Gamer4 in. I am now taking a short break from my short break, to come over to the wonderful world of Xenoblade Chronicles and write a quick oneshot for it! Since this is a oneshot, I don't have any particularly profound insights to offer on this one. And yes, I was watching Red Dwarf before writing this, how did you know? As a sidenote, if you couldn't tell from the description, spoilers for the game abound here. If you don't want the game spoiled for yourself, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER. That is all.

Disclaimer: I only own a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles. That's good enough.

Beyond a Joke

Night had fallen on the Colony. Such a strange name, in Melia's mind, but that's what the large conglomeration of Homs, Nopon, High Entia, and Machina had come to call it. Perhaps the name came from the long Homs tradition of naming their colonies 'Colony 6,' 'Colony 9,' etc. Melia couldn't know for sure. But, for whatever reason it may be, the Colony it was. And, as was pointed out at the start, it was nighttime.

A week had passed since the end of the war between Bionis and Mechonis. And though she knew all the good that had come of it- the Colony being the ultimate proof- she couldn't help but feel it was a somewhat empty victory. Not that she wished any harm upon the people of either Titan, but there was still an empty hole somewhere within her- a hole once filled by the people of Alcamoth, and even more, by her father and her brother. They were gone now, and while she knew why they had died, she still couldn't help mourning. The fact that a large portion of her race had died with them was no comfort.

"Are you troubled?" came a gentle voice behind her.

She spun around to see a young man with pale white hair standing behind her. He wore a blue coat, and a key around his neck.

"Alvis," she said simply.

"I do not pretend to know how you truly feel," the new arrival said, casually sitting down next to her. "I was built only to oversee the work of Klaus and Meyneth. I was never designed to feel sympathy. Nevertheless, with all that has happened, it would surprise me if you had already recovered from the events of the past several weeks."

Melia stared at the man. She had known him all her life as a seer, and an advisor to her father, the Emperor. It had only been with the defeat of Zanza that his true role as the overseer of the world had been revealed. Of all the people living in the Colony, she still didn't know what to think of him. After all, he had helped them save Bionis, but that didn't stop him from being such an unknown- all anyone knew about him was whatever he told them himself.

"Did you know Zanza well?" she asked tentatively.

"I suppose that, of all the beings currently existing in this world, I would be the one who knew him best," Alvis agreed quietly, with his head bent down.

"Then... can I ask you something?"

"You are most certainly capable of doing so."

Melia watched him for a second, then elaborated. "That is, if I ask you a question, will you answer?"

"If it is within my power to do so."

Melia was silent for a moment, considering how she should phrase her question. It was somewhat difficult to put into words. "... Of all the races on Bionis, why did Zanza choose the High Entia to convert to Telethia?"

She was worried about sounding cruel, as though she desired one of the other species to take her place, but she knew that Alvis wouldn't take it that way. Alvis tilted his head, as though considering his answer.

"It is an interesting question," he said after a moment. "I believe he considered the production of thoughtless creatures who would do his direct bidding a necessity, particularly after Lady Meyneth invented the Mechon to keep the borders of Mechonis safe."

"That's not what I mean!" Melia said, briefly losing her cool. However, she regained it quickly. "I apologize."

"There is no need."

Melia leaned back, thinking how to rephrase her question. "I mean, even if he wanted creatures like the Telethia, why did he single out the High Entia race?"

"I see," Alvis said. "One moment, allow me to search my databanks..." With this, a faraway look came to his eyes, as though he was seeing something other than what was actually in front of him. Melia had heard him use this strange phrase before, but was no nearer to discovering what it actually meant.

After a few moments had passed, Alvis seemed to focus on her again. "Oh, I see," he said.

"What is it? Do you know the answer?" Melia asked, looking at him.

Alvis glanced up at her, and a rare bolt of what looked like emotion crossed his face. If Melia was reading it right, it looked like... pity. "It may be best that I do not divulge this information..." he said.

"No, whatever it is, I want to hear it!" Melia insisted.

Alvis sighed. "Very well," he said. "The truth is..."

XXXX

It was the next day, and the sun shone over the Colony. Shulk was currently having what he would describe as a 'lazy day,' leaning back on the beach, watching Reyn and Riki in yet another fishing contest. For his money, there was no finer entertainment anywhere, not least because they tended to resort less to fishing and more to wrestling. Currently, it resembled a jousting tournament, sans horses.

"Shulk?" came a voice behind him. He turned to see Sharla standing there.

"Yeah?" he asked, standing.

"Have you seen Melia anywhere?"

Shulk cast his mind around, and realized he hadn't seen the young High Entia woman today. "Not that I can remember..."

"I was going to take her to the commercial district, but I can't find her anywhere."

"Did you check her house?"

Sharla's eyes closed halfway. "No, Shulk, I was looking for Melia, but it never occurred to me to look in her house. Silly me."

"Alright, alright," Shulk said quickly. "Has anyone else seen her?"

"I talked to Dunban and Fiora, and apparently, she hasn't been around all day."

