slow clacking of boots along the pavement.
A carelessly strong voice mused, "Ugh… what a stench. They let beggars roam free in this town?"
They didn't budge.
"You two… you're Blades, aren't you? Where are your Drivers? Dead drunk in a ditch?"
The figure stopped. The two cloaked people could see the shadow of the newcomer stretch in front of them.
"No… somehow, I don't think that's it. The name is Malos. I'm the same as you both…"
That was when Malos peaked both 'beggars'' interests. They lifted their heads to view the tall man. Malos' navy gaze pierced right through them. He had high cheekbones, sharp chin, and pointed eyebrows. His tiered blue armor accentuated his broad frame, notably the shoulder pads that extended upwards. Most notably, he had a rectangular piece of metal that covered the center of his chest. Malos had both hands outstretched towards the Blades.
One of the Blades had white hair that fell over his dead eyes and rested around shoulder level. Peeking from beneath his bangs was a thin and abnormally red Core Crystal. His face was thinner and slightly pointier in comparison to Malos'.
The other Blade had maroon bangs that added shape to her soft face. Two red core crystal stretched from the side under her jaw to the middle of her cheeks on both sides. She had yellow eyes.
The white haired man knew who Malos was: the Aegis who has brought nothing but destruction to Alrest. Alrest has been chaotic for a while now, but ever since his awakening, it has taken a nosedive. Between wars and his pointless destruction, the goodness has been squeezed dry.
Both the man and woman accepted his hand at the same time.
The rain let up. Now that they weren't in town, the two Blades took off their disguises.
The white haired man had armor that was similarly colored to his hair. Sturdier pieces of metal covered sensitive areas, such as his shoulders, mid abdomen, and down The middle of his legs. The padding on his shoulders fanned outwards ever so slightly. Underneath the armor on his torso, he wore a stretchy red shirt that allowed him to move with agile. His trousers allowed the same movement, but were looser. His white boots stretched upwards and covered his knees. Around his waistline was a belt that mounted the bottom half of a robe, fanning outwards. Short vambraces attached to his hands.
The girl's hair was much longer now that it was unsheathed. A bunch of hair on both sides of her head were tied to the back with a white and gold stranded ribbon. A thick and tan hooded cape draped around her body, held in place by a gold seal along her neckline. The cape and hood were trimmed and lined with fur. Her shoulders were protected with white armor. Attached to those were long black sleeves. Tiered gold and white plates protected her chest and came together down the middle of her abdomen. Small black fabric hid any sensitive areas around her hips, similar to that of a bathing suit bottom. Material identical to that on her sleeves extended from her feet to the middle of her quadriceps. Sturdy black and golden laced boots covered the entirety of her calf and folded over the topsides with fur.
The white haired man said to follow him, for he had a place where everyone could stay for the evening.
As they approached the shoreline, they found a decked ship. Nearby were a few sleeping teenagers that seemed to have found a home within the vicinity, and they appeared to have meddled with the ship, much to Jin's dismay.
"Looks like I'll have to tell those dirty rascals to move. Or…" Malos' eyebrow raises along with the corner of his mouth.
The white haired man examined the teens closer. The ragged clothes that overflowed on their skinny bodies made them look homeless. Any exposed skin was bruised. Small knives were scattered about. The rain had extinguished the fire that they built.
"I can erase them on the spot!" Malos finished.
Right as Malos reached for his sword, the deed had already been performed. The white haired man slashed through the boys with his thin and long sword in the blink of an eye. The boys, awoke from their sleep so suddenly to gasp, but only to fall back to an eternal slumber.
Malos laughed. "Impressive! And to think that I called you a beggar. What's your name?"
The white haired man didn't bother looking up. "Jin."
Jin knew who Malos was. The Aegis who has brought nothing but destruction to Alrest. Alrest has been chaotic for a while now, but ever since his awakening, it has taken a nosedive. Between wars and his pointless destruction, the goodness has been squeezed dry.
"Tell me. What drives your power, Jin?" Malos crossed his arms and leaned back over his left leg.
Jin's eyes met with the Aegis' for the first time. He knew what destruction this man was capable of very well.
"Have you ever doubted the Architect?" Jin asked.
"Duh. The cycle of humanity keeps repeating itself with no end in sight. Humans are despicable. Why does he allow this? And that's where I come in."
Jin's ears perked up. He was surprised to hear an agreeable concept coming from a man whom he once opposed. Was ending the enslaving nature of men due to their own selfish reasons what Malos believed all along? Was that his motivation to fight? Only time could tell.
"To destroy the madness that people contribute to Alrest," the female Blade spoke with her naturally honeyed and soft spoken voice.
"You're clever, little lady."
"Don't call me that."
"What's your name?"
Orange tinted smoke came out of her ears. She refrained from raising her voice any further. "Luna."
"Little Lady Luna. I like the sound of that, but it's too long. I'll call you Little Lu."
"Watch yourself, Aegis," Luna furrowed her eyebrows.
"Like you'd be able to do anything to me. What can you do, anyway?"
Luna looked at the boys, already beginning to rot. She almost felt sad once she closed her eyes. "Revive them."
"What's stopping you?"
"You said it yourself."
"Looks like we've all got similar ideas in mind, huh. How about we join forces, and destroy whatever the fuck The Architect created?"
"Including he himself," Jin added with quiet malice.
Luna couldn't find a reason why she'd dispute.
She took a deep breath in, outstretched her arms, bent forward and exhaled flames. The flames grabbed ahold of the teens and they became no more.
