A/N: Welcome to my first attempt at any sort of fanfiction writing! It started as one single before bed thought, and ended up turning into a full-fledged story. Get ready for lots of bad puns, a little angst, some misadventures, and maybe, just MAYBE, some romance! Feel free to R&R!
Oh, last note! This chapter takes place right after Chapter 3 in-game, pretty much right when you first meet H.B.
Chapter 1 – Violet
"Hello? Cross? Ya there?" Lin waved her hands in front of her teammate's face.
"WHA?!" Cross jumped in her seat, her swirling thoughts having suddenly been interrupted. "Oh, yeah… I'm fine. Didn't really sleep last night. I guess I can't get yesterday out of my head yet."
"But we did kick those xeno's butts! And now we have emergency rations that follow us wherever we go! I call that a DOUBLE win!" Lin exclaimed with her trademark wink.
"TATSU NOT FOOD! LINLY NOT FUNNY!" Tatsu, their new Nopon companion, stomped his stubby feet.
Elma looked onto the group. "Well, Rook, it's understandable that you would be apprehensive today. That WAS the first time you saw human death. And sadly, it won't be the last." Despite her military experience, combined with the level of trust Commander Vandham has placed in her, Elma cannot shield her young and inexperienced team from the horrors of their new life on the planet Mira.
"I guess I just didn't expect to be dealing with hostile xenos hell-bent on killing us when I've only been here one damn week." In the short time since Secretary Nagi "gently convinced" Cross to join BLADE, the rookie had already experienced more than some veteran BLADEs. Yesterday Team Elma had left to investigate a lost signal from a group of Pathfinders only to be greeted by the Prone, a group of xenos who had slaughtered the group. After what felt like hours of monotonous paperwork, Cross, Elma, Lin, and their new "friend", Tatsu, returned to the BLADE Barracks for much needed—albeit broken—sleep. Everytime she found herself finally drifting off, Cross was haunted by images of mangled bodies and pained expressions plastered on lifeless faces, causing her to wake in a cold sweat. Needless to say, she was effectively rattled.
Cross was young, perhaps 25 or 26? She truly was not sure, seeing as she had no memories of her life before Elma found her lifepod in a remote corner of Primordia. She was petite, about 5 feet, 2 inches by American measurement. Her hair was short, in a slightly messy and longer, yet stylish, pixie cut, colored silver with lavender ends, and her eyes were a deep shade of indigo. Well, she must have been unique prior to crash landing on Mira… that was for sure.
Before she knew it, Cross was once again staring into nothing while pushing around her breakfast. She had her blank stare met once again, but this time by her concerned leader, Elma.
"It's okay to be afraid, you know. You have every right to be. But from now on we need to focus on how we are going to keep our city and its people safe from this new threat. And by 'from now on' – I mean tomorrow. Commander Vandham gave us the day off. Let's hit the town today!"
Cross' face lit up. She never had the opportunity to enjoy New Los Angeles for all its sights, sounds, and most importantly – SHOPS. She may not remember her pre-Miran life, but she DOES know she loves to shop. She changed from her pajamas to her generic BLADE tee and pants – literally the only clothes she owned- then headed out to the Administrative District with her team.
"Do you wanna get some new ground gear first? That should help you feel a lot safer!" Lin exclaimed as they made their way first to Armory Alley.
Cross graciously nodded her head and made her way to the shop terminal. As she approached it, she looked up to see that somebody was already shopping. He was tall and quite handsome, with messy dark brown hair and intense green eyes hidden behind thick framed glasses, with a mole underneath his left eye. He wore deep pocketed cargo pants and torso armor and armwear just tight enough to emphasize the definition of his muscles. Cross watched as he navigated the terminal with ease, selecting a new high-powered assault rifle. As he bent down to pick up his new weapon, Cross couldn't help but stare at his perfectly round backside.
Do he got a booty? HE DO! She unashamedly thought to herself.
The mysterious man stood back up and turned around, facing his new admirer. Looking right into her eyes, he cracked a half smile and winked at Cross. Did my panties just fall down? Yep, pretty sure they did, she thought to herself. Then, just as quickly, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly, twisting his face into one of pure horror. He stumbled back a couple of steps, and just like that, he was gone. Cross kept her gaze on the man who was speedily walking away. What spooked him so badly that he ran away like that? Is there something on my face? Oh no, I hope I didn't scare him away! She thought to herself with a bright red blush on her face.
"He really is a beautiful man, isn't he?" said a voice from behind Cross' shoulder.
Cross whipped around to see Lara Nara, with his bright violet hair, lips, and eye shadow, and much too heavy armor to accommodate his work as a Mediator in NLA.
"Ummm, excuse me?" Cross asked, slightly perplexed.
"Oh, don't tell me you weren't staring at that SUPERIOR body and pretty face, because I was watching you. But don't worry, I was staring too. I can't help but stare every time that hunk makes his way over here."
Cross finally understood. "Something tells me YOU'RE the reason why he looked so horrified just before he ran away."
"Why, sweetheart, I have no idea what you're talking about! Well, since the eye candy is gone, I better be too. Let me know if you need anything!" And with that, Lara Nara blew Cross a kiss and was gone.
