machineryfield

[machineryfield]

At the Start of the World Chapter 2

Heading Out

--

Fiora sits on the bench at Outlook Park, staring out at the Colony. Just a day ago it had been so peaceful, the threat of Mechon becoming more and more of a distant dream... But, like most good things, that had to come to an end.

She closes her eyes, remembering the scenes that had played out before her. People being eaten, Shulk being eaten. Stabbed cleanly through by that Mechon with a face before smaller ones descended on his body.

She remembers the cold rage that had seeped into her, the way she had finally found a weak point on the blaster armour of that thing and let the Monado cut deep...

The Monado feels so heavy on her back when Reyn approaches, and she forces herself to give him a smile when he sits next to her. "Hey."

"Hey," he doesn't even attempt to pretend to smile. "You doin' alright? I know you and Dunban went home last night... He say anythin'?"

"He tried to comfort me." She admits. "...It didn't really help, though. He just said what I expected him to say, really."

Words of moving forward, like Shulk would want. Firm looks and with an underlying insistence she returns the Monado to the Weapons Development Lab as soon as possible in his tone. She thinks of all he said and frowns. She decided then and there she wouldn't listen to him...

"I want to go out and find that Mechon," she says. "I want to make it pay for what it did to Shulk, and I want to understand why."

"Understand why?" Reyn frowns. "I don't get it..."

"I want to know why the Mechon attacked us, why they’re always attacking us, what made us their targets. I want to know why... why they eat us. Do they need to, or do they just take pleasure in it? Things like that..." She wrings her hands together. "But a piece of me just wants to make the Mechon pay. Not take the time to learn, as much as the questions eat at me."

"Sounds like that piece of you is me rubbin' off on ya,” Reyn rubs under his nose. "...If ya got that, I guess I should be the one to keep you on your path to learnin', right?"

"That piece of me is loud, just like you!" She giggles, before looking over at him. "Really? You're willing to let me try and find out why? Even though you just want to..."

"You're my friend, Fiora. You've got your reasons for wantin' to know, and 'sides, if we know, might be easier to take 'em down!" He nods with a grin. "So let's do this, yeah?"

She smiles and nods. "Yeah...!"

"So," he kicks his legs. "Guess we're not tellin' Dunban, yeah?"

"Yeah." She frowns. "He'd just try to stop me... We head out, just the two of us, tonight."

Reyn nods. "You got it, I'll meet ya at the entrance."

--

"Ready to go?" She asks, fixing the pack at her side.

She goes over all she has. Food for a few days, her knives in case she needs them, and the Monado. Not much, but enough to get them through Tephra Cave and the Bionis leg, at least. They could stock up at Colony 6.

"Yep." Reyn rolls his arm and smiles at her. "The Mechon won't know what hit 'em."

"Yeah," she nods. "First we go to Colony 6, then we head for Sword Valley. If we're gonna find that Mechon anywhere, it'll be there."

"Galahad Fortress," Reyn adds on. "If there's still Mechon, the fortress is probably still there. Buildin' up grunts for a year, I bet."

"Yeah, something like that." She cracks her neck and looks out towards the path towards Tephra Cave. This time, it'd just be the two of them. "Let's go, Reyn."

--

Fiora sees the door open towards Colony 6, once locked, and figures that's where the strange machines they fought earlier came from. She wonders, they showed up right before the Mechon.... Had they sensed the threat? Activated for that?

She shrugs off that thought, at least for now. Whatever those machines were, they were gone now. They could move forward without a problem, right? They just needed to get to Colony 6.

"You know," Reyn speaks, pulling Fiora out of her thoughts. "We haven't had any convoys from Colony 6 recently, have we? Y'think the Mechon got 'em, too...?"

Fiora frowns as they make it to the lit path. "I hope not. Maybe they just got delayed, or it was bad harvests this year."

She doesn't believe what she says, but she continues to hope, anyway. Maybe they did die, but maybe to natural wildlife. It was never fun to lose any of the few Homs they had left, but better to beings of the Bionis than the Mechon.

Reyn nods, frowning. "Sorry, I didn't mean t'..."

