The Aegis Awakens//Xenoblade Chronicles 2

XIX. Lesson

*Sorry for the delay.*
The Aegis Awakens
//Chapter Nineteen: Lesson//
"There are a lot of children here." Malos commented as he looked around. The sight of so many children made his core ache. Memories of both Milton Mikhail filled his head, and he quickly tried to push the memories away. No matter how hard the Aegis tried, the faces of Milton and Mikhail stayed in his mind.
"Malos, are you okay?" Rex asked, but the Aegis did not respond. The dark Blade's eyes were unfocused, and he did respond to the Leftherian's question. Eva flew close to him and took a close look at his face. His expression was one the Blade saw often on Regan, whenever the Elf would see something that reminded her of her late mother.
"Mal, hey!" Eva attempted to get his attention, and he seemed to snap out of it. The Aegis finally looked at her before he gave her a confused look. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Did you just call me Mal?" The man asked, and the ice Blade flew back a little at that as she heard the slight hint of sadness in his tone.
Eva's eyes widened, "I'm sorry, I should've asked first." The fairy-like Blade apologized while looking down at the ground. The normally cheerful Blade seemed more apologetic than he expected since she had only called him by a nickname he had simply not expected.
"It's okay, Eva." Malos reassured before he added some context, "Someone used to call me that, so it was just unexpected for you to do it." The Aegis explained, yet he realized internally that Eva had an amazing resemblance in personality to the Elf who called him that. "Her name was Ant." Malos informed the ice Blade quietly, and her eyes widened again.
"I see."
"So, you can call me that if you want." Eva smiled a little a that before she happily perched herself on his left shoulder.
"Who's Ant?" The sudden question caused the two Blades to realize that the others had heard their conversation.
Malos sighed at that, "She was a friend of mine during the Aegis War..." He hesitated a little at what he wanted to say next, unsure if he should tell them. The Aegis decided it could not hurt so he  spoke again, "She's also Regan's mother." He explained. The fifteen-year-old's eyes widened a little at that.
"You knew her mother? What was she like?" The question caused Malos' expression to turn into one of nostalgia.
"Yeah. She was quite similar to Regan in appearance, yet Ant was very different in personality." The dark Blade looked down at the ground for a moment, "She was often quiet and rarely spoke to me at first. I thought she was terrified of me, as many people were when they saw me."
Rex looked even more curious now, "So she wasn't afraid of you?" He questioned.
The man shook his head, "She just wasn't sure on how to approach me for the longest time. Ant was unsure if I would appreciate a friendship with anyone other than Adda-" Malos abruptly stopped talking as he almost told Rex the name of his previous Driver. The conversation stopped there as Malos had lost his enthusiasm for talking.
•°•°•
"Vandham, what were you doing before you found us?" Rex asked the mercenary leader after they had finished looking around the village.
The Urayan looked towards the fifteen-year-old, "You see, the Urayan Titan will eat just about anything. Sometimes, we're able to find useful parts and other things for the village." The man explained.
"Oh, so we interrupted you."
Vandham crossed his arms for a moment, "You see anything useful there, kid?" The fifteen-year-old thought for a moment before shrugged.
"Sorry... I wasn't really paying much attention. We were more worried about just getting out of there. It was kind of hard to really see anything anyway." Vandham gave a nod of understanding and uncrossed his arms.
"That's understandable. You done looking around Garfont?"
Rex nodded before he spoke again, "Hey, what's up with all the children around here? There are quite a few of them." The dark Aegis looked at him as he asked the question.
"Some are war orphans." Malos' eyes widened at this, and he felt a slight twinge in his core. "We take jobs from all over, so we take them in."
One of Vandham's assistants, Zuo spoke up, "Some of them may grow up to be Drivers like us. The others may choose a different career." He stated.
"Doesn't matter what they want to do. We support their decisions." Vandham informed and raised an eyebrow at Malos as the Aegis stepped closer.
"That's actually quite kind of you."
"Is that respect I hear, Malos?" The Aegis shrugged in response, refusing to meet the mercenary leader's eyes.
Vandham smiled a little at the man's reaction, "You want to hear about that job now?" He looked towards Rex as he asked this.
Rex nodded, "Yeah. What's it about?"
"Well, something irregular has been detected at Soulcrown Summit. We have no idea what it is; however, it needs to be dealt with." Rex looked a little hesitant.
"Will it be dangerous?" The fifteen-year-old asked, and Vandham sighed.
"Plenty of wildlife on the way there will be hostile. Blants are among the most unpleasant of them to deal with." Rex nodded in response; however, he still appeared to be unsatisfied. The mercenary tilted his head a little before realization hit. "I ain't going to ask you to do this job for free, kid. You'll get paid."
