Chapter 2: Shulk
Shulk didn't consider himself a man that was scared easily. After all, how could you possibly still get frightened of monsters in the dark after everything he's been through?
The man absolutely doesn't lack any bravery, but a fight to the death with a girl who could turn into a dragon naturally made him nervous. It's quite possibly the last thing that frightened him in a long time. In a way, he liked it. The adrenaline rush is something he is always on the hunt for.
He stood in the corner of the large battle arena, preparing for his long awaited trial by combat for his thievery. Arena Ferox, they called it. A massive battle arena made of ages old stone that stood higher than the tallest castles. It supposedly used to be for determining who would be the next ruler, but now it is used to host trials of combat.
The people in the seats were so plentiful that they looked like nothing more than blades of grass in a farmer's field; numbering so vast that you couldn't see where they ended.
At the bottom of the crowd were men holding crimson banners as well as countless drummers, pan flute players, and even chanting choir men. Shulk supposed that this was all to please the boundless crowd behind them.
This land was largely a foreign one to Shulk. Ferox, Ylisse, and Valm were all large and war-torn nations that were clearly technologically far behind what Shulk had grown used to. He found himself here five years ago, not remembering how he got here or why. Ever since, he's tried again and again to find his way back home, but every time he just ends up in more trouble than before. It's all lead up to this moment, where his chances of survival had finally become as low as they could possibly get.
The crowd began to make enthusiastic cheering sounds and stand up out of their seats, acting less as a group of people and more as a wave; moving all in tandem. Shulk took this to mean that his opponent had finally entered the arena, because he knew they would never rejoice for a foreign criminal like him.
To validate his assumption, he moved his gaze over to the other corner of the arena, where he spotted the girl he had heard so many people talk about; Corrin.
The other unfortunate prisoners stuck in Arena Ferox had told many stories about this girl, calling her a monster that drew power from hell.
"As powerful as the mountains and as fast as the south winds" they had said.
So naturally, Shulk had expected some horrid ugly beast to appear out of the other side of the arena. Much to Shulk's surprise, however, she was absolutely beautiful.
She was wearing a full set of white and black armor, but her shapely figure was still abundantly apparent even through the thick curtain of steel. Her physical appearance was not her best feature, despite how breathtaking it may be. It was instead the astounding amount of self-assuredness in which she carried herself. Every movement she made was carried out with full confidence, and she knew it. She walked as if the very ground below her was willing to obey her every command.
That alone would've been enough to make her look like royalty, but combine that with her beauty and it becomes the perfect recipe to make any man completely smitten with her.
Her beutiful dark blue eyes swirled like a typhoon, and for a moment, those powerful eyes locked firmly in place with Shulk's. Although the thought was quickly dismissed, he couldn't help but feel as if their meeting in this arena was no meaningless cosmic coincidence, but instead the work of divine fate. Those eyes in front of him felt familiar in a way that isn't possible for the human mind to articulate.
She raised a fist fitted with a black gauntlet above her head to signify that she wanted silence and order. Almost immediately, the crowd turned from loud and energetic to quieter than a forest upon seeing her raised hand. The control that she had over the people was indisputably amazing, and further cemented her regal presence.
"I guess you'll be the one I'm fighting, huh? You don't look like the monster I've heard about. I bet I could take you on without even using my blade," Shulk boasted.
Corrin brushed back her platinum hair and directed her gaze toward Shulk with a smirk that revealed a set of sharp, serrated teeth. Although it was just for a second, Shulk could see that her eyes had briefly lost it's natural whiteness and turned an indescribable color that held the power and brightness of fire with the hue and fluidity of the ocean.
All the beauty she had once possessed had transformed into raw power. In that moment, Shulk knew that the rumors of her being more than human were completely true. She was the dragon of legend.
"Looks can be quite deceiving. Considering your questionable line of work, I would assume you would know all about deception," Corrin said quietly.
The girl quickly lost her more frightening features, opting for the beautiful face that originally walked into the arena, and forwarded her attention back toward the crowd. She lost her smirk and stood taller before the people, standing in a position that caused the blue cape at her back to ripple in the dry wind.
"Before you are to begin your trial by combat, please state your name and inform the people what you are guilty of," She continued in a louder voice.
Shulk knew he would never be able to win over the people, so there wasn't any point in even trying to appear better than her. He just needed to tell the truth and get this whole mess over with.
