Hey people. I was going through the xenoblade chronicles 2 archive interested in what stories would emerge, but so far, the only things I've managed to find are one shot fluffs, longer fluffs and the obvious lemony goodness. sure, it's cute and amazing and oh my god, but it's not exactly a long story you can really dig into. That's why this now exists! There will be two main blades for our new heroine, but the other won't be introduced in this chapter and the image is just a placeholder. anyway, let's go!

Super hero time!

Lilith: Fighting with your servants at your side, it's almost like a blade and driver! Takumi Yuu, they're daughters and legends!

Takumi: Core crystals become Blades, Blades fight monsters... your world is really strange for that to be a normal thing Lilith!

Lilith: Are you really saying that your world doesn't have its own monsters?

Takumi: nope, but I don't live on top of a giant one, that's for sure!

L + T: Don't forget me! The story begins!

The two strange collectibles were certainly not a usual sight within her little gathering trips; She was more use to the sight of rubbish than an actually useful, almost invaluable item, let alone two! Yet there they were, laminated by blue, sitting among her other items as if the belonged nowhere else.

Wiping her forehead with a whistle, Lilith hummed a little tune as she pushed the small strands of grey out of her face, the broken shards of the far too old mirror trying their hardest to show her reflection properly before she gave a sound of content, only a small adjustment of the little cream beret that sat on her head needed before she was happy with her appearance. Sure, she may live in a little under house that very few would be able to access without precariously hanging themselves over the depths of the cloud sea, lived off of food that she had managed to charm off of people or purchased with… collected money, but a girl could at least take pride in her clothes, right? She kept her white shirt clean, her cream jacket spotless, and her grey skirt without a single issue! But that wasn't her priority right now. What Lilith had to wonder was…

"What am I going to do with these core crystals?" green eyes remained planted upon the glowing crystals, thoughts flying through her mind several hundred at a time. "They would be sold for a good amount and the fact that there's two is always good… but there's always…"

There was no denying the fact that she could try her luck, but when the risks proved so great time and time again, it was only natural that some hesitation stayed Lilith's hand. should she attempt to resonate with those core crystals, there was just as much chance of her unlocking a great power that would eventually lead to her having a chance to enter a lifestyle far better than she had to work with currently as there was of her being killed on the spot, blood flowing out of her as she died without a moment of pain.

"Becoming a driver… having Blades of my own…" creatures of strength beyond that of regular humans. Wielding weapons and powers thought impossible, a Blade was able to command the very elements as if they were a part of themselves, having several other different skills that made them perfect for fighting off the monsters that populated the world. Making shields to protect those they fought with, forming weapons out of thin air, granting greater power to the one they fought with… Blades were truly worth the potential cost. There were those soldiers up above as well, the ones who were recruiting for the army; if she was able to resonate with a core crystal and become a driver commanding a Blade, then she would be able to live a better life!

"…I can't always hesitate! I'm going to do it!" Lilith suddenly declared, the little girl letting out a cry of courage as she grasped one of the oddly inscribed blue crystals in her hand. pulling it close to her chest as a long breath escaped her. She could immediately feel the pulses of power that escaped the crystal, threatening her very life force as the resonation began. Flashes of blue filled her vision and in a second, Lilith almost began to think she was seeing her death right in front of her, her mind slowly growing foggy as she began to prepare herself for her fate.

"Hi,m… Re you oka…!?...iver!" but them, the fog faded from before her, Lilith's eyes fluttering as her body tried to correct itself from what had just happened. Taking a hand from the girl stood next to her in an attempt to keep herself steady, the grey haired gi – wait, what? "Oh, I'm so glad to see you okay! For a second then I thought you were going to faint!"

The first thing that caught Lilith's attention was a gleaming blanket of black, crimson eyes peering in relief as a blue gem glowed proudly in the centre of her forehead. Golden nails stuck off of her shoulder, bracelets and rings around elbows, knees and ankles being made of a similar material while another crystal of blue was lit in her chest. One thing that definitely stuck out on the girl was the strange dress of white she had, a blue skirt and collar poking out from behind the white bindings and... paws for feet?