"I appreciate that. Alright, we'll help you." The rest of the group nodded in agreement, and they started to head out.  Ethan was talking to Yew, and he joined them after he was finished talking with the other man.
"You coming too?" Vandham asked, and the Elf nodded in response.
"Eva, you staying here with Regan?" Ethan asked the ice Blade. The fairy-like Blade looked towards the inn before she gave him a quick nod and flew back to be with Regan.
"What about you, Zenobia?" Ethan then looked towards the wind Blade that was currently standing next to Ursula.
"I just want to be wherever the fighting is." Malos sighed a little a that, internally hoping that she would be satisfied with fighting any of the animals that attacked them. She had yet to bring up fighting him again, yet he knew it was only a matter of time before Zenobia brought it up again.
Rex looked taken aback at Zenobia's statement, "But you're her Blade aren't you?" The Greataxe wielding Blade gave him an 'are you serious' look.
The Gormotti sighed, "You idiot, don't you remember fighting Brighid the first time, without her Driver."
Rex nodded, "Of course. I just thought she was only able to fight by herself because she was so powerful." The girl shook her head at that, and Malos took to explaining.
"While it is preferred that a Blade fights within close proximity to their Driver, every Blade is capable of fighting on their own. We fight better when we are closer to our respective Drivers of course; however, we can fight on our own if we choose or need to." The Aegis informed, and Rex gave a sheepish nod.
•°•°•
After walking out of the village, the group found themselves eventually coming upon a strange occurrence. It seemed to be a barrier of some kind, and Rex could see no way to safely get through it. "What is this?" The Leftherian asked as they all stopped to examined.
"An Ether Miasma. Basically, a poisonous gas that's emitted by Titans. In this case, from the Urayan Titan." Vandham explained as Rex walked a little closer to it.
"So, how do we get rid of it?" Nia asked.
Malos looked like he was about to speak up when Vandham spoke again, "Roc'll handle it no problem." He tossed the Twin Scythes he was holding to Roc.
"Leave to me." Roc said before they created a wind vortex around themselves and launched a series of spikes made from wind at the Ether Miasma. After a moment of this, the Ether Miasma dissipated. The bird-like Blade made the small tornado disappear  before they tossed the Twin Scythes back to their Driver.
"How often do you come across those?" Rex asked after they walked a little further.
Vandham shrugged, "They're more common in certain areas. Every once in a while, there's another one we have to take care of."
The farther they walked, the more hostile animals they had to avoid. They had to fight a couple of Blants as well as quite a few Volffs because they were unable to successfully avoid them. Eventually, they came upon an Ardun. The creature did not appear to notice them, so Vandham looked down at Rex.
"You up for learning something new, kid?" Rex nodded, raising and eyebrow in question at the Urayan.
"You any good with that?" Vandham asked as he motioned towards the device Rex had on his left arm.
"My grapple hook?" After Vandham confirmed it, Rex nodded his head. "I get by."
"Give it here." The fifteen-year-old did as the mercenary leader said, and pulled the grappling hook off his arm and handing it to Vandham.
"Just watch." Vandham said as he held the device in his hands and raised it in the direction of the Ardun. He lowered it slightly before pressing the button to shoot out the grappling hook. The Urayan adjusted his stance, which allowed the wire to wrap around the Ardun's back right leg. After a moment he tugged and pulled the device to side, forcing the Ardun to fall to the ground.
"I never thought of using it like that." Rex commented as Vandham handed the device back.
"You just have to pull it taut at the right moment." The mercenary explained as Rex reattached the device to his left arm.
•°•°•
"Is Nia the only one with a break art?" Rex asked after they managed to take down the Ardun. He had honestly never asked Regan about it, so he wasn't sure if she had one with Eva.
"I have a break art with Lucy." Ethan responded as he motioned towards the pink-haired Blade. She nodded her head before she watched Rex for a moment.
"Regan has a launch art with Eva. I have no clue about Zenobia though."
The Leftherian gave a look of surprise at that, "How'd you know I was thinking about Regan?" He questioned as the Blade held a small pinkish red flame in her right hand.
"It's obvious you're worried about her. Anyone here can see that."
Rex looked down at the ground, "Am I really that transparent?" He asked, his face turning red in embarrassment.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, kid. She's your friend, so it's only natural that you'd be worried." Vandham reassured after patting the fifteen-year-old's shoulder comfortedly.
"I just want to know why she keeps getting hurt. I feel like every time I turn around, she has a new injury. Then she just passes out, and no one can tell me why!" Over the two years he had known her, her constant injuries made him always worry about her.
Ethan sighed at the kid's outburst, "I get it, Rex. She has a long history of getting hurt by most things you could probably think of. Surely, she told you about the multiple broken bones she's had over the years?" At Rex's nod, the Elvuenian continued, "Honestly, it astounds me how she hasn't managed to break another one in the last couple of centuries."
