A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2! This chapter is based on H.B.'s first affinity mission, so spoilers if you haven't gotten there yet! Enjoy the first adventure of H.B. and Cross!
Chapter 2 – Importance
Cross was transfixed. Why must this guy be so hot? And more importantly, what the heck does he want with me? She thought to herself.
"Ahem, you're about to take that mission? I'm here to tell you not to. Clearly the BLADE much more qualified to complete this mission effectively is me," the man stated matter-of-factly as he fixed his glasses.
Cross blinked slowly. Okay, so his looks are clearly his only redeeming features…
"Here, I have some small gathering missions that are more on your level…" the man said as he pulled out his comm device to transmit the data.
"Hold on, who do you think you are? You can't just order me around like that!" Cross could feel her heart race with how angry she was at him.
"Oh? I see you don't know me just yet. I am Hector Birtwhistle. Also known as the future commander of BLADE… but you can just call me H.B. And I wouldn't call it 'ordering' so much as 'highly recommending' that you hand that mission over to me."
"No way, find your own mission! I can handle this one just fine," Cross huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Hah, you're comparing yourself to a BLADE of such caliber as me? Here then, how about a little competition. If you complete these missions, maybe I will consider you worthy of my time." H.B. tapped the screen of his comm device to transfer the missions over to Cross. "Granted, they're not very easy and will probably take you a long time to complete... but I will be waiting here until you're done."
Cross stared at the screen of her comm device. Wait a minute… how much of a rookie does he think I am? These are baby missions! She showed the device to Elma and Lin, mainly to see their reactions—and she was not disappointed.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lin roared with laughter. "What a joke! You'll be done with these missions in no time! You already installed that data probe, you have the material you need, and wait, when do you get your next FrontierNav return?"
"Oh, in…" Cross looked at her imaginary watch. "Another hour."
Elma shook her head. "well, it's a good thing any idiot can take on an 'important mission.' I'm going to go make some tea. Care to join while we wait?" The three BLADEs (oh, and Tatsu) went right back inside to the Barracks, where they relaxed until they heard the telltale ching! from FrontierNav.
Meanwhile, H.B. stood in the Concourse, watching as Team Elma casually strolled off. Hmmmm, he shook his head and sighed as he thought to himself, must have been so overwhelmed that they decided to take naps instead. BLADEs these days….
Within another hour, Team Elma returned to H.B.'s waiting spot.
H.B. gave the group a snarky smirk. "What's the matter? Feeling overwhelmed? Need more time? Don't worry, it took me nearly a week to—"
"All done."
"Look, I understand if you need more time—wait, what did you say?"
"I said, ALL. DONE. Those missions were child's play."
H.B. gulped. "Oh, well…. I guess I can trust you to accompany me on this mission, then. Recently, Command sent a group of BLADEs to accompany a scientist to Noctilum to research some flora for medicinal properties. Problem is, they recently sent up a distress call. Looks like they may have run into some hostile indigens—or worse."
"Wait, he's in Noctilum? I haven't even heard of that continent yet…" Cross scratched her head in slight embarrassment.
"You seriously don't even know where that is?" H.B. stopped just shy of face-palming himself. "Hmph… well, follow me. It's west of Primordia. Seeing as you're fairly efficient you should be all right. Just don't fall behind. I'm not waiting for you if you can't keep up."
Cross felt herself start to rage, yet again. Does this guy really think so lowly of her? Just wait H.B., the next great BLADE is going to surpass you by leaps and bounds!
Team Elma, now under H.B.'s direction, hurried their way across the plains of Western Primordia. As they reached the edge of the continent, the group made their way along the cliffside path leading into the lush forests, massive trees, and colorful sands of Noctilum. The path was covered in bright yellow flowers, so vibrant as if they would come to life. Cross reached to touch a petal… only for it to jump up and attack her.
"Yeahhh, I could have told you that was a bad idea." H.B. calmly stated as he drew his shield. As Cross, Lin, and Elma drew their weapons, H.B. toppled the Mortifole with a SUPERIOR WILD DOWN, then leapt onto a nearby rock to fire a few rounds from his assault rifle. "I'm taking a shot from above!" He shouted as he shot a flame grenade at the hostile insectoid. "See how I stack up the hits? Move in for the kill!" H.B. triumphantly exclaimed.