"Maybe I should introduce myself again?" the girl pondered aloud before she took a step back, a quick bow given with one of the brightest smiles that Lilith had ever seen. "Hi, my name's Kasandra! I will work day and night to ensure our happiness!"

There was a moment of silence, the newly named Kasandra holding her cheerful little pose before she grew a little concerned for the wat that Lilith's head hung. An unsteady hand pulled the little beret from her head and clung it close to her chest, gently trembling before the black haired Blade suddenly found a head at chest level, only just realising how small her new driver was as she placed talon bearing hands upon the top of the girl's hair.

"I'm an actual driver…! I can finally fight off the monsters!" Lilith cried, tears revealed to be tears of joy as the girl turned upwards with a new grin mixing in with the watery eyes. It was enough to bring on a similar smile from Kasandra, the Blade nodding enthusiastically in response. "I need to go and tell those soldiers above!"

"You want to be a soldier?" Kasandra questioned in return, tilting her head. "That isn't exactly a job that I thought many people your age would be into." That remark though was more than enough to cause a great pout to grow upon Lilith's face, green eyes narrowing as her arms folded angrily.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm just short okay?" Lilith weakly answered, the small bout of anger changing to embarrassment, her cheeks colouring as her beret was carefully returned to the top of her head. "But if I become a soldier, then I'll be able to get more money, I can make sure we live properly! I'm sure you don't want to be living off the bare minimum, right?"

Before Kasandra could give any answer, Lilith had already ran to the bizarrely missing side of her single room home, a precariously made ladder being the only thing that allowed her to climb out. Taking a brief moment to gather her surroundings, Kasandra wasn't exactly too surprised to see how bare the area was after the girl's statement. The Blade could only give a small hum of sadness as she rapidly followed after her new driver.

"This place was probably meant to be something more that never got finished… poor girl… I'll just have to try my hardest to make her happy!"

Marching their way to Obra street, Lilith breathed in the flowing scent of freshly baked bread wafting its way from the higher level, the businesses of Torigoth no doubt as crazy as they usually were. One of the most green places available in Alrest, there was a great number of people attracted to the Gormott titan in an attempt to live a more peaceful life free of the conflict that beheld other countries. Of course, then there was the forceful take over…

Lilith was pulled from her musings however when both she and Kasandra came across the voices growing in volume, the backs of black having a smile appear on the smaller girl's face as she grabbed a hold of the Blade and started to run. If they were here, then she wouldn't have to walk all the way into the square; it was a job made easier! Imperial troops from the country of Mor Ardain were certainly no strangers in Torigoth after the invasion, but they were usually simply recruiting more drivers in the square – it was rather rare to see them elsewhere save for the occasional patrol.

"Hello Mr. Soldier!" Lilith cheerfully cried, but as soon as she caught sight of the surrounded group in the centre of all of the black, she immediately took a step backwards. Was she about to walk into the middle of a group arrest? Was she watching fugitives in action!? "Uh oh... this is bad… Kasandra, we need to run!"

"Run? Why would we need to run?" Kasandra answered back, stepping forward no matter how much Lilith tried to tug at the bandages wrapped around her forearm. "I'm sure if we have a nice little discussion, we can turn this fight into something a lot more peaceful. All we need to do is talk!"

Unfortunately for the both of them, it was at that moment the white mask residing upon the back of Kasandra's head began to rattle vibrantly, an ominous aura momentarily leaking from the eyes before it settled back in place. That small amount of noise though was enough to attract the attention of one of the soldiers, a small muffled gasp escaping them.

"Well, would you look at that! Seems like the thief managed to get a Blade!" the soldier cried out, the weapons that had once been trained upon the centre group now split, half primed towards the two girls further down the street. "I guess we can send you all to the consul at once, get rid of a nuisance before it can become even worse than it has been!"

"Hey, girl!" Lilith turned to where another grey haired girl stood, twin rings clasped in her hands as she prepared to fight beside a white tiger like Blade. She was clearly Gormotti considering the triangular ears that poked out of the top of her head, but there was no telling where the other boy wielding a crimson blade flowing with green tinted light was from. The red haired girl next to him though, so… strangely dressed, there was no way she could be anything other than a blade. "You better try to make your run! We'll keep them distracted!"