"My name is Shulk. I am about to fight you to the death because I am guilty of taking part in stealing weapons from your armory. I can assure you I didn't do it because I'm a bad man. I did it because me and my crew needed swords and shields to make it back to our homelands. If you want to kill me for my crimes, then so be it. I don't want to live in a world where going back home is a crime anyway," stated Shulk.
Corrin tilted her head down to the ground in contemplation.
"I don't believe you are an evil man, Shulk, but you have violated the laws of this land and stolen from royalty. You have committed a crime against my country and no sob story will change that. Of course, it is not my place to decide your guilt. We shall see if fate pities you more than I do by deciding it with combat!"
At this, she raised her sword up to the clouds and evoked a booming cheer out of the audience.
"Are you ready for your final challenge, Shulk? Are you ready for your strength to be put to the test in front of the gods!?"
He paused. Shulk wouldn't let it show on his face, but he was more nervous now than he had been in his five years in this strange land. He knew that every breath he took after he said the words could very well be his last. Every thought of all the friends he left behind could be the last time anyone ever thought about them. Shulk feared that if he died, everything he's ever done to see his home would all be for nothing, and that there would be nothing left of it after his memories died with him.
With that thought, his fear began to morph into nothing but pure determination. He cannot die here. He won't allow himself to die without first seeing his home one last time, even if that meant it lived only in his memory. Shulk clenched his fist tightly around the handle of his blade until his knuckles felt a wave of static numbness overtake them.
"Bring it on lizard lady! I'm ready,"
Corrin raised her eyebrows and developed an expression of intrigue on her face.
"I will hand it to you, you are much bolder than most who meet my blade in the arena. I admire that. Now, let's find out if your bravery matches your might!"
Corrin charged at Shulk at speeds that caused the dirt below to accumulate into dust. Before Shulk even had time to think, he saw her sword swinging downward above his head. He brought up his blade to connect with hers just inches away from his face. With sparks, the sword slid off of his and shifted back into her grip.
She swiped again from the side, and the blades met each other again. Shulk used the opening from the parry to swing at her hip, but before the blade could hit its mark, the transformed arm of her armor stopped the blade. The metal twisted and bent in ways that shouldn't have even been possible to form a large spike around her arm.
With her other arm, she swung her sword towards Shulk. He ducked just in time, and felt the metal brush across the top of his dark blonde hair. He punched her in the face with his free hand and stunned her just long enough to bring his blade back into his control.
Corrin extended her twisted metal arm, but the attack was dodged. Their blades swung at each other in rapid succession, and created a wall of sparks that flung in every direction. She showed no signs of tiring. Shulk knew he was outmatched. If he was going to survive, he needed to channel the monado arts. He needed to buy himself just a tiny window of time to begin the process, so he had to act.
Shulk jumped over from the front of her to the side, knowing that she would have to turn around to strike him. And when she swung around to hit him, he was able to parry both her arm spike and her blade in one swing. She stumbled, and Shulk used this opening to unleash his best move.
"BACKSLASH!" Shulk yelled. He pulled his sword up into the air and swung down onto her back, causing her white armor to bend and break.
Now was his chance. He looked deep into the hilt of his sword and begun to channel the monado's power. He cycled through them all, jump, smash, buster, shield, and then speed.
Upon activating it, he uttered an assured "Speed!" and felt a surge of green energy wrap its tendrils around his body.
"You're stronger than you look, Shulk, but not strong enough,"
Corrin launched another flurry of quick attacks at Shulk, but now he had the power of the speed monado on his side. Instead of being outmatched, he could now outpace all of her attacks without even expending any of his energy. Every attack was parried and every advancement was denied.
With the last bit of his speed monado, he created an opening and was able to slash her across the face, creating a large streak of red flesh in its wake. She cupped the injury in her hand and fell to her knees. The crowd all let out a massive gasp of surprise, and watched intently at Shulk's next move.
"And here I was thinking this was going to be difficult. My dear old auntie could fight better than you!" he proclaimed.
Corrin let her hand escape her cheek, showing an ever-growing pool of blood leaking down her face and neck. She looked through the strands of her hair and gave a glare with her fanged smirk. The eyes of the dragon had returned.
"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself yet. The battle has only just begun!"
Corrin flew backward onto her feet again. The metal covering her arm started to morph again, this time into something larger. Little by little, the metal began to shapen into something more sinister. It grew a jaw with long narrow teeth, a widened nose, horns, and finally, the eyes. They glowed a radiant blue, just like the girl wielding it.