Cross drew her knife and sent it through the beast's skull, effectively neutralizing the enemy.
H.B. ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a satisfied sigh. "Will I ever stop excelling?"
Cross stood and stared at H.B., her jaw agape at how arrogant he could be.
"What's wrong? Amazed at how powerful I am?"
"No, I'm amazed at how much of an ass you are."
"Well, I can't please everybody, I guess," H.B. said with a shrug. "Let's move on."
The group entered the lush jungles of Noctilum, where the trees and vegetation were so lush and tall that they blocked out the sun in places. They approached a BLADE basecamp for a quick breather. The air was so humid it was difficult to breathe at times. Cross focused her eyes ahead at a small red lake. The smell caused her nose to burn. What did it remind her of? Vinegar? Cayenne Pepper? Whatever it was, that water was not fresh.
The BLADE at the basecamp handed the team sandwiches and bottled water. "Be careful," he said. "That lake ahead is full of acid. We made the mistake once to splash around in it and ended up with holes in our boots!"
H.B. pondered for a moment. "That's a shame. According to my comm device the fastest way to get to Rust Lake would be through this giant acid puddle….. well, ladies, get ready to run."
Lin flailed her arms in frustration. "Did you not hear what he just said?! We can get hurt if we go through that!"
"Tatsu not getting burned today! Tatsu stay in one piece!" the Nopon cried as he stomped his feet.
This left H.B. with Elma and Cross.
"Well? Are you two going to back me up? Or am I going it alone?"
Cross boldly stepped forward. "I'll go. Sometimes you gotta take a risk for the greater good, right?"
Elma, however, crossed her arms as she shook her head. "Good for you two, I'm going around." She promptly began her trek through the cliffs surrounding the acid lake.
H.B. shrugged. "Well, it's good to see your team leader is finally living out her dream of being a mountain goat."
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Yeah… right. Well, here we go!"
Cross took a deep breath and braced herself for the run of her life. The two bolted through the acid, not even stopping for a breath. Their boots splashed the poison up their legs, and Cross could feel her skin start to prickle and burn. What the heck was I thinking? My new clothes are gonna be ruined!
"There's the end. Ready to leap for it?" H.B. asked between breaths.
Cross met his eyes with a firm nod.
The two launched themselves forward. H.B. hit the ground first, steadying his feet to stand. As he turned towards his new partner, Cross landed in front of him and lost her footing, falling forward and into his chiseled physique. H.B. grabbed Cross's waist to steady her, causing her to blush profusely.
"Okay now, there's no need to throw yourself at me," H.B. said with a wink.
Cross huffed. "I wouldn't throw myself at you if you were the last man on Mira!"
"Ha! Who knows? You may change your mind one of these days. And speaking of ONE OF THESE DAYS, I wonder when Ms. Mountain Goat is going to join us…"
"I SWEAR WHEN I GET OVER THERE I'M GONNA SLIDING SLINGER YOU RIGHT IN THE ASS!" Elma screamed from the cliff she was scaling.
"Ohhh, I'm shaking in my holey boots!" H.B. grumbled sarcastically as he turned to Cross. "… by the way, Cross, I'll get you new boots with the reward money once we return to the city."
After very brief deliberation, the pair decided to leave Elma on the cliff so they could continue onward. They climbed large snaking tree roots and snuck through thick vegetation until they happened upon the source of the distress signal. Broken rifles laid all over the jungle floor, and hidden in the vegetation was a single BLADE, mortally wounded.
H.B. pressed the BLADE for information. "Where's the scientist?"
"He escaped in a car and went up ahead. It was terrible. Those monsters attacked us. Everyone else… is dead," the BLADE gurgled and coughed through his dying breaths.
Cross watched H.B.'s face during the exchange. Not once did his expression change or his resolve waver.
"Let's go, we can't waste any more time."
Cross was in shock. How could he react so coldly? "Umm… shouldn't we help him first?"
"You would really choose one life over the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people? You would really risk the greater good? This man can die proudly knowing he sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, but if we lose this scientist…"H.B.'s voice was firm, yet beginning to shake with slight panic.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Let's go."
The pair hurried on ahead to the base of a large tree overlooking the Rust Lake. There they saw the wreckage of the scientist's car, being terrorized by a "Merciful" Dilus, a large crocodile-like creature with one large red eye on its snout, spike-like spines all over its body, and large webbed feet.
