Xenoblade – Fallen Angel
An alternate Xenoblade storyline. Events diverge from the original plot a few days before the beginning of the game proper with Shulk.
I recomend completing, or at least getting to a seven character party in Xenoblade before reading this as there are some indirect spoilers, and certain key events and revelations occur earlier than they do in the game.
"" = spoken, ("") = thoughts, Italics = whispered/subliminal, Bold = Loud/Overwhelming
Alcamoth, The royal places, consorts chambers.
The consorts chambers have an appearance quite that contrasts with the usual High Entia design. The high ceilings and pillars present in other parts of palace are completely absent; the chambers have a rounded design with curved walls and a relatively low ceiling, lit mostly by ether lamps, but with skylights on one side of the room. If anything, the overall shape slightly resembles a giant pumpkin. The furnishings are clearly designed with comfort far outweighing aesthetic appeal in terms of importance, with a very large bed and several very padded armchairs. The overall colouration of the room has a warm feel to it, although this unfortunately does slightly enhance the subliminal pumpkin impression given by the shape.
"Lady Yumea; you require my services?"
"Prompt as always Tyrea. I'm sure the order have no doubt made you aware of the plot to remove princess Melia."
"If my information is correct she is to be sent to destroy a rogue telethia in the Makna forest region; a daunting task for even the most skilled of High Entia warriors, let alone a sheltered princess."
"She's not as sheltered as you might believe; the masquerade allows her to live incognito amongst the people of Alcamoth whenever she pleases. Anyway, the telethia in question is no ordinary creature; it was created by the order, and released for the very purpose of providing her with a nigh on impossible trial."
"I understand; the plan is that she is to fall in battle with the beast."
"I'm having second thoughts. I've considered the repercussions of her death; and given how close Kallian has become to her over the course of her life I know he'd be truly devastated if she died."
"It would ensure he becomes the heir to the throne."
"Much as that is my desire; I equally have no wish to see him wracked with grief. For all that he plays the role of the stoic prince flawlessly I can see through him Tyrea; when the trial was discussed with the council I could tell he was deeply upset."
"What of the Emperors feelings?"
"I know Sorean wishes for her to inherit the throne; and I know Kallian has accepted this…and that is part of why the whole trial came about in the first place. As a half homs she won't be accepted by the Noble council without first proving herself. Sorean and Kallian don't oppose the trial for the reason that it would leave no doubt as to her right to the throne."
"Much as I can understand their reasoning it would still seem somewhat callous to expect her just to fight a telethia that by all rights only the finest warriors would stand a chance against."
"Don't be fooled by Melia's fragile appearance; in a straight up fight that girl could take down any member of royal guard without breaking a sweat. Kallian has seen to it over the years that she's received the best possible training to hone her skills, and her natural ability to manipulate ether is truly astonishing; I have it on good authority she was even able to keep up with Lorithia during her training sessions."
"So she's a warrior? Now that is a surprise; noble society has always considered female fighters to be unacceptable. I still know of no women who've ever been admitted to the Alcamoth military; let alone the royal guard.
"A social order enforced by a bunch of chauvinistic old men who prefer their women to be meek and pliable. It's that very attitude that drives the order to employ a mostly female military; nobody expects a group of women to be a threat; sometimes even after blades are drawn."
Tyrea smirks.
"Something I'm all too aware of. Well, it sounds like Sorean and Kallian are fairly confident she can take down a telethia."
"They are not aware of how powerful this particular telethia is."
"Ah, so the orders actions are still outside of their awareness."
"Thankfully yes; confirming the existence of the order to a serving emperor is sadly still too much of a risk at this stage. For all that Sorean has acquiesced to the demands of the noble council on most matters in the orders interests, his own agenda is most likely opposed."
"Considering he wishes for a half homs to succeed him that would be a logical conclusion."
"There is still much I do not know regarding Sorean's true plans, but I suspect he's continuing some secret endeavour entrusted only to the actual heirs to the throne by their ancestors.
"I remember something of the enigmatic royal burden being mentioned in some of the memoirs of the previous emperor…but I fear we're drifting off the subject m'lady."
"Ah yes, pardon me; she will be highly unlikely to defeat the telethia, and in all probability she will perish in her attempt. What I ask of you Tyrea is that you become her bodyguard for this venture. When the fight turns sour I would ask that you simply retrieve her from the battle and take her back to Alcamoth."
