Chapter 18: Next Move

I'm not going to lie, rereading the previous chapter makes me want to add a lot more. I forgot that one of Mythra's strikes broke off a chunk of the playhouse. I also kind of rushed the end of the fight because I forgot about foresight and a few other events. It's probably the chapter I've been the most dissatisfied with so far. But honestly I'm probably going to go back through the entire story and edit it through at some point. I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing again because I like the direction I'm going so I don't see the need, but my writing has definitely improved since I've started this story.

I'd like some more feedback on what I can improve. I'm rereading my older chapters and I'm seeing stuff I'd like to improve but I'm not quite sure how. I definitely need to work on describing stuff more. Writing out both character and setting descriptions as well as writing out the character's actions more. But that's obvious stuff in general. I think I need to work on making Brandon's character more interesting overall. While I've made him better than in the old iteration, he still feels like he's just along for the ride at the moment. I don't really intend for him to change 2's plot in a super significant way, but I'd like to explore his relationship with the other characters and the world a lot better. I think I made him a bit too comfortable in Alrest right off the bat and could have made some interesting conflicts with him being more unfamiliar with the world. To be fair, he's been there for 2 years before the official start of the story but still. I also need to work on his ptsd moments, as well as him wrestling with his own failures and shortcomings.

Nia's also been a massive crutch to make things have relatively little consequence even when things do go south. And that is just going to be the result of having such a powerful healing character around so maybe I'll have to find ways to restrict it that's not just straight up reducing her power. Maybe I should have some more mental stuff.

Fiction Fan 369: Thanks. Dromarch should be sticking around this time. I think I've got him characterized a little better and I like his dynamic with the rest of the party so far. I have Xenoblade 3 stuff in planning atm so we'll see how that turns out.

Just a reader now a writer: Thanks. That's been more or less my main goal so I'm glad to hear it.

Guest: That's the plan. Obviously this story itself isn't going to be affected by 3 content outside of what I hope is subtle foreshadowing, so if anyone hasn't finished 3 yet, you don't need to worry about spoilers here. My other stories though will.

Guest: In case you haven't read my other story, I've explained why I'm slow to update at the moment: in person university has officially started back up for me (a few months ago at this point) giving me substantially less time to write. As such, updates are going to be a lot slower. Sorry, but that's just going to be how it is for the next few months until summer break.

Brandon was frustrated. The idea of someone being able to just wield the power of the Artifices at will rubbed him the wrong way. He kind of glossed over it with Pyra because despite her saying that Ophion was her Artifice, it didn't fully register since she wasn't in control.

But Mythra… she seemed to wield the powers of the Artifice without much extra thought. She did seem to be upset at having to use those powers which bought her a little bit of favor in his eyes. But that wasn't enough for him to like her. The Artifices were weapons of mass destruction. Not a weapon that could be used in small scale conflict like they were in.

She… she did use it effectively though. None on their side were hurt in any way… But what about the next time? Or the time after that.

There was no guarantee that an orbital weapon of that power could be safely controlled in every battle, especially here when most fights were done with melee weapons and were in close proximity.

And… as selfish as it sounded, what about him? Everytime he heard the charge of an Artifice weapon, he'd just curl up into a ball unable to contribute to a battle. He'd be a liability whenever Mythra would use it again… well… more of a liability.

But despite these concerns, he didn't voice them as they all made their way over to Cole's playhouse. Though Nia at least seemed to be aware of his current misgivings, constantly giving him sideways glances to check on him as if he would start breaking down again.

Ugh. He couldn't even blame her since he admittedly still felt like shit. He wanted nothing more than to take a long break and do nothing. It had really only been a few weeks since he had been forced into this adventure but that moment on the ancient ship felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. No one else seemed to express that sentiment, though given that the rest of them were
Drivers and Blades, it figures that they'd have far higher stamina and tolerance than he did.

He was still unsure of what they should do exactly after Garfont. Or rather, what he should do. Despite Nia's pep talk yesterday, he didn't really feel like he was any more capable of taking on Torna. He was determined to finish his mission though, he needed to see this through.