A bullet was already flying through the air by the time Lilith could even think of giving a reply, the piece of metal only stopped by the sudden light that encompassed her body. Hands held out, Kasandra let the shield fall, a dark energy coalescing into a strange hammer of sorts in her very fingers, the weapon quickly passed onto a confused Lilith.

"I see… so we won't be doing this diplomatically then. A shame." Kasandra sighed, her hand going to her chin a second before they were out towards Lilith, a thin blue line connecting Blade to driver. "The only choice we have here is to fight! Those people don't look that bad."

"F-fight!? But I can't fight!" Lilith protested, arms already trembling from there mere idea, the hammer fairly large with her grip before it miraculously shrunk down to a more appropriate size, still incredibly large relatively, but a bit more manageable. "All I've ever done is steal and run, I can't actually fight back!" the response was a smile from her blade.

"But now you can, you have a Blade now." Kasandra gently reminded, the cheerful smile turning just a little bit teasing. "Besides, weren't you so crazy about being able to fight now"

A blush appeared on Lilith's face at the reminder, but more shots sent their way had her a bit more sobered up. Correcting her grip upon the hammer, Lilith let out a deep breath, before her eyes narrowed once more.

"Right, if I'm going to earn more money, I'm gonna have to do this! Let's… let's try our best!" Perhaps rushing forward with hammer raised like a standard wasn't exactly the best battle strategy, but with Kasandra's shield absorbing quite the amount of damage which would've gone to Lilith, there was barely any opposition before the grey haired girl was within striking distance, and boy did the first soldier she come across know it. A trained arm she was not, but someone who could at least throw the entirety of her body weight behind her swing? Now that didn't require much. No armour could've protected the man from the impact, both of the hammer and then from the wall. The small moment of flight was able to disturb the others from their positions; they had never expected a petty thief to be able to do that in a single hit, even with a blade.

"Don't forget about us!" the brown haired boy wasn't exactly going to sit silently through the distraction of course, launching forward with his crimson blade in a double spin that had the others scattering in fear. One quick shot of what appeared to be a wrist mounted launcher however drew one unfortunate foe back towards him, a powerful thrust of his sword having another down for the count. "Pyra!"

"You can count on me Rex!" a soon to be airborne weapon was rapidly within the hands of the red haired Blade, a fierce heat gathering at its edge while the other grey haired girl along with the tiger blade held off the other side. Twirling, it was if there was a tornado of fire, the soldiers sent screaming away as the attack sought to swallow them whole.

"Dromarch!"

"As you say, my lady." Not to be upstaged, the rings once held within the Gormotti girl's hands now then began to hover before the tiger's mouth, a single roar providing enough power to send a typhoon's worth of water barrelling within the enemy lines. Sure, it wasn't enough to drown them considering where they were, but they most certainly weren't going to be standing up too quickly. A few more strikes from a hammer had the others entirely down save for the original captain, his gun trembling in his hands as he glanced at the devastation surrounding.

"Well, I'll give you this… you certainly are drivers if you managed to deal with so many people as a group of three…" the Captain remarked, the blue dressed boy suddenly grabbed by the Gormotti as another hand reached out to Lilith.

"Come on, we need to get out of here now!" but the attempted escape was soon to be blocked by a wall of azure, far too strong to even look at, let alone risk trying to break their way through. Watching in awe as the fires died down into something a little more bearable, there was escape in sight; not when the tapping footsteps of a new arrival came from the opposite direction.

"Such a commotion… Just when I thought I could enjoy some peace and quiet." The new woman lamented, twin swords held in blue gloved hands. Lilith had to stifle a sound of shock when she saw just how deep the cut in the velvet gown went, only a thin layer of black preventing the entire middle section of her body from being shown with a core crystal glowing bright upon the collar. That shock turned to awe as Lilith moved past the closed eyes, purple hair tied in rolls that burned with the same azure fire as the wall, the remainder flowing down to the small of the woman's back. "I apologise for the lack of my driver's presence. She is otherwise engaged, though she clearly believed you simple enough for me to deal with alone.