"Interesting solution; she certainly lives, but her suitability to take the throne will be brought into question."
"Most likely the council will oppose her succession; that will leave the way open for Kallian."
"Much I appreciate the reasoning behind this, it's not fool proof I'm afraid. I'm aware Sorean can still override the council if he so desires…the only sure fire way of ensuring Kallian succeeds the throne is…"
"I will not see Kallian reduced to grief stricken husk of his former self. I know full well the only certain means is her removal, but to hurt him in such a way…I have my role with the order, and my duties as the first consort…but before everything else my duties as mother come first."
"I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries."
"No, it's okay Tyrea; I know you were just making sure I was fully aware of the circumstances. The tasks I ask of you will go beyond merely acting as a bodyguard; you'll be required to analyse her abilities as comprehensively as possible. Should another trial be considered we'll need to ensure it's too difficult for her to succeed, but not dangerous enough to end her."
"I shall see to it m'lady. Would you like me to gather further intelligence regarding any possible agenda she might have? I'm unsure as to her political leanings…"
"Yes that would be useful. Likewise, if you can find any kind of material that might besmirch her character; a good scandal would ruin her chances of taking the throne whilst sparing her actual physical harm."
"Very well, it shall be done. Is there anything specific I need to know right now?"
"The matter of her existing guard will be taken care of prior to your formal appointment. I suspect an outbreak of influenza in the royal guard should ensure they'll be unfit for duty. Regarding all other matters…this operation is strictly between the two of us. The order are not aware of this change of plans so you may need to pay extra attention to their behaviour should they react to any element of our actions."
"…Please be careful Lady Yumea. The order do not take interference lightly; and even your position might not be enough to protect you from their wrath should they discover what we are doing."
"Something I'm all too aware of Tyrea; I've played this game of cloak and dagger for many years now and believe me, I've had to divide my loyalties very carefully at times. That there are members within the order who desire harm upon my person, that is something I am fully aware of. It's as much a political entity as a paramilitary one, and as such infighting and backstabbing are par the course."
"My loyalty is to you before the order m'lady…"
Tyrea is taken by surprise when Yumea hugs her.
"You don't need to tell me that, I've always known…but thank you. I have one last request of you; come back from this mission alive and well, no matter what."
Tyrea is left somewhat stunned by Yumea's actions and words.
"…I…I'll get myself prepared..."
"I've added your profile to the scanner of my private storage chamber. Help yourself to anything you might find useful in there."
A few days later Melia prepares to set out on her trial. She receives the news that her guards have taken ill.
"How could this have happened Lecrough? Are they alright?"
"They should recover given time lady Melia; but they will need to be treated in quarantine for the time being. Influenza can be horribly virulent; it's a mercy the rest of the guard were spared."
"Now what am I going to do? I suppose I'll have to delay the trial, but to be honest I'd rather not have to leave while I know they're suffering."
"Ah; well it might take quite some time for them to recover to the point where they can serve again. Unfortunately they have to be confirmed as no longer carrying the virus before they can return to duty regardless of whether or not the symptoms have passed."
"That shouldn't be a problem…should it?"
Kallian arrives.
"I'm afraid the council are currently looking for excuses and would interpret any substantial delay as failure; but don't worry, mother was able to find an alternative."
Yumea arrives along with Tyrea.
"Melia, allow me to introduce Tyrea, my personal bodyguard."
"Delighted to make your acquaintance princess."
"Nice to meet you too; please just call me Melia though."
"While what has befallen your guards is truly unfortunate you can at least take solace in the fact they should make a full recovery. As for the matter of Tyrea's abilities, don't be fooled by her youthful appearance; I chose her as my personal bodyguard on the merit of her skills alone; I would be willing to entrust her with my own life."
Melia smiles at Yumea and Tyrea.
"Well that is a relief; I sure you can understand how I might've been apprehensive about taking on new and unfamiliar guards, but endorsements don't come much higher than that."
"You'll be fine with me around Melia."
"Well it looks like I'm due to depart shortly; I've gone over the checklist a few times and I think everything's organised."
"What about loading the transport?"
"We did that a couple of days ago; I figured it'd one less thing to worry about."