"What is that piece of crap?" Malos said in reference to the ship that lacked a Titan controlling it.
"This is the Monoceros, a mechanically operated ship. We'll be spending the night here." Jin said as they all boarded the ship.
The Monoceros was black and metallic. The head of the ship was plated with gold. The interior was spacious. The walls were not decorated, and along them were neat assortments of supplies that could be used as needed. The ceiling was supported by pillars with blue lights inside of them. Doors led to a couple of bedrooms with bunk beds, a small kitchen, and a stairway that led to the energy and control room.
"I haven't any cooking ingredients. We'll need to get some for a meal. There is trout in one of the bodies of water around here; I'll also need avocados and onion.." Jin said.
"That won't be an issue to gather around here. I'll go get those," Luna said as she took off in a whirlwind.
Malos took in the sights further. "Powered by electricity, no need to rely on a Titan for its power. How efficient is this thing?"
"I haven't ran out of power in a while. There's a generator in the control room that utilizes technology placed on the hull to convert resources within and around the Cloud Sea to energy. The capabilities of the Monoceros are nothing special," Jin said.
"And the firearms?"
"Need to be worked on."
Luna quickly came back with a few trout dangling between each of her fingers. She held them out away from her body. Her eyes glanced around for the kitchen while she walked with short and quick steps. Once she saw the kitchen, she went in, followed by Jin and Malos once they heard her arrival. Luna spun around and attempted to conceal her disgust for the slimy trout; she wished that she had some case to carry them in rather than her hand.
"What's with the look? Grossed out by some dead fish? You'd better get over your 'fear' if we plan on working together. You're going to be doing far worse," Malos laughed.
"I don't handle the cooking or gathering of food," Luna said.
"You made it pretty far without food."
"Never said it was easy."
Jin began cooking a dish similar to Trout Stralu. His passion for cooking had died long ago, but he needed to eat somehow. His skills were impeccable nonetheless.
Once the fish was cooked, they sat around a table in the lobby area. The meal certainly tasted different than what Jin had recalled since it called for ingredients only available from Torna. Luna and Malos didn't realize.
After inhaling nearly half of her meal, Luna paused suddenly. She asked, "Why do you guys want to kill the Architect?"
She knew the answer to her own question and wondered what her new group thought.
Jin hesitated for a moment. He didn't think he would have to verbalize his reflections to anyone and hadn't prepared for it. Although, the thoughts he had simmered in his head long enough and he was quite confident in his conclusions. He knew all about what Malos had done during his chaotic outburst during the Aegis War - and perhaps it wasn't unfounded. As for Luna, she radiates an energy similar to his own, and for that, he is able to feel comfortable around sharing his ideas to them.
"I long to ask the Architect why he hasn't stopped the destruction that humans cause. Us former Blades," Jin's eyes casted upon Luna, "were pawns in the game that the Architect lets us play, at the cost of those whom we've grown close to. All of those days spent with the one who we resonated with, destined to be forgotten… as we sit and watch ignorantly as humans use us to destroy themselves."
Luna sat back in her chair. She had watched her fair share of humans taking a go at life and even allowed for human heart to infiltrate her own body, only to see how detrimental they are to, not only people whom they don't know, but the ones that they do know. "We were only do so much when we were Blades. We don't have many options, and we are not in full control of ourselves, unlike an Aegis." She looked over at Malos. "The Architect made you with a special idea in mind, giving you the ability to break free from your Driver at your own will with unreal powers."
"Wish I could tell you what he had in mind for me, but I know just as much as you do. I'd like to ask him myself," Malos tipped his chair backwards. "I can't do that with a broken core crystal, though.".
Somewhat unwillingly, he removed the piece of armor that covered the center of his chest, revealing a chipped core crystal that glowed a faint purple.
"Is there any way to fix it?" Luna asked.
Malos' demeanor became less giddy and more enraged. "Sure. My partner was the one responsible for the damage of my core crystal. If I had access to her, I'd be able to take back what was mine to begin. But I don't know where that bitch is."
"I do," Jin said, raising his spine. "Her Driver hid her after the war. He mentioned hiding her weapon in Leftheria. As for the Aegis herself, she is beneath the Cloud Sea somewhere."
"If we're able to find her, I can utilize Siren and my gargoyles to wipe out humanity. I can also control Ophion, who guards the World Tree. Once Ophion is out of the way, we have access to Father," Malos said.
"I doubt this ship is going to get us very far," Luna noted.
"No, but the other warship, the Marsanes, has much more potential. We'll need more people to help us with that… there is someone I know, but I… don't know if he's alive," Jin said.
"If you know where he is, it would be worthwhile to check."
"The last time I saw him was when Indol attacked us." Emotion was not at the forefront of Jin's mind. Any lingering feelings of disparity were hidden beneath layers of blankets he had set in his mind within the years of his life as a Flesh Eater.
"Ah, the Indoline Praetorium," Malos cooed with fake enthusiasm. "That's a coin toss. He's either dead or a mutant of what he used to be. Visiting the Praetorium would be fun. Maybe I'll even catch a glimpse of my Driver."
"Let's go," Jin said.
And they went.
A/N: I recently played through XBC2 and I'm currently going through the DLC. I really enjoyed all of Torna; everyone in Torna won my heart, and they're all my favorite characters. I would've liked to see them all survive at the end of XBC2... so here is my take! I also added an OC to *hopefully* push them into a more positive direction that aligns with the protagonists' goals... If you have any advice regarding XBC2 lore, or if someone sounds OOC, let me know. Thanks.