"Don't worry about it," she gives him a small smile. "I get the worry, really. We just... have to try and look on the bright side."

"Yeah... you're right."

They continue on their way for a while, fighting off the wild life and picking up knick knacks from the ground. It's going well, she thinks. Maybe too well... She doesn't like thinking that, but dread sits in her stomach as they walk along. What was this feeling...?

She tries to shake it off, at least, until they see dead bodies ahead of them. She feels panic wrack her body as they move towards them. Reyn is there first, looking them over with a grimace.

"Was it the Mechon...?" She asks as she approaches, voice shaking."

Reyn shakes his head, "looks like Arachno wounds, if y'ask me. Probably got ambushed on their way to Colony 9..."

Fiora frowns, she knows how Reyn feels about spiders and their bigger monstrous cousins. She moves to his side and places a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, there's some water, let's return them to the Bionis, then rest. We should think about our next move first if there are Arachnos ahead."

Reyn nods, clearly thankful for the idea. "Yeah. Let's do it."

Fiora's thankful that she and Reyn are both pretty athletic, all things given. It makes moving the remnants of the Caravan easier. There's not enough for it to have been the full group, and as bad as it sounds, Fiora is glad. That's less death they have to see right after what happened.

The bodies start to dissolve the minute they touch the water, and Fiora offers a quick prayer to the Bionis. Born of the Bionis and returned to it, the way Shulk didn't get to be.

She swallows down the bitter thought and turns to Reyn. "Come on, let's get some rest. You first, I'll take point."

--

A giant Arachno, Reyn surrounded by smaller ones. There's no where for him to run and Fiora isn't with him. She watches as it strikes out, he moves to block it, and dread settles in as it gives out. She watches the Arachno stab right through his chest. Watches him die, just like Shulk did.

Fiora blinks back to reality and sees Reyn walking towards her. "Your turn to rest."

"Reyn," she stands, shaky on her feet as she moves to him. "Are you okay?"

"'Course I am." He frowns, scratching his cheek. "Well, couldn't sleep a wink, but I feel alright. You look like you just saw a ghost, though."

"I..." She bites her lip. "I had another vision. Promise me you'll stay safe if I sleep?"

Reyn pats her back. "'Course I will, Fiora. We just lost Shulk, I ain't lettin' you lose me, too."

"Reyn..." She sighs and rests her head against his chest for a minute, tears pricking at her eyes. "You better stay safe, you big dummy."

He squeezes her into a tight hug then, a smile on his face. "Don't you worry about me! I can take a few hits... and if I need ya, I'll wake ya up, okay?"

"You better," she looks up at him. "No running off to play hero. No doing what Shulk did."

"None of that, promise."

--

It's foggy in Fiora's dream, she can barely make out where she is. It's a platform of some sort, that much she can make out. Looking around, she comes to realize she's high above some sort of water source…

There's not much else she can see, save a man in the distance. She squints, trying to get a better look at him and takes a step forward. He seems to realize she's there, but doesn't turn to greet her. He keeps his back to her, simply tilts his head back a bit.

"Quite the divergence, wouldn't you say? I wouldn't think the Heir to the Monado would fall like that." He says, voice sounding quite sad. "But now you are here, to take on that heavy title."

"Heir to the Monado..." She furrows her brow and doesn't even understand why she asks what she does. "Do you mean Shulk?"

He was the miracle child, after all. Found alive when everyone else from his colony -- pushing forward on an expedition to find any way to stay alive -- perished to the cold of Valak Mountain. The little boy, sleeping next to the mythical sword that saved the day so many times.

The man chuckles, and does not answer her. "I look forward to seeing what you'll do, now thrust into his place. I'm sure you'll make him proud, Fiora."

"How do you know my name?" She asks, stepping forward once again. "Who are you? What do you know about the Monado?!"

"All will be revealed in due time." He assures, but Fiora still feels unsettled. "Do your best, now, I'll be watching."

She opens her mouth and sits up from where she fell asleep, panting as sweat rolls down her brow. She turns to see if Reyn noticed, see if he has commentary for her, and her blood runs cold.

Reyn isn't there.