"That doesn't tell me why she passed out..."
The Elf looked over at Malos, "If I knew, I would tell you. She'll be back in our world soon enough." The Aegis raised a brow at Ethan, as the Elvuenian looked at him. Ethan offered the dark Blade a smile before he looked back at Rex.
The Leftherian looked a little confused; however, he simply sighed before he turned to Vandham. "Thanks for teaching me how to do that. It should be a big help in the future." The Mercenary leader nodded before he looked towards the device on Rex's left arm again.
"You got the hang of it quickly, kid. That took me quite a long time to perfect, yet you mastered it in no time." Rex seemed a bit surprised at the praise, and he looked down at the ground in embarrassment.
"It was nothing. I just did what you showed me to." Rex had a perplexed look on his face as he looked back up towards Vandham. Seeming to understood how the kid was feeling, the mercenary leader simply gave Rex another pat on the shoulder.
"Don't sell yourself too short, kid."
•°•°•
After they walked for a little while longer, they finally made it to Soulcrown Summit. They had to walk uphill before they discovered the problem they had gone there to check out. A small Titan laid on the ground in front of them, the lack of movement indicating it was close to death if it was not already deceased.
"Is it dead?" Rex asked, yet it sounded like he already knew the answer and was just trying to see if he was right or wrong.
Azurda spoke up from Rex's helmet, "It appears to be, unfortunately." The fifteen-year-old sighed at that, a look a sadness falling onto his face as the Titan continued to speak. "It might have been an accident. On the other hand, it might have been attacked."
"This must be the cause of the irregularity we detected." Ethan stated before something fairly large moved towards them with heavy steps.
"Looks like that Titan dying stirred up something else." Vandham said as the Elder Arachno stopped in front of them. Next to the Arachno, stood a tall, bug-like Blade. While most Blades could speak, this one did not say a word and simply stayed by the Arachno's side.
Although it took some time, they managed to defeat the Elder Arachno. The Blade fell over next to the monster before suddenly erupting with blue light and returning to its Core Crystal. Rex's eyes widened a little as he stared at the core on the ground that was no longer glowing.
"The Blade returned to its core..." Rex said as he realized what had happened.
Malos suddenly spoke up, "So that monster was in resonance with the Blade." He commented, which caused Tora to huff.
"Tora can not resonate, yet stinky monster can resonate... It's not fair." Poppi looked down at the Nopon before she pointed towards herself then at him.
"But Masterpon have Poppi." Tora seemed to cheer up a little at that as she hugged him as well.
"So, is it like, dead?" The Leftherian asked as Vandham picked up the Core Crystal and brought it back.
"Nah, it'll start glowing again after a little while and be ready to resonate with but..." The mercenary leader stopped speaking for a moment to just examine the Core Crystal in his hand.
Rex tilted his head, "There's a but?"
Vandham turned towards the fifteen-year-old, "Yeah, it's memory will be totally zapped. It'll be reawakened as a new Blade, won't remember a thing." He explained before he looked back towards the Titan. The mercenary leader noticed something on the ground in front of the Titan, so he came closer and grabbed it.
Coming back to the others, he revealed another Core Crystal. Unlike the other one, this one continued to glow. "A C-Core Crystal!" Tora exclaimed, and Rex looked equally as surprised.
Vandham took notice of their shock and  nodded towards the dying Titan, "Well, that's where they come from: out of Titans." The man explained before he turning his gaze back to the Core Crystal was holding.
"This one is already ready to resonate with, like a big steak right before you take that first bite. It'll probably end up resonating with a whole bunch of Drivers. Every time the Driver dies, the Blade will return to its core and forget everything." Rex looked down at the ground.
"That's pretty rough, to have all your past wiped out like that." He then looked up as Malos spoke up.
"Being able to forget might be a blessing." Malos stated, and he looked to sad. Even if his memories were fragmented, part of him wished he could just stop being an Aegis and just be a normal Blade. At least then, he would not have had the power to do what he did. The worst part was when he felt Addam die, and he wished he could forget it.
"Malos?" Rex asked as the Aegis left them and walked over to the Titan that had finally given its last breath. As the Titan faded into the ether, Malos said nothing and just watched. Unsure of what to say as well, Rex simply let the dark Blade stand there.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•
After talking some more with Winter, Regan finally woke up in the inn in Garfont. As she sat up, she quickly realized she had been stripped of her armor. Since her underarmor had been taken off of her as well, she was now in a light green shirt and dark gray pants. Regan knew the outfit had been in her bag, so she assumed Lucy had probably changed her into it.