"…we may already be too late," H.B. muttered under his breath.
"We don't know that yet! Let's beat this freak first!" Cross drew her weapon, with H.B. following.
The two partners worked in tandem, weakening the Dilus and attempting to topple it with their assault rifles. Their attempts, however, enraged the Dilus, who chomped at them to try and stop the aggression. Cross pulled away to reload her rifle, causing the Dilus to send its tail straight for her! H.B., seeing the oncoming attack, jumped in front and absorbed the brunt of the hit, falling into Cross and knocking her back.
"Dammit, this thing's tough," H.B. muttered as he grabbed his wounded side.
"Are you all right?" Cross asked as she reached for her partner.
"As 'all right' as I can be, given the circumstances," H.B. stated between breaths.
The Dilus then threw its whole body at the two BLADEs, knocking them backwards, then shot poisonous burning stomach bile at them. H.B. and Cross were cornered, with wavering strength and morale. Just as the creature bore its fangs to land the final blow on the pair, a familiar voice rang through the air.
"SLIDING SLINGER!"
It was Elma! She slid under H.B.'s legs with her attack, peppering his gluteus maximus with a few bullets as she aimed the rest at the Dilus' tail, detonating the appendage.
"That's what you get for calling me a goat, Mr. Birtwhistle!" Elma stared down H.B., who had moved his hand from his injured side to tend to his now injured rear end. She approached the writhing Dilus and, with a swift "Shadow Strike" to the eye, the indigen was no more. After reluctantly patching up her deserters, Elma led the two to the wreckage.
"Solan, are you there?" H.B. called to the vehicle.
"H.B. is that you?!" cried a voice from inside the vehicle. "Boy am I glad I picked the right college buddy!"
"Oh stop, I didn't save you because we're 'friends,' it's because you're actually valuable to the human race. It's nothing personal."
Solan emerged from the car and chuckled. "Same old H.B.! Thank you so much for rescuing me. Now let's head home!"
Cross stared at the scene that had just unfolded, absolutely befuddled. "Wow, what a jerk."
"Ehh, Solan's not so bad of a guy," H.B. shrugged.
"I'm not talking about Solan. I'm talking about YOU."
"Well, I guess not everyone's going to agree with my sentiments at the end of the day. By the way, Cross, you were a big help today. I might have struggled a bit if it weren't for you."
"Did you forget that I was the one who saved the day?" Elma crossed her arms and tapped her foot in annoyance.
"Actually if I remember right you're the one who shot me in the ass. But thanks for helping, I guess. And Cross, I think you've earned the privilege to work with me on future missions as my rival, or friend, or whatever."
Cross playfully rolled her eyes. "I'm HONORED great Hector Birtwhistle. How can I EVER match your greatness?"
Elma, however, was less than impressed. "No way. I'm not dealing with your arrogant ass ever again!"
"Well then, Ms. Elma, you are certainly missing out. How about we head back to NLA and have some coffee while we fill out paperwork? My treat."
"Sounds like fun to me!" Cross beamed. Despite her first mission with her new rival being a bit of a misadventure, she couldn't help but smile. She truly enjoyed the fun—albeit, strange- experience. The three BLADEs, accompanied by Solan, departed east towards NLA. The entire trip, the rivals challenged each other and showed off their achievements as if they had been friends for years.
Solan laughed to Elma, "well, I guess I will have some competition for BFF status! Not that I mind, really."
Elma merely shook her head. How can ANYBODY want to befriend H.B.? "Solan, you must have really low standards if you call a guy like him your 'friend'."
The group had finally reached the west gate of NLA by the end of the day, excited to get their exhausting adventure on paper and done with. As they approached the BLADE tower to report back to Commander Vandham, Elma suddenly stopped as she gasped out loud. "Guys…"
Cross turned around, slightly confused. "What's the matter Elma? …wait… oh no…"
Both women then screamed in unison. "WE FORGOT LIN AND TATSU!"
A/N: Did you know that every time H.B. breaks into a run he says "here we go!"? Yeah, now you're going to turn on XCX and try it! (It's adorable, by the way). Thanks for reading! Remember to R&R! I should have Chapter 3 up in about a week or so.
Next Chapter: H.B. joins Cross and Team Elma on a mission in Oblivia, where the rivals learn the importance of cooperation, not competition.