[machineryfield]

At the Start of the World Chapter 1

Anything but Normal

--

Fiora wakes up, she brushes her hair and puts it up in two ponytails, and goes to check on Dunban. She changes his bandages and pushes him back down in bed, telling him to wait here while she makes breakfast. She does just that and they eat together, her sitting next to his bed.

She gets to work after that, making sure lunch is ready before too long. She stands in front of the pot and slaves away at the curry, cuts the supplies for the sandwiches at the same time. Reyn always likes a healthy mix of veggies and meat -- energy aubergines in rare supply and only for special occasions. Shulk likes more meat than veggies, but she always sneaks some in anyway, just in case. He needs it to grow healthy!

She listens to the meat cook on the stovetop and prepares the bread. It's always a busy day in the kitchen, but she wouldn't have it any other way. It's nice to keep busy -- nice to have a way to forget about the threat that was looming until just recently.

She frowns deeply thinking about Dunban. The Battle of Sword Valley had been a year ago, that cursed sword had nearly killed him so recently... And yet she knows he still thinks of it.

He's always talking about getting well enough to wield it again, talking about defending the Homs once more. Maybe that's why she's convinced herself the Mechon can't come back. If they can't come back, then Dunban doesn't have to hurt himself anymore.

She turns back to the curry and the meat, telling herself not to worry about that. Thinking about them is just a way of inviting them in. If she thinks of them, she gives them power. If she gives them power...

She once again cuts her thoughts off and gets back to work. Maybe today is a special enough day to give Reyn some energy aubergines on his sandwich. She knows they're a pain to find, but with some gumption she always does.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that." She tells herself, "a little treat never hurt anybody."

She reaches into the cabinets, and gets fully enveloped in the cooking.

--

Fiora touches the spot the Monado bounced off her and frowns. Shulk really hadn't cared, not one bit... What if it had done something to her?! Would he have even thought twice about it?

She swallows hard as she paces around the lab, the boys gone. They went to get ether cylinders... it should be fine, right? Reyn's a bit hardheaded, but he's got a good heart and no way will he let Shulk get hurt…

Unlike Shulk, he actually cares about the wellbeing of his friends, she thinks with a pout.

She just hopes he won't get overwhelmed. There's only two of them, and an entire nest of Mell Lizards... Rumour has it the nest is right next to Wallslide Gwynry's lair. She bites her thumb thinking about it... and... Oh, damn it!

She can't just leave them like that. She finds the canisters for the transfer of the cylinders laying right outside the lab and takes her chance. Slung onto her back, she starts out for Tephra Cave herself.

--

"Shulk, go." Fiora's voice is tense as she stands back to back with Reyn. "We'll handle things here, you get to the mobile artillery."

"Fiora! You can't be serious," he shakes his head. "I can't just leave the two of you!"

"We'll be fine," she promises. "We'll be right after you before you know it! I'm Dunban's sister in more than name, you know."

"I ain't been training for so long to not hold my own weight!" Reyn adds with a grin. "I know what to do. Knock 'em off balance then topple 'em, right? Fiora and I got that covered."

A Mechon charges, but Fiora's able to knock it off balance just in time. Reyn knocks it over, and Fiora dazes it where it sits. She looks at Shulk then, a fire in her eyes as she does.

"See? Go on ahead, we won't be long."

Shulk finally nods. "Both of you... be safe."

Shulk is off down the street then, and when Fiora is sure he's a safe distance away, she goes on the offensive. These Mechon... Coming back out of nowhere, putting Dunban and her friends at risk all over again... She decides she won't let it happen, not again.

She strikes with her knives, and Reyn is quick to follow. They build a synergy quickly enough, and Fiora doesn't feel like stopping. She'll take them all down, no matter what it takes.

"You know, Fiora..." After a few moments, Reyn begins to pant out words. "Maybe you should go after Shulk, you ain't much of a fighter."

"And leave you without a way to throw the Mechon off balance?" She shakes her head. "No way!"

He shrugs. "Fair enough."

A pillar starts to collapse and first Fiora thinks crap, that's the way Shulk went. Then she thinks shit, it's falling right towards us. She dives to the side, and Reyn does the same.

