Chapter 1: The Long Shadow of Valentia | In the New World
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With an ear-shattering unearthly groan, the creature plummeted towards the ground, Falchion still firmly embedded in its head. Just before it touched down, Alm managed to leap off, landing with shaky feet before collapsing all the same.
It was almost funny, that. With him having done this for a second time now already, Celica would have thought that he had gotten the hang of it. He hadn’t collapsed the first time around.
But then again, there was no humour in this situation. They never would have thought that they would need to do this again.
They should not have had to do this again.
“Alm!” Celica shouted, rushing over to his side. Along with the creature, the rest of the monsters had fallen as well. What had moments ago been a battlefield was now a quiet ruin once more, lost and forgotten to time as the rest of the labyrinth was. Around them, the others began to check on each other.
“I’m fine…” Alm said, his own shaky breath betraying his words. Though he bore no visible wounds, he had taken the brunt of the draconic monster’s shadowy breath at least once – and every single surviving document that they found within these ancient depths had made it more than clear that this was something they should have avoided at all costs.
“It’s over,” Alm firmly stated.
Celica let out a deep breath and held out a hand to him, done with what little she could do with her healing spells for the time being. He took it, and she dragged him to his feet.
Together, they looked at the fallen creation.
To call it anything but a creature would have felt wrong. At best, it resembled a dragon – but even then, it was a twisted shape. Six eyes, piercing, staring eyes, ablaze with a dark mind behind them even in death. A serpentine body with wings neither reminiscent of those of a bird, a bat, or a wyvern. And those horrid, horrid horns… even if it had only attacked with its breath, there was no doubt that it could have cut through armour and flesh with those.
An artificial being. One that was not meant to be. The cursed creation of Forneus, the Sewing-Life Alchemist, born from the blood of a divine dragon and human blood… unifying within it the worst of both.
But it was gone now.
“Let’s leave this place,” Celica said, perhaps a bit more loudly than she had needed to. The chamber was now dead silent, save for the odd noise coming from their comrades.
Or, it should have been silent.
A whisper… it was as if there was a whisper in the air. Too quiet to make out a single word of what was said, but too much to make any doubt at its presence reasonable.
She preferred not to think about where it could be coming from.
“Agree. There is nothing left for us to do here,” Alm said. He stepped over to the corpse of the creation, towards Falchion…
And froze.
“Celica…?” he asked, the slightest of trembles in his voice. The question alone was enough to send shivers down her spine. Without a word, she came to Alm’s side…
Causing the whisper in the air to grow louder. There still were no clear words to be made out, but its presence was harder to deny.
Celica and Alm exchanged a mortified glance. Then they took each other’s hand, and closed the rest of the distance towards the creation’s head – and Falchion.
The whisper got louder still, a wordless fury permeating the air.
Which only left one conclusion.
“It’s still alive…” Celica said breathlessly. Within the otherwise quiet chamber, the words dropped like lead on the floor. Behind them, she could hear how their comrades stopped what they were doing, no doubt staring over to them.
“How?! How can this be?! Falchion slayed Duma, and yet it cannot end this creature?!” Alm shouted, his words tearing through the depths.
Celica said nothing. The creation remained motionless, yet as she watched, she could see something like a black mist seeping out from where Falchion was embedded in its head, dissipating into the air…
Following a whim, she closed the distance and put her hands on the sword’s hilt. Alm gasped – but nothing happened. Only the whispers grew louder.
P̶̝̀̀͝ȁ̴̤͊̇͜į̴͆n̶͈̭̋…̷̻̍̓̊ ̷̺̤̃ḓ̴͇̠̽ẽ̷̻̒ȁ̷̤̲ͅt̸̨͍̣͊h̸̠́́͠…̶̭͒̔̐ ̷̏̐͗͜h̷̠͓͛̓͜u̸͚̓ṙ̸̛̝̅t̵̩͔̣̂͊ï̴̦͇̮̊n̷͚̗̏g̴͋͜ ̴̟̦̒͆̃m̶̛̱̘̳͂̄ȇ̷͍͙͕…̴̢̧͎͆ ̷̝̒̐͝r̴̡̭͚͂̒̋é̷̻̙͙͂̈v̶̻͂̈̍é̶͉͔̂̾n̴̜̤̰͛̓g̴̢͎͙̀e̷̢̘̊…̸̨͍͓̇̿̕
The darkness emanating from the creation was choking. Celica understood now what Forneus’ notes had meant about hearing the creature’s dark and violent thoughts…
But they were also weak. Choking though they were, the light within her was stronger. Not strong enough to dispel the dark, but enough to guard against it.
Doing her best to ignore it all, she examined Falchion. Alm had come to her side in the meantime, but said nothing.
“It is sealed,” she finally concluded. “We may not have killed it, but Falchion binds it. As long as we leave the blade here, it will remain here.”
R̴̖̔̀̌ë̸͈͙̽m̷͕͇̤͒̽a̸̢̫̅i̴̛͎͓͗̏n̷̝̜̆͠ ̸̛̺h̶̛̫̅̀ě̸͙͌͝ͅr̶̼͔̽̾ë̵̟́͑…̵͔̫̯̋́ ̸̧̢́̎͜r̵̡̙̓̈́ė̸̻͎̋̋ṁ̶͉̟̈́͜a̷͔̳͒i̴̟̺͛̌n̵̰̍ ̴̺̱̻̉̾h̵͖̹͂̃ḙ̵̬̌͆r̴̝̫̹͒̚e̵̝͑̓̀…̴̝̯̎̒̐
“So… what, we just leave Falchion behind? I don’t like the thought of that.”
T̵̛͔h̶̜̃ò̴̟ṳ̶̽g̷̣͑h̴̡͗ṯ̴̓ ̷̞̈́ỏ̵͜f̷͍̊ ̶̢̈t̷̤͗h̴̡̍ā̷̢t̵̹͘…̷̯̋ ̶͔̑t̸̮͊h̵͓͘o̴̹͆u̷̢͗ḡ̴͍h̸̨̊t̵̲͠ ̴͚̒ö̴̪́f̷̞̋ ̴̩͠t̸̪̀h̵̦̃a̵͍͋t̶͈̀…̷̖̏
“I think we have no other choice!”
N̷̟̕o̸̼̓ ̵̪͌c̸͈̃h̸̛̹o̵̮̊i̸̻̅c̴̨̾e̷̙͆…̶̜̽ ̷̥̈n̸̦̋ò̵͓ ̶̭̔c̸͚͘h̷̞͗o̵̟̓ỉ̵̯c̵̘͋e̴̘͠…̷͎͐
While all the whispers had been filled with malice, Celica was near certain that they were not mindless.
They were being mocked.
Alm shook his head. “But then what do we do if this seal does not hold? This Forneus already tried to end this creature, and that obviously didn’t work. What if it grows stronger and breaks the seal?”
Ģ̴̱̺̌̊͐͆͠r̶̨̜̼̺̯͎̼͒̉̔ŏ̴̜̩̦̻͇͈̩̊̃̃ẇ̸̧͕͛̇ ̵̢̢̬͐͌̈́͘s̶̨̯̺̟̤͉̄͋̈́̅͝t̶̨͌̋̈́̈́͗̍͛r̷̢̛̗̣̤̣̘͕͌̍̑̈ô̴̲͙̯̱̣̖͑̈́͝ñ̸̪̱͇̺̞̻̈̉̾͊̀g̵͇͋͛̈e̶̛͕̮̩̭̽̈̍͝͠r̸̛͕̼̱͕̼̃̔͂́̽…̷̙̗̳͙͍̟͊̔͒͗͜ ̵̢̲̾̀́b̵̭̰̓͝ṙ̶̡͙̠̜̮͕͐͆͛e̶͚̬̥͇̜͆a̸͕̥̳̯̒͝ḱ̸̘̬̺̳̲̠̐̐ ̴̟̺̄̃͑̐̓̉t̴̻̙̤̺͝ͅh̶̨̪̗̋ě̴̪͑̈́́̅̐̿ ̶̳̟̮̣͓̬̈́͛̀͝s̸̪̖͚͓̪̆̈̌͛̕͝͠e̶͆́̄͒̄͊͠ͅȧ̵̠̖̰̽͋̈́̂̊͝l̴̥̩̼͙̜̈̂̓͊̾̏͠…̸̼͙̹̯̪̋̒ ̴̧̨̞̺͈͇̈́b̸̧͇̖̼̹͗͐̔ŕ̵̢͕̣͖̯̀͑͒͐̋͝ė̷̢̺̩̮̇ȁ̴̢̡̝̺̤͐̕k̵̛̛͚̞̻͉̱͕̕ ̶̛͖̩̱͕̘̱͍̈́̀̐͊̃t̸̮͇͊̃̇͊̈́̆ḧ̴̼̠́̊̀e̶̡̛̜͚̖̩̮͌̆͝ͅ ̵̖̙͗̽̿͜͠s̵̩̀̒̌̾e̵͔̺͓̤̅́͂à̴̺̦͚̣̲͑̀̎͂͆͝ľ̴̨̧͈̟̘͍̜…̵̧̲̯͚̮̝̀
“Then Falchion alone won’t do us much good, either,” Celica answered, also shaking her head. “I think the seal will hold for some time. And in that time, we can prepare.”
P̵̡̹̮̂͝r̴̛̠e̵̥̞̋̈́͘p̵̤̋̍ą̷̭̬̇̀r̷͕͎͑̅è̷̬̣̆̀…̴̡̛̣̤̈ ̷̳̫̥̊̀̕b̵͉̂̚e̸͓̔͜ ̸͖̃̎͜ṕ̶̲͛̚r̴͔͛̓̊ě̷̫͍͔͊p̵̲͆͌a̷̳͐̓͜r̷̢̦̃e̶̯̩͈͊̈́̚d̵͍̆…̶̯͎͒
Alm stared off into the distance with unfocussed eyes. “Mila and Duma… they came from this land, didn’t they? There must be others from their tribe. If we seek them out… inform the people of this continent… together, they may be able to do something.”
T̴͙̀h̴͍͐ë̴̙́i̸̠͒ŕ̸̬ ̷̛̱t̶͑͜r̸͚̊i̴̟̚ḃ̶͇e̴̤͝…̵͖̈́ ̷̛͕t̵̤͌h̶͈͑e̸̙̍i̵͓͐r̸͖̔ ̶̯͗ṫ̵͜r̴͈͊ì̷͕b̵̧̑e̶̢͌…̴̞̄
“That may be for the best.”
Ḃ̷̖ê̷̮ṡ̸̘t̴̡͝…̴̺̈́ ̶̻̚b̷̔ͅé̴̫s̸͎̎ṱ̴̆…̴̨̚
“Or – wait,” Alm said with a renewed vigor. “We could destroy these ruins. Burry this creation in the depths, so that it may never see the light of day!”
Ḻ̴͠i̷̠͛ǧ̷͕h̴͔̀ţ̷͊ ̴͎̾o̷̩̓f̷͎̄ ̵͈̄d̴̹͠a̷̼͂y̵̞̋…̸͈̎ ̴͚̓l̴̬͆ī̵̯g̷̳͂h̵̬̓t̵͖̄ ̵̹̓ö̸̲́f̵̼̓ ̷͍̓d̴̡̒ḁ̴͝y̷͉̆…̷̝̍
“And then what? If it grows stronger still, then it may do so unimpeded. All that would accomplish is rob us of the opportunity to keep an eye on it.”
E̵̛̲y̴͙͋e̶͈͠…̵̱͋ ̷̜͗e̵̚͜ỳ̷̡ĕ̷̝…̵̮̅
Alm let out a sigh. “You’re right… there must be a better solution.”
B̴͕́ē̸̲t̷̡̚t̴̲̂e̵̛͖r̷̩̓ ̶̬̂s̷̯̾o̶̞͠l̷̜̾u̷̳̍t̸̨͠i̷̙͌o̴̼͛n̴̟̆…̵̗͘ ̴̗̏b̴͈͋ė̶̪t̴̢̚t̷̮͘e̷̖͝r̴̜̽ ̷̨̉s̷̯̽o̴̩͐l̶͙͑ú̴̘t̴̜͂i̴͎̾o̷̹̿n̸͌͜…̵̣̔
“And we will find it together!” Celica said, putting a hand on his arm. “We don’t have to do this alone. Like you said – the people of this continent will help us. Together, we can find a way.”
Ç̶͆ö̴͚̲͓́ṉ̸̢͙̋͋ẗ̶͔̗́̉i̶̖͚͂̈́ṋ̴͋̋͐ͅȩ̶̱̔n̶̜̗̯̈̎t̷̮̎̇̔…̷̢̣̝̒͐̑ ̴̗̞̉̈́̏a̷̛̫̺̱͝ ̶͕͍͎̅w̵̫̩͖͘a̷̛̗̎ỳ̵͚…̷̳̃̕
Alm hummed. “I hope so. Gods… I had thought that after dealing with Duma, there would be no greater power in this world that would oppose us…”
P̷̘͠ȏ̶̙w̷̢̒e̶̖̔ṛ̷͝…̵̣̇ ̵͔̇g̴̡̃r̴̤͝e̶̖͊ã̴͔ṫ̴̼e̸͔͘r̶̙̈ ̶̚͜p̸͚̃ỏ̷͓w̴͕͂ẹ̵̈r̷̈́ͅ…̸̖͛
“All the more reason to carry out the original purpose of this trip. We must establish diplomatic relations with this continent. If we remain unconnected, then this creation might be the end of us all – maybe not today and not tomorrow, but one day for certain.”
E̸̥͑n̶̪͝d̴͉̈…̴̗͊ ̸̮̿t̶̳̑ẖ̵͗e̴͖͛ ̵̨̀ë̶̠n̷̠̓d̵̡̓…̸̨͑
“Then let’s go. Archanea needs us – the entire world needs us. We are the only thing that stands between it and a grim fate.”
G̴̲̀r̷̠̈́ỉ̶͔m̶̡̈́…̵̛̝ ̷͎̔g̸͍̾r̶̠̒i̶͚̊m̵̪͐…̶̝̀
Grima.
Thousands of years later
A ruin, ancient already thousands of years ago, buried deep, deep beneath the surface…
In its middle, a skeleton. Not of a human, but something… different.
Bigger.
Monstrous.
And also a smaller, much smaller version of something else that he had seen before.
Embedded within its skull was a sword, no doubt having slain the creature in ancient times. Though the blade must have been older still than the life that it had taken, it still looked as if it had been newly forged. At the spot where steel met bone, a black mist was seeping out, running up along its edges, swirling around them…
The whole chamber lay empty – until it didn’t.
From one moment to the next, the sound of countless steps came, disrupting the silence of the millennia. Men and women came flooding in, enough to count as a small force. And alongside them…
Black steel. Things that were not Homs or human or animal, but still moved.
Mechon.
Which left little doubt as to who the men and women were.
The Grimleal, servants of the Fell Dragon Grima. They were led by a group of four people – it was impossible to make out any more details on them. There was something about them that made them harder to see.
The four figures stopped for a moment. Then, one of them stepped up to the sword…
And the vision ended.
An unclear amout of time earlier
Ylisstol
“Alright, wrap it up everyone!” the foreman shouted. A visible wave of relief came over the workers, as everyone dropped what they had been doing. Lucina meanwhile wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Though winter still held all the land in its firm grasp, work had, as always, been exhausting. With it however also came the small mercy that there were less hours of the day where she had to work at all. As the sun set sooner, it meant that there was less construction work that could be done by the light of day. Even if this meant that she earned less money, Lucina did not mind – there was enough left to do to last several months.
The Plegian occupation of Ylisstol had in the end merely lasted a few months and claimed only a relatively small number of lives. But even so, damage had been done to the city – while the official line had been to accept the peaceful surrender, the Plegian army had been full of men and women who had their own grudges against Ylisse and its people. The people of Ylisstol had put up little resistance (why would they, if the Pegasus Knights had surrendered, and the Shepherds had fled?), but soldiers needed no excuses to bring fire and death to those they despised.
Still, as far as consequences of war went, Ylisstol had made it through... reasonably well. The city was better off than the version that Lucina knew best had been. Who knew how much worse it would have been if Lady Emmeryn had not surrendered...
Lady Emmeryn… aunt Emmeryn.
As she took her payment for the day and headed off, she paid no mind to the men and women who had worked alongside her. She was here to earn money, not make connections.
While slowly heading back, Lucina sighed quietly. Even if she had long since accepted that there was nothing that she could have done for her, it still ate away at Lucina that she had knowingly left her in the hands of Gangrel and Plegia. And now… now, aunt Emmeryn was truly beyond her reach altogether. She could only hope that she was alright – but that was knowledge that not even Shulk’s vision had revealed to them.
Yet even if they did not tell them that, she could not have been more thankful to have these glimpses of what was to come.
To have him .
Looking back, Lucina was a bit shocked at how that particular aspect of her life had developed ever since she had travelled back in time. A young man from another world, one so very different from this one, spirited away here by means unknown. How she had suspected him to be a servant of the Fell Dragon at first, until the evidence to the contrary became undeniable, and she had to accept his word as truth. And how from that point on, he became her closest ally, her only ally…
And someone who was now so very dear to her.
Walking through the partly snow-covered streets of Ylisstol, she could not help but to smile to herself. She had not thought that she would get to do… that with a person she cared for so deeply after travelling back in time. But after their recent reunion, emotions had been riding high, one thing had let to another, and…
Well, it had been an interesting night for both of them.
They had not yet discussed what this meant for them , but Lucina did not mind putting that conversation off for the time being. There were other things that they needed to worry about. Though the war between Ylisse and Plegia had been resolved peacefully, the threat of the Fell Dragon still loomed over this timeline, along with whatever other baggage had entered this world along with Shulk. And of course, there was still the matter of him wanting to return to his home world in the long run…
No, she was fine with how things were right now.
Things would not last. They could not last. Shulk had friends and loved ones back at home, and he very much wanted to return home. And Lucina had to find her own place in this world, in this time. Things would change at some point. One way or another, the life that they had right now would come to an end.
But she was content with making the most of it while it lasted.
Even so however, she was not living her life day to day without a bad conscience. Somewhere out there, scattered across the world, were her friends. Before leaving their doomed timeline they had promised each other that they would live their lives out as best they could, and not search for each other. But now, when all she could was wait… she had her doubts as to whether that had been the right call.
Though even if she did decide to search for them after all, it was not like she had any idea where they would be. So really, all that she could do was to live her life, one day after another. Just going to work to earn money, like any other person here in Ylisstol…
She wasn’t sure if it suited her. Any sudden movement from the corner of her eye, the clanging of metal, the sudden flash of street lights turning on – all of it was enough to bring her… back. Back to spending every single day fighting for her life, and for that of every other human survivor. Back to having to lead and worry and fight and guide and be strong. Not showing any weakness ever, because there were people who looked up to her, admired her, relied on her.
And now it was all gone, and she was expected to just… adjust?
But then again, the only person accepting her to do that was herself, because there was no one else there. All her, no one else.
Except for Shulk. But he need not worry about her… it was no big deal. She could manage just fine. She had more than enough time. At present, all she could do was to wait for the next time history reared its head, and the world moved forward.
Whenever that would be. Her written timeline, thoroughly researched and put together by Owain and Laurent with input from all of her other friends, which had been enough to guide her through the first historic events that she wanted to alter, was now useless. What the future held was as unknown to her as it had been for most of her life…
But now she had Shulk. Since he however had no visions of anything happening in the near future… nothing for it but to wait.
Day after day.
By the time that Shulk made it out on the streets of Ylisstol, the sun had already set, and the street lights had turned on. For as… backwards as the technology levels of this world were (there really was no nicer way of putting it, as much as it pained him), it still amazed him to this day that they had street lights at all. Sure, the way in which they worked was vastly different due to this world not having ether like the Bionis and Mechonis did, and they had to be manually turned on each night. But they were street lights nonetheless, and fulfilled their intended purpose through the use of magic and spells.
Though beyond that, his fascination also extended to the fact that they were necessary at this time of day in the first place.
Even now, months and months after he had first arrived in this world, Shulk still was not entirely used to the fact that the sun here didn’t just remain stationary in the sky over the course of the day, and then faded out once night fell. Instead, it always rose over the horizon in the east, moved higher and higher in the sky while venturing southwards, before setting in the west. But if all that wasn’t enough already, the exact places on the horizon where the sun rose changed – it was a gradual change, but a change nonetheless. And along with it, the days got longer and shorter, together with the changing seasons.
Come to think of it, that was another one to wrap his head around. Seasons! With the passing of the months, so did the climate change in one given area, instead of just remaining as it was. The warm, long days from the time when Shulk had first arrived were currently just a distant memory, as what everyone called “winter” held all the land in its chilling grasp. The trees and other vegetation had long since lost their foliage, making them rise up like the bizarre skeletal remains of an unknown monster. By now, it was as cold everywhere here in Ylisse as it had been in the northern nation of Ferox. And there had even been honest-to-Bionis snowfall after some time, meaning that the city by now was covered in white.
Or, well, it started out white when the snow was fresh. After a day or two, the only things that remained white were the rooftops and fields outside of the city, while the boots and shoes of the city folk trampled the snow into a hardened icy sludge that was the same colour as the streets usually were.
(Along with the occasional yellow pile of snow. While his first sighting of that had reminded Shulk of the nightly Valak Mountain in the glow of its crystals, the immediate realization that it could not be that had made him a lot more wary of both it and the townsfolk.)
For as fascinating as all of these things were to him when he stopped to think about them however, Shulk barely paid them any mind at present. Even the greatest miracles of the world around him just faded into what was normal and expected with time, of which he had already spent quite a bit in this world.
And what also didn’t help matters right now was that he was in a hurry.
The images of his visions, and all that he had read in that chronicle were still vivid in his mind. While he had had visions since the end of the war between Ylisse and Plegia, all of them had been of… mundane things. People that needed help with something, finding lost things, just all the various ways in which his visions had allowed him to help locals during his journey across the Bionis.
This one however… this one.
Nothing bad had happened in it per se, it needed to be said. But after reading what the queen of Valentia had written thousands of years ago, and what the ruin that he saw had looked like… it couldn’t exactly mean nothing. This type of vision was a warning.
And it being a warning meant that they could do something about it. Something he could do to save this world, so that he would be able to leave it behind in good conscience…
Once he actually found a way home.
(Though could he really leave it in good conscience, even then? With all the connections he had made… and with one in particular…)
In spite of his urgency, Shulk’s mind wandered back home… to Reyn, to Dunban, to Sharla, to Melia, to Riki, to all the people in the colony and all the ones that he had met on his journey.
To Fiora.
Fiora, who he thought had died. Fiora, who had been alive after all. Fiora, who had been brought back to life with a machine body.
Fiora, who… had her first kiss with him.
While he knew that he was still missing some of his memories, Shulk somehow just knew that they… hadn’t made anything official. Be it between them, or to anyone else. Looking back, he understood that he had had feelings for her for a long, long time already. And obviously Fiora had had feelings of her own, as her occasional teases and eagerness to stay at his side upon her return had shown.
And what had he done? Away in another world for just a few months, and he already developed feeligns for someone else.
But him and Lucina had been through a lot together. She was so very dear to him, which had made all the months in which she had not been by his side just sting so deeply.
Lucina was the first person that he had met in this world, and had been there for him despite her initial doubts about him. She had been kind in her own way, patient with his lack of understanding for this world, and let him stay with her despite how vitally important her own mission was. And in turn, he had done everything he could to make sure she could carry out this mission, even if it had meant parting ways and doing things his way. Yes… Shulk had never been somebody who was deeply in touch with his heart. But even so, he was certain that he loved Lucina.
Which left the matter of Fiora.
Even now, he cared for Fiora deeply, though he wasn’t certain if he actually loved her any more. What would she think, if she knew about this? Not every relationship lasted forever, of course. But to do all this while Fiora had likely no idea where he was and if he was even still alive… the more he dwelt on the thought, the more the bad conscience ate him up.
But that’s only gonna be a problem if I find a way home at all , he thought, smiling mirthlessly. For all he knew, he might as well be forced to stay in this world forever.
So he might as well allow himself this happiness.
Which was nice and all to think. Actually, truly feeling it was another matter entirely.
All he could do now was to just carry on same as he had, and hope that Lucina understood. Though their reunion had been an… interesting night, they hadn’t really talked about it yet.
They would need to get to that sooner or later. Preferably before they were next thrust into a situation of life and death.
Which suddenly seemed to be a lot closer after his most recent vision.
Shulk paused. He had finally made it back home – the inn that they were staying at.
…Home… it was odd to think of this inn this way, but it was perhaps the one place in this world that came closest to fitting the description. For all the time that they had been in Ylisstol, this inn had been the place where they stayed at. The innkeeper at this point was used enough to them that he didn’t even ask just how long they were going to stay – he just considered them a steady source of income.
Honestly, with how much time they had already spent here in Ylisstol, it almost would have made sense for them to get a house of their own… but doing that would have required them to admit several things to themselves, and have a number of conversations. Conversations that Shulk knew that they should not have at this point in time.
Still, the thought made him smile weakly.
In the meantime, it was really getting too cold for him. Rubbing his hands together and breathing on them – really, he should have just brought gloves – he finally went inside.
Just as he had expected, he immediately spotted Lucina sitting at a table, eating dinner. As he approached her, she looked up. While at first, she had seemed visibly exhausted, the sight of him did seem to liven her up somewhat.
“Hey there. Are you hungry? They should still have some stew left,” she said, briefly getting up to give him a quick hug.
“I’ll get some in a bit,” Shulk answered, returning the hug – regardless of what there was or was not between them, that much was fine, right? – and sitting down. As Lucina gave him a quizzical look, he took a deep breath.
“I’ve had another vision.”
Shulk explained. Lucina listened. Once he was done, Lucina was quiet for a bit to gather her thoughts.
Queen Celica Anthiese and King Albein Alm Rudolf of Valentia… she had of course heard the names before. Growing up as the crown princess of the halidom, being made to study history was par for the course. International relations are simply easier to maintain if a ruler is aware of both the past of their own nation, and those that they deal with. Celica and Alm however were ancient history, thousands of years in the past, to the point where they were as much legends as the hero king that were said to be contemporaries with. Point being – she had never heard anything about them having taken a trip to Akaneia.
Let alone what they discovered there.
“…The exact origins of the Fell Dragon are something that we were never really able to figure out,” she finally said slowly. “It is known that it is nowhere near as old as the goddess Naga, and that when it first appeared a millennia ago, it did so in the north-west of the continent…”
“So do you think what the king and queen fought could have been it?” Shulk asked, his voice tense.
Lucina hesitated. “It might be. But… even if it is, why would the Grimleal seek out this ruin now? In my timeline, the Fell Dragon was revived at the Dragon’s Table in Plegia, and as far as I know, that ritual did not require anything that they could only get from this ruin.”
“What about the sword, then? Could they be after that?”
“Maybe,” Lucina conceded. “But why? This Valentian Falchion never saw any use in my timeline. The far bigger concern for them should be father’s Falchion. But even that is powerless to do anything against the Fell Dragon unless the Rite of Awakening is performed on it.”
