Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Return of the Aegis

Chapter 11: True Motivations

"Hey Raye, is it cool if we do some small commissions for our last day here? All this traveling has run down my wallet." I show Raye that I only have about 1,000 gold left from my previous commission.

'Yea sure, just be careful. We'd like to go with you but we have to go talk to Perun to see if there is any new information."

"I thought she said that she was taking over the investigation?"

"Yea, but you know how I am, always sticking my nose in things." She replied as she and Zenobia hugged me and walk off on their own. T-elos and I decide to go to Tantal's mercenary branch.

"Your sister is a very eccentric person," T-elos says in her usual tone. "Is she always like this?" Although I would usually say yes to a stranger or a friend of hers, I decided to be honest with T-elos.

"Honestly, not always. There are times when she gets serious or very out of it. Although recently, I've seen her angry for the first time in my life. To be honest I still don't know why she was angry in the first place. Maybe I'll ask her when we get back from doing these commissions. They'll be fun!"

"If you say so," T-elos responded as we finally walked towards the commission area.

*3rd Person POV*

"Sigh...come on Zenobia. We have to see if there is any information linked to Kai." Raye says in a serious tone in comparison to her usual self.

"I know we haven't told Nick the real reason why we're here but he deserves to know" Zenobia replies in a worried tone.

"I know, I think he deserves to know too, he really should be back in Leftheria with mom, but I'm afraid that he'll be hurt like my friends were. We already had a close call back in Mor Ardain, I don't want to lose him, Zenobia."

"I don't either. He's our brother after all. I really think we should tell him later though."

"Fine we'll tell him later today, but for now we find out what that mad scientist had in his lab. It's a shame we don't have Cadman and Herald with us today, however."

"Yea, they decided to talk to the King before leaving, probably diplomatic things," Zenobia responded.

"Yea it's best not to bother them," Raye says as they arrive at Tora Industries and talk with the imperial guards that were there. They told them that Perun was underground investigating the secret lab. "Great, thanks for the help." Raye and Zenobia tell their guards as they make their way to the elevator. They walk inside and make their way downstairs. "Good thing Riku let us keep the keycard because I didn't want to break the elevator."

"You know I would have done it in a heartbeat," Zenobia said with a chuckle.

"I know, which is why I asked Riku for the card. Remember what we were talking about on the train here?"

"You mean how we decided to do this for our friends?"

"Yea, that goal has never changed, but now this adventure has grown much larger than we could have ever imagined. It's kinda overwhelming." Raye says with a small chuckle.

"Yea but look at the positives we made new friends, and Nick's now a driver! Isn't that amazing?"

"Yea it is, honestly when he became a mercenary I thought it would be a good way for him to help out mom and build confidence in himself. Now that he's a Driver, I can't help but be happy and scared for him. Being a Driver automatically puts his life at more risk as a mercenary. However, I'm happy that he has a Blade like T-elos. She may seem stubborn, but I have a feeling that she cares for him as much as we do."

"You think so? I know she's strong, that's for sure, but will he be able to handle her in such a short period? We had years of being a duo and fighting experience under our belts, but it's not the same story for Nick."