Shulk felt a certain amount of concern. "Alright, let's look around, see if we can find her," he said, turning around just as Reyn grabbed Riki by his ears and began dunking him repeatedly in the water.

XXXX

A few hours later, Shulk was heading through the woods on the outskirts of the Colony. He didn't know what he expected to find, but it had been well established that Melia was nowhere in the Colony proper. As he headed deeper into the woods, he saw a flash of color besides green. Backtracking slightly, he found a clearing. Sitting on a stump, looking out at the clearing, was Melia. It seemed like she hadn't slept the previous night. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were completely blank. Stepping lightly, Shulk approached her.

"Melia?" he asked when he was near.

She didn't seem to be damaged, but she didn't seem like herself either, as she slowly turned her head towards him. Thankfully, a faint trace of recognition crossed her face when she saw him. "Shulk?" she asked.

"...Have you been here all day?" Shulk asked gently.

Melia nodded slowly. "I... discovered something... terrible... last night."

"What is it?" Shulk asked, looking around, wondering if he should have brought his sword along.

"Nothing dangerous... to the Colony," the High Entia girl said despondently.

"Well, then... what is it?" Shulk asked, taking a seat on the ground in front of her.

Melia blinked, and slowly, began to speak. "I was sitting near the Inn, when Alvis approached me. We talked for a little while, and I asked him a question. Why did Zanza target the High Entia to become Telethia? And he answered."

Here, she stopped. Shulk waited for a moment before responding. "And...? What did he tell you?"

"I cannot say," Melia said, looking away. "I don't want the other High Entia to know..."

"They don't have to," Shulk said, standing. "What did Alvis say?"

Melia turned to Shulk, a couple tears forming in her eyes. "Back when Zanza was human..." she said slowly, choosing her words, "he was attending a college- a sort of large school. That's where he was gaining the knowledge and resources that he would later use to..."

"I know," Shulk nodded, remembering the scene shown to them by Alvis just after Zanza's defeat.

Melia nodded, and seemed to swallow a lump in her throat. "However, there were several of the instructors- the... 'professors' at the school that didn't agree with what he was trying to do. They told him that humans could never become gods, and some of them derided him as a madman."

"Well, just because he turned out to be right, doesn't mean he wasn't a madman," Shulk pointed out casually.

Melia hardly responded. "So, when he succeeded in his and Lady Meyneth's project, and he remade the world, he decided to create a race... in parody of those instructors. It was his final revenge- they would seem like the instructors that had scoffed at him, while at the same time having a corrupt society that put a great emphasis on the purity of blood- mimicking how he felt at their rejection. And when the time came for his plans to come to fruition, they would be reduced to nothing more than his mindless puppets. The High Entia existed... as a joke."

For a moment, Shulk sat there, staring at his friend. He didn't know exactly what to say- he had known Zanza was petty, but he hadn't realized he was this petty...

Finally, he spoke. "Melia... that's nonsense."

"What?" Melia asked, looking at him in surprise.

"I saw the High Entia, I met all of you, lived with you for a few weeks before we left for Valaak Mountain. And I don't care what Zanza thought of you. The High Entia race had good people and bad, philosophers and dreamers, scientists and thinkers... you can't tell me they were all in parody of people Zanza happened to know."

"But..."

"Maybe it started out like that," Shulk interrupted. "Zanza was a madman, after all, and I don't doubt he thought he could make a whole race as a joke. But that all changed when you gained free will! You learned, thought, invented, created, evolved! You even started to grow past Zanza's intentions- your ancestors learned about the Telethia curse, and they saw a way to move past it, to prevent it! They discovered what Zanza intended for them, and decided they would make their own future! Whatever the High Entia race was, they stopped being a joke a long time ago- the moment they started thinking for themselves."

"You mean..." Melia said, a small smile crossing her face, "we grew... beyond a joke?"

"Exactly," Shulk said, smiling back. "If there was ever any joke about the High Entia, it wasn't in the race itself, it only existed in the mind of a madman."

Slowly, Melia rose to her feet. "You're right," she said. "I'm being silly..."

"I've never thought of you as silly," Shulk said. "You've always wanted the best for your people, and no one could ask anymore of you."

For a moment, they stood there in an awkward silence. Finally, Shulk said, "You know, if we hurry back to the beach, I think Reyn and Riki are still having one of their... fishing tournaments."

Melia gave a small laugh. "I would like to see it," she said.

"Then let's hurry!" Shulk said, turning. "The day is still young!"

Slowly, Melia followed after him, glancing up at the sky. The sun was still shining brightly over the Colony. Who knew what the day held- but she knew that whatever was to come, she'd meet it with the pride of the High Entia.

XXXX

I wasn't quite sure how to wrap this one up. Hopefully, you've enjoyed. Again, it's just a one-shot, so I don't really have anything to say here. Please R&R, constructive criticism very welcome, flames will be used to find the Avalanche Abaasy on Valaak Mountain (I really hope I spelled all those right,) Gamer4 out.