"Shall I accompany you down to the hangar?"
"That would be greatly appreciated Brother."
"…I'm afraid I'll have to say goodbye here. The council will be opening any minute and unfortunately they're extremely inflexible when it comes to personal circumstances. Melia, Tyrea, please take care and come back safe."
The three of them make their way to the hangar bay.
"That's quite a small transport; are you sure you'll manage?"
"Best to travel light under the circumstances; I don't want to draw too much attention, and it's a relatively short flight to the Makna forest area. Supplies won't be a problem either since food is easy to come by."
"Very well; please don't stay away for any longer than you have to though…"
Kallian takes Tyrea's hand in his.
"…and thank you for agreeing to this at such short notice. Keeping my sister safe will earn you my eternal gratitude."
"…T-Thank you…prince Kallian…"
Tyrea blushes ever so slightly.
"Unfortunately I'll need to make tracks myself now, so please stay safe, both you; and I hope I'll be seeing you soon."
"See you soon brother!"
Kallian parts ways. The two of them make their way to the transport. On the way Tyrea notices something.
("…that was an order bracelet on the technician. I'll need to keep my eyes open; I know much of the order have ill desires as far as Melia is concerned and it wouldn't surprise if one of our higher ranking members had decided to exploit her guard situation.")
"Are you alright Tyrea?"
"I'm okay…just something a little off about the situation."
"…Kallian advised me to watch my back at all times. I'm under no illusions that much of council don't particularly welcome the idea of a half homs heir."
"Best keep on your guard. It wouldn't surprise me if an opportunist had decided to use the situation with your guards to inconvenience you in some way."
The two of them board the transport.
"Everything looks okay in terms of my stuff; and I can't see any unfamiliar packages; how about you Tyrea?"
"All my luggage is accounted for. I've done a quick sweep of the interior for signs of sabotage but I think we're in the clear. At least there're no signs of anyone having tempered with the hardware so a catastrophic accident should be out of the question."
"Shall we go?"
"The sooner we get this over with the better. Oh, can you pilot?"
"I'm not what you'd call professional grade, but a transport like this one is pretty straightforward; and the flight computer makes things even easier."
"Same as me then; I doubt I'd make the grade for air force if it came down to it…not that it matters."
"That might not be the case for much longer. There have been considerable calls from the public to reform the gender separation laws. The noble houses still oppose any change, but the people want equality now, plain and simple."
"They've never been very good at listening to the public mind you."
"They like to live in their own insular little world. I'm not going to pretend I really know or understand how normal people live; but I do have a degree of insight. The masquerade has been something of a blessing in allowing me to act incognito."
"So what do you think it will take to change their way of thinking?"
"Authority; they've enshrined the idea of people being born to a certain station, but it works both ways. If the Emperor tells them to change they'll have little choice to but to go along with it. To oppose him would be to defy the very pillars of their culture, and it would leave their own authority with regards to public affairs in tatters."
"Has he indicated any intention to force the change himself?"
"Yes…but it's not that easy unfortunately. There's an astounding amount of bureaucracy involved in whole process of altering the laws. So much in fact that one might suspect the system was designed to be as inflexible as possible from the outset. Needless to say change happens at a glacial pace and requires an unreasonable degree of paperwork. Father's sadly not a fit young man anymore either and I worry about the strain such an endeavour will take on him. He has outlined plans already though, and I suspect if he can find the time he'll pursue the matter; and if not I've got a feeling it might be one of my first official tasks once this whole trail affair has been dealt with."
"Well…hopefully you won't have to. If they realise a demure little princess like you is capable of taking down a telethia then perhaps they'll have to re-think their prejudices once and for all."
"Fingers crossed Tyrea; right, we better not delay any longer."
Melia powers up the transport. It smoothly exits the hangar.
"….That's odd."
"What's the matter Melia?"
"I programed the auto pilot to head for the great Makna falls; we should be heading straight for the side of the Eyrth sea, but we seem to be on a course to travel via the head of the Bionis."
"That doesn't make sense…re-input the flight program."
"Okay…and done…we're not changing course."
"Bring up the flight path."
"…Now this really doesn't make any sense. The computer thinks we're on the right path; and it's even got our speed wrong. We're going about twice that speed and set to pass over the head…"
"Turn off the auto pilot."