Cross found herself staring at the screen of the terminal, sheer embarrassment still written all over her face. With so many choices, how did that man pick so fast? After careful consideration, she finally settled upon a new assault rifle and knife, and some Sakuraba medium armor. Her knew armor was tight and low-cut enough to show off her curves, yet thick enough to keep her well protected. She felt unstoppable now! She turned from the shop terminal to see Elma and Lin approaching her, her new air of confidence apparent for all to see.
"Wow, Cross! You look great! Just like a true BLADE!" Lin exclaimed, in awe of her friends new gear.
"Agreed," Elma nodded. "You'll definitely excel in future missions. Now, let's go have some lunch. I called Gwin and Irina to join us. It's my treat!"
Team Elma made their way to the Barista Court where they found Gwin and Irina already seated, still covered in muck and grime from their latest Interceptor mission. Elma held her nose in disgust.
"Jeez, you guys could have at least washed up before meeting us!" she coughed to her friends.
Irina scoffed. "Hey, it's not like those Scirpos around the West Gate were gonna kill themselves! Besides, we weren't gonna be late if the Colonel offered to pay…"
Elma sighed. "Fair enough. I'm just glad you were able to join us."
"Well unlike you, it's not exactly like we get a day off," Irina stated with a firm nod.
"We needed a mental health day after what we experienced yesterday so stop complaining Lieutenant!"
"Yes Colonel! Yes ma'am!" Irina blushed and saluted her superior officer.
The group of friends enjoyed coffee, pastries, and sandwiches together, with Tatsu and Irina's voracious causing them to accumulate quite the impressive tab. Impressive… as in all but a few hundred of Elma's credits.
"We should have all gone Dutch…" Elma sighed as she looked at the bill.
"Elma said her treat. Tatsu not refuse and be rude!" Tatsu exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, and thanks to you and the walking cesspool, I'm broke."
"Well, as it is, Gwin and I will be spending most of our time and credits today on laundry. I'm pretty sure our latest adventure will need at least 3 runs through the heavy soil cycle…" Irina gave her best puppy dog eyes to the Colonel.
"…okay. Think about it as a gift, but YOU PAY the next time," Elma said as she walked to the register.
As Elma was working out the check, Gwin turned to Cross. "You really look official now! It's like you're getting stronger every day!"
Cross smiled wide. "That's my goal! I'm going to keep improving and getting stronger!"
"So…" Gwin side-eyed his new friend. "Is there somebody you want to protect?"
"Ummm… myself?" Cross raised and eyebrow and stared at him quizzically.
"…oh." Gwin stared back down at the table.
"What? Is there somebody you want to protect?"
"Ohyeahmyselfaswell. Ha—nobody else but me." Cross studied Gwin's face, which was now looking away.
Yep, he's totally staring at Irina, Cross thought to herself with a smile.
"Well, Gwin, if you ever want to train together, let me know!"
"I might have to take you up on that offer one of these days! See you around, Cross!" Gwin waved as he ran to rejoin the Lieutenant.
Lin gave Cross a curious look, "So… You and Gwin?"
"Ha! It's not like that! I do think he and I will become really fast friends. Plus building connections always helps increase chances of one's success, especially now that I joined the Interceptors."
"So ambitious! Spoken like a true BLADE!" Lin exclaimed with a thumbs-up.
The girls giggled to each other, more excited than ever about realizing their dreams on Mira.
As Elma approached with her now empty wallet, Cross followed her and Lin back to the Barracks, where they debated their next move.
"Don't worry Elma, we can always take some basic missions at the BLADE Concourse tomorrow to get some more money." Lin patted Elma's back in attempts to comfort true.
Elma pondered for a moment. "That's true I guess, plus Rook can gain more experience and show NLA how brightly she shines!"
Cross perked up. "I'd love that! And I get to break in my new gear!"
Elma let out a small chuckle, her eyes sparkling with pride at her new recruit. "I'm glad that you're feeling better now. Let's get some rest so we can earn some much-needed credits."
As she laid her head down to rest, Cross excitedly anticipated what adventures she would be embarking on the following day. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get that mysterious man at Armory Alley out of her head…
The next morning, Team Elma rose early and set out to mission control in the BLADE Concourse. Cross stared in awe at the massive number of different missions, from gathering items to defeating tyrants, to helping NLA's citizens. Just as she was about to select a mission that finally caught her eye, she was interrupted by a voice.
"Umm, excuse me? AHEM! You there! The one about to take that mission? I'm talking to YOU."
Cross turned to the voice, only to be shocked by the person she saw standing there.
It was that same mysterious man from yesterday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next Chapter: Cross realizes the hot mystery man may not be as perfect as she originally thought. Also, Elma gets no respect around here.
A/N: Thanks for reading Chapter 1! Again, this is my very first attempt at any sort of fanfiction, so reviews/critique is always welcome! (Especially if anything's unclear, or if I make characters too OOC). Chapter 2 will be up later this week, and later chapters will likely upload about 1 every 1-2 weeks. I currently work full-time and am completing my capstone for my master's degree, so fic writing will be slow. Sorry!
Until next time!