Rolling across the ground, she braces herself and lets out a groan, pulling herself up. Mechon had already come at Reyn, trying to get to him. He's barely holding them off...

She runs forward and strikes against the Mechon, her knives doing nothing.

"Fiora! Get out of here!"

"I can't just leave you, Reyn! We promised Shulk we'd be right behind him, right?" She strikes again and grunts. "I can't go back on that!"

She keeps trying, as impossible as it seems, and a blue light flashes by her. Before she knows it, the Mechon around them are falling to the ground, destroyed. She lets out a gasp.

"Dunban!"

He's breathing heavily, and she can see his arm twitching in pain. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Reyn's eyes are shining. "The Monado...! I had a feeling you had it!"

"He shouldn't," Fiora frowns. "Dunban, you shouldn't have left your room! You're still injured!"

"I'm fine." He shakes his head, brushing off her worry. "Shulk's not with you?"

Fiora shook her head. "We sent him on ahead, to the Residential District. We were supposed to be right behind him."

Reyn looks that way, "looks like we have to go the long way 'round, think Shulk'll mind."

"I doubt it, but..." She glances at her brother. "Let's avoid fighting as much as we can, okay?"

--

Fiora watches as blood comes from Dunban's mouth, watches the Monado fall and slide forward. The cursed sword that hurt her family so much. The blessed sword that kept Homs alive this long.

She grits her teeth and finds herself running forward. She won't let Dunban get hurt, not anymore. She grabs the Monado and holds it tight, it feels weird compared to her knives... Unnatural.

"I'll protect you this time!"

"Fiora, no!" Dunban's voice is strained. "It'll kill you!"

She ignores him, like he always ignores her pleas to forget about the Monado. Rushing forward a scream rips from her throat and she rushes the Mechon. For a moment, she feels as if she's seeing the future, moving so deftly to avoid each and every attack. A gift from a god, one would say if they were a believer.

She wonders if this is what Shulk saw earlier, when he touched the Monado in the lab. She wonders if she's rushing down the same path as him, an obsession with a weapon they can never understand.

That can wait until later, though. For now, she cuts down the Mechon. She'll ask Shulk about this later, when she finds him. If anyone has even an inkling of an idea of what that meant, it would be him.

"Fiora!" Reyn's yelling and Dunban seems stunned in awe. "More incoming!"

Dunban pulls himself to his feet then. "Reyn!"

"Yeah!"

The two join the fray and, in no time, they have the advantage. The Monado still feels foreign in Fiora's hands, but bit by bit she's acclimating, figuring out what to do.

Dunban slides to a stop at her back. "Fiora, are you alright?"

"Fine, I just..." She frowns. "I think I know what Shulk saw earlier. I think he saw into the future. Is that something the Monado can just do?"

"First time I heard of it was from Shulk," Reyn replies, fighting off another Mechon. "You sure you saw the future?"

Fiora nods.

"...Dickson once mentioned a potential hidden power of the Monado, is this it?" Dunban asks, kicking a Mechon away from Fiora.

"That so? Guess we'll have to ask him more about it later." She grips the Monado tighter. "For now, we need to get to Shulk!"

--

The Monado doesn't work on the Mechon with the face. That fact makes her blood run cold, makes her freeze as she watches Dunban fight helplessly against it. She thinks he's going to die, thinks she'll lose him to this war, when a blast sounds through the night.

The Mobile Artillery, Shulk rushing forward. It's flying to the side, the Mechon with a metal face is stabbing through something. She hears herself screaming.

"Was that... another...?" Things click into place as she looks up and sees Shulk rushing for the Mechon. "Shulk, no! It'll kill you! Turn around!"

Shulk doesn't listen, all he does is yell that he'll help them. That they'll save Colony 9. He's shooting at the Mechon now, but still almost no reaction. Even less than a normal mechon would have. Does it have to do with the eerie red glow?

"Shulk! Please get out of here! Run!"

He's up against it now, shooting directly at it. Still nothing, even as the artillery falls. Even as the Faced Mechon gets up. Fiora can do nothing but watch as it lifts it, looks at Shulk for so long, and throws it to the side as if it's nothing.