All of a sudden, The dragon head began physically charging a powerful blue amalgamation of energy for a few brief moments. All at once, its metal jaw widened and unleashed an amalgamation of pure, raw energy directly towards Shulk at speeds that parted the air. Shulk was powerless to stop the ball from launching directly into his stomach.
The impact sucked all of the air out of his chest and left him flying onto the dirt. He desperately tried to breathe while laying motionless on the dry ground. The metal dragon head retreated back into nothingness and her real hand shown its presence once more.
Corrin walked up to his useless body and placed a metal-encased foot onto his stomach. She brought up her sword, and drove it into Shulk's shoulder.
"Aagh!!!" He screamed. The cold pain burst in the area where she stabbed him and raced it's way all over his body. As she drove the sword out, the pain worsened still and brought with it a fountain of hot blood streaming out of the wound.
"It looks like your fate is decided, thief. Turns out the gods hadn't taken a liking to you after all," she said.
During all of this, Shulk began to hear something behind them. He heard the clinking of metal and the rage of fire. Behind his head, there was some sort of fight taking place. He knew from the moment he heard its cues that this was the backup plan that might very well save his life.
"That's all well and good and all, but you see, Corrin, I'm a raging, thieving, dirty scoundrel. And if there's anything raging, thieving, dirty scoundrels are good at, it's cheating fate," he said through labored breaths in an effort to distract her.
The sound drew closer. He could recognize the noise of the claws scraping across steel weapons anywhere. After all, that sound had followed behind him in so many battles in the past. This was a friend. A warrior who lost his home long ago as well. Their destinies are forever bound together, and if one died, the other would shortly follow.
Shulk knew that this friend of his had come all this way to rescue him. One by one he will take the guards out, and little by little they will escape this place and find their homes. That particular friend had a popular catchphrase that he used to announce his arrival. That catch phrase is-
"INCINEROAR!!!" Incineroar yelled.
Corrin looked behind her shoulder at the brute, but before she had time to even process what was going on, a big red claw smacked her across her face and brought her nose diving toward the ground. The crowd was in a frenzy, perhaps not knowing how to process this unexpected turn of events. The big furry beast stood tall above the injured Shulk, and gave a loud roar to the audience.
"Incineroar! I'm so glad to see you!" said Shulk.
Incineroar, in his typical braggadocious manner, looked up to the crowd and raised his claw in the air and gave a big, prideful grin.
"You thought this weak little girl was going to take the prize today, didn't you? BUT NO! IT WAS I ALL ALONG! INCINEROAR!" he bellowed.
As the crowd booed ferociously, Corrin began to rise up from the dust. Her wounds appeared to mend, and the aura of power surrounding her only grew. White dragon wings grew from her back, and the long, swirling antlers protruded from her head. Incineroar was too distracted to notice, but she pointed her powerful sword directly at him.
"You will regret calling me a weak little girl, beast!" She yelled.
Incineroar directed his attention at her, and in an instant lost all of his bravado, replacing it with the look of a frightened little kitten.
"Oh holy Arceus! We gotta get out of here Shulk!"
He threw Shulk's beaten body across his shoulder, and sprinted across the arena to the iron gate. From there, he would be able to escape. With every step he took, the pain in Shulk's shoulder gave a throbbing pound. Corrin followed close behind, with her wings carrying her in the air.
"Our fight isn't over, Shulk! You can't evade fate forever!" she screamed.
With his free hand, the big red beast punched a massive hole through the gate and hopped in with Shulk still at his shoulder. Shulk's eyes struggled to adjust to the abrupt change in lighting for a minute when inside the gate. When he finally began to decipher what was in front of him, he could tell they were in a stone hallway adorned with wooden torches that cast a dim light upon the walls.
There were two guards blocking the end of the hallway with full plated steel armor and lances so tall they touched the ceiling. These guards were no match for Incineroar, who simply plowed through them with a flaming charge.
Upon passing the door that the guards were blocking, they speeded past a banquet area with tons of shocked patrons looking at the two escapees. There were multiple guards that trailed behind, but Incineroar was much faster than any of them. The next door they burst through shown another hallway with windows that shown brief glimpses of the blinding sun. The next door burst open with the full force of the light of day. They had finally reached their way to the courtyard. Shulk and Incineroar had escaped Arena Ferox.
