The Aegis Awakens//Xenoblade Chronicles 2

XXIII. Bringer of Chaos

The Aegis Awakens

//Chapter Twenty-three: Bringer of Chaos//

Walking alongside everyone else out of Garfont and on the way to Fonsa Myma, Regan found herself glancing at Malos every once and a while. She was still wondering what had upset Malos the previous night; however, the Elf knew that questioning him further would likely just make him less inclined to ever tell her. The woman was also grateful that Zenobia had left the Aegis alone since she doubted Malos would appreciate the Blade's pestering.

"Hey," Maddie greeted as she moved from walking behind then next to Regan. The Elf looked over at the Flesh Eater, watching as she suddenly moved to offer out her staff to Regan. "You've used it before," The dirty-blonde stated as she took note of the other woman's incredulous expression.

Regan nodded her head before replying, "Yeah but that was well over twenty-five years ago…. It was just a training exercise too." The Blade let out a sigh at that, knowing that Regan had a point. Despite her words, the Elvuenian still took Maddie's staff into her hands.

"It'd be good for you to use a different Blade Weapon besides Eva's bow… especially when your other Blade uses a Great-axe," Maddie commented, and it somewhat surprised her when Regan merely nodded in response without further question. 

No longer hearing footsteps behind them, Maddie and Regan turned back to find the rest of the group had stopped. "What is it?" The Flesh Eater questioned, put off by their stares. 

"Wait!" Rex exclaimed as he stared at Maddie's staff for a moment. He asked, "You're a Blade?" Maddie nodded her head, knowing full well that giving Regan her staff as well as the words she said gave away the fact that she was not human. "Why's your Core Crystal covered?"

The dirty-blonde haired woman crossed her arms over her chest before answering, "Blades are valuable to many people, so I keep it covered to protect myself." All of what she said was true, even though she neglected to mention that she was more than just a Blade now. Considering how most people regarded Flesh Eaters, revealing the truth would have devastating consequences for her.

"Regan's your Driver then?" The Leftherian inquired as he looked between Regan and Maddie. The dirty-blonde let out a sharp inhale at that as she realized that Rex was getting very curious about her. The woman nodded as she glanced at Regan, who simply offered Maddie a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Maddie answered, unaware that this would cause another question that might get her in a slight bit of trouble.

"Why were you with Torna then? If you're Regan's Blade, why would you be working with them?" The fifteen-year-old questioned as he took a step closer to Maddie. The Flesh Eater instinctively backed away from him, realizing that she may have backed herself into a corner by exposing herself as a Blade.

"That-" Maddie tried to say; however, she was surprised to be cut off by Nia.

"That's not very nice, Rex. Can't you see that you're freaking her out?" The Gormotti questioned, and Maddie sent Nia a 'thank you' look. Rex rubbed the back of his head when Nia spoke, and he stepped back.

"I'm sorry…. It's just hard to not be curious about it," The fifteen-year-old apologized as he looked at Maddie. The dirty-blonde watched his expression for a moment before she stepped forward until she was standing next to Regan again.

"It's alright," Maddie responded, even if she was still a little shaken up from being questioned. "I'll answer any questions you have some other time. I'd rather just not talk about it right now," The Flesh Eater told Rex as she knew the fifteen-year-old had every right to want to know her reasons for being with Torna.