She listens to Shulk's whimpers and yells, she hears herself screaming as Shulk screams. As he lets out what is his dying breath. She's shaking, coming back to reality. She grips the Monado, and a jolt goes through her, like a cold shock of electricity, right through her veins.

"I'll kill you...!"

[machineryfield]

At the Start of the World Masterpost

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

[machineryfield]

Chapter 2: Lunch with Fiora

Shulk walks out his door with a good three or four hours before lunch time to go, probably for the best knowing how he gets side-tracked. In a buggy he could get to the farmhouse in a half-hour easily, so the more time before getting there, the better.

He looks out across the Colony and smiles, for once, he’s looking up about the future, even if just a little bit. The communications are in place, and once people get used to it? Well, he can only imagine how handy that’ll be!

A day of break before he moves onto his next project… He figures he can allow himself as much.

Reyn’s walking down the street, and Shulk is quick to run towards him, a smile on his face. He puffs out his chest, as proud as can be. When he gets close enough to see the bags under Reyn’s eyes, though, he falters a bit.

“Reyn,” he’s quick to approach, “do you sleep alright?”

“Shulk! I… I slept alright.” Reyn refuses to look him in the eye as he speaks. “Squaretache was goin’ extra hard with punishments yesterday, is all.”

“Really? Ouch,” he flinches at the thought. “What did he have you all doing?”

“Lotsa laps around the Colony, extra training drills,” Reyn pauses, “a few extra slaps across the head. Nothin’ too extreme.”

Shulk frowns, even if it wasn’t extreme for Vangarre, it was a bit much. “Want me to talk to him? Or maybe send Dickson to?”

“Nah, he’d prolly use that as an excuse to hit the two of ya, too.” Reyn shakes his head, stretching out. “Squaretache is just upset ‘cause the hunting party got delayed. Once they get back to town, things’ll go right back to normal. Don’t worry too much about it!”

“If you say so,” Shulk says lamely, “I’ll try not to worry, then.”

Reyn grins. “Good, you worry too much as is.”

Shulk worries anyway, just quietly. Reyn drags them to a buggy and lets Shulk try and get comfy in the passenger seat. He plays with his glasses, taking them off and frowning and overthinking it all. Vangarre may be on edge because of the hunting party but is that enough to be so upset? Is there more behind it?

He chews on the back of his glasses, watching the blurry scenery pass by. He wants to ask Reyn more, but he knows better -- Reyn will just brush him off, remind him not to worry. That’s always been a thing that bothers him about Reyn, the way he brushes things off and never worries. But he guesses his own worry probably bothers Reyn, too.

Well, for now he decides to just sit back and calm down. Fiora doesn’t need to notice how worried he is over what Reyn says is nothing. He can just think on it more, later.

--

Shulk and Reyn sit at the table with a smile, sweat dripping off Reyn’s forehead. Being early meant helping out at the farm, and Reyn? Well, Reyn was good at that. Shulk wonders how he can do so much in so little time… He gets winded just plowing one field.

Juju is there, too, the brother of Sharla -- a nurse from Colony 6. From what Fiora has said, he’s often here, helping out and getting a nice home cooked meal in exchange. Fiora’s used to even cooking extra from him to take home to his sister.

“You know, Juju,” Dunban settles into his own seat as Fiora brings out the food, “you should bring your sister one of these days. I would love to chat with her over a nice, home cooked meal.”

“Sharla’s usually pretty busy, but I can see if she can make it once things settle down,” Juju nods as a plate is set in front of him. “The last hunting party got really roughed up, so there’s a lot for her to do.”

Dunban nods, understanding. “Well, I hope she’s not too overwhelmed. Even one patient can be hard these days.”

“Sharla can handle it!” Juju puffs out his chest, proud as can be of his sister. “Besides, when it’s Gadolt…”

He trails off, and it’s clear that conversation is over. Instead, Shulk focuses on his meal, shovelling it into his mouth. It tastes… good, at least as good as anything can. His taste buds have never been so strong, but he knows Fiora cooks amazing food.