Shulk exhaled sharply. In this moment, Lucina realized that she had never actually explained what the Rite of Awakening was to him… but if he wondered about it at all, then he didn’t show it. Instead, he just shook his head.
“I can only tell what I’ve seen. The Grimleal are going to be in this ruin sooner or later – and if I have seen it in my vision, then it can’t mean anything good for us.”
Lucina said nothing for a moment. She trusted Shulk, beyond the shadow of a doubt. His visions were real, and his concerns were valid. But with that being the case…
“Then what do you propose we do?”
“We could go there ahead of them,” Shulk said. “If it is the sword they are after, we can take it before they have a chance to – and if it’s anything else from there that they want, we might be able to destroy it or take it as well.”
“What, just the two of us? You have some faith in our abilities…” Lucina noted, smiling weakly.
“Do we have any other choice? We have no allies that we could turn to, and anyone that we could ask for help… well, that would take a whole lot of explaining.”
And that was just it . There was no other option.
Even though Lucina had long since been able to conclude that altering this timeline did not erase her own existence, she still thought it best to not reveal herself to her father and the Shepherds for the time being. While it did limit her options in some ways, it also meant that she could do a lot of things without most of the key players in this world knowing – and that was an advantage that she would never be able to get back once she lost it.
But if they went, she would not be able to keep an eye on her father, however distant it was. She had already failed to protect aunt Emmeryn, which had been an enormous loss and setback, even if there was a decent chance that she was still alive. Things may have already turned out better than they had been in her timeline, but if father was to die… then all would be lost.
Though it was not like she was the only way he could be protected.
“Are you certain that your visions would warn us if anything were to happen while we’re out of town?”
Shulk nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Then let’s do it. We’ll make preparations tomorrow, and then depart as soon as possible.”
Colony 9
It was a beautiful day in the colony. Though there had been the occasional rain in recent days, the clouds from that had long since cleared up, leaving the sky a vibrant, unbroken blue. There were Homs, Nopon, High Entia, and Machina at work all over town - repairing, constructing, expanding, doing all they could to make sure that this could be a place where all life walked towards the future hand in hand. It already worked in Colony 6, so everyone was in good spirits and certain that it would be the same here. It was an enormous amount of work, but the leaders of every race were doing the best they could to coordinate everyone who was willing to do their part.
All while Fiora was stuck inside, cursing the fact that she could only see much from her window. Or at least, that was one of the things that she was cursing.
She was also cursing her body for being in no state to do any work of her own, cursing that she was stuck in bed, cursing the weather for not being bad enough so that that would have been no concern, cursing herself for thinking something so spiteful in the first place, and above all else, just cursing the fact that she was stuck at home all alone.
There were a lot of things for her to curse.
Come to think of it, being hungry was also one of them…
Fiora sighed. Since nobody else was at home, maybe she could just sneak downstairs and grab a bite to eat… her body may have still been weak from spending half a year in the regeneration chamber, but surely it wasn’t that bad. Her limbs may protest, but she needed to put them to use again sooner or later.
Especially if she wanted to step up the way she planned to…
“Fiora! I got lunch for you!” Dunban’s voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, followed by a knock on her door.
Well, that took care of one of her problems.
Hopefully.
“Come on in!” she shouted back. A moment later Dunban pushed open the door, just barely managing to do it with his crippled arm.
“You know, I’m sure you could have gotten somebody else to bring me something to eat. This can’t be easy for you with your arm.”
Dunban chuckled quietly. “It may not be easy, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world. You dropped everything to take care of me after the battle of Sword Valley, so I want to do everything I can to repay the favour.”
“I get that, but back then we didn’t have the whole rebuilding effort going on. I’ve seen just how much of your energy you put into that,” Fiora said, taking the tray that Dunban handed her. There was curry on it, which, counter to her expectations, both smelled and looked quite appetizing.
“But it’s not taking all my energy. I’ll always have time for my little sister,” Dunban said, taking a nearby chair and sitting down next to it.
“Not like I can stop you, anyway…” Fiora said with another sigh. Then, she cautiously picked up the spoon from the tray, ate some of the curry…
And was surprised at just how good it actually tasted.
“Do you like it?” Dunban asked, her face seemingly giving away how much she enjoyed it.
Fiora nodded. “Yeah! It’s really good! Did you make-” she began, only to cut herself off. It was too good. “You got this from Giorgio’s, didn’t you?”
“Obviously,” Dunban laughed. “I think we both know that me trying to cook would only be detrimental to your recovery process.”
“You know, I wasn’t going to say it…”
“Fiora, I still remember all too well how soon you learned to cook, growing up. I may have my skills, but cooking is definitely not one of them.”
Rather than saying anything, Fiora just continued to eat while smiling. Even if from her perspective, she had never really been gone, both during her time as a Face Mechon pilot and while she had been in the regeneration chamber… it was still good to be back.
If only he were back as well…
“How is the reconstruction coming along?” she asked, after about a minute or two of eating in silence.
“There is still lots of work to do, but it’s coming along nicely. The technology of the Machina and High Entia is allowing us to make fantastic progress.”
“I’m glad to hear that. And how are the others doing?”
Dunban raised his eyebrows. “Hm? Don’t they visit you as well?”
“I mean, they do… but so rarely that I barely know what’s up with them. Sharla at least does her check-ups on me, so I see her a lot. But the others? Different story, that. I especially would have thought that Reyn would drop by more often, and yet it’s been days since I last saw him.”
Dunban exhaled deeply. “No surprise there. You wouldn’t know it because you were in the chamber for so long, but he has… really been kind of restless these past few months. With-” he interrupted himself briefly, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, “With Shulk still not back, he seems to have gotten it in his head that he needs to step up as a new hero. He even took the Monado Replicas that Vanea built and has been practicing with them in secret.”
Fiora said nothing, and just stared at her curry. Shulk… the thought of him still stung. Alvis had guaranteed to them that he was fine, would be fine, and that they would do everything in their power to watch over him… but they hadn’t been able to say where they had to take him, and when he would be back.
But beyond that, she also dared not look Dunban in the eye because of what he had said about Reyn. He really thought way too much like her sometimes.
“How about Riki and Melia? What have they been up to?”
“No surprise that Riki hasn’t dropped by much. With our journey over, Oka has been really insistent on keeping him at home, especially with three more littlepon.”
Fiora furrowed her brows. “Wait, three? I thought they had only two more, Riku and… er, I forgot the other’s name.”
Dunban laughed. “Our dear Heropon is never idle. He adopted a Nopon child that has been orphaned. Kino, he’s called.”
“That’s so sweet of him…” Fiora said, smiling weakly. “But yeah, then it really is no surprise. What about Melia, then?”
“Melia…” Dunban slowly said, looking away. “She has been tirelessly throwing herself at the reconstruction efforts. She works a lot with the other High Entia, but as far as I know, she hasn’t revealed herself to be their empress yet. If you ask me, she really needs a break… but I don’t see her enough myself to really pull her aside.”
Once again, Fiora said nothing, and just stared at her curry. This really couldn’t be easy for Melia… she had lost all her family in such a short time span, as well as so many of her own people, and sooner or later, she would have to step up to lead the survivors.
And all that on top of Shulk being missing.
Though Fiora had not been able to pick up on it herself, Sharla had just recently filled her in on the fact that Melia had feelings for Shulk. Or rather, had had, since Sharla had also mentioned that she had already given up on those before they have even faced Zanza.
Fiora still wasn’t sure what to think about that. One some level, she had suspected it, even if she hadn’t had any idea on what to do about it. If she herself had not survived, Fiora would not have minded if Melia had taken her place at Shulk’s side. Melia was a strong, kind, a woman fit to be an empress, and of course, so very pretty. The thought of Shulk getting together with Melia when Fiora herself could not of course stung a little, but Fiora would have thought it for the better.
But that had not happened, and Fiora had been making things worse for Melia…
Well, not that it really mattered with him nowhere to be found in this world. Still… Fiora wanted to be there for Melia, now that they both missed Shulk.
Which once again made her curse the fact that she was still recovering from having been in that recovery chamber for half a year. There was obviously no arguing with the results, since she finally had a body of flesh and blood again. But actually getting regaining her physical strength after being essentially in stasis for half a year… it was rough. She couldn’t even get up to look for Melia.
And this was despite that chamber having means to alleviate this! She could at least stand for shorter periods of time and even walk around a little, which would not have been the case if she had been forced to lie down for half a year otherwise. She should be grateful for what she still had, she knew... but really, she was just frustrated.
But she did not want to complain. Not when Dunban had taken his injuries just so much better.
As she looked to him, there suddenly was another knock on the door.
“Come in!” Fiora said loudly. The door was pushed open, and Sharla came in.
“Hey Fiora. How are you feeling?” she asked, briefly nodding to Dunban who got up from his chair to make room for her.
“You mean other than the continued embuggerance of being stuck inside?”
Sharla smiled sympathetically. “Your body needs time to recover. That’s just how it is.”
“I know, I know… but I’d much rather be out there, helping !” Fiora said, deliberately not specifying how and whom she would help.
“You can consider yourself lucky, then!” Sharla said, holding her index finger in front of her face conspiratorially. “I have been asking around with High Entia, Nopon and Machina doctors to see if there is anything that might help speed up your recovery process. There is admittedly nothing that guarantees it, but there are some remedies that we could give a try if you’re up for it.”
“Do you even have to ask?! Let’s do it!” Fiora said hastily, her eyes lighting up. Anything to get her on her feet again. Anything to let her help .
Anything so she could fill the gap that Shulk left behind. Even with the Mechon gone for good, even with the Telethia no longer an issue, even with Zanza defeated – this world needed somebody to defend it from whatever it may face. And as strong as Reyn was, she had her doubts that he would be able to do it.
So she would also try.
Notes:
Just a brief note on the end of the opening scene - that part is not meant as Grima deciding their name then and there, and more like them being. . . reminded of it, I suppose. It would be too silly for me if that was how Grima decided on their name.
Chapter 2: Seize our Destinies | Rebuilding
Summary:
Lucina and Shulk make their towards the north once more. During their journey, they talk.
Fiora makes progress with getting back into shape, while her friends are busy with reconstruction efforts.
Notes:
I'll really have to wait and see whether this location gimmick between scene breaks is something that I want to keep up going forward. While doing it for the Xenoblade side of things works well enough given how much we get to see of the Bionis and the Mechonis, it's decidedly more difficult for the Awakening side of things. I'd have to pull a LOT of location names out of my butt, or do research into Shadow Dragon/New Mystery of the Emblem/Genealogy of the Holy War/Thracia 776 lore to see if there are location names that I could adapt.
Anyway, not too much story progress on this particular chapter, but a decent bit of character building from all sides. I'm obviously working towards getting Lucina and Shulk towards a certain location from Shadows of Valentia, and setting up Fiora and Melia to do a little daytrip (gone wrong) to Bionis' Shoulder, but I don't just want to rush things. I have to admit that this is a chapter that I went into without that much of a plan, but I'm really quite happy with the results.
Chapter Text
Just outside Ylisstol
Once they had left behind the city gates, Lucina stopped and looked back. Ylisstol castle still loomed in the distance, rising up high over the city. With the snow covering its roof as it did with all the land around them, it made for quite the scenic view.
And one that she could easily see as making the average citizen forget that there was an actual ruler that lived within it.
If there was one thing that Lucina had learned in all her months of living as one of the common folk in the city, it was that in just day-to-day life, the Exalt tended to be a wyvern in the room that most simply ignored. Everyone knew that they were being governed, but it wasn’t like the Exalt just turned up in person at people’s homes and told them what to do and not do. He was too busy dealing with things like international politics and military matters to have the time for that, and besides he was too much of a down-to-earth person to really consider it a necessity.
Point being, outside of the occasional public appearance, most people didn’t really pay much mind to their new Exalt. Especially so since the winter season had made such public appearances a rarity, as they had already been under Lady Emmeryn. Many went through their daily lives without really thinking much about Prince Chrom. Or, as he was now, Exalt Chrom.
Which wasn’t exactly how it was for Lucina.
Since that day when she had gone to get Shulk and see the coronation and wedding, she had not been to the castle. She would have loved to go – though each meeting that she had had with her father here in the past had been short by necessity, and she had only snuck in a few glimpses of him outside of that, she still cherished every chance that she got.
That had been the hardest part about her decision to not reveal herself to him and the Shepherds. This was the opportunity to see her father again, over a decade after his death from her perspective! Yet in order to actually keep him alive, it was best if he didn’t know that she was his daughter. And to keep anyone else from knowing, she was better off not actually being seen together with him. Lucina had never put much stock into people telling her that she took far more after him than she did the rest of her family, but seeing as she was the only person who shared his specific shade of blue hair… and more muscular build… and height (even if she was a bit taller than him)…
Well, it was best to not take any chances. While most people were unlikely to consider the possibility of a time-travelling daughter as the first possible explanation, Lucina didn’t consider it unlikely that she would immediately be pegged as family. It was best to avoid questions along those lines altogether.
And that stung . Especially now that he seemed to be growing into the great man that she had known him to be, instead of that young ( so young, far too young ) boy. Possibly even somebody greater than that, as her father had always carried with him the pain of having lost his sister so suddenly… and the shadow of having gotten his revenge for that. This Chrom had of course now also lost her, but they had at least been able to keep him from making the same mistake.
But given his youth, it was understandable that he could make such a mistake to begin with.
It was still a weird thought that due to the point in time that she had arrived at, he was now younger than her. He might even be younger than her brother Inigo…
Though all that still paled compared to how it must have been to her cousin Owain. Lucina could not help but to smirk a little at that thought. Just like most of her other friends, Owain had been an adult by every possible definition. Lissa meanwhile, at this point in time… the pigtails made her look younger than she was, to be sure. But even so, she was by no means of age.
“Lucina? Is everything alright?” Shulk’s voice suddenly brought her back to reality.
“…Hm? Oh, yeah. I was just a bit lost in thought,” she said. For a second longer, she stared at the castle in the distance. Then, she turned around and walked by Shulk’s side.
It pained her to leave the city, and, by proxy, her father, mother and all the Shepherds behind. The course of history right now was truly unpredictable, and there was no telling what tragedy and challenges could befall them at any moment. But… the Shepherds had been able to fight against the end of the world for many years in her own timeline. They would manage to face whatever was waiting for them without her for a little while.
And besides, even if history at large was beyond her ability to predict, Lucina was altogether without means to know what dangers may lie in wait.
Without taking her eyes off the road ahead, she reached for Shulk’s hand and took it. Even through the gloves that both of them were wearing, feeling it against hers was… comforting. For his part, he initially hesitated, but then took it.
Lucina glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was still staring straight ahead, with an expression that was impossible for her to read.
Letting out a deep but quiet breath, Lucina looked at the road again. She understood. While she had no qualms about what they were to each other now… for him, it was probably very different. Shulk had told her a lot about the things he remembered again now, about his journeys across the Bionis and the Mechonis, and all the things he saw and did along the way.
About how his childhood friend Fiora had turned out to be alive, after all.
Lucina was under no delusion. She had heard how Shulk talked about Fiora. More than that, she had even seen for herself just how driven he had been in his search for her, in the memories that A had shown to her. Even if he himself had not been aware of it, Shulk had feelings for Fiora. And Lucina doubted that Shulk was the type of person to have his feelings dulled just by being apart for a few months. Especially after finding out that she was still alive when he had thought that she had died.
Lucina was however also reasonably certain that Shulk felt something for her . The night that they had spent together upon their reunion was proof enough of that. Granted, they hadn’t done… that since then, or anything even coming close. Their room in the inn had had two beds, and they both had seen their intended use. But the fact alone that he was so obviously troubled about it all made it clear that there was something from his side.
Making things all the more difficult for her.
She wanted to be with him, of course. She wanted him to stay with her, to walk towards the future together. That much was true. But she was also aware just how unfeasible any of that was. Shulk came from a different world, had different people who were friends and like family to him. On a fundamental level, he just did not belong in Ylisse, and no matter how much Lucina would have liked him to stay, he would take any opportunity to go home. That, she did not blame him for. This could not last. They could not last.
If only he was willing to make the most out of what they had while it lasted.
But she would not push him. He knew how they felt about each other. And between the two of them, he was the one who had more baggage in these matters, so she thought it better to let him figure out on his own what he felt was better.
It probably wasn’t the best way to go about it, Lucina realized. In her defence though, she was also trying to save the world, which was something that took up a lot of her own thinking.
Speaking of…
“You are certain that we have the time to travel there on foot?” she asked, half turning to Shulk. Her breath condensed in the cold air.
Shulk nodded. “Positive. It’s… a bit difficult to describe, but I just know that what I’ve seen in that vision is still far enough away for us to make it there in time like this.”
“Mh,” Lucina hummed. “But we could make it there faster if we got another horse, or even a pegasus…”
“No.”
Lucina chuckled. It really had been amazing just how fast Shulk had become so wary of horses after being introduced to them. Within hours of first being on the back of one, he had already declared himself one of nature’s pedestrians, and that horses just had to be Up To Something. He could not elaborate on what that could be, but he had insisted.
And that just was what he thought of horses. Apparently, he had also been on pegasusback in the time that they had spent apart. She probably should have been sympathetic towards him about it, but really, his complete refusal to go into what that had been like was just funny.
So the slow route it was. Well… there were worse fates than being on the road with Shulk again.
The last time they had been travelling together like this has been on the same route, back when she had not even trusted him yet. If her self from back then would have known where their relationship would lead… she probably would have been flabbergasted, to say the least.
But probably also relieved that she was able to allow herself this bit of happiness.
The road towards Regna Ferox
While had admittedly somewhat waned during his stay in Ylisstol, being out of the city and just getting to travel again really did reignite a passionate fascination for this world within Shulk that had not felt for a long time. Seasons, the rising and setting sun… all these things had still been captivating while he had stayed in Ylisstol, but getting to experience them first-hand was still something else.
He still remembered how he and Lucina had first travelled this road, underneath clear skies and a blazing sun. But now? All the land was white (whiter than in the city, at any rate), chilling winds were howling, their cold fingers even reaching through layers and layers of cloth, and the temperatures… well, Shulk wasn’t quite sure just how low they were, but they must have been pretty low. Nothing compared to Valak Mountain, but more than enough to be uncomfortable.
As he walked down the road, his eyes went unfocussed. Right… Valak Mountain. His own journey through the area had not been long, but it had been enough to make several memories of the place.
About how shocked he and the others had been about the cold there, which affected Riki worst of all. How they had found Befalgar Pedestal to the east there, just as night fell and all crystals lit up, shooting beams of light towards the sky. How they had struggled with finding a path so much that they had ended up on Three Sage Summit. How Dunban had once again somehow been able to climb a wall with just his own arm. How Shulk had to be pulled up by Reyn at some points, How Melia had been able to manage it surprisingly well (though Shulk could’ve sworn that she had looked to him for help at some points). And their death-defying jumps down into hot springs from the peak, despite Sharla cautioning against them.
Or the relief they all had felt when they had found Lava Cave. Granted, entering it had been a matter of going from one extreme to another, but at least there had been some warmth. Just a temporary reprieve from all the cold. A cold which he thought should have made the whole mountain less hospitable to wildlife, but had seemingly just given rise to whole new forms of life. Dunban had even been able to help out some Nopon researchers maintain order in the mountain’s ecosystem.
But fascinating as all his memories of the place were, they paled in front of the things that happened while he was there. Setting foot in Ose Tower, the place where his parents died, for the first time in fourteen years. Having Fiora appear in front of him… or rather, this “Meyneth”. Finding out that Metal Face had in truth been Dunban’s old war buddy Mumkhar all along… and of course, meeting Egil, leader of Mechonis, for the first time.
Shulk sighed. There had been many hardships across his journey, that much was undeniable. But he had also been able to make many good memories. And now, that he regained so many of them, it made him even more certain of one thing.
He missed his friends.
But… since dwelling on that thought would have helped nothing, he put it away. Part of him felt guilty for thinking of all them far less these days. But if he didn’t, then he would just hurt. Until he found a way home, there was nothing he could do about it, anyway.
He could do something for others, though – like Lucina. And a few days after they left Ylisstol, he got the opportunity to do just that.
A village somewhere in northern Ylisse
The inn that they were staying at could charitably be described as appropriate for the village that it belonged to. Which was to say, small, shabby, and too unremarkable to even need a name. If you were heading for a village or an inn in these parts, you could only be referring to one thing. So why even bother coming up with a name? There was work to do which was more important.
But since they were only staying for one night, it would suffice. And at least people in this village had a good idea on what sorts of food actually energized you to do the gruelling tasks that every day. The taste was something that could be… argued about, but at least they could be certain that they would have the strength to walk most of the day tomorrow.
(Even if only to get as far away from the place where this passed for food as possible.)
While they were eating, Lucina was idly reading through that notebook for hers again. In all the time that he had known her, Shulk had seen her pull it out a lot. Around the time that they had first met, she had often studied it intensely, and usually just before she had told him where they would go next.
But since the two of them had reunited recently, the way in which she looked at it had… changed somewhat. Before, she had always seemed to be carefully reading every page, often spending several minutes on just one before turning it. Now however, she was just leafing through it absent-mindedly, sometimes turning back pages and stopping at one at random to stare at it wistfully.
Shulk recalled that written down in this notebook was a timeline of events that described the history of Lucina’s future. How things had gone so wrong, gotten so terrible that the only hope left to her was to cross time and return to the past in the hope of preventing these events altogether. She had mentioned to him that this written timeline was what she had been following initially to decide where and how to intervene. But now that the war between Ylisse and Plegia had been resolved peacefully and history’s course had been altered, it just wasn’t useful anymore.
There had to be more to it, though! If this notebook had truly already fulfilled its purpose, then she would not have clung to it this much. Even if Shulk admittedly wasn’t the best at reading people (to put it mildly) he was able to tell this much.
He glanced at the Monado resting by his side. He had always thought of it as a parting gift of his parents’… a memento, and his first and last homework assignment. A mystery, left by them for him to unravel.
So what was this notebook to her?
“Say… I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what are you doing?” he asked, keeping his voice just a bit low. The other villagers who were patronizing the inn were not close enough to really hear anything – while visitors were a rare enough sight and therefore inherently interesting, said visitors carrying weapons was enough of a reason to keep a respectful distance – but he still did not want to risk letting them hear anything they had no business knowing.
Lucina paused as she was turning a page, and looked vacantly at the notebook. Then, she let out a deep breath.
“I suppose just… hanging after some memories,” she said after a moment, still not looking at him.
“Bad ones?”
“No… no, I wouldn’t say so. Maybe in the sense of longing for that which is lost. But not a bitter memory.”
Shulk hummed. “That’s the history of your timeline, isn’t it? Are you thinking about the future that you came from?”
Lucina shut the book and put it down, looking at him. In the flickering light of the lanterns and candles that barely illuminated the nightly tavern, her normally blue eyes were like flames.
“Kind of,” she said quietly. She briefly averted her gaze, and hesitated for a moment. Then she met his eyes again, and slowly said, “… I’m thinking about my friends.”
“That’s… hm, what were their names again… Owain and Laurent. Right?”
Lucina nodded. “They did most of the work. But really, everyone pitched in. Everyone who was left.”
“You did say that Miriel was the mother of one of your friends…” Shulk said slowly, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Are all of them children of the current Shepherds?”
Lucina nodded again. “Yes. Laurent is the son of Miriel, for example. He’s a lot like her, so I think you would get along with each other pretty well. And Owain… he is the son of Lissa and Lon’qu.” She paused for a moment. “Didn’t I tell you about this before?”
“This is my first time hearing it. I suppose between having to adjust to a whole new world and helping you on your mission, I never really thought to ask you about people that aren’t actually around.”
“I can see that,” Lucina said, chuckling quietly. “But… yes. Many of the Shepherds that you have met are the parents of my friends. I suppose fighting side by side, making it through life and death situations… that’s the sort of thing that can really push people together.”
Saying this, she gave Shulk something that he could only classify as A Look. Feeling his cheeks get warm, he averted his gaze. Thankfully, she said nothing more on that.
“So… I already know a bit about Laurent and Owain. But who else is there?”
“Them included, there are- hold on…” she paused briefly, and counted quietly. “…twelve in total. Do you really want me to tell you about all of them in detail? We would be here a while.”
“Maybe not everything this evening,” Shulk conceded. “But maybe you could at least begin? We could when we’re on the road again tomorrow.”
Lucina raised her eyebrows bemusedly. “Why the sudden interest?”
Shulk sighed. “It’s just… you already know so much about the people in my life. You have seen them for yourself in the memories that this A has shown to you. But I don’t really know anyone that is important to you, except for your parents.” He paused, considered what he had just said, and then added, “Kind of.”
“I suppose you’re right…” Lucina slowly said. She nodded. “I guess we have something to talk about these coming days, then. That should give us something to pass the time.”
“Oh, mind you! Only if you want to. And if it doesn’t bring up any painful memories.”
“Huh? Why should it?” Lucina asked, tilting her head.
Shulk hesitated. “I mean… your friends, they aren’t… aren’t they… you know…?”
Evidently, Lucina didn’t. She just furrowed her brows. “Aren’t what? Speak, Shulk! Or do I need to get somebody to interpret for me?”
“Oh, alright. Aren’t they dead?” he asked. Lucina’s eyes widened, and the confusion lifted from her face. Hastily, Shulk added, “I mean, since you haven’t really talked about them, and they aren’t with you, I thought-”
But before he could actually fully form a proper sentence, Lucina started to giggle.
“Ahh, I can see why you would think that. Uhm… sorry about that. I probably should have been clearer. No, as far as I know, they are still alive. They travelled back to the past together with me.”
“Then why…?”
“Transcending the bounds of time is a tricky business, even for the goddess Naga,” Lucina explained. “While she was able to guarantee that we would end up at roughly the time that we needed to, she was certain that we would not all end up at the same place, let alone at the same time. So… we made a decision. I alone would work towards changing, whereas all the others… they would simply make the most of where and when they ended up. After everything that we have lived through, I felt that they deserved to spend some time in just relative peace. Especially with the risk of us undoing our own existence with my mission.”
Shulk thought about this. “Do you know where they are, then?”
“How should I? I have been so focussed on my mission that I didn’t really have the time to search, let alone listen for clues on their whereabouts. And they practically swore that they would not search for me in turn.”
“But… we’ve had months where all we could do was wait for the next thing to happen. And you’re really content with just knowing that they are out there, but you can’t see them?” Shulk said in a quiet voice.
Lucina let out a small gasp. Whatever she was thinking now, he could not tell. “I… I have to be content with it. The world is not yet saved. I just can’t allow myself this kind of distraction. I mean, how would I know if something were to threaten father and the Shepherds while I was away, and unable to…”
Her voice faltered. The look on her face now made it clear that she had started to realise what it was she was actually arguing… and in what context. Before she could say anything else, Shulk reached out, and took her hands.