He felt a hand close over his fist that he hadn't realized he was clenching. He looked over to see Nia staring at him.

"Calm," she said.

"Wha- I am calm." Brandon complained.

"You don't seem it."

"I don't?" He said.

Nia lifted up the hand that she had grabbed. "You don't."

Brandon sighed, "I guess I'm not. I just…" a flood of anxieties shifted through his mind. "I… What do we do? How do we just tell people that… Vandham's dead? I mean, we've known him for all of a week and a half. Then we let him die on our watch!" He noticed Rex flinch at that and he forced himself to lower his voice again. "So yeah, I may be a bit stressed."

"It's not just that though, is it." She said, more a statement than a question.

"... no."

"Then talk to me. Actually explain shite for once."

"Look, those Artifices are going to be the death of me. If not directly, then indirectly. I can't function when I hear that sound. If that happens while I'm fighting, I'll probably be killed."

"Yeah… but I think Pyra got that from what you said the other day. Which you still need to elaborate on."

Brandon grunted, "when we have more free time I will. But the more important question is: did Mythra get it? She just fucked off after not being able to take confrontation."

"She did say that she didn't want to use that power," Nia said as she glanced back, "also, Pyra's not lookin' too comfortable."

Brandon sighed, "look… I'm no medical professional but I've very obviously got some level of PTSD right now. The fact is that if Artifices continue to be a problem, I'm done."

"Done? What do you mean, 'done?'"

"I mean I give up. I'm not going to go out and get myself killed on purpose. And if I keep hearing Artifices, I'll just be a liability."

"So you'd just… leave?"

"Honestly? Yeah. I'm not going to charge into battle knowing I'm going to die. And we can't exactly kick Pyra out of the group. She's the whole reason why we're doing this. The escort target if you will."

"That's… not fair. Not to Pyra," she lowered her voice, "and not to me."

"I know it's not. But what's the alternative? I march out to my death? I know we have to fix this mess, but I can't help fix it if I die accomplishing nothing."

"I…"

"I'm not saying I'll leave for sure. Maybe Mythra does understand and this'll just be an unpleasant memory. But promise me one thing. If I do decide that I have to leave for both my safety and the collective group's safety, that you'll stick with Rex. Protect him."

Nia scowled, "I should be tellin' you too stick around, bloody dumbarse. But sure. I give you my word."

"Thank you."

Nia sighed, "just so you know, if I don't agree with your reasons for leavin', I'm draggin' your arse back."

Brandon laughed, "it's a deal… thanks… Nia."

"For what?" She smirked, "tellin' you that you're a dumbarse?"

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes, "that's definitely it. Because I totally want to sit here and have you insult me."

"Yeah, that's what you're into, right?"

"Hmph, screw off."

Nia laughed as Brandon tried to elbow her. "Feelin' better?"

"Feeling annoyed, which I guess is marginally better than feeling depressed."

"Hey, that's somethin'. One step at a time, yeah?"

He snorted, "sure. We'll say that your therapy methods are effective."

"Well said therapy methods clearly are. You're already snarkin' back." Nia pointed out.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Again, better than you sittin' there poutin'."

"Hey, I don't pout." Brandon pouted.

Nia smiled, "I think you're alright."

"Mmh," Brandon grunted.

"Alright, that's confirmation enough for me." Nia smirked, "now stop the whinin'."

"Of course, milady."


"Vandham," Cole sighed, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen as he seemed to age a decade. "He always did say that he would die saving someone. But I never imagined that the day would be today."

Nia clenched a fist, despite having just told Brandon to calm down, she couldn't help but feel a burst of anger rush over her.

"I'm sorry," Rex said as he bowed his head, "if I had-"

"No," Cole shook his head, "I don't blame you. I don't think Vandham would blame you either. Torna… they must be stopped. To besmirch the country of Torna, I did not think that Jin could stoop that low."

"Jin," Brandon stepped forward, "you know him?"