"…It's locked...it's overriding the manual controls!"
"What the hell is this? Check the raw data for the engine firing instructions; we can use it get a projectile simulation and then reference it with a three dimensional map of the upper Bionis. I've got a feeling the flight computer isn't taking us to Makna forest."
"…Got it! Running simulation…this…this is off the map."
"It's taking us to Mechonis. Somebody must've hacked the flight computer."
"How could this have happened?"
"…Makes perfect sense when you think about it. Just get someone technician clearance and they get access to maintain the computers. No need for anything fancy like a bomb or mechanical sabotage, and the crash site will be unreachable so no need to worry about any evidence left behind either."
"So someone is trying to assassinate me! We're still above the Eyrth sea so we could…"
"The exit hatch is between the engines on this type of transport. We'd get roasted by the exhausts; we need to shut them down first."
"The flight computer keeps locking me out though."
"Then I think we might have to do this the old fashioned way. Melia, send a burst of electrical ether through the computer. That should be enough to completely wreck it."
"That'll leave us with no means of controlling the transport…but it's still more survivable that flying through Mechonis airspace…okay, stand back!"
Melia summons up a burst of electrical ether. The computer system shorts out under the strain.
"Okay…still no manual control and the transport has maintained its course."
"Can we disable the engines manually?"
"Not sure…but now that the computer is down we could overload the safety features on the engines"
"I see, we shut down the engines and then we can bail."
"Well, my guess on wiring is as good as yours but those ones are headed for the engine. I reckon sending another burst through these should upset the engines enough to trip the safety features."
Melia sends another blast of electrical ether through the wiring. The engines start to misfire the course alters.
"Keep going! They're breaking down!"
A few more blasts and the engines shut down. Unfortunately they've passed over the head of the Bionis by this point.
"…too late. The atmosphere here isn't breathable…I guess we just relax and enjoy the descent."
"What do you think the odds are of us surviving the crash?"
"Actually pretty high Tyrea; this type of transport comes with pieces of hover stone built into the chassis as a safety feature. It's enough to considerably slow the descent, so as long as we're not going to drop into anything like molten lava or a sauros nest we should be fine."
"…I guess we'll be climbing back up the Bionis then. I hope we don't fall too far, the communications range on this sort of transport is pretty short."
"Doesn't matter Tyrea; I think I destroyed the communications equipment when I shut down the computer. I've got a backup though."
Melia has a quick rifle through her supplies.
"A transmission flare. Once we've made touchdown I'll fire one off. I know it's called a flare but it's more like a sort of long range missile; and it'll record the location of the landing site before making its way up to altitude of about a mile above the Eyrth Sea. Once it gets there it'll send out a signal. It probably won't be an awful lot of help in terms of someone rescuing us, but it'll at least let everyone know we've survived."
"Better than nothing I guess; I suppose that's the trial ruined."
"Whoever did the sabotage made a fatal mistake; it kicked in within the telemetry range of the flight control centre. The information feedback will pretty much tell anyone who looks that something went badly wrong with the flight computer; so the council will have a hard time justifying a disqualification under the circumstances."
"Do you think they'd still try?"
"It's unlikely…I wouldn't be surprised if some of them considered it but they'd have to publicly explain their reasons; and they'd have a hard time justifying themselves to all but the most hardened bigots."
"…We've descended past the shoulder area; looks like we're going to be going a long way down though I'm afraid."
"Hmm…at least we're not on a collision course with the sword. I was able to get some information on the battle between the homs armed forces and the mechon at Sword Valley last year."
"I've heard of it…but not in any real detail. I know the general news networks pretend the rest of the Bionis doesn't exist outside of the Eyrth Sea.
"Well to cut a long story short the homs were victorious, but only because of some artefact; and rumour has it the artefact in question is the Monado itself."
"I heard the ancestors sealed it away…how did the homs get hold of it?"
"No idea I'm afraid. Still descending…we're going to have one long trek to get back to Alcamoth…sigh."
"…Fingers crossed we don't end up falling all the way to the bottom. I've heard rumours about the ocean."
"I wouldn't put too much stock in them; when it comes to information of places outside of the High Entia empire the facts are thin on the ground."