“Lucina… look. I’m truly grateful to have you, and I don’t want to part ways with you again for as long I’m here. But I am all alone in this world. Every person that has ever mattered to me is entirely beyond my reach right now. So to see you just ignore any chance that you have to find that matter to you… it doesn’t sit right with me. Please – once we have seen what this vision of mine is about. Let me help you find your friends!”
In the light of the candles and the lanterns, Shulk could see a wet shimmer in her eyes. When at last Lucina did react, it was something between a quiet laugh and a sob. She pulled out one of her hands from under his, and put it on them.
“How can I say no to that? Let’s do it, then. We’ll take this sword before they can get it, gather my friends, and then seize our destiny. That’s how you would put it. Right?”
“It’s how Dunban would put it, at least. But it’s not wrong! We’ll seize our destiny – together.”
The other patrons, who had been eyeing the two of them from the corner of their visions with some curiosity all nodded to each other sagely. They had been out of earshot of the two, but most of them who were at a tavern at this time of day were the ones all too familiar with this sort of sight. Even if in their own lives, this sort of spark was long since gone, they remembered all too well what it was like.
Accordingly, the villagers present had their own thoughts as to what the two would do once they withdrew for the night. Whether or not these thoughts were actually accurate was another matter.
Colony 9 - Dunban and Fiora's House
“Here ya go, Fiora. These should be enough for a start.”
“You know Reyn, you could have just put them down on the nightstand, instead of just tossing them on my bed…” Fiora said somewhat irritably.
“Eh, coulda,” Reyn conceded, scratching the back of his head. “But I figured that you’d want to get started right away, what with you still being stuck in bed for most a the day and whatnot.”
In spite of herself, Fiora grinned, and picked up the weight. “Well, you got that right, at least,” she said, and began lifting it with her right arm. Her atrophied muscles immediately felt like they were on fire, and she thought that she could barely get the thing off her bed, but still managed. She’d have a long road ahead of her.
“You’re wrong about me being stuck in bed, though,” she said conversationally as Reyn watched her proudly. “Sharla has been able to find a new remedy that’s working wonders. I just started taking it the other day, and I can already walk around just fine. Still not as much as I normally can, or would like to, but it’s progress.”
“Oh, thank Bionis for that. Can’t wait for you to be well enough to actually do stuff outside again,” Reyn said earnestly. “Much fun as it is to hang out with the guys from the Defence Force, I miss having you and Shulk around.”
Fiora hummed. On some level she really did appreciate that Reyn didn’t beat around the bush, and just freely mentioned Shulk. They both knew just how much the other missed him, and they also knew each other well enough to know that any mention of him wouldn’t get them all quiet and solemn. In a way, Reyn really was as much of a brother to her as Dunban was, even if in different ways.
“Hey, it’s the same for me. I’d really rather be out there and see this new world we’ve created with my own eyes, and not just sit around in here while I hope that you guys find the time to drop by,” she said, giving her right arm a pause and starting with the left.
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that…” Reyn mumbled sheepishly. “’s just, between all the reconstruction and work for the Defence Force… and… Sharla. I just don’t really find anywhere near as much time to drop as I’d like.”
“Oh? So you’re finally admitting that things are getting somewhere with you and Sharla?” Fiora asked teasingly. But before he had the chance to start stuttering and explain whatever his perspective on his relationship to Sharla was at the moment, Fiora decided to have mercy and just changed the topic. “Anyway… you could just join her the next time she comes by to do a check-up on me.”
“I mean, yeah. But… I dunno, that’d be weird.”
“If you’re that awkward about it, you could just turn your back while she’s doing the actual check-up! And it’s not like that always takes forever,” Fiora joked.
“Eh… fine, I’ll think about it.”
Fiora laughed. “Now that’s more like it! But… yeah, I get spending time with the Defence Force. As soon as I get better, I also wanna do my part for it.”
“Huh? I thought you were all against joining the Defence Force. Why’re you up for it now?” Reyn asked, furrowing his brow.
“Reyn…” she sighed, “do you still remember what things were like when I was so vehemently against joining?”
“’Course I do! That was after the Battle of Sword Valley, when Dunban was still recovering, an’ ol’ Square-Tache basically knocked in your door getting you to take his place. Kept goin’ on about how since Dunban could use the Monado, chances were that you could as well, ‘n all.”
“Right,” Fiora said… and left it at that.
The word hung awkwardly in the air… until it dropped on Reyn’s head like the proverbial penny. His expression lit up, and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head again.
“Right, right! Right. You had to take care of Dunban. Kept saying that since the Mechon were gone there was no pressin’ need for you to do anything, and that you didn’t want to risk him losin’ the last family he had. I remember.”
“See? You can work these things out if you put your mind to it.”
“Hey, can you blame me for having that slip my mind? Lotsa stuff has happened since then.”
“…No, I suppose I can’t,” Fiora conceded. “But… yeah. Dunban is up and about now, and even his arm seems to be getting a little better. And there’s no telling what sort of thing this new world has in store for us. I just want to do my part do defend it, since Shulk and the Monado aren’t here with us for now.”
“Yo, I was thinking the same thing! Actually…” he leaned in conspiratorially and continued in a whisper, “We still got these other Monado Replicas that Vanea built for Shulk. I been taking them to practice, but I just can’t seem to get the hang of ‘em.”
“You did?!” Fiora asked, pretending to be shocked. She still remembered all too well that Dunban had confided this exact thing to her just the other day… which was why she had brought it up in the first place. “Now that you mention it… once I’m in a shape to do it, I need to give them a try myself. Since I had Meyneth’s Monado for a while, I do have some experience at least.”
“Nice! Think you could help me, then?” Reyn asked eagerly.
“Sure! Actually, if you could bring them to me once I’m in good enough shape to train with a weapon again…?” she asked, letting the sentence trail off. But for Reyn, she had said enough.
“Aw yeah, I’d love to train together with ya! That’s gonna be awesome.”
“Then it’s a deal!” Fiora said, and raised her free hand to bump her fist against Reyn’s. He laughed heartily.
“Great. Y’know, I had considered askin’ Dunban about using the Monado Replicas, but I just got the feeling that he wouldn’t approve.”
Fiora said nothing, and just focussed on lifting the weights again. Reyn wasn’t wrong per se, but she thought it was better to not get too deep into what she did and didn’t know about the whole topic. Luckily for her, Reyn didn’t seem to suspect anything.
“So,” she said after a moment, “have you seen Riki and Melia recently? I haven’t really seen them since I got out of the chamber.”
“No surprise there,” Reyn said bemusedly, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair next to Fiora’s bed. “Riki’s got three whole new littlepon, and has been workin’ non-stop to get ‘em and all the other ones fed.”
“Mh. Yeah, I had heard about that. So nothing changed on that end. Is he even in the colony right now?”
“Hmm… don’t think so. Last I heard, he was back at Frontier Village.”
“Oh, that’s a shame…” Fiora sighed. “What about Melia, then? Last I heard, she was spending a lot of time with the High Entia survivors, but hasn’t revealed herself as their empress yet.”
Reyn nodded. “Yeah, that’s basically it, as far as I know. Gotta admit, I haven’t really seen her much myself either. Far as I can tell, she basically throwin’ herself at all kindsa work. If you ask me-”
“-she needs a break, but you don’t see her enough to pull her aside?”
“…Yeah!” Reyn said, raising his eyebrows. “How’d you know?”
“I had a hunch. Dunban basically said the same thing.”
“Ah. I see.” He paused. Then, he added, “It’s right, though… this all can’t be easy for her. We still got no idea where Alcamoth ended up, or any clue on how to turn them Telethia back. And then her father ‘n brother…”
Fiora nodded, and stared intently at the weight in her hands.
She really could not blame the others for not having the time to pull Melia aside. All seven of them were famous in the colonies, Frontier Village and the Machina Village, for having fought and defeated Zanza. Accordingly, all of them were heavily involved in all the various reconstruction efforts all over the world, leaving precious little time for themselves.
The only exception was Fiora herself.
So if no one else could do it… then she would have to be there for Melia.
Which was all the more reason to get her body into shape and leave the house again.
Colony 6 - Entrance
“And this should be the last of the Hode Planks. With this, we should be able to construct a few more sheds.”
“Ahh… thank you Miss Melia. If all survivors were as dedicated as you are, then I believe we would have built a new Alcamoth already,” Don Argentis said, directing some High Entia, Homs and Machina to unload the materials from the Armus that were carrying them. Melia meanwhile simply bowed.
“You overestimate my contributions, Sir Argentis. I am but another survivor doing her part. Without the Nopon Merchants trading with the Hodes, we would have been unable to secure the materials. I was merely acting as defence against potential monster attacks along the way.”
“Which is already more than most of us are capable of!” Don Argentis argued. “I have never been a fighter, and at this point I am too old to take up either blade or staff. Young folk like you, that can head out into the wilderness and gather the materials we need are vital indeed.”
“You are too kind…” Melia said in a small voice.
“Or perhaps you are too humble! Your parents truly had formidable foresight when they named you after the empress. You are a credit to the name.”
“I… thank you,” said Melia. Inside, her heart was screaming. But on the outside, she showed nothing at all. Being brought up as a member of the imperial bloodline had instilled in her the ability to keep her feelings to herself, an ability that she had come to value greatly.
“Now then,” Don Argentis said, clapping his hands. “I believe we should be able to take care of the rest. You must be exhausted from your travels. Why don’t you go to one of the restaurants? I can personally vouch for Talonyth – his cuisine is like a taste from home. It’s good enough to make you feel like you’re back at Alcamoth.”
Melia bowed again. “I shall consider your suggestion. Thank you.”
And with that, she headed further into Colony 6. Following its main street, she did head towards the Reconstruction HQ… but passed by Talonyth’s food stall without sparing it as much as a glance. Instead, she headed towards Hoko’s.
The last thing that she needed right now was to be reminded of Alcamoth.
It reminded her too much of everything else that she had lost.
Her father. Her brother. So many of her people. The city itself. And of course… Shulk.
It had all been well and good to tell herself that she had given up on him just before they went to face Zanza for their final battle. But just because her mind had made a decision, didn’t mean that her heart had gotten to that point as well.
She was not sure whether the fact that he currently was not anywhere in this world made this better or worse.
It was true, if he had been here, then he would be together with Fiora, and not her. But Fiora was a wonderful person, beautiful and kind. She would have deserved this. So to know that she was denied this joy as well… yes, perhaps it really did make this worse.
All Melia knew for certain was that she needed time for herself. Time to process things, time to come to terms with her feelings and her pain.
Whether doing that by isolating herself from her friends was a good idea or not… well, that was a different question. And one she also didn’t know the answer to.
It was as much an act of self-care then as it was a decision done for the sake of her people that she did not appear openly as the empress Melia Antiqua. With so much weighing on her mind and her heart, she could not in good conscience step out into the open and reveal herself as the hope of the High Entia. How could she be anyone’s hope, if she had none of her own?
The moment would come where she would fulfil her duty. Of that, there was no doubt in her.
But it would have to wait.
Wait while she remained incognito.
However long it took.
After her dinner at Hoko’s food stall, she headed to the room that Sharla had given her at the former Reconstruction HQ. It was a bit shabby, and hardly fit for an empress. But for right now… it was appropriate.
Chapter 3: Memories | Reunions
Summary:
Lucina tells Shulk about her friends while hanging after some memories.
Fiora and Reyn reunite with familiar faces.
Notes:
What's that? I need to give Lucina and Shulk something to do while they're on an uneventful journey? Perfect time for some flashbacks, I'd say!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
While they had travelled north together once before, this second time around really was not anything like the first time for Shulk. It figured, he supposed. When they had first been on this road, he had been in this world for less than a week, and was still completely overwhelmed by… just about everything, really. The fundamentally different ways in which it functioned, the endless sky with no titans in sight, the different climate… and of course, all while still getting to know Lucina and earning her trust. In all those regards, this journey was already completely different.
But even beyond these basic factors, things were just different this time. When they had last been here, controls at the border between Ylisse and Ferox were strict, and villages all over the place had lain abandoned, their inhabitants having evacuated from bandits and undercover soldiers from Plegia. Now however, all the villagers were back home, making Shulk and Lucina’s travels feel… a lot less tense.With no Risen or Mechon around, it was almost even peaceful. Accordingly, they also managed to cross the border without being stopped.
Shulk didn’t mind. Based on what his vision had shown him, they would find conflict again soon enough. So in the meantime, it was best to make the most out of this moment of respite.
Especially the opportunity to just talk.
Regna Ferox
On the road between the Longfort and Khadelis
“So…” Shulk slowly said. It was not too long after they had set out for the day, the sun only barely creeping over the horizon, and dyeing the snow-covered lands a blazing orange. In moments like these, even the deepest winter’s cold was bearable.
“Yes?” Lucina asked, pulling her cape higher up. It really was a poor substitute for a scarf, but it fulfilled its purpose well enough. There was no need to put on additional layers of clothing just yet.
“You said the other day that you would tell me about your friends later,” Shulk explained hesitantly. “Is now a good time?”
Lucina considered this. The road, although covered in snow and ice, was not so heavily snowed as to make traversal especially challenging. There were also no other travellers nearby… well, why not.
“Sure. I might as well,” she said with a nod. “Hm. I would ask if there’s anybody in particular that you want to hear more about, but… I suppose you only heard me mention Owain and Laurent so far, right?”
“I think so? At least I can’t think of any other name that you brought up that I can’t put a face to.”
“Right. Do you have any preference between the two? Someone you want to hear about first?”
Shulk considered this. “Well… you mentioned that Laurent is a lot like Miriel, right? How about you tell me more about him, then? I mean, I also somewhat know Lissa and Lon’qu, but nowhere near as well as I got to know her.”
“Mh. Well, I am perhaps not the best judge as to just how similar Laurent is to his mother, as I never got a chance to know her that well myself. But what I know about him is… he also takes a lot after his father, Frederick. He is deeply reliable, and was essentially the tactician of our group. Not because I appointed him to the position or anything, but because he tended to take on so many duties that it just naturally happened. Whenever we had a free moment – whenever he had a free moment, he dedicated himself to all sorts of research, always trying to find a way to make things easier for us. Help us find a way to survive, fight back against the Fell Dragon and its hordes. If it weren’t for him… I probably would have fallen long ago already.”
She paused. Wistfully, she stared at the road just in front of her as she kept walking forward. She was aware that Shulk was looking at her intently, waiting for her to continue. He said however nothing. And Lucina remembered…
Ylisstol Castle
Laurent's Study
The Future Past
“ Here you go,” Laurent said, handing her the notebook. The candle on his desk was nearly burnt down, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept for far longer than was healthy. But he also seemed content, smiling weakly.
“Thank you, Laurent. This… once we have transcended the bounds of time, this is going to be our greatest hope,” Lucina said solemnly, taking the notebook. Though it was small, it weighed heavy on her. Not in a physical sense, but rather in what it meant. This was the past. Every bad thing that had ever happened, every black day that had doomed not only Ylisse, but the rest of the world as well.
And it was what she would change. Starting as early as she could, doing as much as she could, all so that the future could be rewritten.
The moment was a bit undercut by Owain sitting on a nearby chair and snoring loudly. Lucina glanced at him affectionately.
“He spent the past couple of hours digging through all kinds of battle records. Not just from the Shepherds, but those from any military organization he could find. I don’ think he managed to get through all of them, but he must have managed the most important ones,” Laurent said by ways of explanation.
Lucina shook her head. “There is no doubt in my mind that he did everything he could to make sure we have all the information we need. You have done all that you could. Now, leave the rest to me.”
Laurent let out a deep breath. “As much as I longed to be free from these stuffy chambers, I have to admit that I am going to miss them. Not just them, but all the books.”
“It really is an extensive library. It’s a miracle that you managed to get through all of it in such a short timeframe,” Lucina noted, taking a look around. Every last wall of the chamber was covered with bookshelves, each of which was filled to the brim with all sorts of tomes and books. The only empty spots to be found were the ones caused by the various works strewn around the desks in the room. Even with night holding the world in its shadowy embrace outside, there was just something even darker about this room. The few candles around only added texture to the dark, rather than dispelling it.
“It is nothing compared to what we lost,” Laurent said, with a hint of bitterness in his tone. “These are just a few works that we managed to save from the Mage’s Guild, along with some of my mother’s research and reference materials. We are lucky that several recent chronicles were among them… I shudder to imagine what we would have done if there hadn’t.”
“Let us not needlessly darken the mood by thinking about what was lost, or how things could have been worse still. We have this now, and I shall make the most of it.”
“Please see that you do. And if it at all possible, try to not lose it along the way,” Laurent said with a slight hint of urgency. “Owain’s knowledge of the battles that our parents fought is remarkable. I have tried to include as much of them as I could in the notebook, but I was only able to cover so much. I would have let him do it, but… you know how he can be in his narrations.”
Lucina chuckled quietly. “That would have been all the more reason to do it. I might be able to use this kind of levity.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to do with the abridged version,” Owain suddenly said. Both Lucina and Laurent looked at him, stunned. Neither had noticed that he had stopped snoring. Owain meanwhile stretched on his chair, and let out a hearty yawn. “And if that isn’t enough, then you will just have to break our promise, and begin a new grand quest to search for a relative of sacred blood.”
“You know that we agreed on this for a reason, Owain,” Laurent noted sternly. “Due to the complex nature of history and time, there is no telling what even one thoughtless action could do. One person alone acting with this knowledge is all we need to-”
“Bring about the butterfly effect that we need to change the future,” Owain interrupted him. “Yeah, yeah, I have heard the explanation often enough. Doesn’t mean that my heart does not cry out in deepest anguish over it.”
“See it this way – once you’re a lone, travelling swordsman in the past, you will be able to forge a new legend of your own. Wouldn’t that make up for it?” Lucina suggested with a half-hearted smile.
“Hah. Owain Dark's name shall be muttered throughout the lands, don't you worry... but I would really rather know for certain that you others are alright.”
Both Lucina and Laurent remained quiet to that. He was only saying what they both felt. But all these things they had already discussed at length before. At this point, there was nothing more to be said. Though none of them had taken it well, they all had to agree that this was the only way they really could handle this.
“Well… I suppose I might as well say this now, while we have a moment of peace and aren’t rushing to leave yet,” Owain said after a moment. “If you ever feel particularly lonely, Lucina… look towards the end of the notebook. Me and the others have all left our own little messages for you there.”
“W-what?!” Laurent asked, aghast. “When did you do that?! We didn’t agree on this!”
Owain smirked. “I know you don’t want us to know about that, but you do also sleep, Sir Laurent of the hidden Tome Lore. And thus, with its master departed for the realm of slumbers, the dastardly Owain Dark took the grand Tome of History, and visited each close ally so that they may bear their hearts to the eagerly waiting pages! …It took some of them a bit to come up with something, but everyone contributed.”
Lucina just stood there, mouth slightly agape while she stared at Owain. She could feel something in her throat, as she got choked up…
“Oh for- well… since it didn’t take away any pages that we would have needed otherwise,” Laurent meanwhile said with a sigh.
“It didn’t. And we still do have everything that we need in there. So, no harm, right?”
“…I suppose,” Laurent said slowly. Then, he glanced at the notebook again. “Actually… may I?”
He took it from Lucina’s unresisting hands, and went back to his desk with it. There, he opened it towards the end, read over everything written there, and then grabbed a quill and ink. While Lucina watched him, he made his own contribution.
She still didn’t know what to even say. She had of course already heard that all the others had contributed what they could to fill in the gaps of history, no matter how little it was that they could offer. But to think that they also did that…
In her heart, Lucina wasn’t even sure whether she wanted to read it.
“Here you go. For real this time,” Laurent said after a moment, handing her back the notebook. Lucina still said nothing.
“See? I knew that was a good idea. Though our paths may part, we shall always be with you in spirit, Lucina!”
“…That I am counting on,” Lucina finally said. Then, she put away the notebook. “Let us go now. We need to prepare for our departure. And be on your guard – I don’t trust how quiet the Fell Dragon and its forces have been recently.”
Despite Owain’s words of encouragement, Lucina had never dared to look at these last few pages. Even as she and Shulk had gone separate ways, even after Aunt Emmeryn had fallen, Lucina had not faltered.
She was not even sure why. She still missed the others dearly, and desperately wanted to see them again. But… perhaps if she read their words, then it would only make their absence more real.
Though maybe now that she had started to make plans to search for the others, it was the right time to read them.
“Uhm… Lucina?” Shulk suddenly asked.
“Hm? Oh, sorry. Is something the matter?”
“It’s just… you have gone so quiet.”
“Ah. No, don’t worry. Just hanging after some memories.”
Pause.
“Bad ones?”
Lucina smiled. “Still not bad ones. Again, not bitter ones, but rather a longing for that which is lost.”
“…We don’t have to keep talking about your friends if you don’t want to, you know!”
“No, no, it really is fine,” Lucina assured him while laughing. “You said yourself that we are going to find them, right? So it’s only a matter of time until I see them again, anyway.”
Shulk said nothing to that, though she could tell that he was not happy about this response. Lucina meanwhile continued.
“So, Laurent. He’s a man of science, through and through. I think now that he’s here in the past… I would hope that he is following his passions, and pursuing whatever holds his interest at the moment. But knowing him… he probably won’t. Though it was his idea that me and my friends would keep our ways separate, I would not be surprised if he is himself working in the shadows to prevent this timeline from veering off towards destruction. There is actually a certain somebody that really rather reminds me of him…”
Saying this, she glanced at Shulk with a smirk.
“Is… that something good or something bad?” he asked slowly.
“Just take it as it is.”
Shulk briefly hummed, but gave no other response.
“Aside from him, Owain also did a lot to put together the notebook,” Lucina continued. “He’s deeply fascinated by legends and history, including that of the Shepherds. Growing up, he always took every excuse to hear the Shepherds talk about their battles… which became pretty useful when it became clear that we would try to change the past. He also has a… pretty colourful personality, always coming up with stories, shouting attack names, and yelling a lot. He just has a flair for the dramatic overall.”
“Sounds a bit like Reyn,” Shulk noted. Lucina put a hand to her chin and nodded.
“Based on what you told me about him, and what I have seen in the memories that A has shown me? I don’t think you’re wrong. Having the two in the same room together would certainly be a lot, at least.”
“Then I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing that that is unlikely to happen,” Shulk laughed. “But, alright. I have a rough idea of those two now. Who else is there?”
“Oh, there’s still several that I haven’t mentioned yet,” Lucina said, making a wide gesture with her hand. “There’s my brother, Inigo. And other than him… Severa, Cynthia, Kjelle, Gerome, Yarne, Brady, Nah, and Noire.”
There was a stunned silence. Then-
“I hope you don’t expect me to be able to remember all of them right away,” Shulk said. Then, he hastily shook his head and added, “No, actually – you have a brother?! I had no idea!”
Lucina laughed quietly. “I suppose there hadn’t really been an opportunity to bring it up before. You probably want to hear about him, then?”
“If you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. Inigo…”
She remembered.
Ylisstol Castle
The Prince's Chambers
The Future Past
“ Inigo. Wake up.”
“Hrngh… whu- wha? Luce… do you have to wake your dear little brother in the middle of the night?” Inigo asked with a yawn, trying half-heartedly to untangle himself from the mess that his sheets had become.
“You’ll have time enough to catch up on your sleep once we have returned to the past. I believe you will also sleep easier then,” Lucina said sternly, though unable to keep a bemused undertone out of her voice.
Inigo froze up. Slowly, he looked up at her, his Brand of the Exalt visible even by the light of the lantern. “So it’s time, then.”
Lucina nodded. “Almost. All preparations are made, and according to Lady Tiki, the Divine Dragon is gathering what remains of her power. If all goes well, we will be able to depart before daybreak.”
“Depart, never to return…” Inigo mumbled, now finally able to get out of his sheets. Though even now, he did not get up.
“I know. But… at least it isn’t like we will arrive in unfamiliar lands. The world will still be the same, even if it is nothing like what we will leave behind.”
“Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to make others smile! You’re stealing my thunder!” he said, playfully jabbing Lucina in the stomach.
Lucina laughed quietly. “My apologies. But I am also our mother’s child – even if you have inherited more of her talents, I suppose I’m also a bit of an entertainer.”
“Well, at least I got you to smile as well. Anyway… I guess I better check if I have everything that I wanted to take with me,” he said, climbing out of bed.
“Do you have mother’s ring?”
“Of course. As if I could ever forget it,” said Inigo, tugging at a necklace that he was wearing across his neck. As it was raised, it pulled out an ornate-looking ring from underneath his nightshirt. “Are you… are you sure that you don’t want it?”
Lucina shook her head. “I already have father’s ring, as well as Falchion. I can’t take all the mementos of our parents for myself.”
“Yes you could! You have the far more important mission between the two of us, so you need everything that can make you smile.”
“But that mission means that I actually get to see father and mother. You, on the other hand…”
Inigo sighed. “Yeah, I guess I better stay clear of them. With too many people with the exact same shade of blue for their hair colour as father, it’s bound to get some people suspicious.”
“Which is why you need to have your own mementos.”
“Alright, alright, I get it… thanks, Luce,” he said in a small voice. More quietly, he added, “Maybe I could even dye my hair, so that it is like mother’s…”
“Now that I’d love to see,” Lucina laughed. Yet after she had done so, she fell quiet. As he was packing his bag, Inigo gave her a questioning look.
“Actually… there was something else that I still wanted to talk to you about,” she said hesitantly.
“…What? What’s the matter?” Inigo asked, a hint of rising panic just barely audible in his tone.
Eschewing a verbal response, Lucina reached for the sheathed Falchion. Slowly, she pulled out the blade, and then held it out for her brother.
“I have realized that we… never actually tested whether or not you can use Falchion,” she explained. “Should I fail… and should it cost me my life...we need to know if there is somebody else who can take up the sword in my place.”
Inigo gave her a mortified look.
“You can’t ask this of me,” he said, just barely shaking his head.
“I must!” she shot back. “I am only one person, and I can only do so much. We need to know if you can take up the mantle!”
“No!” Inigo snapped. “Why does it matter now? The Divine Dragon said that we are inevitably going to get separated, anyway. Do you- do you expect me to track you down, just in case I might find your corpse?!”
“I expect you to find me while I still draw breath, and then step up if need be!”
“But we and the others already said that it would be downright impossible to find each other. How do you expect me to manage it and arrive at just the right time?!” Inigo asked, his voice cracking.
Lucina shook her head. “We must find a way. We are the last of the line of the Exalt, so this burden is ours.”
“Oh, so did you ask Owain as well? As our cousin, he should be just as capable.”
“I have not yet, but I still will,” Lucina stated firmly. “Why are you so against this? Would this not be a boon to your efforts in wooing people? A lone swordsman, the last of his bloodline, wielding a sacred sword…”
“Don’t. Nobody would know who I am or what this sword is, anyway. That’s the entire point of how you planned this,” Inigo flatly stated. “And I don’t want to think about you dying , Lucina! This sword is already a memento of father. Please don’t make it a memento of you as well.”