"We fought together in the Aegis war," Cole said, "I apologize for withholding information from you earlier. At first I wasn't sure how much to tell, and Pyra had asked me to keep it that way."

"It's alright now," Pyra said, "they know about Mythra."

Cole nodded, "I, along with Mythra, was a Blade of Prince Addam."

"You're a Blade?" Rex asked, astonished.

"Indeed," he pulled his cloak to the side slightly to reveal the shimmer of a Core Crystal. Nia nearly gasped, physically putting a stop to any of her own outward reactions.

"I'm assuming these questions are linked," Brandon said as Cole tucked his cloak back into place, "first, why does your Core Crystal have red in it? Second, if you were Addam's Blade, how are you alive right now? Third, if you are a Blade, how are you so old and frail? Fourth, why are you hiding the fact that you are a Blade?"

"Hah, methodical one, aren't you. You'd be correct in your assumption. The details differ slightly but they all have the same overarching answer: I am a Flesh Eater. One of the cursed ones. We were… experiments, conducted by the long fallen civilization of Judicium. An attempt to create the ultimate Blade by fusing human and Blade cells. Us Flesh Eaters could fight at full power even away from our Drivers. We could also bond with other Drivers even while previous Drivers were alive. In some rare cases, which was the goal of these experiments, it could even enhance a Blade's power to far beyond what they were capable of even with a Driver."

"And that fusion causes your Core Crystal to change color?"

"Yes," Cole said, "it's the easiest way to identify a Flesh Eater."

Nia flinched, her hand going up to her own chest. She glanced around and let out a quiet sigh of relief when it seemed that Brandon hadn't noticed, being distracted by the Flesh Eater in front of him.

"Also, you called yourself a cursed one?"

"Unfortunately, most Flesh Eaters were failed experiments. I could use my full power even away from my Driver, but that also means that a standard Blade's immortality was lost. I now age like any other creature of Alrest, albeit much slower. If I were to die now, my physical form would remain and my Core Crystal would act as if it were shattered, I would never be able to resonate with another Driver again."

Nia noticed Brandon nod, as if satisfied with the answers given. "Wait," she said, "what about the other question? Why are you hidin' that you're a… Flesh Eater?"

"I believe your friend has already figured it out."

Brandon nodded, "it's clear that Flesh Eaters must be illegal to some degree or I doubt you'd be hiding it. I imagine it's the Praetorium because they control all aspects of legal Blade distribution and control, meaning that a Flesh Eater could easily disrupt their systems by bonding with numerous people, as well as act as a fully independent agent."

Cole clapped, "a spot on analysis. Yes, that is effectively the gist of it. My first Driver was Amalthus, the current Praetor of Indol." He held out a hand and summoned his Blade weapon to it in a flash of light. He handed the weapon over to Rex, "here, take this to Amalthus. It should be enough to get his attention at the very least."

"Wait," Rex scratched his head as he accepted the weapon, "if the Praetor is your Driver, why are Flesh Eaters illegal?"

"It's like your friend mentioned. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't disclose my location."

"Hm," Brandon hummed, "then what's your real name?"

"What?" Nia's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Astute observation. It's Minoth. I would have told you but you appear to have read through me."

"Not really. Just your comment on not revealing your location made that idea connect in my head."

"Yes, I suppose that someone of your disposition would have figured it out from that."

"Okay… so next, we go to the Praetorium?" Rex asked.

"We have to meet Morag again, remember?" Brandon said, "also, we have to get down to Garfont and tell them the news."

"No need. I can have the message delivered," Cole said.

"But how will you contact us?" Brandon asked, "surely they'll have some kind of response."

"Here," Cole grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote something down on it, "send a message to this address with instructions on how to reach you."

"Understood. Is there anything else?"

"No. I wish you luck."


"How will we even find Morag?" Nia asked, sitting on the back of Gramps while leaning against Dromarch, who had already fallen asleep, as he sailed towards Mor Ardain.

