Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Return of the Aegis

Chapter 5: Bonds and Upgrades

"Hey, can we take a break? We've been at this for four hours now." I asked my sister who was helping me train today. Now that I think about it, the last couple of days have just been Zenobia wanting to fight us, more specifically T-elos.

"Fine, I guess I have been overworking you two." Zenobia floats over to the benches and takes a seat. "But best believe I am gonna have my duel with you two."

"Hmph, don't you mean our duel, Zenobia?" Raye says as she enters our training area.

"Oh of course" Zenobia replied with her eyes still full of determination. I should know, I see them almost all the time.

"How was training today Nick? Any improvements?" Raye asked me. I sat on the ground gasping for air and finally had enough oxygen to reply.

"Training was painful today as always, I feel the power T-elos has is immense. I can't keep up with her just sparring let alone if she ever actually used her abilities as well."

"I'd have to agree as well, at this point he is more of a liability." T-elos injected. Although it was the truth, it still hurt to hear her say that.

"Nick may have a long way to go, but in the span of a few days, he has probably shown some of the most growth among all the drivers I have trained in a while, although I feel as though one way to get better is through demonstration and experience," Cadman explains from the sidelines.

"That's a nice way of looking at it, Cadman." Says Brighid who was not far behind Raye upon arrival. "I look forward to your improved strength Nick."

"Does this mean that we're done for the day?" I said excitedly.

"Heh sure little bro, since I did torture you for the past few days, you deserve a break," Zenobia replied.

"Great, T-elos, would you like to hang out with me?" I remembered that spending time with your blades helps deepen the bond and improves both parties. I also noticed that Cadman gave me a nod of approval as if he knew what my plan was.

"I suppose, I have nothing better to do." Well, at least it wasn't no. We begin to walk out of the palace and into the City of Alba Cavanich.

"So do you have anything you're interested in T-elos?" I asked in curiosity since we haven't really done anything but train for the past few days. I noticed she took a second to process what I asked and then she began to speak.

"Music, I don't know why, but I like music."

"Hmm, it must be what you enjoyed in a previous life."

"Perhaps." I noticed that there was a street band playing music that attracted quite the crowd and told T-elos that we should check it out. As we walk over to the crowd the music got louder and louder, the tone was very upbeat and joyful.

"This music is pretty nice isn't it?" I was grooving to myself while trying to connect with T-elos. Although...

"The music is good, but I prefer slower music with a violin." Well everyone has their preferences I suppose. I start to look around for something else to do and noticed some food stalls.

"Hey, let's get something to eat. I've heard from Raye that the food here is pretty good."

"Sure, although I'm not very hungry," T-elos replied. We walked over to a nearby table.

"No problem, I'll just get us some snacks then! We'll probably eat at the palace anyway. You just sit here, I'll be right back." I walk away to one of the food stalls to see what they have to offer. I finally found one that had Sweet Lentil Buns. Raye apparently loved these things so I think we'll try it out.