And that was that. Lucina knew not what else to say. Strong though she knew the feelings of duty to be, they paled in comparison to the simple pain of loss. Of that which no longer is.
Without a word, she sheathed Falchion.
Inigo still stood there, staring defiantly at her with a wet glimmer in his eyes and his hands balled into fists.
Once at the door, she paused once more. She wanted to say something. Apologize. Continue to explain herself. Promise that she would live. Or even just announce that she would leave him to his packing. Just say anything , really.
But no words came.
And it wound up being the last time they spoke before they all made a hasty retreat to the past.
“…He also takes every opportunity he gets to chase after pretty girls. Or boys for that matter, he really isn’t picky in that regard. Chasing them metaphorically, of course.”
Shulk blanked. Now that was the type of person that he had never come across. He briefly wondered if he himself would also be subject to that, should him and Inigo meet. But as quickly as it came, he buried the thought again. This wasn’t what was important right now.
“That’s a bit of a surprise. I wouldn’t have thought that a prince would be… like that. And your brother, too!”
“Hah… he once told me that he started doing it because of mother,” Lucina said.
“…Because of your mother? How come?”
Lucina crossed her arms and looked skyward. “You wouldn’t know it from just meeting him, but Inigo is really rather shy. In that regard, he takes a lot after mother. So she once told him that the best way to get around this is to just put yourself out there – be as forward as possible, be kind to people, just make yourself agreeable. Somewhere along the way, it got twisted in his head to mean that he should flirt with anyone that catches his eye. But… even with all his philandering, he still wants to make everyone smile. That’s another way in which he takes after mother.”
“You must love him a lot,” Shulk noted quietly, watching her.
Lucina met his glance and chuckled. “He is the only family I have left. I mean… if you want to be technical, then father and mother are still alive at this point in time. But they’re not really the same people, since they need to live through a lot of experiences before they can be the parents I knew.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “But… yes. He means a lot to me. I don’t think there’s a single person in the world who knows me better. He may drive me up the wall a lot, especially when I have to deal with the results of his latest attempts to woo whoever his heart has set its sight on this time. But… that’s just family. I have always looked out for him and protected him. And now… he’s out there on his own.”
“I am sure he is fine,” Shulk said reassuringly, aware of just how hollow it might sound. But, it was also the only thing he could think of to say. “Hah… sometimes I wish I had siblings.”
“Are Reyn and Fiora not like that to you?” Lucina asked.
“Mh… sort of? We did grow up together. But I don’t really feel about them like I do with family. Especially with Fiora-” He cut himself off. Then, he glanced at Lucina, felt himself go red, and then hastily looked away again.
“Er. You’ve seen my memories… you know…”
“…Ah,” Lucina said awkwardly. There was a whole conversation that they would still need to have.
But not right now.
“Anyway! I actually once told Fiora and Dunban that I wish I had siblings like them. And you wanna know what she said?”
“Uhm. Sure!” Lucina said, clearly happy to just change the topic.
“She said that I’m basically already there baby brother. Baby brother!” said Shulk recalling all the indignation that he had felt at the moment, and still felt to this day. It had the intended result – Lucina laughed.
“So you’re younger than Fiora? You never mentioned that!”
“Why should I? It’s not that important, and she’s only about four months older than me, anyway. It really doesn’t matter!”
“Are you sure it doesn’t? Because otherwise, it probably wouldn’t be such a touchy subject for you…” Lucina teased.
“No. It really doesn’t matter.”
Lucina laughed some more. And even if the reason for it wasn’t to Shulk’s liking, the sound of it still made his heart flutter. As long as he could make her happy, that was all that mattered.
“Well, I can’t speak for how you feel,” she said after her laughter had died down, “But to me that does sound a lot like the sorts of things that happened between me and my brother. So in that regard, I would say that you do have a family.”
Shulk grunted, but said nothing to that. Then he remembered something.
“Speaking of family… you mentioned before that only members of yours can actually use your sword. Can your brother?”
Lucina exhaled sharply. Shulk looked to her in concern, but only saw her staring straight ahead. For a moment, the only sounds between them were the crunching of snow beneath their boots, leaving him to wonder if he had perhaps said something wrong. Then-
“I don’t know,” she stated briskly, her tone not necessarily chilly, but still one that left no doubt that this conversation was over. While Shulk never had considered him good at picking up the more subtle cues that people put in their words and actions, he knew Lucina well enough by now to at least pick up that. And so, he kept quiet.
If only he had any idea what it was that he had said!
Some time later, they passed by a farmer or some other kind of agricultural worker driving a carriage. In an act of kindness, he stopped and asked if they were also heading towards Khadelis. Since it was in the direction that they were heading in anyway, the said yes. Shortly thereafter, they found themselves on the back of the carriage, resting their weary feet.
They didn’t speak for a while, preferring to instead hang after their own thoughts.
Colony 9
Military District
“Five… six…” Reyn slowly counted. Fiora paid him no mind. Her arms were trembling, her muscles ached and protested, and yet she pushed herself further. This couldn’t be everything. She had to be capable of more!
“Seven…!” Reyn slowly said…
And Fiora collapsed.
“Hey, that was pretty good!” Reyn cheered encouragingly. Fiora eschewed a verbal response and just grunted, before rolling over so that she lay on her back. Even if she was wearing a sports bra, laying on her stomach was not particularly comfortable.
“Need a hand?” asked Reyn somewhat bemusedly. Grunting again, she opened her eyes and rolled over her head, seeing him already reach out for her. After gathering some energy for a moment, Fiora took his hand and found herself pulled up with enough force for her to almost immediately go from laying to standing. For a second, she was so shaky on her feet that she almost feared that she would collapse again, but then managed – with Reyn’s help – to at least stagger over to a nearby bench that she then did collapse on.
“Thanks for that,” she finally managed to say. “I really would have hoped that I had more in me already.”
“Ey, don’t beat yourself up over this! You’re doing great already. There’re plenty of folk who couldn’t do a single push-up.”
“I guess. It’s just… I used to be able to do more,” Fiora said in a tone which she realized must have just sounded like whining. She didn’t care. After being stuck at home for so long she had a bloody right to complain, damn it.
“’s still more than ya probably should do. I know Sharla and Dunban are gonna give me an earful when they hear that I helped you with this,” Reyn joked, gently nudging her in the side with his elbow.
Fiora laughed. “Oh, Dunban definitely. But the way I judge her, Sharla is probably just going to be a bit miffed at best. She did say that I should be good to increase my physical exercises some more.”
“Yeah, but I don’t s’pose she meant that you should go for my moms’ old trainin’ regiment,” Reyn joined in on the laughter.
“Hey, it could be worse! I could be doing what old Vangarre made out of what the two of them cooked up.”
Reyn shuddered. “Oh, don’t jinx it. We’re lucky that we managed to get into the Military District without the colonel or any of the guys noticing. If old Square-tache sets his sights on you, I’ll never hear the end of it. Dunban’s gonna go spare.”
Fiora grinned. “Then we’ll just have to leave before he gets back from whatever mission he is on. But honestly, even if he does spot me, I don’t think it’ll be that bad. Unlike back then, we no longer need to find a new wielder for the Monado.”
“Mh. Thank the stars for that. Between you, Dunban, ‘n me, I’m sure we’d be able to find someone who could use it, but it’s better if we don’t have to.”
Fiora hummed. She still wasn’t at a point where she could try to use any of the Monado replicas that Reyn had managed to get his hands on… but she hoped that it wouldn’t be too long. Like he had said, there wasn’t a pressing need for it right now, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
With her breathing long since steadied, she took her bottle and took a deep sip. The water was a blessing for her parched throat… or, Water, the source of all life! as Melia put it whenever she summoned an according ether elemental.
Quietly, Fiora sighed. She still hadn’t seen Melia, and from everything that she had heard, she still wasn’t back in the colony. Wherever she was, Fiora could only hope that she was fine.
“Hey,” Reyn suddenly said. “Where do you think Shulk and the Monado are right now? Or… nah, better question is, what are they doing?”
Fiora paused and stared straight ahead. As if she knew any better than Reyn… they just had no way of knowing. She still remembered all too well how they had found out about what had happened to Shulk…
Gaur Plain
In a new world
“ Shulk! SHULK!” she shouted, wandering around aimlessly the plain. Around her, Reyn, Dunban, Sharla, Riki and Melia were all doing the same, shouting and searching.
All to no avail.
It couldn’t be. They had defeated Zanza, and had recreated the world together. Though they were on what seemed to be Gaur Plain, there no longer were any titans looming overhead, and the sun was slowly wandering across the sky.
But Shulk was nowhere to be found.
After a while all six of them gathered again, having drifted apart to search more easily. Even now, they were none the wiser.
“The important thing for us to do now is to remain calm,” Dunban said, unable to keep his voice from being tense. “Just because we cannot find Shulk doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with him.”
“Yes… you are right. The world has been born anew. Perhaps it merely stranded him apart from us,” Melia offered, radiating a sheer calmness that Fiora could not help but to envy.
“Where is he then?! He was the one who got that third Monado, so you’d think that he’d be the one who was in control of stuff like that?” Reyn scoffed.
“Ohhh, maybe Shulk went back to colony ahead of Riki and sidekicks. Went to prepare big feast to celebrate, and made it surprise!”
“As if, fuzzball. Shulk wouldn’t do that sorta thing. Even if he ain’t above playing pranks, that’s just not the sorta thing he’d do.”
“Hah! Riki not see Reyn come up with better explanation! Until Riki know for certain, prefer not to think of answer that makes frowny-frowns.”
“Oh, stop it, Reyn,” Sharla interjected before Reyn could yell at the Heropon some more. “Riki is right in some regards. Until we know for certain, there’s no point in imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios on what could have happened to him.”
“But that still doesn’t answer the big question. Where is Shulk?” Fiora said in a quiet voice…
And got an answer.
“I am afraid that any search for him will be a futile endeavour. At present, Shulk is no longer in this world at all.”
Everyone whirled around. Standing there, just a short distance behind Fiora, was Alvis. No one had seen them come, no one knew how they had appeared. They just stood there as if they had been there all along.
“You-!” Reyn began, stomping towards them-
But Fiora was faster.
“What do you mean by this?! Where is he?! Did you dispose of him on behalf of Zanza?” she yelled, metal fingers grabbing Alvis by the fur-brimmed coat of the jacket and lifting him off the ground.
The only reason she didn’t slam them against a wall was because there was none behind them.
But Alvis remained unphased.
“You are correct in your assumption that Shulk no longer being in this world is my doing,” they calmly explained. “But you are entirely wrong in assessing my reasons for doing it. I have not done this on Zanza’s behalf, but rather to ascertain his demise.”
“What’re ya playing at? We all saw Shulk cut ‘im down with that new Monado. Are you tellin’ us that Zanza’s still alive after that ?” Reyn asked incredulously.
“Reyn, calm down. Fiora, you as well. Let them down. Getting agitated will clearly get us nowhere,” Dunban ordered with cool restraint.
Fiora glared at Alvis for a moment longer. Then, giving Dunban an unhappy look over her shoulder, she let them go. Somewhat disappointingly, they landed on their feet, managing to maintain their balance just fine.
“Harrowing though it may be, Zanza is indeed still alive, Reyn,” Alvis said, as if nothing had happened.
“So are you telling us that everything that we have done was pointless? That he is still going to follow his plans to destroy us all?” Melia asked.
Alvis shook their head. “No. What has happened is that as Shulk was landing what should have been the finishing blow on Zanza, Zanza realised what fate awaited him. And though the Monado I bestowed upon Shulk gave him a power greater than Zanza’s, Zanza still had his own power. Using it, he escaped to another world – one that I have also sent Shulk into, so that he may finish what he has started.”
There was a pause as everyone took in what Alvis had said. Then-
“ You bestowed the Monado upon Shulk? What or who are you, Alvis? You cannot be a mere royal seer, or even a disciple of Zanza,” Melia asked as the first to break the silence, vocalising what everyone was thinking.
Alvis nodded slowly. “I have already explained this to Shulk, but you deserve to know as well.”
Alvis explained. Everyone else listened. All about how they had been there at the beginning, and how they had just proclaimed the end. About how Zanza used to be a mortal man, until a simple curiosity had made him and Meyneth something more.
And about how they wanted to give this world a future, hence the plan to pursue Zanza to whatever world he ended up in.
By the time that Alvis was done with their explanation, everyone had fallen silent once more.
They left soon thereafter, vanishing as suddenly as they had appeared.
Colony 9
Military District
“The only thing we can know for certain,” Fiora finally said, “is that wherever he is, Shulk is not done with his mission. Otherwise he would be back already.”
“Mh,” Reyn hummed. “’s a weird thought, honestly. To think that we’re out here living our life, all while Zanza’s still out there somewhere, probably plotting his revenge.”
“Yeah, but… I think we’re probably not in any real danger. I mean, according to Alvis, it was them who granted Zanza the power he has. So if they turn against him… must be not a whole lot, he can do, right?”
“I guess. And it’s not like there’s anybody else like Alvis who could give it back to him.”
They both fell silent. The sun shone down on them, but in the midday heat, neither of them really felt like searching for a place with shade. Before long, it would move behind the fortress, anyway.
…It was still weird, getting used to a non-static sun.
After a while, Fiora started to feel restless. But just as she was about to ask Reyn to continue her workout, something else demanded their attention.
“Here you are! We’ve been looking all over for you!” a sudden shout came, from a voice that both of them knew all too well. And sure enough: from the entrance of the military district, Sharla came jogging towards them, Dunban in tow.
Fiora tensed up, unable to keep herself from feeling guilty. This was precisely the meeting that she had wanted to avoid… and from Reyn tensing up next to her, she could tell that she was not alone in this.
“What were you doing here?” Sharla asked, as she reached them. Feeling caught, Fiora awkwardly avoided eye contact, while Reyn provided an ever helpful “Uh”.
“Isn’t it obvious? Fiora snuck out to get some fresh air, and do a workout once she was already at it. And when it comes to workouts, who better to supervise them than Reyn?” Dunban said matter-of-factly.
Sharla sharply turned her head towards him, and then looked back at Fiora. “Is that true?”
Fiora’s head dropped. “…Guilty as charged.”
Sharla sighed. “As long as you aren’t pushing yourself beyond what your body can handle… but that means that your next check-up will have to come sooner.”
“Got it,” Fiora said, feeling like she got off very lightly – so lightly that she was near certain that something else had to be up.
“Here, why’re you so calm about this, Dunban? I thought you’d go spare if you caught Fiora sneakin’ out!” Reyn meanwhile asked.
Dunban chuckled quietly. “I think after how focused I was on wanting to use the Monado again while I was still recovering, I don’t think I have any right to criticize here when it comes to this.”
“Oh, you really don’t!” Fiora said firmly. In response, Dunban laughed some more.
“See? But there’s more to it as well. If we’d launch into a lecture now, it would only distract from our special guest.”
“…Special guest? Who’d that-” Reyn asked, only to be interrupted by an orange round shape launching itself right at his face, knocking him out of the bench.
“Reyn still not think fast? Will never be a good sidekick to Heropon at this rate!”
“Riki?!”
In the first moment of shock, Fiora had practically jumped off the bench. Now that she could however take in the situation, she was met by the sight of Riki sitting firmly on Reyn’s chest, while her friend was rubbing his nose and groaning.
“Hello Fiora! Time for sad and lonely is over, for Heropon is finally back!” he said with a look over what counted for a shoulder with a Nopon. Next to her, Dunban and Sharla laughed.
“Oh, there you are!” another voice that Fiora recognized suddenly came – this one belonging to Juju. “When you didn’t come back to the meeting spot, I figured that you must have found them, so we decided to come as well.”
Fiora looked over to where his voice had come from. Sure enough, there was Sharla’s brother… and with him, several other Nopon.
“Urgh… what’s all this, then? What’s the occasion for me gettin’ a face full of fuzzball?” Reyn groaned, getting up with no regard for the Heropon on his chest. Riki, for his part, simply rolled off.
“Riki got prrrromotion!” the Heropon trilled. “No longer just Heropon, or just second true Heropon in Nopon history. Chief Dunga finally recognize Riki’s greatness. Is now official ambadassador of Nopon to Hom-Hom, bird people and machine people!”
“Really? That’s great!” Fiora cheered, clapping her hands. “But… er, what does it mean, exactly?”
“It mean Riki now get to stay with friends in colony. And gets to bring along wifeypon and children!” saying this, he took Fiora’s hand with his wing, and waddled her towards the other Nopon and Juju. Reyn, seemingly feeling like he had no choice, followed them.
“Riki never introduced, yes? Fiora, meet wifeypon Oka! And , new littlepon. Riku, Oki, and Kino.!”
While he was talking, he walked past the adorably furry line-up of his family, including Oka, who was holding two tiny Nopon babies… and a green Nopon that looked to be around ten years old, and was hiding behind his adoptive sister.
“Great, now I’ll never get a moment of peace from all the fuzzballs…” Reyn grumbled.
“Come on, don’t be like that. We all know that you actually like this,” Sharla teased him from behind. In response, Reyn just pouted at her.
“Oh, this is fantastic! This is the first time in months that all-…” she interrupted herself and trailed off. No matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t right. “…That almost all of us have been together. We should get something to eat together!”
That was met with general agreement. How exactly they were going to feed twenty-two people was something that they would just have to figure out, because Fiora was resolute on the fact that she would not cook. After having done a workout, she really wasn’t in the condition for it.
Let alone the mood. Because no matter how you looked at it, they were not all together for once. They couldn’t be – not with Shulk the stars know where.
And Melia aiding the reconstruction efforts all on her own.
Colony 6
“Ah, Melia. Good to see you,” said Don Argentis, as she was approaching the old High Entia sitting on the bench. Though he had taken on a sort of unofficial leadership position among the High Entia that lived in Colony 6, it was not one that kept him occupied at all time. On his daughters’ urging, he did still take frequent breaks, which he tended to spend in much the same way as he had while the colony was still being reconstructed.
But even so, he was better suited to the task than Melia felt herself being.
“A good morning to you,” she said, coming to a halt in front of him. “Are there any tasks that I could help with?”
Don Argentis leaned back, letting his gaze wander skyward. “You really are eager to do your part for the survivors, I see,” he noted.
“We all have our duties. Both to those that did not survive, and to those who must now inherit the future.” she stated.
“I am in full agreement with you on that,” Don Argentis said. “But with how many tasks you have already fulfilled on your own, I am starting to fear that you may wear yourself thin. A young lady of your age should not work herself to the point of collapse, even in these circumstances.”
Melia shook her head. “I am well aware of my own limitations, Sir Don Argentis. I would not be taking on these quests if I deemed them to be beyond my capabilities.”
The old man gave her a calculating look. Melia’s face however remained entirely impassive.
“If you say so, then I shall not argue with you. The stars know we need every hand.” He paused and seemed to be thinking about something. Then, he continued, “There is actually something that I think you could do.”
“Do let me hear it. I will perform anything that needs to be done.”
Don Argentis grunted. “We still don’t know where all the survivors are. Most that had initially evacuated to the old Colony 6 Refugee Camp near Gaur Plain have already come to the colony, but based on what I have heard, not all of them. It seems that some have gone as far as Colony 9 – and we do not know who. Could you be so kind as to head to the colony, and see how many survivors are there, and who exactly?”
Melia hesitated. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that this was deliberate on the part of the old man. Of course he knew the others, but there was no way he could have known that most of them were from Colony 9… or that they would most likely be there right now.
Just like how he could not have known that she was currently avoiding the colony. Not for any fear of seeing the others, but because she wanted, needed time for herself.
But if Don Argentis didn’t know, she also did not want him to learn – and turning down the quest was one way in which he would inevitably come to know.
“…Of course. I shall make preparations, and depart as soon as possible.”
It seemed like she was going back to Colony 9 earlier than expected.
Notes:
I really feel like I have been neglecting the rest of the second generation way too much during the first part of this fic. While that of course makes sense since they weren't, y'know, AROUND, there were still some opportunities where I could've had Lucina think of them some more. Hence why she didn't actually read the messages at the end of her written timeline - I literally thought of those while writing this chapter. But that timeline is something I should have used more in general, given what I wanted it to represent for her. . .
Well, maybe one day I'll make some more extensive edits to the (Re)Written parts of this fic. For now however NO LOOKING BACK JUST KEEP ON GOING WOOOOOOH-!
Chapter 4: Encouragement | Heartache
Summary:
Lucina and Shulk are getting to the last part of their journey towards the ancient ruins from his vision.
Melia travels back to Colony 9, while Fiora begins a particular kind of training.
Notes:
Welcome to "I wanted to get more story progress done, but then I got caught up in doing too much character writing": The Chapter. I wrote the Bionis parts of this chapter before the Ylisse ones, had those get a bit out of hand, and when I did finally get around to the parts with Shulk and Lucina, the chapter quickly reached a length that I felt was pushing it for just one chapter. So, any plans I had of featuring one more flashback from's Lucina's side and having her and Shulk actually arrive at Furia/Thabes will have to wait until next chapter.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Khadelis, Capital of Regna Ferox
Gotoh's Rest Inn
Although Regna Ferox had officially partaken in the war between Ylisse and Plegia, its lands had not become scene to any of the battles that were fought during it, even as the Shepherds had retreated there after failing to rescue Lady Emmeryn. As such, when Lucina and Shulk laid eyes on its capital Khadelis again for the first time in months, the city was much the same as the last time that they had been there. Even being here in the dead of winter didn’t make much of a difference – it had already been far too cold last time, and it was far too cold this time.
With the temperatures being what they were, both of them were only all too glad to seek out an inn to at least spend the night. While their journey had given them frequent opportunities to rest, finding actual warm places to stay the night was another matter, and hadn’t usually gone as well. They had never spent a night outright freezing, but there were more than a few that still had been chilly.
The inn in Khadelis that they chose at, by contrast, was warm . The people in the city knew well how to deal with the cold, and were doing so so efficiently that Shulk kind of regretted still not having to actually learn more about the ways in which they heated. But they were here on a mission, and even if they were not sure how much time they had left, it was best to not waste any to indulge his curiosity.
And so, not long after arriving at the city, they had already eaten a cheap but filling dinner, and already retired to their room for the night.
(Which had two beds. They were not going to have this conversation yet.)
As he lay in his bed Shulk looked over to Lucina. After how abruptly she had talked about her brother the other day, she had very quickly returned to her usual kind behaviour towards him. He was not exactly sure what to make of that, but had decided that his one big takeaway would be to not bring up her brother. If she was going to talk about him, it would not be something that she started, not him.
Thankfully, there were other topics to talk about.
“So…” he slowly said, “I know about some of your friends now. But there’s still a whole bunch of them that I don’t really know anything about.”
Lucina made a noise to acknowledge that she was listening. Rather than pushing the matter though, he decided that it was best to just wait until she said something.
Lying on her bed, Lucina thought about her friends. She was not against talking with Shulk some more before resting for the night, but she was a bit uncertain who to tell him about next. Inigo had been an obvious one as her brother. Owain as her cousin had similarly been an obvious one to mention, especially with his work on the timeline, which also brought in Laurent. But beyond that… who to talk about next?
Suddenly, a random thought crossed her mind and she started to smile. Yes… out of all her friends, there was only one who would be really angry if she wasn’t mentioned sooner rather than later. So best to give her her dues – even if she would be unhappy to come only fourth.
“There’s Severa,” Lucina began. “She is the daughter of Cordelia and Stahl, but… if you ever met her, you’d only really hear about her mother. With how perfect Cordelia always was with everything that she did, Severa always got compared to her, growing up. She still has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about that… and she can be quite temperamental in general. But she’s also a fierce and loyal fighter, and… actually? In her own way, she is a bit to me what Frederick is to father.”
Lucina paused. And her mind once again went back to that night before their departure…
Ylisstol Castle
Corridors
The Future Past
Ylisstol castle lay eerily silent as Lucina made her way through its nightly corridors. The hordes of Risen, which were normally relentless in their attacks, had been worryingly quiet lately. There was no telling what the Fell Dragon was planning, but its wicked mind hell-bent on destruction was beyond any doubt preparing for something. This was merely the calm before the storm.
But it could not have been aware of their plans to travel to the past, could it? No… that was far too unlikely. The more reasonable explanation was that this was a last gathering of forces before the finishing blow against humanity. Their numbers had dwindled severely. While the chances of survivors still being out there was not non-existent, it was slim. And once Ylisstol fell, then any hope left for them had truly departed this world.
Lucina’s grip around the notebook, already firm, grew tighter still. This really was their last hope. It wasn’t long now. Owain and Laurent had already gotten themselves and their belongings to the courtyard, and Inigo was sure to follow them soon. She should have been irked that none of the others had gotten to the meeting spot yet, but she knew how heavy their hearts must have been this night. After all, hers was as well.
As she wandered the empty corridors of the castle, she relived memories with every step that she took. Many were sad. Some had been good in the moment, but long since turned bittersweet at the loss of those that were no longer with them. But even with all those, some still remained that were undeniably happy. And for the sake of all her memories, she could not give up her determination.
At last, Lucina reached her first goal. With how few of them were left, all of them had taken residence in Ylisstol castle. It was perhaps the most secure spot left in the world at this time. The only downside was… that along with the freedom of having so much space to so many people, some of them had taken residence in chambers that lay further apart from the others. And Severa, ever a person to value her own space, was one of them.
“Come on in!” came the muffled response upon Lucina knocking at the door. Bemused, she raised eyebrows – it really was a special night if Severa just told somebody to come in with no caveats or prior argument.
What she saw inside was, quite frankly, a mess. All of Severa’s various belongings were strewn all over the place, with the woman herself a red-headed whirlwind going through them all. Some things she discarded by simply tossing them out of sight, some she inspected for a moment only to put them down again, and some she put in her bag. From the looks of it, she must have been at it for a while already.
Yet when she saw who visited her, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared.
“Lucina,” she said breathlessly, locking eyes with her. Lucina smiled at her, waiting for her to say something else. Severa’s gaze meanwhile flickered down at the notebook in Lucina’s hands.
“Laurent and Owain are done with it, then…” she stated more than she asked. There was something in her tone, and something in the look of her that Lucina could not quite place. But it was something heavy. She figured that it must have been the severity (hah) of the implications. If the timeline was written down, then it could not be long before their departure.
Lucina nodded. “Yes. They are already at the meeting spot, so I am going around to gather everyone.”
“And you stopped by here first?” Severa asked, sounding almost hopeful in a way.
“Of course. Would you want me to go to anyone else first?” Lucina questioned bemusedly in return.
“Obviously not, dummy! As if anyone else would be more important to me,” the shorter woman huffed, turning away with a pout.
There was a pause in which Lucina was uncertain on what to say. Before she could however think of anything, Severa hesitantly continued, “Did… did you already… look at it?”
Lucina shook her head. “I haven’t had the time yet. I think that it will have to wait until we have travelled to the past.”
In front of her, Severa visibly deflated. “…Ah.”