"Honestly? I don't know." Brandon replied, scratching his head. He sat cross legged in front of her as they chatted. "She did say she'd be in the capital of Mor Ardain after telling us to go though, so that's probably our best bet."

"Well, we can't exactly just walk into any old military building and request to speak with the bloody Special Inquisitor, can we?"

"Uh…"

Nia felt her face fall to her hands, "that's exactly what you were plannin' on doin', isn't it."

He held up his hands helplessly, "we may have left a bit hastily. It's the best I can think of without explicit instructions from Morag."

Nia sighed, "I'll be the first to admit, I'm not very smart. Neither is Rex."

"Hey!"

"And Domarch and Pyra just kind of do what we do," she crossed her arms, "so you've gotta pick up the slack."

Brandon stared at her. "Are you really saying that I need to be smart because you're stupid."

Nia blushed before crossing her arms angrily, "you know what? Yes. I'm doublin' down. That's exactly what I'm sayin'."

"I… huh. What do I even say to that?"

"You say: 'understood my lady' and move on with it."

"Understood milady."

"Good boy." Nia nodded as she patted his head.

Brandon sighed, "I hate you."

She shrugged, "love and hate aren't mutually exclusive."

"I don't love you either. Frankly, it's a very, very mild like I feel towards you at best."

Nia snorted, "such affection. I feel so appreciated."

"More than he's ever shown me," Rex commented offhandedly.

"Would you rather I be the overbearing older brother?" Brandon asked.

"Oh hell no," Rex said without hesitation.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means-"

Nia snorted at the display, the image of Brandon fawning over Rex also being a surprisingly funny image. He just didn't seem the type to her. And clearly Brandon also agreed given his response. For a brief instance, the image of her own older sibling popped into her mind. The time they had spent together with her sister stroking her hair. She shook her head, trying to clear the mental image.

"Hey, you okay?" Brandon asked, leaning over to nudge her.

"Huh?" Nia blinked, Brandon's words snapping her out of her funk, "uh yeah, everything's fine."

"Hm," he didn't sound very convinced, "if you're sure." She was glad he didn't push the issue further though… unlike what she had been doing huh?

"Of course I'm sure," she crossed her arms haughtily, "who do you take me for?"

"Um, is there a right answer to that question?"

"Well, if you need to ask that question, then the answer is no," Nia flicked his forehead then crossed her arms.

"Well that's not fair."

"Life's not fair. Especially when it comes to me."

"Mmh. I'll tread more carefully then."

"Well, you don't have to do that," Nia said quickly.

He snorted, "well then, miss brave face," Nia winced at the obvious callout, "why don't you stick to one thing."

Nia stuck her tongue out at him. "You're lucky I'm on your side."

"Or what?"

"Or… I dunno. I'll do something."

"How threatening. I'm quaking in my shoes."

"Oi shut up," Nia scowled, "arsehole."

Brandon laughed, "how's that for a comeback."

"Feck off." Nia crossed her arms, "I'm plenty threatening."

"Mmhm. A catgirl half my size," Brandon shook his head, "and the worst part is, I actually am kind of scared of you."

"You are?" Nia's ears perked up.

"You're literally a Driver. Of course I'm mildly terrified. I'm also mildly terrified that Rex will accidentally break my bones if we do something together."

"Well you won't have to worry about that from me," Nia said, "I know how to control my strength."

"Yeah I'm not as worried about you in terms of uncontrollable strength."

"Hey, I'm getting better," Rex complained.

"Maybe," Nia said, "but you're not good yet."

"I… wow okay." Rex said then turned away to Pyra and promptly ignored them.

Brandon snorted, "that was a bit much."

"You're the one who started it."

"Okay, pointing fingers now huh."

"Well you are."

"Yeah yeah." Brandon waved a hand.

Nia sighed. She was glad that Brandon was providing a bit of a distraction. But it wasn't a perfect distraction. It was at quieter moments like this where all of her regrets flashed through her mind. She had already started by thinking about her sister. She-

"Oh wait," Brandon cursed, "I forgot you're good at that. Seriously, what's wrong? And if you say 'nothing' again, I'm going to get Rex to punch you."