"N-no driver?" It was clear Rex couldn't believe his eyes and Lilith couldn't fault him for that – many Blades became much weaker the further they were from their driver, but this was a different case entirely.

"The 'Jewel of Mor Ardain… Brighid, the Empire's strongest Blade…" Lilith breathed out, looking to trembling legs as the captain once frightened now guffawed without restraint. Kasandra was quickly by her side with a soothing smile and a hand upon the smaller girl's shoulder, but it did little when such a fearsome opponent stood right in front of their group.

"Lady Brigid, the boy and Gormotti are terrorists working for Torna. The girl is a common thief, but the fact that she as well as the boy is guilty of being both unregistered drivers and opposing the empire means she's just as guilty. Please, lend us your power." The captain begged, bowing his head as Brigid turned to the group when she heard the word Torna. Her eyes only lingered upon them for a moment, even though she really shouldn't have been able to see anything with her eyes shut, but as soon as they landed upon Pyra, her disposition changed in a second.

"Captain Padraig, you are not to kill them. All of them are to be taken alive." Brigid barked out as she drew her weapons, said Captain saluting before barking something at the quickly retreating men while brandishing his gun.

"Look, I can understand if you want to take us in, but let the girl go!" Rex demanded and it was pretty clear who he was referring to; it took quite a bit of might to hide the pout that threatened to poke out onto her face. "She's only a kid!"

"Child or not, a criminal is to be treated like a criminal." Brigid denied, her stance strong as she prepared to shoot forward. "Considering the crimes she has under her belt, I will hope she gets a lighter sentence than you. Otherwise, there is no difference in my eyes." A flick of her hands had the swords come apart, whips ready to lash out heading directly towards the Gormotti girl.

"Nia!"

Her rings were held before her face in defence but it was needless, the yellow suited girl opening her eyes to find Lilith panting, the hammer folded out into a shield forming its original shape. Nia could only let out a confused sound as the next several lashes came from the purple gowned blade, each one furiously blocked by Lilith no matter how much sweat moistened her brow.

"Even if you are the strongest Blade of Mor Ardain… have you seen these people?" Lilith panted out, a thrust forward with the hammer reverting it to its shield form once more to block the wave of flame that shot forward. "They don't look like criminals to me! I can tell!"

"I'm afraid your reasoning's going to have to be a bit stronger than that!" Brigid answered, her frown deepening as she let her weapons blaze once more, the whip edges crossing as she charged her power. Her focus upon Lilith left her exposed though, an advantage that Nia and Dromarch couldn't afford to waste as they leapt up to the air, only for Kasandra to let out a cry of surprise when two nets shot themselves up to wrap around the pair, Captain Padraig letting another hearty laugh escape him.

"Sorry, but in those ether nets, you aren't exactly going to be able to break out. Without access to the atmospheric ether, it's no arts for you!" the Ardainian soldier explained, Brigid watching the struggling pair with little mercy as Rex and Pyra made their move.

"Lilith, quickly! We have to protect them!" Kasandra called out as the black haired Blade positioned herself between the captured and the captors, Lilith quick to follow with her weapon, but the blast that resulted was too much for the pair to handle. Blasted backwards, the two were only able to get a quick glimpse at the second attack before they were blocked off by the resurrection of the azure wall of flames. "Darn it… I have an idea! Lilith, give me my weapon!"

The grey haired passed the hammer along without question, opening her mouth when she saw the fox mask upon the back of Kasandra's head flip round before it was firmly shut once more at the sight of the foul aura surrounding her Blade, Kasandra storming off without a second's hesitation into the billowing waves. A gasp escaped Lilith when she suddenly saw the odd ball of metal fall by her side, the evil aura almost eating away at it as sparks flew mildly across its surface.

What she couldn't see was how Brigid was suddenly accosted by a blur of white, a hammer swinging so wildly upon her person that there was little way to stop it. It gave a little time for Pyra and Rex to regain their footing, a brief look upwards having Rex aiming his anchor. One good shot was all that was needed in order to grab a hold of the pipes feeding the buildings above, the retraction pulling him up with only Captain Padraig able to but think of stopping the sword that broke away the metal, pouring a great amount of water over the battling Blades below, not that the torrent did anything to faze the possessed Kasandra.