“Thanks for the grub, Fiora!” Reyn grins. “No one makes curry as good as you.”

Shulk nods in agreement. “It’s wonderful, Fiora!”

“You guys are always saying that” Fiora sticks out her tongue, but a hint of a smile plays on her face. “I missed hearing it.”

“Always happy to eat what you cook,” Reyn grins, “make more for me in the future, okay?”

“You want me to keep cooking, you either keep working or marry me,” Fiora deadpans. “And you aren’t my type.”

“Oh come on,” Reyn stabs the air with his fork, “I could be your type.”

“If you could, I would never tell you. It’s more fun to get some work out of you~”

Shulk laughs, shaking his head. “You two… Reyn, you do realize marrying Fiora would mean tending to the farm, anyway, right?”

Reyn blinks a few times, coming to realize Shulk is totally correct. “Aw man, Fiora you’re just tryin’ to trick me into work either way!”

“Aw,” Fiora giggles, “you caught on!”

--

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Fiora asks Dunban this for the third time as Shulk settles into his seat in the buggy. “Dinner’s in the fridge, you just need to warm it up, okay?”

“I’ll be fine, go and have some fun,” Dunban chuckles from the doorway, “you have some shopping you want to do, don’t you? Go get that done!”

“Alright, alright… Just make sure not to use your right arm! Doctor’s orders are--”

“To let it rest, I know.” Dunban ruffles Fiora’s hair with his left hand. “Go on, now! You don’t need to babysit your big brother.”

“Fine, fine,” she looks back at him, “but I’ll call and check in later, okay?”

Dunban shakes his head, a smile on his face. “If that's what it takes to make you trust me.”

Fiora nods and finally jumps into the back of the buggy. Reyn starts it up and it’s back towards Colony 9, Fiora leaning over Shulk’s seat. This is nice, he decides. A break from all the worry and work… Just time with his two closest friends.

Dickson would probably say he needs this more often, Shulk would probably agree. But he guesses now isn’t the time to think about what Dickson would say -- it’s time to focus on the good time they’re going to have.

After all, it’s not like he’s the one who has to carry any of the bags.

[machineryfield]

Chapter 1: Normal Days

Shulk looks over the communications set-up again and smiles to himself. This was the first time ever that the Colonies had the chance to be so interconnected… He just hopes it all works like it’s supposed to.

There’s a lot riding on this, and all of it is on his back. He was the technical genius who set up the communication lines. He was the expert at making sure they all actually connected in the right places…

And he was also the nerd that wasn’t much for talking, who was too nervous to contact strangers to make sure it all worked. Instant communication with so much distance between them all still scared Shulk a bit, and he wasn’t sure he could start with a stranger.

So he decides to wait. Fiora is busy right now, but the farmhouse she lives on should be the perfect distance… He can call her in the morning, and their first ever long-distance morning conversation can happen.

He readjusts his glasses and decides to do a little more work on this… It was crucial it works just right, after all! They didn’t want to lose any other colonies to the beasts and monsters that roamed the plains, after all.

The idea of another ending up like Colony 8 because they don’t get the distress signal in time… It sends a shiver down Shulk’s spine, because that would be his fault. Barely twenty and he’d be the reason they lost so many Homs… Not a fun thought.

So he keeps working -- promises himself that if it’s perfect he can mess around with that new-fangled computer Dickson bought him. He’s lucky to have one, and yet barely has time to poke at it… Funny how that works out, huh?

“Just a bit more,” he reminds himself, “if the Colonies are all connected, I’ll have plenty of time to have as much fun with the computer as I want.”

He can invite Fiora and Reyn to poke around it, too, he decides. They aren’t much for machinery and technology, at least not like him, but they seem to enjoy watching him. He thinks it could be a fun afternoon activity one of these days…

He’ll need to ask that nurse from Colony 6, Sharla, if she and her brother can keep an eye on Dunban, though. He knows how Fiora hates leaving him alone when he’s still recovering from… whatever it is that hurt him.