"I'm just goin' through the same shite as you. Copin' through it all."

"Mmh. You seem to not be handling it super well though," Brandon said, "and I'm pretty sure you're the least susceptible out of us to mental pressure."

"I'm flattered you think that highly of me. But I'm not as strong as you think."

"If you're not strong, then what am I?" Brandon smiled sadly.

"What is this? Self depreciation hour?"

"I suppose so. At least we're not doing it alone."

Nia snorted, "at least. Sure."

"Hey, it's one upside. I think."

"Snrk. You think?" She laughed.

"Well what is friendship if not wallowing in misery together."

"I don't think that's quite what friendship is."

"No? Hm." Brandon made an overly serious face.

"You're such an idiot," Nia laughed.

"That's what I strive to be."

Nia continued laughing, "thanks… Brandon."

"Hey, what are friends actually for? Also, I haven't forgotten the main topic of this conversation. But I'm just going to drop it for now because you're being stubborn."

"I'm bein' stubborn?"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"What's this then, if not being stubborn?"

"It's-"

"Children! If you could please give this old man some peace and quiet while he swims."

"Sorry Gramps!" Brandon called.


It was a few days until Gramps arrived at the massive port of Alba Cavanich. Brandon had to spend way too much time talking to the people at the port, convincing them that they didn't have anything weird onboard. Of course it wouldn't normally have taken that long but Gramps took offense and that was an entire ordeal. Meanwhile Nia was busy being unhelpful snickering away from Gramps' back, Dromarch was asleep, and Rex and Pyra were lost in their own world.

"You could've offered a little help," Brandon said angrily, his lips pressed together tightly in a deep scowl.

"Hm?" Nia raised an eyebrow, "how could I have helped? I never had to deal with that before."

"I… shit. I forgot you were a princess."

"Wha-"

"Ow!" Brandon rubbed his shoulder "why'd you hit me?"

"Don't call me a princess, arsehole. I didn't have to deal with that shite because I was a criminal."

"Right," Brandon winced, "I forget. Most people don't bring that shit up."

Nia's face flushed an angry red, "I got distracted okay?"

"I will say that we've been quite lucky. I'm shocked you weren't at the minimum put on probation. It's a good thing Morag is more focused on capturing the active members of Torna. She was surprisingly willing to let us do as we pleased."

"I imagine she didn't want to make an enemy of us." Nia reasoned, "and if we did betray her trust, we'd be put on the chopin' block."

"I suppose. She did just kind of let us go though."

Nia sighed, "if you're so curious, just ask her when we meet."

"Probably will," Brandon said as he fanned his shirt out, "man, it's really hot huh?"

"It's Mor Ardain," Nia rolled her eyes, "what did you expect?

"Not this bad," Brandon panted, already pouring buckets of sweat.

"This is bad?" Nia asked, not looking bothered at all in her jumpsuit. Brandon stared in awe at Nia, who wasn't sweating at all but whose ears were flicking a lot more than usual.

"Yeah. Are you sure you're not bothered by the heat?"

"No. The sand is annoyin' though." She pawed at her ears, brushing sand out of her fur.

"Yeah, I can imagine."

"What, it doesn't bother you?"

Brandon gestured at his head of buzz cut hair then tapped his glasses.

"Right."

"Hey, I could lend you a spare salvager outfit if it's bothering you that much," Rex chimed in.

"And wear that clunky outfit?" Nia shook her head, "I'll pass. I don't think I'll be able to move."

Rex shrugged, "just a suggestion."

"I could get you a hat," Brandon said, "though I'm not sure how that would work with your ears… Hm. How well can you hear with something covering them?"

"Uh, I dunno," she said as she brushed sand out of the fluff in her ears, "never had to worry about that."

"Actually, how do hats for Gormotti work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, are there ear cutouts? Are they shaped to your ears?"