"Right, Pyra, let's do this!" Rex called, leaping down from above the soaked Brigid to meet up with the redhead, both grabbing onto the handle of his sword and lifting it, the burning blade only growing in ferocity as Brigid regarded her now literally and figuratively dampened abilities.

"BURNING SWORD!" as their voices combined, a blistering wave shot forward, the mask slipping off of Kasandra's face as she leapt out of the way. While Brigid was left to try and defend herself from the ruthless strike, the group had already managed to disappear save for those captured, Brigid letting out a small tut.

"So, they were able to pull off an attack of that strength even with all of the water surrounding… I suppose the legend of the Aegis is real then." The blue gowned Blade remarked under her breath, watching as the Captain began directing his men in a vain attempt to try and capture them. How successful it would be was a different matter.

Lilith was panting like crazy by the time they managed to make I back to the underbelly of Torigoth's residential area, the running seemingly ceaseless. It was only when the light voice called out from the side that they stopped, looking to a little round animal wearing the clothes of a mechanic. Nopon weren't exactly unfamiliar creatures to Lilith, having managed to match humans in several different roles, but hiding behind a trap door in the wall? It was more than suspicious in its own right.

"This way! Friends come this way! Tora help you escape!" the Nopon urged, wings flapping as he bounced in place. The footsteps behind them were slowly growing louder and there was just no telling what might happen if they were to try and initiate a battle in a place made predominantly of wood so with a shared look, they all bolted through the door, Tora slamming the door shut just as two soldiers passed straight by.

"Thanks, you saved us. But I have to ask, why?" Rex questioned as soon as they were walking through the dimly lit corridor. Turning around, there was a low hum from the Nopon before he answered.

"No reason. Well, that not true. Truth is, Tora not like big bully soldiers." Tora explained, his hands messing with one another as he formulated his words. A squeal tried to escape Lilith, but she firmly clamped it down; she was not going to be beaten by the cuteness this day! "Was thinking of testing out shiny new Boom Biter on big bullies; that's when Tora see friends running away from them – but Boom Biter get destroyed by weird energy."

"Ah, you mean this?" Lilith could only grab a few parts of the remains, but the vast majority of the body was there, the crude face etched onto it somewhat determinable through all of the wreckage. "It must've gotten ruined when it touched the strange power Kasandra had. I'm sorry!"

"Is no matter. Just mean Tora has to upgrade Boom Biter lots!" Tora answered with an enthusiastic dance, a small giggle escaping both Pyra and Kasandra together.

"Right, and you're Tora? I'm Rex and this is Pyra… I didn't get your names before." Rex realised as he turned to the other two girls, Lilith pulling her beret to hold in front of her with a small bow, Kasandra settling for just a wave.

"I'm Kasandra and my driver here is Lilith! We're kind of new to each other as well, so please look after us!" the Blade introduced for the two of them, Lilith giving a nod as a chuckle escaped Tora.

"Good to meeting! Tora supposes he should explain other reason for saving friends…" the Nopon interjected, turning away slightly from the group. "This way. Will explain everything once we get to house of Tora."

Lilith couldn't help the small gasp of amazement that left her lips when she saw the house Tora was speaking of, rushing over to run her finger across the walls. It was sort of like her own home, tucked away beneath everything else, but from the state of the area, it was as if it had been carved from a tree itself. Running beneath the laundry line that connected to a central well, the grey haired girl was almost salivating at some of the strange antiques the Nopon had scattered throughout his abode.

"Woah, is that the cloud sea down there? We're so high up!" Rex stated as he looked down through the small gap, Tora nodding proudly.

"Nice view eh? Tora sometimes watch Cloud Sea. Can be very relaxing." The Nopon boasted, before his tone suddenly became a bit more cautious. "Anyway, Rex-Rex, Lilith…. Tora must explain other reason for saving you. You see… Tora always wanted to make driver friends. It amazing how driver and Blade join spirit together for big power! Tora really want to be sidekick of Rex-Rex and Lilith!"