"How do you think we'll manage if we end up at a homs settlement? I'll have to be honest with you Melia; I've had no meaningful contact with any homs before."
"My late mother gave me some advice. She told me the main thing to be aware of with homs is variety. Their outward appearance varies a lot more across the species than the High Entia, and their personalities follow the same pattern, so it's best to keep an open mind."
"We've just passed the sword. I think the atmosphere's breathable again."
"So we can bail if it looks like we're headed into trouble…hang on, aren't we descending a little too quickly now?"
"The hover stone reacts more strongly the closer it is the body of the Bionis. The sword of the Mechonis might be having the opposite effect; but I think we'll slow down again once get closer to the Bionis."
"Certainly hope so; this isn't exactly what you'd call a safe speed to land at."
The transport starts to slow its descent.
"Thought we we're going to have to bail for a moment there. How far down are we now?"
"Nothing I can see is even remotely familiar I'm afraid, but based on some of the old illustrations of the Bionis I think we'll be coming up to the legs shortly."
"…A little bit of good news Melia; it looks like we won't be going all the way down to the ocean after all. I think we're going to land on the left leg."
"Well that's something I guess; I hope it's not too far to civilisation."
"Missing the palace already?"
"I am trained in a degree of outdoor survival so I can manage away from the luxuries of the palace…although I do have to admit there are certain necessities of daily life that are infinitely more comfortable to attend to with the proper facilities."
"…Here we come…might want to get strapped in, we're still falling a bit too fast for a comfortable touchdown."
Melia and Tyrea get seated and buckled up. The transport narrowly misses the edge of the Guar plains and keeps descending.
"Looks like we'll come to rest inside the lower leg…hey, is that a colony?"
"I think it is…and that looks an awful lot like an air defence battery…seatbelts off! I think we might need to bail after all!"
"I think we're okay. They're not tracking us; we must be descending too slowly."
"We're going to land on an outcrop; ready for impact!"
The transport clips the cliff face and flips a few times before landing on its base.
"…Well that was fun. It looks like we're alive and in one piece…"
"Speak for yourself…dizzy…"
Tyrea helps Melia get herself unbuckled.
"Thank you; I suppose we'd best inspect the damage."
The two of them examine the inside of the transport. It's a mess, but nothing particularly important seems to have been broken.
"Our luggage seems to be undamaged; but I made a hell of mess trying to shut down the engines so I don't think there's much we can do with the transport."
"Well…I remember something about being able to set them up for direct manual control if you remove the flight computer and link the controls to the transport directly, but I don't think my engineering skills stretch anywhere near far enough to carry out that sort of work."
"Well that makes two of us I'm afraid…sigh…I'll get the flare sent off."
They open the hatch and step out. The transport appears to have suffered somewhat from the landing, with some pretty obvious damage to the more fragile external components; in particular the systems in the wings and the engines are broken open, exposing the workings.
"Oh boy; looks like we can forget any ideas of getting this thing up in air again."
"Look on the bright side; we can probably sell it for salvage."
"Is that wise? We shouldn't be just giving away our technological secrets."
"It's hardly what you'd call cutting edge technology; and last time I checked there've never been open hostilities between homs and high entia in our recorded history. Besides, I'd be surprised if it'd be the first time homs have managed to repurpose our technology; the empire shrunk considerably after the great clash and some of the old territories were populated by homs for a time."
"…Now that you mention it those air defence batteries look a bit like they're of a high entia design."
"Perhaps we'll get the chance to take a closer look later."
Melia plants the flare in the ground. It glows for a moment before shooting off into the sky.
"How is that tiny thing going to get all the way to the Eyrth Sea?"
"The most of the projectile's made out of processed hover stone, so it'll naturally rise even without propulsion. The casing has to be made out of gravity stone just to stop it floating away when not in use."
"…Well, I guess we ought to introduce ourselves to the locals."
"Are you nervous?"
"A little; I just don't know what to expect."
"Just keep an open mind; and don't be surprised if they're just as anxious about us. Homs that live this far down the Bionis are highly unlikely to have ever encountered any High Entia before."
"Do you want to hide your wings?"
"Not much point; you can't hide yours and someone's bound to see them sooner or later anyway…are you okay? You're shaking."
"Maybe I'm a bit more nervous than I…oh, damn! I forgot about change in atmospheric conditions!"