“Don’t worry though, Owain already told me that you and the others left messages for me at the end. I will…” she trailed off. Would what? Even if every single one of her friends had left her the most heartfelt message in the world, Lucina already knew that she would not look at them for some time. The knowledge of being truly separated from everyone else, with every one of them on their own would be too real, cut her too deep.
Even if these messages were the one thing she would actually have of them.
“I will draw strength from them,” she finally said.
“Yeah, you better…” Severa muttered, somehow managing to deflate even more. Starting to feel confused, Lucina furrowed her brow. What was the matter with her?
“Are… you alright?” she asked, taking a step towards the redhead. Instantly, Severa whirled around.
“O- of course! It’s just… starting to settle in that we’re really leaving, is all,” she hastily said, holding her hands out. Lucina stopped in her tracks.
“Ah… yes, I can understand that. The burden of leaving everything behind to take a chance upon doing the impossible, not knowing whether changing the past will erase our existences… believe me, it all weighs heavily on me as well.”
Severa laughed nervously. “Then I hope it doesn’t get to you! You are the one who’s supposed to be changing the future for us.”
Lucina nodded solemnly. “I swear that I will not falter under any circumstances. The future is not written.”
Glancing at her from the corner of a vision, Severa let out a deep sigh. Then, she visibly braced herself. “C’mere…”
Saying this, she pulled Lucina into a hug. Being about a full head shorter than her, this meant that Severa was resting her head against Lucina’s shoulder, but this did not seem to bother the redhead. For Lucina’s part, her eyes widened – and after a moment, she also hesitantly put her arms around the shorter woman.
“Listen. You’re the strongest, smartest, and most charismatic person of all of us. If any of us can do it, then it’s you. Even without those stupid messages that we left for you.”
“…Thank you, Severa,” Lucina said, letting out a breath that she had not known she was holding and pulling away from the hug. In the light of the lantern and candles illuminating the chambers, she almost thought that the redhead was blushing.
“…Think nothing of it,” Severa said, sounding just a bit choked up. With a more confident tone she then added, “Now go to the others! I won’t take much longer to pack, but I can only do it if you’re not standing in the way.”
Lucina smiled. “Alright. See you in a bit, Severa.”
And with that, she left. Had she been able to observe Severa for a bit longer, she would have been able to see her take a pillow from her bed and scream into it.
Within their room at the inn, Shulk and Lucina remained quiet for a moment. The sole candle they had lit flickered lazily.
“This Severa sounds like a… very energetic person,” Shulk said diplomatically.
“She can be a lot, yes. And she does tend to have trouble getting along with the others,” Lucina admitted, staring wistfully at nothing in particular. “But… she’s also one of my most loyal allies. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today. She has already saved my life several times.”
“That sounds like we’ll probably need to find her first, once we start searching for your friends,” Shulk joked.
Lucina laughed. “Probably! Though when we find her, you can probably expect to be under intense scrutiny for a while there. Severa can get very protective when it comes to me.”
“Then I can only hope that I earn her approval sooner rather than later! Based on everything you’ve told me, she sounds more difficult to deal with than an angry Fiora. And if she doesn’t like me to begin with…!”
“I suppose we can only hope for the best!”
After that their conversation fizzled out. Soon thereafter, they both fell asleep, blissfully unaware of just how oblivious they were.
They rose early the next morning, and set out towards the east from Khadelis. Their destination was the harbor town Furia at the west coast of Regna Ferox.
Bionis' Leg
Gaur Plain
Although the world’s rebirth had meant that the vast majority of all maps of the Bionis and the Mechonis needed to be redrawn, it luckily had not made all of them obsolete. While all regions and continents being no longer body parts of the titans had obviously made it so that where these areas were in relation to each other was now vastly different, at least some of it remained how it was.
What used to be the lower regions of the Bionis were some of those areas. Just as it had been on the Bionis, the journey from Colony 6 to Colony 9 was a relatively straight shot across the Bionis’ former leg and Gaur Plain. If anything, the journey had become easier because the trek through Tephra Cave, which used to be necessary while travelling on foot, was now obsolete as an alternate route on the surface had come into existence.
And Melia was all too grateful for that. While the experiences she had gathered through her journey across the titans had allowed her to hone her skill with an ether staff to such an extent that she could confidently take on most monsters on her own, she still deemed it wiser to avoid combat encounters wherever necessary. Just because she was certain that she could take on Territorial Rotbart on her own, didn’t mean that it would be anything but a harrowing encounter.
Melia therefore planned her journey back to Colony 9 in such a way that she could stop and rest for the night at safe locations. A straight shot though it was, the journey between the currently only Homs colonies was one that still that took a few days, and thus needed to be approached with caution.
Thankfully for her, she had safe travels. While Bionis’ Leg was home to many powerful types of Hoxes and Gogols – while Rotbart made for a rude awakening for any traveller coming from Colony 9, he was far from the only strong member of his kind calling this region their territory – the areas in which they tended to dwell were luckily easily avoided. And so, after a rather uneventful journey, Melia was able to reach one of her intended resting spots, the old Refugee Camp.
Back when Melia had first joined the others on their across the Bionis, the Refugee Camp had already fulfilled its initial purpose. It had served as a hastily chosen safe spot for all the survivors of the Mechon attack on Colony 6 – though then again, refugee camps are rarely planned long in advance. Located in a basin in a corner of Bionis’ Leg, it was easy to miss if you didn’t know about it, easy to defend if need be, and provided not only a lake, but also a cave to offer at least some comforts in the form of an easy source of water and shelter from the elements. On all accounts, life here for the people of Colony 6 had not been easy, but it had been manageable enough for them before the others got the reconstruction of the colony going and allowed the people of the colony to return to it.
Yet even after they had left, a small number decided to remain here. For some, it had been a simple matter of grief. The original Colony 6 and all those left behind at it were gone, and to those that decided to stay, it only brought back painful memories. For others, it was a matter of looking forward. Even if the camp lacked many of the comforts of life in a colony… so did life in the colony now. And just in practical terms, the camp was already a good resting spot for travellers.
Regardless of what the reasoning was for those that stayed behind, it wound up being a blessing that they did. Because when the gods of the world walked it once more, and tragedy struck Alcamoth, the old Refugee Camp ended up serving its original purpose once more. The High Entia survivors had fled to places all over the Bionis – including the Bionis’ Leg.
Even as they travelled the titan to help with the fallout of its awakening wherever they could, there was precious little that Melia and the others could do for the High Entia here. But then again, the Homs and Nopon of Colony 6 were already looking after them, and the camp was still prepared for more that needed it.
That was then. Since the defeat of Zanza, all the efforts of rebuilding their world had been progressing nicely. All the High Entia had already departed the old Refugee Camp, leaving once again only the few odd Homs that had decided to make this place their permanent home, and the occasional traveller.
Either way, what Melia found when she arrived around sunset was a… welcoming place. After the hustle and bustle of the rebuilt Colony 6, it was a comfort to be at a relatively calm place like this. Somewhere where she could rest off the exhaustion of today’s journey, without having to worry about being beset by hostile monsters.
Somewhere where she could hang after her own thoughts for a little while longer.
With a deep sigh, Melia sat down near the small lake, after her belongings were securely placed within the cave. If everything was going to go as she planned, she was going to arrive at Colony 9 the following day. After all this time spend away from it, all the time in which she had not seen the others… she would be back.
The last time that she had seen any of them had been when Fiora had come out of the Regeneration Chamber which had restored her Homs body. Up til then, Melia… hadn’t really had any issue with staying in the colony. Reyn, Dunban, Sharla and Riki – they had all been like family to her, and she had been glad to have them now that her actual family was no more, gone in order to pave the way for the future of the High Entia.
A future that she was meant to be.
Eventually.
And another thing that the others had inadvertently managed to do was to take her mind off of Shulk. While all of them were hurting over his absence, they were able to maintain a sense of normalcy that somewhat spread to her.
(It had not been perfect. She still thought of him every day. But that’s what good friends do as well, don’t they? This had been acceptable. It had to have been)
Yet when Fiora returned, things had gotten worse.
While Fiora had been in the chamber, it had been easy enough to get adjusted to the idea that Shulk was just… elsewhere. That he, much like her, was elsewhere doing his own thing. But when Fiora’s body had been restored at last, and she got to catch up with everyone else after half a year, that wound was torn open once again – Shulk was still gone, and none of them had the slightest idea what he was doing at the moment.
Or if he was even still alive.
All while everyone was being considerate to Fiora. It made sense, of course. Everyone in their party knew that for the two of them it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot and officially got together. Melia’s feelings, by contrast… the only person who had ever been able to figure them out had been Sharla. And for all her affirmations that she was firmly on Melia’s side, all the medic’s support didn’t really amount to much of anything once Fiora was back.
Not that Melia blamed her.
Prior to getting to know Fiora, Melia had feared that she would end up hating her. The woman who would take away her chance for a happiness that she had never felt before in her life, and that she doubted she would ever get to feel now. As it started to become clearer and clearer that Fiora would join their group – would re join their group, Melia had inwardly panicked. What if she would not be able to keep herself from acting cold and unwelcoming towards her? What if Fiora picked up on that, and felt like she had done something wrong? Even if Melia had reason to resent her, Fiora did not deserve to be made to feel bad, just because of Melia’s own unresolved feelings!
Yet when she did finally meet Fiora, got to know her… Melia quickly realized that her fears had been unfounded. Interacting with Fiora was no problem whatsoever – and Melia herself was simply not the type of person to be this cold to anybody. In that regard, Fiora’s return was far less of a problem than Melia had feared.
But it did end up being a problem in a whole different way. Because Melia quickly realised that she not only got along with Fiora… but that she could also reasonably see herself developing feelings for her .
Had all this not happened at the same time when Melia had also come to know just what the gods of their world truly were like, she would have thought it a cruel joke on their part. By sheer chance, she met a person whom she felt more strongly for than anyone else in the world! And he had only eyes for another, all while Melia felt deep down that she never had a chance. Then by another act of fate, she met a second person for whom she could see herself holding such feelings!
And she was together with the first one.
Melia had not wanted to intrude on any of this. Of course, she still imagined what it would be like if either of them noticed that things between them wouldn’t work out, call off their relationship (that was not yet a relationship) and then get together with her. Yet even if she had had a power on par with a Monado, something that could make her every dream a reality… she would not have changed a thing. If the price for her own happiness was to cause misery to two people that she cared for so deeply, then it was one that she would never be willing to pay.
And so she had given up on her feelings. Decided to keep quiet, until her heart moved on, and she was open to finding somebody else who would make her feel the same way. Once Shulk was gone, and Fiora away to have her body restored, she had almost started to believe that she could manage it.
But seeing Fiora again after half a year had only dragged up all the old feelings. All the hope against all hope that she had thought she had already left behind. Everything was still there, as strong as they had been on the day she last saw Fiora. Or the day she last saw Shulk.
Her decision to leave the colony and help the High Entia elsewhere in the world had been an easy one to make then. She knew that it was not the best decision to isolate herself from the people that she was close with, the people that she cared about. But it was space that she needed , needed to finally make some progress on moving on already.
Yet now, with the prospect of seeing Fiora again tomorrow… it really felt like she had made no progress whatsoever. For all intents and purposes, she was stuck. Unable to move on.
“Hey there, miss. Are ya doin’ alright?”
Melia blinked. She was still sitting on the ground near the Old Refugee Camp’s lake, hugging her legs against her chest. While she had been hanging after her own thoughts, her eyes had gone misty with tears, blurring the nightly view in front of her.
And seemingly also stopping her from noticing anything around her.
“It is alright. This is nothing you need to be concerned about,” she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve in a motion that she hoped would not be noticeable. Only then did she look up. Under the light of the stars, the Homs man that had approached her was difficult to make out, but he did look sort of familiar.
“Hm,” the man hummed. “’s just… I remember ya from… well, b’fore. Ya know, b’fore the world went all weird half a year ago. Ya always were together with Sharla’s group, and now ya here travellin’ and sittin’ alone. Thought that summin might be up.”
Inwardly, Melia sighed. There really seemed to be no easy way of getting out of this. Despite really not wanting to, she got up and looked as closely at the man as was reasonably possible in night's stygian embrace.
“…Earnest, was it?” she slowly said after a moment.
“Yup, that’s me,” Earnest said, nodding. Melia hummed. She had never interacted much with Earnest, but from what the others had said, they had had some dealings with him. While the survivors of Colony 6 had still been at the camp, he had fooled Shulk, Reyn and Sharla by feeding them lies about inexhaustible ether deposits. Despite their scepticism, the then trio had checked the spots out, only to be attacked by monsters both times. After that, they had, against their better judgment, taken one more request from Earnest. Which had turned to be… revealing.
Based on the others’ accounts, the whole reason why Earnest himself had so much trouble trusting other people had been because he himself and a friend had been tricked themselves, which had led to the death of his friend due to a surprise Tirkin attack. With the help of Shulk, Reyn and Sharla, he had managed to get some closure…
…But apparently not enough for him to return to the colony. When the survivors had headed back to Colony 6, he had chosen to stay behind. For what reason, none of them knew, and they didn’t want to pry.
“I see. In that case, Earnest, you need not worry about me. Though me and the others may have parted ways for the time being, I am doing just fine.”
Even in the dark, she could tell that he was not convinced. “That so? That’s good then. Would ‘ate to think that ya are pushin’ others away or summin.”
“You speak boldly for one who does not know me,” Melia said coldly.
Earnest however just grunted. “Right. I dunno ya. Ya started travellin’ with Sharla after she left the camp, after all. But ,” and saying that, he leaned in a bit, “if there’s one thing ol’ Earnest knows, it’s a liar.”
A cold shiver ran down Melia’s spine. The nerve of this man! How could he dare to approach her out of the blue, and just say these things to her?! If this was how he behaved around people he barely knew, then it was no wonder why everyone else had left him behind at the camp!
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she said, still coldly, and moved to push past him. He made no effort to stop her.
“I get ya, I get ya. Random guy talkin’ to you like this outta nowhere, ‘course ya want nothin’ with that,” Earnest responded, speaking a tone that she did not know what to do with. “Lemme get to the point then. Ya sittin’ there all on your own, insistin’ that’s all fine, and all of ya friends nowhere to be seen. Ya sure ya ain’t pushin’ them away or summin'?”
In spite of herself, Melia stopped with her back to the man. And yet, she said nothing.
“Look. ‘s like ya said, I dunno ya,” he continued. “But… Sharla and the others, they helped me with summin’ personal. Summin important. I wanna repay ‘em. And all I know is that ya seemed pretty close, but now ya here all on ya own, lookin’ like ya def’netly didn’t cry. And believe it or not, ol’ Earnest, he knows summin about pushin’ people away.”
Melia wanted to leave. She really did. This man had come out of nowhere, and spoken to her like he knew her oh so well. But somehow, she still looked over her shoulder. He had spoken the last part with such sheer bitterness that it gave her pause.
“Your… friend?” she asked quietly.
“Ah, so ya really are close with Sharla and the others. If they tell ya that sorta thing,” Earnest noted. If he had any feelings about her knowing this, he did not show it. “I s’pose I won’t be needin’ to recap that story, then. But yeah – when my friend died cause of that bogus story we got told… couldn’t trust no one. Didn’t matter if they had been folk I had known for years, or if they were someone I just knew for a while. Pushed away everyone, is what I did. And what good did it do me? Nuthin’. Made me an ass to others, and nuthin’ else.”
Melia’s expression hardened. She should have known that this would be pointless. If this was it… then there really was no point in humouring this man any longer. Her problem was not the ability to trust others – it was a matter of being able to trust herself, and to trust in all the things beyond her control. He could not help her with this. Their experiences differed far too greatly.
And yet… there was a nagging feeling of curiosity left within her.
“This friend of yours,” she said. “What was he to you?”
Earnest chuckled joylessly. “To him? I was a friend. A good one, but a friend. To me? …I would’ve liked it to be summin else.”
“I… see,” Melia said breathlessly.
“Ah. Guess I hit the nail on the head. Well miss, take it from me – pushin’ away others, it don’t do you no good.”
“You say that, but did you not stay behind on your own, here in this camp? All of the original inhabitants of the colony have returned already.”
“Never said that I was doing any better.”
Melia hastily turned her head away.
“Then… I do hope that we both manage to do better by those that care about us,” she said after she caught herself, and meant it.
Then she returned to the cave to rest for the night.
Colony 9
Mechon Wreckage Site
Fiora looked around. This really was typical of Reyn… he suggested the time and the meeting spot, and then he wasn’t even punctual. And that after she had already gone through the trouble of sneaking out while Dunban was off to oversee some construction projects in the colony.
So, now what? She could walk back to the colony, and see if she could catch Reyn on the way here… but after how long it had taken her to get here, Fiora really didn’t feel like doing any more walking. Waiting it was.
As a breeze hit, she closed her eyes and stretched. It really was freeing to be in a good enough physical condition for this sort of thing again. To just leave the colony on a whim – well, technically not a whim, but that’s how she would explain it to anyone who asked – and roam around on her own terms, with nothing but her daggers. Not like those would be necessary here, though. The bunnits, caterpiles and skeeters around these parts of the colony were completely docile, and only attacked if you provoked them first. Nothing that Fiora really cared to do at the moment.
When the breeze subsided, Fiora opened her eyes again. Reyn was still nowhere to be seen… in that case, no point in staying on her feet. And so, she sauntered towards one of the trees in this part of the valley, and sat down underneath it. Slowly, she let her gaze wander…
Even all this time after the Mechon attack on the colony, there were still parts of the machines strewn all over the place. The Mechon Wreckage Site had always been the one place where the residents of Colony 9 didn’t mind if scrap landed here from higher up on the Bionis. It was so far out from the places where Homs and Nopon lived that it didn’t really put anyone at risk, all while providing shelter for monsters such as krabbles that could be found here.
And it had always been a place where Shulk would spend hours on end, just salvaging any Mechon parts that might be useful.
The thought of him made Fiora smile wistfully. Still no news on him, obviously.
But given how the Mechon Wreackage Site had been one of the places around the colony where Shulk was most commonly found… it was a bit amusing to her that she and Reyn had decided to put their plans into motion here, of all places. Granted, it was a location that hit that ideal little sweet spot of being close to the colony while also very rarely having people actually drop by. But… still.
“Fiora! Hey!” Reyn’s shout suddenly came. Her eyes darted over to the entrance of the basin – and sure enough, there he was. Reyn, a definitely not suspicious-looking sack flung over his shoulder.
“There you are. What took you so long?” she asked in mild accusation as he came closer, as he dropped the sack off in front of her.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Reyn said, scratching his head. “Had to dodge Vanea on the way out the colony. Would rather not have her know that I took these.”
Fiora laughed. “Oh, I’m pretty sure that we don’t have to worry about her. If there’s anyone we should be concerned about, it’s Dunban and Sharla.”
And Dunban only if he finds out about me doing this, considering that he already knows about you… she quietly added.
“Good thing then that they’re not gonna drop by here,” Reyn said, joining in on the laughter.
“Right. Still best not to waste any time, though… is that all of them?”
“Yup! All six of ‘em. Some heavy buggers they are, but manageable since you just use one for fightin’.”
Without a word, Fiora knelt down, opened the sack, and pulled it back. All at once, its contents fell out.
The Monado Replicas.
Reyn knelt down as well, spreading them all on the ground in such a way that none lay on top of another. Once they were done with that, they stood up again.
“’s honestly just amazin’ that the Machina could just build these things. I mean, they’re obviously not as strong as the actual Monado. But that they can do so much of what it can do…”
Fiora hummed and nodded. She would have had to lie if she were to say she knew just how exactly any of this was accomplished. But what Reyn had said was entirely the truth – these swords all perfectly mimicked what the Monado could do. She had seen them do it even, in the hands of Shulk. If he were still here… knowing him, he would probably already be spending many a sleepless night in his lab, trying to further develop the concept. But with him gone, and Vanea having done what she could, this was all they had.
On a whim, Fiora reached out and picked up the green replica. It lay heavy in her hand, but she was thankfully already at a point where she could lift it just fine. She activated it causing its ether blade sprung to life with a soft hum.
“That’s about as far as I got as well,” Reyn noted. “Activating ‘em is just as easy doin’ it with the original Monado. But I got no idea on how to use any of ‘em arts that these got. And when you’re using it like that… ‘s honestly not much more useful than those Machina swords Dunban used when we travelled the Mechonis.”
Fiora said nothing, and instead took a few test swings with the Monado Replica. This really wasn’t her fighting style… she would need to experiment and see what she could do to make it feel right. But before that, figuring out the usage of arts was the main concern, just like Reyn had said.
“If you let me practice with these, I’m sure I’ll be able to work it out eventually,” Fiora said, glancing at Reyn. “Meyneth’s Monado didn’t really have any arts of its own while I used it, but… I don’t know, this still feels familiar somehow.”
“’Course you can use ‘em! That’s why I asked you for help in the first place.”
“Alrighty! Then let’s get training.” Fiora said enthusiastically… but before she could follow through with anything, a sudden thought occurred to her.
“But, uh… Reyn. Wasn’t the Defence Force supposed to help unload the delivery of materials from the Nopon Merchants today? How did you get out of that?”
Reyn blinked, masterfully indicating through doing nothing at all that he did not, in fact, get out of that.
“…Oh. Oh no .”
There was a pause. Then-
“Fiora- just take one of ‘em, okay? I’ll put the rest back to where I keep ‘em. And then I really gotta run!”
“Er- right! Right!” Fiora hastily said. Without thinking much, she put the Replica Monado she was holding back down, looked over the remaining ones… and ended up taking two instead.
“Is it alright-” she began, but Reyn cut her off before she could say anything more.
“Yeah, yeah, sure! Means less for me to carry. Now just help me put the rest of ‘em away, right?”
Less than a minute later, Reyn was running back the way he came. Fiora looked after him, still baffled that this was how things had gone. Once he was out of sight, she focussed on the Monado replicas again.
These were… the silver one, and the red one with the weird protrusions at the side. If she remembered correctly, they were called Abyss and Dogma, respectively… but what their distinctions were from the others, she had no idea.
Well, she would find out.
And she would also find out if she could somehow replicate the fighting style she had used when still had a Mechon body – fighting with two of these replicas at the same time would be exhausting, but it was what came more naturally to her.
Speaking of things coming more naturally to her… remote as the Mechon Wreckage Site was, she really could think of better places to practice. The breezes that came here were just far too infrequent for her tastes.
Thankfully, she knew just the place for that.
Colony 9
En route to Outlook Park
It wound up being around noon by the time that Melia arrived at Colony 9. With last night’s conversation still fresh on her mind (haunting her, more like), she did not want to come face to face with Earnest again. While the man had said nothing more when he had come back to the cave before she truly retired for the night, the… knowing look he gave her was too much to bear. Even if he was right about the importance of not isolating herself from others, she was just at no point where she could do that.
But she feared she had no choice in the matter.
Avoiding the others had been easy enough back when she had travelled the world to help the High Entia survivors. Now that she would be doing the same in the colony, however… now, that would be more difficult.
Especially since they knew her well enough to know that something was up.
Standing on one of the hills overseeing the colony, Melia paused. Despite her aversion to coming here in the first place, she had not tarried on her journey, and made it here swiftly. She could allow herself a moment of respite before she entered the colony, no? Any help that she could offer the High Entia here was something that could wait just an hour or so longer.
Up here, a gentle breeze was blowing. To the north, the military district of the colony could be seen. While originally, it had been to the east of the colony’s commercial district, the rebirth of the world had altered the geography of the area in such a manner that it now stood to the north-west outside of the colony, beyond even the bridge that Dunban and Fiora’s house stood near. To the west, the colony itself could be seen in almost its entirety. The rebuilding efforts had already transformed and expanded it from the last time that Melia had seen it, but not drastically so.
And then to the south… Outlook Park. While she had never spent much time here, she still held positive associations with the place. It oversaw the colony even more than the hill she stood on did, and its serene natural beauty had always reminded her just a bit of the Imperial Villa in Alcamoth. It was also a place that not a whole lot of people went despite how idyllic it was – being at the top of several flights of stairs might have played a part in that.
All that made it the perfect spot for her to just a bit on her own terms. Just cool down from the journey here, and brace herself for the meetings that soon would follow.
(Come to think of it, Fiora had once offered to spend a day with her here, like she had done with Shulk…
Melia tried to push the thought away.
But even so, it still made her heart flutter.)
On her way to the park, Melia followed the path that did not go through the actual colony itself and as such encountered no one. Off in the distance, she could see the people of the colony go after their daily business and whatever reconstruction efforts they were currently working on, but she paid them no mind. She would rejoin them and their efforts soon enough. For now, let her be on her own.
The protests of her already sore legs only grew more intense as Melia ascended the stairs, but she ignored them. Had to ignore them, because the only other option was to just sit down right here – and secret empress or not, that was just no way to behave. Besides, after the sheer distance that she had already crossed on her way here, this last stretch was nothing. Before long, she could already see the trees of Outlook Park up ahead.
…And flashes of light.
Melia furrowed her brow. This did not fit with her perception of what the park was like. What was going on?
As she got closer, she could also hear noises. Straining to hear, she stopped dead in her tracks. Somebody was… grunting? Yelling? The sort of noise that she tended to associate with physical exercise. Was she about to stumble upon an impromptu training regiment of the Defence Force? The thought of it almost made her turn around then and there…
…But then she remembered Earnest’s words.
Letting out a deep breath, Melia continued ascending the stairs.
What she saw when she arrived at the park itself was that it was almost empty. Not a soul was to be seen, and it lay as serene and empty as she remembered it.
Except for Fiora.
It was like a scene out of a dream. She stood with one Monado replica in each hand, both activated and their blades of light arcing through the air, striking at a foe visible to only her mind’s eye. Every move, every strike was a symphony of grace and beauty, so reminiscent of the time she still had the body of a machine. It was as if the soul of the goddess Meyneth had never left her body, and was now shining through more than ever.
And Melia just stood there and stared.
She did not know just how long she took in the sights. All she knew was that right now, this was all that mattered to her… just watching Fiora train. Even her legs were unimportant now.
But then it ended.
There was no telling whether it was because Melia had made any movement, or whether Fiora had just noticed her from the corner of her eye. All Melia knew was that Fiora suddenly stopped in the middle of her movement, and stared right at her.
A breeze hit as the two of them locked eyes with one another.
Notes:
The whole perspective on Melia's complicated feelings was easy to write. I got some personal experience in those matters. And while I don't have any hope that I'm personally going to get a happy ending when it comes to that, I can at least find some tiny bit of solace in the fact that I'm setting up Melia to get hers.
Chapter 5: Breeze | Depths
Notes:
Remember how last chapter, I ended up getting carried away which meant that the Ylisse storyline ended up with a lot less progression than the Bionis one? Well, the opposite happened here! I had a lot of fun writing the the trip through Thabes Labyrinth - and, since this sort of thing is actually something I want to explore in original writing one day, I would appreciate any feedback on how those parts work.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Colony 9
Outlook Park
Fiora’s muscles were burning. For every bit that she moved her arms, they were protesting, and protesting loudly. No matter how much she pushed herself, there was simply no denying that her body was not yet ready to hold these kinds of weights.