"Rex-Rex… it's a little different to what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." Rex remarked as he rubbed the back of his head. "But as for the sidekick stuff, I don't know about Lilith, but can' we just start by being friends?"

"Yeah. I don't really know how to have a sidekick, but I'd love to have more friends." Lilith added from Pyra's right, a hand held out towards the Nopon that was eagerly taken in a shake... not really a handshake considering Tora used his wing, but what did you call something like that? "There, now you're my first Nopon friend! I hope you feel honoured!"

"Oh, Tora is extremely honoured! Friend of Rex-Rex and Lilith!" Clearly Tora wasn't affected by the joking haughtiness if his dance of pure joy meant anything. Kasandra couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the brown eyed fur ball near hopping around the place, clapping along to his tune while Pyra watched from the side-lines.

"What a funny little guy." The fire based Blade remarked, only to look on in confusion as Lilith approached Tora with an inquisitive look. From what Pyra had managed to see of the little girl so far, she had proven to be rather cautious; she had to be practically dragged along when they were running away, but perhaps it was the fact that the Nopon had saved them that broke that barrier.

"Um Tora? Would you happen to know where the Ardainian army keep their prisoners? I don't know if you saw the whole thing, but our friend was captured and we need to help her out." Lilith enquired, a frown appearing on Kasandra's face as she placed a hand upon her driver's shoulder.

"Lilith, you have to remember that you're a completely new driver; that was your first battle. If you were to try and infiltrate a place that's bound to be as heavily guarded as where the army holds prisoners, I can't guarantee you'll remain safe." The Blade gently reminded, looking to how the girl near melted in place. It wasn't something she wanted to say, but it was the truth; you couldn't argue with that.

"She's right you know. We can't just sit easy while Nia and Dromarch are in a cell – we have to save them." Rex agreed, the small protest welling in Pyra's mouth dying out at the determined look upon her driver.

"I can't say I didn't expect you to say that Rex." An elderly voice chuckled, Lilith looking to Rex in confusion before it turned to shock when a strange draconic creature flew out from the helmet attached to the boy's back. "I suppose it would be best if I introduced myself as well. I would be honoured if you called me gramps. Everyone else does at lea-!"

But his greeting was rudely interrupted by the fact he was literally snatched out of the air, incomprehensible sounds of utter joy escaping Lilith as she rubbed her hands along the fur that lined Gramps' body. His face was more than enough to show the conflicted emotions passing through his mind and Rex held no reservations in laughing at his guardian's misfortune.

"Oh, you talk about driver and Blade who were with Rex-Rex and Lilith before Tora's attempted daring rescue?" Tora muttered under his breath. "Mehmeh… Tora would have to ask around town for information like that. But before we do anything, it's time for food! All of today's running around make Tora really hungry. Need food to help Rex-Rex and Lilith!"

"Wait, food? But…" Lilith's eyes were jumping to the door and the kitchen at the suggestion, a bit too uncomfortable with the idea. While she definitely wanted to go out and find Nia and Dromarch from being arrested needlessly, she hadn't exactly been able to get a good haul in recent times; while it was enough to survive, she couldn't say she was comfortably full.

"Um, if you want, I can cook something up quickly?" Pyra suggested, Rex turning to her incredulously.

"Wait, you can actually cook? I wasn't expecting that Pyra!" Rex complimented, Pyra nodding as flame burst to life between her fingertips. Almost like water, it began to flow about her fingers and Lilith could only give a sound of amazement when the fire blade began flicking it from hand to hand.

"As long as there's fire involved, then I can do most anything. Whether you want fried, grilled, steamed or anything else." Pyra answered, a small click of her fingers having the flame extinguished with a smile. "Just uh… don't expect me to make ice cream or something. You might have to get someone else on that."

Gramps was more that relieved when the iron grip upon his body was realised, flying back to his position in Rex's helmet just a bit more disorientated. Pyra however was quickly bowled over by the beret wearing girl, the sound of laughter filling her ears as the two fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ah, finally! I've been waiting to have some cooked food for ages! Everything I eat is either raw or awkwardly roasted over a fire." Lilith sighed, looking to Pyra with green orbs near tears. "You wanna come home with me and cook? I can't promise a warm bed, but if you want I'll sleep with you instead."