Nia raised an eyebrow, "are all of your hats the same?"

"No?"

"Then how could I have a singular answer? It depends on the hat. How can you be so smart and be such an idiot at the same time?"

"Then what about caps specifically?" Brandon asked, unfazed by the insult.

"It also depends on the cap? I dunno what you want me to say."

Brandon sighed, "then are there caps with ear coverings?"

"Kind of, there's stuff that goes over top of our ears but none that fully cover them."

"Could we get a cap then and sew like a mesh over it?"

"We… could. That might work."

"Wait… you have a hood," Brandon said, "why don't you pull that up?"

"Because," Nia said as she pulled it up, "this doesn't help." Demonstrating that exactly by the wind whipping the sand into her hood and staying there.

"Huh-" Brandon coughed, feeling his heart skip a beat. Wait, why did his heart just flutter? He'd better not be coming down with something.

"I'd gladly take a specialized hat and goggles though," Nia said as she pulled her hood down.

"I'll be sure to get some for you," Brandon said.

"Thanks, that shite's expensive. Also you must be really hot huh, your face is really red."

"Is it? I can't tell since my entire body is burning to a crisp."

"Hm, may want to make some more distance from Pyra then, since her body is radiatin' heat." Nia said.

"Oh, am I? I'm so sorry," Pyra said.

Brandon snorted, "ignore her, she's just giving you a hard time. Any kind of heat you put off is negligible compared to the rest of this Titan."

"O-oh. If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure, if it was a problem I'd have had issues sooner."

Pyra nodded.

Brandon nudged Nia, "moron."

Nia rolled her eyes, "right right. She's not used to my style of banter."

"I don't think that anyone's used to your style of banter." Brandon chuckled.

"Hmph. You are."

"Am I? I don't think I am."

"Mmh. Whatever. You just don't get it."

"I don't." Brandon agreed.

Nia poked his side.

He laughed as they hit a stone floor. Brandon looked up to see the metallic edges of the capital city of Mor Ardain at the edges of a cliff above. They walked over to the set of elevators that led from the lower area up to the city proper.

Thankfully, he didn't have to deal with more Ardanian guards as they just gave them a glance before ignoring them. They climbed the short set of metal stairs up to the elevator and had to wait in a bit of a line. Despite the numerous elevators leading up to the city, there was still a line from the number of people constantly coming in from the port. Their group got a few stares, and Brandon regretted forgetting to have Pyra cover up her Core Crystal. But luckily they weren't bothered at all, probably warded by the presence of Ardanian Soldiers.

Nia had gotten impatient at some point and asked a guard if there were stairs anywhere, only to not get a response.

"Piece of shite," Nia snarled.

"Not much we can do," Brandon sighed as he held her shoulders, "just wait it out and complain to Morag later. Besides, I don't think we should climb up a set of stairs that high."

"Why's that?"

"Because I wouldn't make it."

"We need to get you into shape."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Let's just ignore that for now."

Nia snorted, "I'll drop it for now." She said, parroting Brandon's words from earlier. "But once we get a moment to breathe, I'm makin' you run the gauntlet."

"Once we get a moment to breathe? And what do you mean by that?"

Nia coughed, "we'll be friends after this right?"

"Of course. As long as you're not arrested by the end of this or something." He smirked.

"Oi don't remind me, arsehole. I don't feel particularly good about it. And you'd better not remind Morag."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good."

Brandon snorted as they finally made it to the front of the line and boarded the elevator. Brandon leaned back as the elevator doors closed, taking them up to the sprawling city of Alba Cavanich.

Uh, it's been a while since I've uploaded. Sorry about that. Hopefully I'll be able to get out a chapter of "Beneath the Aegis' Light" and another chapter of this story in the next few weeks, then I've got another new story to unveil so bear with me.

I have apparently said earlier in the story that Nia has both human and cat ears. I'm going to correct that here, she's only got one pair of ears, and they're the cat ones. I feel like I've addressed this before but I can't really find it in my author's notes so I'm just going to confirm the change here.