A sigh of frustration leaves Shulk. If he’d finished all of this just a bit sooner, they wouldn’t be in this position. Of Dunban, Dickson, and Mumkhar vanishing only for the two former to come back. Wouldn’t be at a loss for where they had gone…

He needs to work on mobile communication next, he decides. So people don’t go off the radar like that as much… Maybe with tracking, so even if they don’t have the communicative powers they can find and save the people.

No more like Mumkhar, he swears to himself. No more lives lost because he doesn’t work fast enough.

“Hey, kid.” Dickson’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “That’s enough workin’ for today, you should get your arse to bed.”

“Dickson,” Shulk blinks out of his thoughts, “is it that late already?”

“Sure is,” Dickson nods. “Don’t want to see you staying up all night when the project is already done, anyway. C’mon, get, I’ll look it over for ya if it’ll get you to bed.”

“Okay,” he stands, “just make sure it all looks okay. If anything is wrong let me know and I can fix--”

“Shulk.” Dickson gives him a look that burns through his skull. “Bed.”

  --

Shulk is used to this dream by now. Walking through the frozen tundra, searching for two people -- people he can’t quite remember. Maybe Fiora and Reyn? Dickson and Dunban? Maybe even his parents, lost to him before he could really remember.

It doesn’t matter, though, it never matters. He wanders endlessly, towards a giant spire in the distance -- Ose Tower. He doesn’t think it’s really so big, but he’s only seen it as a child. Scattered memories of it in the distance and his parents always coming to him as he sleeps.

He trudges onward, shivering as the cold seeps into his bones. He wants to make it there, and find whoever it is he’s thinking of. He wants the dreams to end, for the cold to stop gnawing at his very soul.

He makes it to the doors of the tower, for the first time, he actually makes it. He puts his hands on the doors and pushes them open, the warmth from inside hitting him in moments. How it can be so warm in there, he doesn’t know, but he likes it.

Eyes closed, he soaks in the feeling at first. Allows himself to let a calm that these dreams never bring him wash over him. Then he opens his eyes to velvety blues and the sounds of a woman singing.

He can just make out a figure, sitting on the empty pedestal he vaguely remembers from his childhood, and his eyes snap open.

Shulk stares up at the ceiling, the dream still registering in his mind… Was that person one of the people he was searching for? If they were, where was the other? And if not… who were they? Someone to point him in the right direction.

He’s not sure about that, but he’s sure the sun is coming up. That’s his cue to check in with Fiora and see if things are working right. 

Pulling himself out of bed, he pushes the dream away. Whatever it means, he can figure it out later. There’s more important matters to attend to.

--

Shulk sits down in front of their new phone and smiles when he sees a note from Dickson. It says that everything was working just fine, Shulk should believe in himself more. That’s just like Dickson, he thinks, as he pulls it off the receiver.

The number to the farmhouse is placed in and within seconds, a familiar voice is filtering through the line.

“Hello?”

“Fiora,” he smiles, “looks like it works.”

“Shulk!” Her excitement oozes off her words and he can imagine the joy on her face. “I knew you could do it… Never thought I’d hear your voice this early in the morning.”

“What can I say? You were the first person I thought to call.”

“Aw, I think you’re just trying to flatter me now! Though, if you want to keep flattering me…” Fiora trails off for a moment, “you and Reyn could come by for a visit! It’s been a while!”

That’s right, he and Reyn had been so caught up in other things that they’d barely visited her. Shulk’s obsession with the communications and Reyn’s focus on training… Well, together they led to two blokes who were pretty bad friends, all things considered.

“I know, I know,” he sighs, kicking himself mentally a bit, “I’ll find Reyn later and we can come over for lunch.”

“That sounds great!” Fiora sounds giddy. “Maybe there’ll be enough time that we can head to town after. I have a little shopping I need to do, and Reyn’s arms could help me carry it all.”

Shulk laughs, “Don’t let Reyn hear you say that.”

“We both know that if I stroke his ego enough he’ll agree… I should get going, though. In the middle of making breakfast.”

“Yeah, talk to you later.” He nods as if she could even see him. “See you in a while.”

“See you! And oh,” a pause, “don’t forget to eat breakfast, okay?”

“You got it.”

[machineryfield]

Which All is Revealed Masterpost

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Chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2