"What are you talking about Tyrea…huh? I'm shaking a bit as well."
"We've just descended almost all the way down the bionis. The ambient ether here will be very different to the eyrth sea and we haven't had chance to acclimatise."
"Oh that's just great; we're going to need a doctor already."
"No, we'll be okay. We'll feel pretty lousy for the next few hours but it will pass; and you'll probably not be affected as badly since you're half homs."
"Looks like our introduction will just have to wait then…aw hell…I'm starting to feel it now."
"Best take a seat then. Falling flat on your face would be pretty unbecoming of a princess."
Melia and Tyrea sit themselves down.
"Is it just me or is there considerably more wreckage around here than there should be? I know it was a pretty bumpy landing but the craft wasn't that badly damaged."
"Most of it appears to be of a material alien to high entia technology so I think we can assume it was already here."
"…Why would there be strange wreckage around a homs colony? Don't they tidy up after themselves? Maybe the assumptions that homs aren't particularly civilised aren't that unfounded after all."
"I believe it would wise to reserve judgement; there may be a perfectly good explanation for all this. Besides, if you were to correlate slovenliness with civilisation you'd have to come to conclusion that much of the high entia nobility would rank below Hodes."
"mfmfmfhahahaha!…I always did get the impression they were an idle bunch outside the public eye."
Meanwhile a short distance away…
"So what do you reckon that was Shulk?"
"No idea Reyn; it was pretty big but it was falling too slowly to set off the automatic response from the air defences, and since it was silent it probably didn't catch the attention of the ground crews."
"It didn't look like any mechon I've seen before."
"Could be a prototype …I can't wait to see what kind of new tech it filled with!"
"Might want to reign in your enthusiasm Shulk; it might still be active."
"Mechon might be tough be they can't survive the fall from the sword."
"In case you don't remember it was coming down kind of slowly."
"Ah…good point."
"I thought you were supposed to be smart one Shulk."
"…No harm in taking a quick peek. If it looks dangerous we head back and call the defence force."
"Just no persuading you sometimes…"
About the same time, somewhere on Bionis…
"We might have a problem. It would appear some of the key elements of the plan are going to come together way ahead of schedule."
"Considering the distance they should be separated by that represents a serious deviation. Have you determined how this came about?"
"It's unfortunately not possible to pinpoint the exact source, but it would seem some kind of action from the order was the catalyst."
"I see; do you think she could look into this?"
"She already is; I know she likes things to run like clockwork just as much as we do so she isn't taking it lightly either."
"She can have a nasty temper when she feels she's been slighted; but hopefully she'll try to keep the body count to a minimum. Now that we have a deviation I wonder if the order could prove a useful resource for setting events back on course."
"Only a few of them could be of any actual use, and I suspect the obvious choice is already taking action to rectify the situation."
"I suppose this means we should cast our attention away from Alacmoth for the time being and concentrate on the situation at the centre of our plans."
"We'll have one…no, two additional elements complicating the situation."
"How much time do we have now until the critical event?"
"Very little unfortunately; I can't see any way of avoiding their involvement either."
"I see…can you get anything useful from the projections?"
"Give me a moment…at least one contact point will still present itself so we can sway the outcome if need be."
"That's fortuitous; control will be essential if deviations continue to occur."
"…No drastic action will need to be taken. All of the elements we require should still be intact after the event; and the elements we need removed will in all likelihood be eliminated as per our expectations."
"We're not dealing with certainties though."
"Unfortunately that is the case."
"Perhaps a contingency measure would be a prudent course of action."
"Not yet; I've ran a second cycle of projections whereby the problematic elements were left intact; and it would appear their impact will be lessened by the deviations already in place."
"So what you're indicating is even if the scenario doesn't unfold exactly the way we want it, it will nevertheless be salvageable."
"That I can guarantee; although we might need to change our approach depending on exactly how events transpire."
"Then we still need to take some kind of rectifying action."
"Very well; we'll have an opportunity at the next contact point."
Sorry for the extensive delay in publishing new material; my personal life went down the toilet over the last year. Things are looking a bit better now so I've managed to resume my writing. If you think anything in story needs altering (Such as background details - I know this one's a bit dialogue heavy) feel free to send me a PM.