She persisted, anyway.
This was something that she had promised. Not only to Reyn, but also to herself. With Shulk gone from this world, somebody had to step up to wield these Monado replicas. And since Dunban still couldn’t (and probably wouldn’t) it would have to be either of them.
And as far as Fiora was concerned, it would be her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Reyn with them – she was certain that in his own ways, he was stubborn enough to run up against this metaphorical brick wall until he was able to use the things.
But her friend reminded her too much of how Dunban had been like back when he was the wielder of the Monado – not the replicas, but the real deal. Prior to the battle of Sword Valley, that had left his arms crippled. Of course Reyn had grown heaps and bounds as a person over their journey, and was in his own way perhaps already more mature than Dunban had been back then. But the mental image of Dunban on that stretcher, being carried away…
To this day, it had never left her.
Even if the Monado Replicas did not hold Zanza’s soul and would not reject any wielder that was not his vessel, she could not shake that fear. So instead of risking it becoming a reality, she would rather take the Monado Replicas for herself. She was reasonably certain that she would be able to convince Reyn that this for the better, too. After all, she had already laid the groundwork by pointing to him that she had wielded Meyneth’s Monado. It was only a matter of time before he would agree with her.
Until then, she needed to make sure that her body could actually keep up with her ambition. A few sore muscles were a small price to pay to reach that goal.
She had not yet figured out how to use the replicas’ Monado arts, but that was also just a matter of time. Meanwhile, she swung the swords again and again, trying to recall the feeling of using the double swords that she had used with her Mechon body, relearning the mechanical rhythm, getting accustomed to the sheer weight of their existence.
Like this, the minutes passed by. Fiora had no idea just how long she had already been training today. While the position of the sun in the sky was one way to tell the time, she had not yet paid enough attention to it to really figure out what the positions of the sun meant – not to mention that she had no idea where it had been when she had started. All that existed, all that mattered was the flow of battle, as she fought through waves and waves of imaginary Mechon…
Until she noticed something from the corner of her eye.
In the middle of her swing, Fiora stopped. Slowly, she turned her head…
And saw Melia as a soft breeze hit them.
Her attire, which even when you were unfamiliar with her royal origins just conveyed regality was visibly worn down through the travels that she had been on. A large bag was flung around her shoulder, a necessity when journeying between colonies, and one that was taking its toll on her posture.
But even so, Melia remained a vision of grace and beauty in the way that only a High Entia such as her could. Her hair remained perfectly maintained, with her curled ringlets staying perfectly in form. Although everything around her was a testament to the lengths of her journey, she carried herself with a dignity that Fiora could not help but to envy. The seconds stretched on as Fiora watched the High Entia in wide-eyed disbelief…
Before from one moment to another, the spell was broken.
More out of instinct than anything else, Fiora simply dropped the Monado Replicas, and rushed over to Melia. In the brief seconds that it took her to close the distance between them, she feared that Melia would just disappear, disperse like a phantom, prove herself to be a mirage – but no such thing happened.
With a laugh rising up from the bottom of her heart, Fiora flung her arms around the secret empress of the High Entia. After a stunned moment in which she had remained frozen up, Melia hesitantly returned the hug.
“I had no idea you were coming back to Colony 9! Ohh, it’s so good to see you again, Melia. How have you been? And, er- sorry about being so sweaty. You kind of came at a bad moment…”
“As you can no doubt see,” Melia said somewhat stiffly, “I have been quite occupied with the stresses of working for my people, on top of the hardships of the journey here. I… if you do not mind, I would quite like to rest for a moment.”
“Oh, of course!” Fiora said, pulling away from the hug, but still keeping her hands on the High Entia’s arms. “C’mon! The benches here in the park aren’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I can imagine that after coming all the way up here, you don’t want to walk all the way down to the colony again.”
Without waiting for a response from the other woman, Fiora took her by the hand, and led her towards the nearest bench. Melia, for her part, did not resist and simply let herself be dragged along. All the time Fiora’s heart was pounding with excitement – she was back! Melia was finally back! Oh, how she had missed her…
…And how good that she had come back on her own accord. As they sat down on the bench together, memories came flooding back to Fiora. About how Sharla had told her about the feelings that Melia had (had had?) for Shulk. About how the others had told her that she had practically thrown herself at reconstruction work. And about how she still had not revealed herself to be Melia Antiqua, empress of the surviving High Entia…
Yes, based on everything Fiora had heard of what Melia had been up to in the recent months, the more it had sounded like the (as of yet unofficial) empress of the High Entia needed a break. Though Fiora would not have thought that she would already get the opportunity to pull her aside and force her into one the moment she met her again.
Speaking of Melia, though…
Only now, Fiora started to realize that Melia had been… really rather quiet ever since they had sat down. A glance from the corner of her eye showed her that she also didn’t look terribly relaxed, either… well, she probably just needed time. She had seemingly arrived from her journey here, after all.
“So, how was your journey here?” Fiora asked, hoping to break the ice between them.
“It was an arduous one, but one that presented no problem whatsoever. Our travels together have given me plenty of experience in these matters,” Melia said, still speaking somewhat stiffly.
“Ah, that’s nice. And I suppose the trek through Tephra Cave being no longer necessary only made it easier.”
“Indeed.” There was a pause. It quickly drew on for long enough to become awkward – all while Fiora was wrecking her brain on what to even say. It had been nice and all to tell herself that she would take Melia aside to get her to take a break, but actually having to come up with a way to delicately broach the subject was another.
Especially since there was a Shulk-shaped deinos in the room between them…
“…I had not been aware that you had been entrusted with the Monado replicas,” Melia suddenly broke the silence. Fiora, glad to have an actual topic to talk about, eagerly took the opportunity.
“Ah, yeah… uhm, I actually wasn’t,” she slowly said. Then, remembering that she had just dropped the replicas when she had spotted Melia, she got up and picked them. Now that she was giving them a rest her muscles ached more than ever, but once again she ignored them.
Leaning the swords against the bench, she sat down again. “Reyn was the one who got his hands on them. I just borrowed them off of him so that I could train with them.”
Melia eyed both her and the replicas curiously, and raised her eyebrows. “Reyn? I was not aware that Vanea trusted him enough to let him keep them. And I was also not aware that your recovery has progressed enough for you to physically exert yourself to such a degree. It truly is a relief to see.”
Saying this, she smiled at Fiora – and Fiora hesitated. She could not put her finger on it, but it felt like there was a kind of disconnect between them, a gap that she was unable to bridge. Not for lack of trying and not from her side at all, but rather a hang-up from Melia’s side.
One that she suspected was due to Shulk.
With that in mind, she was glad that Melia was the one to initiate conversation, and bring up things that they could talk about. That was good.
What was not good was that they were talking about things that were just a bit inconvenient. But then again… if she couldn’t trust Melia with these things, then who could she trust?
“Teeeechnically… she doesn’t. Vanea trusting Reyn, I mean. He just… borrowed the replicas figuring that we should have somebody around who can use them, not that… you know.”
“Excuse me?” Melia gasped. “You mean to tell me that Reyn simply stole the replicas, and you not only do not condemn his actions, but outright co-conspire with him? I am truly speechless!”
Though Fiora knew Melia well enough to know that she could say such things in earnest, she realized that right now, she was overplaying her reaction.
Fiora laughed. “Now let’s be fair – it isn’t like Vanea personally owns the replicas. She was just holding onto them for us! So we’re just taking them back, really.”
“Is that so? I wonder if Vanea feels about this the same way, considering the way you framed it. Does she know that Reyn has, in fact, quote unquote borrowed them?”
There was a pause. After a few seconds, Fiora began to whistle innocently.
“…I see. I do hope then that Sharla has at least given you clearance for this kind of training.”
Fiora whistled louder.
Melia sighed exasperatedly… which however turned into a chuckle towards the end. “Really now, Fiora. This is just like how you were about your body having lost Meyneth’s Monado. You just keep on pushing yourself, far further than you ever should and refuse to let anyone know about it.”
And are you any better? Fiora quietly thought to herself. You were gone for months and all of us only had a vague idea of where you were. And now you are back, and not one of us knew in advance. Aren’t you also not telling us what it is that bothers you? Because there must be a lot that does…
What she ended up saying out loud however was, “I suppose you’re right. But after how long I was bed-ridden, I just really don’t want to waste any more time. There is a whole new world out here, and I have seen barely anything of it! I just want to make sure that I’m able to do what I can to help people. It was eating away at me, not being able to do anything.”
Not doing anything to help you , she added mentally.
“I believe I can understand that,” Melia said quietly. “The whole reason I had departed the colony so soon was because I wanted to help my people. And even so, it feels like I have barely managed to accomplish anything.”
Another soft breeze blew through the park, rustling the trees overhead. Fiora thought back to the day she had spent with Shulk here, all that time ago… and all that had followed that afternoon. How she had wished that every day could be like this, always – and how things had changed so much since then.
“You know, even so…” she said after a moment, “Even if we feel like we don’t manage to do our best… it is nice to just be able to sit down and unwind like this. I suppose there really is no point in pushing ourselves past the breaking point.”
Melia hummed softly. “Mh. Yes… you are right, Fiora.” She paused for a second. “Come to think of it, this is the park that you spent so much time with Shulk at, is it not?”
Fiora nodded. “Yeah, it is. …Although – wait. Didn’t I also promise you that we would do the same thing?”
“You might have mentioned it,” Melia said, some of the earlier stiffness returning to her tone.
“Ohhh, I totally did, didn’t I? It’s a good thing then that you came here first! It means that we finally get to do this together,” Fiora grinned. “Did I promise too much? Is it everything that you hoped for?”
Melia thought about this for a moment. “It is… most adequate. If the days that you spent here with Shulk were anything like this, then I can see why you cherished these memories.”
“That’s still only adequate, though,” Fiora said with an exaggerated pout. “I suppose to do even more then to make it outright great for you…”
Hearing this, Melia hastily turned towards Fiora and put her hands up reassuringly. “No, no, by all means! Do not feel pressured to do any more than necessary for me. You must be exhausted from your training…”
“And you must be exhausted from your journey here! C’mon, Melia!” Fiora said, standing up and taking the other woman’s bag before the High Entia had any chance to protest. “We’re going back to the colony now, and then I’ll whip a lunch unlike any that you’ve ever seen before! And while you’re here, you’re a guest at my place. No buts!”
Melia opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Fiora silenced her by putting her index finger in front of it. “Ah? What did I say?”
Looking defeated, but not unhappy, Melia closed her mouth and averted her gaze. “…May I at least assist you in carrying things back to the colony, then?”
“Hm… you can take one of the Monado replicas. But everything else you’re gonna leave to me, okay?” She paused, before sheepishly adding, “But, er… we will have to take the route that doesn’t lead through the colony. I don’t want anyone seeing these…”
And now, despite everything else, Melia was smirking. “You do realize that this simply will not do in the long run, yes? Sooner or later, you will have to let the others know that you and Reyn are training with these swords.”
“Maybe. But right now, that can wait. All that matters right now is that you are my guest, Melia.”
She held out her hand to the High Entia empress. After looking at it for a second, Melia took it, and Fiora pulled her to her feet. It wasn’t much yet, but it was a start. Fiora would do everything she could to watch out for Melia. That, she swore to herself.
Regna Ferox
Region around the Port Town of Furia
The most remarkable thing about the port town of Furia was just how unremarkable it was. Lucina knew that in the long run, it would not remain that way – with the whole continent of Valentia firmly under the control of the Valmese Empire, the Conqueror Walhart would soon shift his attention beyond the sea, with the first of his forces arriving here. Even for all that she and Shulk had already changed the future, this was likely not to change one bit. While the flap of a butterfly’s wings could, in a long sequence of events, alter the course of history, she was certain that nothing that they had done was enough to carry across the sea yet.
But for the time being, none of that mattered yet. Any action that the Valmese Empire would take was still over a year away, meaning that they could focus their attention on other matters.
Like figuring out where exactly they needed to. The vague direction that Shulk had managed to work out from reading the Valentian chronicle had been enough to get them here to begin with, but from here on they needed something more specific. Even if the chronicle had been very detailed, the world had changed a lot in the thousands of years since it had been written.
By asking around in the taverns and on the markets of Furia, they soon heard about something promising. Whispered rumours of ancient ruins in the Desert of Death to the east, buried and forgotten already in the times of the hero king. No matter who they asked, none could tell them who built them, what they were called, or what dwelt inside. But one thing that the people of the town were unanimous about was that this was not a place that people went. Even just stepping inside made you feel a deep and fundamental sense of unease, as if you were being watched by something vast and unfathomable, a presence that pervaded every wall and floor of the structure.
None could tell them if this feeling let up if you got any further in. Nobody they asked had ever even dared set foot inside.
All they could tell them was that to this day, the entrance remained open. Other ruins, of which there were some tales around these parts, had long since been swallowed by either sand, snow, or just the passage of time. But whatever hid beneath the surface persisted to this day, welcoming any foolish enough to seek it out.
…And it was exactly where they were headed.
Regna Ferox
Mamorthod Desert
With every step that Shulk took, it felt like the ground itself was fighting against him. No matter how you looked at it, his shoes simply were not for trudging through the sand, but if they wanted to reach their goal, that was their only option.
If nothing else, he could at least fall back on his experience going off the beaten path while travelling across the Bionis. While the lands on the titan’s body didn’t have an outright desert, there were several beaches he had been on that at least had given him some experience in these matters, such as Agora Shore in Colony 9, and several places on Eryth Sea.
But while he did do reasonably well in spite of the cold (even if they were in a desert, they were still in northern Ferox, after all), the same could not be said for Lucina. While she didn’t strike him as particularly exhausted in any way she did tend to fall behind a lot, making him stop and wait for her to catch up.
“Is everything alright?” he asked after one such time.
“Yes, no need for you to worry,” Lucina said, her voice sounding just a bit strained.
Shulk nodded and kept going, though deliberately walking a bit slower as to not leave her behind again.
“I am just really not used to walking off-road. As the Exalt, I always had to leave missions that necessitated that sort of thing to the others. They never would have let me hear the end of it, otherwise.”
Exalt… right, Lucina used to be the ruler back in her timeline , Shulk thought to himself. Since nobody in this timeline knows who she is, I guess it’s easy to forget that she is one of these royal types. But she never does complain about this, does she?
What he ended up saying out loud was, “Do you miss it at all? I mean, being in command of others. Since you’ve lived all your life like that, it must be weird to get used to this.”
Lucina chuckled quietly. “I would have to lie if I were to say I considered it anything other than a burden. My rule as Exalt had none of the lavish excesses that you might have seen at father’s coronation and his and mother’s wedding. By the time that Aunt Lissa fell in battle and the crown came to me, we were already long since besieged by the Fell Dragon and its hordes. You… have some familiarity with military structures from your colony’s Defence Force, yes?”
Shulk nodded. Though he had never been an official soldier, being part of the research team meant that he had to be familiar with the associated hierarchies… and how succession or promotion could work in dire situations. He had a good enough idea where Lucina was going with this, but he said nothing out loud, as to not interrupt her train of thought.
“Me becoming Exalt was less a matter of succeeding the royal line, and more so one of one commander having to take over for another. I was… only about as old as Aunt Lissa is now, maybe younger. But I still had no choice but to shoulder this burden, though it felt like its weight was enough to crush me from the moment it came to rest on me.”
“Oh- oh! I’m sorry- I hope I didn’t say anything wrong by asking you about this!” Shulk hastily said, realizing that there really had been no need for him to bring up any of this.
“No, no, don’t worry,” Lucina said soothingly, gently putting a hand on his upper arm. “You were merely curious, and I appreciate the interest. It is not your fault that my past is an abyss with shadows lurking behind every corner.”
“I still shouldn’t have reminded you of it, though…”
Lucina shook her head. “Hey. If I were unhappy with you, I would let you know it in no uncertain terms. I already know from my friends that some people need to be told things more clearly. And if you are one of those people, then so what? That is something I am willing to keep in mind.”
Shulk glanced at Lucina. Her expression was kind, leaving no doubt within him that her words were genuine. Beneath her touch on his arm he relaxed, before hesitantly taking her hand into his own. She did not stop him.
“To answer your question, then…” she continued, looking ahead into the desert again, “For me, the position of Exalt was never one of authority or command. I was in charge, that much was true. But the numbers of us survivors had soon dwindled to such an extent that I had known all my subjects personally. And once it was only me and the friends that I had almost known since birth, it was but a formality, anyway. So in a sense… I suppose I am glad to no longer have to command. It means that for once in my life, the only life that I am directly responsible for is my very own.”
For a brief moment she paused, slightly tilting her head towards him again. “Although… I believe right now, I am also looking out for somebody else.”
Shulk laughed awkwardly. “You are not the first one there. Both Fiora and Reyn were basically in a constant competition on who got to protect me for as long as they were able to fight.”
“I see I am continuing a proud tradition, then! Since neither of them are here with you, I can only hope that I live up to their example.”
“You are doing a good job so far, at least!”
In lieu of a verbal response, Lucina briefly squeezed his hand a bit tighter. Feeling warm in his chest, Shulk averted his gaze and looked at their path ahead again. As he did, his thoughts wandered back to Fiora…
Well… even with all of his complicated feelings around her, and how Lucina figured into matters of his heart, right now he felt certain of one thing. If Fiora were to ever find out about Lucina somehow, he doubted that she would dislike the former Exalt.
In the meantime…
Their path ahead really wasn’t much of a path ahead at all. There was no clear road that they were following. Instead they just headed rather blindly towards some dilapidated structures that were vaguely northwards – if there was one ruin, then at least the chances were higher for them to find the one that they were looking for.
“Some of the people in Furia said that the Divine Dragon passed away around these parts…” Lucina said absent-mindedly after a while.
Shulk thought about this. “But… wasn’t this Divine Dragon the one that sent you back in time in the first place? How did that work if it was dead?”
“You are thinking too much in human terms. Or, Homs terms in your case. Even though the Divine Dragon’s body has perished long ago, her spirit persisted, and guided us to the best of her ability. Just because she no longer had a physical form, it didn’t mean that she had no power.”
“…Ah. I see.”
There was a pause. After a moment, Lucina broke the silence.
“That reminds me… one of my friends is actually a descendant of the Divine Dragon herself.”
“Uh. Huh??” Shulk asked, as eloquently as he could muster.
Lucina grinned at him. “That is about the reaction I would have expected. Her name is Nah. She…”
Ylisstol Castle
Corridors
The Future Past
“ This isn’t fair! I am already going to be separated from you, and then I’m not even allowed to go find mother?! Why?!”
Lucina stopped dead in her tracks. Through the open door up ahead every single word had been clearly audible, in a conversation that she was certain was not meant for her ears. Because even if the door was open, this was another part of Ylisstol Castle that had no one else who lived here. The others’ respect for the Voice of Naga was simply too great.
“Your grandmother has been clear about the reasoning, has she not? The rules of time travel are not known to us. Any alteration that we make to the flow of time runs the risk of erasing our entire existence. As such, it is wisest for Lucina to take any such actions,” came the voice of Lady Tiki. Unlike her daughter, she was speaking a lot more calmly… which Lucina feared may have been part of the reason why Nah was so upset.
“I know that!” Nah said impatiently, confirming Lucina’s suspicion right away. “And you know exactly what I mean, mom! Because if that’s not how it works, then I could just hop over to Valentia, and- and finally meet mother!”
Lady Tiki sighed. “Absolutely not, Nah. If we arrive at the point in time that your grandmother intends, then Say’ri will be in the middle of her fight against the Valmese Empire. Even outside of how this may alter the course of history, do you not see the risk that this would put her at? Not to mention that she would have no reason to trust you.”
“I also know that,” Nah said in a pained tone. “I wouldn’t even show myself to her. Just… observe from afar, so that I can at least see her.”
Even still, Lucina remained frozen. This was a conversation she really had no part in. But although time was what they were to gain once their plan was truly in motion, at this moment they ironically had little. She needed to interrupt them…
Meanwhile, Lady Tiki sighed. “I understand that, Nah. Yet for your mother’s sake, you must leave her be – at least until we can be certain that our intrusion will bring her no harm. Do you not think that this is also going to be hard for me? If you do meet her, she will be your mother nonetheless. Yet if I meet her, she cannot be my wife, for my present-day self will be there as well.”
There was no verbal response that Lucina could hear. Instead, she heard… quiet sniffing. Perhaps she really should just come back-
“Lucina. Will you not speak your mind?” Lady Tiki suddenly asked.
Inwardly, Lucina cursed. Of course she had neglected to consider the keen sense of smell that Manaketes had… well, nothing for it now.
She stepped in front of the open door. Standing in the middle of the chamber, Nah had her arms firmly wrapped around her mother, who rested her hand upon the young woman’s head.
“My apologies for intruding,” Lucina said, “But as you no doubt know, the hour of departure draws near. We should gather at the courtyard soon.”
Nah pulled away from her mother, and turned to face Lucina. Her eyes were shimmering in the light of the lanterns and candles. “No… it’s fine. I think we’re all a bit tense this evening. Don’t worry about me.”
It was best to leave it at that, Lucina decided. She just hummed and nodded.
“Have there been any news from the Divine Dragon?”
Nah shook her head. “None. Grandmother is busy gathering what power she has left, anyway, so I don’t expect that we will hear anything from her until she is ready. But that also means that she won’t be able to warn us of any… outside interferences.”
The last words hung over them like a blade suspended by a threat. Even still, the Fell Dragon was quiet.
And they had no idea where it was.
“Very well,” Lucina said. “Come find me in case anything comes up. In the meantime, I will go seek out the others.”
Regna Ferox
Thabes Labyrinth
Like a gaping maw the open cave rose up in front of them, so massive that entire siege engines could have been brought in. In the distant past it may have been a man-made structure, but the millennia had not been kind to it. The more Lucina looked at it, the more it was a miracle that it was standing to this day.
But stand it did. An uncannily warm breeze came out of the opening, almost like the breath of a living creature – and with it came a deep-seated, unmistakable feeling of unease, a creeping dread that had not yet sprung.
Steadying herself, she exchanged a glance with Shulk. The heir to the Monado nodded. Together with him, the Exalt from a doomed future stepped inside.
The inside of the ruins was… warm. Sand covered ancient cobblestones, cracked by time or whatever else had managed to do so over the course of millennia. Pillars supported the ceiling, but did so only barely. Many of them had long since collapsed and were broken to pieces. Standing all around were stone torches, but of course no lights were lit. Most of them were toppled or smashed to pieces, anyway. Even so, an eerie twilight infused the area, keeping it visible in such a way that they needed no additional light source to see.
But perhaps they should have.
Once they had left the entrance a reasonable distance behind them, the ever-present gloom began playing tricks on the eyes. An odd movement from the corner of her eye – only to look at the place directly, and see nothing. A sudden noise, indicative of a living being’s presence – but it was just the creaking and groaning of a construct that was slowly succumbing to not just the sands of time, but also more literal sands. And the ever-present, constant feeling of something being there, something watching them…
Lucina was familiar with ambushes. Though the individual Risen was as good as mindless and existed only to kill, behind them stood a mind that understood such concepts as strategy. Within her years of desperately resisting its call to death, there had been countless instances of the Risen eschewing the brute force of their sheer numbers in favour of springing traps and ambushes. Never frequent enough for these to become predictable, but always an option. Enough for her to hone herself to be prepared.
Too prepared, perhaps. There were few things worse than anticipating an enemy attack but not knowing when it would come. The hours, sometimes even days would stretch on and on, making her doubt what she thought she knew, and leaving her unwilling to grant herself any rest, lest it be interrupted before its time. In such instances, the attack coming at last had then almost been a relief.
“Almost”, because these tactics often reaped a bloody harvest. Not always a deadly one, but frequent enough for them to be one of the greatest dangers they faced.
And now, the Fell Dragon’s cruel mind worked against her in whole new ways. Not directly, as nothing around indicated its presence in this moment. But rather, in terms of the effect that it still had on her.
In every second that stretched on like an eternity, she feared that something would come. Some threat, something to kill the intruders that had trespassed into somewhere where none should be…
Lucina was not panicked. More than anything, an odd sense of calm had seized her. She was familiar with these situations. Her heart was close to beating out of her chest, and she felt that at any moment, an attack could come, but she still made no hasty movements.
Don’t let them notice that you’re aware of them. Lure them into a false sense of security. And when they strike, you’re prepared to meet them.
…Perhaps she wasn’t really calm. But it was fine that she wasn’t, really. She needed to be able to react. If not for her own sake, then for Shulk’s. Even if he was a fighter, he lacked the years of experiences that she had…
“How are you holding up?” she asked, after they had walked through the ruins in silence for a while. In unspoken agreement, neither of them dared to walk too fast – not out of any concrete sense of danger, but rather the oppressive weight of the very atmosphere surrounding them.
“I’m… doing fine,” Shulk whispered, sounding far more convincing than she would have expected him to utter such words. “This whole place… it reminds me a bit of Prison Island, or the High Entia Tomb. It definitely feels like something is here, but I am near certain that we have not caught its attention yet.”
In spite of herself, Lucina almost felt a bit irritated. To her, being here felt like getting choked up by the very air around them, and she feared she saw movement in every even slightly darker shadow. And yet, he was doing fine?
“How can you be so calm about this?” she whispered back, unable to entirely keep her tone from being agitated.
“I guess I’m just familiar with this sort of thing. During my travels across the Bionis and the Mechonis, I have had to sneak past enemy lines multiple times, all while not knowing anything about what sort of creatures dwelt here, or what where to go. I don’t know what you saw in my memories exactly, but there are far more dangers in my world than just the Mechon.” He paused briefly. Then, added. “And I think if we ever were in any real danger, then my visions would warn us. Since I didn’t have any since getting here, we should be fine.”
Lucina breathed out, but said nothing. Right… his visions. Though it should not reasonably have been possible, she had completely forgotten about them. He was right – as long as he had them, they should be fine.
But he isn’t always right, is he? a quiet, nagging voice in her head pointed out. His visions are not flawless, and he could not predict anything about this Hydros person…
She silenced the voice.
Though every fibre of her being screamed at her that something about this very place was wrong, and though her heart was beating in anything but a calm rhythm, they managed to venture deeper and deeper into the ruin without encountering any danger. At most, they came across skeletons desperately clasping rusty weapons that appeared like they would not survive being picked up. None of them rose from their eternal slumber, continuing their final rest undisturbed by the intrusion into their tomb.
What they did find along the way were ancient stone tablets. Seemingly once erected to inform any foolish soul that dared venture to this place of its history, they had long since been knocked over and either fallen to pieces, or been smashed. Not that them being intact would have done much good.
With a curiosity that stood at odds with their situation and mission, Shulk had investigated the broken pieces… only to come to the conclusion that the letters carved on them were in a script and language that likely no living soul spoke. And, as he also admitted, any texts of relevance had likely already been copied down by the king and queen of Valentia during their venture into these depths millennia ago.