Rex was left spluttering red, as was Kasandra at the insinuation. Certainly she had not received a driver like that had she? It must've been an innocent slip of the tongue, something said without thought. But it wasn't exactly something unheard of, for people to get together with their blades… she was a kid! Maybe, Lilith hadn't exactly been clear on that. Well, if she was of age and that was what she was looking for…

"Uh, Kasandra, was it? Are you quite alright?" Gramps enquired, the little creature floating next to the darkness powered blade as she gave a small start. "It appeared as if you've started drooling all of a sudden, I was quite worried." Needless to say, a quick chop to the flying guardian had him reeling backwards as the Blade blushed profusely. You didn't just tell a girl she was drooling, that was just inappropriate.

"Um, Lilith… I need to stand up in order to cook." Pyra gently reminded the little girl, pushing up her head from underneath her bust. A small groan had the beret wearing girl crawling off, Pyra giving a relieved smile as she moved towards the modest kitchen pantry. "Right, so let's see what we've got then… glitterspuds, sumpkins, oh and some oil oysters and meaty carrots. And hot oranges! I can do a fair bit with this!"

"All foods that can be eaten with next to no cooking! That how Tora normally eat!" the Nopon declared proudly, a small bead of sweat falling down both Lilith and Kasandra's face. Lilith was used to that style of eating, sure, but she at least attempted to use a fire from time to time. To simply live without ever cooking anything was simply too dreadful to even think of.

"You know Tora, that's just a bit depressing." Rex commented from the side, picking up one of the glitterspuds to throw aimlessly in his hands, Gramps giving a small scoff from his position floating next to him.

"Remember we aren't much better Rex. If it weren't for that grill, then we would be living off of Rumbletum Canteen." Gramps answered, a friendly whack from the boy being dodged with only minimal effort. Lilith gave a giggle at the sight, Kasandra taking a seat at the central table beside her.

"So, what do you think of being my new driver? Is it as fun as you always hoped?" Kasandra asked, near bouncing in anticipation as Lilith gave a big nod, a squeal escaping the Blade before she took the smaller girl in a hug. "Ah, that means so much to me! Trust me when I say, being your Blade means you'll never have to worry about bad things ever again!"

"This is both the greatest and worst day of my life to be honest." Lilith answered, Kasandra's smile falling a bit as the grey haired girl began to wring her beret through her hands. "On one side, I'm a driver and can live a better life! I don't want you to have to stick in my room that doesn't even have three sides after all. On the other hand, I don't think I can become a solider anymore considering the Ardainian government wants to get me now. Before, it was just being a thief, something that could be removed if I proved myself. Fighting against the Jewel of Mor Ardain as an unregistered driver with a girl who was apparently from a terrorist group? I'm gonna have to become a mercenary if I want to make sure we can live somewhere nice."

"You telling me that we're the ones responsible for you not being able to join the army? I'm so sorry." Rex stated, rubbing the back of his neck as his leg started tapping in irritation. "I guess I could use my salvaging stuff in order to try and help you out… but I don't know what else I could for you in apology."

"Oh, don't be like that! After all, you were the ones who helped me in my first fight!" Lilith was quick to placate, Rex giving a quick depreciative chuckle in return. "Though if you do want to do something for me in return, why was that girl, Nia, why was she being called a Torna terrorist?"

And thus began a story of the Aegis, of a simple salvager drawn into a conflict far bigger than he could've ever hoped for and the blade that shared her life so that he could give it another try. Struggling to hold her chin up, Lilith was able to smile at the end, Kasandra's questioning look having the grey haired girl's grin grow.

"Sure, we might've gotten drawn into a story way beyond what I could've expected, but this is way more exciting!"

And that's it for now! One Blade is the lucky gal, but who could the other one be? I will admit, there's only one that it definitely won't be - Gorg. If you're expecting a real explanation, don't be. The reason why I don't like Gorg... is because I don't like his face. He's Really ugly. personality, fine. Aspirations? Nice. face? URGH. Anyway, tell me what you think!

Super hero time! See you next time!