Sighing, she still felt a strong pressure in her chest. It was not painful at the moment, yet she knew it would start up again at some point. All Winter had told her was to inform Malos about it, which had confused Regan. She wondered why the ice Aegis thought that Malos could help, considering that even Winter herself was not able to do anything.
Regan stood up, and she was able to sense Eva pretty close by. The Elf exited the inn and spotted Eva hovering near some children in the village. The Blade was excitedly chatting with them, and the children seemed to reciprocate her infectious smile. Smiling a little at the interaction, Regan turned to look around a little before someone approached her.
The person that approached her was one of the men that had been with Vandham and Ethan, so she felt a bit bad that she did not remember his name. Her lack of knowledge of the name was probably because she had not had the chance to talk to him before she passed out. Seeming to notice her confusion, he introduced himself.
"I'm Zuo. Your name is Regan, right?" She knew he was probably already aware of her royal status, considering what Vandham had said earlier. Regan was grateful for him not addressing her as such, so she offered him a smile and nodded. "Glad to see you're finally awake, Regan. You hungry?" He asked as he nodded towards some tables that had some people eating. She thought about it for a moment before nodded.
"Yeah, thank you."
•°•°•°•°•°•°•
*Bonus Scene*
Trembling as she walked behind her mother, Regan wrapped her arms around herself. Even with Ant's cloak since her legs were uncovered, she felt cold. They had managed to get out of the  bunker without running into any problems, yet Regan knew it was a trap. The fact that her mother found her so easily was proof of it.
As they walked through the seemingly endless forest, they finally made it to what looked to be a clearing. Regan shook as she spotted the familiar figure of Drew standing in the middle of said clearing. Around him stood many of the guards that were usually guarding the bunker. Ant stopped before they exited the forest, "So this is where all the guards were."
Regan whimpered slightly at that, knowing that the group already knew they were there. They had no where else to go, since she noticed Drew looking directly at them. He knew exactly where they were, and Regan knew full well he was not about to just let them leave. "Just make this easier on yourselves and come out." He called out to them.
The queen ignored him and looked like she was thinking about trying to sneak around them. Just as she was about to tell Regan this, the princess let out a sharp gasp. Quickly turning around, Ant was met with the sight of Regan being held hostage by another woman. The woman held an axe in her hand, pressing it against Regan's stomach.
Ant felt her heart drop at this, and she realized they would be forced to meet Drew in the clearing. The queen was not about to test whether the woman would actually harm Regan, so she held her hands up. "Okay, okay. I'll go." The woman was silent for a moment before she suddenly smirked.
"That's smart... Although you clearly weren't wise enough to realize this was all a setup." Little did the woman know, Antea was fully aware of that. Ant simply sighed before making her way out of the forest and into the clearing. She heard the woman following not that far behind, while forcing Regan to come along.
"I wondered how long it would take you to get here. Impressive timing, I have to say." Drew commented as she walked up, and she was surprised to hear any sincerity in his voice at all. He looked the same as he always did, with his medium brown hair pulled back and his light brown eyes staring at her.
"Why, Drew?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Why what? You really think a sudden line of questioning is going to intimidate me? Now, c'mon, you should know better than that." Drew stated before his eyes fell onto Regan. The queen could have sworned that his eyes softened for a moment, but it was gone before she was even sure if it was real or not.
Ant swallowed before she felt tears well up in her eyes, "I just want to know why you brought her into it. I'm sure she wasn't part of your orders was she... You may have tried to convince her of that, but you know full well she wasn't." He watched her for a moment before he smiled. She was surprised at how genuine his smile was.
"You figured it all out...if only you had done so sooner before it came to this." Drew said before his smile faded, and he suddenly drew his knife. The Elvuenian woman already knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Just let her leave, Drew... Please?"
The queen almost expected him to ignore it, yet he surprised her as he nodded. "Just this once. I won't kill her, and she can leave this place without interference from any of us." Ant smiled in relief at that before he suddenly pulled her close to him and muttered something in her ear.
"Raymond is still alive." The words made her want to cry, but she knew she would not get to see her son. She muttered thank you, and he pushed her back a little before she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Ant heard Regan struggling against the woman restraining her, but Ant simply smiled and fell to the ground.
The woman let Regan go, and the princess quickly knelt by Ant's side. Ant did not allow her daughter to speak before she tucked a strand of hair behind Regan's ear. "I'm sorry you h-have to witness this... J-Just go back home and recover and then find your brother." Regan was sobbing down, tears dripping down her face.
"All of you will pay!" Regan's expression sudden changed and her eyes started to glow blue. The queen was startled by the sudden change and could only watch as the air got even colder than it already was. A large blast of ice struck the ground near Drew, narrowly avoiding hitting him.
"Siren..." Ant muttered weakly.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•