Eventually, they reached a massive hole. While at first glance, it might have looked like it led into a sort of natural abyss, the dim light was just barely enough to make out that there were more ruins still further down.
“Can you see anything down there?” Shulk asked, as their eyes tried to pierce the shadows below.
“Not a thing,” Lucina admitted. “The walls look rugged enough for us to climb down, but I would really be able to see what awaits down there.”
Shulk nodded. “At times like these, I really wish the Monado had some kind of jump enhancing ability…”
Lucina chuckled quietly (even that sounding out of place to her ears and wrong in this place). “Nothing for it. We will have to get down there like this, then.”
What little light remained down here wound up being enough to guide their way on the climb down. It wasn’t a fast one, was done with out any ropes securing them, and more than once they both had to pause and consider their next move for a few minutes before being able to continue. But even still, they did manage to make their way down.
Which presented them with a whole new problem.
While little cracks and holes in the ceiling had let in enough light from the surface to make the first floor still reasonably bright, this lower level was another matter entirely – a darker matter. Though it was still possible to at least make out vague shapes and the rough form of their surroundings, navigating this floor just like that would have been a downright impossibility.
Thankfully, both of them had means to disperse the dark.
Neither of them had thought to bring any torches. For all their journey together thus far, they had always stayed in relatively civilized areas, where they either didn’t need to take care of light themselves, or where a small lantern alone already sufficed. But even with that being the only thing they had on them, they were not stranded in the dark. Mundane applications for fantastic abilities though they were… the fact of the matter was that both Falchion and the Monado had blades of light that they could turn on on command.
Which of course also had the added benefit of them not needing to draw their weapons in case they did encounter an enemy.
Illuminated by the light of the Monado and the light of Falchion, Lucina and Shulk ventured ever deeper into the ruins.
The indescribable feeling of dread did not ease up the further down they got. If anything, it got worse.
After their first descent to a lower level, they soon encountered another hole that led further. Some time after that, another still. And with their vague goal nowhere in sight, they went deep, deep, yet deeper.
While at first Lucina had thought that Shulk had been holding up surprisingly well, she soon realized that it had merely been his initial tolerance that had been higher. Soon any word that he said was also spoken in a hushed tone, while he kept nervously glancing around. Not that she could blame him.
Although the lights of Monado and Falchion made it easier to clearly see what was immediately around them – especially when compared to the gloom of the first floor – the blades could only do so much. The halls and corridors of the ruins were vast , so much so that all their lights managed to was give texture to the dark, rather than dispel it. They showed just how dark it truly was, just how utterly insignificant they were in this construct that had withstood the millennia. It had been there before they had arrived in this world, and had existed untold times longer than both of them had been alive. And the ruin would remain here after they had departed the world again, regardless of whether they had been able to accomplish what they had set out to do. To it, they mattered nothing.
And still, even still, there was the dreadful feeling of a presence all around them, fully aware of them venturing deeper. Not interfering, not judging, not lurking… just waiting and watching.
What unsettled Lucina the most about it was that it was entirely unrelated to the Fell Dragon.
Within the future past, she had come face to face with Grima themself before. There had been a time when the Fell Dragon had led their hordes personally towards one of the few castles that humanity still held. Desperately, and with a fierce conviction they had fought…!
And might as well have tried to stand against a landslide.
While the Risen that the Fell Dragon had sent to the field were reasonably possible to defend against alone, their sheer hordes had been endless. Every single fallen soldier strengthened their lines, unless dismemberment or decapitation made it impossible for the body to fight. It had already been a losing battle – which had gotten outright futile once Grima arrived.
Even to this day, Lucina relived the scene in her nightmares.
In a sudden, fierce gust of wind all the fighters around her, regardless of whether human or Risen, had been wiped away, reducing the battlefield to nothing but ash and rubble. And throughout the dense cloud of the debris, three eyes. Far bigger than houses, glowing, casting her in their spotlight, focussing entirely on her.
The Fell Dragon had loomed over the burning city like a dark cloud, a singular, gigantic lifeform bigger than the city itself. Like a force of nature, it had borne down on her with gaping maw…
It still was hard to believe to Lucina that she had survived the encounter. It had only been the timely arrival of Cynthia and Gerome that had allowed her to escape to fight another day. The Fell Dragon had been furious – but its anger had been short-lived, and it had taunted them on their entire retreat.
She still was not sure if it had been easier if Grima did not talk.
At any rate, the point was that Lucina knew what it was like to be in the presence of the Fell Dragon.
It was an overwhelming presence that put the mind to being in the sights of a large predator, a creature that did not hunt because it hungered, but hunted for the thrill of it, the excitement of the chase. Though the Grimleal may have worshipped them like a god, whether Grima actually was one Lucina doubted. They simply were a being on an entirely different level than humans, something more – which admittedly may have been enough for them to be considered that.
The presence that she felt was something different. Ironic though it was, it felt more like an intense, bright light shining down on her. Something ethereal, and nothing like the almost animalistic sensation that Grima conveyed. If anything, it reminded Lucina of being in the spiritual presence of Naga , for some reason – but with none of the soothing qualities. Whereas Naga made you feel cared for, and Grima made you feel like you were being toyed with, or eyed like a vermin, this presence gave off the feeling of… simply not caring. It saw you, witnessed all your struggles and your efforts, and thought nothing of it. You were a momentary curiosity, but one that would be forgotten before long.
It was a small relief then that the presence felt not threatening.
For now.
Deep, deep, yet deeper they went. And the presence became more pervasive.
“Look at the size of these bones! What did they belong to?!” Shulk asked incredulously, letting go all instinctive caution that had kept their voices in a hushed whisper before.
Yet while his curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he was examining the remnants up close, she remained still. The sight reminded her too much of familiar things.
“It’s a dragon skeleton…” she said quietly. Examining the skull, Shulk turned his head to her.
“A dragon… so anything like-?”
“I don’t think so,” she cut him off. “Back in the days of the hero king, dragons were a… well, perhaps not a common sight. But there were more of them than just the small number that you may still find today. This poor beast must have been sealed into these depths millennia ago, and found its end down here.”
“Incredible…” Shulk muttered and stepped away, his initial curiosity seemingly satisfied. “We do also have dragons on the Bionis, but they are a lot bigger than this one must have been.”
Lucina said nothing. Even down on all fours, the shoulders of the skeleton were higher than either her or Shulk were tall. And the dragons in his homeworld were bigger than that? It was a disquieting thought…
…But also not what held her thoughts in its thralls. With the lesser, mindless dragons long since extinct, the sight of these old bones only brought one thing to mind – Nah. Her, and Lady Tiki. While it was a downright impossibility that this skeleton belonged to either of them… seeing it made Lucina feel sick, which was not all helped by everything else in these ruins.
“Let’s keep moving. I think we still have a ways to go.”
Rather than responding right away, Shulk let out a deep breath first. Even if he was putting on a brave face, she could see that all of this must be getting to him as well.
“…Right. We’re on the fifth floor now… the chamber we’re looking for must be deeper still.”
And there was nothing more to be said at the moment.
Despite everything, Shulk was fascinated. True, the atmosphere down in these ruins was choking in a way that went beyond the bodily, and he too felt this ominous, looming presence all around.
But something about the whole place was just… familiar in a way that he could not place.
Travelling across the Bionis, him and the others had come across many ancient ruins. Some built by the extinct race of the giants, some of the High Entia, and others still of unknown origin. The architecture of this place was nothing like any of them. And yet… and yet. Being here felt the most like being back home to him than any other place in this world ever had. He even thought that he could almost feel the Monado tremble slightly in his hands, as if to confirm that it was not just him…
Perhaps the most disconcerting part of it all though had to be the fact that he was near certain that the presence was something that he knew . It was… the best way to put it was probably to imagine it as a sensation that has been with you for every day of your life, to the point that you don’t even notice it yourself any more unless you stop to think about it. And then suddenly, it is gone, and you notice it through its absence.
Being in these ruins was like such a sensation suddenly coming back.
And Shulk had no idea what to make of it.
He had not noticed anything of the sort in his vision of this place. It really had just been like every other vision, with nothing too outstanding in its contents. About the only thing worrying about it had been the presence of the Grimleal, but such a thing was standard fare.
The only thing he really could do was to venture on, and see what would happen.
“Halt!” Lucina suddenly hissed. Shulk stopped dead in his tracks, and turned towards her. Her expression was alert, but nothing that suggested that she had noticed immediate danger.
“What is it?”
“Do you hear that…?”
Shulk strained his ears. In the all-encompassing silence of the depths, their footsteps alone had sometimes felt like thunder to his ears. Now that Lucina mentioned it, though… there was something more. Distorted grunts and groans, animalistic roars…
All accompanying what sounded like fighting noises.
Him and Lucina exchanged a quiet glance. Then they headed onwards in unspoken agreement.
They were by now down on the ninth floor of the ruins. Along the way, they had not encountered a single living thing – but plenty of skeletons. There had been the dragon one, of course, but also Homs- human ones.
And ones that looked like no creature that Shulk had ever seen in this world.
Had he not read in the Valentian chronicle that queen Celica and king Alm had encountered the same terrors here that had plagued their home due to the mental degradation of the dragon god Duma, he would have no idea what to make of them. But even as it stood, he could only puzzle about what these creatures might have looked like once upon time…
Because they definitely could not have looked like what they ended up finding at the source of the noise.
On the one hand, there were Risen.
Even from a distance, and even in the light of their sword, that was easy to tell. Their weapons looked ancient, and their armour in no way resembled those that the Risen that he had previously encountered wore, but there was no doubt that this was them. The glowing red eyes and grotesque face masks made them unmistakable.
And they were fighting.
What they were fighting resembled no Homs or human. They were amalgamations of several different creatures, with a vaguely feline head with a flowing white mane, massive wings reminiscent of a vang, clawed legs like an igna, and fierce claws that they used to fight while standing upright.
“What are these things…?” Lucina asked breathlessly as they peaked over a collapsed pillar.
“These are… obarts…” Shulk said – and had no idea where the knowledge came from.
Lucina turned her head towards him. “…Obarts? Do you know these things from your world?”
“Y-yes… I had to fight through them while on… Prison Island…” his voice trailed off. Fighting through Prison Island?! The place had been empty when he had been there!
But he still didn’t have all of his memories back…
“Yes, I know,” he added before Lucina could say anything. She had seen his memories, after all. “I have no idea why I know this. But I am certain that these are creatures from my world. Not normal wildlife, but something… more ancient. Darker.”
Lucina remained silent for a moment before she said anything. “If these are creatures from your world…”
“Something must be summoning them. Just like the Mechon.”
“It can’t be Hydros. He must be on his way here with the Grimleal.”
Shulk nodded. “Which means that they are here because of something else…”
A grim silence fell between them, interrupted only by the Risen and obarts fighting up ahead. After a moment, Lucina broke it.
“Well, let us make the most of it. If these monsters are keeping the Risen that already dwelt here occupied, we might be able to slip through without being noticed.”
They pressed on. Just as Lucina had speculated, the Risen and monsters fighting each other meant that it was easy for the two of them to sneak past both groups. And the further they went, the more it became apparent that they were here at just the right time for it. Because while there were enough Risen to form a small troop, there were more monsters here than just obarts.
There were deinos, bargs, ageshus, laias, egels, balgas, and even behemoths, all of them turning against the Risen wherever the groups encountered them. While the Risen here seemed to be, for all purposes, stronger than the ones that roamed the surface, they were no match for the monsters.
And Shulk still had no idea how he remembered them.
No matter how much he wrecked his brain about them, he could simply not recall ever having encountered any of these creatures. But at the same time, he was one hundred percent certain that he saw them on Prison Island, and fought his way through them, together with the others. Whatever turn of events his memories still kept a secret, it must have been an extreme one.
It was also a shame. He had wanted the first time that Lucina met actual monsters from his world to be more uplifiting.
After the ever present fighting noises of the ninth floor, the tenth floor’s silence was even more eerie than that of the higher floors. The presence, having previously seemed distracted was now overwhelming… and it seemed to be focussing on them.
When Lucina saw the mark of the Grima on a heavy set of stone doors that had been ripped off their hinges ago, she was not even surprised. What Shulk had told about the events described in the Valentian chronicle had already strongly implied it, which meant that now only the few remaining doubts were erased.
This was where Grima came from.
The being that the Grimleal worshipped as their dark god, herald of the world’s righteous destruction… it was a man-made creation. Born of the blood of a divine dragon, human blood, and whatever else the Sewing-Life Alchemist Forneus mixed together millennia ago, there was nothing truly godly about the Fell Dragon that had brought her timeline to destruction. It was… infuriating. That a creation of humans would bring humanity to the brink of extinction…
But if it was created by humans, then humans would undo it. She would make it so, Lucina swore to herself.
Beyond the doors lay a truly massive circular chamber. In spite of the slowly progressing dilapidation that had long since seized the rest of these labyrinthian ruins, this place seemed to still be entirely intact. The pillars still stood, reaching all the way to the distant ceiling, and even torches were lit to illuminate the place, fuelled no doubt by a magic she did not comprehend.
And in the middle of it all was a skeleton. Even at a glance, Lucina had no trouble recognizing it. How could she not, when she had seen a similar one just a few months ago, and had already been face to face with who it belonged to?
This was the skeleton of Grima.
It was much, much smaller than the one that could be found in Plegia. Even so however, it was still utterly massive, even when compared to the one of the dragon that they had found a few floors above.
Then there was the sword, embedded in its head. Even from a distance, she could see something akin to a blue shimmer, running along its blade.
That’s all there was in this chamber.
“This must be the lowest level,” Lucina said quietly.
“Mh. And we made it in time, too.”
“Right. Then let’s see what can be done about that sword…”
Even though the moment was urgent, neither of them dared walking too fast. Every single step they took echoed around the chamber, giving them a greater gravity than they would have liked. Her heart beating with excitement, Lucina and Shulk approached the skeleton…
And froze.
A sudden sound filled the air. It was no grunt, no groan, and no roar. It was none of the noises that they had heard higher up where the Risen had fought against the monster. Instead, it was a… soft sound, a kind of hum.
Without her experiences here in the past and without having been Shulk’s memories by A, Lucina would not have been able to recognize the sound. It was one utterly alien to this world, and one that she would have never known had it not been for the intrusion of Shulk and all the other things from his world.
It was the humming of engines.
Which was rapidly growing louder.
Lucina whirled around, throwing all caution into the wind. More out of instinct than anything else, she grasped Falchion, steadying herself for enemy attacks…
And then she saw them. Three Mechon – no, they had to be Faced Mechon. Illuminated by their own glow, she could just barely make out their colours. One of them, the one blue that she had fought before, and the other two new ones. One in a gold, so pale that it was nearly silver, and the other copper.
All three flying right towards them.
Notes:
What's more fun than one new Faced Mechon? Three, of course!
I suppose it should be easy to imagine who those could be. But then again, no one has been able to guess who Cobalt Face is, either. . .
Chapter 6: Secret | Face
Summary:
Melia tries to adjust to live in Colony 9.
Lucina and Shulk encounter new and old enemies.
Notes:
It has been a bit of a break since my last update, hasn't it? Well, simply put, life happened. Some of it expected, some unexpected. It's not quite done happening yet either, but at least not in any way that should impede my writing.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ylisse
Gate Isle
Though the halidom of Ylisse was surrounded by more ocean than it was by neighbouring nations, it historically never delved too much into seafaring. The outlying islands belonging to Ylisse did mean that there was the occasional sea trade, but nothing to the extent that either Regna Ferox or Plegia could boast with. Still, for the occasional traveller who did want to go to the outlying islands, safe passage was easily found in exchange for the right price. Said price was, in the case of many of these islands, generally reasonable. If there were trade ships travelling along the routes anyway, what was the harm in taking along a few more passengers?
The southernmost island of Ylisse was however different. Known as the Gate Isle, it was mostly uninhabited, safe for the odd fishers for whom the gods had ordained a more isolated lifestyle, or who had deliberately chosen one on their own accord. All this was of no fault of the island itself – the surrounding seas tended to be a reasonable temperature and full of all kinds of edible sea life. The island itself meanwhile was both big and lush enough so that the few people who did live here could do so reasonably well.
Yet even so, no count ruled here, and no noble had ever claimed it as their own. This was an island that was under direct jurisdiction of whoever was the reigning Exalt of Ylisse at the time, who tended to not put much mind to Gate Isle. Or if they did, they considered it a little curiosity where daring warriors may travel – but nothing more.
Which was all due to the one thing that gave the isle its name.
Standing in roughly the middle of the island, located within a cave that was far closer to the surface than such a place should have been, was the Outrealm Gate. At all times, it was… guarded was perhaps not the best term, as that suggested danger to either the gate itself, or the people interacting with it. And really, the gate itself was no danger, as those that passed through it tended to return just fine.
So if anything, it was… overseen. Overseen at all times by a merchant of the not so much extended as outstretched Anna family. Who, true to their reputation, milked every single coin out of the gate that they possibly could. All daring warriors had to do was pay a small fee, and suddenly they found themselves transported to otherworldly challenges unlike any that they had ever seen before, treasure hunts, encounters with legendary heroes, and even alternate passages of history.
None of these things were why she was here.
In all the countless millennia that she had spent in this world, she had only heard the occasional rumours of this place. In these lands of swords and magic and dragons, it was easy to dismiss such a thing as yet another fantasy that she, as a former woman of science, was not inclined to believe. But since she had been told that he was apparently here… well, there was a reason to at last seek it out.
From the moment she and her self-appointed subordinates set foot on the island, the locals went out of her way. She paid them no mind. That was simply how people in this world tended to react to her, and their short lifespans compared to her own meant that there was little point for her to pay them any mind, anyway.
Without anything standing in her way, she made her way further into the island. Technically, she had no idea where she was going – but now that she was here, she found that there was just something… drawing her to the place.
Something very, very familiar.
That was promising.
The path to the cave where the Outrealm Gate stood was easily found. Even if this island did not see much activity, it evidently saw enough for the path to the gate to be well-trodden and easy to follow. At least it wasn’t littered with advertisements – if there was one thing that she did not miss in this world, it was that.
But there were regrettably still salespeople.
The moment she and the others entered the cave, the woman appeared. Galea did not see where she came from, whether she had been here somewhere all along, or whether she had somehow popped into existence out of nowhere. All Galea knew was that from one moment to the next, she was just there, hands folded together with a smile that screamed “customer service” – and perhaps most unsettlingly, screamed it not as a scream of despair or one for help, but rather as one of genuine enthusiasm.
“Ah, welcome traveller! Welcome at the Outrealm Gate. No doubt you have heard of our great offerings of challenges, treasure hunts-” the Anna – because who else could it be but a member of this family? – began, but Galea cut her off.
“Save it,” she growled, glaring down at the red-headed woman. “I am not interested in either your sales pitch, nor anything you have to offer.”
The Anna’s mouth went thin, and she visibly tensed up beneath Galea. She did not appear to be threatened, but instead gave off the impression of somebody very carefully weighing all her options in a very short amount of time.
“…What can I do for you then?” she slowly asked, eyes darting back and forth between Galea and the others. Galea recognised the attitude – if this Anna were a barkeeper, this would be the time when she would inconspicuously reach for something beneath the bar that would let her deal with unruly patrons.
The urge to just draw her sword and be done with it welled up inside of Galea. Even if this family of merchants tended to be something… more than just human, any one of them would not be enough to deal with her. She could just scare her off and be done with it, and not have to deal with any more of this. But, she hesitated. It didn’t have to go this way… there really was no point in needlessly turning people against her.
“I just want to examine this gate,” she said. “There’s someone I’m looking for. I don’t think he’s on the other side, but he might be around in some way.”
The Anna didn’t relax, but she did furrow her brows. “That is incredibly vague, and not very helpful.” She shook her head. “Look – can you just make up your mind whether or not you are going to be difficult? I’m near certain that it won’t be long before the Shepherds’ tactician drops by for another challenge battle again, and I want this to be done before that point.”
Galea grunted. “Don’t you worry. I will be long gone before that.”
Without waiting for The Anna to react in any way, Galea marched past her. Behind her, she could hear how the woman protested, but the general clattering of armour suggested that her men were doing their part to convince her that it was best to just let Galea do what she wanted. They really were useful to have around, just for moments like these.
Once she stood just a few steps away from the gate, Galea stopped. There really was no denying it any more. The Trinity Processor Core had lied – the other half of Klaus was not here. It really had been idiotic to no end to believe him in the first place. Even if he was not as frustrating to deal with as the orange core had been, this purple one was just as bad in his own way.
But now that she was here… perhaps it really had not been a waste to seek this place out.
Galea looked the gate up and down. It was absolutely massive, towering over her higher than even some castle walls. It was made of stone, but looked like it was not built with bricks. Rather, it seemed like the entire construct had been somehow made from one giant rock, chiselled away by artful hands over countless hours of work. Though its doors were shut, it still somehow emanated a kind of blue-ish gray glow.
Following a sudden impulse, she held out her hand. A soft hum filled the air.
She made a waving motion. As if her fingers were being tracked across a touchscreen, the image of a stone gate in front of her was dragged away…
Revealing beneath it a massive structure, glowing so brightly that all details were impossible to make out. The only thing that she could clearly see was its shape, but she did not need anything else.
It was a large monolith shaped like a wide cross with short side arms. Last she had seen it, it had glowed with a golden light, but in this world it seemed to prefer bright blue instead.
Galea sighed. Of course this thing would be here as well. With how obsessed Klaus had been with it, it really was no surprise… but if it was the reason why he had appeared here in the first place, then that was good enough.
For a moment, she just stood there and looked at it. Behind her, The Anna had fallen silent.
Then Galea turned around. Behind her, the Conduit returned to its appearance as the Outrealm Gate.
It stirred.
Colony 9
Dunban and Fiora's House
Melia stared at the dark ceiling, still trying to process the day.
So she had arrived at Colony 9. That much had been expected.
What had not been accepted was that literally the first person that she came across in the colony not only ended up being Fiora, but that she swept Melia away on every conceivable level. Training with the Monado Replicas, and providing her with a visual that, thinking back, still made her heart beat faster. Practically dragging her back to the colony, back to her house, and staying true to her promise to make her a lunch unlike any she had seen before. Giving her a tour of the colony, showing off what fruit the efforts to rebuild and expand it had born. Making her meet with Dunban, Reyn, Sharla, Juju, Riki, and all of the Heropon’s family. Throwing a borderline feast in the evening with all of them.
And now, outright letting Melia sleep in her bed. Fiora truly had been like a gentle, but fierce breeze blowing her away. The Homs woman had even gone so far as to lend Melia one of her nightgowns, when she had mentioned in passing that she had been travelling without one. It was an undeniable truth that the garments, which would have already been baggy on Fiora, were far too wide for Melia, but… even so, the knowledge, the thought, the feeling of wearing them made Melia flustered. Perhaps it was a silly thought, but there was an… undeniable comfort in wearing this nightgown, even if it was hardly appropriate for the empress of the High Entia.
No, especially for the empress of the High Entia.
Melia let out a deep and quiet sigh.
On its face, this day had been wonderful on every conceivable level. Now that she was in her presence again, Fiora continued to be every bit the woman Melia had always imagined her to be, if not more. Had all this happened a year ago, before she had set out on that fateful mission to Makna Forest, it would have swept her off her feet and made her feel like was caught in the middle of one of the cheap romance stories that so many High Entia women her age seemed to practically devour on a regular basis…
But what would have been last year simply could not be now. Not after everything that she had lived through, not after she was poised to become empress of the few remaining High Entia.
Not after she had met Shulk and seen what he and Fiora were like together.
Every single time she dared to hope, dared to think that at least her matters of the heart might just reach a happy ending, her mind flashed back. Back to the minutes just before her and the others had confronted Egil, leader of Mechonis, for the last time. When Shulk and Fiora both had run past her, hand in hand, neither of them having any eyes for her.
In a grim sense, it had really been rather appropriate that this wound up being the very same day that caused such tragedy to strike her people. As the Homs saying went, if it rains it pours.
Melia let out another sigh.
Her own personal happiness really wasn’t a factor in the grand scheme of things. She was content, needed to be content with being there for the people that she could do something for. The survivors of the High Entia, her friends… as long as she could make them happy, then that was all she needed.
But she also needn’t expose herself to any undue heartbreak and unnecessary feelings. And comforting as it was to be a guest in Fiora’s house, to be sleeping in her bed… Melia could not do it without the nagging thoughts at the back of her head. Wonderful as it was, she should not cherish this moment, when it would turn into naught but a bittersweet memory once Shulk inevitably returned.
Her mind was made up. Taking a deep breath, Melia got up from the bed, and lit the ether light on the night stand. She would wake Fiora, tell her that would prefer to be somewhere where she could respond to any emergencies that could come up in the colony, and then thank her and find another place to sleep. Fiora would protest, she was certain, but Melia was also certain that Fiora would not prevent her from leaving if that was what she wanted.
With cautious steps, Melia snuck through the room, careful to not cause any floorboards to creak. Once at the door, she also made sure to open it as quietly as she could manage…
….Partly wondering why she did that, as her plan involved waking Fiora, anyway.
Beyond the door to her room – Fiora's room – the house lay in darkness.
Melia hesitated. If the aim was to wake Fiora, then she could just call out to her. But the darkness of the night stifled the sound in her throat. No, it would not do.
Not to mention that it was impolite. The idea that the Homs living in the colonies had of proper and appropriate behaviour was a far cry from the conventions of High Entia society, let alone the etiquette that the royal family was meant to live. But even if Fiora would not care, Melia had lost so much of who she was already that she could not stand to give up any of what she had left.
Exhaling quietly, Melia snuck back into her room and retrieved the ether light from her stand. It was a simple torch and one that made her feel like a lowly burglar trespassing where she was not meant to go (and was she not stealing Fiora's time by being here?), but it was a necessity. If Fiora's house had any general light switch, then she had no idea where it was.
Now then... Dunban's bed, where Fiora was sleeping for the night. If she recalled, it was just ahead – Melia remembered Fiora telling her about how she had personally moved Dunban's bed so that it was easy to reach from both her own room and the kitchen downstairs. All so that caring for the hero of the Homs was as easy a task as possible.
To believe that she had done all that on her own... and when Fiora used to have aspirations of joining the Defence Force herself. That was another thing that she had told Melia once.
Could she herself have done it? The scenario was easy enough for Melia to imagine. Suppose Kallian had somehow needed to prove himself in much the same way that she had, hunting a Telethia. Suppose then that his mission had failed in the same way that hers nearly had, and with grave injury to him. There would have been no doubt many that would have gladly cared for him, if given the chance. And Melia herself chief among them – but would she have had the strength to leave behind all obligations to do what she thought was right, as Fiora had? She did not know.
But there was no point to these thoughts anyway. Kallian was dead and gone, her dear brother who she had always thought would be the one to succeed the throne – not just on account of being the older of them, but also due to how much better suited he was. He was gone just like how father was gone, before his time and just as she had come to realize that he had truly loved her. Just like how mother was gone, long before she could have seen that her child was her daughter rather than her son…
Melia truly was alone. Excepting Tyrea, who... counted her as little as family as Yumea had done all along. Wherever Tyrea was right now.
Such thoughts clouding her mind, Melia slowly walked through the room. By the light of her ether torch, she soon spotted Fiora…
Passed out on the bed.
No blanket covered her, and she was even still wearing the same clothes that she had worn all day.
Melia paused. Curiosity getting the better of her, she somewhat more hastily snuck down. Just a few hours ago, all her friends had been here for a downright feast, leaving behind a huge mess.
One of which nothing remained now.
More thoughtful, Melia returned upstairs. The meal that Fiora had prepared for her upon returning to the colony had, true to her words, had been one to remember. If anything, it was an outright feast, with enough to feed not just Melia, but all of their friends and Riki’s family as well. And she had done so on such short notice… only to practically chase all of them out once they were done eating, insisting that Melia needed the rest.
Which Fiora had evidently not applied to herself. If the state of the house was anything to go by, she had spent the past few hours cleaning the entire kitchen and dining area, making the house spotless, and… fit for an empress?
That could not have been Fiora’s thinking, could it? It simply could not. The Homs woman doing all this for her, now that was the sort of thing that Melia would gladly dream of, but never expect to take place in the waking world.
And yet, here she was, passed out on her brother’s bed while Melia herself had been given the room that needed no such cleaning…
For a moment, Melia stared down at Fiora collapsed on the bed through half-lidded eyes. This really was like her, was it not? Just as she had been secretly dying without Meyneth’s Monado providing energy for her Mechon body but refused to tell anyone out of fear of losing out on what may have been the last bit of time she had with the others, so had she now shouldered all the burden herself when there were so many who would have helped her.
The similarities to herself were not lost on Melia.
What had she done these past few months, if not shouldered all the burden of being herself , Melia Antiqua, hope of the High Entia and potentially their last empress? But it had been the only thing she could do… there was no one in this world who could help her with being herself, and doing what needed to be done.
She could however not deny that completely shutting out everyone else had perhaps been… not the best choice of action. Melia sighed. She really could not leave this house in good conscience now, could she? After Fiora had done all this for her it would be to spit in the face of her kindness. It was best if she stayed.
Even if doing so tore at her heart, reminded her of all the dreams and fantasies of having both Shulk and Fiora at her side. A wonderful dream, a beautiful dream – but also one that she had long since resigned herself to never seeing fulfilled. When it came to matters of the heart, it all just came down to luck, she supposed. Meeting the right person at the right time and having all the circumstances work out just fine. It was luck.
And as life had shown, she had none.
With some difficulty, Melia managed to pull out a blanket from underneath Fiora without waking her. Then, briefly setting down her ether torch on the night stand, she spread the blanket over the other woman. It would have been for the best if Melia also could have properly pulled her up the bed, but she feared that doing so might wake Fiora. So she dared not touch her.
After seeing her work done, Melia watched Fiora sleep for about a minute more. Then, she headed back into Fiora’s room and went back to bed.
Colony 9
Port
Junks
“…With these adjustments, each individual replica is considerably less sturdy and has overall less destructive potential,” Vanea explained. “But considering your personal fighting style, both together should now serve you just as well as only wielded at maximum efficiency.”
“Thank you, Vanea!” Fiora said breathlessly, curiously eyeing the Monado Replicas. Abyss and Dogma were still recognisable as the blades that they had been just a short while ago, but at the same time the adjustments done to them were clearly visible. While still massive swords overall, their overall size had been reduced quite significantly, bringing them more in line with the types of dual swords that Fiora had wielded back when she had had the body of a machine. Compared to that time, these swords felt heavier in her hands, but definitely manageable.
“You do realise that I could have done this sooner, had you only asked,” Vanea pointed out in a chastising tone. “I truly cannot believe that you forced yourself to wield two swords intended for double-handed use for several days before you even thought to ask me for help!”
Fiora sharply drew in breath as she could feel her ears turn red. “I just… didn’t want anyone knowing that we took them in the first place.”
“Why shouldn’t you? We constructed them for you in the first place.”
“Yeah… yeah,” Fiora said sheepishly. If she was honest for herself, she couldn’t quite answer that for herself, either. Perhaps it was because she had started making plans before she had fully recovered, or perhaps it was because Reyn had started this whole thing and had been secretive about it as well. Or perhaps it was because she just knew that on some level, Dunban disapproved and felt that the Monado and any of its replicas had already done enough for the world. That they were better off facing the future without having to rely on it.
…Or something along those lines. He had not actually said anything of the sort. But she had picked up on the fact that he was not perfectly happy that both her and Reyn had started using the Monado Replicas and were training with them, something that he had just somehow picked up on along the way. While Fiora was certain that Melia had kept quiet, he had already known to begin with that Reyn was doing this, after all. So Dunban figuring out that Fiora had started doing it as well was no big surprise.
All things considered though, the others learning about it was perhaps not the worst thing in the world, While Dunban knew Fiora well enough to not even try to dissuade her from training with the Monado Replicas, Melia did not have the years of knowing her to fall back on – and had therefore somehow managed to convince her to at least ask Vanea to do some adjustments.
Though in all fairness, right now Fiora would have done just about anything to make Melia happy.
While the secret empress likely thought that she was keeping everything that was worrying her to herself, it was pretty easy for Fiora to see through her. The ways in which Melia threw herself at reconstruction work wherever she could help, how she did everything she could to help out the High Entia in the colony. And how she stayed out for most of the day, leaving house early in the morning and returning late in the evening… Fiora just about considered it a small miracle that Melia was still staying at hers and Dunban’s house at all. Even with everything that Fiora had done already, the other woman was still keeping to herself.
And no matter how she wrecked her brain, Fiora could not think of a way to get her to speak what was on her mind. She did not want to pry – having herself kept the fact that she was dying without Meyneth’s Monado a secret from the others, Fiora was the last person to demand that others be open about what troubled others. Not to mention that it was just not the right thing to do. Melia’s heart was her own business, and so was sharing anything within. All that Fiora could really do was to be there for Melia, encourage the others to be there for the secret empress, and hope that at some point, Melia trusted her enough to let her be there for her in these matters as well.
No matter how long it took.
For the present time, Fiora considered it a small success at least that despite everything, Melia continued to stay at her house. The decision to let her stay did earn Fiora a bemused look from Dunban, but her brother thankfully said nothing more and instead took lodgings wherever he found them for the night. While his role as hero of the Homs had been somewhat overshadowed by Shulk, Dunban’s deeds in the battle of Sword Valley and the active role he took in reconstruction now still had a lot of sway, enough for more than enough people to gladly offer him places to stay the night.
For Fiora then having Melia live with her was a welcome change. Even before he had been injured by his use of the Monado, Dunban had… never exactly been the biggest help around the house. There was a reason why Fiora had learned to cook as early as she did – while the things that Dunban could whip up were edible enough, even mud was strictly speaking edible. And though Melia didn’t really do any cooking herself, she had surprised Fiora on more than one occasion with how much she looked after herself, far more than Fiora would have expected from a member of a royal family.
So in the instances when Melia did stick around, she was pleasant company. The problem was just getting her to stick around for long enough to begin with.
“Well, we can only hope that having these around won’t be a strict necessity…” Vanea suddenly said, bringing Fiora back to reality. Though a lot had gone through her head, she really hadn’t spent too terribly long lost in thought.
“I’m with you on that,” said Fiora, nodding. “But this world is still young. Even if Alvis told us that it would be safe now, there is no telling what may lie in wait in it.”
Vanea nodded, and slowly walked over to the railing. From here, in Junks’ cockpit, they had a lovely view of the (salty) sea that the world’s rebirth had turned the lake below Colony 9 into. Off in the distance, the head of the Bionis loomed like a mountain range.
“We can only hope that everything will be alright. After my brother gave his life to help you stop Zanza and finally let this world live in peace, I would loathe to see it fall to chaos once more.”
Involuntarily, Fiora tensed up a little. Slowly, she averted her gaze from Vanea.
With everything that had taken place over the last couple of months, the simple fact that Egil had been her brother had somehow been pushed far to the back of her mind. Even now, the thought of the man conjured up nothing but memories of the countless Mechon attacks on the colonies, the death of her parents, her own death, the shell of iron and blood that her body had been made into just so that he could carry out his vengeance…
Though all of it was done in service of stopping Zanza, Egil had brought a lot of pain and suffering. Even if Vanea was right, and he had done the right thing in the end, his legacy was not one to fondly remember.
But she also realised that this was not the right sort of thing to bring up to Vanea of all people. For all that Egil did, he had still been a son and a brother.
Responding to Vanea, Fiora just hummed quietly.
The Machina half turned back towards her with a melancholy look. “Ah… my apologies. I’m aware that my brother is a touchy subject at the best of times, and that for you it must be particularly difficult to hear me talk about him this way.”
Fiora sharply drew in breath and brought up her hands. “N-no! It’s alright! I mean… if I hadn’t been turned into a Face pilot you wouldn’t have been able to make me the vessel for Meyneth’s soul, and who knows how things would have gone then.”
All that her words accomplished however was a weak smile from Vanea. “There is no need to gloss over anything. Even if we Machina have mostly been welcomed by the Homs, High Entia and Nopon, there are still those who resent us for the Mechon attacks, and rightly so.”
“Maybe,” Fiora conceded, letting out a deep breath. “But if we dwell on that, we will never be able to break the cycle of vengeance and resentment. When Shulk spared Egil, that was just one step. And it is up to each and every one of us to do the following ones.”
For a brief moment, Vanea just quietly looked at her. “You are a kind soul, Fiora. Even if it happened by chance, I think we all can be glad that you had become the vessel for Meyneth’s soul.”
Fiora just hummed again. Kind though Vanea’s words were, Fiora could not stop herself from recalling the feeling of having Meyneth be in control of her body. Seeing, hearing, and feeling everything, but unable to be in control of any of it, a prisoner in her own flesh. Though she had gladly accepted it as one last opportunity to be with Shulk and the others at the time, hindsight made the whole ordeal just a bit more sinister in her mind. If left to her own devices… would Meyneth ever have returned her body to her? While she wanted to give the late goddess the benefit of the doubt, the simple fact of the matter was that Fiora couldn’t – even after she had regained control of her body, Meyneth’s heart had remained hidden from her.
…And upon meeting her again, Vanea had greeted Fiora as “Meyneth”, although the goddess had been resting at the time…
No, no matter how she thought about it now, Fiora could not think about what Meyneth and Vanea had done to her as an entirely good thing.
Which left her feeling wretched for having these thoughts in the first place.
Regna Ferox
Thabes Labyrinth
Lowest Floor
As one, the Faced Mechon came to a sudden halt, floating in the air above them. In a swift series of metal clicking and whirring, they unfolded into their humanoid shapes. Then they dropped down, landing on the ground with heavy thuds that nearly made Lucina and Shulk lose their balance.
“ Well now, what do we have here? ” one of them spoke – judging by the jerking motions of the Mechon’s head, the blue one. His voice was deep and regal, speaking in an authoritative tone used to commanding while also sounding like it was somehow… filtered through something.
“ Intruders, it would seem. We should secure them until the master arrives, ” the second one – the bronze one – spoke, his voice even deeper than the other. Gripping Falchion tightly, Lucina cautiously looked around the Mechon with gritted teeth.
When she had encountered the blue one on his (because now that she heard his voice, it did sound like a male one) own, she had only barely managed to live through the encounter. And even that had only been due to him withdrawing for whatever reason. Shulk meanwhile had fared no better from what he had told her. Now there were three of them…
Well, it wasn’t the first time that she had to live through overwhelming odds. After the unease and constant feeling of something being wrong within these ruins, she was at last filled by an odd sense of calm.
Yet mixed with it was a sense of looming dread. Not due to the Mechon themselves. But rather due to what, due to who might be inside. The third one had not yet spoken – the one in a gold so pale that it was almost silver. But its weapon…
The blue one wielded a massive sword. The bronze one had an enormous axe.
This one had a metal staff scaled to its size.
“ You are correct, Copper Face. But it is a shame, ” the blue one answered. “ I would have quite liked to see what this mystery girl who somehow got her hands on Falchion is capable of. Our last encounter ended far too soon for my liking. Though from what I have seen, it was nothing particularly impressive. As if any more proof was needed that this sword has no standards for who it considers worthy of wielding it. ”
Quietly, Lucina exchanged a glance with Shulk. Just like how she was gripping Falchion tightly, so was he holding the Monado, blade alight. The look on his face was easy for her to read. Should things take a turn for the worse, he would be ready.
“ Commendable discipline, though, ” the blue one continued. “ Judging by my encounter with that boy who wields the other Falchion and all that I have heard about him, he would have been flung into a rage by such comments. To believe that Ylisse is now led by such a reckless whelp… ”
In spite of herself, Lucina let out an angry grunt. She could not allow herself to lash out in this moment, she knew. With the disadvantage in numbers and the sheer size and power of the Faced Mechon, recklessly attacking was nothing but a death sentence.
But even still, why was this Mechon so fixated on Falchion and father ?
“ What do you think, girl? ” the Faced Mechon said, slowly leaning in towards her. His mask-like face grinned at her – with how it was modelled it could do nothing but, yet she just knew that behind the steel, the pilot was doing the same thing. “ Want to prove your mettle until the master and the others arrive? Maybe you can convince me that Falchion may not be entirely mistaken in who it deems worthy. ”
“ Do not provoke her, Cobalt Face. We were given our orders, and we would do well to follow them. ”
“ What? I am just laying out the options. Whether or not she attacks me is entirely up to her, Platinum Face, ” the Mechon – Cobalt Face – retorted.
Lucina however was barely listening to him. She had already whirled around towards the third Faced Mechon.
Platinum Face.
“Lucina – isn’t that-?!” Shulk hissed, but there was no need for it. She had already recognised the voice. How could she not, when she had been turning over the memory of when she had last heard it in her head endlessly since that day? It was a female voice, gentle and calm, and one that now had an edge in it that hadn’t been there before.
She had expected to hear it again. Ever since she had first laid eyes upon Cobalt Face, ever since she knew about the true nature of the Faced Mechon. It had simply made too much sense – with her in enemy hands and either dead or near mortally wounded, she had been far too easy of a target.
Which did not make it any less soul-crushing to see her like this now.
“Aunt Emmeryn…” Lucina mouthed breathlessly, feeling like she was teetering along the edge of an abyss. Behind her, Cobalt Face erupted into roaring laughter.
“A h yes, I remember. That was the solution to that mystery! Time travel. It really does speak to the weakness of this bloodline that they would so thoroughly fail their duty that they would seek to erase their mistakes entirely instead of working to make up for them. And look at where that led – peace-loving Emmeryn, now serving the Fell Dragon. ”
“Silence!” Lucina bellowed, whirling back around towards Cobalt Face. “I know not what quarrel it is that you have with me and my family, and neither does it concern me. But if you seek to oppose us, then we will cut you down where you stand. Falchion will stop you, and we will take Aunt Emmeryn back!”
Cobalt Face chuckled quietly. “ Family… bah. Big words. But have you asked the woman herself how she feels about this? ”
“ There is no Emmeryn, ” Platinum Face stated coldly. “ Whoever this body may have been in the past matters not. I am a servant of Lord Grima, and in that I am free. ”
Lucina gasped – but she did not get the time to say anything.
“That’s enough!” Shulk suddenly shouted. “I’ve seen this all before. Lucina, there is no getting through to her right now. At best we can hope that she will not truly wish to harm us, but she’s completely under the control of whoever turned her into this. We will have to fight. And together, we can do this!”
“ Oh? Now this brat has some bite, ” Cobalt Face said bemusedly. “ I have to admit, you are still a bit of an unknown quantity. You didn’t get to attack me even once, I have no idea what that sword of yours is, and the Lord Hydros is not particularly forthcoming with information, either. I wonder if you are any better than her? ”
“ Cobalt Face… ” Copper Face said in a cautioning tone, but neither of the other Mechon listened to him.
“ Cobalt does have a point, Copper, ” Platinum Face said. “ These two will not surrender without a fight. It is merely a matter of time before it gets to that. ”
For a brief moment, it seemed Copper Face was going to say something…
Then Shulk attacked.
Without any warning he rushed forth towards Cobalt Face, swinging the Monado – and landing a hit. Although the Mechon tried to dodge by jumping back, the blade of light still cut through the steel of his armour, dealing some damage.
“Come on!” he shouted. For the fraction of a second, Lucina froze. Then she rushed to his side.
Right, she thought to herself as she did, together with his friends he fought through countless hordes of Mechon while making their way up the Mechonis. Of course he knows how to fight them…
“ Oh, this one definitely has bite! ” Cobalt Face snarled, gripping his gigantic blade. “ But it’s not nearly enough ! ”
With these words, he swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc. But massive though it was, the mass was also its disadvantage. Lucina and Shulk both were able to dodge underneath it, feeling the gust as it passed by overhead. And while Cobalt Face still recovered from the attack, they kept going.
“Get in close! Once we’re on top of him he won’t be able to attack us, and the others will have to risk friendly fire!” Shulk snapped, rushing up to Cobalt Face without turning towards her.
“R-right!” Lucina hastily answered. Beyond the blood rushing through her veins and the adrenaline being pumped through her body, she felt herself being taken aback. Shulk had been a capable fighter when dealing with the Mechon before, but this was beyond even that. He was commanding with more conviction than she had ever seen in him before.
And it was easy to see where it came from.
If you make it your entire mission to hunt down just one Faced Mechon, you would do well to be prepared to fight them in general.
“Monado, shield us!” he suddenly exclaimed – only for the protective barrier that instantly formed around them to be bombarded by fire and lightning magic. From the corner of her eye, Lucina could see Emmeryn – see Platinum Face pointing her staff in their direction, already preparing more magic attacks…
All while Copper Face was already stomping towards them.
“You take care of Cobalt! I’ll keep Copper and Platinum off of you!” she shouted, not waiting for an answer before she charged towards the former.
(Even if this Platinum Face claimed to not be Emmeryn, that still was her inside. Lucina could not attack her. Not now. Not when it wasn’t strictly necessary.)
Though the Faced Mechon’s mask-like conveyed no emotion, Copper Face still carried with him a sense of respect as she came towards him. He did not charge at her to facilitate a clash. Instead, he simply stood there and waited, axe at the ready. It was only when Lucina got closer that he raised the weapon above his head, looking like he was about to bring it down like a hammer…
Slow, far too slow.
More subconsciously than anything else, Lucina tapped into Falchion’s power that granted her speed – moving past the weapon before it could become a threat to him. She got ready to strike at his leg joints-
When the world got flooded with darkness.
Around her, Lucina could hear a sound like shattering glass as the shield conjured up by the Monado broke. It still managed to keep the dark magic from hurting her, but it was easily enough to disorient her.
The voice that spoke next she would however have even heard if she had not halted.
“Seize them,” it spoke. If hearing Emmeryn’s voice from Platinum Face had been like teetering at the edge of an abyss, then hearing this one was plummeting into its darkest depths.
It was the voice of the Fell Dragon.
In the split second that she was still processing it a towering shadow moved through the darkness around her.
Then a metal hand pinned her to the ground.
It was as if a boulder had fallen on her back. Too light to crush her instantly, but still too heavy for her to just move it on her own. The sudden impact made her drop Falchion, the blade clattering on the floor, out of her reach.
Some distance away she could hear Shulk let out a pained grunt, likely having suffered a similar fate.
The darkness cleared, and at last she could see what had happened. Shulk was indeed pinned down just like she was, Cobalt Face firmly keeping him in place. Platinum Face stood off to the side, idle.
And at the entrance to the chamber stood the Grimleal. At least a dozen of the cultists, a hooded figure in their midst, Validar and Aversa at the front…
All while Hydros stood in front of them still.
“My, my. Quite the pleasant surprise, this!” he said, clapping all the while. “I must admit that I would not have expected you two to be here, but in hindsight, I probably should have expected it.”
The hooded figure behind him laughed quietly. “With that alone, this trip has already been made worth my while… I must commend you, Hydros. Even at my full power, I would not have been able to track down this fool who would seek to meddle with the flow of time. Yet here she is, defeated without me needing to lift a finger.”
Lucina strained her neck to even see the figure. For all intents and purposes, they seemed to be a regular person with nothing outwardly remarkable about them. Their cloak lacked any distinct features that she could make out, and she could not even see their face. Yet even so, she had the sinking, dreadful feeling of knowing exactly who this was. How could she not, if this was the voice that she had heard in all her darkest moments?
“What or who are you?! ” she shouted.
Again, the figure laughed. “Come now, little one. Did you really forget me already? When I am the whole reason you transcended the bounds of time in the first place? …Granted, in your foolish delusions I could see how you would think that only Naga was capable of such a deed. But with all the history we share, I would have thought that you had long since learned not to underestimate me.”
“No…!” she said quietly. “It can’t be…!”
“Oh, but it can. To give you some credit, it was a clever decision to travel to the past and prevent my resurrection in the first place. I did fear that your success, unlikely though it was, would mean that my existence would be undone. But if you have learned already that time does not work that way, have you not? Even if the future is not written, I will follow the script laid out by our timeline… a script that you could never hope to alter.”
In front of the hooded figure – in front of Grima , Hydros burst out into laughter. It was not mocking, but rather sounded like he heard a joke that only he was privy to. Lucina meanwhile was still in shock.
She had heard rumours of it. That the Fell Dragon had more than just its draconic body, that it also had a chosen vessel that housed its soul and that looked like a person. There had never been any confirmation of these reports. Though even if there had been, it wasn’t like that would have changed anything – whether in dragon or in human form, the Fell Dragon was untouchable to her and the others.
“Shall we deal with these meddlers, my master?” Validar asked, approaching Grima from behind with a bow.
“Hm,” Grima hummed. “Not quite yet. Hydros – you have promised that seeking out the remains of my first body would be an asset to us. Well, here we are. So please show us that my trust in you has not been misplaced.”
Hydros bowed before Grima, though it could not be compared to Validar’s bow before. When the dark mage had done it, it was a slow and deliberate act of reverence. With Hydros on the other hand, it was swift and far too low, a complete mockery of the person it was addressed to.
More shocking than what could only be disrespectful was that Grima seemed not to care.
“Right then! You are following your own script, while I am still in the process of writing my own,” Hydros declared, making a grand gesture with his arms before walking over to Shulk and squatting in front of him. “Pay good attention now. This’ll be especially interesting to you, since you know a thing or three about Monados.”
From what she could see of Shulk, he just looked at him with gritted teeth.
Hydros meanwhile practically jumped to his feet, before downright swaggering over to the skeletal remains of Grima’s body. At its head, he paused and turned around.
“This world has its fair share of weapons that have gone down in legend. I did look into a few of them. Pretty powerful things, if a bit specialised. Most are nothing more than swords that can hit things really, really hard. But these Falchion…! Now those are interesting. Forged from the fangs of one of the gods of this world – something connected so very deeply to this world in both a material and immaterial sense. If you, as an outsider, want to be connected to this world and have full access to your own powers, you practically need to get your hands on one of them.”
There was a brief pause, in which he looked over his shoulder. Everyone, including the Grimleal and Faced Mechon were dead silent, waiting for him to continue.
“Regrettably, I was at a bit of a disadvantage there. There’s another like me in this world – and they just got their hands on her Falchion” he pointed at Lucina, “before I had the chance. And since it’s just the same one at a different point in time, the one that belongs to the Exalt was out of the question. But, lucky me… there’s another one right here.”
He paused again. “One thing you should know about me is that I’m… not exactly a real person. Prior to getting dropped into this world, the real me got severely injured in a battle. And out of that, I got created. I can’t exactly tell you whether I’m supposed to be everything that he is not, whether I was supposed to hold down the fort until he could come back, or whether I was meant to watch after him while he was weakened. Finding a purpose really wasn’t that easy for me, and I still don’t think I have one. But for now, I think I am good with handing back the reins to him.”
Saying this, Hydros reached out and grabbed the sword by its hilt.
“I want you to meet someone. His name is Malos.”
Bionis' Shoulder
Alcamoth
Fountain of Hope
Letting out a deep breath, Tyrea leaned back. The bench was anything but comfortable, but it would serve its purpose. All she wanted was to have a moment for herself, away from the other survivors.
Alcamoth was coming along nicely, it needed to be said. Though the city and everyone in it was stranded high above the surface of this new world, some miracle had placed it near enough the still floating Bionis’ Shoulder so that the survivors could access it. Fresh water, arable land, potential livestock… the Shoulder really was a veritable paradise of resources for them. Slowly but steadily, everyone was rebuilding their lives.
All while she still had no idea what to make of hers.
The surviving High Entia were scattered in the winds. The Bionite Order was shattered. Mother had been turned into a Telethia and was now dead. And that vile girl… who knew where she had ended up. Not on the throne, at any rate – she was not in Alcamoth, so she was not yet empress, despite how fervently her Homs friends had defended her right to the position. Oh, under these circumstances, it should be an easy task for Tyrea to step up and take her place…
…If she actually was anybody to the survivors. If she was being honest with herself, all that she had done recently was to live day by day going through the motions, taking care of her bodily needs out of habit more than anything else. She was bereft of purpose, a weapon without anyone to wield it… nothing but trash. The best thing she could hope to do was to stop burdening the other survivors, and find a good place to end it all…
Whenever she got around to it.
Hanging after such thoughts, Tyrea stared blankly at the sky above, covered by the dome of Alcamoth. It did little to obscure the endless blue, bright in the midday sun.
Which made the black fog suddenly appearing above her all the more noticeable.
Notes:
Little fun fact: in my initial outline for this fic, I didn't really include the Conduit at all. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of the whole multiversal aspect of the Xenoblade series. But I figured that since I already have Malos and Klaus here along with my own take on Galea, it would just be fitting.
Melia meanwhile continues to be easy for me to write for. Also, she's trans! Another spontaneous decision on that, and one that I'm rather happy with.
And there must be something darkly hilarious about Melia and Fiora going through a budding romance while Lucina and Shulk are out there fighting for their lives.
Lastly, I suppose it shouldn't be too much of a shocker that I decided to have Emmeryn become a Faced Mechon pilot. Given her canon(-ish) survival and the Xenoblade 1 elements I brought in, this was simply too good to pass up. And with how obvious of a choice it is, I didn't really feel the need to play up the reveal, either.
Faithfully_Queer on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jun 2025 02:46PM UTC
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CalamitasWrath on Chapter 1 Thu 12 Jun 2025 04:14PM UTC
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CalamitasWrath on Chapter 1 Fri 13 Jun 2025 08:43AM UTC
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CalamitasWrath on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Jul 2025 03:09PM UTC
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Faithfully_Queer on Chapter 4 Wed 02 Jul 2025 01:18AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 02 Jul 2025 01:19AM UTC
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CalamitasWrath on Chapter 4 Wed 02 Jul 2025 11:55AM UTC
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